Thanks for the nice welcome jeannespines and purplemoon. The solar pumps I am now using are tiny. The panel is only 4.5 inches square and the pump is 1" x 1.5" inches.They reliably lift water up a 3/8" tube to a height of 20" in full sun. I've had them working since May and there has been no reduction in their power and they seem quite weatherproof. Though you won't get a big fountain effect with these little pumps, with a bit of tinkering with your materials you can get a nice splash, movement and water sound -- so far, I'm very happy with them as I love to hear the sound of water in my gardens. There is a 15 foot cord so it gives me quite a large area to find a spot in full sun for the panel. The pumps also come with a couple of different fountain heads if you don't want to pump water up a tube, but I don't think the lift would be very high with those. I've been buying mine from eBay from several sellers in China (the brand name on the back of the pump is Kingdomfly if that helps). The price is about $15. for the pump and panel and $10. for shipping. If you live in the US (I'm in Canada) you may be able to find them from a US seller a bit cheaper with domestic shipping. I believe that the vast majority of these little solar pumps are made in China though. Mine arrived from Hong Kong in about 10 days. This winter I plan to spend some time with a couple of new projects -- one based on a Japanese shishi-odoshi (deer scarer) and another using a brass trumpet, French horn and hunting horn (none in working condition) I bought at a local auction barn. Cheers, Marquisa

Have you tried IRG in Brisbane? If you are going to go PM and I will give you my 'person's' info. I also toured a house in SF that had Vetrazzo and it looked nice. It was too 'chunky' for us, but was pretty.

I'm not in your area but once considered Jurastone Gray for my bath. I couldn't stain the tile with anything. I tried haircolor, soy sauce, mustard, oil, lipstick, etc. I forgot what happened though with acids like vinegar. Be aware though that it does have these areas that look a little like stains, even when it's brand new. That might, or might not be a good thing ;-). It's got enough going on in different tones and textures from the fossils to hide just about anything. My sample also wasn't even sealed.

rmkitchen: Good idea. I will ask my realtor to come look first. What do you think about coffee? Do you think that would work better to stain the counters? I am afraid of the sealer because I am afraid it will make it come out splotchy. The coffee may take in some areas, but not in others. What do you think? mustbenuts: I really don't want to change the paint color because I have painted the whole downstairs in this color. The kitchen is part of an open greatroom and I like having only one wall color so that the room looks larger and cohesive. Stainless may work for the backsplash, thanks for the suggestion.