# Toy Land @ The Bear Den



## Bearcarver (Feb 9, 2020)

*Toy Land @ The Bear Den*



It’s a Good thing we quit Drinking Coffee here, because I’m just about out of room on my counters. We put the Coffee maker away!
We ran out of room in the drawers & in the cabinets a long time ago, so I had to resort to getting toys that can reside on my Counters.
I have a few others that got moved to the Basement, for various reasons, such as “Didn’t Work to good”, or produce too many calories.

The ones I’m showing here all work Great.

As for these Toys that work Great, I post a little review of each, and I post some Step by Steps in my Index, in case any of you get one of these Toys, you can always go to my "Step by Step Index" for some recipes & methods that worked good for me with each individual Toy.

I’ll just add any more info to the captions above each picture (Below):

Enjoy,

Bear



*On Left: * Our Power Smokeless Indoor Grill & Griddle.   Works Great Makes Great Burgers & Tasty Steak, Kabobs, etc.

*On Right: * Our Air Fryer #360.  Makes a lot of Great Stuff, especially Fries, Fish, Sausage, Steak, Roasted Taters, Pizza, etc, etc, etc.....







*On Left: * Our Sunbeam 4 Slice Toaster.  Works Great.

*Back in the corner:*  Our Power AirFryer 3.4 Qt. Works Great, but only good for very small amounts of anything.

*On the Right:  *Our Vacuum Sealer (Food Saver V3485).






*On Left: * Our Sous Vide Supreme.  Works Awesome!!

*Center Above: * Our Under Cabinet Black & Decker Spacemaker Can Opener.  Works good, but I can't use it---Not enough room for my Big Paws under the cabinet.

*Center Below: * My Can Opener Hamilton Beach. Jury still out---Just got it.






*Center:*  My Cutting Board that Bear Jr made for me.  Don't have the Heart to use it---Too Beautiful!!!






I forgot to post this Picture, to show how really small our Whole Kitchen is.
In order to make the Kitchen bigger, I would need a Log-Stretcher!!!


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## tropics (Feb 9, 2020)

Brother I just put 2 new racks of shelves up to hold stuff,and I still have to carry sausage making stuff up an down the stairs.
Richie


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## gary s (Feb 9, 2020)

Nice Collection, Too bad you don't know a cabinet maker who could build you a another area for more toys !!  

Gary


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## jcam222 (Feb 9, 2020)

Nice!! We have many too. I have most Dow in basement where we have mega cabinet space. I have to tell you Bear you are missing one of our most used and favorite toys , especially in the winter and that’s an Instant Pot. Use it so much we have two lol. Have you ever tried one,


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## mike243 (Feb 9, 2020)

Bought a Kitchener jerky slicer/quber and the wife asked me what was leaving to make room lol


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## Steve H (Feb 9, 2020)

Nice collection! You can never have enough room on the counter top. And I hate having it cluttered. Which drives the wife mad. When I remodeled the kitchen. One of my main goals was to have at least 10' of open counter top.  On one end is a lazy susan I made that holds the our daily cooking weapons. And a couple other gizmos.  And a coffee machine. That's it.


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## BandCollector (Feb 9, 2020)

Great Collection Bear!  And thanks for the reviews.

Here is what I had to do.  This used to be my loading room and fly tying room. . . Oh how I have slid downhill!

The empty shelves you see in the photos have since been filled!  Yikes!


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## HalfSmoked (Feb 9, 2020)

Not a problem here I just don't have all those toys but I do dream.

Warren


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## sawhorseray (Feb 9, 2020)

Sweet set-up Bear, but I'd still need room for the coffee maker. RAY


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## Will Squared (Feb 9, 2020)

As a carpenter I was real familiar with the Board Stretcher but not the Log Stretcher.
We did send an apprentice back to the shop to get a box of 16d Toe Nails, though...
(he and the Bosses wife searched for an hour. The Boss was NOT impressed)


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## Brokenhandle (Feb 9, 2020)

Looks nice bear! We are in the same boat as many others...where to store stuff. Had a roommate in college who said " he that does with the most toys wins", and he wasn't talking about cooking gadgets but it fits.

Ryan


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## fivetricks (Feb 9, 2020)

I would be just as curious to see all the toys that you have relegated to the basement as "tried and failed" products LOL.

I know we all have several of those :-)


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## sawhorseray (Feb 9, 2020)

One of the big selling points to me was the place we bought in AZ has a hanger for pots and pans. Not that it did me much good, I still have to carry meat grinding and sausage gear in from the garage, but at least I don't have to break my back to get some stuff I need. Of course most of the cabinet are filled with glasses and dishes that *NEVER* get used. RAY


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## tx smoker (Feb 9, 2020)

Will Squared said:


> We did send an apprentice back to the shop to get a box of 16d Toe Nails, though...
> (he and the Bosses wife searched for an hour. The Boss was NOT impressed)



Oh yes. I spent years in the field with my framing belt on. Had to break in every new rookie like that. One of my favorites was to send them to the truck to get the radius chalk line for laying out those circular stairways.

Don't get me started taking kitchen pics though. When I designed this house I made sure we had a huge kitchen and an overabundance of cabinet space, counter top space, huge drawers, and a pantry large enough to be a bedroom. Didn't come close to filling it all up when we unpacked upon moving in. Well, that whole scenario has come full circle now that I'm so deeply embroiled in this forum. I'm now giving stuff away because there's no room to store it all. I had to completely rearrange the kitchen cabinets a couple weeks ago to make room for...whatever the heck it was I got. That took half the day but I managed to create enough storage for...whatever it was.

Still no such thing as too many toys,
Robert


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## Will Squared (Feb 9, 2020)

That's a hoot, Tex.
I hear you. I did all the stairs, including circular. Probably 400 sets of stairs by the time I retired. Nobody else could figure out arches, especially elliptical arches.
It was hard to get good help.
When I built my house I made all drawers full extension 75lb roll- outs.
My wife has relegated all of my smoking toys to the Spa House... 
HER KITCHEN !


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## Bearcarver (Feb 9, 2020)

tropics said:


> Brother I just put 2 new racks of shelves up to hold stuff,and I still have to carry sausage making stuff up an down the stairs.
> Richie



Thank You Richie!!
I wish I could still make my own Sausage!☹

Bear




gary s said:


> Nice Collection, Too bad you don't know a cabinet maker who could build you a another area for more toys !!
> 
> Gary



Thank You Gary!!
Gotta get me a Log Stretcher!!
And Thanks for the Like.

Bear


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## Bearcarver (Feb 9, 2020)

jcam222 said:


> Nice!! We have many too. I have most Dow in basement where we have mega cabinet space. I have to tell you Bear you are missing one of our most used and favorite toys , especially in the winter and that’s an Instant Pot. Use it so much we have two lol. Have you ever tried one,



I never tried one of them.
I don't even want to at this point.
Got no room, and I can't do steps too good, to the Basement.
And Thanks for the Like.

Bear



mike243 said:


> Bought a Kitchener jerky slicer/quber and the wife asked me what was leaving to make room lol




Thank You Mike!!
Exactly---I know the Feeling!!
And Thanks for the Like.

Bear


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## clifish (Feb 9, 2020)

I feel for you Bear! I am a kitchen gadget fan as well.  Not a ton of counter top space so stuff goes into the cabinets and basement.  We like our coffee and make it everyday so we don't wast $$ buying it on the fly.  So we have coffee maker and Keurig out at all times, toaster oven, toaster are all allowed to be on the counter top.  

SV, air fryer, vac sealer, food processor, good knives, immersion blender etc..all get put away.


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## Bearcarver (Feb 10, 2020)

Steve H said:


> Nice collection! You can never have enough room on the counter top. And I hate having it cluttered. Which drives the wife mad. When I remodeled the kitchen. One of my main goals was to have at least 10' of open counter top.  On one end is a lazy susan I made that holds the our daily cooking weapons. And a couple other gizmos.  And a coffee machine. That's it.



Thank You Steve!!
The house we had before this one was twice as big, at 2900 Sq Ft on the main floor, and the kitchen was 3 times as big. In fact after living there for 10 years, we sill had 3 completely empty cabinets. Then we moved to this house with only 1500 Sq Ft, including the loft. So without any new toys the drawers & cabinets were already stuffed. The only thing left was "on the counter Top", and now they're crowded too. Anything that would go to the basement would have to get a ride up & down, because I can no longer carry things on steps, because I need to hold onto the railing. So we try to only put things down there that never get used, or rarely get used, like the Crockpot (3 or 4 times a year).
And BTW---Thanks for the Like.

Bear




BandCollector said:


> Great Collection Bear!  And thanks for the reviews.
> 
> Here is what I had to do.  This used to be my loading room and fly tying room. . . Oh how I have slid downhill!
> 
> The empty shelves you see in the photos have since been filled!  Yikes!




Thank You!
No room left in any Drawers, Cabinets, Counter tops, closets, garage, or spare room.
And we don't use the Attic.

Bear


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## Bearcarver (Feb 10, 2020)

HalfSmoked said:


> Not a problem here I just don't have all those toys but I do dream.
> 
> Warren



Thank You Warren!!
It's my Big Kitchen Oven that never gets used, except for a couple top burners.
And Thanks for the Like.

Bear




sawhorseray said:


> Sweet set-up Bear, but I'd still need room for the coffee maker. RAY



Thank You Ray!!
Yeah---7 years now without coffee. Never thought I'd lose my taste for that.
11 years without a cigarette. Wasn't Easy!!
And Thanks for the Like.

Bear


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## Bearcarver (Feb 10, 2020)

Will Squared said:


> As a carpenter I was real familiar with the Board Stretcher but not the Log Stretcher.
> We did send an apprentice back to the shop to get a box of 16d Toe Nails, though...
> (he and the Bosses wife searched for an hour. The Boss was NOT impressed)




Thanks Will !!
Yeah the Newbies always get the business.
In the midst of all my woodworking years, I worked in a Print Shop.
There it was sending a Newbie to get a bottle of "Ink Emulsifier", or a Box of "Halftone" Dots.
And Thanks for the Like.

Bear


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## SmokinAl (Feb 10, 2020)

Holy cow Bear!
You need more counter space.
How do you even prepare a meal?
I don't see a space big enough for a large cutting board.
You need more storage areas!
We use pot racks & that gives us a lot of room in the cabinets.







Hope this helps!
Al


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## Bearcarver (Feb 10, 2020)

clifish said:


> I feel for you Bear! I am a kitchen gadget fan as well.  Not a ton of counter top space so stuff goes into the cabinets and basement.  We like our coffee and make it everyday so we don't wast $$ buying it on the fly.  So we have coffee maker and Keurig out at all times, toaster oven, toaster are all allowed to be on the counter top.
> 
> SV, air fryer, vac sealer, food processor, good knives, immersion blender etc..all get put away.



Thank You Clifish!!
All of our Cabinets & Drawers were stuffed full, way before the counter top was.
We're pretty used to it this way, but that's about it for new toys.

Bear


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## chopsaw (Feb 10, 2020)

Might have to get rid of some baskets ,,,  .
I'm a believer that you need the stuff where you can see it , get at it easy . I do like my counter top clear as possible , but don't always work that way .


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## Bearcarver (Feb 11, 2020)

SmokinAl said:


> Holy cow Bear!
> You need more counter space.
> How do you even prepare a meal?
> I don't see a space big enough for a large cutting board.
> ...




Yeah, I thought about hanging my Pots & Pans, but we don't have many, in fact they are all in that one cabinet to the left of the Stove, in Full Extension Roll-out drawers. So all that would do is free up one 24" cabinet.
And if you look between the oven & the white toaster, you can see a big white cutting board (standing up behind the canisters) that fits just about anywhere , including right in front of where i's standing in the picture above.
I guess we'll survive. It took awhile to get used to, because our last kitchen was 3 times as big as this one, in a house that was more than twice as big, but we don't need that any more.

Bear


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## Will Squared (Feb 11, 2020)

When I built our kitchen I told the Cabinet Maker that I wanted a cutting board over every drawer set (6). He balked and we settled on 3. They really come in handy, especially during parties.


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## Bearcarver (Feb 11, 2020)

chopsaw said:


> Might have to get rid of some baskets ,,,  .
> I'm a believer that you need the stuff where you can see it , get at it easy . I do like my counter top clear as possible , but don't always work that way .




LOL---Those Freaking Baskets are all over the place, and as you can see the tops of all the wall cabinets are no exception!!!
The front 2/3 of the whole counter top is open, and it's easy to slide things around on the Peninsula, to get me all the temporary room I need for anything that comes up.

Bear


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## chopsaw (Feb 11, 2020)

Bearcarver said:


> Those Freaking Baskets are all over the place, and as you can see the tops of all the wall cabinets are no exception!!!


I have the same thing . Standing at my kitchen island I can count 16 baskets without walking around . 
I'm in the process of trying to gain some space and unclutter mine , and make it user friendly . 
I found these at Lowes . Expandable wire shelf . 13 bucks . Fits a wall cabinet and works out well for me .


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## Bearcarver (Feb 11, 2020)

Will Squared said:


> When I built our kitchen I told the Cabinet Maker that I wanted a cutting board over every drawer set (6). He balked and we settled on 3. They really come in handy, especially during parties.




LOL---After 20 years of Manufacturing Kitchen Cabinets I think I only installed about a dozen slide out cutting boards. I did NOT like cutting my top rail down!
Usually when somebody wanted one of them, I'd give them a nice size section of a Butcher Block Top---FREE of charge.

Bear


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## Bearcarver (Feb 11, 2020)

chopsaw said:


> I have the same thing . Standing at my kitchen island I can count 16 baskets without walking around .
> I'm in the process of trying to gain some space and unclutter mine , and make it user friendly .
> I found these at Lowes . Expandable wire shelf . 13 bucks . Fits a wall cabinet and works out well for me .
> View attachment 432006




You would have liked the kitchen I built for my last house:
Had 3 Pie Cut Super-Susans, and 34' of Wood Edged counter top.
Roll-outs in all bases over 18" Wide.
Slotted Plate Rail all the way around.
Plus 9' of 84" Tall Cabinet on opposing wall..
All Natural Oak. 
Wish I would have had a digital camera back then.

BTW: Had an elevator next to the kitchen Fridge that went down to my 2900 Sq Ft Cabinet Shop in the basement. 600 pound max, but I had 730 pounds in it. (My 24" planer).

Bear


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## chopsaw (Feb 11, 2020)

NICE !


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## PoukieBear (Feb 11, 2020)

Bear, this post gives me anxiety!  LOL

I’m one of those people who can’t have clutter, or it will clutter up my life and my mind.

The only thing allowed in my counter is my knife block, the fruit basket and the toaster (although I really wish I could hide it)

I bought my husband a coffee maker for Christmas and I made him put it in his man cave out in the garage.  LOL


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## chopsaw (Feb 11, 2020)

PoukieBear said:


> I bought my husband a coffee maker for Christmas and I made him put it in his man cave out in the garage. LOL


Must be different  up there .


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## PoukieBear (Feb 12, 2020)

chopsaw said:


> Must be different  up there .



probably!  Lol.

Hardly anyone up here actually uses their garage to park their cars.  It’s mostly a storage unit for snow blowers, shovels, lawn mowers, winter tires, tools.....
He’s the one that chose to build himself a space for himself.  He’s got a little bar, a tv, and a game console.... it’s not fancy by any means, but it’s his space.


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## Bearcarver (Feb 12, 2020)

PoukieBear said:


> Bear, this post gives me anxiety!  LOL
> 
> I’m one of those people who can’t have clutter, or it will clutter up my life and my mind.
> 
> ...




That's the way we were, while we had that huge Rancher with a giant kitchen.
That house was 2900 sq ft, with a 2900 sq ft basement, and a huge kitchen.
Then We had our Log House built with only 1500 sq ft, including the loft, with a 1300 sq ft basement, and this Tiny Kitchen. And I can no longer do steps without holding a railing, so the stuff has to stay where it is. We'll survive---We just had to make adjustments.

Bear


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## Bearcarver (Feb 12, 2020)

P
 PSU Joe
 ---Thanks for the Like.

Bear


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## Bearcarver (Feb 12, 2020)

negolien
 ---Thanks for the Like.

Bear


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## BandCollector (Feb 12, 2020)

Grilled cheese sloppy dawg!

I think you are into something there.

Some restauranteaur will see this and make a fortune on it. . .LOL!

Quick. . .Apply for a patent!

John


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## Bearcarver (Feb 12, 2020)

BandCollector said:


> Grilled cheese sloppy dawg!
> 
> I think you are into something there.
> 
> ...




Wrong Thread, John.

Bear


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## BandCollector (Feb 12, 2020)

Bearcarver said:


> Wrong Thread, John.
> 
> Bear


Opps!   Sorry!

I wondered where it went

Thanks


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## Bearcarver (Feb 12, 2020)

SmokinAl said:


> Holy cow Bear!
> You need more counter space.
> How do you even prepare a meal?
> I don't see a space big enough for a large cutting board.
> ...




Here ya go, Al:
Plenty of room for a Cutting board:


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## Brokenhandle (Feb 12, 2020)

I know how it is bear...although we have a decent sized kitchen the rest of our house doesn't have squat for storage space.  From the outside our house looks big...a two story that sits on top of a hill, but inside not so much.  Was my grandparents house where my dad grew up, abandoned for over 20 years when we decided to gut it and remodel it...and that was about 20 years ago. So we do what we can for storage.  Two cool things we found...1st my grandpa's diploma from 1907, 2nd was a 20 gallon crock almost totally buried in basement cement floor, all but about 2 inches of top with a wood lid. Dad said grandma used to salt meat and store it there.

Ryan


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## Bearcarver (Feb 13, 2020)

Brokenhandle said:


> I know how it is bear...although we have a decent sized kitchen the rest of our house doesn't have squat for storage space.  From the outside our house looks big...a two story that sits on top of a hill, but inside not so much.  Was my grandparents house where my dad grew up, abandoned for over 20 years when we decided to gut it and remodel it...and that was about 20 years ago. So we do what we can for storage.  Two cool things we found...1st my grandpa's diploma from 1907, 2nd was a 20 gallon crock almost totally buried in basement cement floor, all but about 2 inches of top with a wood lid. Dad said grandma used to salt meat and store it there.
> 
> Ryan




Thank You Ryan!!
That was some cool finds you got there!!
We had this house built nearly 20 years ago, and we balanced what we wanted/needed in size with what we could afford. The kitchen is on the Small side, but the rest of the house is big enough for us, since it's only the 2 of us since we had it built. We're both over 70 years old, and we paid off our mortgage 4 years ago, so it may be small, but it's all ours. Kinda relaxing to think about. We've made due with the small kitchen for nearly 20 years, so we'll survive. The only problem now is it's too hard for me to move things around from room to room or closet, so  it pretty much needs to stay where it is, but the thing is we spent most of our first year of marriage 12,000 miles apart, so I'm pretty sure we'll survive a small kitchen.

Bear


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## Will Squared (Feb 13, 2020)

Bearcarver said:


> LOL---After 20 years of Manufacturing Kitchen Cabinets I think I only installed about a dozen slide out cutting boards. I did NOT like cutting my top rail down!
> Usually when somebody wanted one of them, I'd give them a nice size section of a Butcher Block Top---FREE of charge.
> 
> Bear


 All of the drawers that line up are 'grain matched'. they are cut from a continuous board. The pull out cutting boards are cut from the same board in grain match. Cabinet doors are raised panel, European hidden hinges, back bevel- no pull.


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## Bearcarver (Feb 13, 2020)

BandCollector said:


> Opps!   Sorry!
> 
> I wondered where it went
> 
> Thanks




LOL---Happens to me too.
I saw the same thing you posted at the right place too.
No problem here!

Bear


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## texomakid (Feb 14, 2020)

Man I just ran across this thread. You have a lot of cool stuff Bear. One can never have too many cooking or food prep toys. How do I know this? Our home we bought 3 years ago has 2 kitchens - yep, I cheat. If I get a new gadget for the kitchen and don't want Jana to know I stash it in the barn kitchen until she pops up needing it and Wala! Here you go hun. Sometimes that works and sometimes it don't.

Now I think I have to start buying more stuff after seeing all your cool stuff (and the others who have posted their stuff) - This really is a sickness.....


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## Bearcarver (Feb 14, 2020)

texomakid said:


> Man I just ran across this thread. You have a lot of cool stuff Bear. One can never have too many cooking or food prep toys. How do I know this? Our home we bought 3 years ago has 2 kitchens - yep, I cheat. If I get a new gadget for the kitchen and don't want Jana to know I stash it in the barn kitchen until she pops up needing it and Wala! Here you go hun. Sometimes that works and sometimes it don't.
> 
> Now I think I have to start buying more stuff after seeing all your cool stuff (and the others who have posted their stuff) - This really is a sickness.....




Thank You Randy!!
That sounds like a Great System, and the times that work probably make up for the times that don't.
And Thanks for the Like.

Bear


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