A lot of it comes down to what's available in your area. Up here in New England, we have lots of granite and it's not hard to find crushed granite or "turkey grit" -- small, sharp-edged pebbles of granite, granite gneiss or other such rock. But I notice that in a lot of other regions, the availability varies. You can usually order stuff special if you have the budget, and a reliable stoneyard will "import" it from another part of the country. But the places that carry only native/local materials may be able to offer only sandstone, limestone, or whatever the regional "stone du jour" happens to be.

For the most part, floors aren't finished on the edges or the bottom. Were you looking at a prefinished floor that was finished on the bottom and sides? Who makes it? Regardless of where your wood comes from (despite what Carlisle would like you to believe) wide plank is problematic. Special care needs to be taken as to acclimation, subfloor moisture levels, air temperature and humidity levels and installation technique. I prefer site finished flooring.

Final update... So I did take her to the internal medcine specialist, and I did do the ultrasound of her other organs and heart because the internist wanted to see how far along the cancer was in her other organs as well as check out her heart to see if it could stand the medications. Well the ultrasound checked out pretty fine and she was pronounced fit to undergo treatment... The strange part is that the vet even wrote in her report that "...what is baffling is that Kitty has been feeling relatively normal apart from her pathologic fractures for the last 8 months or so...Surprisingly Kitty is still feeling well and does not appear obviously sick at this time which is great." So I took her home full of hope. But last Monday I noticed that she was having a bit of trouble getting up after laying down for a while. The next day it became worse and she wasn't putting much weight on her back left leg and in fact it was bending "backwards" at the knee (so that from her toes to her knee section were on the floor when she walked... if you can picture that). And I thought that maybe I shouldn't have amputated her leg at such an old age and that her back leg couldn't compensate for the extra weight... The next day (Wednesday) I noticed that she was even having trouble with her back right leg and could not walk more than a few steps without laying down for a bit. By Thursday morning I knew it was time. She couldn't walk at all. But I can't believe how quickly it went. She was still feeling fine on Sunday, but by Thursday I had no choice but to put her down. I just hate it because her mind was still all there, she was still alert and responsive. It's only her body that gave out. But I didn't have a choice. I couldn't let her suffer. If it wasn't Thursday it would have had to be Friday or Saturday... I knew that... and she was in pain. So I had to let her go. I am just so hurting right now. It's the first time in 21 years that I haven't had at least 1 cat with me. I still wake up and expect to see her, or hear her meowing for her breakfast. When I come home I expect to see her running to greet me. I know that this is all my own selfish pain, and that I really did the right thing for her. I comfort myself knowing that I gave her the best 13 years she could have asked for (I don't even know how old she was... she was a stray barn cat that was only skin and bones when I found her...). I also know that I tried and did everything I possibly could for her. My vet said it was probably because a tumor was growing up against her spine that caused her legs to go... I guess that's pretty likely... but it was just so fast acting. I love her so much. But I have to believe that she is now with Jelika and the two of them are happy and pain free, and that somehow... someway.... they will wait for me and we will be together again some day. Thank you all for your encouragement through this entire ordeal. You are all amazing people, and you are much stronger than I. Wishing you nothing but health and happiness for both yourselves and your pets, M

"I feel like I have no place in the family when we have his son, especially when were around my fiances side of the family." Have you articulated this (calmly) to your fiance? Why do you feel this way- what do they do? What would you like them to do? Do they ignore your daughter?- after all, she's related to them as well. I think counselling could give you the chance to work your ideas through one way or the other, worth trying before throwing in the towel as you seem to be thinking. It's good that you recognise there's a problem, and that's a big first step.