Another panel on the dome fell in last night about 5pm. More snow, albeit nothing like last time, will be coming the next day or two. Reminds me of the winters as a kid. We've had it pretty soft for a lot of years. Last year was icy and cold with some snow but this year is cold and snowy so far. Not TOO bad ice-wise at least. I have groceries but can get out and about. I'll finish up my week's work today (Thursday) and off through the weekend. Jasdip, suggest to Teresa_mn that she try clearing out the cache and cookies in the browser. If that doesn't work, try a different browser. So many people are having trouble lately. I use Opera and nothing like these problems here. It's really the best browser out there in so many ways. Big decision to make here... should I go out and have a big old country style breakfast from a great little restaurant I like, or wait and belly-up to the hog trough later on? Decisions, decisions! Can only handle one of them in a day...

As a matter of practicality, you will spill/spatter grease again in the future. Chemically removing grease from the wood removes some of natural wood oils, damaging the wood and making the surface more vulnerable to sun and mildew. Probably best to clean once (standard deck prep) and refinish with an oil based stain/sealer. Standard cleaning procedure should get some of bad grease out. Dark natural color will hide the rest. Shows up much more on grey deck since grey deck is generally dried out surface. Sanding is a lot of work, and if wood has aged enough, grease may penetrate quite deep.

Thank you all for your research on my behalf. I got busy hunting for granite and researching appliances for my kitchen update and forgot to check back onto this forum. Now that it has stopped raining here, I am ready to start the furniture and will order the teak cleaner. It looks very promising. The instructions say you need to oil after cleaning the furniture. What oil do you recommend? Again, I appreciate everyones responses.

I agree with Mattypies! I LOVE our 2 story great room, despite having a "small" house (1350 sq. ft.). Ours faces due south with 7' tall (4' wide) windows going up 2 floors and a vaulted ceiling to boot, but with a good supply of mature trees that leaf out beautifully in the early spring, protecting us from the UV and heat. We actually don't even have A/C and even with summer temps in the 104 degree temps in the summer, it's been super cosy. The key for us is that all of our windows open and we have TONS of great cross ventilation. The deciduous trees are leaf-less in the winter, and that means that we don't have to start heating the house until late in the year and get to turn the heat off in the early spring. We of course, went with high efficiency windows that are designed to improve heat penetration during the winter, and reduce it in the summer (sun angles). We don't have children yet, but the noisy even when all the nieces and nephews are over isn't very noticeable. We did Roxul Safe 'n Sound in all of our walls and floors, which I think made a huge difference, along with solid doors with a minimal gap under them. Plus rugs and plush couches. We *love* the way it feels like we're outside even when we're inside. The sun shines in during the winter, the birds sit on our window sills, and the breezes flows through in the summer. It's like being a part of the outdoors, instead of being in this little box of wood and drywall. Ick. Our heating costs have been LESS than our friends who have bungalows of the same size, and I'm certain it is because of the passive solar heating. A big fan in the middle of the vault, and using high quality insulation and proper attic ventilation, we haven't had any issue in the summertime either. We keep the 2nd floor doors closed during the hot days, and that helps keep the heat from entering. Not that it matters because one bedroom is on the north side and is quite cool year round, and the east-side master bedroom has 3 windows and a balcony door, so the evening breezes and a ceiling fan cool it down right quick. I think you REALLY need to think about the placement of all the rooms, and if you can capture the heat/cooling in the house. Go with what you love, not with what "everyone else likes". That's my biggest pet peeve; we build a house for someone else, not us. Why bother?? Just buy a used house and live with what everyone else liked.