Tiffy - the squirrels here are sooooo different from the little red guys you have back in NS. In this area we have grey squirrels - they're huge compared to the red ones, they're so much more aggressive and they have two litters a year instead of the one litter the red ones have. They have adapted and thrive in cities (the red ones do not tolerate their habitat being destroyed and live in cities only in small numbers) and their numbers get so dense they are starving and desperate - they'll eat anything that doesn't bite back. I hate them!! In every area they have been introduced to, they displace the red squirrels and take over. Stupid beasts! I'm sure my Astilboides will come back, but the first leaves to emerge would have been the biggest. So it probably won't be as neat as it could have been, and I'll have to rig up a protective cover for the other leaves as they emerge. I have had success keeping the tree rats from eating my alliums and lilies with a paste made from vaseline and blood meal, so I'll try it on the Astilboides as well. I hope you get more germination of your poppies! One out of six is better than none, but it would be nicer to have more since they seem to have a high fatality rate! BP

I made the same mistake with a tangelo and mistake was easy to fix. I moved the mix around so there werese shafts going into the mix. I added some lime and additional 511 mix to fill the shafts. I also added some to the top of pot and then turned it into the mix. I did this about six or seven weeks ago. Plant is doing very well. I try and keep the 511 mixed up and not let it compact. Be careful of the roots. Some if the more seasoned citrus people may have another suggestion.

During our entire build, DH was adamant about certain things, and in retrospect, wish I had been a little more vocal about things I really wanted. After 46 years of marriage, and a DH that has WAY too much time on his hands, I guess you learn which battles to fight. He insisted on soffits. Now mind you, I'm not totally against soffits, but I was worried more about what GW would think than anything else. Can you believe it? People I don't really know. The soffits actually look OK now that the house is done, and we are adding some deep crown moulding that will really bring it all together. The other thing that bothers me is that I know they didn't use the granite slab I picked out, but the fabricator has insisted over and over that they did. It just doesn't "go" with the granite I picked out for the island. And it looked so great when I picked them out at the granite yard. I had picked out backsplash tile to go with the granite, too, and somehow it all just doesn't work together like I had envisioned.

Tali, I wanted to say (I'm not sure if I did) that in my remodel I actually went with the KD because the plans were "all done" and then...the cabinets came, and they SUCKED!!! And I can't stress that enough. So many people said "make them work" and I realized how stupid that was :) And started over again. I'm going to have a stunning kitchen, with every bell and whistle, and very very high quality cabinets, and all for around your budget. I'd love to hear that you see someone else and get everything you want, including the special stains, legs, etc. I have every bell and whistle involved, including inset doors (a big upcharge) and I'm using a very high quality cabinet company, Omega Custom, which I'd recommend you look at. They do everything custom (they have lower end lines as well, you can find them on line) but one of the things I love is that the inside stains match the outside, which I really think makes a difference in a high end design (I hate to open a cabinet and see another color or thermafoil). I'm spending about $70M for two bathrooms and a kitchen. I also was able to work in a Lacanche (look at those as well as the one you like because...they're cooler heh heh) and all of the options you are doing away with because of this designer. My tile backsplash...egads have you read the freaking complaining about it???? I'm pushing $70 a sq ft! So I know you can get everything everything everything!!!! you want if you keep searching. I only mention the costs and pushing the issue because, personally I don't care about how much I spend on the kitchen, it's my kitchen and I want what I want. I might not get it all back but I don't care, I want what I want :) But for the kind of money you're willing to spend, if I were to hear that budget for a kitchen, I'd expect to see all of the bells and whistles, including that warming drawer and subzero...(buy the Lacanche and you won't need a warming drawer...they're included) Heh heh Anyhoo, I know how you feel right now, because I've been there, and it totally sucks! But I'd rather see you take that dream design elsewhere and look to other cabinets of very high quality (that's important, I understand) but get all of the goodies as well (pot filler, etc). You can afford that under your budget :) So keep working, and when this is all done, you can enjoy that dream kitchen :) Which you will deserve after this hell is over LOL