Thanks, missingtheobvious. Yep, I missed the obvious. I know better than to post after that long a day. Or I thought I did. Apparently not..... But re vines, Lucy: Make sure you are not choosing something that will end up being a huge problem. No ivy, no others that are invasive in your area. Up here in the north, I would be looking at possible combinations of akebia, several of the clematis varieties, one of the more delicate climbing roses, etc, all tolerant, within limits, of moderate to deep shade. Don't know what would thrive in shade where you are. But watch for invasive characteristics when choosing plants. And remember that the strategy of most perennial vines is to grow to reach for light. In pots or planters, worst case, you leave them more in the lighted area of the yard for a week or three til they have vines that are 2 or 3 ft long. Then move the pot/planter into the deep shade, and give them a little something to climb, and they will find as much sun as they are comfortable with. They may end up being leggy in the first foot or three, but you can plant other things at their feet. They should be lush above. I love the ideas of both the bench over part of the drain and designing the 'step/s' outside the slider as informal seating. The floor.... Safe enough for the kid. Up here, I would probably use cheap shredded mulch, but in your hot/humid, this would be a home for lots of molds and other unnecessary allergen exposures for a little one. Ruling that one out. In a larger yard, where there was likely to be a swing set at some point, and in a few years maybe a trampoline, I would be much more concerned about hard surfaces. But it looks like this small area will be for quieter, less athletic play, with no mechanical assists to tempt a child to fly, and then plummet.... If so, then make sure your surface is laid evenly, whatever it is. No big trip hazards, no rock points that can cause unnecessary damage over a simple stumble. That should be sufficient.

UPDATES Ok...Sorry I am not been around...had a sick cat in the house. The other cat and myself, were both busy trying to talk him out of kitty heaven. AnywaysVet was nice enough to charge a visit, and got some kitty antibiotics, he will be going back for surgery later...but, my cat is going to be fine now I think. Things are gradually getting back to 'normal' around here. People have sent me emails, and I am still trying to get caught up. Other than that, I got lots of good news. My phone was disconnected (I hate phones, so this is considered a form of good news) Strangely enought, my mother (whom I speak to on the phone maybe 3 times per decade) got wind of this, and for some reason, she felt determined to pay my phone bill. Luckily, I was able to talk her out of it. I told her, if she really wanted to help me so badly, she could pay the cable bill instead, so I could keep my internet. So, mom to the rescue, I am staying online! My future plants will enjoy a much safer childhood, if I can maintain my access to people who actually know what they're doing. Also, I popped the big question to my uncle on Tuesday. The answer is YES! Since they are going to be gone all summer, and won't be aroung to take care of their garden...my aunt was going to turn most of it into lawn. (EEEK) Instead, he said I can plant some of my plants in there, under the condition I help take care of their stuff too! Oh darn. I'll just have to struggle thru that. (I am really in heaven, but they don't need to know) So...I'm not going to loose contact with the outside world. My cat isn't going to kitty heaven. My garden project is no longer exclusively limited to the boundaries of the apartment, and I'll have a whole yard with a "real garden" nearly all to myself this summer. Can it get any better? YES, it can! The lady who has the "garden of eden" growing on the other side of my aunts fence...apparently she is a human botanical encyclopedia? My aunt just told me that when growing season starts, this woman purposely buys extra stuff, because she like to give plants and seeds away so much! She won't let anyone near her garden (even her husband) but, apparently she loves to answer gardening questions, and come spring... she turns into a real plant-pusher. I'm thinking, if I spend my free time loitering and tinkering around in my aunts yard this summer...I might actually learn about this faster than I thought. Yippe! I really have enjoyed this forum; I've gotton so many great ideas, and have heard from so many nice people here. I may be a poster child for poverty at the moment, but it is only temporary....and I think that by the time my check comes, I will have forgotton how to spend money, and won't remember what I needed it for. This place has really helped stimulate my creativity, and being broke has actually not been so bad. I have managed to come up with the most innovative solutions to problems as they arise, somedays its hard not to see the humor in my situation...overall it has been a rather amusing experience. I have all these containers made from stuff around the house. I've just emptied a coffee can that is about to become a bird house. I traded some cable cords for potting soil and perlite, and now my uncle donated some more to me: He said "it has just been taking up space in the garage." He also gave me paint for my plant containers that he was going to recycle. Someone else is dropping off styrofoam peanuts today. People have offered to send me seeds too, which was the necessary key element I needed before I could start at all. My aunt (a cake decorator) is getting cake flats and lids from her work for me to start my seeds in. She offered to give me some containers she has, that are specifically designed for starting seeds, but I told her that would be cheating..."wouldn't be frugal." I'm just having too much fun trying to find ways to make something out of nothing. Thanks for all the ideas, and support. I need all the help I can get, and I will always be looking for ways to return the favors. I got my garlic babies growing right now in the "nursery" in my fridge. I've gotton alot of good advice about that from people on the "Allium" forums. Anyone want to see pictures? They are absolutly adorable. I better go...but I'll be back. Thanks for everything. Leslie

Twotogo, your link says it needs to have a picture selected, or something like that. Can you redo the link?

shellfish: Oh, lovely room. That is right up my alley as well! I'm so envious of your space! I like the idea of the white coverlet which I may add in winter below the duvet. DD and I are still looking through the samples though lean towards a more saturated color like boxerpup's DS's room, then a lighter shade for the ceiling. Hope to narrow it down to a few paint samples to test on the walls. DD has little patience with me as I wanted to show her the inspiration pics. I'd rather she just pick a look she likes and let me narrow down the paint colors to 2-3 that match the one in a picture. That has always been my difficulty in doing her room--she just focuses on one aspect, the bedding, WTs or paint and not how they all look together in her room, with her floor and lighting. Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done in terms of room layout at present and it's not possible to remove just the head and footboard. It's a captain's storage bed with four drawers which she uses for her clothes. In another year my DS will most likely go away to college then I think I will let her move into his room which is a smidge larger and then we can do something similar to paintergirl's rendition. In which case I'll be repainting both rooms in a year's time. If it wasn't so hideous right now, I'd just wait another year, but she and I both hate it and the bedding and WTs can simply move to the other room when the time comes. I lvoe the paint color in the living room photo above and think DD would agree to that since it's so vivid. That B&W accents really seem to mitigate the intense shade as I'd hoped it would. Does anyone know what color that is?