As I said above, those of us who adore 'Cl. Peace' are members of a distinct minority :)! This rose IS something of a 'problem child', but I've found it to be very responsive to TLC. A heavy feeder, 'Cl Peace' seems to have a preference for organics like fish emulsion, kelp, alfalfa tea. When I get my annual load of stable manure, 'Cl. Peace' invariably gets the first helping, and I try always to hold some in reserve for a second, late season application. IMHO, it's worth the extra effort.

HI Jake, I have the QuadraFire 1200i. It's going on its 5th year and has been a fine stove. We have it hooked up to a digital thermostat so it sets back at night, yet is warm and cheery when we wake up. Neither stove will thoroughly heat your house in your climate if the house is not tightly insulated with good windows. If it is really cold outside and blowing hard, then it is likely that your furnace may come on while the pellet stove is running. But the furnace will shut off much more quickly than if it was trying to heat the house alone. Chimney height is not an issue, the exhaust is presurized and will need it's own 3" pipe inside of the existing stack. The Quad and the Harmon are both good stoves. I think the Quad is easier for maintenance, but I don't think you would go wrong either way. If you're having trouble buying locally, consider buying from a NW dealer and have it shipped. They're made in WA so I would expect freight to be approx $400.

Cream soup and cream sauces. I'm more than grossed out by canned soups. It's so easy to make a white sauce in 3 minutes, who could ever prefer that salty gelatinous canned glop? Yuck. All baked goods: pies, cookies, quiches, cakes, brownies, muffins, popovers, tortes. I grew up in the farming Midwest, where you weren't a grown woman yet if you couldn't make a piecrust from scratch without a recipe. :-) I've never purchased a storebought crust, cookies, cake or boxed mix in my life. Salad dressings. For spinach: tarragon vinegar, olive oil, and a tablespoon of sugar, salt & pepper. Perfect. For arugula: lime juice, drop of olive oil if you want it, lots of fresh ground pepper, bleu cheese. For Romaine: olive oil, garlic, anchovy, lemon juice, mustard, salt, white wine vinegar, fresh block parmesan - blend in food processor until smooth. For mixed greens: balsamic, minced shallot, olive oil and salt & pepper. Breads, meats, dairy: we're very lucky to live in a relatively food-aware city surrounded by wonderful rural farmland, so we have access to an excellent bakery, locally raised meats and fresh dairy in glass bottles. Having grown up with lard sandwiches (yes, the Germans love them, with onion and salt on top -- I've never liked them myself), I can agree that the commercial lards sold in large supermarkets here are disgusting. Also have to agree that bacon grease from American commercial bacon is probably not very good; loaded with chemicals and salt. Definitely seek out and try the grease from non-nitrated bacon some time -- you'll be able to tell the difference in both meat and grease. Marion Nestle's What to Eat and Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma are good wholesome food reads, the former a tad less proselytizing than the latter, but both engrossing and excellent.

I have moved 12" and 24" tall Sabals with a fair degree of success. It was explained to me that all sabals will kill off damaged roots all the way to the base of the plant and this is why so many transplants fail. If the plant isn't big enough to hold enough water on its own, it will dry out and die. So to get a transplant to take, you need to keep the soil around the 'bulb' moist, but not wet. The bulb can take a few days of dry weather, but it is better to water at least every other day until you see growth, but only water the soil. Naturally, there isn't much you can do about rain, but the drier you can keep the above-ground bit, the more likely it won't rot before it has had a chance to establish new roots.