African Wine Kettle. One of my favorites! Work your soil well with compost. fertilize with lots of potash. water deeply and regularly. don`t be in a hurry to harvest.have a plan on what to do with several thousand gourds when the market for them bottoms out. get the new Red Hot Chili Pepper's disc "Stadium Arcadium". take a hit on a 14 or 15 if the dealer has a 9 or better showing. don`t be sucked into the notion that reality tv is fine entertainment. don`t be a bandwagon-jumper...cheer for the underdog down there in the mud who's fighting their genetic prison to succeed. Never sell your dreams for small desires. Always wear clean underwear. ~GG

Thank you again everyone for the kind words. :) Where am I going to put all of these ? That certainly is the $64,000.00 question !!! I counted yesterday: 31 different types in pots 3 of those pots are Andrew 33 pots total 3 different types in the ground 3 Elegans (stationary, not moving them) 2 Wide Brim 1 Tiny Tears 5 NOID in ground 3 clump #1 3 clump #2 1 ½ clump #3 1 mature mini no ID 1 mature mini no ID TONS of Elegans seedlings we dug up out of the front bed and put in the back. That is all the hosta on the property. So I have about 31 places to find for all the new additions. This does not include the 40+ I have still “to order” on my wishlist. As of today 7/29/12 I have only one bed clear. Initially I feel like I want to panic . . . but the flip side (for me at least) is I am not necessarily in any hurry to get them in the ground. I would almost prefer to let them get a few years in pots where I can coddle them and take my time finding just the right spot. So, in theory I believe I have enough room for them all (plus more) but it may be a good long time before they get placed in a permanent position. When I started this project I knew it would be a long hard road to beautification. My goal is to work with as much already existing in the ground as feasibly possible. I will be ripping out a lot of established shrubs and moving existing perennials, but more so to rearrange and start over. There is an existing design that was originally landscaped into the yard, so I will be working with that and adjusting lines and height as needed. But for the most part I am settled into a very long project with no real agenda. I will of course keep you all updated as to any progress that is made. This year though is rather uneventful since I am still in the process of amending and clearing out the first bed so that I can be ready for a spring planting. Here are some glamour shots of “The Jungle”. This first one is a pic of me in the process of clearing out the first bed. These were all taken in early June. And here is basically the jist of what it looked like before I mowed it all to the ground . . . The next grouping are of the section of yard that leads up to the side porch. This I don't think ever had anything planted in it. There is a bed separating the two sections of the front yard so you can't get to this part without going around the house and coming off the side porch. The Hosta in the picture are of seedling Elegans and one of my MIL NOID. It is still too young and neglected to pitch here for proper ID. So all in all I def have enough space to keep me plenty busy for a very long time. Plus we are having an arborist come out in the winter and trim a few trees that desperately need it as well as remove a few that are too close to the house. So there will still be a nice canopy but I will have a lot more light coming through starting in 2013 and that is also something I am going to keep my eye on for plant placement. Thanks as always for looking and reading, Ludi

Kat, Hubby got to go to that game...and a few guys from his work came too...(since they live or work in Bothell).. One or both of the younger two had a LL game..hence why I didn't get to go.. I'll remember to come "tell you" if he gets that rotation again. For the few days before that game that he knew he was starting...he kept muttering "I'm gonna pitch on the same mound Felix has pitched on"...LOL He ended up going about 6 innings...but threw ALOT of pitches...over 80..I was a little peeved about that! He ended up pitching over 80 again only a few days later...and then couldn't barely throw a ball for 3 weeks! I was really peeved after the second game!!! oh and then about a week later the catcher got cleated across the hand..and had to come out..Kian went in and was told not to make the throw to second...Yeah like that's gonna happen...He ended up having to "make the throw" twice...and he was dead on..but it was VERY painful! I'm going to have a "little" talk with the new coach.. Those pitching situations are NOT to happen again! They had their preseason meeting for Baseball..one of the "slots" was what position do you play..Kian wrote "all"..the new coach pulled him aside at a work out and said..what do you mean all...Kian said I can play all the spots (doesn't happen to much that kids can do that) He's not that great at 2nd because he's got a hell of an arm..and easily over throws..and he doesn't like to "chase" stuff down in outfield...so the Coach says..okay if I was going to pay you to play what position would it be..Pitcher was Kees reply...Okay good...that's what I wanted to hear...But likely he'll play 1st when not pitching, because our 1st baseman is out this year, he dislocated his shoulder AGAIN. But he's a great catcher too.

Rainidame, as you probably realized, you can use that system on both lower and upper cabinets. You can also use it on bookshelves as well. OK, now that you have things figgered out, lemme throw another idea at you. Have you ever considered making lower cabinets that are 32" deep rather than the standard 24"? What you do is build the lower carcasses 24" deep, but mount them 8" away from the wall. Then you make your drawers and pullout drawers 30" or 31" deep. You can still use 24" drawer slides, but mounted at the front of the pullout. Your countertops would be a standard 26" deep. The space between the back on the counter and the wall could be shelves, cubby holes, swingout units  all 8" deep. You could even store staples or appliances like a toaster, mixer, blender, etc. I realize you are somewhat short of stature, but, if you can reach the backsplash, you can reach items stored in this extended area. As and added benefit, your upper cabinets could extend depth of your upper cabinets by as much as 8". Of course, you have to have a kitchen big enough to accommodate the additional depth.