Have the old hot air popcorn popper, but my grinder had stopped working a long time ago and I think I tossed it. I had to go to Kitchen Collection at our outlet mall yesterday to replace the carbonating cartridge for my DH SodaStream and got to looking to see what they had. I got a Hamilton Beach grinder on sale for $11.99. I think its pretty much like the one I had that lasted for a long, long time. Like Bellsmom said, if it doesn't last for a long time, I'm not out much. To top it off, I think I found a place that might sell me green coffee beans that's not that far from me. If not, I'll order from Burman. In fact, I know its a long way off, but when DH goes up to Madison, WI for his annual transplant check up, I will go with him and try to find Burman. Madonna

The first time I saw that, I thought it was a great idea. But the more time I spent thinking about it, I revised my opinion to "probably not" for the following reasons: 1 - Most people put their dishwashers right beside the sink because that's the most logical and efficient place to have them. Raising the DW means the countertop above the DW is also raised, which creates both a 'cliff' and a 'wall' beside the sink creating many opportunities for broken dishes. 2 - Raising that section of countertop interrupts a normally long stretch, making that run of countertop much less useful. 3 - Space below the DW is pretty much wasted. It's too low to be very useful, and the DW drain lines chop it up anyway, so not even drawer-friendly. If you're concerned about a comfortable loading height, I'd suggest two single dish drawers instead -- each in the upper position. It would be a bit more expensive, but also more efficient since you can run 'half-loads'.

Sounds to me like your salesman is not meeting his monthly sales quota. As a former retail sales person on commission, I'd bet dollars to donuts he was expecting another customer to pull the trigger on their appliance purchase on his supposed "day off" that would put him at 100% of quota and it didn't happen. Your sale would probably put him close but not quite at 100%. Was he really off or just telling you that?-local stores here are open 10-5 M-F and 10-1 or 3 Sat with no complete days off. You see if he's watching his numbers & he knew the other customer was in a rush for some reason & ordered theirs in May, then he'd make his May quota. He then has the option of putting your order in and getting extra bonus money or more than likely he could put your order in Jun 1 (regardless of the fact you paid in May)& then he's already significantly on his way to meeting his June quota. The clearly false comment on the rebate is what makes me think this. There is no other sane reason I can think of to blatantly lie about the terms of a rebate that he didn't even know about until you educated him + asking you to hold off on your purchase. Besides, typically in sales if your client comes in while you're not there, you still get credit for the sale unless your coworker who is standing in for you talks the customer into a different product & completes the sale. He's definitely scrambling now & sounds a lot a bit anxiety ridden. Buying online is always a risk, but there are some advantages--1 is the sales are typically tax free unless you're buying from an online retailer in your state. That can be a huge savings! You can also hedge your bets on ensuring you are dealing with a company who stands behind their products by checking online for reviews including on GW. With the economy the way it is, the online stores may have a better chance of staying in business than your local brick & mortar store simply because they have less overhead. There have been numerous instances in our area where the local appliance store went out of business and took deposits, full payments and actual bought & paid for but undelivered appliances with them. The customers who lost money and merchandise are having to file lawsuits to get their money back. By the same token when you buy local you're supporting the local economy and provided they stay in business you have an actual brick and mortar store you can walk into should something go wrong. Lots to think about. If you do opt to buy from the local store, I would go in and complete the sale whenever it suited me. Especially after the way you've been treated by this salesman. If he doesn't get the commission, oh well--hopefully it's a lesson learned. You did mention that this store was the only dealer in your county--If you're set on buying locally, are there any dealers in any of the surrounding counties? Don't know where you live, but where I am I've got 5 different counties that border mine all within a 25-45 minute drive that I'd happily drive to for good customer service. Truth be told, they would probably be thrilled to get you business.

@Ashley P Here is an interesting article about range hoods that might help you understand how helpful they can be for homeowners. I am beyond grateful to have mine. I had to change my kitchen around a bit. Its too bad you couldn't switch your island range with your sink. Stove Hoods To Keep Pollution Out Of The Kitchen Hot summer days often mean air pollution warnings in big cities. But the air inside your kitchen can sometimes be just as harmful. Cooking fumes from your stove are supposed to be captured by a hood over the range — but even some expensive models aren't that effective. Jennifer Logue spends a lot of time thinking about what happens when she cooks. She's a research scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, where she studies indoor air pollution. "You spend 70 percent of your time in your home," says Logue. "And what you do in your home has a huge impact on what you're exposed to." Cooking on a gas stove releases some of the same pollutants that you find outdoors in smog. Logue looked at homes in Southern California that cook at least once a week, and found more than half of them were above the outdoor health limit for a pollutant called nitrogen dioxide. "If you exceeded the standards outdoors, it would be a really big deal," she says. "But if you exceed them in your house, nobody's paying attention." Homes with electric stoves aren't in the clear because cooking the food itself creates air pollution. Sauteing fats produces a lung irritant called acrolein. And cooking puts off fine particle pollution. Just like smog outdoors, these emissions increase your chances of developing long-term respiratory and heart problems. If all this sounds a little scary, Logue says there's a simple solution: a good range hood that vents outside. But, she says, "Not all hoods work the same and currently, unfortunately, there's no way for people to really know how effective their range hood is." Inside the test kitchen at the Lawrence Berkeley Lab, Woody Delp, a building systems engineer, and his team are trying to figure out exactly that. Some of the hoods he's tested are only 15 percent effective because their fans aren't as powerful. Delp says when you're buying a hood, that's labeled as air flow. But the shape of the hood also makes a big difference, like how far it reaches over the stove. Delp and his team are developing a standardized test to measure hood effectiveness. It's being reviewed by an international testing board, which would allow manufacturers to voluntarily label their hoods. "Unfortunately there's not really a state or federal agency that has comprehensive authority over indoor air pollution," says Peggy Jenkins, who manages the indoor air quality program at the California Air Resources Board. She says there are strict ventilation rules for other gas appliances in homes, like furnaces and water heaters. Stoves and range hoods have been largely overlooked. "In a sense it's low-hanging fruit, but it's not really simple," she says. Jenkins says there's growing interest in changing California's building codes around range hoods — but it would take a number of state agencies to do it. Meanwhile, for we home cooks, Logue has a few tips. She says use the highest fan setting on the range hood and put pots and pans on the back burners. That's where hoods capture the most pollutants. Simple changes, but effective ones, Logue says. The hard part is remembering them. Cooking Tips -- Always turn your fan on -- Cook on the back burners -- Use highest fan setting -- Clean grease traps periodically -- If you don't have a hood, open windows Tips For Buying A New Range Hood -- Look for one that covers the entire stovetop -- It should move 200 cubic feet of air per minute, certified by the Home Ventilating Institute -- Choose a noise rating of 3 sones or less for a quieter fan -- Choose a hood shape with a hollow space underneath for collecting fumes Source: Lawrence Berkeley Lab one idea