To Do's ... and To Don'ts

I've moved the mint, thyme, oregano, sage, and basil inside for the winter and stockpiled a bunch of seeds that were on sale at our local Co-op ... feeling rather squirrel-ish :-) My dream is to have a sunny space where I can grow herbs inside all winter long. This involves cleaning out the dreaded cat room ... a perfectly wonderful sunny little room befouled by the two ornery cats. Did you know cats are sociopaths, by the way?
From Dictionary.com :

so·ci·o·path 
–noun Psychiatry .
a person, as a psychopathic personality, whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience. 
Yup, that's cats for you. If there litter pan - or more appropriately, their open container of bio-hazardous material poisoning the air I breathe - is the least bit dirty, they go on the floor. BUT, if it's too clean, they also go on the floor. And Tobey, my mentally challenged cat, has also taken to pissing in a doorway right where the linoleum in the room has a seam - so no matter how much I wash the floor, it reeks of cat pee. I've tried the, "OK, you're outdoor cats now" thing, but they both would screech at the back door until I let them back in anyway.
But anyway, until those two bite it, I'm stuck sharing my space with them. The Mister has agreed to help me put up shelves to better organize that room, and in the meantime I'm using it to dry out herbs from the garden, which masks the general smell of cat. But please do not ever get sucked into the evil plot of a kitten - it's looking up at you with those big kitten eyes and cute furry face - but also vowing to somehow drive you batshit.
Anyway, dogs make better babysitters:

We are also planning the construction of a vegetable garden on the side of our house that gets a lot of sun. It will be a raised bed to keep the handsome devil above (the dog, not the baby) out. Buying materials tomorrow and assembling this week, layering peat moss and compost over top to enrich the soil over the winter, then planting in the spring! I love that we will have fresh veggies growing on our property next year. I've been reading a lot about cold-hardy greens and how to over-winter certain vegetables, so that is absolutely on the horizon too.


Pictures to follow of the construction process ... and of me rolling around in ecstasy on my beautiful, wonderful dirt.