Thank you guys for all of the quick responces! Just as a sidenote incase anyone is interested: I also enclose in each hosta a second cheap plastic label I stick way in the dirt just incase the metal one gets displaced, so I always have the hosta name in a second place. I notice though that even black Sharpie markers do not last forever. And if the sun hits any part of it, forget it. However, if you get their Metallic Silver markers that are meant to write on dark surfaces, these really stay forever. I have had labels out in the sun for years with no fade so far. And, I also just discoved yesterday at Staples for the first time, that Sharpie now has Oil-Based Paint Markers! They are specifally made to be Weather-Water-Fade-Resistant. The pack I got was one Gold and one Silver. But on the back of the package, it says that they also come in other colors, so I am sure you could find black too at some point. They also have them in different points, med,fine, etc. I just thought I would share that while we are on the subject! Christy

bnicebkind, I am sure you are suspect about my advice. However, I have an exact replica of OP's MIL. MIL is the most overbearing, rude, miserable, critical (and those are the nice descriptions) individual I know. I found that once I stopped taking her comments to heart and let it go in one ear and out the other (rather than engaging her and allowing her to make me feel insecure), I was able to straighten my back, listen to her comments, consider the source, respond politely and wait for her to leave. My MIL is a person who's thoughts never process in her brain, they come straight out of her mouth without thought that one or another comment may be offensive, hurtful, critical, etc. If you don't allow someone to hurt you, you take the power away from them. Fake it at first if you have to, and eventually you will actually feel it. I spent years crying to my husband when I would have to be in her presence and she belittled me. DH gave me good advice. Call her on it. When she says something that you don't like, tell her. I do now. I never raise my voice, I never get worked up, I just tell her straight up what I don't like. I do not let her ruffle my feathers. It works better to disagree with her in the moment and then there aren't residual feelings of hurt or insecurity. It actually works like a charm. The incidents are fewer and further between. I also realized that I did not want my husband to fight my battles and I certainly did not want my husband to insist his mother like me. If she doesn't like me, I no longer care. When I started realizing that my life was none of her business, I did have the backbone to tell her so when she asked an improper financial question or a question I felt was too personal. Everyone has to go with their own comfort zone. I hated that she got to me regularly. I was feeling insecure, which I hated since that is not me. MIL knew she was pushing my buttons and worse, I was letting her. I have now diffused her and she no longer has that power to aggravate, hurt or insult me. I posted about just taking a seat in another room rather than ruin the whole family dynamic. That is what I do. I don't want to be the cause of everyone not being able to celebrate a holiday together. If MIL has pi$$ed me off recently, I just say hello when I walk in and go on my way to a different room. Of course, we will have to sit at the same table for dinner, but there are usually other family members and actually, they all know how she is. It isn't just me she unleashes this behavior on. She is rude to everyone at times, including strangers in public. We joke in the family that she has Turrets. Who would be hurt if I refused to go to family functions that she was attending. My DD wouldn't see her cousins, I love my SIL and the other family members. Actually, I'd be spiting myself. When I came into DH family, the dynamic was different, I was younger. I soon had a baby with many health problems which were not expected. MIL found a place to be critical and be overbearing in the advice department. I finally just told her that I was following what my DD's doctors wanted me to do and that when she completed her medical degree I would take her advice. Now, I don't feel insecure at all, I ignore her, come back at her, listen and let it go in one ear and out the other, or whatever it takes so as not to give her the satisfaction of upsetting, insulting me. I think as I grew older I also got alot wiser and realized that in the whole scheme of things, MIL was a blip on the radar. Example - new floor laid recently in kitchen, laundry and my office. MIL comes over unannounced/uninvited. Comments how nice the floor looks but the color really isn't right, such and such color would have been much better. Response: This is the color I chose because DH and I like it. End of subject, diffused her. Do I hate that she is the way she is, yes indeed. Will I allow her to abuse me the way she did for years, never again, nor will I have my husband fight my battles for me. Example: I attend a family (DH relatives) shower. Arrive with MIL & SIL. We sit down to eat at a very long table full of women. MIL stands up and introduces SIL to several women SIL did not know. I knew a few, but not many. She did not even acknowledge that I was seated in the room. When she was finished her introductions, I stood up and introduced myself as my DH's wife. It got the point across that I am worthy, whether she thinks so or not. I think she also looked badly to the relatives whom I did know who were watching her intentionally ignore me. I am sorry if my examples seem pollyanna, but they have worked for me. I don't feel badly, insecure, hurt or any other adjective that I formerly felt when MIL would descend on my home or when I had to interact with her. I also have never asked my husband to choose to one of us. That would be wrong in my opinion. As much as dislike her, she is his mother, the only mother he will ever have. I wouldn't want to have to choose my husband or my mother, why would I ask DH to do so? The way I deal with this situation is not for everyone. You need to have alot of self-esteem and a bullet proof vest over your heart. It starts with mostly false bravado, which eventually becomes actual bravery.

Thanks for the bump. I've been dealing with some other issues with a family member that sort of put this all in perspective (but definitely don't make them any less annoying)! OK this is long: By way of background, GC did the installation himself (my kitchen was a relatively minor reno - floor, counter, minor "bar" construction, backsplash and appliances). I spoke with him on Wed. He said he thought there was an issue with the tile itself, he hoped tile store would cooperate, and he thought we'd have to rip it all up and redo it. He said he'd talk to tile store earlier in the day and that they were calling their corporate office. He then discloses that the first time he installed travertine on a floor was, you guessed it, my kitchen. I said I thought he'd worked with travertine before - turns out he'd only installed travertine on a wall before, not a floor. I think to myself, "this does not bode well." I should also mention there were earlier issues with the floor post-installation. There were two tiles that developed holes a couple of months ago. One was when I was wearing heels and I saw/felt it happen - the heel just sunk into the tile. The other one just appeared out of nowhere. That, to me, seemed more like a product issue. The cracking - when coupled with GC's admission that he hadn't installed travertine before and his statement that "if it required a different installation, the tile store should have told me" -- seriously?? -- seemed like it was his issue. (I didn't mention this when we spoke the first time, I just listened). He said he would re-do it for me, that he needed to make it right, without charging me for the time, and that he'd let me know what tile store said. So, he talked to the tile store yesterday. Not surprisingly, they blame him. I don't know how much they got into what installation technique he used versus what was appropriate. As to the "holes" issue, he had notified them about that a couple of weeks ago (and had called to tell me they would be coming out to inspect the tiles). Now, they're saying they don't remember the call GC made on the hole issue. On the issue of "how are we moving forward," he now proposes just replacing the several cracked tiles. (When he installed the tiles, he went under the cabinets, removed old baseboard ceramic heaters - I guess he thinks it would be too much trouble to redo all of that). I plan to call the tile store myself and understand what their position is (reminding them of the $$ I spent there on not only the floor tile, but also the marble subway backsplash, and also the hole issue. GC is coming out next week to inspect the tiles himself. I'm skeptical that simply replacing the cracked tiles is the right move (I also noticed cracks in a couple other tiles since last posting - mentioned that to GC and he admitted it must be an installation issue). I'm frustrated, but should also disclose that I really like my GC. He's been very professional, a good guy, pretty responsive and proactive. I think he just didn't know what he was getting into with this travertine. That's where we are, unfortunately.

I am here, too! I remember the glass "flowers" being a hot item when I checked in more often. There were many, many discussion on the best adhesive to use. I still have plates, cups, pieces of rebar,etc., "ready" to be made into a flower or two. This is hopefully this Spring will see the final stage of turning an early 1950s concrete birdbath into a colorful Fairy Garden. I got it sandblasted this winter but am waiting for warmer weather to take it outside for painting. I have all the basic furnishings - including a pair of tiny Napcoware rabbits, a teeny-tiny ceramic frog, a ceramic bird house that resembles an English cottage, a twig fence, a terracotta flower fairy, a pair of ceramic butterflies to attach to the painted base, and a "found" piece of old rusty barbed wire that resembles a seahorse - or dragon! I am going to be so excited to send "it's completed" photos to my young niece that requested this project be done."