Erika, I got my soapstone from Dorado Soapstone in Shrewsbury, MA. I know you followed my countertop saga so I won't repeat it all here. But in a nutshell, I had 2 slabs of Nordic Black Antique granite on hold with a local granite fabricator when I drove down to look at soapstone one more time. I was so pleased with the selection and the education I received at Dorado. They only deal in soapstone and knew so much more about it than granite dealers/fabricators. They referred me to a strictly soapstone fabricator, who gave me an excellent price. However, I had already put my deposit down w/the granite fabricator and they were going to charge me a restocking fee if I did not have them do the work (the granite was still at the stoneyard BTW), so I had Dorado deliver the soapstone to them and they fabricated it for me. They did a decent job. But if I had to do it all over again, I would definitely have a soapstone fabricator do the work. We had to call down to Dorado several times with questions as the granite fabs did not know enough about soapstone. They were trying to treat ss like granite and it is a totally different stone. The good thing is that they did listen and were open to being educated about soapstone. I can't say enough good things about Dorado. They even called and checked on how our install went after the fact and have been available to answer any questions I have had along the way. If you decide to go with soapstone, drive down there and talk with Dave (the owner). You will have a much larger selection than you will at Marble and Granite, Elemar or Boston Granite Exchange. (Boston Granite Exchange has an enormous selection of granite and marble, triple anyone else around, but they know very little about soapstone and some of the stones they call soapstone are really serpentines.) I did not get runnels. If I had to do it over again, I would definitely get them. Private email me and we can set up a time for you to look at what my installed soapstone looks like.

Hi Estreya: I have five cats and one male sprayer named Elvis. I had Elvis on antidepressants for about three years. The vet changed from Amitryptilin to Paxil. They just kept upping the dosage and it never did ever stop his spraying completely. He was just doped up all the time. I finally hated seeing him look so out of it and took him off of them completely. Yes he still sprays, but not near as much as he did in the past. I have no idea why that is. He is 11, so I guess I will be dealing with this for a couple more years, but I am used to it and have become quite the cleaner because of it. LOL! I tried the Feliway spray when it first came out. I would have to spray the whole house because he would just spray somewhere new. It was a bit rediculous and costly. I am lucky that now in the house we have lived in for the last four years he has more room and is keeping his spraying to one room in the basement. We have cement floors that I sealed thank goodness, but like your problem we had the cheap base boards. We took them off cleaned the area replaced with new cheap base boards and this time I sealed around the top of the base boards with caulking. We now keep the door closed, but the odor is gone. It was just absorbed into the baseboards not the drywall because I had painted the wall all the way to the floor before we installed the first base boards. I really don't think there is any product out there that will get the urine smell out of carpet padding though. The enzyme cleaners like you are using are the only option for cutting some of the odor though. I use a Hoover steam cleaner on my carpet. It is the best investment I have made for my house and my sanity. LOL! I am with you about putting in hardwood floors and ditching the carpet. Go for it! If you do decide to put your cat on an antidepressant ask your vet to prescribe it in a compounded form. It is basically a cream form you rub on the outside of the ear and it absorbs into the skin. Pilling a cat is no fun as you probably know, so just to save you and your precious cat from a stressful situation go for the cream form. I also used a liquid form and it was a mess. If you ever have to have someone else watch your cat it is much easier for them to put cream on the cat's ear than pill it. LOL! Sorry this is so long, but I feel your pain. We love them so much we will do about anything for them. One more thing you might try is putting a second litter box in the room she seems to be spraying in the most and see if she will use it instead of spraying. My male cats sprays in his litter box also. LOL! I know that is not very appealing having a litter box in your living areas, but it might do the trick. Just make sure it is a hooded one to keep the smell in. I clean my three litter boxes twice a day and I have used the attract cat litter. It is pretty expensive for three litter boxes and I am not certain if it did any good, but it is always worth a try. Boy have I worn your eyes out yet? Sorry this is so long. :) Good luck tomorrow. Let us know how it all goes.

Maybe you two, Carol and Blondie, can be co-hosts of the new thread. I do think you are correct, Blondie, that this thread has been extremely photo heavy, and houzz has to store the data. When they reach a limit in storage, then no more pics. Just guessing on this. Carol, my brain is filled with endless trivia. Because we have so little precipitation here, I'm very interested in rainfall in different areas. We haven't had a drop since May, I believe. Blondie, I'll bet your son had a blast on the day trip. Your all day party sounds like fun, too. I wanted to tell you how much I love that last round of rose and hydrangea photos you posted--I did get to see those. Jubilee Celebration is so beautiful. I've been wanting that one, but have run out of room. Got to get it next year, anyway, after seeing yours. Va Joh, I'm finally seeing all of your lovely roses and hydrangea tree. Kristine took the words out of my keyboard--yes, what is the gorgeous pale pink rose above the hydrangea? Love it. See you all on the new thread. Diane

Don’t think I’d do a glass table with dogs. You’ll be cleaning slobber all day. You room needs color. I’d look for a large canvas to hang over the sectional. Then I’d get some throw pillows with colors from the canvas. You need an end table with a lamp. Maybe you could consider painting your existing coffee table. I think the rug is fine as long as you bring in color with art and accessories. Some colors that would look nice with gray are teal, turquoise, yellow, orange.