Plants You have a lot. I'm not on site so hard to tell, but from the pics I'd probably remove all the plants from the pond and vacuum or scoop the bottom with a swimming pool leaf rake. When removing the plants note how deep they are. Moving them to deeper water might be an issue. For everything other than lilies moving plants to more shallow water, or even above the water is almost always better for the plants, so that would be OK if you like. Then I could assess the plants and pond better. Pots, baskets, directly plants? Can pots be reused? I can now see the pond without plants. How's it look to me? Were some plants hiding something that I want to continue to hide? I come up with a plan. Buy replacement pots? Maybe reduce the number of species returned to the pond. If the plants are planted directly in soil, not pots, you really have to empty the pond and deal with the plants. Fish have to be moved. That's a whole deal I won't get into now. Most (all) the plants will have to be divided. Depends on when last done. I just made a post on this. Most of dealing with plants just has to be learned with experience. But here's some things you may not know... When removed from the pond the plants can stay out of water for a really long time. Weeks, even months. The leaves may die back but the roots (rhizomes) last a long time out of water. Keeping them in water can actually cause rot. You can also plant them in regular garden pots with dirt, same as a regular garden plant, and just keep them well watered and they grow great. This is true for every plant except lilies, floaters and plants that grow completely underwater. Some times if you look up a plant on the web or printed on the label when buying a plant it will say 6" of water, or 12" of water, or whatever. Many people think that means the plant must be in that much water. This is actually the maximum depth the plant can take. Most of these do better the less water. Even planted in the yard many of these plants will do well. Here in Phoenix many kinds of "pond plants" are used in yards. This is because "pond plant" isn't really a very good term... "vernal pool plant" would be better. They've adapted to living in standing water and also dry periods when there's no water which is what a vernal pool is. So knowing this can make your life easier, more options. Plants inside the pond = more work. So reducing them will be less work in the future. You can put some of these into pots around the edge of the pond, or in the ground, or switch to other kinds of plants around the edge. Gives you the same lush look with way less work and the pond appears much larger. Here are some pics of a pond I built in San Jose CA to demonstrate. No plant is inside the pond. And here the pot on the left is a "pond plant" called Horsetail Rush. It's a foam pot with no drainage hole, soil from the yard. This plant, like most "pond plants" can be very invasive, but no problem in a pot. And no drainage holes means no straining from leaking water (the pot on the right need drainage and therefore a catch pan under it). Go on vacation for a week or two the pot is fine with no watering. When it's time to divide it's no big deal.

Thanks caseby- your results are somewhat reassuring. I've recently started purchasing the Clorox wipes and use them in my weekly "house blessing". I quickly wipe all knobs (including outside door knobs) and phones and I also use one to wipe my chopping blocks (which are wood - another story but I DO wash them in dishwater throughout the week as well.) Something about sponges which I read here eons ago is that they can be disinfected by putting them in the microwave for 2 minutes (of course not if they have metallic parts). I've been doing this daily when I fix my coffee in the morning. Makes me feel virtuous. I just checked google and found a whole bunch of hits recommending that sponges be microwaved anywhere from 30 seconds to 60 seconds. So I guess I will continue. (Now I don't know exactly when to toss the sponges, always more questions, LOL). Anyway, I think the microwave cleansing should be considered a non-toxic cleaning method (if you don't have a leaky microwave which could be toxic in other ways - check google for ways to test your microwave or just buy the cheap end of microwave ovens and replace every 5 years or so, that's what I plan to do. My last one I had for 25 years and was horrified to read here about someone who had actually had their leakage measured - it pentrates walls - yikes! always something to worry about, maybe I'm one of those obsessive compulsive wannabes's, LOL) --Alice

Of all the marbles, I understand the Danby is the least porous. I tried to go with Danby also but it was unavailable in my area at the time. I went with honed calacatta instead. I haven't really used it yet and can't attest to the stain removal, etc. Many GW members love their honed white marble and have had great results by sealing. One sealer, Miracle brand 511 Porous Plus is a favorite and there is one other....can't remember the name of it. The sealer will prevent most staining and there are stain removal techniques for really stubborn ones. The sealer will not protect the stone from etching when acidic stuff gets spilled on it. The etching isn't very noticeable on honed marble and will develop into a patina over time if you let it. Another option is to have the stone re-honed (costs a couple hundred bucks though). If you can score a sample and beat it up a bit, you'll be able to get an idea of what you can live with. I had a few samples I tested for about a year before I took the plunge. The polished one didn't do as badly as I expected. The Danby held up the best of all, the honed calacatta came in at a close second. I left spills overnight on the samples, poured vinegar on one, ketchup, etc. They all still looked really pretty to me after I cleaned them up. My daughter scribbled all over some of them with a black pen, they were unsealed and those marks were impossible for me to get out. I didn't use the heavy stain removal techniques though as they were only samples. Hope this helps!

Any specific suggestions on wall color with VW counters? Bright white cabinets, satib nickel hardware, white subway tile backsplash, white appliances, and SW Agreeable grey walls in adjacent living room with open floor plan. Looking to bring in some contrast. Thinking of SW Dorian grey or comfort grey. Not much natural light at all in a center unit townhouse. Any suggestions? Completely open To ideas. Thanks!!