I've recently been doing some shopping (in New Jersey) in home and kitchen stores and kept my eyes open for your picnic basket and I asked a couple of people - but nobody knows what I was talking about! Sorry, Hannah. I bet the store manager or department manager would know who the supplier is if you ask.

You didn't mention whether you are talking about undercabinet or wall-mount/chimney- style hood or something else. Anyway, Kobe hoods give a lot of bang for the buck, and are well-made, with Kobe providing great customer service to boot. So check out that brand. Another choice is Costco which sells name-brand hoods at amazing prices. Typically lower-priced hoods use mesh filters, but Costco sells hoods with baffle filters which are better than mesh filters. Plus, you are likely aware of Costco's wonderful return policy should anything go wrong with the hood. Costco used to carry the Kobe Brilla hoods which was a fantastic deal, cause that's a nice hood. But I just checked the website and the Brilla hoods aren't there any more. Costco changes its inventory frequently; may be worth a trip to a Costco store to see what they have in the store. The Costco website right now shows Ancona hoods, but I am not familiar with that brand. Again, there's the Costco return policy... P.S. the 33" height above the cooktop you mentioned should be the maximum; 30" is pretty much ideal, but 33" is OK. Just don't go higher than 33". Below, I tried to direct-link to the hoods at Costco, but Costco will only link directly to the large kitchen appliances page. So, from there, search for "hood". Hoods at Costco Kobe Hoods Website

I second the message above. File a complaint with the police then take him to small claims court. Sue him for the max, about 5 grand, (which should reimburse you for the cost of the plants, your time for work done in the garden, and the health risk of turning your garden into a toxic waste dump. If you have children or animals, I'd keep them away from that guy and the chemicals he's dumping. Also, 6'high stockade fencing comes in 8' lenghts, cost anywhere from $8.00 to $12.00 (keep an eye out for sales from your local lumberyard) a section and are very easy to install. You just dig a hole for the post, set the post in, pour 1/2 bag quick concrete, (dry) pour water over it to set the concrete up, let it dry, then just top with the soil. Then you just nail the fencing to the post. As an added saftey measure against his chemical dumping, I would dig a trench about 2'-3' deep and 2' wide along the fence line, fill it with quick set concrete too. This way if he does pour more herbicide there's a concrete barrier to protect your plants. I had a friend who had to go through this and the court was 100% on her side. She got reimbursed for all the above and the judge even threw in the cost of the fencing and concrete expenses incurred because she had to resort to this to protect her property and the health of herself and her family. She now has no problem with the neighbor and has turned the fence into a pretty focal point in the garden by decorating it with birdhouses and little flower pots. Really pretty. I hope this helps you. If you are in doubt talk to the police about what action you can take. I'm sure that they will tell you, just like they told my friend, to take him to court.

If this helps, (and this pic is when we were still working on the kitchen, but it's the only one I have on the computer right now), this is our kitchen. The original cabinets were a light oak (I disliked them a lot!)I painted the cabinets and was worried about the grain showing through. I sanded and primed, and re-sanded and put two coats on, and can't see wood grain. In the pic though, the cabinets facing you still needed another coat of paint! We went with Fiesta Gold granite--but it looks exactly like New Venetian Gold. The fabricators change names sometimes from what I understand. As I was trying to explain above--I personally like white with darker floors. But you mentioned that you are planning to replace the floors. For what it's worth, painting wasn't bad. :) And we've got two kids and a dog running around! Again--bear in mind that this isn't a completed kitchen. No backsplash, pendant lights, bar stools, etc...but it will give you an idea maybe. Here's the granite if it helps at all: