Oh, funnycide (death by being funny?), how I wish so hard that that was the case here. I'm so glad for you, though. You're tile guy deserves a cupcake for all of that, at least. I sent a calm email early this morning. Among the highlights, I wrote: - a brief description of that morning to jog his memory - my firm decision that these tiles cannot stay on that porch - a request for a "mini-break" so all players can return to a better equilibrium going forward - that if he needed to get those tiles off ASAP (per Bill), that he should come after 12noon (so I could be there, but I didn't say that...for all he knew, the drywall guy needed to be there during that time, which has happened a little bit in the last ten days) but re-iterated the needing-a-break thing for the next little bit. He didn't acknowledge the email. He came anyway. He came this morning instead of afternoon. He didn't remove any tiles. He left me a note to not do so either (which I wouldn't anyway, and wrote him in this morning's email that I would not without his say-so and instructions how to not damage the tiles or underlayment). I know he read the email from this morning, given the contents of his note. And the fact that he didn't stay to work. I don't think the way to handle a problem that stems from not listening to the customer (face-to-face)is to blatantly ignore what the customer requests (in an email). It's kind of freakin' disrespectful at this point. So the tiles are still there, still curing harder and harder, and now it is the weekend. Now what? A contractor that I know who does extremely high-end remodels told me that his entire job now is following the various subs around making sure they actually do what they are supposed to. He told me that the phrase he uses most often as GC is "rip it out" followed by "do it again, and this time, according to spec." He says this is basically his whole day. Two million dollar reno he headed last year had three separate tile crews; only one actually finished the job, and even they had to rip out the whole foyer because they did 1/4" grout line instead of the 1/16" specified like a gazillion times, including five minutes before they started setting it. This GC (not mine, can't afford him, but he's fun for stories) also says he posts details specific to that area everywhere through a build, clearly, many copies, taped to walls so subs have easy reference, etc. Nothing - NOTHING - stops the "mistakes." Regarding tile, he has actually layed out the tile in the order to be set, layed out the room, snapped the lines himself, yada, yada, yada...and they still disregard it sometimes. This is a guy who does beautiful, solid, conscientious work. And even he ended up on his knees, grouting 1200 feet of tile at 11pm because that crew just never showed to grout the final bit. (He did it himself to get the floor done in time for the next part of the schedule to start on time). For those of you who wonder, he never heard from them again (a respected crew in our town) even though they only got half the money. Think about that: they let go of HALF the money because they wouldn't show up to grout. It's disheartening.

I've got one, and enjoy it periodically. You can take store-bought yogurt and make it into frozen yogurt...I like taking the Yoplait Light's in various flavors and making frozen yogurt from them. The Black Forest Cake Yoplait and Raspberry Cheesecake yogurts are both delicious frozen! Also, if you want to make ice cream from scratch, try one of the recipes that comes in the little booklet. I changed one to fat-free half-n-half and it was delicious! Donna

There's a lot of truth to many of the things brought up, and people wax nostalgically about "the good old days" but not many people really want to go back too far. Few will give up their cell phones, cars, remote controls, cable/satellite TV, microwaves automatic washers and the like. I'll admit I sure appreciate a lot of the conveniences but I also enjoyed going "back to nature" at the lake. No electricity out there so you got a taste of what it was like 100+ years ago. And certain conveniences there too. But that's a different topic. And me, I really like a large yard. I don't like being where you can reach out the window and shake hands with the neighbors. One of the reasons I bought where I did. Nice large lawn. I much prefer grass to blacktop or concrete. Healthier too. Trees and grass absorb CO2 and emit O2. It's part of photosynthesis. My dad couldn't figure out why I planted so many trees in my yard. I run the a/c much less because the house is much cooler when it's shaded. With grass rather than blacktop or concrete, it's much cooler in the summer and the smell of fresh cut grass is a nice smell, quite unlike the chemical smell of "mountain freshness" or whatever they call that stench they put in the laundry detergents and softeners that people seem so addicted to. Used to be when the clothes would stink was an indicator it's time to wash the clothes and yes, back when, you could wear a shirt and/or pants more than an hour before changing them. Having lawns instead of hard surfaces also lets the water tables fill up again from the rains and snow. Look at the areas with water shortage issues. Generally they have far more impervious surfaces. We are doing our best to fight Mother Nature and can't figure out why she gets ticked off and gives a little slap on the wrists now and then to remind us to wake up. And FWIW, I haven't watered my lawn for over 25 years and have a much nicer lawn overall than most of the neighbors. The hottest part of the summer the grass will go dormant. When that happens you don't need to mow. If you water it, then you have to mow it! What's wrong with this picture? :) And the one I'll add is how people used to "cook" coffee at home. They didn't have to go pay $5 at Megabucks for coffee with a lot of milk in it! Used a mug or a cup and saucer (how many remember saucer and blow? Course the coffee was much hotter then too because women in those days knew that coffee was hot and not to spill it in their laps and run to a lawyer. You'd fix it rather than just toss it and buy new. And nobody bought all new appliances because the color trend had changed! You could get your appliances in any color you wanted, as long as it was white, possibly with some chrome trim. Home buyers didn't know the phrase "kitchen needs 'updating'"! And for the rare circumstance if the washer quit for good and was unrepairable, you surely didn't buy a new dryer to go with it! And back then if you didn't have that item you wanted needed for whatever, you didn't make a special trip to the store. You called a neighbor or went over and asked to borrow a cup of sugar or whatever. Or you would "make do" without. If clothes went out of style, you wore clothes that were out of style until they wore out. Although few would go back to those days, many sure could learn something from those days couldn't they?

China, I respect your instructions because of your background and I am a person who follows the rules. My instructions from the hospital Tuesday night where they washed the wound thoroughly with a saline solution twice. This was also done at Urgent care earlier. Report said.."It was very clean and dry. You may reinforce the steri strips as needed. This will take several weeks to heal completely. You may resume hiking and walking as long as the area is protected and dry. Tetanus was given. Begin Keflex for prevention of infection. ( so far I have taken 7. ) Motrin Tylenol for pain as needed." ( I have taken none) I have kept the wound completely dry and have not touched it. I take a bath backward in the tub with my leg encased in a plastic bag hanging over the side of the tub. My arm finally doesn't hurt and the leg aches. I can't tell if it's swollen because it's tightly wrapped by the nurse practitioner. I see my regular doc on Tuesday. There is no sign of any more oozing. Thanks so much for your input. I appreciate it.