i think if you dilute the heck out of it it would be ok... i try and recycle everything, in fact if im buying certain things that will likely break or deteriorate before i die, i think about how am i going to dispose of it. it saves me money. my patio table/chairs was bought becuase its aluminum(if it breaks i can still recoup a few bucks) lately my thing has been pallets. last weekend i brought 3 home from work, and built a crate (for 2 SWCs i built from neighbors cat litter buckets, wife wasnt thrilled about the sight of cat litter buckets in the yard, dont blame her) a build as you grow potato bin, birdhouse(funny story, that was a bet that i could build a birdhouse in 30 minutes, i took me 45, but still) and a nice toasty fire outside while i admired my creations. i love pallets check out global buckets.org? just google global buckets. great stuff. google "self watering container plastic tote" at my thrift stores theres ALWAYS(unless im looking for them) plastic totes. you can make a seed starting heat mat out of xmas lights, cardboard and an old cookie sheet(items usually at the thrift store) i save water bottles(we dont use alot) for mini drip irrigation waterers. poke 3-5 holes in the bottom and one in the cap. fill from rain barrel, sit down at base of tomato. 1 liter of water in the soil. less disease. less water wasted. i can go on for days. i likely will.

Thanks all. Hose Vixen -- I do love that little powder room, had I to do it over I might have been more creative with the tile work, but at that pooint i was still figuring out how to do all this stuff. The tumbled marble really does have a warm look and feel to it, much more so than the image conveys. I wanted to do the master with it but my wife thought it would be to hard to clean and that it would look to masculine. I lost that battle! Mongcot -- 1) Did you put a membrane (6-mil poly or lapped tar paper) between the Durock and the framing? I don't see anything int he photos. We did not put anything between the framing and the wall board. I had intended to, even boght the poly, but it just never happened. i also think it's overkill, we took off the existing original drywall and there were'nt even any water stains behind the areas that showed moisture damage. I did, however, fill all the voids with fiberglass insulation for sound proofing. The shower wall is against my sons room, before you could really hear the shower running, toilet flush and my little AM radio when i listen to the news in the morning. Now you hear almost nothing, glad I did that. With regards to your shower membrane, the 40-mil Oatey? 2) Did you install a deck mud preslope and then put the membrane over the preslope, or is the membrane flat on the subfloor and you did a deck mud preslope on top of the membrane? No preslope. 1/2" plywood floor, 1/4" Hardi Backer (may have been 1/2" and 1/2", don't really remember)then the memberane, then the mud. All the sloping was done in the mud. 3) Where the membrane goes over the curb, you nailed the membrane into the top of the curb. How did you attach the backer board to the inside edge of the curb? Nails or screws into the curb? You can see that the membrane only covers about one third of the curb. I added some wood shims (just enough to give the curb a very slight angle toward the shower) and mortered the HardiBacker curb top down and screwed it as well, trying to keep the screws out of the membreane line. There are new screws on the inside edge of the curb. I figured between the morter, the tile overlapping the curb on the ends and gravity, the curb isn't going anywhere! Oh, and give your helper a promotion! What, he has union representation now? We are a non-union home in a right to work state, meaning he can be fired without cause and with no recourse. He needs to walk a fine line, escpecially with a younger, more trainable staff member coming along soon!!!!!!

Hi everyone, Over the years I blended a few recipes for our tacos. First for those who fear the chipotle, don't worry, it's just in the chipotle tomatillo salsa. So you can substitute your own salsa Originally we just made onion and chard tacos which like the salsa came from everyday Mexican by Rick bayless. But one day we were over at my SILs house and she served a black bean sweet potato taco with a cabbage slaw. All very good, but missing my husbands favorite cheese topping and a little of the smoky heat of the salsa we like as she used a classic rojas sauced mixed with a cashew cream to flavor the potato mixture. I've included a link to her taco inspiration at the bottom. Anyway the next time we made our tacos we ended up adding roasted spiced sweet potatoes and continue to do so to this day.. Rick bayless's Carmelized onion and Swiss chard taco 2 bunches of Swiss chard, thick lower stems removed ( although if I'm not making soup in the future I will add the stems to the tacos and just add the stems first cook for about 5 minutes before I add the ribbons ) 1 1/2 tbl. oil, lard or bacon drippings ( adjust for your own dietary concerns, my vegan sil just cooks everything in a homemade veggie broth no oil) 1 1/2 large onions. thinly sliced 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 tsp. red pepper flakes (add more or less depending on how spicy you like it) 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth (water works too) Salt 16-20 warm corn tortillas 1 cup (4 ounces) Queso Fresco or other fresh cheese such as feta or goat cheese Smoky Chipotle Salsa for serving (recipe below) Slice the chard into 1/2-inch ribbons. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion then cook until golden brown. To the onions add the red pepper flakes and garlic. Stir for about 20 seconds until you are hit with the aroma of the garlic then immediately add the broth or water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the greens. Adjust the heat to medium-low then cover the skillet. Cook until the greens are almost tender. For Swiss chard this will be about 5 -7 minutes. ( in a pinch we've subbed beet greens and kale) Uncover the pan, adjust the heat to medium-high then cook until the juices have reduced significantly and merely glaze the greens. Taste and add salt if you think it needs it. Serve with the corn tortillas, crumbled fresh cheese and Chipotle salsa. Sweet potato addition: before starting greens : 2 large orange sweet potatoes or yams, cubed about 1" Juice from a lime (1/2 to 1 whole lime depending on your flavor preferences) Spices to taste: cumin, smoked paprika, chili powder 1/2 tbsp oil Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Put sheet pan in oven while it preheats. Meanwhile in a bowl place the cubes of sweet potato, 1/2 tbsp of oil, dash of smoked paprika, dash of cumin, dash of chili powder and pinch of chili flakes, and lime juice. Toss together until all of the potato chunks are coated. Place on the preheated rack and return to oven. Bake until softened through and toasted brown. about 40 minutes. I usually flip the potatoes at 15 and 30 minutes to ensure even cooking. Remove from the oven and let stand when cooked through. Salsa: 3 garlic cloves, peeled 4 medium tomatillos, husked, rinsed and cut in half 2 canned chipotle chilies Place a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. If it is not a non-stick, Rick Bayless recommends placing a layer of aluminum foil on the bottom. Place the garlic and tomatillos (cut side down) in the skillet. After about 3-4 minutes the tomatillos should be well browned. Turn everything over and brown on the other side. After another 3-4 minutes the tomatillos should be completely soft. Place the garlic and tomatillos into a blender or food processor, along with the chilies and 1/4 cup water. Blend to a coarse puree. Taste and adjust for salt if you like. We don't particularly care for cilantro in our house but I'm sure others would prefer some in this salsa. Pour into a dish and let cool before serving. We tend to keep toppings very plain on these in just the salsa and a light dusting of really good quality cheese but top however you'd like. Also a delicious sweet potato taco( SIL inspiration) can be found here: http://thursdaynightsmackdown.com/2008/03/16/tacogate-2006-sweet-potato-red-chard/ This post was edited by NashvilleBuild42 on Tue, Feb 18, 14 at 2:41

Wiz... I'm expoloring other wood species. My very first, and extremely long-running choice was maple. But that was when I thought I wanted just natural with a clear-coat. Now that I want a light gray stain, I'm visiting the thought of a different species. I only showed white oak as it was the only picture example out there that gave me a starting reference point as to stain color. I prefer a tighter, less intrusive grain pattern...which unless I get a really high-grade oak, I will have the potential of knots, etc. I woke up this morning to the brilliant thought (about your cabinets and wood grain pattern) that some of the extremely high-end 'Italian' kitchens being touted right now show a horizontal grain design. As we all know that the Italians are masters of design, you are keeping good company. : ) ~ Merillat shows a kitchen where some of the grain goes horizontal...which now looking at the pic from a slightly different perspective, I think it would have looked fab with the door grain running the same. ~ Sochi used horizontal grain on her cabinets with superb results. A link is below. And in closing....my granite has a distinct horizontal (to the slab dimensions) pattern that I think would be fabulous being reinforced with a horizontal wood grain. Now see what you've done to me!!!!! : D Pepper ~ Now having another new set of thinky thoughts. ps. Is the addition of blue in your stain formula a distinct color element or was it added to offset the yellow tones of the wood? Here is a link that might be useful: Sochi's Kitchen pics