You are well to worry about clogs from the well water. The first component in your system should be a fine mesh filter. Get a "y"-shaped one with a small valve on the end that you can periodically open to flush out the debris. Slopes are problematic for drip systems. You'll want to use pressure-compensating emitters. This means that the emitters on the bottom of the slope will control the amount of water they release, even though the water pressure in the system is greater at the lower level. This allows the pressure to build and send the water to the higherplants. However, when the system turns off, all of the water remaining in the system will drain out of the lowest points, the emitters on the bottom of the slope. This generally means that the bottom plants get overwatered, or the top plants get underwatered. One easy way to reduce the problem is to run the main drip tube (the one that the 1/4 inch, or "spaghetti" lines, connect to) all the way down the hill without any emitters attached to it. Then run it back up the hill, and tee off at regular intervals to run across the slope to the plants. Put a bend in the tube, like a p-trap under a sink, after each tee. You can also use spring-loaded check valves installed in the tube to hold back the water. You may want to have a seperate system for your hanging plants, they will want more frequent watering and smaller amounts per time than plants in the ground, which should be watered for at least 20 minutes at a time, even up to an hour or more, and only a few times per week. Be sure to use at least two emitters per plant to water the whole root ball, and place them on the uphill side of the roots,so the water runs down. I don't know what they carry at Harbor Feight, but the typical hardware store lines are adequate, as long as the emitters are pressure compensating, and you get a good filter. You won't be able to clean pressure compensating emitters if they get clogged, they'll need to be replaced. I typically get my parts from commercial irrigation suppliers, such as Ewing, Horizon, and John Deere; they can give you good advice, and the small amount more that you may pay will get you more reliable materials. If you are in a snow zone, there are freeze considerations they can help you with as well. Good Luck! Tim

I agree with Henrik that less is more! However I have to disagree with what he has in mind. Your space is very limited. I would forgo any living plants at all. The point of your space is to create a comfortable and COOL SPOT to entertain. Because the property is not yours and you only have a few bucks to spare I think that the best thing to do is to consider using indoor/outdoor carpeting, get some paint and recondition the furniture. Check out furniture at places that sell furniture for nomads or that sell futons. Your idea of using hangings on those horrible fences is perfect. There are a host of things you can use to cover them up but first get the idea on what kind of presentation you want. You indicated an Indian (from India) motif. I think that would be preferred over Japanese as Japanese can be more formal than Indian. Again check out places that sell futons (on the net) and in NYC-you should be able to find some very hip ones there-maybe in the Village??? If you use plants use artificial plants that you can take with you. If you wish a focus I would look into a small fire pit as it is cool to sit around in a comfortable chair with your feet up chatting with mates munching out and watching the embers glow as you sip your fav brew! Am I reading you right? With only $300 you will have to use your imagination on redecorating what you have to fit the idea that you will come up with so take your time. Maybe work it all out what you really want and start planning on doing it over the course of the next couple of years. From my perspective what is most important is the comfort of sitting so check out those futon places as they will have cool furniture that just might fit your budget or at least give you ideas on how you can modify what you have-either through rebuilding or through painting or ??? And share what you do as I would like to see what you come up with!! Cheers. Click here to visit one of many futon stores on the net Forget the oriental and indian or japanese furniture!!!!! cost is prohibitive. Think nomad or futon!!

Greetings from another Oscar mommy - my Oscar is 17 with CRF + heart disease. He is also a horrendously picky eater - refuses k/d food and any pate style food - he only tolerates Friskies pouched food these days (chicken and salmon) and Wellness Indoor kibble - he's still mourning the loss of his Science Diet Savoury Cuts (recall casualty). And he drinks lots, I know he's unwell when the volume of urine in the litter boxes goes down. Definitely get your Oscar checked for an infection. My Oscar is prone to them due to a kidney stone in his shrunken kidney - he couldn't tolerate Clavamox for his last infection (last summer) and ended up on a very strong antiobiotic which helped. Low grade infections really do a number on their kidneys and that your Oscar is peeing outside the box certainly indicates he's unhappy about something. I'd definitely get another urinalysis done and get them to culture it to see what grows, if anything, and check for crystals. General consenus with CRF cats is just feed them what they'll eat. Use phosphorous binders to to keep the phos. in check (I'm supposed to be using one with my Oscar but he doesn't like it). My Oscar is on no kidney meds except for a liquid B vitimin supplement and he's on meds for his heart disease (a diuretic due to fluid build-up in his chest - probably the worst kind of drug for a CRF cat!). You should join us over at the Yahoo groups: Caring-for-CRF-Felines and FelineCRF. You'll find tons of support and tons of info on CRF. tess Here is a link that might be useful:

Paint fireplace white or the same color as the walls, remove bookcase that is on the right side of the fireplace. Get a corner TV console for the left side of the fireplace....maybe tv will partially cover the window, but that is okay. Get some pretty artwork for over the fireplace and take the colors from that for pillows for your couch and a rug if you want. An ottoman or upholstered bench in front of your couch to be used for extra seating when you have company.......should be on rollers, easy to maneuver. Where the shelf unit is now, get a tall green plant..nothing else. If room, I think your chair and a small table will be good by the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs you could put a decorative shelf or console with drawers under the window...facing up the stairs. with a small viney plant on it. Oh, yes, I would pull your couch back as far as you can...without interfering with the door. To bad the door does not open the other way. Have fun rearranging. I do approve of your curtains...white sheers but they should be twice as full as they are now and the door curtain should match.