dapper, You sure can use Mushroom compost in March and I'm not sure why Cowgirl says that it will heat up if you pile it up. I watched an episode of Dirty Jobs a couple years ago where they were at a Mushroom Farm. The way they made they're compost was simple. It was Horse manure, lots of Straw, Urea and water. The Urea and water was used to get the process started then they turned it everyday until the pile became that nice dark stuff we call compost. Here's the thing... If the stuff Mushroom farms were using wasn't finished, I'd say it could get hot if piled up, but I don't see how any compost will get hot if it's finished. And if it's not finished and you want to stop the heating process, you could add some Lime. I've seen Mushroom compost (I've got a few mushroom farms around me) and the stuff looks like super rich and dark dirt. There's also a place that resells spent Mushroom compost and I've never seen any of their piles steaming.

I'll prove my will power... with a quote. "Just because you like something, doesn't mean you should buy it." and I'll give you a story. When I was a little girl (think young, half toothless, and hair in braids, and I had bangs... UGH!) anyway - when I was young, I really REALLY wanted a horse. I begged and pestered and bothered my parents. I read every horse book I could find, I learned how to draw horses and squiggled them into notebooks instead of taking notes at school. I dreamed about them, and all that... but, still my parents said no. I got a little older and I still would ask. Every year on my birthday, I'd say I wanted one... and finally one day, my dad said "maybe"... which I translated as "yes"... and that led to more drawings and more books and more dreaming and more pestering because maybe didn't mean yes. And then I grew up. To this day, I remember wanting a horse and the lesson of what "maybe" really means - it doesn't mean yes even with pestering... And, it taught me the lesson that even if I want something, doesn't mean I can (or should) have it. When I think back on it - we lived in the country but didn't have a barn. Where would I put a horse? and how would I have taken care of it, fed it or any of the other things. yes, while it was a nice dream - it was quite appropriate that my dad didn't ever move past saying "maybe" because I didn't have the responsibility to really know how to care for a horse by myself. Anyway - all this said - If I know I can't fit them, I won't be buying more plants than can fit into my apartment. want does not equate to need. :) And I would need a huge apartment - if I were buying more than 2 or 3 plants... because they won't fit. (and THIS is why I'm not as plant addicted as the rest of you guys. there's no point to my buying a dozen plants to have them not 'thrive' in my tiny place.)

I don't believe you can leave random feedback on a seller (or buyer), you have to have purchased (or sold) something. Now I suppose I could sell stuff to my friends or create fictitious accounts and write the feedback myself. Of course, you'd be paying eBay a fee for everyone one of those transactions and I have to believe that their security folks might watch for that kind of stuff. I haven't bought or sold much on eBay but what I have has been a positive experience. A few years back I was doing some Internet work for a used car dealer. A customer had mentioned that they had seen the vehicle on eBay. News to us since we didn't use eBay at the time but sure enough someone had "borrowed" the pictures and description of the vehicle from the dealership's website and actually SOLD the vehicle on eBay. I frantically tried to find a customer service phone number for eBay so that they could contact the buyer before he sent any money. Unfortunately, eBay doesn't seem to have a phone number. I sent off an email and then tried to inquire what had happened but eBay would only tell me that the matter was under investigation. The interesting part is that the vehicle was reasonably worth about $16,000 but it had sold on eBay for $9,000. When something seems to good to be true...

rhome --- For some reason, we like to hang out at the countertop even w/ a table nearby! I can't explain . . My boys spend a lot of time at the peninsula in the "original plan" -- they eat snacks/breakfst there or just hang out watching us cook. I also like to perch there to snack, read, surf the web . . . The aisles are 42" -- sorry I left that out of the plans. I like the idea of pushing things down a foot or so -- unfortunately, if you look at the very right hand side of the R sided elevation, you see that 13" soffit (sp?) there. It can't be moved as it contains ducts, plumbing, etc. If we scooted things down, we would loose that full height pantry. That said, we still have a full height one on the other side of the kitchen. I don't think I follow you re: the comfy chair . . .