Good lookin' vine, angie. The Black Eyed Susie is an annual here and has always done well for me but I was thinking of something with a bigger blossom, more obvious from the curbside. My house is set waaaaaay back from the street on a pie-shaped lot. All the yard is in the front and I have very little in the back. Whoever plotted that out was obviously not a gardener, not did s/he have kids who needed a private place to play. But that's a rant for a different place and time :)

Update: I called the guy at the stoneyard (the nice, helpful one), and asked him if he could track down a remnant of a dif. slab from my lot. He did, but it won't be cut until mid next week, so I won't know if it's white/dark/etc. until then. I made sure to get the info of that fabricator, and the salesman also was calling my fabricator with the info. I just don't trust my fabricator to be honest. While I was waiting for the confirmation on remnants from that guy, I called the owner and expressed my utter dissatisfaction. Overall, I'd say that didn't go well in terms of his responsiveness. I told him I was appalled that I was asked to pay the balance. He didn't think that it was that off-base to ask me to pay since they are out money too. (Mind you I did pay 1/2 my total so far.) I made it clear that I will not be paying the balance until the job is complete and right. He's trying to say something to the effect of "Well, how much isn't done?" As if that matters. The fact is it is not done since they made errors. I don't think he was too happy that I was attempting to track down a remnant either. I again noted that my 1st slab was sold, and that I had to settle on this slab, to which he says if I don't like this slab I should have never got it. (My point apparently went right past his head.) Obviously I like this slab, but I liked my 1st slab better. I tried to explain that my deposit was put down knowing I was getting that specific slab. I noted that I also had to settle on their sink installation or risk it looking worse. I was sure to tell him about my interactions with the saleswoman. I explained that she was treating me poorly, and I'm not sure if she just treats everyone this way, or just me because I look young, have a small kitchen, etc. He said they've never had a complaint about her (who knows if that's true or not). I told him I will no longer deal with her because I will lose my cool. So anyway, I tried to install my bathroom faucet yesterday, and guess what now? The holes are drilled a bit uneven, so when I put in the faucet and handles (widespread) there's a larger gap between the faucet and cold water handle than the hot water handle. Part of the problem is the mounting piece for the faucet that doesn't give much room to center better. I think drilling the center hole a little larger will be an easy fix... But, while attempting the install of the faucet, I got to look real closely at that counter area. Apparently when they drilled the holes, they lost control of the drill and the bit dinged/gouged the sink counter 5 times between the hot water and center holes! (They are rounded divots.) They are pretty hard to see in the photo, but in real life they are pretty deep. I just can't win with this company! I can't believe I can't find any reviews online for them (positive or negative). I am tempted to join Angie's list just to see if there's any. I'm still waiting to call the owner to explain my new bathroom counter issues. I just don't think this is going to go well. I am thinking about giving him the option to work with me or letting him know I will go ahead and get a 3rd party (BBB). I was ready to let them know I wouldn't even worry about the remnant, and I'd just use that left piece pictured above. Now I think I will wait to at least see the remnant; it's only a few more days. Any new advice?

You had a CMU wall. Sometimes, you want to fill a cell on the top course of CMU to say hold an anchor that is just for the cap on a wall. So instead of having the grout fill fall all the way down the wall inside cells that meet up vertically, contractors will stick whatever they can find to stop the grout from falling, so it only fills the top course cell. Now if there was rebar in a cell that had to be grout filled, that is a different story. But I only see maybe 2 courses of CMU, and you are removing it all anyway, so I don't think there is anything to worry about with the other contractor.

The overhang on the end of a cabinet run is typically less than on the face of the cabinets, particularly cabinets with overlay doors. End of run overhangs are typically 0.5-1.0" past the finished end of the cabinet. Was the counter installed before the end panel was applied? And was the cabinet side painted? If so, there is no way that the installers would have known that a panel was intended. Unless they were specifically told otherwise. Not the installers fault, IMO, if the cabinet install was not complete. What I would do in this situation is just omit the end panel and paint the cabinet end to match if needed. Or use applied 1/4" thick flat molding to simulate a shaker end. Or extend the counter with a breadboard end as I posted ^^^. IMO, the breadboard end would be making lemonade out of lemons. Much more attractive than looking at the end grain of butcherblock.