First, thanks to EVERYONE who responded; I've gotten a lot of good suggestions.
Wheelgarden , thanks for the info on Whirlpool. I tend to think of so many of the main manufacturers in terms of what they produced years if not decades ago. Guess I need to expand my review.
pepperhead212 , very helpful information on Bosch products. I'm partial to German technology, but hadn't thought about the potential difficulty of finding repair people knowledgeable with German products. That's something important to consider. I've also checked reviews, but honestly sometimes just got tired of reading so much about various attributes. I think the way to deal with that though is to just use a checklist, which I've done in the past for purchases. That way I can just check off the good and the bad qualities when I make comparisons.
James , another vote for Whirlpool!
gardendmpls , and yet another vote for Whirlpool! So it seems that planned obsolescence of dryers is helped along by manufacturing qualities. How unfortunate, and disgusting. Actually I've never had any appliances that were computerized; my first experience was with the programmable thermostat for replacement of the Montgomery Ward furnace that was installed in 1973 by the previous owners and lasted until last year, or maybe the year before...I forget. It was a real workhorse. And I think it produced more heat than the current Luxaire.
Motherboards in appliances is a new phenomenon for me. I still remember the wringer washer we used for our clothes. No dryer - just the sun; everything was hung outside to dry, or on wooden racks in the house during the winter. I still did that until carrying a load of wet clothes upstairs become problematic. Old bones, and all that...
Mumsey , yes, another good appliance manufacturer. I'm guessing that the Amish communities in your area supply the Amana products and they're easier to get? I haven't found that to be so here, or at least not recently. I really hate to part with my Amana frig. It's served me so well, and it's only 40 years old!
Our electrical company has a service program as well; I might purchase that, as it's reasonable, and I don't have the confidence in the more recent manufactured products that I did 40 years ago.
Your Frigidaire gas range sounds like my GE, not even 10 years old, if I remember correctly. The paint on the burner grills is cheap, single coat only, and stains easily from pan scrapes. Piece of junk, really. The paint coating on the whole unit itself is also cheap and has already chipped...just accidentally touching it with a pan chips the paint. What I also hate is that there's no way to lift the top to clean inside. I wonder if it was even designed for cooking. But it was the best of what I could find at the time.
breezygardener , my house isn't a cottage, but it is small, as is the kitchen, and there isn't much room at all for anything larger than an 18 cubic foot frig. Kenmore has been a favorite of mine as well; I have an old Kenmore sewing machine that lasted for decades and still could be used except for synthetic fabrics. My mother's treadle Singer sewing machine is still in Dad's house. That was a real workhorse.
shadetree , now that's a unique style which I'd love to have! No bending, no stooping, no backaches, and everything at eye level. That's positively genius! Admiral is a brand I haven't heard mentioned in years. Sounds like a good one to seek out.
desertwoman , I too am really surprised, and envious of that unique refrigerator configuration. I wonder though about access to the wires and panels when necessary.
I appreciate the insights of everyone who posted; I feel better and less confined now in searching out a good new frig. I just honestly dread the driving around, checking, inspecting, not so much b/c of decision making but b/c they're open stores and I 'm sure someone there won't be masked but will be going around inspecting and touching the appliances. Mask and gloves will be my protection.
Thanks again!