Celeste

I'm just now getting around to reading this thread and I'm kicking myself in the rear! Last March we purchased ipe decking tiles for our H&G booth floor. Knowing they were new and going to be stained, we gave them a bath with ESP Citralic, well, half of them. Mixed regular strength (6 oz) and the driveway went red. Yep, we flipped out. Okay, so, the rest got cleaned with about a 4oz mix - no red river. They all looked quite lovely when dry & stained. Here's where the kick in the pants comes in. Some of them have held their stain better than others and I DON'T KNOW WHICH ONES!!!! We had originally chalked it up to different boards (because we have hundreds of little boards attached together, not regular decking boards) but now I have to wonder if it was the strength of the mix that may have contributed. If it ever warms up again here, we'll also jump in on this testing thing. Ours will be the tiles, stripped of their WTW, then we'll neutralize in various brews as well :) We can also put different stains on different tiles - have WTW, WR, RS & FPSP on hand. Let the testing begin again! Celeste

Despite every effort we made earlier this year to exercise doggy birth control, we failed. Got 5 new labbies this morning (under the deck in the mud AGAIN). 3 chocolates - 2 male, 1 female and 2 yellow females. Date of birth - April 4. They're up for grabs! Celeste

Mike! Is that Bawston??? He's big now :) Celeste

Nice :)

It won't last....it'll be a b*tch to remove what sticks...YOU'RE the wood pro, listen to you :) Celeste

He must have been one of the one's with the large cup of Kool-aid.

3500 psi is pretty hard for mortar - you can blow the joints out or scar the face of the brick with that kind of pressure.

Joel, we have used that method very successfully.....have pics somewhere I can send to you if you want :) Celeste

Tomorrow is my daughter's 12th birthday. For her birthday she gave a gift to Locks of Love. Take a look!

They cut 11 inches of hair. She felt so good about helping to make sure another child had hair - I am very proud of her.

Quick Books Customer Manager - love it since it integrates with QBPro, Outlook and you can add links to other places on your computer to reduce "digging around" time to find photos, etc... Celeste

Hey, I was on Okinawa from 1989 - 1992. Where were you stationed Rick? Celeste

Whether or not this applies.....it is a powerful message. I got it in an email today. DARRELL SCOTT TESTIMONY Guess our national leaders didn't expect this, hmm? On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful. They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness. The following is a portion of the transcript: 'Since the dawn of creation there has been both good & evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers. 'The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart. 'In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's murder I would be their strongest opponent I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy-it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. 'I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best. This was written way before I knew I would be speaking here today: Your laws ignore our deepest needs, Your words are empty air. You've stripped away our heritage, You've outlawed simple prayer. Now gunshots fill our classrooms, And precious children die. You seek for answers everywhere, And ask the question 'Why?' You regulate restrictive laws, Through legislative creed. And yet you fail to understand, That God is what we need! 'Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and reek havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs -- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. 'Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts. 'As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes-He did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America , and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA - I give to you a sincere challenge. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone! My daughter's death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!'

John....I will definitely look forward to meeting you - I will have some Pure Texture samples there on Sunday so you can take a closer look at what our system down here is :) Celeste

Hi Clayton - glad to use a name :) We are Wood Tux fans. We've used it from the furthest point of the NC mountains to the coast of South Carolina with beautiful results and no complaints on longevity at this point :) I will say that we don't do many fences - mainly because folks nearly faint from prices, even when we are what we consider to be VERY reasonable. We're actually going to be in the Charleston area sometime in the next month to check up on a project we did last fall as well as iron out some details on some concrete work we have coming up. If you want to get together and look at some sample pieces we have with Wood Tux, just drop me an email or give a call :) Celeste

Why not just drop Yadkin and go with "Valley Wood Care & Restoration" or "Valley Cleaning & Wood Care" Lots of valleys in NC. Using Valley in the name can be turned into a really cool logo :) Celeste

You have to remember that the PWNC is a valuable tool!! Use it :) If you live in the Carolinas and don't know what it is - call me! Celeste

Barry has a very good point. We have actually made it a point to try to develop relationships with about every reputable company around us and it has paid us back in good ways. We've developed very strong referrals, we're collectively raising the bar on quality. It progressed past the old "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" saying. We don't concern ourselves with lowballers or beer guys - they keep the price shoppers happy :) Celeste

In response to Charlie'e end....I'd have said Driveways = $250 Houses = $600 Decks $750 and up if you want top quality thompsons sealer Celeste

Without hesitation. Celeste

I didn't even read past the poll question. I am an absolute YES!!! I hate the idea of having to take my "stuff" away from my desk, much less out of my office. I also like the idea of being able to hang over someone's shoulder to watch every little thing. Handing off something that I already don't understand would put me in the looney bin. Celeste

The Holiday Inn is where the Contractor Education Services class is being held so it would stand to reason that staying there would be convenient for multiple folks :) Celeste

hy........ First off, welcome to the board :) Second, would you please put a signature in so I don't have to call you hy......! Got a little confused in your response - You said you charge .75-1.50 per linear square foot. Which is it? Linear or square? Is that for for cleaning and staining (.75) versus stripping and restaining (1.5)? And that is just for fencing right? Celeste

Another lovely piece of work from North Carolina :) Welcome to the club John! Celeste

Hey Rodney.....it's not our usual stuff but if they're looking in Burlington/Graham, give us a call. Celeste