dwsam used HTML code in his post, but doesn't know the correct code. IE is much looser in what it allows, so even though it isn't coded correctly, IE displays it. The post starts with a link tag, but the tag isn't properly closed, so FF ignores it. If you view source and save it as dwsam.html, then edit it so that the <link . . . ends with /> instead of just > it will display in browsers that require proper html.

Wow, super-mom. I was wondering if your heavy use is due to a large family or small home business ... Impressive to do so much from scratch and so much healthier. I have no appliances on the counters. My kitchen often looks like it does not involve cooking at all. Especially in the mornings. Starting any cooking project or experiment i need it empty and clean, dishwasher empty and sink clear. I'm constantly tweaking how it might work better. Our kitchen does have 4 seasons. Evolves throughout the year....baking more in the colder months, marble slab is out now replaced by a second cutting board in the spring. Sometimes all 4 seasons in one weekend. Like the recent 3 day holiday weekend during a snow storm. The mixer was out all weekend, and the juicer, and all three blender containers and a full counter of spices and seeds and flours. Just took a zippy 20 minutes to put it all away and douche the place. By monday afternoon it became a pasta making factory for dinner later, then a meat market, grinding for sausage. Even if i baked everyday, i would have to move it from the main baking area to give it a cleaning and start fresh as ingredients change with each project. Husband is a slob, but does agree about the kitchen. He makes coffee in the mornings and tends the dogs. Uses that time to meditate and 'zen' the kitchen. But that is our solution for peace and harmony. : ) His stuff and tools are everywhere all the time. Rarely puts anything away. Our solution? I have a half dozen heavy llbean canvas bags. One is by his office door, door shut, lol. I just put his 'stuff' in it. If he can't find anything, that is a good place to check first. It is always full. He empties it occasionally. Another bag by the stairs to downstairs where all the stuff and my stuff goes. I always thought the lift was a good idea but i could never actually use it on the platform. I need my mixer with ingredients right next to it, not behind it. Even in the photo flour is on the platform, so it is also all over the floor. Much easier to wipe the counter than the floor. I don't read panic or insanity in your written voice. Just looking for a way to make it work. I would leave it out for a few weeks on the island. You might just find it is a bugger-bear. Gotta move it to clean. Might as well move to the backsplash home. Think of it as a 'cleansing' for organizing thoughts and the next project. Make and bake three days worth of meals in a day and freeze. (i'm sure you do that)...but give the kitchen a break for a day or two a week, and keeping the island clear will keep the family in check. One rule, island clear. One thing i did was take a couple heirloom trays from my Grandmother and put hardware store lazy susans on the bottom. They are in my pantry but are easy to haul out to the work counter. One has smalls like vanilla, nutmeg nuts, etc. The other has my most used seeds and nuts and some baking supplies. I can leave those trays out all weekend but easy to carry and put away. I have one rule. Breakfast table clear always. Here it is after the weekend... : )

And I sent email to the contractor last night who "fixed" the system and he just replied back to me, "I definitely wouldn't change that system out if it was mine, but the first time it costs $400 or more in repairs I'd consider doing the replacement. Both the furnace and AC are pretty much 50/50 on whether it will last, but I do suspect you'll have 5 relatively trouble free years" Does anyone else find this guy outside the norm...I am not finding this kind of integrity with other companies I have had out.

My reasoning for something at the foot of the bed is for the kitties to have an extra space to lie on. The fact that it adds to the design of the space is lagniappe. Before I changed bedding for the fall I was looking for a table runner for the summer bed. World Market had a couple I was interested in. I think they were 16" x 90". Right now I have a folded throw on the bed that measures 24" x 70" in its folded state. I still plan on buying a runner next spring.