Buyer Beware> I have bought items from Goodwill off and on for the past few years. We didn't have a store close by. One thing you need to check is the outrageous shipping charges and handling charges. I saw a lovely metal vintage style tea pot I would love to have....bid 3.00 reasonable............shipping 10.00........handling.....2.00. Hmmmmmmmmmm tea pot not so attractive at 15.00 and that's if you get it for the 3.00 bid. I love looking thru all the items Goodwill has but some of their shipping rates are way out of line. All these items are donated and I know for a fact it doesn't cost 10.00 to ship one tea pot. Don't want to rain on your parade just want to make you aware. I also bounce between goodwill and ebay and yes I am a wicked sniper...............LOL Does anyone remember Andy's Warehouse Auction? It was run by Fingerhut no less..........oooooooooh the bargains I got there and their shipping was reasonable. How i miss them. There were a couple others but I don't remember the names. Sigh! Hmmmmmmmmm maybe I should google. Then there's freecycle.............I can't begin to tell you all the goodies I have gotten off there. Ok so I belong to 5 different ones.............:) I subscribe to all that are within a 50 mile radius and try to pick up two or more items on one trip if possible. Anybody watch the Junk Brothers? Boy would I like to find some of the loot they find. And that Workshop............ ChelCass

Francy -- I am just delighted to see your sweet name here! (I'm here on the Painting Forum today looking for brand suggestions for painting outdoor furniture. I was outside painting some side tables fuchsia but a thunderstorm has rolled in -- raindrops the size of Volkswagens and a fierce wind. One of my favorite things about a Colorado summer, seriously.) And I'm so glad you like the Impervo. I have to agree agree agree (that's a wholehearted agreement!) with how terrific it is to work with. We had it colormatched to our (factory finished) kitchen cabinets and I have to say, because of its incredibly fluid nature, it is absolutely impossible to tell the difference between it and the factory finish. (of course, the excellent color match helps!) We have it on the wainscoting in our breakfast nook / family room and it is so smooth. In a hurry I painted a shelf using a foam brush and it is the same texture, the same finish as the wainscoting (which was sprayed). It's crazy! I also want to tell you that after having it (and ours is pure, bright white) on since late-April how well it's stood up to our family (puppy, three cats, four year-old "Spiderman," two year-old sticky-fingered / chalk-drawing enthusiast). Our two year-old loves walking around with sidewalk chalk in his hand, drawing wherever he feels like it. (and yes, I let him because in general I can just wipe the chalk up) Anyway, the turquoise chalk seems to have permanently marred the white cabinets (I have yet to find a product I'm willing to have in my home which will remove it). BUT, the same turquoise chalk was drawn on the Impervo-painted wainscoting and it wiped right up -- left no marks whatsoever. The two year-old likes to vacuum (wink wink), and he is rough with it, banging it hard into everything, inc. the wainscoting. Not a problem. The four year-old "Spiderman" likes to climb and has attempted to climb the wainscoting (until he was seen by me, that is), scuffing it. Again, I have had zippo problems wiping it off. I feel like an advertisement but that Impervo is impervious! (For the record, I've also been having great luck with Aura -- a little friend came over to play and colored her palm red; she then left red palm prints on our newly painted wall. I was less than thrilled, but miracle-of-miracles, it wiped right off with no burnishing. Now that left me thrilled!) But I do want to caution you to PLEASE, PLEASE take special care of your wrists! I'd hate for you to get any painting injury -- it is just not worth it. It is not worth it at all. (Now a personal note: Thank you for your lovely note. When you posted pictures of your soapstone delivery [so I saw a photo of your neighborhood] I thought: that looks like Burlingame! But then you wrote about your bicycle and I told my husband [who likes to consider himself East Bay savvy because he moved to the US to attend Cal] and he said: "if it looks like Burlingame then it's XXX." And we'd even been to XXX back when we lived on the peninsula! My cousin [who's a DVM] was filling in for a vacationing vet there so we went to visit her. I can't remember the name of the street, though .... Francy, I'm old so this memory thing happens! You are absolutely one of my all-time favorite people here on GW, so you just have no idea how pleased I am to see you here.)

funcolors: I was SO HOPING you would see this ! I was going to post something to get your attention and approval. I have read your article in haint blue so many times and was going to send for a sample from you. Would you like a paint chip from this ? I would be more than glad to send you a piece of the wood with paint. This is like a treasure hunt for sure and I hit gold. What kind of paint would you suggest on a covered porch in the South ???? Are you kidding!? Yes, I'd love a sample and will reimburse you for shipping & handling! Thank you. I'm so excited that someone is sending *ME* a sample of Haint Blue! lol! SW Duration in matte would be a good choice. Duration's film actually goes on at the thickest mil rate than any other exterior brand. Thickest mil rate meaning the paint film is nice and fat. And that can be a good thing for exterior substrates (surfaces). The haint blue story has been so incredibly interesting. I've heard from people all over the world -- really it's amazing. The store has been very helpful because I was getting a ton of phone calls and emails. A few aren't a problem but it kind of started cramping my time management. And that's why I created the store -- I just don't have time to talk to everyone who wants details about Haint Blue. I'd be nice if I had that kind of time because it's very fun hearing all the stories but reality creeps in. Moving to the southwest, I've learned about Taos and Mayan blue as well. I don't feel confident writing about them yet and I really don't feel confident enough to create my own interpretations of the colors. Maybe this summer. I dunno, not sure.

Granlan - Out here between Amarillo and Canyon we received between 2/10 and 3/10 inch of rain yesterday evening. Oh, everything smelled so good and I actually watched rain run off the roof of the shop! Our pastures are dry as a bone and I welcome any and all rain we get. Oh yes, we had a new Beefalo heifer yesterday morning. She's a cutie. Here's prayers for more rain in Oklahoma and Texas! We all need it..........