Is the name of the vendor Cheap Orchids ? or ? Gin

Hello nanner, I thought I'd post a bit about what's been going on around here the last few years. I wish I could say the stone house is done, but it isn't. (I feel very silly about the fact it's not done. We had every good intention of finishing it and we have laid more stonework every year, but other stuff keeps getting in the way, namely, life!) We got involved with finishing and remodeling the quarry garden and a whole bunch of other stuff, like moving the little 'barn' again (for the 4th and final time--at least, that's what we told our son, who wasn't amused!) Last fall, our furnace gave out, so we installed geothermal which meant we had to tear up the entire west side of our yard (about a half acre) and saw down trees, dig up hundreds of hostas and perennials and relocate as many as possible. The bright side of this was the opportunity to change the entire landscape of the front of the house, AND to get more rocks! Our 'digger guy' "C" is still around, too, and he was instrumental in the geothermal excavation and in loading another 130 tons from the local quarry for us. We had "C" make a berm close to the house and that's where we started the new rock garden. We're not sure if it fits in the landscaping or not, and we jokingly refer to it as 'the elephant burial mound' which is kind of self-explanatory. :-) The first pic shows one of the four trenches: Below is a picture of Carl & I after two of the six loads of rocks were delivered. By December 2009, this was as far as we got on the Elephant Burial Mound: I have to take more updated pictures of this garden, especially after the dwarf conifers and flowers are planted. I started a blog about the garden with lots of pictures and all the other goofy stuff that goes on around here which goes into much more detail, if you're interested, the address is: http://krensgarden-karen.blogspot.com/

For grout lines (yes, you DO need them) shuffle up a dozen or so tiles on edge and measure any size variations. The cheaper the tile, the more difference you'll find. Multiply the variation by three...this is the minimum grout width for that tile. Take a long straightedge and inspect the floor. Is it flat? Humps and birdbaths need to be addressed if more than a quarter inch in ten feet. The bigger the tile, the more critical this becomes to avoid "lippage." Sprinkle some water in various areas. It should absorb into the concrete within a few minutes. If it doesn't, the floor might have a sealer and needs to be roughed up or the thinset will not adhere properly. Thinset should be mixed in a 3 or 5 gallon bucket with a 1/2" drill and a mixing paddle. Put about 2" of cold water in FIRST and slowly add the powder (Versabond from HD is fine) until you get a "buttery" like consistency. Let it sit for at least five minutes and then mix it again. Probably a 1/4" trowel will work for anything up to about a 12" tile, if the floor is pretty flat. The thinset should just hold the ridges without slumping. A good idea is to "burn" in a coat of morter on the tile backs. Just use the flat side of the trowel to put a paper-thin coat on right before you set it, assuring a good bond. Hope this helps and doesn't discourage you...

Cabinets? When you consider the price that one must pay for cabinets ... ... have you thought of building your own? They don't take a lot of wood. The basic cabinet is not hard to build. It's mostly the doors that cost the money, for upper cabinets (and some for end pieces). For lower cabinets, the countertop adds a substantial amount - but not an inordinate amount (and less additional than on off the rack, or especially the custom-built jobs). You could plan your counter system in any way that you choose. Study some of the ones in your friends' houses. If you haven't really looked at how they go together before, have a good look. Maybe you'll be surprised at how simply they are built. You could buy a router and use it on some scrap wood to get into practice. I'm sure that you could make some beautiful doors, yourself. Actually - you could buy about a dozen routers for the price of a set of cabinets. Hey - what about asking on Gardenweb/THS who has had experience at building cabinets? They could give advice at a distance. If in a nearby state, they might even come over for a weekend to show you how and get you started. Even someone in a distant state might be interested to come visit the sites/sights in your area, even some nearby relatives, on their vacation. And spend half a day with you to help you get going. How about that, all you carpenters? ole joyful