Hi, Gary! Well, first of all, the papyrus is NOT planted in water, but in an elevated flower bed. It was just planted last spring, but literally exploded with growth over the course of the next 8 - 10 months. Now, however, it's gotten quite scraggly, and the new shoots die before ever fully opening. The bottom clump of old and new shoots is HUGE and I realize now that I should probably have thinned it ages ago. Doesn't help me now, though. And you're right, of course...now it is a major, major undertaking. How the heck do I dig it up and separate? Won't that kill it? How deep will the roots have gotten (so, how deep do I have to dig to avoid them?)...and what's the best garden tool to do the job? A shovel? Do I clip all the stalks close to the ground, then haggle with it? I sorely want my beautiful plant from last summer back...not this half-dead, straw-like imitator! And no, I have no clue how to make paper from it, but have played with a trimmed stalk to try and figure it out. Do tell!

With rare exceptions, the "finished" basements I'd run into when I was a real estate broker were abominably done and with no permits. The Vendor would place a statement in the offer that there was no warranty of legal status for use or construction. Practices will vary by jurisdiction. But I would try for a waiver on the height and correct the other violations. This post was edited by worthy on Wed, Apr 24, 13 at 9:46

Hi Plllog! "That is, I know it's possible, but might not be in your budget." See, there's the crux of it. This little beverage center idea of mine was not in the original budget. (Nor, alas, were new drywall in the livingroom and halls, the gorgeous walnut top on my used cabinet island, the matching gorgeous top that will soon be on the new media cabinet and the near full gut of the bathroom.) And we're still determined to get through remodeling our ugly duckling without taking out a loan or dipping into savings. Conventional wisdom says: Wait until the coffers are full again but that's so hard to do. First off, I'm a cheapskate. Even if the goose who laid the golden egg waddled up onto my deck and built a nest, I'm not sure I would willingly pay someone to mess up the walls I just paid to fix. Second, I'm not quite cheap enough. My new kitchen is starting to look pretty good but, gosh, it would look so much better if the microwave and coffee maker didn't take up so much room on that one counter. I'm willing to spend a little bit more to change that, especially since I'm going to have a piece of countertop leftover that should be just the right size. Still, it's nice to know that it's possible. Maybe when the coffers ARE full again I'll put a tile counter outside on my deck to shade the golden goose should she happen to wander by ;) Thanks for your help!

It's been doing great outdoors ^^ Ok, thanks for your advice! :D Lately I'm kinda having another weird problem though, the leaves are starting to get white spots and some of these leaves upon checking the underside seems to have dust or some sort. There's a potted rose plant infested with spider mites a few pots away and I fear it could be from that. At the moment I'm just removing the infected leaves but everyday I keep finding new ones, should I wash my mint with dishwater? Or would normal water do?