Really neat. I live in Flour Bluff on the east side of Corpus Christi, and I am wanting to build a natural pond in my sandy backyard using clay and then lining the bottom with white rock and limestone. I want to make the pond look like the Comal River in New Braunfels ( a natural spring fed river) and plant it and stock it with plants and fish from the river. I live in a Zone 10A climate (nearly tropical) with an average annual low of about 31F. I have a tropically landscaped backyard, and I think having a natural spring looking pond would be awesome underneath my jungle canopy I am starting to grow in the backyard. I would like to make the pond about 10 - 12 feet long, about 8 ft. wide and about 4. 5 - 5 ft. deep. with a small waterfall and filtration for the fish and aquatic life. I would like to power this with a small solar panel attached to the fence or the roof of the house (where it can get some sunlight). Any suggestions? Thanks, John

Hi Packerfan, We are new to this, also in So Cal, and just posted our new pool build stats with some questions today; (North County San Diego pool + putting green). I'd love to see more pictures and any helpful websites you found in the process of building your beautiful pool! Nancy

I totally agree with the samples suggestions. Even in your old kitchen, with your own daylight, your own things, you'll ahve a much better idea of what it looks like. Re function, besides dark showing dust, light reflects light and helps brighten up a kitchen. With the white cabinets and light counters and walls that's not really necessary, but it's part of the consideration. Very few Marmoleum colors are truly light, though, anyway. Are you planning to use the click? For function, sheet goods are terrific in a kitchen. No micro cracks for water and gunk to get into. But the other thing you can do with sheet lino is cut interesting shapes. You just stack the pieces and cut straight down through both layers. You could do ripples in your swimming pool, for instance. Contrast? It's a floor. If you don't do anything that attracts attention, it doesn't matter that much. Not like paint does, for instance. It's harder to change floor than paint, but easier to change lino than most, so if you want to go for something fun, you could change it after a number of years, even though it will probably outlive you and the rest of the house if you don't. I'd probably go contrast (blue-ish) to the orangy oak, rather than matching, or at least go analogous (yellow or orange-red). Not the putty creams they have. I like Rhome's deep swimming pool color (Whispering Blue?). Or Rhythmic Blues Flax. I love Lapis Lazuli, but it's probably way too intense. But you didn't say what colors you were looking at. Re value, as I said there are almost no true lights, and lots that are very intense, so rather than asking what we think you should use, maybe the question should be what do you think you like?

Love the modness of it all - and thanks for showing the beginning of the progress. I was wondering where you got the darling hearts and checked pattern - then looked up through the posts. From your plates! Never thought about using more recent plate patterns - I'm not much into garage sales because my mother was so obsessed with them. (not meant as a dig to anyone who likes them - just that I was recruited to drive her everywhere.) Oh, and I brought a heater into my chilly spare bedroom where I work - that really helped with the cutting. Susan