Thanks, everyone, for the great advice. I think I was in flat out panic mode when I posted yesterday! I'm a bit calmer now. Frankielynn - so sorry to hear about your fish. I lost several fish a few years ago when the temps were so cold. I hope the others are okay. I have a few white goldfish and I can attest that the orange ones can change to white at any time in their lives! I'm planning to set the stock tank up in the basement today but not obsess about getting the fish out (just yet). The long range forecast is mild (I'm on the coast) and the longer the fish can stay in the pond (assuming it has water!) the better for them. Of course I'm keeping a close watch on water level but all the rain and melting should help keep it up, at least for a week. My Dad is even considering some sort of short term patch. In the mean time, I'll get some filtration set up and maybe some plant lights. It's a matter of "when" I move them, not "if". If I get extremely lucky and keep the pond going until late February, I might even get a small, metal sided, pool and set that up outside. I found one but it can't be set up in the winter. That would be a lot better for the fish than a small stock tank. I'm a big proponent of Sanitred. It's designed for use in pools and fish ponds and is even used for animal enclosures in parks and zoos. I bet when we finally do drain the pond we'll discover the crack is *not* in the Sanitred coated area but the untreated rock. Here is a link that might be useful: Sanitred for ponds

Kinetico RO.....Highly recommend the K5W unit....the one with the "water-on-water" storage tank, which I believe is Kinetico exclusive. Much superior to their own or anyone else's air-bladder tanks. Uses line water-pressure for delivery so no drop-off in flow rate from full to empty. Also refills with zero back-pressure so replenishment is much faster and with much less wasted water. I've had two of them at different locations for more than a year. 2.7 gallons capacity. Flows about 1.2 gallons per minute at my 65psi line pressure. Refills from empty in under an hour. Far superior to previous (or current) air-bladder tank. Worth every penny of the extra in terms of convenience IMHO. (Had previous Kinetico RO units for 18 years with zero problems. Responded to their exchange-discount offer.) Kinetico is high-end supplier but they absolutely do hold up their end of the bargain in my experience. They did everything. I did nothing.

Mostly using it on sky color right now. I didn't know you had to be at right angles to the sun for it to be effective. I was just reading an instruction page that told me having the sun behind me the polarizer would be totally ineffective. Learned something there. And on cloudy days it doesn't do much. I would really like to hear what you use your polarizer for and how/when it works most effectively. I have a spot on the river I like to photograph. Hoping to get there soon and try to work with the polarizer on reducing glare on the water. Also just read that the linear polarizers are better and can be used with digital cameras (but not some SLR's that use mirrors). Didn't know that. I would like to see how much improvement it would give me on a photo like below with the washed out sky and the water glare.

I love your countertop slabs, they are stunning. Based on all the criticism I looked at your layout and I see a lot of positives. You have a sink for cleanup near the dishwasher drawers and stove, and a second sink for prep work. That sink is not far from the fridge, so you can grab an armload of produce and get right to work ... and as you work the kids who just want a drink or snack from the fridge can get it without coming into the work L. This isn't a studio apartment, it is meant to work for a large family and so yeah, you may need to take 2-3 more steps to get around but that is somewhat unavoidable. For lights ... maybe something like this if you want something bold that isn't adding a lot of color: Huddardton Forge Erlenmeyer Flask Pendant Just a thought. Congrats on the new house. Don't worry about the people here who enjoy shooting arrows of doubt and dismay without offering to help identify ways to improve things. Some people naturally look for flaws and love to point them out (instead of asking why something was designed this way vs that way). It can't be a fun way to live life.