Sam Iam

And, if anybody needs anything that they can't bring, let me know. I can bring a lotsa stuff, including mushroom fluters. These days, who eats an unfluted mushroom??

Anyone want to take a free Garland stove home with them? It's available, around 30 minutes S of AA. See my separate post.. Just trying to help a fellow Gourmand out here..

Make sure you get the current issue of Atomic ranch. It looks like your kitchen on the cover! It's viewable online. There's also a great book called "Atomic Ranch - Design Ideas for Stylish Ranch Homes" that might interest you. I ended up with two copies, and will probably put on on eBay soon.

You'll have to contact Garland or someone familiar with you local codes. Perhaps a HVAC expert. Are you interested?

A friend in SE Michigan has a Garland that is not being used. It is a 60" double oven gas range, 6 burners and griddle. It is set for propane, but can be converted to gas. It weighs 960 lbs, but can be taken apart for transport. One oven pilot is out of service. It is on Casters. It is apprx. 50 -60 years old. You pick it up, and you bring your own help to load it. If you are picked to own it, you'll need to paypal or send a check for $100 good faith deposit that will be returned upon pickup in one month. I'll try and get a photo posted later. PM me if you want to discuss this one the phone. Regards, Sam

We recently installed cork in our kitchen, family room, and living room. We couldn't be happier with it.

GAAK! Whatever you do, if you are interested in rabbit, do NOT Google Chelsey Rabbit! Sick, sick, sick. The farm that you want is probably "Back Forty Acres" in Chelsea, MI. Gaak!

Say it ain't so, Ronnie!!

Our Electrolux Dishwasher is great. We can't hear it running! We purchased a double oven at the same time (Probably 18 months ago), and are pleased with it also.

Re-Re confirming - Joyce & Sam will be there. Party on!

We decided to go with induction when we upgraded our Mid-Century Eichler-style home, and selected cork for the floors, a Wolf 36" Induction cooktop, and Quartz counter tops. Oh, I added a new Wolf computerized exhaust hood that matches the top. The big item to consider with the induction top is that you'll need cookware that a magnet sticks to. I'd been buying pieces of Viking stainless over the years, so combined with the Le pots, I was all set. I'll add some pictures soon, as soon as the painter is out of my hair!

We're locked in for the Marriott Boardwalk on the 5,6,7. See you there!

Valerie, What a perfect how-to! This is now on my list to make for our next dinner party. I Have a lobe and extra trimmings in the freezer from my last splurge. Regards, Sam

For the past year or two, I've been ordering single-origion coffees that are roasted a day or two before they are shipped from Terroir Select Coffee company, owned by George Howell. Starbucks bought out his line of coffee stores, and he now has a small roasting company. If you'd like to read a fascinating story and find a fantastic source for coffee, his web site is terroircoffee dot com. The other problem with brewing perfect coffee is the coffee maker. It needs to be brewed at 200 degrees F, and almost every coffee brewer brews in the 175 - 185 degree range. Terroir carries the "Techni Vorm Moccamaster" coffee maker, that brews at the proper temp. Expensive, but there is a large difference. I'll drag this to the Ann Arbor Heartland gettogether in case anyone wants to play with it. Sam

My only reason for mentioning the Cabelas area is rates. It is 20 miles south of AA on a fast four lane highway. There is a huge Splash waterpark there if anyone is bringing kids. The motels start at around $35 per person at this point. However, I didn't get a chance to check on our weekend.

Dundee, Mi, is about 15 - 20 miles directly south of AA on US 23. There are several motels at that exit due to the huge Cabelas store. Worth checking out, perhaps. We drive past that exiton our way to AA and could perhaps run a free taxi up to AA on a limited basis.

Searching on the key words "Julia Child signed" brought up 123 listings, $267 average sale, 83.7% sell through. How's your penmanship?!?

Steven, I just researched the word "cookbook" on Terapeak, the search engine for eBay. Over the last 90 days, over 180,000 cookbooks were listed, with a sell-through rate of 32%. Top of the stack were cookbooks signed by Julia Child, and many older and rare books that went for hundreds each. Might be worth a look. Regards, Sam

I received my Vita Mix this week, and will have it there too.

Sam & Joyce from Lambertville, MI will be able to help out the entire weekend, according to our calendar at this point. We're about 35 miles S of AA.

Chris, How did the story end? Happily, I hope!

I recently upgraded from the Dacor 36" electric glass cooktop to the 36" Wolf induction glass cooktop, and am totally in love with it! Over the past two years, I've been upgrading my pots and pans to Viking stainless, and they are a perfect match, as are the LaCruset cast iron pots and skillets. Someone sells a flat cast iron adapter with a wire handle that will let you use non-magnetic pans, and I use that once in a while with a copper pan. Note that not many pans are magnetic, and this can add up fast in an upgrade - 13 Vikings are $$$. Full disclosure: I did break a Dacor cooktop by dropping a 1.75 l. bottle of Grey Goose about five feet onto it, and it caught the corner. It still works, and although the glass can be replaced, it was cheaper to buy another Dacor used on eBay. I have two Dacors for sale (g). Repeat, we LOVE the Wolf induction. No heat from the cooktop at all. Any questions, fire away.

I ended up with a bottle of Courvoisier Cognac Erte, which now retails for $1,500. I'm down to the last four ounces or so, and don't know what I'll do when it's gone! It sells on eBay for ~ $400 and up. Man, this is some wonderful, smooth, delightful Cognac! As I recall, some of the blend goes back to 1893 or so.

So, what would you trust for exceptional feedback on eBay? 80%? Less? More? I'm at 100% with over 900 transactions, and I'm always happy with purchases from a 100 percenter.

Your monitor needs calibrating. There are "What you see is what you get" programs that will help you set your monitor and computer to give you standard color and contrast. I'm not familiar with any of the current programs, though.