Teresa: That's a pretty little aster, do you know its name? It looks like a double version of the single aster 'Fanny' that I have and that's blooming now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The tumbled bluestone pavers are about 2 inches thick and I'm setting them on a 3 inch bed of coarse sand, so I excavate 5 inches, throw in sand, and set the pavers so they're flush with the ground. For the joints I add sand or sand plus gravel or sand plus little stones from the excavation. The heavy pavers are very stable once they're set, but they are heavy, I repeat, heavy! The pallet is a collection of different sizes and shapes so you have to work with what you get and fit them together somehow. The first pallet I bought several years ago was mostly irregular pavers of medium size and I expected the same for this new batch. They just had a partial pallet on view so I didn't see the total content, I was mostly looking to see the quality. I used a different landscape supply company this time (the other one went out of business) and I was surprised that this batch was mostly pavers 12 inch by 18 inch, with a fair share of smaller ones. This made it tricky since I was trying to fill in the earlier path with different shapes. It's easier where I'm heading off into new territory and don't have to match a different set. If you do use tumbled bluestone you probably should ask to see the actual pallet so you know what you're getting. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Piles of pavers of different sizes and shapes, but all of roughly the same thickness. I've already used most of the 12 inch by 18 inch pavers. The finished path under the piles is made from irregular shaped pavers, some old, some new. The finished path here is almost all made of the original pavers - they're a different shape and are nicely weathered. This area in my alley is half done and the stones are all from the new rectangular batch. The ones on the right are set and the ones on the left are laid out waiting for me to get there. It will probably take me several days to finish (did I mention those things are heavy?). This will be a work/storage area. I put a little landing at the bottom of my granite steps (that's a wet footprint on one paver). My original path also got overrun with grass. I had tried to set it with pavers alternating with grass; carefully spaced to match my stride. That didn't work - I mostly ignored the spacing and stepped wherever was most convenient. The grass also kept trying to swallow the pavers. This time I'm filling in all of the original grassy spaces and expanding until I run out of stones or my body quits, whichever comes first. This may be much more information than you wanted, but you did ask. Claire

LOVE those Ron! The hoarfrost on the vines(?) that look like dainty Christmas wreath is so neat. I'm sure a science guy could explain why negative and positive electrons in the moisture in the air and "grab" on to the frozen particles already there to make those "spikes"... but, to me, its still pretty strange and wondrous. And, most importantly, however and whyever it does it on occasion, its awfully beautiful when it does. Thanks for getting out there and sharing those.

In case one person's perspective is helpful - I ended up using London Grey, it was installed three years ago. The sample I had must have been defective as it had a distinct yellowish tone but I have never seen that in my counters. They are a lovely warm gray (greige), most likely with a beige undertone as Ck Lee said, thus the warmth. However, the light in my kitchen is on the cool end of the spectrum so I never see the beige undertone.

Cabinets: White shaker style, BM Chantilly Lace Counter tops: Frosty Carrina Would you please share your photos for wall colors and back splash? I've looked around at several tile places and haven't found anything I like yet. I saw Sonoma tiles in Bossy Grey, but I'm in Canada. I haven't decided on paint because I'd like to get the back splash done first. I'd appreciate looking at your kitchens for inspiration. Pinterest doesn't allow me to interact as well as Houzz does! Thanks!!