122) Chiggers love the sweet perfume of OFF! Wear it well at clothing openings and about the ankle. (Deer ticks are optional here but plentiful.)

hey bill - i forgot to thank you for your kind words from last week :) thanks i think we figured this out... when i got home & started trying to figure it out with the things in front of me, i remembered that we can also mount the "bench" on top of the tile, which is what john is going to try. he's confident that he can get the tile square, and then he will drill the holes through the tile & kerdi once they are set. i am nervous about him cutting through the tile, since it would be hard to get a broken tile off the kerdi safely, but he says he is confident he can do it and it would be extremely bad luck for a tile to break. i have to trust him and our luck :) here is a quick pic of my tiling job on the tub surround... not perfect, but i'm pretty pleased, and john said he can make it look fine with grout. i left the bullnose off the edges so i can tile once he's done with his drywall perfecting, and i decided at the last minute to put a blue tile on the small wall, after my thinset had been used up, so i just popped one of the white tiles off & that's the hole you see. i'm just so happy to see tile finally - it's all been in boxes & in my head :) he's finally going "Oh! now i see what you meant by scattering the glass tiles around... now i see how the blue paint will highlight those..." I've seen it all along, but in my head! glad it's turning out like it is in my head. lisa

First ... absolutely FIRST! Make sure you have a sound roof, no leaks. Same around windows and doors Sound footings and walls ... all the foundations and beams and cross ties and stuff Water control ... all the seepage, drainage, etc. See this post for why you need to do this first: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/realestate/msg0700333329476.html?14 ====== Check structural things before removing anything ... sometimes old chimneys are serving as floor joist supports. Then do your "remove this stuff" for everything you don't need ... old plumbing, dead wiring circuits, etc. ======= Make a plan of what has to happen in each area, and double-check the sequence for "sanity". Make a detailed floor plan with call outs and scribbled-on pictures of walls. Sometimes what you think is low priority may have to get done before a high-priority thing can happen ... Wherever you plan to "add a light" later, make sure you have a wire and an outlet while the electrician is there. =========== Things people (including me) forget ... Vents FIRST, Insulation LATER

I like coconut oil to moisturize lips, skin, hair, stir fry veggies, make curries, and husband uses it to pop popcorn. From what I've read, the problematic fats are the ones which are partially hydrogenated (trans fats) and, according to medical research, cause all kinds of health issues. They were widely used in prepared foods, but the FDA banned them a few years ago and many companies have replaced them with other oils.