Sorry Norm, I thought Id give you the benefit of the doubt and call it a Ten! Barb came in behind you and spotted us a Twenty anyway. :-) Our location is, has been and always will be free. I think that everyone will agree that thanks to Jan & Jim we have had one of the most beautiful locations imaginable for the last seven years and Im sure that you will all be thrilled with the new one as well. We dont spend any money on the luncheon as far as food or drink is concerned unless we see that there is going to be a shortage of something needed. Our Guest Lecturers are not paid (except for Captain Compost, who more or less screwed-over Jan & Jim but thats another story). Supplies are the real killer. Plates, cups, napkins, forks, knives, spoons, tablecloths, trash bags, pencils, pens, magic markers, name tags, notebook pads and legal pads for 200-300 people every year (and I know that I'm forgetting a bunch of other stuff) all adds up pretty quick. Just the plates, napkins, cups and utensils alone will run us a minimum of $150-200 a year at Costco because Lavonne refuses to buy the cheap crappy stuff. We normally over-buy too just to make sure that we dont get caught with our pants down. Now multiply that by 14 swaps or seven years worth. I have no idea what the attendance numbers are at other swaps but our spring swaps usually have between 125-175 folks and the fall swaps normally are around 75-125. That doesnt factor-in my Ms. Cheap debacle where we had in excess of 400 (which I take full responsibility for my screw-up there) so were probably looking at between 1,800-2,500 that have attended the MTPS since its inception. I doubt that any other plant swap in the country can boast those numbers. Obviously if our attendance was a third or a quarter of what it actually is then our out-of-pocket expenses would be far less. Rest assured that nobody has ever made any money and no one is paid for their hours of time, service and effort; all Im talking about is straight-up financial expenditure for supplies only. Im sure that Ive burned $100 just in gas running down to HHSP and back in the last few months to scope out the new location, make decisions on that location and meet with the principals insuring/confirming the location and working out the logistics but thats strictly all on me and I dont expect anything for it. Hey, Id be more than happy for someone to come take over the financial end of this if they could do it for $100 a year!!! To think that we could pull off what we do with the MTPS for $50-100 a year is actually pretty laughable. Ive even given money to folks that didnt have enough to buy gas get home from the swap. (Not Norm though, Id make him walk or thumb a ride BTW, that joke about the cop and the tickets was hilarious dude!) Bec has to rent her server space, she had to register a domain name, setup the server, do all the programming and graphics, she does all the updates and changes, the site hosting and the artistic logo creation for a 12-page website with a ton of different links. Ive searched the internet a multitude of times and seen dozens of plant swap websites and NOBODY in the country has a website that even comes close to equaling the MTPS site. All I want is to make sure that she gets is what she is out-of-pocket. BEC HAS NEVER ASKED FOR A DIME but Im not going to have anyone spend their own money and not be reimbursed for it even if it means that Lavonne and I have to foot the bill. She has done this out of the kindness of her heart and her love for the MTPS. Bec is donating her time, expertise and efforts just like the rest of us but the difference is that this is her occupation. There is no way that we could pay her normal pricing and service fees for what she has done for us for free! Its not even fair to try and equate what she has done for us with the MTPS site to anything else that is out there because there just isnt anything else out there equal to it and shes not even finished yet! When I look at what she has done for us it makes my piddly little excuse for time and effort look fairly lame in comparison and I was embarrassed when I realized that Ive been unknowingly stiffing her. So. I. Again, Im not complaining one bit about anything but I did want to remind everyone that (A.) we do need those donations for the time being, (B.) we need to help out Bec whether she wants it or not and (C.) that Im adamant about NOT charging an admission as long as it is my decision to make. My post wasnt about beating everybody over the head and demanding more money; Ill eat the $200-$300 a year myself if that what it comes down to and never give it another thought. II. My other concern was that as we continue to grow then we are going to want some nicer stuff and to make everyone aware that about all we are able to do right now is to break even. I understand that some folks will throw in a Twenty and some folks cant afford to donate at all; Im fine with that and always have been! But if everyone does want new, more or larger signage then its going to cost more money. If we want a nice banner or two its going to cost more money and right now we arent getting enough to pay for that stuff at all. Its entirely up to you guys, Im not suggesting that everyone has to drop more money in the donation jar either. I just wanted to make everyone aware of the situation. III. Thats why I mentioned sponsorships by local businesses; Id eventually like to completely do away with the donation jar all together so that none of us have to be out any cash at all and we may actually have a surplus to buy stuff with! IV. Ill gladly share the total donation amounts versus actual expenditures to anyone that has any questions about where the money goes! Ill even have Lavonne start keeping a ledger sheet and we can post it on the website. Geez Louise, this is why I hated to even mention it in the first place but Im not going to have Bec and Doug footing the webpage bill because it isnt fair. So thats all Ive got to say on the matter and I wont bring it up again. Anyone having any further questions can email me directly or give me a call at 615-310-4155. If you read this entire post then I'll give you a dollar. Ill be happy to answer questions that you can throw at me other than questions pertaining to the air-speed velocity needed by a five ounce swallow to carry a one pound coconut from a tropical climate to a temperate one or the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow in any climate. (Birds just arent my thing.) The Characters and incidents portrayed and the names used are fictitious and any similarity to the names, characters, or history of any person is entirely accidental and unintentional. Signed RICHARD M. NIXON Including the majestik møøse Sorry, now I'm punchy and reverting back to Python

As a mom, I understand your wife's feelings. I have two sons ~ 20 & 23. The 23 left at 18 because he didn't like my rules, he came back several times because he couldn't loaf in any one place very long... but when I allowed him to come back, he ALWAYS had conditions! Had to find a job... spend his day looking, not sleeping all day. He had to do chores... more chores if he wasn't working because he had more time. He had to pay $50 a week. and he had to follow our house rules.. no staying up all night watching movies or playing video games, clean up after yourself, and he could only fix himself meals when we were preparing our meals. (He was welcome to eat what we were having but if he didn't like it, he could fix himself something else... but he could only do so when I was making dinner~ not after all the dinner dishes were done & kitchen was clean, because even though he had to clean up after himself, he is not very good at it so we'd end up having to do it over.) Consequently, my son CHOSE to not stay with me very long.. usually a few weeks & he'd find someone's couch. That's why he came back several times. We stuck to our conditions and he kept coming back, hoping we'd let him slide. He eventually joined the military and has matured a lot in the last two years. But, I am also going through it with my 20 year old son... having to stay firm & consistent with the rules. If they don't like it, they are "adult" age and can go do something else. You should not feel like a prisoner in your own home & suspect your wife agrees but it's her son & she doesn't want to turn him away, but maybe is conflicted because she remembers how bad it was when he was there before... I feel for her. Oh yeah, if he is leaving Dad's because he doesn't like the rules or being told what to do, does he think it will be different in your home? I think this is one time you & your wife should get together with Dad & stepmom to have the same rules/expectations in both houses.

I am in exactly the same place with my red oak floors :( my floors look just as orange as in the pictures... and the variations and wood grain are much more pronounced than I wanted. I have the flooring company coming in on Monday to put down the third coat of poly - do I have any options at this point? Or just a matter of it mattering less once I get more used to the new color...? I had this same level of shock and discomfort with my wall color (had to leave my apartment for the evening just to soothe myself!), but once they sanded the floors - I realized I loved the wall color, just that my old floor finish was clashing with it. Now after staining the floor - I am back to feeling they really clash... and I really wish I had just opted for no stain and a natural finish instead... I’d take that look over what I now have any day. At least - that’s how it feels right now. To the original poster - @lacollar - (or anyone else with a similar experience) - did you eventually get used to (or even fall in love with?! :)) your floors... even though at first it felt like the choice of stain color was a huge mistake? Has anyone tried tinting the final coat to tone down the orange/reds? Does that work? Appreciate any help/advice. Thank you all!

I married my husband this year after 6 years of dating. We are both divorced for many years with now grown young-adult children. At the time we met his daughter was 18 and my son 14. My son loves my husband and accepted him with open arms. His daughter struggled to accept me in her dads life. Her dad is a very nurturing, attentive, loving person. When we started dating he shifted all that to me and away from his daughter. And I do have to say....it must leave a void. I was concerned about his 18 year old daughter by herself when he would stay over my house, because she was all alone in his house an hour away. Her mom was busy living in an apartment starting her life and dating. That's all I know on that topic (no judgement). Moving on... It was a living H with her for the first 2 years. My husband naturally wanted to introduce us. She was busy, didn't have time, the venue wasn't interesting to her. Bless his patience! We finally decided to go shopping for her birthday. On the trip, she hijacked her dad. She would take him away from me within the store to look at clothes, and I was left on my own. When we left a shop, she would squeeze between her dad and I walking down the street, again I was pushed out. The last straw on our first meeting is her purposeful talk about past family memories that drove home I was so misplaced. Well, after that event I hated her. HATED this spoiled, bratty, immature girl. I don't feel guilty for saying it either. The next 6 years continued with different rude behaviors. We went on a group vacation with friends and she was hostile toward my son (16 at the time) because he woke her up at night with the television. Her hostility continued foe 10 days leaving my son uncomfortable and confused. He couldn't understand how anyone could get that upset over his blunder. Remember he was 16 and he is a boy. LOL When he got sick with double ear infections and she had to give up her room so he could rest in a bed (not a hide a bed with a thin mattress-he is a heavy kid and she is barely 100 lbs). oh boy you should have seen the commotion. That is probably the only time I got angry in the 6 yrs I have known her. Everyone in the condo was tip toeing around the idea SD had to move rooms but no one would tell her. An argument ensued about whether it was right to make her move after agreements were made. That is when I hit TILT. Instead of asking nicely, I laid out the new plan regardless of anyone's prior agreement or rantings. My son was very sick and needed to rest. When he was better they could change rooms back. Oh boy, she threw me stink eye for the rest of the trip. Add insult to injury: my son walked in on her while she was brushing her teeth in the bathroom and she cam out ranting. Oh.... The injustice! Enuf said. I hope you get the scene here. Flash forward to today. She got older and met a boy that she lives with. He appeared to be a good influence on her. Dad had to smack her hand last Xmas for her incredibly rude behavior toward me; when dad would leave the room she would start whispering with her boyfriend as if I wasn't in the same room. When actually I was preparing the dinner they were about to eat. Sigh! Now it's been 4 months since our wedding: we invited them wine tasting (something we wanted to do) and no response, dad calls and texts and no response, I see her on FB and I'll LIKE her posts on occasion to keep the oar in the water. She loves her mother and grandmother, who give her a lot of monitory privilege. We are not in a position right now to do so and even if we were I wouldn't do it to gain her attention. So WHAT IS MY ISSUE? I am angry at SD and my husband!!!! When we got married in June the theme of our service was family. I had such high hopes, having such an abusive marriage in the past. It seems like my dreams have been shattered again. A part of me is heartbroken, perhaps too idealistic is the lesson here. Ha! I don't think this situation will ever change, or at least right now there are no signs pointing toward an upward trend. After 6 years of this, I'm toxic with anger. I can't live this way anymore. I dread Xmas because I have to deal with them. Conversation is like pulling teeth. All I get is one-word responses or on occasion an explanation. I think up topics ahead of time to prepare for the uncomfortable silence. They never ask about my son, me, or my family BTW. I've decided to disengage from her out of self-preservation. No more cooking meals for people who are rude to me. No more hosting people who lack the most obvious manners. No more party invitations. Xmas will be a card, sorry we are out of town. Dad and SD can figure things out between themselves. I'm not winning here. New to the SD game, but really hating it. I want off this merry-go-round. Ideas? Thoughts?