Insist that he finish (including cleaning) before you close. Construction clean up can be expensive! If you still need another coat of paint after Wednesday, getting that done (without getting paint on stained woodwork) can also be pretty expensive. For the big jobs that can't be done until spring (landscaping, final A/C testing, etc.) maybe having title company hold 1.5 times the bid price will work. But, make SURE you ask what happens if the builder DOESN'T come back and finish in a reasonably timely manner and that "timely manner" is defined. Will the title company release the funds to you if you wind up having to hire someone else to do the job? Or does the language say that, once the big jobs are complete, Title company will release the funds to the builder? If so, builder just has to wait for you to finally get fed up and pay someone else to do the job then he can waltz into title company and say "job's finished, pay me." And you get stuck paying twice! Make sure that after a certain date, you have the option of hiring someone else to do the jobs and then the money will released to YOU to pay them - including an additional 20% to pay you for doing builder's job of hiring and overseeing the work! And, for the little jobs, is title company going to want to bother policing builder's performance? For smaller jobs, the only alternative I would agree to would be if builder was willing, in writing, to allow me (not bank or mortgage company) to hold back least 2 to 3 times as much money as I thought it would cost to hire other people to come in and do the jobs AND he agreed that after a limited period of time (say 6 weeks maximum) any jobs that were not competed, I had the right to hire anyone I wanted to finish them and, when all work was done, then builder got paid whatever was left over, if any, after I deducted all costs for finishing the work plus an additional 20% to pay for my trouble. And, all I had to provide to builder was a copy of receipts for materials and labor paid out to justify what I deducted. I don't think you're being at all picky expecting that your new house won't have cracked shingles or cracked tiles or gouges in the bench of your mudroom. The house should be as near to perfect when you move in as it will ever be. Maybe your builder needs to postpone his trip out of town???

I infrequently made a strawberry punch if it was a warm day, and hot mulled cider if it was cool. Now that the "kids" are old enough to drink wine, we usually have several bottles people have brought to share before and during dinner and so do not have punch.

It would look good with silk flowers or even fruit as a center piece on the table. Better still if you can find something to use as a base for it to sit on. I filled it with coloured water(a few drops of food colouring) and floated some beautiful flowers and candles in it as a centerpiece on the table. Potpourri, fruit, flowers, pretty napkins, a silk scarf or shredded packing with tiny lights. Filled with different colored glass ornaments Birdbath-I just filled halfway with colored fish tank gravel and set it on a stand thing from an old bar stool it looks very sparkley Small fountain-I used the same thing with a tiny fountin pump and some tea cups for a buffet table decoration once it was cute. some nice violets in it with a little spanish moss on top to hide the dirt Fishbowl-on a table in the family room,filled with water and two of the biggest goldfish Filled up with purple sand and it is now a habitat for hermit crabs Put the bowl on a desk to hold mail, cards, bills, etc. Wrap styrofoam balls in strips of fabric for a country look. Remember the old terrariums? You could make one out of your punch bowl. You could use a small ceramic bridge to build a 'landscape' then plant your various small plants around it. You could add a small china dog or cat (great flea market finds), some colorful marbles for water or pathways to complete your look. Use your imagination! If you decide to use potpourri run a string of clear Christmas lights though it. When you plug the lights in, the heat will make your potpourri smell even nicer. I have used them for candles, potpourri, smelly jelly, and kept one setting on my dresser for the longest time to hold my rings.

I love vintage kitsch, but in small doses! But if you paint them, they just won't be what they are, which is goofy smiling fruit! My SO would hate them too, but I hate his mug collection and inspiring Vince Lombardo framed quote too. I love, love Nosoccermom's montage, but that would definitely not work in some kitchens. But there might be some place in your house that could use a punch of color, like a half bath or a skinny wall spot next to a door or something. I'd find a place to hang a set of three and rotate them. I have two ceramic parrots that came from my grandma's old house and I'm gonna have to find a discrete little corner to hang them because they remind me of grandma's house and I always like them as a kid. They do not go with the current decor, but they could brighten up a little nook or corner and just be a fun surprise, not dominate the whole room. Grandma had them in a place like that, a skinny wall between a door and another wall. My friend had some goofy old fruit advertising pictures framed in a small plain half bath on one wall.