Thanks all! ngraham - the good news is, VE multiplies like crazy. When she gets it right, the flowers are amazing. farmerbell - I didn't like that seedling when it first opened, but the blooms are getting better, and the bud count and branching are out of this world. In addition, it had instant rebloom this year. PP is my little beauty. Love her. Jessica - can you believe that some of them are just starting their first blooms? I got a bunch that are late and very late, so I could extend my season. Looks like it is working! Stargate Explosion just put up its first scape! Yippee! Nikki - I posted about the photo problem on your Star Child post.... hope it works out! I like PP too! okbt - she is a hardy little bugger... even though I slid down the hill and wiped out all 3 fans last fall, she came back beautifully and gave me quite a show. Love PP. Debra - thanks!! :o) MM is new to my garden (this spring), and is doing so well! Got another bloom this morning. Hoping the colors get just a mite brighter with settling. Gotta do my yoga, then I will try to post those Star Child photos... Thanks for all the kind words.

Is 'interesting' good, Cohetele? (You don't have to answer) ;-) Thanks for all the encouragement and good wishes for the kitchen and for sleep. DH went straight to bed with a fever and sick stomach that the kids have been sharing, so I think I'll go to bed early, tonight, too. For once it'll be early today, not early tomorrow morning! Oldest DS is working away for us, though, so some progress is still being made. But he's not crazy like us and makes sure he gets plenty of sleep so he can get up for work. Glad to have helped inspire you to find your perfect colors, hockeychik. I can't wait to see what you come up with. Any real contenders so far? The one that wouldn't let loose of me was the burgundy...and the light, creamy gray kept nagging at me til I could ignore it no longer! It does seem like a lot of colors, I know, but I hope it ends up kind of understated and elegant, not 'colorful'. DH is my cabinetmaker, vicnsb. So, yes, custom! :-)

sarschlos: I remember your successful thread about your buffet and even noted down the steps, but you are right that I did not realize the importance of doing the buffing with the RAF--not beforehand. This has definitely been a learning experience which I intended it to be when I purchased these tables. I wanted to try on something else before starting on the DR chairs/table, though I've now come to realize this is a much more complicated project than I anticipate to DR set to be. I do think that there was no way I could escape needing to strip and refinish these tables--as there were different problems with each one. Seems the other table has fisheye from prior Pledge contamination and bobsmyuncle over on the woodworking forum recommends stripping that as well. Both looked to have a lot of lacquer/shellac that was probably incorrectly applied sometime in the past which led to these problems--and would also not allow the RAF to penetrate much, though I do notice improved results using the Murphy's Oil soap/RAF on the table legs (left table is the one that I used the RAF, right is not done yet): Even before refinishing, the stripped table looks so much better than either of the two tables before: Now I just need to figure out best way to refinish. Bobsmyuncle recommends first putting a couple of light coats of shellac to seal in the silicone (Pledge) contamination and the finish it. I'm wondering what type of stain/finish to use or even I need one at all as there still looks to be a lot of color in the wood and I don't want to darken the inlay. If anyone can recommend some specific brands to use, that'd be much appreciated.

thanks maggiebkit. yes, they are inset but i omitted the rail between the drawers so that I could have a little bit more interior space inside my drawers. The 3 drawer banks on either side of the range have 3 equal sized drawers (rather than shallow, deep, deep) because I wanted the top drawer to the left of the range to have a 2 tier cutlery divider. When you open the drawer it looks like a normal cutlery divider drawer but if you push the drawer forward, there is a section below lined with pacific cloth and with little slots for my sterling silver. I have never had easy access to my sterling and therefore haven't used it much even though it is the most beautiful pattern I could imagine. It will be really nice having it handy. The 3 equal sized drawers will be nice I think as I am not sure I really needed the extra height for my colanders and tupperware, bread, etc. that are going in these other drawers. Across the aisle in my peninsula I have a 3 drawer bank with the top drawer being shallow for utensils and the two below it being deeper for my pots and pans.