Went to the KAF site and read the reviews ont eh mini Zo. "As the KAF instruction sheet indicates, this machine is a computer". That is, the cycles are pre-programmed. That's OK for people who just want to plug and play, but for those of us who want control over the baking, we just don't get it. It would have been great to have the option of pressing a "Knead" button or a "Bake" button to be able to control those functions, ideally coupled with the ability to set the timer for each." Does this mean that I wouldnt be able to let it just knead my dough and then I can bake it in the regular oven?

" is the breakfast room REALLY too small to eat in? " On the eating area ... check out the picture and the description for Rule #8 ... http://starcraftcustombuilders.com/kitchen.design.rules.htm Basically, Here are dining table clearance rules ... Allow 24" for a seated diner with no obstruction (wall, furniture, counter, etc) behind. Allow 32" from table edge to wall or obstruction for a seated diner with NO TRAFFIC passing behind diner. Allow minimum 36" to allow someone to slide behind / edge past a seated diner when traffic passes behind a seated diner between the table and an obstruction, Or, a minimum 42-44" to allow traffic to walk behind a seated diner. Allow 60" from table edge for a wheelchair to pass behind. To allow for a dining table right next to an island or peninsula with barstools, add approx 18", assuming a fairly modest sized barstool. So ... you would need minimum 42 + 18 = 60" between the edge of the dining table and the counter edge of the island or peninsula to allow traffic to walk in between (not "slide past"). Understand, these are minimums and depend on the size of the furniture, a couple more inches could feel more spacious. We have about 36" (maybe an inch or so more than that, no more than 38" for sure) between the table edge and the wall for a 13 foot long dining table that seats 14 (6 on each side and 1 on each end) and it is fairly comfortable even sliding past to get to the seats in the middle. Our chairs are normal size, not overly large and you don't have to "hug the wall" to get by. Also, be sure to use the measurements from the counter overhang edge (the cabinets may be 24", but have a 1-2" overhang) and know your table measurements. Our table is 40" wide, but tables can vary GREATLY from about 32" wide to about 48" wide. If you are unsure, try to plan for a wider width. These dimensions above are for regular chairs. Banquet seat dimensions would be a little different. On a round table, you can fudge the above numbers a little because the table curves away from you almost immediately. Not so much on an oval table. The curve on an oval is only on the corners, where there will already be plenty of space anyway. One thing that does help you is the doorway opening on 2 sides of the table which makes the traffic passing area feel more generous. There is no wall or obstruction behind the table there. WIDTH NEEDED for dining ... Ideally, you need 24-28" of width for each seated person at a dinner table or for bar seating. 30" would be Very graciously spacious. At a bare minimum, you need about 21" width for bar seating. KNEE SPACE: If putting stools or chairs on perpendicular sides of a table/island/peninsula, be sure the knee space is not shared by 2 seats. For 30" high tables (table height) you need 18" table overhang / knee space For 36" high counters (counter height) you need 15" counter overhang / knee space For 42" high counters (bar height) you need 12" counter overhang / knee space Some people do get by with less overhang at their bar or island. I actually have 18.5" wide for each of my 4 barstools, which are just round so not very large stools (Acme Furniture 07258). I would not do a dining table with personal space this narrow at 18-21", but you can get away with it a little more easily at a bar. We have 15" overhang on the long side of our counter height (36" tall) peninsula. When we are sitting at our peninsula, we normally pull one of the stools around to the end which has an 8" overhang. The 8" counter overhang is not ideal by any means, but it is workable for occasional use. This gives each of the 3 stools on the long side 24.5" wide per person . When it's kids sitting there, the decreased space works ok for them and they all 4 stay side by side with 18.5" each

sklka--the housekeeper would take care of the pool. (I have cleaners who come every other week and take care of the filth in the house--I call her a housekeeper for lack of a better word, but I guess 'sanity saver' isn't a job title, but she mostly doesn't clean.) Also, I think anyone with children who doesn't have a very strong system is in the same category as people who leave loaded pistols in their nightstands around small children. It's not a matter of "comfort." It's a matter of actual risk. I'm fortunate that I could write a check for the pool right now. :) My business is finally doing very well. I do want to save for an au pair, though, as that's the only possible way I can have a 4th child and not go crazy. I can work pretty well with a baby on my lap (and have done so with three), but I do need some breathing time. My husband is not a fan of moving. (Also, Hitler was a bad man.) I doubt we will ever leave this house. I'm overimproving for the neighborhood, but I so don't care. If I'm staying here forever (and my husband has been told by multiple upper-level managers that he's considered a core member of the company and they will do anything within reason to keep him--he's famous enough in his field that his name on contracts brings money), I'm going to have the house I want. Even if he loses his job, there are companies lined up to poach him. Even if all that falls apart, I'm the primary breadwinner, and he could just create products on his own and I could support him while his business takes off. My husband was emotionally attached to our first crappy apartment in NM without working AC, to give you an idea of how much he gets attached to places. And he hated New Mexico. tcufrog--we will have the fence as well. The cover is backup and for particularly determined neighborhood children who might decide to take a swim. The alarm system will be hardwired and integrated into the design. Locks up top only works until a kid can reach them on a stepladder, though that's where we'll place them, anyway. Mine are...exceptionally inventive. ourgeorgiahouse--I know what drowning looks like. :) I've taken water safety courses and am a certified diver, so I've done some basic water rescue practice, too. The fact is that if my poor kids depend on me to TAKE them to the pool, it will happen at most 6 times a season. Now that I have a FT housekeeper, that can be more often, though at a sacrifice of other things. The pools are a good distance away, especially those that don't completely suck for children. "square or rectangle, and larger (believe it or not). Put a large bank of straight-edge steps, and sitting shelves in a couple of places where the water is deep so there is the ability to get out of the deep end as well." The diving well can't have any obstacles, but I do have a shelf planned along the rest of the pool. Even in the 3.5' deep area. And yes, it's angular. A true L. The baja shelf is on the short leg of the L. There will be no pool without a safety cover!

My Rinnai gas tankless water heater has a built in recirculation feature. My furthest bathroom is 50' from the tankless. The shower is hot within 8secs of turning it on. My recirculation pump is on a timer and is programmed based on my family behavior. I was really concerned after reading so many of the reviews online about tankless water heaters topics like temp sandwich and not being able to use multiple showers and appliances at the same time. I have low flow shower heads in my bathrooms from Grohe and Hansgrohe. Two of my bathrooms have thermostatic valves. The third has a very old pressure balance valve that will be replaced soon. The shower heads are rated at 2.5gpm. They perform really well. The tankless also has a feature to fill a bathtub,. I have used this once and the tankless worked like a champ and filled a 50gal tub in 9 mins. I have city water and will perform my first flush of the system in May. I was also afraid of the temperature drops as it got colder. We had a week of sub zero temps and I noticed no impact on the water heater. We can take two showers concurrently, run the dishwasher, washer and a faucet at the same time. My home has a crawl space and most of my plumbing runs through the crawl. The tankless unit is hanging on the wall in the utilities room. Just wanted to post another experience in tankless. One of the main drivers for going with tankless in my case was that I needed the space. The tank heater blocked access into the utility room and a wall needed to be taken down to remove the heater. I have a Rinnai RUR98i. Good luck!