Having slime mold, or other visible signs of fungal activity, on top of your mulch is not in any way harmful, just an indication of an active fungal colony at work and that they found conditions so good they want to share. Once dry these molds can be raked back into the mulch, or they can be hosed back in, but they need not be removed. These molds are helping digest your mulch, so for those that would prefer their mulches not be digested these molds would be harmful, but the presence of them is one indication of an alive soil.

Good morning! I'm looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend. I have a baby shower to go to this evening. It's someone in Jammer's family and it's kind of a family party. They will be serving dinner. Other than that I have nothing planned. Probably church on Sunday morning. Our weather here is warm and sunny, but we are having a lot of wind this morning. Light breezes are normal here, but this is a pretty strong wind. If it slows down I will probably sit on the porch swing and read awhile. I'm reading The Book Thief which is very good. It's not a subject matter that I like to read about (Nazi Germany), but I read 100 pages the first day and 150 the next, so I am into it.

Thanks everyone! Here is one of the layouts, it may be hard to see. The sink cabinet bump out is 3 inches (legs are three inches also). The sink bumps out an additional 1 inch. From the sink cabinet to the island is 39 inches. So in other spots that aisle is 42 inches. The other side of the island has a 49 inch aisle. Originally the plans showed the 49 inch side 1.5 inches wider. Once they laid out the island I had major misgivings and I made them move the plumbing over 1.5 inches towards the sink line of cabinets- bc the 47.5 inch aisle seemed way too narrow with the door there and the fact its a major walk through. I am happy with the dimensions now. Even with my husband and 2 small kids (3rd due soon!) milling around in the kitchen it doesn't feel cramped. It feels much bigger than our old kitchen, very functional. I did 39 inch uppers and then 4 or 5 inches of crown molding. I also have 8 foot ceilings. 36 is pretty short, we had that before with like 9-12 inch soffits. As for the grout, I was stressed over that like everything else and did briefly considering going with a darker contrasting color- it might not look as bad as you think. I often hate things at first, even when I carefully plan them! The Miracle 511 sealer was well recommended and we havent had any trouble with it. If you still dont like your grout, I have heard of grout lighteners. When I did my grout, I did some test patches with broken tiles before the grouters came and that is how I decided on a color. I think the grout was dry in a day or two- yours sounds like its taking a long time to dry, but I am not an expert. I had unsanded grout I think.

shhhhhhhhhh Donna, you're blowing my cover! Wild and modest......my wife would so laugh at that...lol. Sandy, I get your point regarding Deadline, but it's not really that toxic. One just needs to take care with storing it as it as a child or pet would have to consume quite a bit of it to be fatal. Not unlike drain cleaner.....keep it out of reach. It's much more compressed than Sluggo and has a water resistant coating, allowing it to last in rain for weeks......not months or years. I've turned over 20 gardeners onto it and they swear by it and won't ever go back. I've never seen any adverse signs to wildlife....although I wish it would with rabbits and chipmunks :) A large percentage of our nursery and agricultural industry uses it, so I hope it doesn't have a negative impact on the environment. I'm completely organic in my garden except using Deadline, but it's so effective I only need two light applications a year ( except this year with all the rain). Sluggo is safer and I understand people preferring to use it, but I hate slug damage on my hostas and nothing comes close to Deadlines effectiveness......and I'm too forgetful to apply slug bait more than a couple of times a year!