Sure. We followed the plans for the top of this cold frame made of PVC http://www.pvcplans.com/coldframe.htm He made the bottom to fit right inside of the bed and we buried it some. We covered it with plastic drop cloth from the painting section of Lowes. Next year I will have time to plan ahead and order some thicker plastic but we were on a time crunch. I think if I had it to do over again, we would have used 1/2" pvc instead of the 3/4". We weren't able to get enough clips to hold the cover on (that's why one isn't covered) and if we had used the smaller pvc, we could have used those large 2" black binder clips to hold the plastic on. That's what I used when I lived in WA and built a hoop house. here's a link to show you what clips I'm talking about http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/838056/Office-Depot-Large-Binder-Clips-2/?cm_vc=C5203 My husband doesn't really draw out plans, kinda builds as he goes (drives me nuts but who am I to complain if he does the job) We had to try and figure out how to cover the ends since we didn't have any more clips and needed to be able to get in easily to water. I thought of lattice and we found some plastic lattice with smaller openings. On the side that gets the most wind, we covered the lattice with plastic and stapled through small cardboard pieces to help secure it. We have a heavy duty staple gun so hubby had to push down the ends on the outside with his multi tool so I wouldn't get poked. I suggested shorter staples but.... Then we just poked a few holes through the plastic and zip tied it to the frame. The other side of the lattice we left uncovered so that the plants would get some air. You could cover it but we ran out of time and it seems to work just fine. Our garden is right by the fire station on a busy road, we even had a couple of people stop and come see them and ask how we built them. If you need close up pictures of any of it, let me know. I have a couple on my blog but I could email more. Something else we did, since we get so much bloody wind, I tied zip ties around the bottom of the frame and stapled them to the box. One good gust when we were putting the ends on almost sent the whole thing flying. So far seems to be holding on just fine. Here is a link that might be useful: my blog

There's potentially good news about Annie. (That's the name I decided to give her when I took her to the vet last week.) A rescue organization has decided to help out, and will provide her with a space each weekend at their adoption events. The lady in charge feels pretty certain she'll be adopted quickly, because they don't have any kittens....yet. There's a bunch on the way, since kitten season is rapidly approaching, but there's definately hope Annie will find a new, forever home soon. They are also paying for her to be spayed and vaccinated, so I don't have to take her to the grist-mill style clinic that does the ferals. Not that they're a bad place, but they will do as many as 150 cats in one day, which has to be stressful on the cats. It's necessary, but I'm glad she's not going to have to deal with scores of other cats around her. Anyway, I had said I was going to have her done this past Monday, but I put it off because she was having diarrhea. It's a good thing, since now she's going to a privet vet clinic instead. her first adoption event will be next Sunday. Sally

Jenswrens, I hope you know that the meanness heaped on your previous plan was from us wanting you to have a really really great kitchen, not just a pretty one!! First impression, this is a much, much better plan, and should fine as is, though, as with most plans, some tweaking can probably improve it. I have been noodling around with your design and came up with nothing that worked. You've done a great job, and it's worth all your iterations and efforts. I love the way you've conserved your windows and gotten the wall space you needed for your tall units by reorienting. And I love your complex island. It's a little quirky, which makes the elegance of your design interesting. If you don't think you need two dishwashers, I don't think you do. The aisle size is fine for baby goats. I once did an analysis and decided that 40" bare minimum to not feel cramped and claustorphobic, and 54" the maximum not to be too wide. You're a couple of inches past that, but you have the "goats". It won't be bad. The biggest issue in that is landing space for the fridge, but that's something that can be worked with. Maybe a folding tea cart for the odd thing that's just too heavy to carry to the counter. Maybe just group effort. I think the hearth seating is going to be cozier than it looks in the drawing. Over and over I am reminded how seating doesn't look on paper like it takes up the amount of real room that it does in life. Plus, when you were drawing you left a nice, open passage between the hall and the porch. IRL, there will be a dog lying across that, at the very least. I really think by the time you're done decorating there will be plenty of cozy in the room, and you need the space that's currently empty. (Says the one with the big rooms--maybe it's just the big roomness that's making it feel uncozy. You want a big room. The agoraphobia will pass.) Why is mudroom junk visible? Can't you put in a door? Doors are really useful barriers to unwanted sights. The other thing you could do is just put a small partition wall inside of the doorway to block the sight through. Or if you're trying to let in light, make a textured glass partition there. That is, something sticking out of the South wall, about 3-4' wide, that people have to go around to get to the mudroom proper and blocks people seeing in. A partial vestibule, if you will. Or even a decorative, freestanding screen. I see the value of making the porch bigger though. Do you need a powder room there? Do you want people not crossing the hearthroom to to other powder room? Or do you want to move that (I forget). But, if you make the porch bigger, how do you enter the mudroom? I think you could design something like a potting bench on top and a pet station under counter height that would serve both purposes and make maximum use of your extra mudroom space. I don't imagine that one would usually want to be doing gardening tasks and feeding both at the same time, so sharing the space seems natural. Okay, my big question is about the wine room. A window? Really? The North wall helps, but I wouldn't even want the wine on an outside wall. You're going to need plenty of extra insulation there. AHA!!! If the powder room is in the mudroom, would that be okay for company to use? If so, you could remove the powder room as shown, move the wine room to the interior, and make part of the current wine room into your pantry. Pantries aren't fond on windows either, but most pantry foods don't mind small changes in temperature, whereas you should keep wines at even, nonfluctuating, temperatures. Light isn't great for either, but you can do a temporary solution for that, like blackout film, if you don't want to take out or board over the window altogether. The dishes don't go in those pretty glass fronts? and the drawers below them? The problem with dishes on the island shelves is enthusiastic tails and cat hair. You could add doors. As to the rest of the kitchen proper? Is that the two microwaves between the glass fronts? They're pretty there, but I usually use the microwave on stuff right out of the fridge or freezer. If you do too, that distance could be a bother. I don't think there's room for them on the other side though, and splitting up the MWs and the coolers, and putting one of each on each wall breaks up the pretty. When I first looked at the plan, I thought the appliances between the glass fronts were double ovens. If so, those are okay there. Most things that go in ovens start out as pots or trays on counters, and you have the single near the stove for moving between those. If the double are really the microwaves, I might trade the single oven with one of the microwaves. But that depends on how you cook and live. What's more important? An oven by the stove, or a microwave by the fridge? Maybe a little MW near the fridge for defrosting a bagel and melting butter, with a big one on the other side? I stand by the first thing I said, though. No matter what might not be perfect in this plan, I could live with it as is. Everything but the window in the wine room.

I have an upright freezer in my kitchen. It has an opening in the oak cabinetry that my DH built when he did the rest of the kitchen cabinetry and looks like the refrig opening (match-matchy). Having it there makes so much more sense than one out in the pole barn (sorry annie1992). I also have a chest freezer in the bakery kitchen. To organize them, I put like things together on the shelves, some in baskets, some not. They are labeled on the outside (plain paper under a magnet) as to what is on each shelf of the upright, and what is in the left, middle, and right of the chest. They do get a lot of scritch-scratch on the papers, but I can finally keep track of all the "just stuff it in there" that may be labeled (like cloudy_christine) from too many years ago. The labels are: poultry, meat, seafood, fruit, veggies (including onions, sweet peppers, mashed potatoes), dairy (cheese/butter/eggs), finished stuff to reheat, and the additives (fat back, dried herbs, ginger, zest, bread &/or crumbs, vodka). All of the labels include dates - it only takes a minute - truthfully! The shelf for stuff to reheat is the wisest thing I've done since there's just the two of us and I cook for an army mostly, old habit having multiple children and/or relatives in the house. Pulling out a pile of waffles, bean soup, cooked rice, or ravioli is a god-send when it comes to lunch or dinner time. No stress. Do invest in a new gasket for whatever you buy new. The freezer will last a long time but the gaskets age and, like you discovered sleeven-dog, the manufactures stop offering them when you need them, years later. Extended warranty on most appliances are totally worthless. The unit is covered, usually by a 1-yr warranty, so what you are buying is just more money out the front door because it is not going to fail the first year. IMO Do buy a Food Saver or other air-sucker to preserve your frozen stuff. Even the lowly Mason pint or quart jars work exceptionally well in the freezer. IMO. Keep a thermometer in it. OF is OK but -10F is better. If you have a lot of open space in the freezer - stuff it heavily with newspaper or rice/flour/cornmeal/cereal/staples, or even ice cubes in a bag. The less air circulates in the open areas the better to maintain the freezing solid temperature in there. Nancy