Lowe's may have seeds year round from what I've been told. They won't be clearance racking any of those this year. We've got orders to keep the shelves stocked and neatly organized. I think it has something to do with the economy. I've already started collecting my own seeds. I'm not saving them yet, but spreading them where I want more of something next year. I'll start collecting once the breadseed poppies are ripe.

The difficult part is that there IS a very valid reason why both of them would (and should) want to be friends with each other: their daughter. In order to be able to deal with things having to do with her and both of them, they should ideally get along. It's not IMPOSSIBLE if they can't get along, but it sure does make it a whole lot easier on everyone. They may just be trying to negotiate the iffy bounds between being friendly enough to cooperate and avoid cold tension & fighting but distant enough so that it isn't too flirty and inappropriate. The fact is, as long as they're both actively engaged in SD's life, they will have SOME sort of connection to each other, because circumstances will require coordination. And, interestingly, the better they get along, then with time they will actually have LESS to do with each other than if they didn't get along. It's when one or the other parent has to go nit-picking and raising a stink about every little thing that the involvement between former spouses gets excessive. Makes sense if you think about it that way, and should be a relief to hear. So there ARE good reasons ---that benefit everyone in the long-run--- for them to be at least "friend-ly", if not "friends". Sounds like they both may just need to refine the boundaries a bit better, but I think it's good that they get along. If you're not comfortable with the idea of he and ex getting along amicably (that's AMICABLY, not AMOROUSLY, which of course would not be good!) or if you feel like you can't trust him at his word (either because of his actions or because of your feelings), I would seriously consider whether or not you will marry him. Because, one way or the other --whether they get along or not-- she will somehow, sometimes, be a factor. That said, he SHOULDN'T be lying to you about anything. That's not cool. If you can't believe what he says, her presence will haunt you no matter what.

Perhaps he was referring to the fact that the slab was impregnated with resin to stabilize it. Or he may be referring to a topical film forming sealer than was applied to the surface and sits there on top rather than an impregnating sealer that soaks into the stone. Topical sealers can peel off with use.

I think thread shows that the answers depend on the way the question is framed. The $660+ charge can be a "fair" price for what may actually go into such a project by any number of cabinetmakers, AND you may also be able to find someone who will do it for less, even if for different reasons than that the first person was ripping you off. So if the quick answer is, pay up, don't look any further, you might spend more than you absolutely have to if you are able to look much further afield and establish another person's work credentials and quality; but on the other hand, it seems good to realize that a lot of our "acounting" as homeowners does tend to gloss over all of the hidden tasks of crafting something, because we're used to doing lots of the pre-or post creation of things for ourselves, and because maybe we imagine that craft-persons are doing everything in some kind of top efficiency assembly line AND someone else is paying for gasoline and utilities. So it's easy to try to think that you should only pay for just the things that seem directly related to your order and not any other related overhead, upkeep, material acquisition time,gas, electricity, or anything. Sort of as if some of the tasks we might do at work were actually itemized, I reckon someone would say, you mean I'm paying $$ for you to file a report? Or whatever.