Natal "why did we Have to invite employees" because each of our staff wanted to throw us a party at the offices, as did our friends both from work and friends who are clients as well as personal friends....we were in our mid 40's and busy professionals. It changes things. We asked to invite the staff we worked closest with so they wouldn't feel they had to do something at work, which would have involved many other people, and to make our life easier. Perhaps that's part of the issue with the social circle we deal with, but it's kind of the norm where we live for the folks you work with to have parties for other folks they work with. When your the boss that adds pressure on the staff (social stuff...NOT FROM US) and we wanted to aleviate that. My boss was a close friend of my husband's. My close friend is a business associate of his. The older you get the more tied up stuff like that gets. And aside from one couple who we did not want to invite but "had to" (another hilarious story in itself) the people we work with are like family. We also celebrate their lifes when occasions arise. Believe it or not, it was stresful beyond stressful. We didn't need anything, didn't want anything, didn't want to make feel people feel they had to purchase stuff for the baby....it was and odd situation that neither of us had been in before and at our age it felt odd. Somehow these types of parties are so much easier when they're for 20 year olds :)

Update: Well, Monday morning and it still wasn't dry. My contractor called TWP and they said the same thing to us that they said to fpmr96a - mineral spirits on a rag and go over the whole deck. So we did and all the sort of glossy spots were gone. The mineral spirits definitely took some of the TWP off - it looks a bit lighter in color, but still a nice rich deep color. Thanks, pressurepros, for the technical explanation - I'm definitely going to keep an eye on our film. When you say regular maintenance, you mean the percarb and oxalic treatments with a TWP reapply on an annual basis?

Ahhhhh...now we get where the tacky boards are coming from. I'm going to bet the 20 planks are gathered in a select area. And I would bet my left kidney that area, downstairs, corresponds to a higher humidity. Before they come back and attempt another fix, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you bring in another dehumidifier (you may need more than 2 to keep the basement in the 45% range) and get it running in the CORRESPONDING area of the basement. In other words, drop that baby directly below the tacky spot in the floor. Run it for SEVERAL DAYS before asking the guys to come back in. Let us know how it goes.

Another fan of mentioning nothing or Oly’s advice. Would have no problem donating. For other weddings not keen on the experience or honeymoon fund requests. Not sure why I am so against it, guess it is just the tradition of the gifts being for setting up a household or perhaps updating on a secon wedding. Although I have an aversion to couple requesting gifts I given experiences as gifts. When my nephew got married a few years back they had very little money, but having a big wedding so I assumed most of the household items would be handled. Wanted to give a special gift so I asked about giving them tickets to a show in Las Vegas, their honeymoon destination. My MIL had given them a week’s stay at her timeshare so I thought the show would be perfect. Had them chose the show and they were thrilled. My standard gift these days is a small gift along with cash.