Yes, It is hardy in zone 7. I would love to trade you for hyssop seeds. New to this so don't know how to message privately with addresses......... I guess email me at spkennels@hotmail.com Thanks!

Sorry for the delay in responding. The last few days since this incident with sister have been tough, but I think we may have a solution. First, BF is completely on the side of the cats. He loves them and hates that they are all cooped up and thinks sister shouldn't be changing the rules, nor is she the only one who gets a vote. She's also difficult with his 2 daughters when they're here....she really is a control freak. The reality is that neither one of us really wanted her to move with us, but the time between the talk about it and the actual move was very quick. His ex couldn't afford the unexpected increase in the month to month rent at her place that started March 1st, so she moved into BF's house, and BF and sister and I moved here. We had actually talked about it around Thanksgiving, but Exwife didn't want anything to do with the idea then. BF and I both sometimes work from home, and there is an apartment layout here that we love and would be perfect for us...2BR, 2BA and a den for an office. But unfortunately, at the time exwife told him she had reconsidered and wanted to do this move, there were none of those available on none even on the horizon, so we took the 3BR, 2BA that was available now. I sat Sister down last night with BF present but not saying anything and told her that I was not ok with how things had been with the cats and that I had come up with a possible solution. I found a pet gate online that will work beautifully with our apartment layout called a retract-a-gate. (which *I* am paying for t the tune of $150 or so) I showed it to her and (had shown it to BF before) and told her that I was willing to buy it and give it a try but that she needed to do her part, too. It can be mounted in a way that allows the kitties access to the bathroom all the time and then either just "their" bedroom or theirs and ours, but not the kitchen or living room, which is her gripe. I said that I understood and supported that she didn't want the cats in HER bedroom, but that I wasn't going to be made to sit on the floor in the living room watching MY tv (a 47inch HDTV flatscreen) because of her not wanting cats on the furniture. I said I was willing to run the cat hair thing or vaccuum whenever necessary and that obviously if the cats did any damage I would repair or replace whatever needed it. But neither BF nor I was going to be told that if we were sitting on her chair or her couch we couldn't hold one of the kitties. I also said that I wasn't willing to stay in this apartment if I had to worry about the cats when I wasn't home. I told her I had already decided to not renew the lease and furthermore, if she didn't do her part between now and the end of the lease that I would consider breaking the lease. She was agreeable to the gate idea and said she felt badly about them being closed up all the time. I don't buy that for a minute....I think she knows she went overboard and was a bit freaked out at the idea that I would break the lease. She needed my income and credit to qualify here to even be on the lease, but I do not need hers. She is definitely Jekyll and Hyde. I will stay for the duration of the lease assuming no further kitty issues but have already found another apartment complex that has the 2BR 2BA den layout that is in a good area and also even has a putting green. (BF and I are avid golfers.) When we moved into this apartment I was able to transfer without any lease termination fees. Once this lease is up we will go to the other without any fees. So I'm ordering the gate and will give it a try. I told her if this didn't suit her then there really is no other option but to consider moving....the cats are MY family. If t was just my older boy Tonka it might not be an issue. He is 19 and not going to be around forever. But my younger girl Katie is only 7 and will be with me for a long time to come. She's the kind of cat who starts purring as soon as you look at her and loves her people and isn't even a little bit naughty. Curious, maybe, but not naughty. I have my doubts about whether or not the gate will actually stop Katie-cat, but all I can do is try. Testimonials on their website say that cats will not usually jump over something. They might jump up onto something, but not over, so we'll see. Thanks again for the thoughts and insights.

Just curious: I thought the repair prone Elux ovens were the 2009 versions, and improvements have solved the problem? The reports of problems here on the forum have definitely fallen to nil since then. KitchenAid ovens have had such variable and negative reviews here, and additionally, such problems with non-responsive customer service, that I never even considered them. TGC, I found Consumer Reports to be sorely lacking in broad coverage of brands, certainly of a variety of models, and in judging the appliances in areas which I found important...like over time. A day of testing doesn't show it all. Also, their repair history type of reports are misleading, since they only cover a few types of problems. For instance, I did a survey for them in which it made our Maytag fridge look like a star, because it didn't allow for information about how many times we had to replace parts to the drawers, how much we spent in shipping costs for parts, or the evaporator motor we replaced ourselves when the original went out just after the warranty period. They don't take into account necessary parts and repairs that don't require a manufacturer's service tech. Anyway, you're doing things the right way...Consult CR, but also look to resources like this forum and AJ Madison reviews where you get reports from real life experience, and from people who use their appliances in all different ways.

Unless the sleeves are for an electrical box, the size doesn't have to be that precise. My formers have used lengths of flexible or rigid ABS or PVC. If the openings are for windows, you have to build a "buck", a rough four sided box of dimensional lumber as wide as the forms, typically 8-10". The formers will know how to attach them. But be sure to double check all sleeves, bucks etc. before the pour. Sleeves can save you a lot of effort of drilling concrete later. OTOH, in one case the city told me the sewers were only seven feet down while the finished basement floor was 10' below grade. So I put in sleeves for hefty sewer pipes. Turns out the city sewers there were an exceptionally deep 12 feet and I was left with two awkward holes to fill.