Well I don't exactly have a garden, since I am growing herbs in pots on my balcony. This time last year all I had was a window box with rosemary and greek oregano that some friends planted for me. I have lots more now!: This is the view of my balcony from the parking lot. Except for a pepper plant, these are all herbs Bay Laurel. Some friends gave this to me when they decided to move to Canada. Some of my earliest posts on these forums were concerning this tree. It was a lot taller but I cut it down some when I repotted it. In the spring I think I will repot it in a smaller pot, cause I really dont want it this big. I want to keep it more shrub-like. Lemongrass: I am about to harvest it. Its growing pretty well in this self watering pot, but the roots are already growing down into the reservior. In the spring I am gonna start over in a much bigger pot! Garlic Chives: They are a little wilted from the sun, but they are really pretty full. I also had regular chives, but they died. Not sure what I did wrong but the garlic chives grew like crazy! Texas Tarragon (Mexican Mint Marigold). This is one tenacious plant! I have cut it back twice because of spider mites and it just keeps coming back! Thyme: I just planted this in Sept. The one I planted in the spring was pretty big but I had to trash it 'cause of spider mites Thai Basil: After a slow start (due to underwatering) this has been growing like crazy. I have cut it back to practically nothing about 4 or 5 times already, but it really grows back quickly! Sweet Basil: I just planted this toward the end of the summer. About a month ago, when a cold front came through, I harvested most of it and made pesto. But it is starting to grow back (albeit slowly) Spearmint: New plant just planted in Sept (the old one was another victim of spidermites). I was so desperate to get a new one planted I settled for one that was pretty leggy and pest damaged when I bought it. I cut it back to about one sprig before I planted it. It's taken awhile but it is finally coming along! It is actually 2 different varieties. The one on the left with the bigger leaves is Kentucky Colonel, the one on the right is generic spearmint. Last night I harvested some to make mojitos! Sage: Another new plant after the spider mite invasion. Rosemary: Another new one. The one I had was nice and bushy and about 2' tall. Another casualty of the spider mite wars! Sigh! I guess I am gonna have to buy my herbs for Thanksgiving dinner. I doubt that the rosemary, thyme and sage will be big enough by T-day. Spider mites notwithstanding, I am pretty pleased with my first growing season. I never grew anything before and I couldn't have done it without the help and advice from GardenWeb. Thanks y'all! Lydia

You answered one of my other links-- i would LOVE to see your tub in the deck-- this is one of our top contendors... Did you get air or jets?? pros cons?

We spent an eon agonizing over how to incorporate a computer into the kitchen -- the computer is where we get all of our recipes, all of our music, as well as all of our news/movies/info/entertainment. We came _this close_ to buying an i-mac and putting it on an articulating arm mounted to the side of the pantry (which is next to the prep area). Our thinking was that it could face someone seated at the island for t.v. or could be used for recipe sites in the prep area, while also being able to play music or podcasts over the in-ceiling speakers. In the end after visiting the Apple store and talking at length with an APple guy (who happens to be a lawyer by day and about to embark on his own kitchen renovation), with his help we went an altogether different route, although the new i-macs are beautiful, we realized that we'd rather search for recipies (and music, and everything else) on our individual laptops while seated in the living room and then carry the laptop into the kitchen as opposed to doing this while sitting or standing in the kitchen. By our way of thinking, the hours that the kitchen computer would get used would not be enough to justify buying a new computer for the job, and most of what we wanted it to do could be better done on a laptop (and I'd argue even better done on a brand spankin' new i-book, but so far no dice). Thus this is the route we chose instead: 1 - speakers installed in the kitchen ceiling (and living room ceiling too)and wired to the back of the pantry, we had our electrician put an outlet inside it 2 - a shelf installed in the pantry that holds the following: 2- powered amps (0ne for each set of speakers), and an Airport Express that my laptop (or any computer in the household) that allows me to opt to play through the in-ceiling speakers (I-tunes, or Pandora mostly, but could play anything the computer can get to). 3 - a slate lazy susan (ordered from Amazon) to hold a laptop on the island while cooking, the thought here is that it keeps it up out of spills, and also turns as the cook changes positions while cooking. 4 - as for the t.v., there are lots of small, high-res lcd t.v.'s at Sam's Club/Costco that would do the job and fit nicely in a small space for less than $300, it didn't seem to make sense to buy a dedicated computer to primarily be a t.v. (at 3x the cost of the t.v.). We don't actually watch t.v.(just Netflix, I-tunes t.v. shows and Hulu) so it hasn't been an issue, but if we did, say want t.v. going while in the kitchen, II think I'd buy an inexpensive one rather than buying another/dedicated computer to be a t.v. (though that could be done as well). 5 I'd till like to add a wireless keyboard and mouse tothe laptop because they're under $100, cute as a button and would allow me to not worry about having messy hands on the keyboard while cooking. Although the island is still under construction, the speakers, amps and airport extreme are up and running, and we're...

Lolauren--I ran the idea by Chris (our main construction guy) of adding tube lights in the kitchen. He said he could do it but that it would take a day's worth of work for each one. That seemed too out of budget for me so I told him to forget it. Raenjapan--Thanks! Persnick--Your pics make me feel very hopeful. As I posted on that thread, I too am using a mirror in place of a window in my kitch! Siv--Again, a glimmer of hope. Thank you. Tracey--I'm reviewing my lighting plan. Right now Chris is working on all the electrical so today is the day to figure it all out. We have a wall of cabinets with uppers and there is under cab lighting there. Above the island (15' with 5' of range) there are 5 flushmounts slated. The kitchen is a narrow galley and I have one large fixture in the middle and two smaller ones flanking each end. I am just worried because the length is 19.5' in length. I think this is plenty of light, but a small part of me wonders how the light in the middle will be. I don't want shadows. But I don't want overkill either. Rosiew--LOL...he's kind of a friend and I just took it as a truthful statement. We have tons of windows but our house is surrounded by pines so it is really dark. Husband and I commented on it when we moved in two years ago, also. But we are kind of dark and brooding ourselves, so I guess this is the perfect house for us ;) The kitchen as it is (plywood walls) really does look dungeon-esque. I am going to post some pics on my blog later today. They are not uploaded from my camera yet but if you go to my blog in about an hour or so, they should be there ;) sabjimata.wordpress.com