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

I'm trying to get my list of swaps posted before we go to Part Tres! Carrie751 (Carrie) Aspidistra (center stripe); Kerria Japonica; Water plants -water lily, water hyacinth, Water canna (Thalia dealbata) For: Wood Fern; Gloriosa Daisy; Mock Orange; Elephant Ears; lyre-leaf sage Debbiedo7 (Debbie) Rain lilies (Zephyrantes candida); tall pink (Chi-Chi) Mexican petunia; Obedient plants; Elderberry plants; Narcissus - Ehrlicheer and Avalanche (Seventeen sisters); Small (low-growing) purple mexican petunia; Spanish Bluebells; Leucojum Aestivum; Water plants - Small duck weed (a little) For: Name tag SylviaTexas (Sylvia) Agave pups; Rain lilies (Zephyrantes candida) For: shade plants Tina_2 (Tina) Aspidistra - center stripe (larger pot) For: Large green aspidistra Barefoot in Texas (Brenda) Spanish Bluebells; Leucojum Aestivum; Water plants - Pickerel Weed, water lettuce For: Lunch Mikeandbarb (Barb) Spanish Bluebells; Kerria Japonica (2) For: Texas Yellow Columbines; Lady in Red Salvia; lyre-leaf sage Mommyfox (Julie) Rain lilies (Zephyrantes candida); Spanish Bluebells; Leucojum Aestivum; Beautyberry For: Violets; Jewels of Opar Ambersas (Dorothy) Arum Italicum (small pups); Kerria Japonica For: Loosestrife; Violets Seamommy (Cheryl) Water plants - Pickerel Weed, Small duck weed, water hyacinth, Cyperus, Water canna (Thalia dealbata) For: Four o'clocks; flowering quince Planopondnut (Sally) Arum Italicum (small pups); Spanish Bluebells; Water plants - water lettuce, water hyacinth For: passion vine; walking onions; photinia; redbud Let me know if I left anyone off!!! I have one last trip east before the swap to dig up or find things to trade!! Lin

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.