Great score, Craig! And welcome to ATP.
I would use cinder blocks if they were cheaper and narrower, of if I had more sunny space in my yard. Right now, every square inch is precious.
>> I need to get some pictures of the beds but I need to give the soil a little time to dry out after all the snow and rain we had the past few days.
It'll be great to see someone else's engineering / gardenscaping.