FWIW - no matter how permanent the lead or ink is on a label, it won't mean squat if the tag itself is not securely fastened to the plant. Last year, I did a walk-around of the yard just before leaving for a week's vacation. During the night, several benches of cymbidiums and laelias had blown over - many of the plants out of their pots and labels scattered all over. All I could do was quickly gather them up, collect the tags and put the whole mess into milk crates so they would not blow over again while we were gone. I now have many NOID's and am in the process of attaching all my labels to each plant.

I'm sure that's part of it, and it's an economy thing as well. Modern washers eat a lot of water, even the FLs if you consider that many people are double rinsing. LOL. I am a tree hugger myself and I have very few chemicals in my household arsenal but bleach is one of them. I have a monstrosity of a hot water heater clad in ceramic and it only comes on once a day in off-peak hours and I don't feel particularly guilty using enough once a week to fill one laundry tub to adequately sanitize a load of white wash and underwear. In fact, I took the cool thousand I was going to use toward a new FL and instead bought a new wringer washer. The first wash is whites and intimates and the water is so hot you can't put your hands in it, and it is also laced with bleach. The second load uses the same water and it's light colours. The third and subsequent loads are darker or soil covered from our work. Then they all go out on the line for a dose of UV rays. The silver drums in some laundry appliances are for the same purpose and many detergent manufacturers are now incorporating a disinfectant in their product for the same purpose. When I was between washers, I had to take my clothing to a laundromat for awhile. You bet, you bet I used bleach in the first load in those machines. It's a personal choice and if you feel comfy washing entirely in cold and it works for you..fine. I interjected because I believe that many manufacturers just make the assumption the majority of their customers do cold washes. I did for awhile. And hey, cold water is kinder to dyes. But, in the year since I've slapped my clothing silly with a wringer and hot water, they haven't deteriorated any faster than previously and in fact, the white loads are so white you need shades to take them off the line, lol, and there are no yellow collars, grey spots on hand towels, or shadows on the crew sock bottoms.

Thanks everyone. It really feels good to get the positive feedback. I just wasn't excited, even driving down there. But then I got there and saw the slabs laid out... I felt like I uncovered treasure, buried under the top slab in the stack. I feel so lucky to have liked the top slab enough to want to choose it; and I ended up not taking it! There's a small piece of my cabinet finish and a cup and dish towel in one of the original pictures, but here's a close up. The cabinets will be a natural beech with water borne finish in a shaker style. I am a blue person, so I needed a granite that would look good with blue dishes, towels, tea kettle, etc. This fits the bill. jstehl - it was labeled as Vyhara, so I don't know if it's the same as Vyara Juparana. The VJ I've seen is alot darker, but then there is so much variation stone to stone. I ALMOST went with Vyara Gold - I think it's gorgeous, every slab I've seen. It's very beautiful and flowy. My concern (and the feedback I got from stoneyard staff) was that it was too close to my cabinet color and the two would blend too much, not enough contrast. If you can, go back and get pics; I've already questioned myself once, then looking at the pics I know I made the right choice! And yes, I will decide on template placement. But, unfortunately, I don't think my layout allows for a butterfly. But I will be sure to place the beautiful, big swirls prominently. One will look gorgeous on my island! And take cabinet sample, accents and put into the pictures....

Googled it and it appears most of them were made of copper and had their "job" and owners name on them. I saw none that had that shape or were brass. I don't understand why anyone would want to own such a thing.