Thanks for the update. I look forward to Saturday. Just to make sure I have everything squared away, here is the list of hostas to trade so far. Let me know if I forgot anything/anyone, or if I made a mistake. Annie - You just wanted something different. I will take a gander, but I am thinking that I have a Montana Aureomarginata that I love the look of. Do you have room for a large (27"70") hosta? I will also grab a couple extra for you. Dave - Golden Tiara, Janet, Blue Wedgewood Tina - You wnated Blues and mini's. I have Blue Wedgewood, Halcyon, Feather Boa, and Emerald Tiara. Does that list sound OK? Two mini's and two blues. Gata - You said just pot some up, so check my list below. These are some that I will bring incase people might want them. Here are the additional Hostas I'll bring in case people wnat them: Emeral Tiara Golden Tiara Feather Boa Blue Wedgewood Halcyon Janet Feather Boa Stiletto Ginco Craig and some open pollinated seedlings. Did I forget anything? Any changes?

Whether it is granite or quartzite is not really the issue. Some granites do stain. So do some quartzites. Some of each kind of stone do not. The real issue is your sample stains and scratches. I would get on the horn with the stone yard ASAP and tell them the product is not performing the way they promised.

"Why would they make up fake loan stuff to get out of your deal?" Because people get buyers remorse or they find a house they like better for a lower price - and they would rather blame it on a loan not being approved than to be honest about it. Blaming it on the loan is the easiest way out. Them giving up their deposit w/o a fight showed they were feeling responsible for what happened. It was cheaper to let the seller keep the $3k than to risk getting sued for all the other expenses. Had their loan been denied, and they felt it was not their fault "because the loan officer never told me I couldn't claim child support" - don't you think they would have fought harder to keep that money? And if they can't qualify for the loan, that tells me $3k is A LOT of money to them - money they can not put down on the next house - why would they so easily let that go? Obviously the seller also thinks there was something fishy about this - otherwise they would not be interested in seeing the loan documentation. I had a similar situation happen to me when I was selling my house. The buyer was the son of a very prominant business owner, who was also a partner in the family business. They had a "preapproval letter" (which I now realize is worthless). After they already had a contract on the house, they wanted about $12k worth of furniture, but was only willing to pay $5k for it. We were negotiating the furniture price only 24 hrs before I had scheduled movers to come pick it up and deliver it to my other house. I told them if we can't agree on the price before the movers take it, YOU will pay to have it moved back to the house should you change your mind. We couldn't agree on a furniture price, but this was not part of the house sale, so I assumed they were still going forward. Only 4 days later I was informed they couldn't get their loan, the deal was off, and I had to refund their deposit. I figured they were mad because they couldn't get the furniture, and just for spite they decided to go elsewhere. Either that, or they just found a cheaper house. I found it really hard to believe they failed in obtaining a loan.

My main concern on the width of the counter to the left of the sink (I think I will give it a name so I don't have to keep typing that) is that the range hood did not look balanced in the space. I tend to err on the side of form over function. Lisa, I have no idea how I came up with my finishes, I think I fell in love with them individually and am hoping they all look good together. Dumb, I know. And, as each item is installed it looks just a little bit different than I imagined. So, my floor is limestone, base cabinets are painted BM Natural Cream, pantry cab, refrigerator cab and two china cabinets are all stained rift cut white oak and the counters are 2cm Calacata Oro, Island will be a industrial wrought iron base with a 2" piece of regular white oak, maybe distressed a bit. The window in the kitchen is three french casements painted black (I really wanted steel framed windows) with cremone bolts. Here is my floor, it's showing yellow/orange in the photo, but is really a gray brown color. Have you seen this kitchen, it's gorgeous! I think I've seen every kitchen with rift cut oak on the internet. Let me know if you have any other questions. I will upload a photo of the finished oak later today. My marble, refrigerator, window and range are all being installed Monday and Tuesday. I can't wait to see your kitchen!