Top 5 wants: Verbascum (the really tall, no water types like bombyciferum, epixanthemum, olympicum, pyramidatum or undulatum) Nicotiana (knightiana or 'Hot Chocolate) Hardy Geraniums Hollyhocks (dark pink or purple) Hellebore (dark shades) On request: Sweet Autumn Clematis - Robin Tatarian Aster - CA Rose campion - CA Hardy pink Geranium - Denise I have to offer: Stachys 'Primrose Heron' - 3 offers 1) Tammy 2) 3) Iris - dark pink/peach/sunset colored and white/yellow, the bulbs are mixed up, so you will get 3 per offer - but it's a gamble which color you will get. 3 offers 1) Robin 2) Robin 3) Nichol *4) Vina *5) CA Echiveria (glauca?) 3 offers 1) Robin 2) Nichol 3) Denise *4) CA Salvia chiapensis - 3 offers 1) Nichol 2) Denise 3) Tammy *4) CA Teucrium hyrcanicum 'Purple Tails' - 2 offers 1) Kamil 2) Teucrium fruticans - 3 offers 1) Tammy 2) Kamil 3) Peonies 3 offers OUT 1) Tammy 2) Denise 3) Nichol NEW Cerinthe major purpurescens "Blue Honeywort" - 4 offers These are just sprouting all over my garden so will be young seedlings, each offer will include 6 seedlings. (I realize it is very late for annual seedlings, but if you could grow these on long enough to set seeds you would have a nice supply for starting in spring.) 1) 2) 3) 4) NEW Hellebore seedlings 4 offers of 4 plants each These are 1 year old seedlings from my white Hellebores, one parent plant is considerably shorter than the other, the seedlings are under the taller plant, and there is a forest of them! (more are available if there is interest) 1)Toni (from want list) 2) 3) 4) * These are tentative if I have enough. I will also throw in a surprise variety pack for Heather :)

I'm having a good time reading this, although I am sorry for all of you going through hard times. I am still chuckling at the "how's your dad" comment. I;d have been snorting through the entire funeral. I am famous for getting incurable giggles and passing them along to others. Let's see. Random thoughts. I am working on my taxes. I just added up all my medical expenses for a year. Wowza, it's a lot -- and I am healthy! Biggest cost is Medicare Supplemental. I hope I get a big check from the gov't. If I don't soon stop spending the entire day sitting on the sofa, one day I will not be able to get up. Why is it so hard to exercise? My brain is rotting, too. My brother can be a jerk. I hate our Commissioner. I hate the people who live across the street from me. I have to call the police to complain about a car they parked in their front yard. Idiots. I better hurry up and finish Season Two of Breaking Bad so I can return the DVD to the library. I also need a good book to read. I better get to TJ Maxx and return some stuff soon. I wonder if I can squeak another week out of this haircut? I am hooked on playing Qwizshow on Facebook. My mother is 95. I think she is going to live forever. She can run circles around me. I need a new mattress badly. I dread shopping for one. I need some new bras, too. Everything in my life is sagging!! That's it for now.

And just to further prove that we are in opinion territory, I'm not a fan of the greens. And I would never do all that in mosaic. Those pieces strike me as 1/2" to 3/4" rows, add grout between each one and you have a lot of horizontal lines running around your kitchen. Way too many lines with pieces of broken patterns. I love the colors and love the patterns, but if I wanted a larger mosaic statement, I would not do lots and lots of little rows. I might go get broken pots and do my own mosaic so that it is irregular and more natural, especially in the larger area behind the cooktop. The mosaic works for me as an accent -- I loved your original idea, but would just play with how many rows to take around. Get some samples of the tile to actually play with. Even go so far as to lay them out on a copier and make pages of patterns to play with. I didn't do that, but I think it's a good idea if you are playing with something strong like these colors and patterns. You can tape them up and play with them until you have something that greets you with a smile in the morning and doesn't give you a headache att he end of the day. I have three pencil lines running around my kitchen (together as one wider band) and that was the right balance for me. I just ran my insert across the entire counter atarting about a foot or so up and right across the cooktop area. I also have a potfiller and didn't want to break up anyting and didn't come up with anything I didn't think I would tire of. I like it simple and in 6 years have never regretted not doing more. If you want a larger area above the cooktop and don't like a more natural mosaic, consider an accent piece to make a statement there. There are plenty of plates and platters, tiles and plaques that could give you at least one piece of unbroken pattern for your eyes to rest on -- flowers, parrots or just the painted patterns. Mexican pottery is abundant. You should have lots of options and be able to go as simple or as bold as you like (just make sure you like it day in and day out). I do love the mixed bold colors too. Have always liked those. You can mix those any way you want to balance your blue and green or any other colors. And I like white and blue with cherry, but I'm not a green or gold person.

UPDATE: Thanks to you guys here (and mostly thanks to Joseph Corlett's link regarding Silestone slab sizes), they agreed to do away with one of the seams. They kept insisting that they would not do a stretch of stone more than 110", and when I insisted that my color of Silestone comes in jumbo slabs of 128", they "did some research" and conceded that I was correct, and there is no need for two seams in my 150" stretch of counter. I'm updating here for anyone who may have the same questions and issues that I did. I spent countless hours researching and digging and arguing, so hopefully I can save someone else the hassle. You can check the Silestone website for the slab sizes in your color. There is no need for a seam to "prevent cracks"; Silestone is (allegedly) 4x bendier than granite, and if you wanted to put the whole damn slab down you could. Keep in mind though - if your Silestone DOES crack or chip at some point (and it will...it's notorious for chipping despite the durability claims) - you're on the hook for it. Their "warranty" does not cover cracks or chips. Hundreds of consumers have told their stories about bumping a water glass against the edge and it chips, with no damage to the glass, and Cosentino denies the claims, citing abuse of the counter or something. Same with random cracks, etc. Just be aware - these are issues that you will have to call Joseph Corlett to come fix, out of your own pocket. I love the look of mine so I'm willing to deal with those issues, but buyer beware.