Hello... Althea...thanks for your link..I just got back to this forum and noticed another post to my question. I agree with you about leaving the sunflower heads for the birds. I tried growing sunflowers many years ago, but my yard just didn't get enough sun and the only place that had the most sun was in the root zone of some trees, so it didn't work well. They didn't thrive so I stopped growing them. I do have one large 15x15 full sun perennial bed in my front yard, but not a great place for sunflowers [g]. I grow cosmos that the goldfinches also love and it is great watching them swaying on the stems to get them. That sounds like a great tip about the paper bag. I think they recommend that for corn from the raccoons too. oh..thanks for the link to NN...It looks like they are a part of gardenweb ring. that will come in handy...didn't know it was there. ftm...well you have more tolerance than I do for nests. I love bumble bees and are not afraid of them at all, but having them in a work area that I needed to access would be intolerable to me. Interesting story of the one that bumped you..[g] I tried googling the miday clavatus, but came up empty. Not sure if it could be a fly, but if it is, it looks exactly like a wasp. [g] Actually just re read your description and this insect has all bright orange legs. Thanks for the try.. :-) Adam

Hey, Fori, the repair guy called! At a reasonable time, and I was already gone to meet the cabinet maker and contractor. We had a very productive session. I'll call Mr. G. tomorrow. Meantime, I'm going to post about the cool factor in Appliances. I got 2" of countertop on both sides because the cabinet maker was making pretty frames around the ovens and Advantium. Instead there will be 1" nice frames. The ladder is too tall for the right of the ovens, and I wan't still more counter, so that's going to be a tall pullout like Gizmonike's, only with trays for spices, etc. The little cupboard over the ovens is only going to be about 8" tall anyway, so will have a flip up door rather than swing doors. Should be good for oven pieces. He can do rails and stiles with the bamboo, so the stemware cupboards in the butler's pantry will have inset glass (probably pebble) in the uppers and glass shelves. I think this will cure the bamboo forest problem, because it'll draw the eye away from the slabs. The only view I was ready to go all out Gumby for was standing in the prep area of the island. That, and my mother's jazzy hardware. :) No gumby ;( Glass would be too heavy and unsafe. There will be a message center with an 8" deep flip down writing surface in the center of the pegboard cabinet (on the right from the pantry. We also hashed out a lot of drawer depths, etc., and things look good. I came away feeling very good about the whole thing. I even might have found a top for the island. BTW, sorry for going off on the dye. I'm a fiber artist with respiratory issues so I took that literally. :D RIT's a different story. ;)

Five was way way too many. This was because two cats were dumped off at me when I already had three. The owners were friends who couldn't move into their new housing with their cats (they were foreclosed out of their house and had to move to an apartment that would work for their autistic daughter - but alas allowed no pets). I wanted to move the cats to a no-kill shelter, but there was a three plus month waiting list. So, I kept them. It was way too many because the first three and the second two did not REMOTELY get along. Ever. I tried everything. Okay, Serenity (my oldest cat at nearly 17.5 years) would, and still does, get along with everyone -- but the other four??? Naw. I had to keep some in the basement, some upstairs. We all hated this. At the moment, I have two cats. Three would be fine at a maximum, but they all have to at least tolerate each other!!!!

Thanks all. I'll try to get some photos together. Bat, I just have boring slate on the floor. I didn't think of doing ceramic in there and it's too late now (but the slate is so delightfully CHEAP compared to the ceramic!). This isn't a working counter, so I'm not concerned about grout lines. Actually the kitchen I just removed had a tile counter and it was fine. If I'd been able to find the perfect tile-under sink, the entire thing would be tiled. I looked! Anyway, right now, everything is in (or currently being fabricated) except this bit of counter and backsplash. I think they should be the same to avoid it getting too busy. I could see sneaking in a wood countertop (since it wouldn't really be a new element) but introducing a stone or something else would probably be too much. So yeah, I guess the squishy hex would be the highlight and out of lack of other materials, it would be the same on the counter. I'm just not sure if I should put the same shape on the counter or go with square or rectangle on the counter. I WOULD get the same color on both, regardless of shape. Also thinking of painting backsplash and plywood counter and calling it done. I'm getting tired of this project and hey! It's not a working counter! :)