Martha ~ I don't think I can make it. I just checked the milage and it is 2777 miles from San Antonio, TX to Lunenburg. About 15 to 20 years ago my parents went to NS. They parked their RV on a shopping center lot. A couple of boys were pitching a baseball and it hit the RV. Those boys were so scared and ran home. Daddy got the ball and walked to their house to return it. You have to have a mental picture of Daddy, 6 foot 4 inches, stetson hat, jeans and western boots. He assured Brian that no harm was done. They became fast friends. Brian was in awe of this tall Texan. He said, are you really a cowboy? So daddy told him some tall tale about being a rancher, riding horses etc. None of which had happened since Daddy was a boy in Oklahoma. Daddy got some texas thing (?) out of the motor home and gave it to him. Brian came every day to visit them. When they pulled out heading home, their last view was Brian was standing there with tears waving goodby. He wrote to them over the next few months. The next Christmas the phone rang and it was Brian's father. He told Daddy that all Brian wanted for Christmas was to call the cowboy in TX. Isn't that a great story? I bet to this day that little boy remembers his cowboy.

Absolutely inspiring!!!! I can't believe how much larger it looks with all the plantings, paths and "bones". It makes me feel like "I can do it" when I get inspired to take on a job that just seems too big. I just love everything about it. You should pat yourselves on the back for a job well done. Carol

I avoid mesquite because of the nitrate content. If you are not familiar with trees I'd buy my wood already bagged. Almost any wood could be used... as in campfire cooking. Hickory is my favorite because it is a strong flavor so I only need a little bit... I use charcoal for heat and wood for smoke/flavor. If you are upwind black pepper can be sprinkled on the hot coals... don't get that smoke in your eyes. Use a coarse grind as fine powder will flash flame.... it has a fair amount of pepper oil that burns for peppery flavor. Fryer chickens seem to be the cheapest meat I can find to smoke... about $4 each if I shop. After smoking I break them up into sandwich meat, snack wings, and soup meat/bones (boil the carcass and strain the bones). I almost feel bad throwing out the boiled clean bones which leave nothing for Mr. Possum to enjoy.... they get ate anyways. Many people won't smoke fish because it can flavor the whole smoker so the next batch of meat tastes like fish. We have a spring sucker(fish) run so a few people have two smokers... one for just fish. Salmon is noted for leaving a fish taste in the next batch of jerky. I use a Weber grill. For smoking it is just a load the charcoal and let it fly operation. Frequent checking lets out heat and just extends the cooking time. A friend put a drip cup under his smoker and claims the meat is done as soon as the fat stops dripping.... I don't watch that close. I also like to smoke corn on the cob and potatoes while the main meat is going. My dog Dolly loves smoked corn eating it cob and all (cold leftovers so she don't get burnt). Other veggies like carrots and cabbage can be wrapped in tinfoil... the smoke penetrates a bit. : ) lyra

VaBeachGirl, here are 2 pictures of the LG freezer drawer. I don't know why manufactures can't put good pictures of opened appliances on the web. I had the same frustration. The bottom drawer is solid plastic (I saw some freezers where it wasn't solid) and has a movable divider. Its about 11" deep at the deepest part. There is also a wire top drawer, about 7ish" deep. I wish the top drawer pulled out a little farther. Overall, I'm happy with the refrigerator. I've only been using it for a few months but it handled everything I stuffed into it for holiday parties. A big selling point for us were the bins on the doors. A lot of refrigerators I looked at had curved bins that didn't hold that much. The LG door bins appeared to be larger than most. The bottom freezer takes a little getting used to. We don't use much ice and the ice bin takes up a lot of room on the upper drawer. I am going to see if a smaller bin will work with the icemaker, without ice spilling out of it