I gave up on the spray bottle of liquid fence years ago and have always bought concentrated and put it in a pump sprayer. I also found that if i mixed it by the instructions it would clog the sprayer. I now mix with a touch more water and it still keeps deer and critters away and it does not clog sprayer. It helps with no dribbling down my hand which is gross! I have to spray so many shrubs/plants the pump sprayer is sooooo much quicker and easy on my trigger finger! LOL! I have found it smells pretty gross for a day and then dissapates. I try to spray in the evening after I‘m done working in the garden for the day.

I'm planning on buying more of a few things next year too. Chrysanthemums. I have been buying a 3 pack from Bluestone every year for three years now and I am really enjoying them. I need about three more 3 packs this spring and I can't wait for them to all mature and fill in. They are so dependable and since they bloom in the fall, they look good all season. I was so enthralled with Casa Blanca lily this year, that I decided despite the Red Lily Leaf Beetle, that I'm going to start adding more lilies. I just love them! I tried Angelonia for the first time last year and it performed very well so I want to do more of those this year. More roses. I seem to have finally figured out how to get the couple that I have to do fairly well, so I want to add a couple of climbers, but I'm not sure which yet. More boxwood. I have a few and I want to add a few more next year. More string beans and peas in the vegetable garden. I've been adding more epimediums, ferns, and hellebores among others but I think I have enough for the time being. I don't even remember what I added last year. I'm waiting to see what's what come spring. [g]

Would one of those spatter screens with the fine mesh help with the grill pans? I don't really get the separate grill unit unless it's the full on indoor barbecue that Dlspellman mentioned. Some of the top of the line gas rangetops/ranges have 1800W electric grills in them. Those are supposed to work very well (though hard to clean) because they get to an extremely high heat. The Gaggenau units are the most similar. I'm not usually a watt counter, but I wonder if the difference between 1800 and 1500 makes a big difference--it sounds to me like it might be the difference between really great (but hard to clean) and just okay (but hard to clean). Since you can get a 1500 W portable electric grill for a lot less, and not have to dedicate counter space for it, or have separate ventilation, etc., I don't really get it. Hm... I don't know if the portables have the lava rocks and drip tray. Those features might make it worthwhile. But you could put a small piece of thin plywood under the portable, and use it on top of your induction unit, under the hood. (I use a grill plate, which is like a grill pan, without the pan part.) I'm putting in a 15" gas unit with my 24" induction unit. Probably from similar motivations to yours. In fact, one of the reasons for the gas (which is also good during a blackout) is to roast eggplants and peppers, etc., on, since I'm not a cook outdoors person, and don't have a barbecue. I have other uses for gas as well, of course, but that was the emotional "can't give up flames" thing for me. The biggest thing that made me actually go for it, and self-import the smaller induction unit I wanted, was the blackout thing, however.

Move round table toward wall for now so you have a pathway to slider door. Not sure what the person you had helping was thinking but we ALWAYS map out walkways and “transportation” around and between rooms. The basic furniture is too large for your space but this is probably best arrangement for now. At some point, I would put chairs in a media room or game room. Two smaller scale swivel chairs in a complimentary fabric would improve everything. A “gate leg” table behind sofa would serve dual purpose. When leaf is raised 3 could eat a meal. When lowered it would act as a sofa table.