Hi - thanks so much for your post. I never knew there were so many kinds of Geum! I got a few divisions at a local plant sale. They were just labeled "Geum" so I don't know what kind they are. They have orange flowers - about 2 feet tall - in the early summer. Now, in late August, they have dried seed heads. I didn't deadhead because I leave the seeds for the birds. I was told these were native to my NY area so I assumed native birds would enjoy the seeds. Now I would like to harvest some seeds to try to winter sow. I can't tell if there are any seeds left! Nothing looks like an obvious seed - just a lot of chaff. Can you describe the seed or post a photo so I know what I'm looking for? Thanks so much.

Mine longtime kitchen obsession has been vintage cookware from the 50s or older. I have a lot of Guardian Service cookware. I love that the stuff is practically bombproof. At the thrift store the other day I found an ancient but still perfectly workable Presto 4 qt pressure cooker. The hammered texture on the lid caught my eye. It has beautiful wood handles too. I love that I can still get gaskets and overpressure plugs for it which I did because while the ones it had were serviceable they looked a little old. I also found a manual for it. Using some common sense and some internet research, it's incredibly easy to use. Since then I have experimented with making a few dishes in it. French onion soup is awesome in it and beans come out creamy textured. Presoaking gets better results though if in a hurry I can start from dry. Seasonings get right into the beans instead of staying in the broth. I am looking for a big oldie so i can use it at the next chili cook-off!

Thank you all for your very insightful comments. Davidro �� We are reframing the entire area, so the pantry framing is completely up to us. Our approved plans do show a pantry but my GC says that as long as I figure it out by next week when we do the framing, we have some flexibility. The vent pipes and the electrical is the same.. all will depend on what we end up doing. Only limitation on electrical is that there will be no cans. Our ceiling is low and has wood planks and beams that we plan to keep. We are adding 2 new skylights (see the X near the clean-up sink and the cooktops). I am thinking something similar to this GW classic Spanish kitchen with school house flush mounts, pendants over sink s and a modest pendant over the banquette area The question of Pantry --> I added the pantry to the plan to see if we can reduce the cost of cabinetry and add some long-term grocery/ appliance storage. The original idea was to basically make this back to back cabinets. The galley kitchen would then end in a "L" here with the short leg facing the kitchen and another set of cabinets facing the corridor (for other household storage). The side facing the kitchen could have the fridge and the ovens (an appliance wall?). We gave up on that as the pantry seemed more optimal but the discussion now about choppy counters makes me rethink that. I love Dean1's neo-angle pantry as well (in fact pinged him a couple of times to ask to see the inside). The only thing on the oven is that I do want it to be ergonomically a good height for me. I am 5' tall and wanted the 27" gagg convection mounted lower and the 24" gagg combi mounted above so that I can peek into the combi at the eye-level. So it would be a deepish drawer with the ovens above and some storage above. Pllog --> I completely agree on the prep sink position. I am not happy. I thought about moving it after the cooktop area across the fridge. That may work as the filtered water will be at the prep sink but was concerned about people dropping clean-up things in the prep sink. That would be a big ��ick�� factor for me. The nice thing about this sink is that it has a built in cutting board that sits flush with the counter.. so the extending the countertop idea works. I actually did this based on feedback from you and Davidro in the appliance forum thread a while ago. Bmorepanic �� Thank you so much for the reality check on the pantry. I need to mock up the pantry layout physically per your email and see how it works.. I realized I am more visual/ kinesthetic than verbal as part of my remodeling education �� Here are the full house layout (sorry for the small size fonts.. Only way I could make it fit ). As you can see, the house kind of wraps around the patio/courtyard behind the kitchen with doors from the kitchen, family room and the master. Picture of the current kitchen with the ceiling plants and beam standing from where the pantry is shown in the plan.(pardon the crappy cellphone photo. There adobe brick wall you see at the end near the french door will be modified to add a window with a seat for the banquette. All that brick you see currently jutting into the aisle is gone. The courtyard showing the French doors and the dutch door from the kitchen and the French doors from the family room.

Went to the Miele showroom at the Merchandise Mart today while visiting Chicago and our daughter. Glamor shot: Dove chocolate, liquid detergent for darks, color detergent, and the detergent for whites. Talked to the district and regional managers that were there today and was told that in the U.S. Miele doesn't list size of washer, but instead state that the Touchtronic will wash a queen sized quilt, and the little Giant will wash a King sized quilt. I could not get them to commit to any information on volume numbers. I did get reassurance that if I need repair help on my W3033, there will be certified help, maybe from Minneapolis. I live in central Iowa, 4 hours away from the twin cities. I loved hearing that. Darn, I forgot to look inside the Little Giant! And I'm almost at the Iowa boarder on my way home. I did look at their induction range though, and it is a beauty.