Deanne, loved your halloween vignette. You find the neatest containers and I love finials in any form and material. Michelle. I am amazed that your copper boiler has lasted that long. Who knew, copper would be so long lasting in the garden? Norma...enjoyed both your whiskey barrel pics and the pic of you waterinjg it. I have two whiskey barrels, but I have been growing peas up a trellis in them. String beans in the summer. I keep trying to plant something pretty around the edge, but nothing has looked good yet. Ei...great watercan collection! My fav is the purple. Also found the birdbath with succulents so eye catching with the alliums which are huge! I am a big fan of wire racks and mossed containers. I have one hay rack to fill this spring and I am going to need help figuring out how to moss it. Denise...I love your trio of wire baskets with succulents. Are they heavy? What did you use to hang them? I also love your bird cage idea with the candles in it. Marian...Your Achimines is so unusual. It reminds me of a streptocarpus, one of my favorites. Eden, the dish drainer is amazing! lol I would have never thought to put the dishes in it..and it fits just perfect! I have often wanted to catch a few yard sales to find some unusual containers to try to repurpose like this, but I seem to garden away most weekends in prime yard sale season. I did buy a couple of wire wastebaskets with the intention of mossing and filling, but I never did get around to it. There's always this year...hope springs eternal. Okay, who pray tell, is Angela? [g] pm2

I think the best suggestion in the whole thread was Holly's suggestion to have them kneecapped! LOL! The prices are robbery. For that amount, I'd expect custom mosaic work to the level of the baths of Pompeii. Something truly artsy and spectacular. You're getting I-95 truckstop quality work instead. They are in over their head. I know you like him, but there is something not quite right here in the fact that your GC hasn't already addressed the issue permanently. He is failing in his primary role if he does not. If he is the one paying them, then it's HIS problem to sort out the materials from labor here. You shouldn't even know there's an issue with their contract. You shouldn't have even seen the contract between the two. It doesn't involve you. Your role is to insist on the quality of work that your fee should be providing. His role is to provide that quality by selecting the appropriate subcontractors and supervising their work. Even if he has to eat some fees here or take a loss by severing the relationship with this sub, it's HIS problem that he agreed to the vague contract. NOT YOUR PROBLEM! He needs to cut his losses with the subs and move on. If he doesn't do that, then he is either getting kickbacks from them or he is related to them. There is some other hidden motivation to keep them. It's NOT a "court thing" at all. He has the right and obligation to set the quality standard of the work that the sub provides, and if the sub doesn't provide to that standard, it's his job to get rid of them, even if it costs him. He is the GC and you pay him for the headache resolution. You don't keep people who screw up and cost you money---unless they aren't really costing him money.

Sorry I never got back to this thread. Wow, pbrisjar, my first reaction would have been to walk right back out again! Glad the surprise party turned out to be fun, and that you also got your romantic dinner. Well, let's see, where did I leave off? I called middle SIL on her cell that AM, she said they were in NH and would be at house around 5-5:30, we'd go out to dinner and then they'd try to find a motel. I checked out a local B&B (expensive), stripped all the beds and washed sheets just in case. Didn't go looking for motels b/c I realized it was a holiday w/e and the nicer things would be booked (would have to change rooms at B&B since didn't have any available for 2 nights in a row), didn't want to take time away from cleaning. Asked my dad about air bed but he couldn't find pump so decided ds could try out his new sleeping bag in the study, dd could sleep with me, and DH would get the sleeper sofa (at least Thurs night since he had to work Fri and would be getting up early). They called at 5:30, were still up around Boston, said not to wait dinner for them. I had put the small roast I had thawed out b4 I knew they were coming back in freezer, so DH and I went out with the kids (and my parents, aunt & uncle since I found out it was their 26th anny and we had missed the 25th last year), SILs pulled in our driveway 8pm just behind us. After telling everyone all day her aunties were coming, DD suddenly got shy. She didn't get to visit much b4 I put her to bed in our bed and told everyone the sleeping arrangements - it was really too late to look for motels and of course DH wanted to visit. I stayed up til 11, DH and youngest sis stayed up really late. Oh, and I took advice to throw everything in closet (master bath) and shut the door - put the big 3-bag laundry sorter we use as hamper in master bath, found a standing towel rack (nonheated) we used in old house and put that in so everyone would have room for towels, shoved some stuff I had in study going to yard sale in WIC. Then as I'm bringing them into MBR and saying "Here's unfinished bath and WIC, but please don't open..." middle SIL opens the door b/c she wants to see how big it is! DH had told them we were still finishing trim, but they had no idea how much work we were doing/still needed. Asked me about all the blue tape on floors (loose tile) and walls (marking studs to nail baseboards). Oh, and then the last night after I put DD to bed I came down and found oldest one taking pics of all the wood on the floor of my DR, my LR with no curtains and half (not even all!) the trim pulled off the windows, no baseboards. I asked her not to, she said her DH wanted to see pics. I have to email her some when we get things finished (she took pics of my kitchen island, liked the layout, but I could have gotten the finished trim out of my BR and stuck it in place for pics! My cousin nailed it up a week later). DS had a science test but DD decided to play hooky (I stopped by preschool with a floppy - cards kept jamming my printer so teacher had to print them but I formatted everything for her, told her then that DD hadn't seen them in 4 yrs so she'd be absent). Then they decided we should all go to Mystic Seaport so I have the largest SUV, got gas, drove 2 hr to spend 2 hrs there, was afraid we wouldn't be home in time for Ds so called DH - he could get off early so OK. My parents invited us all up for BBQ so I headed straight there after getting ice DH said they needed, he was bringing steaks and chicken I had taken out on Thurs to defrost. Got to my parents', my dad said steaks were freezerburnt and chicken was frozen, so down to grocery store (30 min drive) to get steaks, potato salad, etc. We ate pretty late, stayed visiting later, at 9:15 I noticed, wanted DD to stay there but she had meltdown, wanted to come home. So about 10pm b4 kiddos got to bed, adults stayed up til midnight or so? I remember everyone had to brush their teeth 1 at a time even though we have 2 sinks so I fell asleep waiting my turn (should have brushed when I did DD's teeth), finally brushed my teeth about 1:30am when I woke up to pee. Other than that, no problem scheduling bathroom. Sat AM took everyone out for brunch and they left since they all had to be at work day after Mem. Day. They were going to stop and see niece in TN on the way (hope they called her!). Turns out DH either is not good at reading b/t the lines, or set me up I don't know which. I asked about miscommunication, b/c I could have had vinyl tile down in MBA so we'd have another shower and prob toilet, heck, i could have gotten a stock laminate countertop from HD and put in sink(s) since I have them and faucets already. Not to mention a railing on the stairs (2 SILs have had DVT and had trouble with stairs but didn't want to take sleeper sofa). Anyway, youngest SIL said she had told DH that when they were planning this road trip (tour of NE) this was the onyl time they all could get off work. If he had told me that (and that they were trying to see other states in NE, not just driving to see us and whatever else they could on the way), I would have *known* they were coming, even if/when she didn't get back to him after "checking with the others." So I told them please in the future call the home phone to talk to us/email me as well as him, so we avoid the mis(lack of) communication via DH. Though DH tells me they will probably never travel together again (or at least not with oldest sister) b/c they were about ready to kill each other after a week of 24/7. I did hear (driving DH's car back from my parents with single SIL) about how owner of car was having fits over the way the other 2 drove. And youngest SIL was glad to have ds's room to herself since the other 2 snore. So it was a whirlwind visit that really didn't last much more than 1 day. I think they enjoyed having someone else do the driving but still being able to see (a little) of the area that day. Dad was going crazy cooking everyone's steak to order (since they were being polite about what they considered "cooked", talking to a family of vampires LOL, my dad kept throwing it back on the grill when they said "Wheeeeel, a little more than that..." and "Umm, yes, I can eat it like that." when they should have just told him well-done). But I think they appreciated having 1 dinner at someone's house. I know they enjoyed visiting with DH, and oldest was showing my mom pics of her grandbabies. DD enjoyed meeting them, she said she missed them after, promises (?) she'll be a good traveler if we go visit them sometime.

Hey there ... "too" funny(!), I started painting my master bath Millet yesterday (and we're painting our master bedroom Tobacco Road). So far, I love it ... it looks darker/lighter depending on the time of the day, but stays consistently calming and fresh looking. I know it's going to work really well with the Tobacco Road. We were going to go with PB, but, like you, felt it is too similar to TR. I'll be curious to see what others have to say. Good Luck !! Becca