I've had some helpful advise on this forum quite a long time ago and just checked in for the first time in a long time. My opinion on this topic - is Yes and No. My two youngest daughters - 29 and 30 cut off any communication from me and their oldest sister two and a half years ago. They will not communicate with us, so I guess I just am supposed to give up on them. I've been to a psychologist for over a year. He told me that I need to tell myself that I did the best I knew how when raising them. The pain and heartache they have caused me is awful. I wish I could have their memory excised from my mind. My oldest daughter and son are very kind, empathetic people and have been a wonderful support to me through this. So, yes I would never wish that I didn't have them. After investing 25 years into the others and doing what I could to make them happy, I do wish that I had never had two more children with my second husband. He and his family have caused me so much grief, it would take a book to relate all of it. The family is instrumental is turning these girls against me too. I fight the bitterness of this situaiton everyday. Of course, they will always be part of me and I will always love them, but who could ever imagine that our own children could turn on us and not even want to explain why. I have the greatest empathy for anyone else that has been through a similar situation.

I know this is an old thread. But I know I read old threads when I am trying to make a decision. We put soapstone and marble and wood floors in our kitchen in 2007. So we are going on 8.5 years and I LOVE IT ALL. My kids have grown up with it. We don't baby any surface. To be clear, my style is not slick and modern. I have antiques and an older home so I like traditional materials and I don't mind a "lived with patina"-but having said that I don't think my stone has much of a patina at all. The big island is soapstone. It has a few scratches-mostly from house-sitters and the kids dragging heavy pots across it or cutting directly on it like a cutting board.. But if I oil it (which I do maybe 2-3 times a year) they fade. I did search for a long time and I picked a soapstone that was know to be harder than others with minimal white veining-so this could make a difference. I think we could have the top polished/honed again and it would look brand new. But I think it looks fine. Maybe in another 8 or 9 years. I love it everyday! The carrara marble is around the sink in the most used food prep area of the kitchen. It is honed. I just had a repair company come out (only because we had to do some other work in the kitchen and hubby asked about it) and they honed it again and cleaned it up. It looks brand new (I didn't think it looked bad before). There are a few little pits and chips that cant be fixed-but I don't think they are that noticeable. I just sealed it after the guy left. It was never really sealed before. I have gotten a few stains and I have always gotten them out. I have had etching but I learned how to get that out myself (I use sandpaper-yes and it has worked beautifully for me). I love it every day! We are about to ignore all practical advice again and put marble in our master bathroom. I hope we have as much luck with it as we did in the kitchen. In the next few weeks I hope to post photos of our 8.5 year old finishes.

We have a Monarch Composite with EB-TY concealed fasteners. It replaces our 30 year old clear, old growth, Redwood deck. (80% of which was still in good enough shape to sell for re-use!!!) So far, so good. Termites are no longer a problem.

(Started new thread, should have added to this very helpful one). We find the foot lever is hidden under our standard toe kick right of center, it is easy to use and comfortable on bare feet. In my part of Florida, the cold water tap is rarely colder than 72 degrees, in summer it is closer to 80. I'm happy washing hands and produce and doing all other prep tasks, including light washing, with cold water only. So I saved a few bucks and had the tapmaster 1776 installed, after ascertaining that I could later use parts to convert it to a 1775 if it didn't work out. But it is working out great! I keep the (single) handle all the way over to "cold" and no water flows unless I "tap". If I wanted hot only, I could use the handle to get it. If I wanted a blend, I'd have to engage the tap and adjust the handle. The guy at conserve-a-store was happy to get the friendly and helpful folks from Canada on the phone when I called to inquire, and they all agreed it was worth a try. I'm enjoying this so much I may well need to get them for the cleanup sink and bathrooms.