Here's how I compost all of the poop (I also use premium dog food) from my eleven dogs: About 5 feet away from my ornamental trees (to avoid hitting too many large tree roots), I dig a hole approximately 12 inches deep and 12 inches wide. That is big enough to hold all of the poop for approximately a week. I don't add anything else (have a separate compost pile for everything else). Once the hole is full, I cover it back over with the original soil so it resembles a large mound and dig a new hole about 2 feet away. As the poop breaks down, the mound will sink on its own without any additional work from you. The tree also appreciates the nutrients. Best of all, the worms and other composting helpers will follow the trail of poop from hole to hole around the tree. By the time you get all the way around (provided it's a good sized tree), the original hole site will be fully composted and ready for refilling. Just one word of caution: Make sure to do this around ornamental trees and bushes only. There are many who believe that composting dog poop around fruit trees can cause contamination of the fruit, even if your dogs are perfectly healthy. It's just not worth the risk either way. Happy composting! :)

Thanks for the feedback! Raw really isn't an option for me. I've never fed my cats wet food -- in part because I'm so frequently gone on weekends, and mostly because they seem to bolt it right away, and then seem so unhappy for the rest of the day. (Or in the case of the Siamese, he throws it up and then goes hungry!) I understand all cats are different, but in 35 years of cats, I've never had one suffer from dehydration or bad teeth. I understand the possibility of dehydration (we have three water bowls and a dripping faucet!) but isn't hard kibble better for cats teeth? I know I've never had any problem with cats developing tarter, while many of my friends who fed their cats wet food had to brush their teeth regularly. (I did have a 19 year old cat who developed an abcess, but I think it there were some other issues there.) My Siamese is eating Innova kibble, and seems to like it. As long as there's always some in his bowl, he keeps it down okay. The big girl doesn't seem to care for the Innova regular or light -- altho' if she doesn't have enough in her bowl she'll eat his as well! I'm beginning to wonder if good "light" food really exists for cats. Since I've started reading labels, and rejecting those with a lot of corn and wheat filler, it seems like you're left with such skimpy portions that the cat is unsatisfied. I had hoped ingredients like "pea protein" and barley and oats would help fill her up without bulking her up. But a quarter cup in the morning and a quarter cup at night gets inhaled in a matter of minutes. And doesn't seem to be helping with the weight. Maybe "light" cat food is a mirage, and the only hope is (as with humans) to eat less and exercise more. Poor girl. I knew she was a bit overweight at 13 pounds, and she lost a pound in the first year she lived with me, but at the last vet visit they told me she should weigh 7-8 pounds. The Siamese does his part by running her ragged, and she and I play with toys in the evening, but that weight is not budging. "I'm not pudgy, I'm Rubensesque..."

Hmm, I said above, "That said, a few grains are tougher to digest and generally of lesser nutritional value." I'm confused. Not feeding a "grain free" food does not suggest at all feeding corn as an ingredient. Corn is typically considered difficult to digest by a dog - and i believe by humans also. I would think it is a good idea to not feed any ingredient that your dog is allergic to. Corn is but one of many that may be an issue. The food that includes some corn as an ingredient may be fine for someone elses's dog and something your dog is fine with may cause another dog serious problems. For decades I fed a highly respected holistic food from Solid Gold. It was and is not "grain free" nor does it contain corn. The Tufts study I linked to, as I said, "Here is but a sample of the thoughts of other folks:" is NOT the FDA announcement I cited. PS It is not as common to find that a dogis allergic to a particular grain as it is to find the allergy stems from the choice of protein.If changing food due to an allergy, the conventional wisdom is to change the choice of protein. (There are a couple of proteins that particularly seem to cause allergy problems. PPS Per Merck Vet Manual - Vet School Text: "Corn is not a filler! It actually contains an amazing amount of nutrients, such as protein from corn gluten, natural antioxidants, and fatty acids."

I think the lines of the pantry are fine. If it was 24" deep I'd suggest drawers on the bottom, but it appears to be shallower than that. Would you consider moving the sink and DW to the left, to center the sink on the left window section? That would give you more prep space, but the asymmetry would irk some people. ETA, you could switch the drawer base with the trash pull-out, if you'd prefer the symmetry with the upper cabinets, and the trash pull-out door could even be made to mimic a drawer base, to match the drawer base to the right of the range.