Hi Philes, A grub-axe is like a pick-axe except that one of the blades is short and wide rather than long and narrow. I'm sure many people would call this a pick-axe as well, but I learned it as a grub-axe, to differentiate it from the more traditional pick-axe. Glad to hear about your re-grading, what a big payoff for some small amount of hard work while the grass is dying anyway! I mean, you can see the levels so much better when the grass is cooked, and what better time to adjust? Thank you for your note! Best, Paul

Zengeos, Solving the "I don't have beds prepared" problem. Let me preface to say I've only been gardening since I started WSing 4 years ago. I'm no pro, no expert, no vet. But this is what I did and it worked famously. It's basically a lazy lasagna gardening: 1. Lay down cardboard ASAP. Let it take advantage of your late Winter snows, early Spring rains...then you don't have to wet it down yourself. It's amazing how quickly the worms start working once that darkness is there (and protecting the ground from the moisture evaporating). 2. When it's time plant, put down a layer of manure-kitchen scraps-whatever-you-got organic matter. Doesn't have to be too thick in this case (with lazy-lasagna). You can add to it through the season and in the fall in prep for next season. 3. Put down potting soil on top of the organic stuff. If you don't have a lot, just concentrate on the one little area you are going to plant in immediately. Make sure the depth is enough that the seedlings won't touch the manure if that's the organic matter you used. 4. Plant your seedlings. You can do it the same day...the same hour. I have. And I've had no problems. When I have more time in the summer, I usually will amend the soil in that area some more, and apply the layers of medium more thoughtfully in the fall. But when I need a quick fix, this "lazy" method has worked great for me. I turned the area where an above-ground pool was into a garden this way, with very little work, and done within days of planting (and that was all sand underneath in that area!) --Also, don't forget containers...big pots and window boxes. Sometimes, I have just put a bunch of overgrown seedlings into big pots on my porch as a "holding bed". Sometimes they looked so good in there when they started blooming, I kept them there for the whole season. -- and on the sprouts...that's why I don't even look at the containers until I can walk the ground consistently without any snow and without a heavy coat on. I don't want to know what germinated early. There's always seeds in there that wait. They know when to sprout. Linda

That's one way to do it, but so long as the backsplash is painted, just cleaning it with a good greasecutting detergient will more than suffice.

That brick isn't bad; there's just an huge amount of it. Sweet-Tea: +1 If you paint it than it should be towards minimizing the effect, not towards just hiding the brick. You may like the new look enough to not obliterate the brick texture. From that pic I can see wanting to cover it up, but maybe "covering it up" and "reducing the visual impact" are two separate things. In other words, painting now and living with it for a short while may be cheaper, simpler, less disruptive, and enough. There are a gazillion ways to cover brick, but every single one of them is just-about-permanent because it's hard to undo such work. Drywall mud skim coating will be permanent and reliable if you have uncracked brick and mortar. Gluing on Sheetrock works, and, in fact, you can use drywall mud as an adhesive as it can be removed (messy!) with a pressure washer in the future. Using furring strips will do probably the least amount of damage to the original work. I don't mean to harp on "undoing", but such possibilities can pay off in the future as a possible new owner option if you ever want to sell. Even paint can be undone, but it's a bear...