Thanks for all the comments, you folks are too kind. Mother Nature did all the work, I just snapped a few shots. We've had more snow since then - the front wheel of the bike is completely buried now - ugh! The only sign of spring around here is the paperwhites I picked up on clearance and planted. It sure was fun to watch them grow - could almost SEE them growing, they really took off! But, no one warned me how awful they smell, oh my goodness! Not a pleasant smell at all and they are stinking up my whole house! And lastly, here's what we've been doing all week:

Hunnerbun, I love those macros of the frost! Laurie, hoarfrost sure is pretty and your pictures of it are great. I especially like your second one. Echoes, sorry you had to endure freezing rain but it sure does make for some great pictures! I really love your last one. It almost looks like a fancy chandelier! Here's some of mine that I took give or take about 2 weeks ago. Ang

Teresa: That's a pretty little aster, do you know its name? It looks like a double version of the single aster 'Fanny' that I have and that's blooming now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The tumbled bluestone pavers are about 2 inches thick and I'm setting them on a 3 inch bed of coarse sand, so I excavate 5 inches, throw in sand, and set the pavers so they're flush with the ground. For the joints I add sand or sand plus gravel or sand plus little stones from the excavation. The heavy pavers are very stable once they're set, but they are heavy, I repeat, heavy! The pallet is a collection of different sizes and shapes so you have to work with what you get and fit them together somehow. The first pallet I bought several years ago was mostly irregular pavers of medium size and I expected the same for this new batch. They just had a partial pallet on view so I didn't see the total content, I was mostly looking to see the quality. I used a different landscape supply company this time (the other one went out of business) and I was surprised that this batch was mostly pavers 12 inch by 18 inch, with a fair share of smaller ones. This made it tricky since I was trying to fill in the earlier path with different shapes. It's easier where I'm heading off into new territory and don't have to match a different set. If you do use tumbled bluestone you probably should ask to see the actual pallet so you know what you're getting. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Piles of pavers of different sizes and shapes, but all of roughly the same thickness. I've already used most of the 12 inch by 18 inch pavers. The finished path under the piles is made from irregular shaped pavers, some old, some new. The finished path here is almost all made of the original pavers - they're a different shape and are nicely weathered. This area in my alley is half done and the stones are all from the new rectangular batch. The ones on the right are set and the ones on the left are laid out waiting for me to get there. It will probably take me several days to finish (did I mention those things are heavy?). This will be a work/storage area. I put a little landing at the bottom of my granite steps (that's a wet footprint on one paver). My original path also got overrun with grass. I had tried to set it with pavers alternating with grass; carefully spaced to match my stride. That didn't work - I mostly ignored the spacing and stepped wherever was most convenient. The grass also kept trying to swallow the pavers. This time I'm filling in all of the original grassy spaces and expanding until I run out of stones or my body quits, whichever comes first. This may be much more information than you wanted, but you did ask. Claire

Dianne, I have quartz (not Caesarstone, they were out of my choice at the time) in my bathroom; looks new 2 years later. Online, you will find many cons or negatives about most any product you are considering buying. I wouldn't let that hinder you, as that's usually the minority. Caesarstone has a warranty. I will be buying either London Grey or Organic White in the next two weeks for my kitchen reno, but I love real marble. This is a happy compromise. Check with the company you are buying and ask if they've had any issues with Caesarstone. I asked the appliance company about Thermador vs. Viking and they gave me their opinion based on what they service the least. Good luck!