Gobluedjm, the landlady doesn't want to be bothered with fixing anything whatsoever unless it's an immediate emergency (and even then, only grudgingly, often after yelling at us that we ought to just fix things ourselves at our own expense). So unless the flooded yard starts producing toxic mold or something, we're out of luck there. Renee, your patios and paths are gorgeous! I'm not sure it would make sense to create a work of art like that in a rental, though; I might get halfway done creating it and then move out, and it would just be a bother for the landlady to have to remove so many pieces of rock and bricks that never coalesced into a finished pathway. Or even if I finished it, the landlady might still hate it and find it annoyingly difficult to remove. Sue and Renee, I'm definitely interested in improving the drainage ditch, including lengthening it, widening it, possibly deepening it (though deepening it is a bit more difficult) and turning it into a dry stream bed. I need some advice about how to do those things, though. Currently, mud tends to gradually fill in the drainage ditch over time, so I have to re-dig it about twice a year. That would need to stop before I could turn it into a dry streambed, or else the rocks would just end up buried under the mud, and it would be ten times as difficult to re-dig with all the rocks in it. I believe Renee has mentioned something in the past about using plants around the edges of a drainage ditch to hold the dirt in place and prevent the mud from filling it in. I'm interested in doing that, but I'm not quite sure where to start. Should the plants go on the walls of the drainage ditch, or on the flat surface right above the drainage ditch? Does it depend on the plant? I'm especially thinking of trying Carex pregracilis there, but I'm not sure whether to put it on the flat surface or on the walls of the ditch. Currently the drainage ditch is about 12" to 18" deep and 12" to 18" high. It feels like a little bit of a hazard at times, because I've occasionally stepped into it without having realized I was so close to it. I think that making it deeper would make it more dangerous and also more prone to filling with mud, whereas making it wider might make it less dangerous, more useable as a pathway for the dogs, and hopefully less prone to filling with mud. What do you think? I'm aware that the path should ideally be wider. I'm not looking forward to widening it, though, because to widen the path I have to move the drainage ditch over. The only thing more discouraging than digging a drainage ditch through icky clay is trying to move that drainage ditch later - building the soil back up on one side while removing it from the other side. I already had to move it slightly just to fit the path in at all. I'm having a hard time imagining how to fit raised beds into my very naturalistic garden design style. Renee, if you were putting a raised bed made from scrap lumber into my yard, where you place it? Sue's suggestion of berms seems more my style, but I'm not terribly sure where I'd want to put the berms, either. The soil is only very slightly sloped upward near the house as a result of my efforts last year to excavate the existing drainage ditch and mound the excess soil along the house. I want to make sure that any additional berms I might put in would not accidentally redirect the water back toward the foundation of the house again. I don't think I have the dedication to keep plants alive in pots in the summer. I lose too many plants to drought already every summer, even when they're planted directly in the ground. I'm definitely aiming to create the kind of garden where the plants are mostly self-sufficient and, though they might benefit from regular weeding and occasional watering, would not drop dead if I occasionally ignored them for a couple of weeks.

Hi again, I know the local Lowes can get them for you as well. If you get the 20% coupon from ebay (Lowes will take their own or competitor's coupons, like HD's), you won't pay an arm and a leg. You can order from out of state on the web, but you may pay more in shipping. It can't hurt to check into it. FWIW, I believe the SKs are taller than the Kenmores, but there is no trim kit to make them look quite as tall. The trim kit adds no storage and wastes space, so you are ahead with the SKs. As for tiny, that couldn't be further from the truth. With a combined storage space of over 35 cubic feet, I'd like to know what she is comparing them to! I also don't buy that she has ever seen them if she said they look cheap. People who have seen mine (had a huge bbq with about 50 people) were all impressed with the look as well as the size. I know it impressed me and I was pleasantly surprised because I figured I might have give up some of the look to get the function. When they were unpacked, I was delighted. I would ask her if she has seen them in person and make sure she is referring to the Sks and not the basic all fridge/ all freezer that were not designed as side by side pieces and look boxy. You can buy cheaper versions meant for the garage or basement from many mfrs. The SKs were designed to be front and center in the kitchen and to sit well next to or near each other fashion-wise. HTH

Dear Faron: My husband read my post and made some corrections. I'll answer you and make the corrections below in UPPER CASE. I'M NOT YELLING, THOUGH :) 1) You applied a tinted latex primer over contractors work. Correct? YES 2) Exactly what primer & tone of color were used? BENJ MOORE PRIMER FRESH START ACRYLIC. STONE SOMETHING, A MEDIUM COLOR AT 50% WAS USED TO TINT. 3) Your own joint-compound repairs were done OVER this newly primed surface?? YES, BUT IT REALLY WASN'T THE SEAMS, IT WAS MORE SLIGHT LOW AREAS IN THE SKIM COAT. 4) Were YOUR repairs primed over? YES WITH THE SAME BENJ MOORE FRESH START. 5) What do you mean by the "joint-compound with a latex additive"? Or, am I mis-reading this? HUSBAND CORRECTED ME THAT IT WAS A VINYL SPACKLE. 6) At any point...was the wall ever sanded AND vacuumed off?? THE WALL WAS SANDED DOWN TO A SMOOTH FINISH AND WIPED WITH A DRY CLOTH PRIOR TO PAINTING. This is what we determined. Yesterday morning was foggy/dewy. This is being painted in our future house (old construction though) where no a/c or heat was run. Husband said the windows had condensation on the outside. The bubbling occurred most on the wall near the windows. The clue to our answer is, "Why didn't we have problems the first time we primed but had problems the second time we primed when the same products were being used each time." Now that we know the cause and will run the a/c or heater to dry any area prior to painting ever again, BUT what's the best way to handle what we have now? - Sanding, patching, repriming the bubbled areas...is it going to peel in adjacent areas? - If it didn't bubble, is it ok to paint the final coat of Benj Moore Regal Eggshell? Or do we need to Kilz now to try to prevent the whole wall from peeling off? Any insight is REALLY, REALLY appreciated. He worked a long time on that large entry way with 15' ceilings and are just sick over it. Thank you.

Ongoing saga of this place!!!! I have stood up to DH and have found a custom cabinet maker to finish out these cabinets!! Since they are custom, I can pick any color for the perimeter. The island will be the barnwood that is gray with a whitewash on top. Perimeter cabinets will be shaker with a bead. So, now I am looking for SW, Ben Moore colors? I've heard about Urban Bronze. Any ideas for good taupey gray to go with the fireplace? Counters - I'm leaning towards soapstone perimeter and marble for the island. For some reason, I am liking the juxtaposition of that combination.