Congratulations, MrGary.....you've done an outstanding job. I am saving your post to my clippings so I can go back to it easily for reference. I think the one you cannot remember might be Alex Summers. It sure looks like mine. I won't picture it here, but mine is about the same age as yours....I'm just a sophomore with hosta myself, so our plants are "of an age." I'm pleased to see you are growing Banyai's Dancing Girl. It looks almost like Blue Cadet, and it is a very inexpensive choice to mass plant. Van Wade suggests it as an edger if you ever need such a feature. I edge with liriope here in zone 9a. But I am making a collection of the smaller blue hosta such as BC and BDGirl since I don't like being redundant and I like variety. Things such as Drummer Boy, Dear Hearts, Happy Hearts, Cheatin Heart (golden), Golden Tiara, Grand Tiara, Twist of Lime, Lemon Lime, Feather Boa....well, I fibbed, I just like the smaller mounding hosta blue or gold or green! Thanks for treating us to a beautiful garden.

JNM what a cr*ppy situation. I feel for you and your SD. And what can you do to make SD feel a bit better, because I can just feel how bad you want to make this better for her... To be honest I don't think there's a whole lot you can do. As much as you want to, she's old enough to understand what is going on here. Her BM has really hurt her, and it is very damaging, but some things can't be fixed by anyone else, and I think this is one of those things. I feel like that at times with the skids, where I so desperately want to make things better or easier for them, but some things we just can't make undone. Even if you take SD away on a holiday yourselves, her mum still hurt her and that doesn't go away. I can imagine that SD14 might stop wanting to go to BM's place soon, can she live with you 100% of the time if she wanted to? Since she's 14 she could have her say in court, my SD10 and SD12 got their say and most of the judge's decision was based on their views. (Of course it's a shame that that really was BM's view, but anyway..) Here's 2 options I can think of: Maybe allow SD to not go back to BM if she doesn't want to. I would be prepared to see BM's response to that, even if she would take it to court on some ridiculous kidnapping charge or something. You have everything documented right? Of course this really depends on the emotional state of SD14 I should say. Is she ready to have her say in court or would she feel like she'd be betraying her mum and the 2yr old sis? In that case I would probably not risk it. Or: Take it to court yourselves and try and get full custody, that way SD14 can go and visit her mum when she wants to, or not if she doesn't. At least that way BM cannot take SD for granted anymore as a free baby sitter, to use and abuse whenever it suits. That might wake her up a bit. And it would empower your SD14, which could be really good for her emotional wellbeing. It's always like choosing between two evils isn't it? Good luck with everything!!

They will be white. Haven't decided on the shade yet. Alabaster, Pure White, Dover White, and Extra White are top contenders but the painters haven't done the samples on boards yet to see how they look with the lighting in the room. It's called Ashen White granite. It's not my fav, but it's white which is what I wanted and it's within our budget. This is the backsplash we are doing for our little bar area that is in the family room, right around the corner from the kitchen. I really love the look of it. But, if you look at my kitchen layout, the only places we will actually have backsplash is around the sink. On that side you have the fridge and double oven with microwave stacked on top of the ovens. Then the dishwasher, sink, and other side of sink which will all have backsplash. On the other side is the pantry, broom storage, and appliance garage. Don't think tile would be needed in the appliance garage since it will have doors that conceal everything. Duh, why am I just having this revelation now? Oh, because I haven't built a house before. HA! Do you think I could get away with the blue-gray tile from the bar area in the kitchen too? It wouldn't be a whole lot. This post was edited by aimless07 on Sat, Dec 27, 14 at 18:34

The point with paint is, pick your battles. Make sure the bathrooms and kitchens are completely up to snuff first, with a clean, well cared for look. Make sure the carpet isn't all ratty, and if it is, have cleaned and maybe get some judiciously placed area rugs. Entrances and exits, doors and windows looking in good repair, clean and fresh. Make sure the walls are in good repair. If you have all that, then repaint, sure. I'm not sure what percentage of people are discouraged by a bad paint job. Here's the deal though, I looked at a house that had been completely re-done, with the most outlandish and garish colors and finishes imaginable. The house was immaculate and maybe the owners loved it, but eeee gads it was so disharmonious to me and my SO that even though the price was right and the layout looked good, everything would have to be redone--paint, floors, surfaces . . . If your whole house is as assertive as the green color of your living room, then maybe yes, paint could make a huge difference. My SO detests green (I love it but that is one of the few areas we are not in agreement on) so he might immediately get a bad vibe with your living room. I love it.