Two months ago I went to a thrift shop. I noticed a white fur jacket which I thought was rabbit. I dont know my furs. I tried it on and it fit which is surprising because I am a big girl. The lady said it looks nice on you. At the same time she was putting another fur coat on the rack - long brown. I asked how much for the jacket and she said $5 so I said what about the coat. She said $5. I took both of them. I tried the long one on when I got home. It fit even better. I took them to a local furrier. The long coat had originally come from there. They examined them and told me the jacket is tourmaline mink paw worth $1000 today. The long brown one is pastel mink worth $5000 today. The coat was in perfect condition. The jacket had a small tear at the pocket. They repaired that, cleaned them both, insured them for a year and will store them for me when I finish wearing them - all for $346. I am thrilled. I have never had a fur coat before and even if they aren't the rage anymore I wear both of mine all the time. I am in Canada and it was cold enough last night to wear the jacket out to dinner.

Sas95 thanks for your last post (and what a smile that table brought to my face!). I think that you summed it up perfectly, for me, about a reveal and asking, or NOT asking, for help or specific feedback. It's funny that we mention having a 'thick skin' when you post a thread but that thick skin goes both ways. If I say 'thanks but no thanks, I like it just the way that it is and I didn't ask for suggestions of change', well then, the person that offered me unsolicited advice should have thick skin too. I changed my username after having been a GW member for 10 yrs or so and due to changes in my life have posted MUCH less frequently on GW over the yrs since changing my that name. W/in the first few months of changing my username I got hammered by a more recent GW member because I posted links to décor related things and upcoming TV shows. I simply did not have time to post lengthier stuff but wanted to remain a part of GW as much as possible. I posted those links because I knew specifically that lots of other GWer's were very interested in those specific things. It was fairly ugly and clearly a case of open mouth, insert foot as many GWer's came to my defense that I was not some 'Spammer'. When I posted another project that I completed another member actually responded in the strangest way that they'd done and posted something similar weeks prior and nobody responded to their post. It was really uncomfortable for some members of which one finally posted in good spirit to sooth the other over that maybe I was inspired by the other. In fact I was not nor had I ever seen the other but what I appreciated was the GW member who had the sensitivity and common sense to try and appease the slighted member who went off in a huff. Look, I may post infrequently and post my reveals & projects more so than for help but hey, some folks here have helped me or have been interested in my projects for some time. And I post to threads that I can offer specific advice to when I am on. Sometimes there are a many, sometimes none that I can contribute to. And I've dreamt out loud on GW for ages and some of those dreams are finally coming to fruition so, yeah, I'm gonna post about them and it sounds like a fair amount of folks are going to potentially find that self-serving. That's ok. So many have been helpful and supportive during that time urging me to go for it. So 14yrs of being a member here and having had seeing it on both ends: 1: Being a very regular poster and posting often. and 2: Not being a regular and posting here and there in spurts. You do get treated differently. But whatever. I love decorating so, so very much that I won't ever stop posting here to some extent. Just make sure to not be slighted if I directly respond to unsolicited 'what I should change' advice. Now, I really need to find the link to the house on Houzz that started...

To whom it may concern, I am writing this letter to bring to the attention of Blue Haven pools issues in which I have concern and experiences I have had in the dealings of. I recently contracted Blue Haven Pools of 7575 N. Loop 1604 West, San Antonio, TX 78249 on the 30th of June 2016 to fulfill the dream my family and I had of being pool owners. Our sales person was Mr. Peter Herrera. Mr. Herrera remained helpful, knowledgeable, professional, and courteous throughout our entire experience. He was able to help my wife and I find a pool within our budget and went the extra mile when it came to dealing with our local neighborhood HOA. Unfortunately, this red carpet treatment was short lived. Mr. Herrera knew of our dilemma to have approval from our HOA before we could start building. Although we also were anxious to have ground breaking, it was of some importance to us as a family to abide by the rules of the HOA, no matter how ridiculous they were, in order to keep from getting fines. Upon meeting the superintendent, George, we signed the necessary forms in regards to pool layout and excavation. We were told at this signing of certain and possible damage that may occur, but with that, were assured that every possible effort would be made to minimize damage such as cutting and capping sprinkler lines. This sounded fair to my wife and I and we planned to have a sprinkler service come in and mark the lines while we waited for HOA approval on the job. This plan was relayed to the superintendent. However, seven days after the pool layout and excavation checklist and acceptance was signed, on July 15th, heavy equipment showed up for excavation early in the morning. The super was not called and told that the job had been approved as well as the fact that I was not able to have my sprinkler service come out for another two days. Due to feeling pressured and not wanting to inconvenience Blue Haven, which now had a large back hoe on a diesel in front of my house, I gave the go ahead for excavation to begin. I was never informed the excavation would start this day or even that equipment was on its way to my house. As a customer I was left in the dark having to make split second decisions. At the beginning of the job, everything seemed to go smooth. However, upon ground breaking, my sprinklers were uprooted as I had expected, but there was no stopping to cut and cap the sprinkler lines. They were tore up like the rest of the ground which I am sure has caused problems throughout the entire system now. One resonating fact though that began to play a large inconvenience, was the lack of communication by the superintendent to notify us when workers were going to be at our house. Although there is an understanding that this was Blue Haven’s job site, it seemed the relevance of this being my family’s home was overlooked or better yet dismissed. Often we were told someone would be doing something at our house on a certain day, and we would move our schedule to accommodate, only to have them not show. In retrospect, people would show without the respect of announcement or notification, unidentified as Blue Haven employees or sub-contractors thereof, leaving us at the inconvenience of being completely in the dark as to who was walking around in our backyard. And yes on one occasion someone who was not part of the job was walking around in our backyard staring at the pool construction in curiosity, seeing there was a plastic fence as the only deterrent. During these different work crews time spent at our house, it was not uncommon to see the workers walk behind my shed and urinate. This was not just one crew, but almost all of them. Blue Haven did not install any kind of portable restroom for their employees or their subcontractors, and my backyard became their urinal. This occurred not 5 feet away from where I grow my vegetables that my family and I do consume. This was unacceptable behavior. Another reoccurring theme seemed to be the use of my personal hose by various work crews. Even though I really didn’t have a problem with it at first, the disconnection of my hose set up followed by missing washers from the attachments soon began to upset the process of my day to day life. Beyond this lack of respect, the hose was often left unspooled with dirt and debris clinging to it. Something, I once again had to shoulder the task of cleaning up. At one point, construction came to a halt for a little over a week. We were not notified of this. Upon inquisition, we were told that the filter we had purchased in our contract was on back order and work was halted till it could come in. Although it is not my place to tell anyone how to run their business, it would seem logical only to sell something that you possess, a practice that seems well under the standards of professionalism. Instead a compromise was reached in order to keep the work going, so that a smaller cheaper filter would be installed, and when the other arrived, it would be replaced. We agreed to this. However, once the paid for part came in, it was installed with a broken handle / ring around it. Kind of like buying a new car with a flat tire. Once the gunite was put in, my wife and I shouldered the responsibility of cleaning the back walls of our house. Although some form of make shift wall was put up, a fine mist of cement coated our windows and the entire back side of the house. I spent nearly two hours removing this cement and washing my windows and screens. Once the plaster was put in, a whole other slew of problems began. We were amazed that in an approximate 3 hour time frame, a crew had entered our backyard and completed the plastering of our pool. My family and I had left to somewhere, and when we returned, our pool was plastered and the hose was already filling it. Never did we see or hear from the plasterers. We were impressed. However, this two was short lived. Upon the pool filling, as per the instruction of George the superintendent, I began noticing discoloration. George’s response was that the pool needed to be brushed a minimal of 2 times per day for the next 10 days while the plaster cured. THIS IS SOMETHING I DID RELIGIOUSLY!!! However, some of the areas did not seem to be affected. I continued to contact George and make him aware that the discoloration was not going away to which I was told to continue brushing it two times a day. Although I informed him that I had been brushing it two times a day, it seemed I was dismissed with disbelief. After George giving us the okay to swim in the pool, my neighbor’s children and my own began playing in the pool. When they emerged after approximately 1.5 hours, all had raw bleeding toes. I contacted Blue Haven again to discuss my concerns. I continued to complain and even took pictures and sent then to Mr. Herrera. Once Mr. Herrera was notified, a service tech was scheduled to come out to fix the issue. Although the tech speculated as to what was wrong and the issue was not fixed, I was offered a “pool school” sheet to sign in which I would assume liability and responsibility of the pools chemistry. I refused to sign it on the basis that this seemed like a ploy to shift responsibility to me the customer as opposed to fixing the problem. It did not get fixed, and communication began to crumble between the construction, sales, and service departments of Blue Haven. I was being told several things, all of which were different, and chaos ensued in which the problem was never fixed and fingers seemed to be pointed every direction within the Blue Haven Company. Beyond this, the cleanup had been ordered. The crew showed up and worked, however, rain debilitated their finishing of the job. This sat unfinished for another week with piles of dirt in my yard. On Wednesday the 31st of August, Hervey, the owner of the plaster company came out and I was told this was due to the water and chemistry. I was informed that the proper steps to maintain the chemistry during the curing process were not adhered to and I could brush the pool all day without it changing anything. He recommended that Blue Haven add 4 gallons of Muriatic Acid to the pool. In essence, I was wasting my time brushing the pool twice a day with no acid to dissolve the calcium build up. I contacted Blue Haven and let them know of the plaster’s recommendation to add four gallons of Muriatic Acid to the pool. I was contacted by a tech who I explained the circumstances to, although he does not recall this conversation, and was told that either Thursday or Friday the acid would be added. At this point, I had a prearranged business trip to attend to in which I left my wife to oversee matters at our house. I made her aware of the plans to add acid and instructed her to contact Blue Haven if she and the children must use the pool. On Labor Day weekend, my wife took a water sample to Leslie Pools to have it inspected. Leslie Pools said the PH balance was way off and that acid needed to be added. My wife contacted George to know if it was safe for the children to swim and to tell him of the recommendation of Leslie Pools. He told my wife first that he was on vacation, second that his guys had already added the acid, and third that it was safe for the children to play. Anything else was to be directed to the office. Due to this, my wife decided against letting the children in the pool. Upon my return, I was a bit upset to find no acid had been added to the pool. A crew had shown up, unexpectedly again to finish the clean-up, while I was gone. My wife reported she had awoke to find unidentified persons in my back yard working. Although, these were sub-contractors of Blue Haven, my wife was eerily surprised to find several unknown men in our yard while she was alone with our 3 small girls. I contacted John, head of construction, immediately upon learning of these events, I informed him I no longer wanted anyone stepping in my yard without my consent. I felt my patience with unprofessionalism was way beyond its extent. When I returned home, I was further displeased to see that the clean-up done had left various rocks, trash, and other debris within my yard a good 10-13 feet away from the pool coping. This was something not there prior. I once again got to experience first-hand the lack of work ethics as I mowed my lawn and thin wiring that was left in my yard tangled in the blade of my mower causing it to ruin. A tech did come out and remove two of the spots I was concerned of that were raised and of different texture the Wednesday after my return. On the 9th of September, I signed the certificate of completion. I did not sign it because my wife and I are happy customers. I did not sign it because the plaster finish in my pool is beautiful. I did not sign it because the job was completed competently or with finesse. I signed because the job was done. With a discolored finish. With trash in my yard. With rocks I now have to pick up and pay to have removed. With piles of dirt not even leveled out. I signed it because it was better to wash my hands of our dream turned nightmare, rather than to have our voices fall on deaf ears and excuses.

In the middle of building a home for ourselves, and after we had sold previous home and moved to a rental, DH got a job offer much closer to our DD who was going to have our first grandbaby. I needed only one semester of teaching to retire, and was unable to get a position in the new town. We put new house on the market and I moved in with minimal furniture and we crossed fingers that the house would sell by midterm. A lady who had had a couple of showings signed a contract. Then a few days later she says she will have a co-signer, "her boss," and we were a little put off by the arrangement, but "her boss" turned out to be a local physician, one that I had seen and never returned for followups and then been told by colleagues that I should never have seen, he was awful,etc. Then little by little stuff started happening on the deal. Turns out he is going to be the only buyer, the lady is off the contract. It took the good dr. a few days to sign the new contract, but he did sign. He had been through the house at least twice. Word is passed to us that he is too busy with practices in 3 places and some deal going in a large city nearby, so he lets his office mgr. handle all business deals. We have a glitch that he wants us to pay for the appraisal for his mortgage. We are pretty mad, but still hoping this deal will fly and I can leave town with the house sold and stop commuting on weekends. We call an appraisal friend to ask his advice and get an absolute ear full on how this buyer has a terrible reputation in business deals, but the bottom line is, do we want to lose the deal over $400. Although contract said appraisal was buyer's problem, we finally agree to split the appraisal fee; that word was passed through the original lady of the first contract, obviously this house is for her and she is hoping the deal goes through, now that she has sold her house and kicked out her husband. Buyer initials contract at title co, & closing date is set. Apparently a moving van is rented for day of closing. We had cleared out the home and I am moved in with a colleague for will be less than 90 days before I can retire. I get a call at school on day of Friday closing, to which my DH has come by taking leave, that buyer has still not provided insurance and funds for closing, is not going to be able to come to the table, but wants the keys and everything will be made good on following Monday. I am very upset, call his business mgr. and she puts him on the phone, he is a real misogynist, gives me a very hard time and starts saying the house has problems around the chimney, roof flashing, yadda yadda, and if I can't trust him with keys, I have no business doing business with him (which, of course we WEREN'T at the outset of this deal). I just tell him to meet my DH at the house that evening. Meanwhile DH says, well, we will go to signing and get our part over, but he is not leaving keys. We go in. Closer had advised on phone that "most deals close, after all, he is a doctor" (whose reputation has certainly made an impression on the number of people who have told us tales about him). We are signing docs, feeling ill at ease, and the closer says, well it IS weird that you are here, but he's not. We leave with keys in our pockets, wondering what will happen next. That evening, the buyer shows up, DH has a ladder and goes up with him to show him that everything is right on the roof (which of course wasn't ever the issue anyway). Buyer is sweet as honey to DH, tells him there will be no problem at title company on Monday, and DH takes another day's leave to deliver keys to title company on Monday and sure enough, all the $$ is there, the insurance policy is there, all is well.Lady moves in. Friends tell us to hold our breath until the one year warranty we provided in contract is out, but it is now well passed. As a side note, the house has been listed with one or another realtor in the past 18mo. The MLS listing was always WAY off, the last time we were town the house appeared empty but unlisted, I can only imagine the pain he caused the realtors as he bounced from one to the other. And where is the original lady of the contract? We are dying to know, but never will. That is our contentious closing story from a FSBO.