You probably already know you can get wine or cheese or ice cream maps in different states. Last summer we visited several wineries in the Camden ME area. We also pick up a list of the farmers markets so in Maine I can highly recommend the Friday market in Brunswick and the one in Bath (sorry, I think it was a Saturday). Since it's a drive, I only get to the Tilton NH Winter Farmers Market every couple of weeks. Friends from Marlborough MA thought it was worth the 1 1/2 hour drive (they must drive fast) to visit. Lots of value added products like jams and jellies but also the basics. Closer to me, the Hopkinton NH winter market has only a few vendors but Wind Song Farm has wonderful swiss chard. Kind of pricey but worth it. The chard is grown in their high tunnel and has sweetened with winter cold. Nothing like it in the big supermarkets. NH grown mushrooms are available at the Tilton market - grown in Tamworth. Concord NH has a very nice food coop that's open to the public. Across the street is Bread and Chocolate, a wonderful European style bakery. At the other end of Main Street across from the State House is Crust and Crumb. She makes wonderful unigue whoopie pies as well as several different kinds of breds. She's local but is gaining attention as a recipe tester for AP. Alison Ladman. Of course, up on congested Loudon Rd you can get locally made ice cream at Arnie's! You can make a grand tour around Concord NH since there are several apple orchards, blueberry farms, etc. Gould Hill in Hopkinton has a very large variety of heirloom apples - see the list on their website. There is also a local garlic festival in Canterbury. Organic garlic and blueberries are available in Contoocook NH. The Best pies are at Richardson's Farm Stand in Boscawen NH. They make their own ice cream, too, although up until recently they picked up the ice cream at their family place in Dracut MA. They don't have a lot of apples and veggies but I can get a good deal on apple seconds for baking.

Oh! The toekick! Yes, that's cool. Sorry I misread that! Mirror is so MCM my head just took me there. No, no, NO! Bad architect! Very naughty! The fridge goes as in the floorplan, across from the prep sink. This is function. Function trumps looks. The looks will be spectacular either way. Function won't. And yes, it shouldn't be a big deal to move the hookups. A small price to pay for correcting this. At least the number of stools is more accurate. :) The aisle widths are still wrong in the new drawing, and the reason things stick out is that he added 8" overall to the measures. The built-ins will be 25" from the wall, and that's not marked for sure, but it looks like he has 4'8" for the work aisle (too big) and island, and he has an extra 2" on the credenza. It probably doesn't matter if the credenza overlaps the side light, except that it bothers you. There's even an argument to be made for breaking up the grid. But, since the point of the credenza is to delineate the kitchen, having it break into the neighboring space, besides bothering you, is counter productive. You also need a little more margin on either side of the cooktop and sink. 8" minimum, 12" better, 15"-18" best but would probably screw up the rest of the design. Is that a Jenn-Air with integrated downdraft cooktop? Are you sure you want to go this way? I know you don't cook, but you said you wanted to, eventually. With the house shut up tight most of the year, it could get pretty awful without a good vent and cooled make-up air. If you're content with downdraft, please consider getting one of the pop-up ones that go behind the cooktop. That will not only do a better job, it'll be a shield for the little ones you were concerned about. I did a Google search for whitewashed cabinets and all of the pictures were either French Provincial or ugly pickled. Egads!!! As to whether they'd be too light, that's up to your taste. I just like the positive/negative, light/dark, apposition in this design and think it would be great if carried through to the cabinet fronts. It's not like it wouldn't look good in all walnut. I will say, however, that I find dark interiors in Phoenix to be very unsettling. They're fine in New York, but in the Southwest they're just...dark. I love the idea of the dark accent of your walnut, and the quantity will be fine either way, but I don't think it can be too light. :)

I didn't see that any of you have ever weighed your purse to see how much extra weight you might be hanging on your shoulder. I know my purse is WAY too heavy, but I can't seem to pare down the "ingredients". I just weighed it and it is a tad over 5 and a half pounds. My job is not in the same town I live in, so I feel that I need to be prepared for all contingencies, LOL. I do have a wonderful organizer (actually, my purse is so large that for a while I had TWO organizers in it) and I can always lay my hands on exactly what I am looking for. I know my Kindle adds weight, but still less than the book I previously carried around pre-Kindle. Just this weekend, I decided I would clean out anything unnecessary, and you know what? I couldn't think of a thing to remove. Very few articles of my clothing have pockets and I'm "fluffy" enough so that I don't want any extra bulk in that area anyway.

I am in a much different zone than you are. I grow several DA roses and have for years. I grow on own root as my grafted roses pretty much reverted to root stock and I had to dig them out earlier this year. Princess Alexandra of Kent One of my favorites. Gets to be a monster and I think she would rather be a climber in my hot, hot weather. She keeps pumping out blooms even when she get reflected sun and it is 114 degrees outside. I love her huge beautiful blooms. One of Austin's best. She has canes over 8 feet now and I just cut her back a bit to keep her in line. I am expecting great blooms on her until I prune her in late December. I had Sharifa Asma. I loved that rose but she was in the same area as the root stock invasion so she had to go. I probably grew her for about 13 years or longer. She takes a long break between blooms. She doesn't seem to like our heat all that well either. I have no issues with black spot or other diseases where I live so I can't answer any questions re: how she does with them. I also don't spray and grow organically (for what that is worth) She stayed rather small for an Austin here. She was about 3--4 feet wide and about 3 feet tall. The first time I saw her in bloom, I was ready to pull out all my other roses and grow nothing but her. She is that beautiful. Scent to die for too. I miss her a lot. Other DA roses I highly recommend (and remember I am in a very different zone than you are) would be Brother Cadfael (grows very tall and upright), not a great rebloomer and prefers cooler weather than where I live. However, big, beautiful flower and a scent to make you swoon! I would also second Munstead Wood. One of Austin's best. Gets to be big in my climate. Canes are about 5 feet long or so. Blooms when it is hot. He is just something else. Flowers will go from florescent dark pink to maroon depending on how old they are and the time of the year. I am looking at a big bouquet of them as I type and they are the deepest maroon, practically black. Gorgeous! I also love Pretty Jessica. She stays about 4 feet tall and about 2--3 feet wide. Very upright. Great blooms and does well with heat. Good rebloom as well. That is her in the far left in the picture. I have also grown other Austins. I have Lady of Shalott. Not too wild about her, yet. Hasn't really done much of anything, however this is her first year, so I will patiently wait for her to grow up a bit. Very bright orange flowers that I hope will tone down with time. Lady Emma Hamilton couldn't take the heat here and died. Alnwick has not done much of anything, but again, first year, own root. I wish his flowers were bigger. Sister Elizabeth--not much of anything. Looks like she will stay small for an Austin. Again, first year, own root so we will wait and see. Just got Mary Magdalene, so can't say much about her as of yet. Emily--really can't get that rose here anymore. Very small for an Austin. About a foot high and a foot wide. Not good repeat. I keep her for sentimental reasons. Mary Webb--very few nurseries carry her. Small for an Austin. About 3 feet tall and wide. Very pale yellow flowers that fade to white immediately. Not great rebloom either. Ambridge Rose--reverted back to rootstock after 15 years of so. Smallish for an Austin. About 3 feet tall and wide. Great blooms. Not wild about the scent. Fair rebloom. Evelyn--gets to be a bit of a monster here. Tall (about 6 feet or so). Upright. Poor rebloom. Beautiful flowers and a scent to die for. I do miss her as well. She reverted back to rootstock after having her for 10 plus years. Jude the Obscure--is now very obscure. I did not like that fickle rose. Rarely bloomed here. Nothing to write home about. Never did see what the hoopla was all about for that rose. He is out of my garden. Peach Blossom--a nice pink semi double. Always the first to bloom and the last to bloom in my yard. Makes great hips and a great rose. Loved her. A bird decided to plant another plant in the middle of her so unfortunately, she also had to go this year. She was very pretty. So those are my run down. Heritage was also beautiful but couldn't take my heat. Good luck with whatever roses you decide to get.