Well, since you said you welcome any and all suggestions, I'll tell you what I think based on the limited information you provided and the limited knowledge I have. It sounds (to me) like you're embarrassed by the present state of your yard and want to rapidly turn it into a source of pride rather than an eyesore. I think that can be done in a matter of weeks if you have a little money to invest in the process. First, I'd get a soil analysis completed to find out if your existing soil is suitable for sustaining healthy turfgrass. You probably have a very acidic soil and possible compaction problems if your soil is mostly clay. The results of your soil analysis should include recommendations for amendments such as organic matter and/or an application of lime to neutralize the Ph. Second, I'd hire a landscape contractor to level your yard (I really don't think this is a job you want to tackle yourself) and incorporate any soil amendments recommended by your soil analysis. This process should churn the existing, unwanted flora back into the soil to decompose naturally, obviating the need to apply Roundup and keeping Lake Washington safe for the salmon. Third, find and install a sod with a blend or mixture of turfgrass varieties adapted to Seattle's climate and the hours of sunlight each side of your house typically receives. If you have moss in your yard now, that may be an indicator some light-loving turfgrass varieties won't thrive on that side of the house. I recommend sod because you seem eager to get something down that will look nice as soon as possible. Fourth, fertilize your new turf using organic means to further protect Lake Washington from harmful chemicals. I have no idea whether turfgrass in Seattle needs supplemental water. Intuition tells me no, but I could be wrong. If your lawn is small, as you say, you can probably get away with just using a hose to apply supplemental water as needed. You'll want to keep new sod from drying out as it's establishing, but at this time of year with cool temperatures and Seattle's rain that's unlikely to become an issue.

Ants are an unsolvable problem, spraying only kills workers, and then you can not eat your crops. I was told to buy a bait to have the workers take back to the colony to feed the queen. No queen equals no workers. I bought every type of bait on the market and the ants would not touch it. They were too smart. If someone knows a cure for ants please post that. Try the soil forum, and add lots of compost. It costs a lot of money to buy a lot of compost and add it. It's a huge investment, but there is not much that can be done about the cost of it. Making compost takes time and also money for bins or other products to add to compost mainly browns or else you need lots of leaves. I have page up on my website about composting, if you want to read all my suggestions. Click on the soil link. Here is a link that might be useful: My website

Thank you so much for these ideas and the technical terms ! I wasn't even sure what to google other than 'hinge' which returns a bazillion results, lol. Yes, inboard of the pivot point is the problem I was trying to explain. If I have to overlay the excess not centered to the opening, I will. But that takes my mirror further to the left than I wanted to be (hinge will be on the right). Ideally, the excess would be to the right, on the same side as the hinge, with just a little overlay on the left. When I googled 'overlay partial wrap hinge', I also found these hinges. I think the plate would have to be mounted on the face of the sheetrock, with longer screws that would go thru the sheetrock and screw into the studs, but would these work ??? It looks like they would allow the mirror to have a very large overlay on the right and also the hinge would be hidden. http://www.hardwaresource.com/hinges/cabinet-hinges/blum-european-hinges-grass-european-hinges/blum-compact-33-hinges-and-mounting-plates/blum-compact-33-face-mount-plate http://www.hardwaresource.com/hinges/cabinet-hinges/blum-european-hinges-grass-european-hinges/blum-compact-33-hinges-and-mounting-plates/compact-33-hinges I see the hinge is supposed to be inserted into a drilled out cup. Vice versa, could the face plate be mounted on the mirror, and the hinge cup be drilled into the sheetrock ? Would the hinge still open correctly ? The reason I ask, is because I am not sure what material the frame of the mirror is made from and also if it is deep enough to allow me to drill the cup. Lateral hinges I think would not work, for the same reason as the drawer glides mounted sideways - I don't *think* there would be enough room. We're down at the beach house right now (our last guest broke the side rail on one of the bunk beds and we're here fixing it, no idea what they were doing to break the rail lengthwise all the way from end to end!! kids jumping on the bed I would guess), but I can measure for that idea when we get home tomorrow.

plant to the point where the stem is white.. that is where it was planted before ... err toward high ... those are tiny .... do you have a spot.. right up against the house... as a temp bed for this fall ....??? .. like within a foot of the foundation??? NEVER FERT A HOSTA IN FALL .... late next spring would be ok ... but you need years.. not fert.. to get them big ... what bruce said on mulch ... we arent mulching to extend the season ... we are piling it on.... NEAR GROUND FREEZE ... so they dont pop out of the ground... in late winter.. early spring ... leaves from the lawn.. have to be cut pretty small.. so they dont suffocate the plants .. i used to suck them up ... very dry ... put then in the street.. and then reduce them to about little finger nail size .... so they stayed fluffy ... snow cover is irellevant ... its good ... ignoring my crack about snow thaw in june.. lol ... dont leave them in the glass of water for too long.. they are not aquatic .... few days is OK ... ken