3KB, I have a pole wax bean from Serbia, "Tisa", that might make it there. It bore later than my other pole wax beans, in the heat of Summer. Contact me by PM if you would like to try it. My summers here, while short, can be hot at times... and a thick layer of mulch around the beans really seems to help. I apply marsh hay 3-4" deep after the beans have developed their first true leaf. I wait until then because I found that applied too early, the mulch harbors slugs & insects which can damage the newly emerged seedlings. Try using green cut hay if you can find it, since it breaks down faster & will release some nutrients into the soil. As a rule, I've backed away from recommending inoculant for Phaseolus beans, since my own trials of treated vs. untreated showed no significant difference. However, my main plot is on fertile silt loam, and research has shown that nodule formation is inhibited on rich soil. On poor soil, you might see some benefit. For green snaps, you might want to try some of the pole Romano types, which seem to have better than average heat resistance. I could send you one, "Champagne", that demonstrated a good hot-weather pod set.

As someone forced to live with a 6" duct, I wish every time I use my hood that I had 8". Since you have the luxury and opportunity to have an 8" duct, please go for it. You won't look back a couple of years from now and say, "gee, wish we'd gone with that 6" duct". OTOH, you WILL regret the 6" duct. It's not just that you will be constrained with the choice of hoods available, as most of them need 8". It is also likely that 6" duct will be noisier than an 8" duct, as more air is having to travel through a smaller passageway, creating noise. And of course, it's also that you won't get the higher exhaust cfm's. I don't understand people seeking to have a minimum amount of cfm's. Is erring on the high side of cfm's such a crime? Unless you are constrained by preexisting ductwork, like Davidro1 and myself, why the desire to keep cfm's to an absolute minimum? People re-doing their kitchens are spending multi-thousands on counters, backsplash, appliances, cabinetry, but they are concerned about the relatively small upcharge to go to higher cfm's. I don't get it. Davidro1, mark my words, you will regret your 150-250 cfms. At least get 300 with your 6" duct! While induction does not have the gas fumes that may come with a gas cooktop, those gas fumes are a small percentage of what a hood's functions are. Really what you want a hood for is to exhaust smoke, grease, and steam from your cooking. The amount of smoke, grease and steam depends upon your cooking style and tastes, not upon whether you are cooking with induction or not. You should base your hood choice on whether you will be, e.g., cooking hamburgers in a fry pan, sauteeing fish, making stir frys, and the like, not on whether you have induction. Regarding your built-in MW - there have been a number of threads regarding the shortened lives of MW's these days. When you have a builit-in MW, you may be heading for aggravation in 3 years or so, as it seems that 3 years is the life span these days of MW's. We know the older ones seemed to last forever, but not so today. Also, think about whether you want to be pulling hot sloshing dishes from an overhead MW. The Panasonics are really great, so that's a good choice, but think whether you want it built-in or not. Here is a link that might be useful: Thread about Microwave Expected Lives

I usually either use one of the fabrics in the quilt, or often, I choose a plaid or striped material, trying to choose one that comes close to some of the colors in the quilt. I really like the look of a binding made of plaid (such as homespun), it makes a nice binding. I have made bindings the same color as the borders so that it blends in and also a different color - it depends on the quilt. I have seen scrappy quilts with scrappy borders and they look great. I make mine pretty minimal in size anyway, I always use 2 1/2 inch strips that are then double-folded.

Hi Rocks, I think that your granite is going to look great, but I love lots of movement/veins in granite! We have a bevel edge. The fabricator also did a laminated edge, so it looks much thicker than it really is (looks 5 cm thick, but is really only 2.5 cm thick granite). He did a great job of matching the veins so they continue on to the laminated piece. Good for your daughter! I hope that she is enjoying teaching! It's always nice to "meet" other Baylor families! I graduated with a degree in elementary education and almost took a teaching job at Mountain View Elementary in Waco. I really enjoyed my time at Baylor and think that Waco is a great town!