Sorry about not replying sooner! I had some trouble yesterday with certain children letting me on the computer long enough to answer emails and peek at the KT but that's it. Inconsiderate babies who don't nap properly! LOL ;) Anyway, thanks for all of the congratulations and good wishes. It is so exciting to know that we only have one more week here! Yippee! Now for the advice...motor home rental-too pricey...tenting it-this is early spring in Saskatchewan. We would freeze. There is no land because every lot is sold. Every lot. In the whole town. The "weekend" homes are an hour away and more expensive than a house in town would be. There is nothing to rent right at this moment and when stuff comes up it's snatched up in no time. I think there are people who troll the streets waiting for a rental to come up, LOL. I want Annie to go to the school in town so we have to live there. Also, Claire's preschool is there. All three Realtors know us personally and have all of our numbers and strict instructions to call if anything becomes available. And I so appreciate them for doing that. Gosh Patti, I wish you were close too! I would love for someone to play with the kids while I just laid on the couch and read a book for an hour. That would be SWEET! LOL Having time to house-hunt isn't a problem, it's the lack of options out there. :( I'm so sorry for your crummy experience Donna! We found out today that renting at the hotel is out of the question because it would be $2200/month at one and $1700/month at the other. *sigh* I don't even know if the campground is running at this time of year. We don't own a trailer and our car is too small to sleep in. :D I'm trying to see this as an adventure, and I was starting to think that staying at a hotel would be fun because I wouldn't have to clean, but darn. :) There is no one who can take our cats as our friends are either saddled with cats of their own or they are highly allergic. The hotels in town are not part of a chain, they are privately owned and thus why they can charge a goofy rate. Anyway, I appreciate every single person who responded to my thread. You are all wonderful and you are truly welcome at our house (once we have one) if any of you find yourselves in Saskatchewan. Thank you, thank you, and thank you! Danielle

Based on your description of your current kitchen, I think almost anything will be an improvement, so don't be unhappy about a budget remodel...sometimes the best things come out of trying to find a way to do things with limited resources! Your layout...first, a range in island or peninsula is a last resort...only do it if there are absolutely no other options. And, if you do put one in, be sure you have plenty of safety margin around the range. NKBA Guidelines say 9", but that's really not sufficient if you have a lot of traffic around it...and w/the garage entrance right there it will be a heavy traffic area. If you want seating, well the NKBA is silent on that one! My personal recommendation is 18" behind if there's no seating but there is traffic and 24" behind it if there is seating (even more would be better). As to on the sides, 24"on each side for minimum work/landing space for real-life cooking. Additionally, even if you could put in an overhead range hood, they're more expensive than wall mounted ones. Downdrafts & Pop-up Downdrafts do not work very well and will also incur the added expense of duct work under the floor. Your kitchen is by no means a "last resort" kitchen...far from it! I have no idea why the Lowes KD would even suggest the range in the island given your situation: Heavy traffic, plenty of wall room, trying to save $$$ OK, some additional facts...the amount of time you spend in the kitchen on a cooking task breaks down as follows: 70% spent prepping 20% spent cleaning up 10% spent cooking So, where is this all leading? The logical place for your range is on the wall and the logical place for prepping is on the island or next to the sink...probably b/w the sink & range. This means that if the sink stays under the window, you don't have enough room for the range + landing & work space b/w the sink & patio door nor b/w the sink & corner. That leaves the wall on the right...and it will be ideal. Very little traffic will be going through there so the cooking zone is protected (a goal for any kitchen). Additionally, you can vent up through the roof...an advantage, I think, b/c that means you won't have a vent sticking out the back wall of your house...it will be on the roof where most people won't notice it. The refrigerator...well probably b/w the patio doors & sink. The only real negative I see with that is the DW will be b/w the refrigerator & range. In this case, it may be an acceptable compromise for better overall functionality. OK, here's something to work with & discuss... It has an optional prep sink in the 8' island. I couldn't decide if it would work better on the refrigerator end or the range end...I could argue either way. You don't have to put in a prep sink but I think it will make the island more useful for prepping. Most people tend to prep where there's a water source...so in your case if there's no prep sink this means prepping will probably take place either b/w the refrigerator & sink or b/w the sink & range. Don't dismiss it out of hand...check to see what it would cost to add the plumbing to the island. Do you have a basement or crawl space or are you on a slab? That will make a difference in cost. Aisle widths are not ideal, but I think they would work. My biggest aisle concern is the one behind the island. That will probably be a major path from the garage to the rest of the house. To help minimize the impact of the refrigerator when viewed from the LR, I recommend you "build it in". Surround it by 3/4" finished end panels (plain/flat) and b/w the end panels and above the refrigerator, mount either a full-depth cabinet or pull the standard 12" deep over-the-refrigerator cabinet forward so it looks like it's full depth. This will give the refrigerator a more "finished" look. For the MW, either put one under counter or perhaps mount it below the cabinets to the left of the sink...but that would limit the upper cabinet space there...an ideal location for dishes and/or glasses b/c the DW is below it. The under counter one could be a "standard" MW in an alcove built for it or it could be a MW Drawer (but, MW Drawers are about twice the cost of a standard one.) Another possible location is in the corner...either on the counter or mounted below the corner upper cabinet. I put in a trash pullout that is easily accessed from the prep zones (island & b/w sink & range), cooking zone, and cleanup zone. Pullouts work much better than under-the-sink trash cans b/c you don't have to ask someone to move out of the way if they're at the sink. The under-sink location has a tendency to "isolate" the trash can from the other zones as well...it's really only easily accessed by the cleanup zone. An 18" trash pullout can house 2 bins...one for trash & one for recyclables.

Hi! Thanks for asking about my Minas. Mine is quite black but when oiled, the veins seem to go a bit green. I have only oiled once. It was very easy - I don't keep a lot on my counters so it was easy & fun. But I find that I love the way it looks un-oiled and may just leave it natural. So it is zero work for me and I love the way it looks. Patina really hasn't started to develop yet on the island or elsewhere. I am not getting water marks at all - sometimes there is a mess when you pick up a glass but it wipes right off. The kids do homework on the island. it definitely isn't soft enough to etch from writing on it. I even cut on it without a cutting board, and one night my daughters (4 and 7) were cutting pizza with the pizza butter directly on the island. I don't see any marks from the cutting at all. Here and there I see tiny scratches but no dings or major marks. I don't feel like I have to baby it in the least. It is every bit as easy as when I had granite. I'm delighted with how it looks and feels. Good luck. This is such a big decision! Anita

We had a few medium sized dogs around 35 to 45 pounds. Then came our 75 pound dog. After that we ended up with a 10 pound dog. We took her every where. After her we went 1 year & 3 months without a dog. I was very surprised when my husband said he would like another small dog. He said that little Biscuit was fun to travel with. So we took our time & we ended up with Ali who is 12 pounds. We have had her for 2 weeks & she is working out great. And bonus she loves to ride & is very good riding. I enjoyed our bigger dogs, but enjoy the smaller ones because I can pick them up. Now that I am older I always said that with a big dog that if I had a vet medical emergency & my husband was not at home, I would have to call some one to help lift her up to get her to the vet.