Nice to see someone resourceful and thrifty challenging themselves with such a fun project! Definitely for a small space it's a good idea to keep materials consistent to avoid a busy look and hence make it look smaller. THose smaller penny pavers (1'x1') are about a dollar each and with a maximum of 168 sq. ft. it only takes up half your budget if you covered the entire yard! With only two small areas to pave, you could build a simple 2 x 2 frame to hold the pavers inside at each location and another line leading to and from them. If HD doesn't deliver use that $40 to have someone delivery it for you. Cedar mulch is ok, cheap, lightweight and smells great! Use the natural colour or have fun with the colours (red, green, yellow, brown and even black). If cash is real tight I believe Japanese gardens often use pine needles for paths. You could collect that for free if there are pine trees in your neighbourhood. Another edging idea is using the cut ends of small logs. People are throwing out recently chopped trees and leaving cut up pieces on the curb. Bury a bunch of those leaving just a few inches and they would lend an Asian feel to it as well. Bigger pieces could be used to make coffee table legs if you throw an old door on top. You can make hanging tea lights with wire and jam jars. Use screws to fix your chairs instead of nails that is if you have a drill otherwise nails will do fine too. Have you thought about painting the chairs a bright colour if they're too far gone? How about hanging an old mirror on the fence for depth and interest? Maybe frame it with an old window? Anyway that's my 2 cents worth.

India is such a huge country, with such a diversity of cultures, races, ethnic origins, available ingredients, outside influences, historical events...basically such a diversity of everything, that the term "Indian Cuisine" shouldn't even be used, except in the broadest sense. To know that the British held sway in India for as long as they did, one can't really credit that cream was not adapted as a culinary ingredient. Even if it had been completely unknown prior to that era, which can hardly be the case in any culture where milk is utilized, it surely would have worked it's way into usage by now. Yogurt is much more common (which isn't surprising, considering the lack of refrigeration in a primarily warm country)of course, but I have seen quite a few recipes calling for cream. And, though considering the antiquity represented by the cuisines of India, I am but the merest novice (I've only been playing with it for about 10 years), I think I can trust myself to recognize recipes that have been re-written for the non-Indian cook. Potatoes are quite the popular ingredient, used by many of the Indian peoples, both in meat dishes, vegetable dishes, and alone. In fact, one of the things I love about the use of the potato in India, is that with the creative and judicious use of spices, herbs and other vegetables, the potato as cooked by an Indian housewife can be the nutritious, healthy food that it so often isn't in Western cooking, by the time we lace it with butter, cream, or cheese as is so often our wont. Jessica, Indian cooking can be very healthy indeed! (Leaving out the tendency toward deep fried snack foods!) While many recipes call for ghee (a form of toasty, clarified butter), you needn't add it with a lavish hand as the flavor is quite rich and distinctive. In many recipes, you can substitute olive oil quite easily, if you prefer. The use of so many spices and herbs, and the various methods in which they are used lends such flavor to meats, vegetables and grains that the addition of copious amounts of fats or yet salt, becomes unnecessary. Naturally, there are those curries that include fatty coconut milk, but then, if you eat the way a person in India eats, you won't be eating a big bowl of it, but a small portion along with vegetables, legumes and grains. My love affair with the cuisines of India began with Dal. The lowly lentil, which was to my knowledge just something one made a pot of soup with sometimes, has been transformed into a magical food ingredient by the hands of Indian cooks. I have read that it is a rare meal in India that does not include some version of legume. What we classify as lentils, peas and beans are all, "dal." Dal can be served in soups, porridge, breads, crackers, chips, snack nibbles, fritters, used as a base for thick sauces, toasted into crunchy bits to add texture, as a base for curries and stews...gosh, I'm sure I've left some uses out. And they are so good for us! High in fiber, satisfyingly filling, cheap sources of protein, minerals and vitamins. Okay, enough of my raptures...:D Earlier in the thread, someone mentioned wanting a Southern Indian cook book? I've a wonderful book that introduced me to the Vegetarian cuisine of Southern India, a style of eating quite different from much of what we Westerners think of when we think Indian foods. The recipes are mostly excellent but I must caution that the use of hot chilies is quite lavish. I have been accused of having an "asbestos mouth" by friends, but still I cut back quite a bit on the number of green, hot chilies and dried peppers the recipes call for. I figure, I can always add some hot sauce at table if needs be. Here is a link that might be useful: Dakshin-vegetarian cuisine from south India

I just used one of the small (not mini) pans on the stovetop tonight to create gravy after removing the little roast from the oven. I do have a bunch of the minis too. I had a few and ran into a bunch more at a country auction or second hand store last year for less than a buck apiece. Lars, I have never followed the sizing numbers except to note that larger numbers refer to larger pans. I wouldn't expect even a large Corning Ware to break. However, I also assume that the odds are higher (if small) for failure of the larger sizes. Therefore, I certainly wouldn't load one up with oil for frying; yow-za! I have a large one that I could use for soup to prove a point, but I have a heavy coated steel dutch oven and a couple stainless ones that are at the ready so I would not feel like risking even the small possibility of losing a whole pot of soup. I would certainly deglase that CW pot to make gravy after a large roast. BTW: most of the moderately old CW units are marked under the handle or on the bottom indicating that they may be used on the stove top. Some of the very old units don't say anything, but I believe they will all say 'pyroceram' and they are the original stove safe CW. However, if you find CW that specifically says 'oven safe' or similar, but doesn't also say stove top, then they are not for use on a stove top.

Agree with others to keep any changes simple and inexpensive. I love the yellow tiles myself, but the lookers/buyers in our gray mod world probably won’t, and might end up gutting it all. The new sink and lights are beautiful and charming, love the idea of them in there (I’m so sick of generic modern ’updates’), but much too unique and taste specific for resell. Keep it calm and cohesive. You want them to imagine the potential regarding their own taste. Neutral paint, new sink, new faucet, and different window treatment or leave window bare is all I’d do. A clean blank slate with minor necessary updates is usually most desirable to potential buyers … as well as not be a waste of money and time for you. It doesn’t need to be ”fun”, or a design statement, it just needs to appeal to the masses.