So just to give you an idea of how ever-so-slightly obsessive I/we are being with this, we have not only been tarping the area when it rains, but we post-hole dug a couple of 'wells' and have been using the old pumps from our hydroponics setup to pump out some of the water. From Garden Pictures Note the water table, right after all the rain, only about an inch down! On the plus side, digging down 3ft or so gave me a good idea of my soil strata - after about a foot and a half I hit some clay that looked like I could sit down and throw a terra-cotta pot on the spot. But up until that point, it was (decreasingly) nice and dark brown and more crumbly. So I think my dirt is pretty good :) Hopefully adding my compost and raising te rows as much as possible will improve the drainage. We're also eventually planning on putting a dry streambed through the backyard. But as for the good news - after only 24 hours or so without water falling from the sky, the water table receded to about 5-6 inches down. Progress! Thanks for the advice, everybody - still don't know when I'll be able to start working out there, but hopefully it will be soon, as I have some little ones anxiously waiting! From Garden Pictures ~Emily

piegirl, I admire your tenacity. We are trying to finish this remodel over the next month, (an agressive goal) because it was already pretty close to the end when I resumed it with this new contractor, or so I thought. That was BEFORE GW! Now that I know so-ooo much more, everyone is in Real Trouble! The next few months are the busiest of the year in my profession. When I resumed the idea of finishing the bath in late November, I thought we might have it done by Christmas. When I decided to change tubs, (I learned about GW somewhere in here) I was sure it would be done by January. Once I learned about Panasonic WW, Kerdi, heated floors and towel racks, February has eluded me! Ah, March through May ... my busy season. When we a photographing high school seniors for their graduation invitations and photographing their Proms, and they are 'ravenous' to get their 'stuff '! THAT'S WHEN I AM FINISHING MY BATHROOM! Pretty smart on my part, huh? :( I would have been much smarter to wait until summer, but I was fearful that something else would happen to deter me. And besides, I PROMISED my daughters a soak in that wonderful Tub! So if you guys notice me 'going a little crazy' over the next few weeks when I write in to vent, just say to yourselves, "she's gonna be awright, it's her busy season, you know!" So piegirl, if you spent 'hours' researching for a whole house over a year's time, you will be my inspiration! I will try to remember that this is just part of the process. And you're right, those victorius AHAH! moments are awesome! hamster, I laughed out loud at the "task lighting" brand of lighting products. It IS wonderful to have some place to go to ask even the simplest questions. I have a feeling that when I show my 'doubting Thomas' friends some of these posts, they will just tell me that I have found a bunch of electronic friends who are just as anal and nuts as I am! They, too, will not be invited to the "Bathwarming Party"! I think everyone who has worked as hard as we have should throw one! Mommielady

Son had a large wedding and reception but because it was in the afternoon, no dancing. But if we did have a song it would be Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me." His small high school graduating class sang that to the parents then they gave the mom's a rose. Talk about crying! DIL knows what a close knit family we are and she loves how close I am to my son's. Now that she's a mother of a son she really understands the special bond between son and mother which is not like the old saying goes, "A son is a son until he takes a wife, a daugther is a daughter for the rest of her life." Heck, I still get onto my children! I'll always remember Barbara Bush speaking about Jr., "Just because he's the President doesn't mean he can put his feet on my coffee table!" lol

I had a walnut island top in my last house. We put coffee mugs down on it all the time. Yes, after a while there were small scratches, but that's a wood countertop. Once every few months or so I'd clean it off and reapply oil and it was good as new. The only thing that caused a ring for me was a sweaty glass of Coke that someone left overnight. I thought we'd oiled it enough to prevent water rings, but it did leave one. After that I sanded it down, reapplied several more coats of oil, and we never had any more problems. If you have wood counters, you have: -A beautiful counterop -A countertop that will get scratches -A countertop that can be revitalized very easily I love walnut!!