rb, 24 hours is about normal to unmold something that size. Same goes for almost everything made on this forum. I haven't seen the molds from History Stones in a while but people that use to post here used them. I believe the edge is formed in the mold so you didn't have much cleanup on your piece. The concrete or hypertufa will be soft enough that you can round the edges. Just don't wait past the 24 hours or you'll need the jackhammer. Oh, and that's a smart move "screwing the mold together". Good luck and let us know how it turns out. What are you using for legs? Almost forgot regarding the recipe, which one are you looking at? If it's got peat moss make sure you sift the peat to get out sticks and clumps. Stay away from too many additives like peat moss, perlite and vermiculite. Maybe just use one of those and make sure your recipe has sand. Billie

Since I posted this, I have had another phone call from her - it is almost getting to the point where I get the giggles! It is not that I don't help people, I've made over 80 full size or bigger quilts and I only have one on my bed and one on the sofa - all the others have been given to others. But I hate being manipulated. The fact that I quilt does not obligate me into starting/finishing a quilt for anyone who is looking for the finished project w/o putting anything into it. She did keep saying how much work this is! Yep! And how long it was taking. Yep! She still hasn't caught on that it would take me the same amount of time and work. I only had one other time that someone really tried to take advantage. The women's leader at church thought it would be nice to give a baby quilt to every baby born in the church and to give away a quilt to one woman every year at the women's retreat. She turned to me and said the first baby quilt should go to the newest baby born the week before. I was stunned as I realized 'we' meant 'me'. I asked her who would be making the quilt, 'You.' I asked how the quilt would be from the group and different from the one I had already made and given to this mother. 'Well, we have donated fabric to you, haven't we?' NO! Then she said, 'well, you're still making the quilt to give away at retreat, right?' By then I was getting over being stunned and was moving into being indignant. I asked again, how this quilt would be from the group - would everyone be doing a block and I would just be assembling? She looked at me quite shocked and exclaimed that she did not even have a machine. So once it was clear that what she expected was for me to make the quilts and let her put her name on them, I said NO! I had a back log of projects I was working on and did not have time to do that, and it was being rather presumptuous of her to tell me what I would make. And she even said, 'well, you'd have a whole year to make one; that's enough time.' I think that is when my 'No' was enabled! (I even gave her an older, but in good-working-order Kenmore machine.)

Thanks Belle, Look at the bottom leaf on the left above the 3 small leaves,that isn't done. From there I add gold, blue, pink, greens just lightly and blend. Sometimes I start with a dry brush and hit it with a slightly damp brush.I then go back and use some black cherry or black green at the base. Hit the outter leaves with the lightest green and darker green with thinned paint to add a nice edge using a liner and damp brush. Since all of you rave about my leaves I just keep going until I'm satisfied. Wish the roses would come that easy. I think you and Luvs need to jump in and play with your leaves and they will be superior to mine in no time. Use your mop brush or a smaller brush to blend like you did on the pumpkins. I don't take the time I should with my projects and don't always care. How sad is that? If none of this makes sense, I'm a hands on person, so come see me and we'll teach each other some new painting techniques.haha When we talk like this it makes one realize why PF takes so many classes from so many different instructors. I would love to be able to go to classes several times a year. Wouldn't it be neat if some year we could all join Bebe at one of the seminars? Now I'm dreaming fo sure. Punk

Use the local contractor that you have used before and trust. It would be foolish to jeopardize your relationship with someone you trust. There are pros as well as a good number of cons to go with high efficiency furnace. Any efficiency rating over about 80% will require a condensing furnace. Follow the advice of your local contractor. For newer homes a condensing furnace is a no brainer, their are challenges for older homes to convert. This depends mostly on the home in which the furnace is being installed. Just because a furnace is 80% efficiency doesn't necessarily mean it is low end. The devil is in the details of the job... not just the rating of the equipment. Without the installation, and design of the system all you got are a couple of shiny boxes. The name on those boxes matters very little in most cases. The rest is politics.