I'm west and south of KC, and we've gotten 4 inches of snow so far this evening, on top of the 8 we already had. The current temp is 14 with 25 mph wind gusts making the wind chill -3. More expected overnight. The big dogs keep going outside and rolling around in it (we say they're making snow angels). The little dogs literally poke their heads out the doggie door to look around, and then scoot right back to their little doggie beds! LOL! Eventually they will HAVE to go out. LOL! They're saying tomorrow will be windy all day and BRUTAL with a high of 0. I'm so glad I get the option to work from home! Tomorrow is my regularly scheduled day, but even if it wasn't ... my boss allows flexibility in cases of severe weather.

Thanks again everyone for the replies. I have to say my uneasy feeling is not going away. Here's the latest. So please chime in if this appears to be red flags. At this point we are thinking of canceling the order. I had only talked to the fabricator once. This was when she set up the appt for the template. I went to the granite warehouse (2 hrs away) and only saw 2 slabs that were not really to my liking. I did tag one as the warehouse wasn't sure when they would get more slabs in. They said I could tag one and wait so I did that. I was told by the warehouse that more granite would come in. First it was a few days, then they said no, its more like a week, then its 2 weeks. So I have called every few days to see if more granite is in. I can tell they are getting annoyed with me and now have been told "they will call when they get a truck." At this point, I have no idea when they will get more granite. I put in a call to the fabricator to find out what happens if no more granite comes in and if they could work around an undesirable spot on the slab I did put on hold. No return call. After 3 days Im getting peeved. Each time I call it always goes to voicemail. On the 3rd day I left a message stating I really wanted to hear back. When no call came my husband called HD to complain. HD manager said she would contact the rep. So the installer comes to do the template. I ask him about my concerns with the slabs and the one I have on hold that has an undesirable spot and if it can be worked around. He said I need to talk to the fabricator. He just installs. Okay fine. He said he had to take my sink with him. After he left, then it dawned on me. I just gave my new sink to someone that I don't even know where he is from. I say this because he mentioned he works for so and so which is a different name than the fabricator. So it appears so far there are 3 separate companies involved in this process. The granite warehouse, the fabricator and the installer. Fabricator calls me early this morning. She sounded nervous and a bit frazzled. Im sure she got a phone call from HD or the rep from her company. She apologized and said its been extremely busy and she has had some family issues to take care of. I told her my concerns about everything. She asked me to text a pic of the slab to her phone so she can see it. She said if the undesirable spot is in the middle of the slab, it could be a problem trying to fabricate around it. She didnt sound too encouraging that the undesirable spot would be left out. She said I can come and see it templated on the slab. I don't even know if I want that slab anymore. I feel like I don't have a choice. Not that she didnt say that but if the granite warehouse can't tell me when they will get more it bothers me. The fabricator told me I chose a popular stone, it could be a while before more comes in. I got the feeling she was trying to rush me off the phone. I could hear maybe some kids in the background and then a car horn beeping. Could be just a neighbor or whatever but I got the vibe someone was honking for her because of how fast she was talking especially after the horn beep. She said she would contact the production manager about the undesirable spot. She hopes she can call me back today. I told her that we were thinking of canceling and I wanted to know where my sink was. She said the guy that did the template works for her but he is located in such and such city which is pretty far away. (Great) So I hung up with her and now its back to the waiting game. Now I feel its all just a hassle. I am really leaning toward canceling all of this but now I have track down my sink and more than likely go drive to get it. Well so it happens my husband has to go to that particular area for work tomorrow (a complete fluke) and he said he could swing by where that installer is located and get our sink. He is leaving it up to me to cancel and I am on the verge. If this is how its gonna go before I even have the work done, what happens if we end up with a problem? What you do think? Red flags? Is this how it goes? I mean I understand its a process but I got a bad feeling. Thoughts?

I am not an expert. That being said, I can tell you what my tile store said. They said to use the sealer (they sold me the 511) twice before install and once after grouting. I literally just laid all (ok most) of my tile out on the counters and sealed it once after taking out the tiles I didn't like. I have issues with my GC though, so wanted to make sure it got done at least once. (I will seal it again after grouting unless I actually SEE him doing it. Yes, I have trust issues at the moment) They said it should be applied to clean surface, and will dry in about 5 minutes the first time and about 15 minutes the second time. My tile is scheduled to be installed tomorrow as well. The aquamix was recommended with the handpainted tile focus I bought, so I think you would be fine with either. If Bill V says any different - definately go with what he says!! Good luck! Allie

I'm going to dig this one up, keep an eye on everything else, and report back if things get weird again mid-summer. Because last year things didn't get bad like they did in 2015, which was the time period that I initially posted about... though after posting this last year, I tried treating everything out there with a not-recommended-for-this-type-use (approved as a crack and crevice treatment though) active ingredient that was mentioned for commercial growers in an article I read on foliar nematodes from the BASF BetterPlants website from 2014- chlorfenapyr... and I mixed it in my pump sprayer. Last year the situation didn't get nearly as bad as the previous year... and def my blue mouse ears were all fine at least, as were the ones I gave my SIL. But she didn't treat hers at all. So I don't know. But I will continue to monitor and post if anything new arises. I'm comforted by the fact that this spring desiccation only happens on the lighter areas of FW because my green areas are indeed fine. As of the time of my initial post/freak out, my local extension office was not getting back to me about this (though they've always gotten back to me about other stuff promptly) so I gave up. If anything changes for the worse I will try again, or call another place.