Thank you all for your help! I will defenitely go to Home Depot to try and get that dwarf tree. I agree it makes sense to have it all set for me, with the soil, fertilizer, etc. I cant wait to start. I used to have a wonderful veggie garden about 20 yrs ago! Im 45 now. Since then, I have not had a back yard. I have had really nice house plants though. I think this is a great forum, and you guys sound really supportive and kind here. OH, to the nice guy from Montreal, we almost got there last year, but my daughter was sick and we ended up staying in the Canadian town in ths suburbs just before the bridges to Montreal. We stayed in a Best Western, and never made it there. My boyfriend is Canadian, and haha met him on a Beatle site about 7 yrs ago! He is from Vancouver, Victoria, and Edmonton. I love Canada!Well, I love to go to the Botanic Gardens in Brooklyn Ny and love to go for the Japanese Festival, so that will perk me up too! Ill keep you posted on my tree! I wish you all well! Thanks, Mary

I don't think 3" wide is all that much space to sacrifice, but perhaps it is something to consider once the full height is considered. What I was considering was how much miscellaneous prep stuff we have in the (equivalent to this) drawer already (combined households) and how much I want the knife block off the countertop and I want my knives on the prep island. I don't think it would be difficult to find the right knife. Handles vary some and placement gets routine. Safety: I could drop a knife at any point, but I still use them. Currently we do not have any little kids around (youngest is 10), but the next generation should be considered, I guess. Although...I grew up in a household with a much more exposed knife holder and so did my siblings and all of our children and grandchildren and somehow none have suffered a tragedy as a result. Funny how I find knives in a drawer much riskier and more likely for someone to reach in and slide a hand along a blade because someone didn't seat it properly in the knife holder. I tell myself that's illogical, but it's a fear I have.

I don't have a suggestion for sealant - but in addition to ideas you get here, make sure to read up on what the manufacturer and your supplier suggest.

I saw your posts on Tile Geeks, GTP, etc. I’m glad that you are undertaking this experiment. It’s valuable information for homeowners and Pro’s alike. Please post the photos directly here, in your post, rather than linking to a blog. Houzz tends to view posts designed to generate traffic for another website as spammy. This information is too important to be vanish as spam.