Linda, at another site it was I who linked to a long thread about Tomato Bob for Sharon and while there were many who were OK with his site there were many who had serious problems. Is there any site that's perfect as far as tomato seeds go? Probably not, but some are much better than others IMO. And there's thread after thread here at GW where folks have listed their faves, including me, so I'm not going to do it again.( smile) Carolyn

thanks, for posting. i have a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. what a wonderful thing to do!! ;)

Laughable! I'm so glad to hear your thoughts:) . Especially about the fridge drop zone since I've never had a french door unit. Regarding your concerns which are the exact same as mine! 1. I don't know, which is one reason why we put the two 18" W x 15" D pantry cabs next to the fridge and another 18" w x 24" D by the wall ovens. Even with those I think I will need more for bulk things and less frequently used items but I'm still keen on your idea about two closets that I could build on the back Morning Room wall. It would require a hike around the peninsula, but hopefully that would be not often and still much closer than the trip I make to the basement now. Plus - it's pretty! 2. I pushed my current island to where the peninsula would be last week. I actually did it out of frustration of not being able to find a good layout! DH and I were shocked that we really like how it opens up the area in front of the basement door. It also had the unexpected benefit of making the kitchen feel bigger. Those two things coupled with the fact that I get better storage, better appliances, better prep space and better light in the kitchen are helping me to deal with the fact that I don't like how far the table is around the horn. But, I have figured out that it's actually easy to push food and dishes across the counter towards the table. Then you don't actually have to walk around carrying things. And vice versa for clean-up. Most meals it's just me and the 3 kids so we can do those on the peninsula. For dinner, we may keep the kids at the peninsula while we eat at the table so we can actually finish a conversation....ha!

Inspired by this conversation I have downloaded an ebook of Miss Buncle's Book from our local public library, though I have not yet read it. I also dowloaded and read Eva Ibbotson's The Secret Countess. I found it pleasant and readable, but for me it is probably not a read-again book. Long ago I read DE Stevenson's The Young Clementina, and I liked it enough to read it again a decade later. However I've tried a couple of her other books and couldn't get into them.