soozzie's Profile

If you will have an island or counters facing each other, make sure there is at least 4' between them; DO NOT try to scrimp on this, you will regret it and have a difficult kitchen forever.

I am struggling today with saying goodby to a lovely home we have lived in for 6 years in Hawaii. I look forward to every morning looking at the ocean and tropical plants, I see beauty everyplace I look, at every moment of the day and night. The full moon over the Pacific and nearby islands is breath-taking. It never gets old. Every day there is something lovely to see and enjoy. We rarely leave the house since even it and our yard are enough for us.

We remade it into a comfortable home, and now we are saying goodby to it and the islands, returning to the mainland. It is the right thing to do, but I know this is the most beautiful house I will ever live in, and the most beautiful place that I will ever know.

There are only 6 years of memories here, and as many unpleasant ones as good ones. But for sheer beauty and as a way of life, we have been more than happy. I'm not quite sure how I will move on from this.

Silestone, a manufactured granite lookalike, stronger and more durable than granite. Absolutely love it,a wonderful surface to live and work with.

I keep an extra housekey in a bowl next to the front door, for those occasions when I just want to dash out for a few minutes. It has been enormously useful over the years.

In our neighborhood, sales are all on Saturday, starting as early as 7 AM, over by noon or 1 PM.

I like to mark items with a color dot, not a price, then post a price list prominently in several places. That way I can reduce all the prices toward the end of the sale without remarking every one. I can also see a group of items being bought by one person, scan the colors, and figure out a good price for the whole lot.

Have lots of change.

Signage is key. Take signs down when you're done, please.

We travel a lot and have a quite elaborate checklist that we keep on dropbox so that we can each do things and check them off and the other person can see what has been done and needs doing.

I would add the following, learned over the years the hard way: if you have a fridge with an ice dispense in the door, remove the ice; if the power goes off the ice could melt and drip out to the floor. Check the fridge and drawers for perishables, throw out cut flowers. Empty wastebaskets and take out recycling. Check the dishwasher for unwashed items -- wash, or at least rinse well. Forward the landline to cell. If it is a long trip, squirt a bit of toilet bowl cleaner into toilets; if you are in a hot region, leave the toilet bowl lip up (discourages mold). Disconnect car batteries (modern car computers can drain the batteries in about 3 weeks), install club. If it is a long trip, suspend magazine delivery. Have enough frozen food on hand to have a meal on return without going to the store.

Check to make sure you have enough prescription meds for the trip, that all the chargers and electronic paraphernalia are accounted for, fresh batteries in the headphones, a snack or meal for the journey....

And if leaving before dawn, make sure to turn out all the lights!

I alternate between rosemary walnuts (walnut halves baked with butter, rosemary, salt and cayenne, to be served warm), lavender sachets I make myself, and picture frames. Everyone has a photo to display but no time for a frame. Every now and then I go to Ross and pick up about 5 in various styles and have them on hand. All my gifts are welcome!

run the dishwasher before guests arrive with all the prep dishes in it, so you can start the gathering with an empty dishwasher. (or you could have 2 dishwashers like me)