Yesterday was Marty Monday!hee hee! What a day! He was here 7hrs!!! And LOOK at all the free goodies he brought me!!! DH loves cherubs and I scored all of these! I just LOVE the fireplace and it's built so well, I could dance up there!!!ha! He gave me these leaves that I used my ring saw on already and cut out the plaque part to match the big leaf grouping(3). It cuts like butter!!! Marty makes these from hydrocement and it's the coolest stuff!!! He is from Ireland and is so friendly..we just chatted the whole day about this hydroconcrete and business ideas!! A Real Sweetie! Oh, and my $20 window, in my $10 door being painted!lol! No more road rash!!ha! New Fireplace! Free hydrocement tiles a nice grouping of cherubs and 2 hanging blank plaques Fireplace leaves?! Door being painted...

I use American Express for all major purchases because they are so good at resolving disputes in favor of the consumer. If you really want to try to get out of the contract, then you should write a nice but firm letter to the company today. Do it today, because some states allow you to rescind a home improvement related contract within a certain time period (it could be 72 hours or less, if your state has such a law). Send it via both fax and certified mail so you have proof of how soon after you ordered the product you canceled it. (The fax guarantees they receive it today, but the formality of certified mail sometimes carries more weight.) I would use language like the following: "Dear _______: As you know from our conversation in your store this morning, I am very concerned that the Kashmir White granite I ordered from your company will be too susceptible to staining to use as kitchen counters. I appreciate that you gave me a sample of sealed Kashmir White to take home to test. I took the sample home and promptly tested it with food samples. Unfortunately, certain food products stained the sample easily; therefore, the product is not suitable for my stated intended use as kitchen counters. As I told you this morning, I would like to cancel the contract for Kashmir White counters and request that you reverse the charge for my $________ deposit. Because I am canceling within 48 hours [change time period if necessary] and before any templating or other work has been performed, I believe you should return my entire deposit." If you have to dispute the charge with Mastercard, the letter and proof of when it was mailed and faxed may help your case. The letter establishes that you promptly notified the merchant that the product would not be suitable for your intended use before the merchant did any work, and you had the slab on reserve for a very short period of time, so the merchant is not harmed by your cancellation. There is no guarantee this will work, but it is what I would do. Good luck.

mtn- I grew up in the Saratoga area, spent many evenings at harness racing- fun. BTW harness racing is also something to do in Maine at Scarborough Downs. Since you will be going to Saratoga in August the regular season will also be open. The town I grew up in is Schuylerville. At the time of the revolutionary war, it was actually called Saratoga and it is where the General Burgoyne surrendered to General Gates. I remember vividly cross country practice always included running up the monument steps. To this day I remember there are 184 steps. A couple of regional suggestions, see if you can fit in the Corning Glass Museum. RE the fingerlakes region I recently read What She Left Behind by Ellen Wiseman and got re-fascinated with the histrory of the treatment of the mentally ill. I say re-fascinated because when I was around your daughter's age I read everything I could about Nellie Bly and of course her expose about Blackwell's Island was pivotal in her life. This might make interesting tie-ins. And as you approach home territory, the Storm King Art Center and its fabulous sculpture garden is one of my most favorite places in the world.

Zach, if you’re considering taking a trip every now and then, and are interested in the Four Corners and southern Utah areas, here’s some info! Here are links to a couple RMG threads where I posted “travelogue” pics and info. The first one was when a girl from Boston was asking for help planning a trip to Colorado—but a few pics in New Mexico and Utah got thrown in too! The second one was a Thanksgiving thread where I posted a pic of a wild turkey by one of my cabins when I was trippin’, and then it kind of morphed into another mini-travelogue type thing, with a few more pics in Utah! http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2128462/off-topic-can-anyone-help-me-plan-my-trip-to-colorado http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2142319/happy-thanksgiving-everyone Here are a couple of MY pics of Bryce. It’s pretty amazing to just look at it, and it’s even more amazing to be walking around among the hoodoos down in the canyon. (NO photoshopping!) https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Im_TOj4qZ8Wt93e_oL1Ne6GaInEnMwO5fmMhph2TRlo?feat=directlink These two were taken this past fall at the beginning of my (what was supposed to be easy) walk thru the canyon! It was mostly cloudy when I was there this time, so the colors aren’t as spectacular as they were the first time I went there! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/wX-I73rS7BxkK2igSoxP4jrG3Rrw_wgtl13h5wBFIHI?feat=directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/r0PeWxvk14sxXOf9TWCOfjrG3Rrw_wgtl13h5wBFIHI?feat=directlink And here are a couple other possibilities that weren’t in the previous threads! A few pics of the Ute Mountain Tribal Park that I talked about in the “Boston girl” thread, but after a hard drive crash I wasn’t able to post pics to go with the info! This is just south of Cortez! (This is the place I’ve talked about where I’m getting seedling trees to try to help reforest burn areas—visible in the 5th pic, and also the place that I was looking for help with info to “eradicate” the tamarisk! They are, actually, succeeding fairly well in getting rid of some of it, and this past year, for the first time in a long time, the Mancos River had water in it even in the fall!) Eagle Nest Ruin https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/scJiSLfwMmkhycgT0dKB2TyYSD5telCfXwXDTcTl_2U?feat=directlink Rick, my guide, going up the 30’ ladder into Eagle Nest https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MrNNjVyZT1ovQDpVvMOG8jyYSD5telCfXwXDTcTl_2U?feat=directlink And me coming back down the Eagle Nest ladder! (I LOVE this ladder!) https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MMAwSZg-gRETyb1NEtiwsTyYSD5telCfXwXDTcTl_2U?feat=directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/kTah9DkANrcVVCfnitHGPDyYSD5telCfXwXDTcTl_2U?feat=directlink Three of the ruins alcoves on the “main” ruins trail (Lion Canyon Trail) from the other side of Lion Canyon https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/gXVB7vULD7GfaX863k5kkzyYSD5telCfXwXDTcTl_2U?feat=directlink Thousand year old potsherds and corncobs, which, unlike Mesa Verde, are still all over the place in the ruins! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/TvQsml8vvqFMqtw0M7RvFDyYSD5telCfXwXDTcTl_2U?feat=directlink This is a very, veryveryvery cool slot canyon, Little Wild Horse Canyon, that’s not very far south of Green River, Utah, which is on I-70. I was planning to hike it again when I went by on the way back to Colorado this past fall, but there were thunderstorms ALL around! Slot canyon PLUS rain EQUALS: Bad Situation! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/fcRrKleLnb9KDmFHzO73BGVY7bTWTqbxp-YJkmJRdpU?feat=directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/yu9F0B68Vfa3zfYMzL2qkWVY7bTWTqbxp-YJkmJRdpU?feat=directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/G4HJbdgIeueg_Dnflj1gq2VY7bTWTqbxp-YJkmJRdpU?feat=directlink And this is my all-time favorite hike in a National Park! It’s Sulphur Creek in Capitol Reef at Torrey, Utah. WAY cool! I’ve done it twice, and plan to do it again this coming fall! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Qpu1dmmmPXA6Wxih6cxcLiw_A8tejszRFUnjA0dV3qI?feat=directlink The trail! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bx79GKT5Rq4UoWWCan2U7Sw_A8tejszRFUnjA0dV3qI?feat=directlink In the narrows! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/A1VKYnBNkupd-NHNLF7kJCw_A8tejszRFUnjA0dV3qI?feat=directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/J5VMqXeKXKYaCMHpAZjeNSw_A8tejszRFUnjA0dV3qI?feat=directlink Along the route there are three waterfalls you need to “get past!” This is after passing the last one! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/dKYi8ktzpadNlNi-WJQtLyw_A8tejszRFUnjA0dV3qI?feat=directlink None of that’s gonna help with exercise NOW, but, in my opinion, there’s no better way to get exercise than to go out and “become” part of Nature! If you ever DO decide to head down that direction and would like info about a specific place—or area, just let me know. I have nice little (usually isolated) cabins/houses to stay in at/near all these places—with kitchens, so I don’t have to spend money on food—and they’re all very reasonable! (Many are no more than a motel, some are actually cheaper than nearby motels!) Ok! Where are those weights????? Skybird