using the GW system for pix.. one pic per post ... is all that is allowed ... if you want to get fancy... you need something like flikr or photobucket ... IMHO ... your first lesson as a newb ... is to learn about the mulch.. and learn to maintain it so as to keep weeds at bay ... if you did nothing else this season ... just mulch ... and second.. they are not children.. you wont need to ever feed anything.. key word being NEED ... a little of this or that wont hurt.. but dont get it in your head.. they will die w/o food.. besides .. note that with a properly applied mulch.. one of its functions.. as it breaks down.. is to build the soil .. which ... is really all a plant needs.. a good soil ... the first is a shrub.. i may see you in that forum .. the second is a perennial ... i might see you in that forum ... good luck and welcome to GW ken ps: learning how to water ... would be the next best thing.. to learn this season ... and it has nothing to do with wetting down the leaves every evening.. after dinner ... and it is rarely an automated system.. for anything other than the lawn ...

Unfortunately, I can't think of a way I could help. Back in 1995, veterans were gathering to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. When I volunteered to help, I was contacted by vets looking for buddies they hadn't heard from in decades. I found hundreds of them. It was a wonderful experience. I simply used software that had phone directories for the U.S. It was state-of-the-art at the time, but very ho-hum 12 years later. If I think of anything, I'll let you know. Don't you wish GardenWeb email worked better?

My suggestion would be to put the tiles on a backerboard per David's comments and then frame that. There are hardware fittings that are used primarily for glass or lucite panels - 'standoffs' we call them but I am not sure what the correct term for them is - I am pretty sure that Outwater has them if you can't get them locally. Anyway - if you dimension your frame correctly then you should be able to drill a hole in each corner of it and into the grout of the backsplash. Screw your standoffs into the backsplash and then attach your framed tile art and you're off to the races ! If you want to take it down later it's very easy to patch four small holes in the grout invisibly. Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.outwater.com

I basically like what you're considering and am posting to underline my agreement with no angled sink. I have that corner in a tiny vacation kitchen, and if I could make one major change to that kitchen within its footprint it would be to sacrifice what minimal counter space I have to its right to set it in next to the refrigerator. Note that an angled sink removes inches from the front counter edge to stand and work at, making the entire space work smaller, and it shifts precious counter space to wasted area behind the sink. (I'm short, so it's especially wasted.) Go ahead and measure the counter edge inches with both layouts and see. Creating one very good, pleasant work space--which you do have in excellent position between sink and stove--would be my first priority. So I'd set the sink on the fridge run wherever you want it. And if the DW has to go under the prep run, oh well. Disadvantages would be offset by the real advantages of a compact work area which are seldom considered these big-kitchen days. Btw, I predict you'll love your spice and other shallow storage across from the stove. :) Addendum: I forgot to mention that I'd strongly consider effectively abandoning the corner space under the counter, instead running drawers right up to the corner on one or both sides depending on where the sink was set. My home kitchen has an 18-inch drawer-and-door to provide access to a susan, and even though I think building in a few deep knee bends is a good thing, I'd trade it out in an instant for a high-efficiency 18-inch drawer stack. (I do have a basement pantry for large, seldom-used items.) I'd also seriously consider putting drawers under the sink. that's extremely, extremely valuable space RIGHT THERE, and just a little kind of the custom attention you've given to between-studs storage would secure it for items you use right there. Most of the chemicals and whatever that typically occupy that space would be better off on broom-closet shelves somewhere else.