We've had our 36" 5-burner GE Profile induction cooktop for about 2 months now, and I LOVE it for all of the reasons mentioned above. Two things anyone might want to consider when deciding on which induction to buy: 1. SERVICE--DH didn't get around to installing the hood until AFTER the cooktop had been installed. He dropped his hammer on it from a height of 2' and cracked the glass. Yes, I was angry, especially since I knew he was tired and I'd tried to get him to stop before he made any mistakes! But he called GE, the repair guy called us immediately, and ordered any parts he thought might have been damaged (the control panel was right under the glass where the hammer hit). He had them FedEx/UPSed to us, and told us to call him when they arrived. We did, and he came the SAME day and did the repair. The control box had not been damaged, so he returned it. 2. SS RIM--If you've ever had something boil over, having the stainless steel rim instead of only the smooth black surface will keep most things from overflowing onto the counter or floor. I can't count the number of times I've cooked rice and had a considerable amount of water boil over--including yesterday. :o) I'd forgotten I'd put it on power boost (do NOT leave the cooktop while this is on), and walked to the other side of the kitchen to get something. Over it went out of the pot, but it stayed within the boundaries of the cooktop because of the SS rim, although the mess spread over three burners. Easy to fix. Turned it down so it stopped overflowing immediately, picked up the pans on the three burners and wiped them and the cooktop off, and was back in business in a couple of minutes with the rice simmering away at the perfect temperature. No matter what I've cooked, there's been a perfect simmer point. The placement of the different sized burners also works well for me. Soon the real test will come, when DH and DS both stir fry on the two front burners. There's room for the 14" stir fry pan, the 12" extra deep 6 qt saute pan, and the 13" French skillet in the back on Low to keep things warm. I LOVE this cooktop!!! I also love my new pots and pans. Up until we got the induction cooktop, I'd cooked for decades using a few not-so-good ones. While researching pans, I ran across explanations of what each kind of pan can be used for, which were helpful in making choices from the many AllClad options. I ended up getting the Kitchen Aid pans recommended by Consumers Report (partly because I like glass lids), and several larger AllClad pieces from Williams-Sonoma that were a lower price in their catalog as well as some that went on sale in their store after Christmas. I also got some from the AllClad outlet in PA via the internet. Several of the W-S prices were cheaper than the outlet! I'd looked over the pans in the reduced price collections of the various stores, but had determined that most of the ones I wanted were not included in those offers. Although the AllClad is expensive, I especially love cooking with their large pans. Anne

Boy the economy is really helping you. We had Andrews do a pool in 2008, and we spent about 75K by the time it was done with no spa! The pool they built is beautiful, but it was a bit of a stressful time during the build, although, I think Andrews may be the best of the bunch when it comes to the whole process. A neighbor used Environmental and they plumbed the spa wrong and they are stuck with it. We also got a quote from South Shore, and just didn't like the salesman. Ferrari would have built a nice pool for us too, but the seemed handle their subs differently. Andrews said they use no subs, but they really do, they just report to Andrews, and Andrews keeps a close eye on what they do. Turns out their subs were great. The big worry for us was how much extra $ we could spend if they hit ledge. You don't know what is under your lawn. We totally lucked out, we just knew there was going to be ledge, but when they hit it, we just decided to flip the design of the pool - deep end to the shallow end, and they kept digging, No extra $ for dynamite or rock splitting. We got exposed aggregate decking which we love. We also did the Pebble tec, and love it. We have a little waterfall. We have the salt generating system, and a Polaris. Jerrith fencing surrounds the pool. We have an electric heater. Things I would change if I could: 1. Add a pool filling jet from our well, rather than dragging the hose over when the water level drops due to summer evaporation. 2. Deeper and wider deep end with a diving rock. Even though they tell you not to do this because of safety/insurance issues, guests and kids just assume the pool is deep enough for diving, and they dive off the side. 3. LED color changing lights. It would look so great at night. 4. Even though we paid extra for a significantly larger deck surround, I wish it was even bigger. You spend a lot of time there, and it feels smaller than it is. I can't think of more now. I don't know how to post pictures, but I could email you one. Good Luck!

Actually, I don't think I flipped any light switches on except on purpose, so I would know when the power came back on, Jen. I did, however, head down into the garage to get the leaf blower once, when I was tired of sweeping the damp leaves off the back deck! I came to my senses partway down the stairs! Ack. No power to plug it into. Duh. According to the paper, there were several reasons it took as long as it did to get it back. One, some of our local crews were in Houston. And two, we've had so much rain from Gustav and Ike that the trucks were getting mired in the mud on the easements and they had to have bulldozers there to pull them around. But we have our power back on and it's so great. I really feel for the people who don't have it and won't have it for weeks or months yet. It's so hard to do anything without power and things pile up on ya.

Who has long term care insurance? We do. We got the policies in our late 50’s when we had no medical issues. The monthly premiums are not a burden, at all. It gives us peace of mind. We are a family of three and neither my husband nor I want our daughter to have to care for us. We bought the inflation protected, stay in your own home incentives which didn’t add much more to the premium. Now that we are talking about finished basements, ours is such that a caretaker could live there. With its own entrance, it would be a very comfortable apartment for a live-in. However, bottom line:, “Man proposes; God disposes”. “Best laid plans”…. A few of us were gabbing the other night at bookclub, (THE STORY OF ARTHUR TRULUV by Elizabeth Berg…if you haven’t read it, this is the perfect time of year to do so ) about our generation aging. We all agreed we feel younger than we are, if not physically than, at least, mentally. I remember my great grandmother wearing only black because she was a widow. I’m 74 and in my head I feel 50ish. Boy, is it a shock to look in the mirror…who is that old lady? LOL.