I will be planting a couple of Gieger Trees in my yard in the near future. The Gieger Tree is beautiful and the perfect size for the location I have available. I have had a number of Gumbo Limbo trees in my yard over the years and have been very happy with them. I feel the Gumbo Limbo is an ideal fast growing shade tree that is easy to shape and maintain. In fact, I am able to do must of my trimming and storm-prep with a long handled pole saw while standing on the ground. The fact that they will grow from cuttings and are native/established to South Florida makes them even better. The Gumbo Limbo may grow faster and larger than desired for some persons. I think the choice depends on the size and shape desired.

Okay, four tests for cheese toast in the Monogram Pro Advantium 240V: 1) Microwave. Not toast. Bread on a plate. Just like any kind of microwaved cheese bread. Very melty, bread soft and kind of sticky wet on the bottom. Tastes good if you like gooey. 2) Oven. Toast setting. Rack from toaster oven on metal tray. No preheat. The Advantium just sucks at toasting. The bread gets very dry and doesn't caramelize (brown). It gets hard and dry rather than toasty. The cheese didn't melt as fast as the bread cooked. I gave it extra time, which made the cheese okay, but further dried the bread, still without browning. Not a good outcome. 3) Oven. Toast setting. Rack. Preheat. Preheat took something like 10 minutes. The bread still didn't caramelize, though the cheese started to turn brown and hard by the time I pulled it out (browned bread is good toast, browned cheese is overcooked and means the texture has gone off, though small spots of it can be nice on a complex dish). Good crunch to the crust and far better than the no preheat version, but still not toasty. Make do. Not horrible. Not really good though. Better than poor, but not really fair. 4) Speed oven. Rack. I'm not an expert with speed settings so I go with the menu. There's a cheese bread setting for whole loaves and frozen slices, but I think it's talking about some kind of prepared product, not a slice of cheddar on a slice of bread, which is what I have. That leaves "garlic bread" and "Texas toast". I'm thinking garlic bread is more about melting the topping and leaving the bread as is, so I choose Texas toast, which also has a 1-2 slice fresh setting. It stops with a minute left to be turned over, so I just turn it back on. As it's finishing the set time, I can see the cheese bubbling all over and that it's just at that tasty doneness before it starts burning (i.e., going brown). I was right about the cheese. It was just right. Very flavorful without losing its texture. The crust was crunchy, though not as crunchy as the toast version. The bottom of the bread was dried out a bit the way it is on the toast setting but not as much, and the inside was much moister and warmer. I'd rate this fair to good. There's potential that with experimentation it could make it all the way to good. Not sure about if it could make it to great. Because the bread gets so dry, the rack doesn't seem to give an advantage. You could just as easily use the grill pan, and that might even be better unless it makes it sticky and mushy. I've used the grill pan on the toast setting before and it didn't allow the underside to toast, which is why I suggested the rack. What I think I've learned is that the problem with toasting in the Advantium is the convection. It's too windy, which pulls the moisture out of the bread and doesn't allow enough surface heat to caramelize. The rack didn't help in that case because the wind is cooling the bread as much as heating it. I think the other speed ovens, which are supposed to toast better, have a direct radiant heat element like a regular oven. I'm sorry I don't have a better answer for you. Since you eat your cheese toast daily, I'd guess you like it the way you currently make it. The Advantium may not do it for you. OTOH, if the toaster oven doesn't give you truly great results and you just like cheese toast, you might be able to find a speed setting that works well enough for your satisfaction. The Texas toast setting was acceptable, and you can adjust the proportions of different heat applications and all to your heart's content.

I've only done a bit of WD research, but your KA is the one I want if I can work it into the budget. Ajmadison should list the prices. Start there. Plllog knows a lot about these. Hopefully she'll turn up to offer her knowledge. Can't help with the DW except to say that it must be frustrating waiting so long. BTW, I can't wait to see your finished pics!

I'd rather pay a LOT less, as you put it, for something I can fix up myself.. for instance, I'd rather pay, say, $8, for an old chandelier, then take it home, paint it myself, add my own crystals, etc. INSTEAD of paying $25 for one that's already 'prettied' up.... some of the things I look for a lot are: iron/metal doo-dads, crates, windows, glass ware, vases, cups, saucers, little animal statues, baskets, wicker anything, small tables, table legs, old spindles, candleworks, old chandeliers, candleabras, votives, lanterns, plates, anything made out of clear and colored glass, old jewelry, beads, costume jewelry, gaudy earrings, mardi gras beads, anything miniature (for fairy houses/gardens), etc. etc. you get the idea... :) some of this I find at garage sales, but a lot of it I find at thrift/junk shops... I'll usually go with about $20 and end up leaving with the back of my SUV filled with stuff.... hope this was helpful... from the sound of things, I'd love to shop at your booth!!! *lol*