I work in a mountain site, and getting craggy stones out of permanent beds is a continuous process. In the early phases, many people sift rocks out of special beds using a sifter made from half-inch mesh hardware cloth. In my experience, if the soil is well-enriched with organic matter and cultivated prior to planting to replenish its air supply, carrots will push aside rocks to one half inch diameter. However, if the taproot runs into such a stone, it will make it fork.

From what I've seen (never done it myself), you should be able to root larger cuttings (truncheons) of this plant as easily, or maybe more-so, as smaller cuttings. If there is significant new growth at the tips, you may have to prune back to firmer wood. A moisture tent and rooting hormone should improve your odds.

Thank you Loribee, boxerpups, deedee, and Computermom for the compliments on the room. I don't like to post pictures of my rooms because we have dark woodwork, and that's kind of anathema here. (I love that word, and don't often get to use it!) And deedee, I did have some berries wrapped around the candles in my lanterns and liked them. I'm going to try that too. Igloochic: I've had books there, and didn't like dusting them from the amount of dirt dragged in by my two aussies. But I have a couple downstairs I'm going to hunt up to see how they look. Les: Yes, I love orchids, and may do that. Suero: I used to really covet a chocolate set. Thanks for the suggestion. Thanks bumblebeez and gayle for your input. I spent the afternoon shopping my house, and tried a bunch of different things I had. I'm kind of like a magpie; I like shiny things with glass and pottery. I'm missing the texture thing. But, thanks, allison, for your idea about the natural. The funeral thread reminded me I had a lovely piece of driftwood in a pot from my FIL's funderal 24 years ago. I'm going to use it in place of the horn you suggested, if I can get everything together. Thanks, all! Dee

The advantage of large tile is fewer grout lines. But, if you tiler is smart he/she will use a urethane grout that does not get grungy and harbor mold. It also does not need to be re-sealed every few years -- something no one ever actually does, Grout lines make little difference these days since the invention of urethane grout. The disadvantage is that you need a nearly perfectly flat floor that has virtually no deflection. This usually means joists that are closer together (12" o/c is best) and a very stiff sub-floor. If the floor was not heavied-up during its construction to accept the larger tile, I would suggest the smaller format. You will have fewer problems in the future. Whichever tile you choose, make sure your tiler installs a waterproof membrane under the tile and up the walls at least 3" so water cannot reach the MDF sub-floor. Even MDF rated for wet areas will not stand continued wetting for long. If the MDF buckles, you will probably have to re--do the floor.