I use long lengths of pipe to hold down garden cloth. You can roll the cloth or plastic around the pipe, then pin it in place with "J" shaped hooks pushed into the soil. It's much faster than installing multiple pins or burying the edges. I have a drum from an old commercial clothes dryer that I made into a roller. After I prep my beds for seeding, I go over them with the roller, which makes a flat, level surface. It's big and awkward, but really makes the beds look good, and the seeder works beautifully. I use aircraft cable and turnbuckles all over the place for creating solid supports for trellises, including concrete reinforcing wire. I use slats from window blinds for plant and row markers. They are easy to cut to size, last for years, cost nothing but a little labor to salvage and fabricate, and are easy to re-use. I am a great lover of tools. Once you've collected a few hoes, you begin to understand why so many different designs have evolved. I like the Japanese Ho-mi with a short handle, its shape and design make it very versatile, but I've found that for really detailed, close-in hoeing, like in a densely planted English-style kitchen garden, a large clam shell, what you see commonly used for ashtrays around here, is just about perfect.

Thank you so much for the responses. Sorry, I didn't reply sooner. antss - I'll check out the Kohler. Thanks for the heads up. mongoct - thanks for the detailed reply. I really appreciate the time you took. I agree that it doesn't look like we have much storage in the bathroom. However, the closet near the shower is 8 1/2 feet long and the other one is a little over 13 feet. Rather than add another door for a linen closet in the bathroom, we decided we would just have shelving in one of the closets for the excess linens. I think it will work for us given all that space & the fact that we have additional storage for off-season clothing. Yup, already got "beaten up" about the 2' doors on the new home forum (reposted there since I wasn't getting nibbles here & that is more my "home".) Anyway, I thought it was OK since we have a 2' door in our current powder room. Upon reflection, I think we will increase those to 2'4" to avoid banging knuckles when carrying a laundry basket. The WC compartment in our current master bath is 2'8"x5'2" with an in-swinging door which is on the side. I don't know if code is different in TX or the spec builder just got away with it. These plans were drawn up by an SC designer to build in SC. I'll ping the builder about code so we don't have any surprises. I was more than beaten up about this on the other forum with claims that 3 feet wide was absolutely insufficient to exist in. We must just be weird because our current room is fine & this is a touch bigger. We have used our WC room as a "mockup" & measured where the door would swing on the new one. Well, you have me there about the open door. ;^) Like I said, we're weird. I know that I won't be seeing much when its steaming, I was more interested in the sense of light I would get when sitting there. I want to maximize that. The steam shower is mostly for me (& our future septic tank). I take very long showers because I just stand there daydreaming & thinking. We had the idea that if I could sit in the shower surrounded by steam, I wouldn't go through so much water. I do think the seat is a problem. I couldn't get the designer to put in a bench deeper the 12", so I finally gave up & asked for a corner seat. Its seems like a bench should be between 15"-18" deep & long enough so I could lean against a wall & stretch my legs out along it. (I'm only 5'2" so that's not much length.) Do you have suggestions about height, length, depth & which wall to put it along? I've never had a rainshower experience so I don't really know what I want. In our current shower, we replaced the fixed showerhead with a Waterpik, so that is the extent of my direct experience with shower fixture technology. Pretty sad, right? I know we have to have a handshower, but that can also be what we use for general washing, right? I'd like body jets to be able to direct to parts that get sore (my shoulder & DH's elbow). I think if we are going to have a rainshower is should be the real deal as you described it. I was looking at Moen because that is what the plumbing supply house quoted as the basis for our builder's bid, but we're not limited to Moen. Also, our builder has no issue with us providing fixtures & our allowance will be credited. Since I have the quote sheet, I know that the builder's discount brings us in line with what we could get off the internet, so I have no problem going with the supplier for most things. I agree that the Moen system looks like a mess, but DH is leery about the digital alternative which is much sleeker. (And, we're both EE's; go figger.) Thank you so much for the advice about the Hansgrohe. I think that is exactly what I need. I did a quick look online & the (cheapest) trim kit + rough-in is ~$350. I read through the installation manual so I can start thinking about what fixture I want to go to which port. I assume that I can get whatever fixtures I want to work with the Hansgrohe, right? Again, I really welcome the advice & I understand what you were saying about the doors. I will quiz the builder on the WC room swing & code. Thanks - Jo Ann

sheesharee, so glad I'M not the ONLY one :) I had my camera with me for the first outting with DH (and forgot to use it, kicked myself in the car after we left) because of course NOW I cannot remember the important details I need to for determining if it will work. We went out again last night and was very frustrated, DIDNT bring the camera or the measuring tape, went home telling DH that we are just going to keep the furniture we have and deal with it. (that was the frustration speaking) Nothing I liked was something he liked. Considered just removing the patterned couch, moving the green chair over in it's place, replacing the green chair with a round table/table lamp etc in that corner by the fp pulling down an ottoman from the attic that is 1/2 way redone and finishing it and just moving on. Oh well, we will see....I'm going to start working on those tables and see what I can do with them. I'm thinking about a darker stain. something along the lines of the colors in the frames on the pics I have in there now, would that be too dark? Eventually *much bigger, more involved project* would be to redo the ET center. I'll redo the legs on the chair and purple couch at the same time.

Our small sink is near the fridge but out of the main work area. It's a good secondary work area when someone is helping me. As my daughter got older I could start relying on her to make dessert while I cooked dinner for company. The baking area is right near the small sink and it allows us to work independently without ever getting in each others way. Our water sources get used for much more than just food prep...hand washing, filling a glass or pitcher, wetting a dish cloth for wiping down counters/tables, rinsing out recyclable yogurt/cottage cheese/juice/milk containers, adding water to leftover soups before microwaving, rinsing fruit from the fridge, and rinsing hands when making sandwiches. I love having easily accessible water at various places in the kitchen. It always seems like I'm getting something on my hands that I want to rinse off. Btw, I prefer standing at our peninsula for prepping than standing between sink and range. I love the openness, it's much more appealing than facing a wall (even a wall with a window.) The peninsula is the hardest working spot in our kitchen. If you eat a lot of salads, prepping them at the peninsula makes a lot more sense than trucking the veggies across the kitchen. It also looks like a great place to make sandwiches and pack school lunches. I would hate to give up the uninterrupted expanse of peninsula but I would find the second sink more important. You should take mental notes every time you or anyone in your family uses your kitchen sink, even if it's just to rinse a knife between sticking it into different jars. That's the only way to really know if a second sink makes sense for you (and keep in mind that your needs may change as your children get older and help out more.)