Rennet, your jades are beautiful. Kudos. And I woke up this morning to find that my largest cutting has rooted. At least I think it's rooted, I'm going off the fact that its leaves are full again and when I lightly pinch them, they are no longer thin and flimsy. I have a lot of friends who like jades and I've been wanting to gift them for a while. Awesome. I'm off to take pictures of my jades. I must have about 20 different types of plants and I can honestly say that the jades are my favorites. It's an odd bond between plant and human, one that I was totally unaware of just a couple of years ago. Enjoying this site immensely, Jose

Susan, I'll try but I don't know if I'll have 8 in each category. PERENNIALS: Shasta Daisies Four O-Clocks (mine are perennial and now some of them are so old they have roots larger than a football....you can't dig 'em and move 'em once they are that large). They also reseed heavily. Cannas Water Lilies Hardy Hibiscus...several kinds including native swamp mallows on the edge of the pond Veronica Blue sage (Salvia farinacea) Angel's Trumpets (tender perennials) ANNUALS: (I could list 80, but will restrict myself to the ones that reseed the best here or that have the longest bloom period.) Larkspur Poppies Texas Hummingbird Sage Verbena Bonariensis Hollyhocks Malva sylvestris (both 'Zebrina' and 'Mystic Merlin') Zinnias Sunflowers ANNUAL VINES (I grow so many, I had to list these separately from regular annual flowers). These all tend to reseed here so I generally don't bother starting new ones from seed because I know they'll pop up out of the ground in the spring. Moonflower Vine (Ipomoea alba) Black-eyed Susan Vine Purple Hyacinth Bean Vine Cypress Vine Cardinal Climber Vine Morning Glory 'Heavenly Blue' Morning Glory 'Grandpa Ott's' Mina Lobata SHRUBS: Dwarf Burford Holly (NOT really a dwarf....my shortest one is 8' tall and 4' across) Southern Wax Myrtle (the standard sized ones, not the dwarf ones) Possumhaw Holly (native here) American Beautyberry (native here) Rusty Blackhaw Viburnum (native here) ground cover type junipers, though I don't remember which ones I planted here a decade ago Flowering Currant (Ribes odoratum) Rough-leaved Dogwood (native here, and I love the white berries in summer) Crepe Myrtles PERENNIAL VINES: American Cross Vine Orange-flowered Trumpet Creeper Yellow-flowered Trumpet Creeper Goldflame honeysuckle 'Pink Lemonade' Sweet Autumn Clematis Virginia Creeper Persian Ivy Passionflower HERBS: Basil (any and all) Borage Chamomile Lemon Balm Catnip Catmint Pineapple Sage Chives SHADE TREES: Shumard Red Oak Post Oak (native and not easily transplanted) Burr Oak Native Pecan Lacebark Elm Chinese Pistache Texas Ash any other native oak ORNAMENTAL OR UNDERSTORY TREES: Desert Willow (not a desert type plant and not a willow either) Persimmon Chastetree Mimosa (yes, it is a trash tree, and I grow it for the hummers and always will) Chinaberry (This one is just for me because I love its purple flowers and the delicate lacy leaves. I had it in Texas and it was invasive there. Here, it has behaved itself so far.) Redbud Mexican Plum (can become a shade tree after many years) Chickasaw Plum GRASSES: Anything that is NOT bermuda Buffalo Grass St. Augustine Grass Big Bluestem Little Bluestem Sideoats grama Gama grass Northern Sea Oats Curly mesquite grass GROUND COVERS: Asian jasmine Ajuga Mondo grass Liriope Dawn

Kerdi Update: I've gotten a couple of emails regarding the newer "Kerdi-DS". First, emails. I often get emails sent to me through the G'web email system, and because of the sender's setting on his/her G'web account, those emails can not be replied to. So don;t think I'm rude for not replying to your question. More often than not, it's literally impossible for me to reply to your email due to your account settings. Kerdi-DS. What is it? It's simply a thicker version of plain ole Kerdi. Kerdi is 8-mil, Kerdi-DS comes in at 20-mils thickness. Why is -DS now getting attention here in North America? Because TCNA has changed their recommendations for membranes used in commercial or heavy use steam showers. Recommendations for residential use steam showers have not changed at all. What or who is TCNA? TCNA is the Tile Council of North America. You might see references to TCNA when it comes to installing tile. TCNA publishes "best practice" guidelines for tile installation. You have an organization like TCNA which is fairly nimble when it comes to changing recommendations for installing tile. Then you have "building code", which only gets updated every few years, and updates are subject to influence from various interest groups; be they trade groups (plumbers, electricians, etc) or large corporations that make building materials. TCNA will often make tile/shower/bath recommendations that improve building practices several years ahead of those changes being implemented into state or national building codes. Blah blah blah. So what is this about? We have water barriers, which limit the penetration of liquid water. Then we have vapor barriers, which limit moisture vapor penetration. At a minimum, a water barrier is needed in a shower or tub surround. A more robust barrier, or a vapor barrier, is needed in a steam shower. Protection from vapor penetration has been typically defined by a product's "perm rating". Previously, if a product had a perm rating of less than 1.0, it was considered a vapor barrier. Example, a topical membrane that I use often is Hydroban. Hydroban has a perm rating greater than 1.0, so it can be used as a waterproof membrane in a shower, but it won't suffice as a vapor barrier in a steam shower. A product like RedGard has a perm rating of less than 1.0, so it can be used as a waterproof barrier in a regular shower, or as a vapor barrier in a steam shower. Kerdi? "Regular" Kerdi, the "standard" 8-mil thick Kerdi, has a perm rating of around .90, so it can be used as a water barrier in a regular shower, or as a vapor barrier in a residential steam shower. TCNA has revised their recommendations for vapor barriers used in heavy use or commercial use steam showers. Health clubs, spas, etc. Whereas the old recommendation was to use a material that simply had a perm rating of less than 1.0, for commercial installations like listed above the recommendation has been...

I think you should just try to pay the guy the entire amount if at all possible. He is being very nice by taking the lower bid and he will probably lose the use of his car for a few days while its in the shop being fixed. If he wanted to, he could probably ask you to cover the charge of a rental car for his use during this time. I would consider myself lucky that he isn't doing that and just pay him if you can.