Bulldinkie, well be sure to send us pics here when your foal is born! Acorn, Let's hear it for dream horses! I was just outside and the 3 of them came up. Shiloh, my dreamy 3 yr old, came over to get petted and proceeded to lick my hands, coat ( it's chilly today) pants and garden clogs. Yes, lick! I noticed he gets jealous when the baby comes up to me and he runs the baby off. As I'm typing this.. I just got a call from a fellow that he will be buying that colt. He also wants him to nurse longer first so that means we get to play with him yet this fall! You know the honest truth is- if you pay a breeder a stud fee and other the other expenses.. there isn't much money in horses. I cleared more profit in one day at my garden club plant sale than I will clear on this foal this year. And plants are no risk. With a pregnancy you are risking your (dream) mare. It's been a fun 3 foals these past 4 years. Last night we forced him to wear a halter. He's already outgrown the baby halter and was in the medium size! He got all the brushes tried on him, and he seemed to love the brushes. He reared up a few times. He bumped his nose and got a scab. You invest a lot of hours to train a dreamy horse to be dreamy. A LOT! So I'm thrilled you have one too, Acorn! And hopefully you will too bulldinkie! Maybe others here on GW have one? Karen

Most interesting! Makes me wonder if the Crayfish living in most of the ground on this property (apparently, they're some sort of subspecies not requiring actual streams) aren't helping with the colors of my blooms. But the cooking may be a key component of what you're doing. The newly-'discovered' Terra Preta. which is remarkably stable - even regenerating over time - has its origins in the refuse piles left by the people of the Amazon. Charcoal, cooked food scraps, bones, pottery shards... I've toyed with the idea of asking to buy any scraps of bisque (first, low temperature firing) from local potteries, to mix in with my compost. Experiments in recreating Terra Preta indicate that "charging" the pottery shards, by steeping them for months in compost, is part of the secret to the longevity of the man-made soil. We're vegetarians (and I don't think Shellfish are allowed in our diet - plus I may have severe allergies to them, anyway...), but I'm going to start asking the neighbors' maids to save shrimp scraps for us. We already are getting the coffee grounds, banana peels, chicken bones and eggshells (and a reputation for being eccentric).

Bill, I remember seeing your sloping method in a previous thread, and if it fit in the schedule, I would have done it just that way. Unfortunately I'm having the granite for the curb top templated today and I figured I should get it all set up before that. Still would be nice if it were pre-sloped. Lisa, the drywall shaving tool is a great choice too, I just don't own one of those. I burned all my drywall tools after my kitchen project. I'm leaving this project to the professionals. It's kinda bittersweet since it will be the only non-DIY portion of my project, but I've come to hate drywall with a passion. It takes me 5 times as long and looks half as good as a pro job. In fact, the guy doing my bathroom walked around my kitchen during the estimate and found a half dozen things he said he'd be happy to 'clean up' for me :) Oops, correction, I'm hiring out the granite too, but IMO that is never a DIY task.

I have a history of agreeing with rhome, so I will tell you that I loved the marble -- even with the edge treatment. That made it kind of a funky fit that didn't need refinishing in my book. The polished aspect is easy -- take some lemon juice to wash it down first, rinse and dry, then fine sand paper (maybe a couple of grades in succession) and buff it down. And I don't worry about staining. I've had mine next to my cooktop and sink for years -- with chili, chocolate, tomatoes -- just about anything I'm likely to encounter spilled on them and a number left overnight. It's as seal it and forget it as my granite as far as stains go, really. I like the soapstone, but I don't love it -- especially as a second variety in the same room. I would wait until you get the other SS in to commit to table top. Either way, I'd hang onto the marble for now. Either stone can be changed or used in another spot. I'd be wanting to find a use for both of them regardless of which one stayed on the table top. Whatever you do, they are great finds. Enjoy your great fortune and the stones.