My handyman recommended me Liquid Nails for exterior/interior. From my experience, it bonds really really well. I have tried other glues, and this one in the best IMO. Good luck! ~Natalie

Hi everyone, I finally got a response from 'Elmers' and if any of you have the names of the sticks that dried up, you might go to their site and send a note like I did. Looks like from the reply I received today, they will send me replacements. I'll let you all know 'if and when' I get them. Here's the response: Dear M.A.D.(These are my initials :-)..really!) Thank you for contacting us regarding Elmer's glue products. We are sorry that your recent purchase was unsatisfactory. At this time, it is difficult for us to say what might have happened to cause the glue sticks to dry out as you mentioned. Unfortunately there is no way to "refresh" a dried out glue stick. We want to assure you that our quality assurance personnel make every effort during the manufacturing process to ensure that only the highest quality product is released to our customers. This includes several inspections at various steps in production and a final check of sample product after it has been packaged. We appreciate you bringing this situation to our attention and assure you the appropriate quality and manufacturing personnel will be informed. We will be happy to send you some replacement glue sticks, which should arrive shortly. We appreciate your past patronage and look forward to serving you as a satisfied consumer in the future. Sincerely, Brian Rumschlag Consumer response Analyst BTW, the sticks I had was 'Elmer's Craft Bond, acid free, extra strength, glue sticks; goes on blue, dries clear. I also stated in my letter to them that several crafters on a forum I frequent had the same problem as I did, and that because I had already thrown away the store receipt,I could not return them to the store for replacement/refund. I have not gotten a response from 'Avery'. So look at those dried up sticks, find out who made them, and see if they have a site and contact them. HTH

I hope people read the whole thing. It shows a breakdown of how the funds will be spent. this one from Arizona, entered by a politician is one I absolutely would NOT vote for. . . $ 1,500 Outreach & promotion $ 21,000 Staff & experts $ 23,000 Training expenses $ 4,500 Travel & lodging Only $1,000 for the actual outreach... True government in action! More government, not so much help to citizens I will go check out the ones you list!

Thanks so much, mtn. I can be fuzzy-thinking sometimes. I have a bad picture of my inspiration room -- gave the magazine clipping to my contractor -- so click on it to enlarge it. The picture was more about the use of paneling, actually. The combo of vertical & horizontal worked for our space. Also, we have a large fieldstone fireplace like this one, and the scroll work around the stone needs to be finished nicely as here. Yeah, a braided rug is very old fashioned. I like the ones where the colors blend into each other, and thought this rug would be nice with the materials we're using. There are gray, brown, tan, black, & some pale blue for subtle color. I'm leaning towards subtle color at this point to complement the stone & wood in the room. Much of the mixed oak flooring will be exposed.