Chocolate mint sounds heavenly! I'm a sucker for chocolate, have a huge sweet tooth, and that's what makes dieting so difficult for me! I just love bakery and chocolate... preferably chocolate bakery! I usually grow some regular mint and also spearmint in the garden, along with oregano, basil, thyme, sage, cilantro, parsley and chives. The herbs are mixed in with the perennials, and the mint usually takes over and requires a drastic cutting back in summer! This spring, I have to dig out some of the oregano... it's overtaking the dianthus and coreopsis, and starting to get in the way of the garage door! Some herbs are just a tad bit invasive! Good zucchini bread is a great trade off for tolerating a few plants and bulbs! You have lucky roommates! They not only get to enjoy your baking... they also get to enjoy your flowers! I've heard that species tulips are fabulous for forcing... I may try some next year. I also want to try forcing Lily-Of-The-Valley... now, that would be a wonderful mid-winter pick-me-up with that heavenly scent! This is my first year forcing any bulb, and I've got a nice pot of hyacinths getting bigger every day, just begging to bloom and spread that lovely perfume! Without my indoor garden, I'd go winter wacky!

Sorry for the delay in responding. The last few days since this incident with sister have been tough, but I think we may have a solution. First, BF is completely on the side of the cats. He loves them and hates that they are all cooped up and thinks sister shouldn't be changing the rules, nor is she the only one who gets a vote. She's also difficult with his 2 daughters when they're here....she really is a control freak. The reality is that neither one of us really wanted her to move with us, but the time between the talk about it and the actual move was very quick. His ex couldn't afford the unexpected increase in the month to month rent at her place that started March 1st, so she moved into BF's house, and BF and sister and I moved here. We had actually talked about it around Thanksgiving, but Exwife didn't want anything to do with the idea then. BF and I both sometimes work from home, and there is an apartment layout here that we love and would be perfect for us...2BR, 2BA and a den for an office. But unfortunately, at the time exwife told him she had reconsidered and wanted to do this move, there were none of those available on none even on the horizon, so we took the 3BR, 2BA that was available now. I sat Sister down last night with BF present but not saying anything and told her that I was not ok with how things had been with the cats and that I had come up with a possible solution. I found a pet gate online that will work beautifully with our apartment layout called a retract-a-gate. (which *I* am paying for t the tune of $150 or so) I showed it to her and (had shown it to BF before) and told her that I was willing to buy it and give it a try but that she needed to do her part, too. It can be mounted in a way that allows the kitties access to the bathroom all the time and then either just "their" bedroom or theirs and ours, but not the kitchen or living room, which is her gripe. I said that I understood and supported that she didn't want the cats in HER bedroom, but that I wasn't going to be made to sit on the floor in the living room watching MY tv (a 47inch HDTV flatscreen) because of her not wanting cats on the furniture. I said I was willing to run the cat hair thing or vaccuum whenever necessary and that obviously if the cats did any damage I would repair or replace whatever needed it. But neither BF nor I was going to be told that if we were sitting on her chair or her couch we couldn't hold one of the kitties. I also said that I wasn't willing to stay in this apartment if I had to worry about the cats when I wasn't home. I told her I had already decided to not renew the lease and furthermore, if she didn't do her part between now and the end of the lease that I would consider breaking the lease. She was agreeable to the gate idea and said she felt badly about them being closed up all the time. I don't buy that for a minute....I think she knows she went overboard and was a bit freaked out at the idea that I would break the lease. She needed my income and credit to qualify here to even be on the lease, but I do not need hers. She is definitely Jekyll and Hyde. I will stay for the duration of the lease assuming no further kitty issues but have already found another apartment complex that has the 2BR 2BA den layout that is in a good area and also even has a putting green. (BF and I are avid golfers.) When we moved into this apartment I was able to transfer without any lease termination fees. Once this lease is up we will go to the other without any fees. So I'm ordering the gate and will give it a try. I told her if this didn't suit her then there really is no other option but to consider moving....the cats are MY family. If t was just my older boy Tonka it might not be an issue. He is 19 and not going to be around forever. But my younger girl Katie is only 7 and will be with me for a long time to come. She's the kind of cat who starts purring as soon as you look at her and loves her people and isn't even a little bit naughty. Curious, maybe, but not naughty. I have my doubts about whether or not the gate will actually stop Katie-cat, but all I can do is try. Testimonials on their website say that cats will not usually jump over something. They might jump up onto something, but not over, so we'll see. Thanks again for the thoughts and insights.

I never fully priced Barkers. I needed all sorts of additional special pieces. It was pretty much impossible with the order set up at Barker's to be sure I was getting everything I needed. I ended up spending 18K on a full kitchen with very high end design and finishes. That included shipping to Georgia from ND. My independent KD said equivalent cabinets from her business would have cost me $45K. Send you plan to Scherr's and have them cost it out. I would bet it would be a little higher because they will include all of the pieces that you need. Nothing would be forgotten. Also, Scherr's will customize materials. You want walnut drawers, they'll do it.

I don't take any herbal supplements except turmeric, only fish oil for my cholesterol/triglycerides and glucosamine/chondroitin for knee pain. Honestly, I would rather suffer the consequences of taking the turmeric and glucosamine/chondroitin (flatulence) than taking strong pain medication that puts me to sleep and could become habit forming. My doctor is on board. In fact, my hypertension and triglyceride count has improved with fish oil to the point that I am discontinuing my beta blocker and statin meds, again on my doc's advice.