For cooking, I use EVOO or organic canola - these are the healthiest vegetable oils. There is no way I am going to use cups at a time (except for making salad dressing) - they are much too expensive. When pan-frying I just dump the leftover oil on the compost or even in the woods. Or sop it up with used napkins or paper towels, or even brown paper shopping bags, and put in the compost bucket. I don't see any problem with composting cooking oils on a reasonable scale - obviously you wouldn't put a gallon of oil in a small compost bin. It doesn't go down the drain - even small amounts are terrible for drains and septic - and it doesn't go into the waste stream either.

Well I guess I'm contributing to the hijack - sorry scraplolly! I used to live in a house with a driveway just like dtownjbrown and I hated it. So I was kind of interested in contributing to his story. You could think about mixing some evergreens in there. Microbiota, dwarf chamaecyapris, pencil holly, rug or pencil junipers, etc. But they are kind of dull in a row... Another way to go about this is to plant annuals for a few years to see what responds to the lighting. I would think you could grow coleus, petunias, maybe even an indeterminate tomato - cherry tomatoes, the italian plum tomatoes. I grow them in less than optimal sun in containers. My favorite is San Marzano - good for salsa. This year I'm growing calladiums in full sun planters so go try some new things - you never know what will work. Sometimes the repeated annual amendment helps also. Your soil looks good in the picture but who knows how old it is? You say it drains quickly- its possible that somewhere along the way somebody re-waterproofed and improved the drainage down deeper. When we had our back wall re-waterproofed they dug down 11 ft and then filled the space with limestone to about 2 ft from the top - then backfilled my topsoil on top of that. The space right up against my house is very dry as a result. A good resource for you would be the Botanical Gardens in the area - just do a search. Another good resource is the Plant Search function at MOBOT - Missouri Botanical Gardens. For ex. I just searched on Full sun to part shade, Dry to medium, 6-12 inches spread, Zone 3 for scraplolly and got a list of plants back - http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Results.asp I don't know if you want anything to hang out over the line of the bed into your driveway but I'd think about that as you select plants.(daylilies)Whacking the flower heads every time you drive in has a tendency to look kind of ugly. The above was in case you don't like my idea: Given the narrow space and lighting my personal recommendation would be to plant a unifying ground cover like pachysandra which is evergreen, make space intermittently to have a few clumps of daffodils/tulips and alliums in spring and then have a nice white lattice structure just covered in green ivy to cover the wall. I would have parts of the lattice go up 6-8 ft and parts down at the level your siding begins. - sort of like the silhouette of a town. I would use horizontal and vertical crossbars rather than the cheaper looking diamond shaped criss cross pattern. You need to fasten it so that it is out from the siding about 1.5-2 inches for long term home care. You don't want ivy putting tendrils into your siding or cement. Where you live you might succeed with Boston Ivy which is very colorful in the fall. An alternate might be grapes or hydrangea petiolaris which I doubt would be watered at all after established. I could see having round blue ceramic planters filled with colorful coleus and impatiens set right down into the pachysandra with the wall of green ivy behind them. To give more space you could have cutouts in the latticework to center the planter in the space. You could have a small water fountain on the wall among the vines - or frame it with the lattice. Another planter idea is pruned boxwood with annuals/trailing vines around them for summer - and you can do something with them for the holidays. You should be able to have Korean, Vardar Valley, Green Mountain, etc live in a container if you keep pruned. The Blue Girl holly also does well in low light/bright sun but you'd really have to stay on the pruning to keep a holly in bounds. I would also try some unobtrusive stick in the ground solar lights to create a soft glow after dark along the drive or you can wire lighting in. I get container combination ideas every yr from the White Flower Farms catalog - gorgeous stuff altho this yr they were too in love with bronze and orange combos. Shrubs that I have kept pruned for yrs to 12 to 18" wide are taxus, boxwood and believe it or not - euonymous - burning bush. I have a 3 ft deep bed along my house and its underplanted with pachysandra and the burning bush are at least 20 yrs old - you just have to keep up with the pruning to keep them to the size you want.

This came from about.com's cooking light recipe section. I just tried these a couple of days ago and they are really GREAT. They're not really low in sugar, but they're low in fat and low cholesterol, for those watching those items in their diet but still craving a chocolate chip cookie: Light Chocolate Chip Cookies Chocolate chip cookies will never be declared a health food, but you can make them less unhealthy by tweaking the ingredients a little. Here's a recipe for a lighter chocolate chip cookie that still manages to satisfy a sweet tooth, but perhaps with a little less guilt. INGREDIENTS: · 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour · 3/4 cup all-purpose flour · 1/4 tsp baking soda · 1/4 tsp salt · 4 tbsp butter, melted (I used margarine) · 2 egg whites (I used 1/4 c. egg beaters) · 1 tsp vanilla extract · 3/4 cup firmly-packed light brown sugar · 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips PREPARATION: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookies sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg whites, butter, and vanilla; stir in the brown sugar until smooth. Gradually add in the flour mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop dough by the tablespoon onto cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake one cookie sheet at a time for 10-12 minutes. Yields 24 cookies. Per Cookie : Calories 92, Calories from Fat 30, Total Fat 3.4g, (sat 2.6g), Cholesterol 6mg, Sodium 45mg, Carbohydrate 14.5g, Fiber 0.7g, Protein 1.2g

I don't feel there are any stupid faucet questions. It's a very complex choice for most and it's likely the most used piece of equipment in the kitchen bar none. So it's important, too. I personally favor a pull down because that's where all the great features are right now. I also like a right or left side single lever set up. I don't want a second piece (like a joystick) to clean. And don't want wet wrists though some like the insink handle set up. For last house I bought a KWC Systema pull down which rocked. Solid, powerful and easy to operate with button to lock on the spray. The Kohler Simplice, however, is a great choice. It has all the features and a great price point. A man who designs faucets for Kohler has it in his personal kitchen. But the short answer to the quality/price question is: brass. The more metal in the faucet (and conversely the less plastic) the more durable and higher quality. One ultra-high-end faucet line (mgs progetti) has all stainless steel components. Those are in the $1000-2000 range as a yardstick. The way to tell how much metal is simple -- the heavier it feels the more metal there is. I know it's hard to judge when faucets are installed on a display but picking up a box will do the job more or less. Also watch for metal hose vs fiber mesh hose. However, there are many excellent brands and choices in all price ranges and no horrid complaints except for the lowest of the low end usually (and then not always). So get what you love, what looks good with your sink and general kitchen style, and what the budget permits. Some recommended faucets include the Grohe Minta (modern), Kohler Vinnata (big & super popular but likely too beefy for a sink with your dimensions), the Kohler Simplice, the Delta touch faucets which also pull down (pricier), the KWC faucets (Swiss quality but towards the higher end). Also now Kohler is out with a variation on the touch called the Sensate which is a pulldown with a sensor under the head so you just move under it. It looks great and I must say I find it intriguing but it's very new and likely $$$. Here's a link to a Consumer Reports video that shows how it works the video and gives the prices. Sorry to rattle on, this is probably more than you wanted to know. But I'd shop it online, do the diligence of seeing and feeling it in person, and don't forget to check ebay. There are plenty of bargains out there. Good luck! This post was edited by rococogurl on Wed, Jan 23, 13 at 15:16