Hi Teri, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but that (most likely) won't bloom the same next year. Those blooms that are missing things are usually at the end of the bloom period for a variety and it pretty much just means that it ran out of energy when it was forming that bud. I had several last year and let me tell you the novelty wears off when you're trying to pick stalks for a show. I've also heard that some weed killing sprays can drift and effect the formation of buds, but I don't use them so I couldn't tell you firsthand. I hope this helps even if it isn't what you were hoping to hear. Brock P.S. Good photos, I can even see that it only has a single style arm.

Seeing as how the task of replacing the valve takes five minutes and is quite cheap and easy, why not go that route? I changed the valve on two of my toilets due to their 'slamming' shut-off. Once the tank is emptied of water, it was literally a process of "Twist the screw, lift out the old, drop in the new, tighten the screw." I seriously found that it was less than five minutes. Even though your valve is young, perhaps it was made cheaply?

We have marble, and I've found the long, metal-rod trivets from Ikea to be invaluable. We keep one sitting next to the stove most of the time, and I find it to be much less intrusive looking than the silver heat pads. Another necessity is a giant cutting board. If you don't want to leave it out all the time, you may not want a really thick one. We have a nice Boos block one that we rarely use because it's so heavy, and I hate pulling it out of the cupboard. Instead, we actually end up using our giant one that was originally an under-counter pullout in our old kitchen. We do a lot of prep on it, and its size makes it useful for keeping potentially acidic juices from running over the edge. Here is a link that might be useful: Ikea trivet

thank-you! It was such a relief to come back and see replies and advice! Lavender Lass--Those windows have driven me #$%$^&!!! :) In the end it came to what common window sizes worked in our 8ft ceilings and would also give us the longest bank of windows without having a post in the middle of my view. I couldn't get 3 windows to work as well. Our roofline is low on this side of the house and the exterior soffits protrude so I have to be careful of balance. I'm quite at peace with the windows/sink location. The windows will be square. rhome-I'm glad you addressed the cupboards flanking the range. I'm not sure why I'm having such a hard time visualizing those. I have a bank of cupboards like you described (no corner angling). I know some people dislike them but I guess I'm tall enough that the reach doesn't bother me. Good idea on turning that pantry. I had planned on using it as a combo broom closet/bulky appliance (crockpot,electic griddle, etc.) cupboard My only concern is if it would work with the existing flush wood vent that is in the hardwood in that location. florantha--I'm waffling on plunk space---I know the evil of which you speak. We've gotten better as we have a very tall dog with a whippy tail and counter-height nose. processing leftovers-to the right of the cleanup sink, same with toast (the toaster will likely live to the left of the range) Making sandwiches will either happen there or on the island. florantha/bmore As far as the microwave I *think* I'm going to put it on the left of the island. I know myself well enough that I would rather take an extra few steps out of my work triangle then to have someone IN my work triangle. I tend to do a lot of re-heating from the kitchen table and from our coffee/tea station (the far-left from the cleanup sink, where the open shelves are) so it would certainly be convenient for that. Our girls are forever microwaving their hot wheat bags 'warm-ups'. bmore-I hope we can make the disposal work with a pull out garbage. The garbage would be pulling out on the corner, towards the windows and the base sink cabinets would open towards the fridge. Would that work? Is it rhome that has a similar setup? sandyponder--I knew I recognized your name, it kept coming up in archived posts about corner ranges when I was exploring that avenue! . I'm going to make that prepsink as large as the cabinet will allow although I haven't figured out schematics yet. Stay tuned for more questions on that when we start picking cabinets and sinks! I'm being booted off of the laptop as my DH just plated dinner. Thank you all so much for the time and thought put into your replies.