Well, I am delighted to see the interest on this subject! I looked at those stucco pics, nmgirl, but they don't resemble them. The closest thing I think I could drum up was a close-up pic of a shearling coat. HARD TO FIND TOO!!! I am posting a link to boots/slippers pic that shows the 'mounded wool' appearance of the Shuba. Fleur, I think you are right about stencils or masking off for that beautiful design. I think that they apply a smoothed coating of stucco and let it cure before they mask ... the stencilled parts look so smooth. Glad you saw that article too. That tufa wall we did was at my girlfriend's place. I don't think she and her husband want to part with the fossilized shell look! lol But that WOULD have been a great project to try this on. I think that gun applicator would work for this although I kinda like the idea of going back in time and beating a broom against a rod! lol Ciao for now! Marly PS - the "shuba" refers to the end result. Shuba means 'fur coat' and the end result looks like the shearling fur/wool. Here is a link that might be useful: Shearling texture

Well hello everyone! I was surprised to see my name mentioned here! ha ha! Yes I am moving as soon as the house sells. Very s..l..o..w going! We have a showing tomorrow and that means I am busy straightening out the house. I have been so busy with lots of things and just getting back to posting. I was going to come here a couple of weeks ago and couldn't find the link! I got busy... I have a couple of design jobs that have had me busy with drawings and proposals, I like being useful but there just isn't enough time in a day! I had lunch with Judith a couple of weeks ago and we talked about cameras and taking pictures. She looks sooo good, she is making a great comeback from last year. She had a lot of energy that day and looked radient! We sat outside the Olive Garden and talked for another hour while the weather was so nice. I just got off the phone with her and she said to say hi to you all (can't get online these days at her house, and work is just crazy busy). I told her I would come here and tell you all she is just fine but insanely busy. I told her that if she doesn't keep up her Blog, it's no wonder people think she fell off the face of the Earth! ha ha! You will hear more from her and me soon, I just have to get through this hump of insanity first. My mission is to get the house sold, then my mission will be to find a house in Florida (Space Coast area). Then my mission will be to shower my grand daughters with so much attention that they will get sick of me! Oh ya and by the way, I turned 60 last week. Not something to brag about, but what an experience the day before... I was sweating it... then it all went away and I am calm about it, after all what choice do I have. The point is... I survived to turn 60, now that is a chore in itself! I am STILL HERE. And you know what? I have a lot to be thankful for. Oh I have some ideas for my next house. Won't be as fancy as this one was, but it will have its own character. And, I will ENJOY working on it, after all it is the journey that is where life is while you are waiting for life to begin! Listen to me, wisdom is pouring out of my mouth and I have only been 60 for one week! Watch out! ha ha I posted something I did with plastic beads on my projects blog, feel free to visit there if you want to see what I am up to, I am slow at posting anywhere right now though. My home projects: http://mhprojects.blogspot.com/ You gals are great for thinking of me, Thanks so much, I missed you all too! Here is a link that might be useful: My Blog

First, I'm sorry to hear of your daughter's illness and sincerely hope that the cause, if it is external, can be determined and corrected. Second, if it is formaldehyde, I certainly hope that the source can be identified. I am no expert on formaldehyde (other than experiencing it in new RVs over the years) but I am quite familiar with performing and following proper scientific testing which includes never making any assumptions. If formaldehyde is in fact the cause you need to identify the source. The most common sources are items such as: flooring underlayment, carpeting, and particle board wood furniture. Are there any new items or installations of such? Typical off-gassing from electrical products is similar to the smell of the old "magic markers" from years ago. I think the best direction is to verify the cause of the the problem, and then determine the source. Somebody that does environmental testing, but also that does not sell some sort of a "product to eliminate it", would be your best bet. I wish you and your daughter the best of luck.

yes. There was a news item on my local ISP site. It was said that most of the probelms were fro houses siting on mostly clay soils. Not a lot of detail was given, but I know rom expereince that clayey soils do shrink a lot u pon moisture loss. I don't think that houses with deep foundations such as those with basements are having as much trouble. Those houses are getting some crack from normal minor settling. I envision real problems developing from the following conditions: 1. No bsement, houses on slabs. Often, these have shallow foundations, and some inexpensive slab buildings depend a lot on the slab itself for support. 2. Soil unde a slab not consisent from end to end, for example, all clay at one end with a mix of clay ans humus at the other end. These two soils will shrink at different rates and bend/crack slabs. 3. You can expect trouble if a slab foundation is placed on fill that has not been thoroughly compacted. Making a significent depth fill and then compacting only the top surface is not adequate. The fill should be compacted as fill is added in layers, say no more than 3 to 4 inches deep. Effective fill has to be compacted as it is built up. 4. Building codes around here require that excavation for footings must go below the frost line and reach undisturbed soil, whichever is the deeper. If this is not done, footings can settle unevenly. The goal is little to no settling. 5. Footings can settle differently if one end of a building is much heavier than the opposite end and this was not accounted for in the footings. For example, one end of a house could have a full masonary fireplace and be two to three storeys tall while the other end of the house is only one story.