Leader of Men

tutorial: how to ship with Canada Post

As a small-business owner, I've become familiar with the navigational nightmare that is the Canada Post website. But I can clearly recall the aggravation and hair-pulling it caused when I was trying to learn the ropes. Hence this how-to. Hopefully it will prevent any hair loss for others.

This tutorial/overview focuses on parcel delivery rather than document and letter delivery. All prices and policies are current as of November 2009.

Ok, What Are My Options?

The Parcel Products Overview page on the CP website gives a brief summary of each of the available services and their features.

Delivery within Canada:

 

Priority Next AM: Priority service can be purchased in the form of prepaid envelopes and labels. Delivery is guaranteed by 12pm next day for regional addresses, or by 12pm next day to 1 day for national between major urban centres. For other delivery times, see here.

Includes: on-time delivery guarantee, delivery confirmation, $100 coverage, signature.

Optional: additional coverage

Xpresspost: Xpresspost service can be purchased in the form of prepaid envelopes, bubble packs and labels. Delivery is guaranteed by next day to local addresses, next day to 2 days for regional, and 2 days for national between major urban centres. For other delivery times, see here.

Includes: on-time delivery guarantee, delivery confirmation, $100 coverage

Optional: signature, additional coverage

Expedited Parcel: Expedited Parcel provides delivery within 1 day to local addresses, 1-3 days for regional, and 2-7 days for national between major urban centres. For size and weight requirements, see here.

Includes: delivery confirmation, $100 coverage

Optional: signature, additional coverage

Regular Parcel: Regular parcel service provides delivery within 2 days to local addresses, 3-5 days for regional, and 4-9 days for national between major urban centres. For other delivery times, see here.

Includes: delivery confirmation

Optional: $100 coverage*, signature, additional coverage

*free if purchased online

Oversize lettermail: This is not a parcel service but it may be used to ship flat, lightweight items weighing up to 500g. Maximum dimensions are 380mm long x 270mm wide x 20mm thick. See here for delivery times. There are no options or features included with oversized lettermail.

 

Delivery from Canada to the United States

Priority Worldwide: Priority Worldwide service is handled by FedEx through Canada Post. Items may be shipped using free PW envelopes or paks, or by your own packaging. Delivery is guaranteed by 12pm the next business day for U.S. destinations.

Includes: on-time delivery guarantee, delivery confirmation, $100 coverage, signature

More information is available here.

 

Xpresspost USA: Xpresspost USA service can be purchased in the form of prepaid envelopes. Delivery is guaranteed 3-5 days between major urban centres in Canada and the U.S. See Tables 16-18 here to determine other delivery times.

Includes: on-time delivery guarantee, delivery confirmation, $100 coverage

Optional: additional coverage

 

Expedited Parcel: Expedited Parcel service provides delivery within 6-12 business days between major urban centres in Canada and the U.S. This delivery time is not guaranteed.

Includes: delivery confirmation, $100 coverage

Optional: additional coverage

 

Small Packet USA: Small Packet service is for lightweight goods up to 1kg in weight. See here for size requirements. Small Packet USA can be sent by either Air or Surface. SPU Air provides delivery in 4-10 business days, SPU Surface 6-12 business days.

Includes: $100 coverage

 

Light Packet USA: Light Packet service is for thin, lightweight goods up to 500g in weight. See here for size requirements. Light Packet  goes by Air only and provides delivery in 4-6 business days. There are no features or options available for Light Packet.

 

Delivery from Canada to International Destinations

Priority Worldwide: Priority Worldwide service is handled by FedEx through Canada Post. Items may be shipped using free PW envelopes or paks, or by your own packaging. Delivery is guaranteed in 2-3 business days for International destinations.

Includes: on-time delivery guarantee, delivery confirmation, $100 coverage, signature

More information is available here.

 

Xpresspost International: Xpresspost International service provides guaranteed delivery in 4-7 business days to these destinations. Further information on delivery times is available here.

Includes: on-time delivery guarantee, delivery confirmation, $100 coverage

Optional: signature, additional coverage

 

Small Packet International: Small Packet service is for lightweight goods up to 2kg in weight. See here for size requirements. Small Packet can be sent by either Air or Surface. SPI Air provides delivery in 6-10 business days, SPI Surface 4-6 weeks.

Includes: $100 coverage

 

Light Packet International: Light Packet service is for thin, lightweight goods up to 500g in weight. See here for size requirements. Light Packet goes by Air only and provides delivery in 4-7 business days. There are no features or options available for Light Packet.

 

Sooo... What's the Cheapest Way to Send Something?

That depends entirely on where it's going, how big it is and how much it weighs. Use the Find-a-Rate tool to figure out which services you can use for your package.

Within Canada, regular parcel is the least expensive method of shipping unless your item is thin enough to fit in the well-known and much-loathed "Slot of Doom" - the 2cm-wide template used by Canada Post to determine if a package can be mailed at one of the cheaper rates. If your item is less than 2cm thick (including packaging), you can send it by oversize lettermail. The savings between oversize lettermail and regular parcel can be $10 or more.

To the U.S. and International, you must again contend with the Slot of Doom if you wish to take advantage of the cheapest rate, Light Packet. Note that Light Packet does not include insurance or delivery confirmation. The next cheapest rate is Small Packet, which includes insurance but not delivery confirmation. Light Packet costs around $2, Small Packet, $6-7.

Unfortunately, there is no Canadian equivalent for Small Packet.

 

I Hate that %$#@! Slot of Doom

Yes, we all do.

 

Are There Other Ways to Save Money?

Yes. If you are a small business owner you can become a Venture One member and save a small percentage off shipping services and mailing products. It is free to join and there are no minimums to purchase.

Within Canada, if you are foiled by the Slot of Doom you may still save a bit of money by purchasing the Value Pack prepaid Xpresspost Canada envelopes. For example, shipping an item in the lightest weight category from Vancouver to an address in rural Nova Scotia will cost $13.10 (incl. tax) by Regular Parcel. However, a 4-envelope Value Pack prepaid National Xpresspost is $47.20 (incl. tax), so each envelope costs $11.80, saving you $1.30. If you frequently ship across the country, it may be worth it to purchase a Value Pack.

The Xpresspost USA Value Packs don't save money the same way, however, as Small Packet would cost half the price. But if you need delivery confirmation, which Small Packet doesn't include, The Xpresspost USA Value Pack envelopes are cheaper than Expedited Parcel - $12.78 vs. $14.66 for a Vancouver-Florida delivery in the lightest weight category.

The Xpresspost envelopes are appropriate for small items, flat items, or squishy items, such as jewllery, books, clothing, yarn, etc. Pottery and fine crystal, not so much. You can stuff a lot in them, but be sure to stay within the weight limits.

 

What's The Difference Between Regional and National?

CP divides Canada into Regions to determine different rates of shipping for certain services. Shipping outside of your region is considered National shipping.

Xpresspost prepaid envelopes may only be purchased for the Atlantic, Central and Western regions.

 

What's the Fastest Way to Send Things?

Pay through the nose. Priority (via FedEx for USA/International) is the fastest way to send an item. Be aware though that FedEx will not ship certain items across the border, such as jewellery. Check the FedEx website for more info.

CP refers to delivery times as "Service Standards" on their website. You can check the Domestic Service Standards chart for easy comparison of delivery times, or these charts for U.S.A. and International service standards.

 

What About Customs?

All items leaving Canada must have a customs forms filled out. On all parcel services but Small and Light Packet the customs section is included on the shipping form. For Small Packet there is a white CN22 form to be filled out, for Light Packet the CN22 form is small and green.

On the form there are a number of boxes to indicate the type of item being sent. If it is an item a customer has purchased from you, "Other" is the correct box to check. DO NOT MARK IT AS A GIFT.  It is illegal and you can be heavily fined. A purchased product must be marked "Other". Even if it is a gift for someone other than the purchaser. Do not believe post office workers who tell you it's ok, it isn't (they are often poorly trained). Do not oblige a customer who wants you to mark it as a gift so they can avoid paying duty. If they are buying it from you, it is not a gift.

Mark the correct declared value of the item as well. Do not lowball it to prevent your customer from paying duty. In addition to being honest, this will also ensure you will get the full value of the item back if the package is lost or damaged. If your item is worth $100 and you mark it as $10 and it disappears, guess what, you're out $90.

Thanks to NAFTA there is a lot of leeway for what you can send between Canada and the U.S. that is duty-free (but not tax-free). In this regard it is helpful to describe your item as handmade (if it is) to distinguish it between imported and resold items.

 

Can I Send Whatever I Want Anywhere?

Nope. Some countries don't like it when you ship animal parts, explosive chemicals, and assault weaponry past their borders. For a general overview of what can be sent where, check CP's International Destination Listing, which also includes handy charts showing what parcel services serve that country, maximum weights and maximum insurance coverage. For more detailed information and export requirement forms, look at the Special Requirements.

 

How Can I Track My Shipments?

Any service that includes delivery confirmation will provide a Tracking Number. When you input the tracking number into the Track field on CP's front page or their Tracking page, you will be taken to a screen that shows you where your parcel is and when it reached that point. Delivery confirmation is the final point in the tracking system.

 

 

You can also sign up for tracking updates by email.

Check CP's Tracking Guide or their Using Track page for more information.

The Tracking Number is extremely useful in proving both shipping and delivery. In the event of a PayPal dispute, PayPal will accept a Tracking Number to prove either. A Tracking Number will also help you get your money back in the event of a lost package.

Beyond Canada's border, CP's tracking service will not show intermediate stops, but it will show when the package was received by the foreign postal system, and when the item is delivered.

Oversize lettermail, Small Packet and Light Packet do not include tracking or delivery confirmation.

 

Something Has Gone Horribly Horribly Wrong And I'm About to Freak Out

Breathe. Drink some water. And then look at CP's Contact Page to find out who you can call or email to help you.

 

There's plenty more details where those came from, but that about wraps up the basics.  Hopefully, you've found this useful. If not, I'd recommend a hat.

Happy shipping!

best halloween costume ever

This was from last year, but people loved it so much, here it is again. Happy Halloween!

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Today one of my coworkers came to work dressed as a Lego man.

I could not stop laughing for an hour. Though the massive amounts of sugar I ingested today in the form of Halloween candy probably helped.

fall is for

Boots! I have a mild obsession with them.

 

 

 

Also, striped things. And crocodiles. Like this pretty and quirky necklace I bought from Paris shop Micro Cirque Rinka on Etsy.

giving thanks

Today was Canadian Thanksgiving, or as I like to call it, Real Thanksgiving Because Ours Came First, You American Copycats. And on this wonderful day, we Canucks like to express our gratitude for living in a noble country free of war, deep-fried Twinkies and Bill O'Reilly by chugging a few brewskis, slapping on the ol' snowshoes and braving the icy weather to bring home a few moose hides to hang in the igloo while we watch hockey and pop free prescription medication.

This year, however, I eschewed tradition and decided to cook myself a small yet arfully prepared meal of Cornish gamehen and asparagus. Experienced cooks may notice that the bird in the photo above is actually upside-down. This is because if you cook your poultry breast-side down, the juices settle into that meat while cooking and it results in a plumper, juicier bird. This is something I did entirely on purpose, and not all an excuse I read up on after it was already done.

I don't have any family in BC and while my lovely friend Mere invited me to spend Sunday evening with her own family, I ended up having to decline due to a horrible migraine. So Monday I was feeling rather mopey and missing my family quite a bit, even my brother. Somewhere - probably a Hallmark card - I had read that doing something nice for others was a good way to cheer yourself and decided to set aside my natural instinct to wallow in chocolate and self-pity and perform a good deed. While the gamehen was defrosting in the sink (not in my armpit as some Twitter comedians suggested), I hopped online to Kiva.org and within a few minutes, had completed the loans of three applicants in the Philippines, Nicaragua, and Mozambique. Now Jennifer will be able to repair bicycles for her rental business, Reynaldo will buy more wood for his carpentry services, and Armando will add more products to his food stand.

  
 photo from kiva.org

If you haven't donated to Kiva before, please consider doing so. It's wonderful to read about the applicants you're helping, and when your loan money is returned, you can send it back out to help more people. It is truly the gift that keeps on giving. I posted about it in the Etsy forums and three other people made donations as well.

I may have eaten alone this weekend, but it tasted better than ever.

well-timed time away

 

I've been gone for a while again, but this time I can blame it on vacation. My father recently acquired a little house right on the shore near Liverpool, Nova Scotia, so I took a quick jaunt across the 4400km in between this coast and that coast to stay for a bit. Technically that trip ended over a week ago but there was this nasty thing called work that has required my immediate attention since then. However, it turned out to be a good thing I came back when I did, because two days after I left Hurricane Bill made a moderate effort to drown the southern Maritimes and everything in it.

The photos above and below were taken by my stepmother from their deck during the storm. As I am originally from Ontario, I likely would have been cowering in the bathroom during a hurricane, but my folks are taking their new lives as Maritimers with firm integrity, and apparently that requires being relatively unruffled by weather that can kill you.

 

This next photo is of a wave breaching the top of the rock berm that separates their property from the water. Their house is two stories in the back and the garden slopes down into a sort of bowl-shape, then rises again to a natural stone berm that the former owner reinforced with large boulders. The berm slopes down again on the other side to meet the ocean. When you stand in the bottom of the garden, you cannot see over the berm. AND THERE ARE WAVES COMING OVER IT. According to my father, there was two feet of standing water in the bottom of the garden. It's enough to make you want to cower in the bathroom.

 

 

At some point during the storm, their neighbour from up the hill came down to invite them over for coffee while the storm raged. Apparently this is the appropriate way to handle emergency weather if you are a Maritimer. My stepmother took another photo from the neighbour's house; this is Bill looking a bit more cheerful now that his work is almost done.

 

 

Thankfully my dad's house was not damaged - they didn't even lose power, unlike 45,000 other people - but sadly many of the quaint little roads we drove around on during my visit were completely washed away. Hurricane Bill was only a Category 1 Hurricane when it skimmed by the province about 80km offshore, but still produced 9-10 metres waves, which makes me a tad worried about the next time. I hope the neighbours have plenty of coffee.

preparing for the newest addiction

 

I've been idly considering purchasing a sewing machine lately, spurred by constant browsing of all the pretty textile items on Etsy, and by the temptation of being able to repair my own clothes when I snag them on door frames, towel racks, hacksaws, etc. Knowing absolutely squat about sewing (bobbin? what's a bobbin?) I sent out a few queries and was delighted when Etsy seller TheHaps let me know about a vintage machine she'd seen in a Vancouver thrift shop.

I was thrilled to discover the machine was still there, but less thrilled to discover that it weighed thirty thousand pounds and could not be moved without mechanical assistance. Not having a car, I am used to toting large unwieldy objects down busy sidewalks and alarming numerous passerby, but that was out of the question for this behemoth. After pondering on it for a while, I hit upon what seemed like a brilliant solution, and sweetly enquired of my local convenience store manager if I could borrow their wheeled moving dolly. Knowing his future Coca-cola sales hung in the balance, he willingly agreed.

     

Since it was 28C out today, and it was uphill the whole way home, this was a less brilliant solution than originally anticipated. By the time I lugged the thing back to my apartment I was exhausted, sweaty, and had competely smashed one finger in the elevator door. Nevertheless, I'm very excited at the prospected of having it cleaned, serviced, and put into use. I will never be bereft of pillowcases again.

I haven't been able to find out much about this particular model, however, and I would love to know anything I can about it, particularly its age. It says "Brother Project 631" on the front, and a plate on the motor casing says "Model C" and "642315-1RT". It came in a blue-and-white carrying case with a solid wood bottom, but no manual. If anyone knows any info, I'd be delighted to hear it.

Etsy West Coast Tour 2009: Vancouver

 

(Matt, Maria, and Amanda from Ebbandflo)

 

Tonight I had the pleasure of meeting Matt, Anda and Maria from Etsy as they swung through Vancouver on their Etsy West Coast tour. About 75-80 people showed up, a few of them familiar to me from past Vancouver meetups, and a lot of new faces. The meeting was held at The Cambrian Hall just off Main St, a great place for shopping for Vancouver handmade, and was organized by the lovely Amanda of Ebbandflo and Pomo Mama Design.

It was a great space for a meeting and I was amused to see the chairs set up in a circular triple row, much like the "seats" in the Etsy Virtual Labs. Maria made a few opening remarks to kick things off, and then Matt talked a little about how Etsy came to be: in a nutshell, Rob Kalin made a fancy kitchen, then made a half-price website for a restaurant in order to pay rent, then won a photo contest with the first picture he ever took and argued a lot with the guys who made the animated flame on the restaurant website. It was a good story, but you really need to hear it from Matt, he tells it better than I do.

Then Maria took the floor again and spoke a bit about her past jobs in digital-based businesses like Amazon and NPR, and how she came to Etsy, attracted by its values,  "something bigger than commerce", and the stories behind how things are made. She said she wanted to talk to us about Etsy's principles and top-level ideas, which I will encapsulate here to the best of my recollection and hastily scrawled notes. (if anyone has any corrections that should be made to these notes, please let me know!)

Maria's favourite feature is speed. The most important thing Etsy can do for its sellers is to bring us qualified buyers and keep them coming back. To do this, they need to work on the back-end architecture of the site, the things you don't see but improve interaction. This includes speed, scaleability, security, and reliability.

A question was asked concerning how robust is the Etsy platform. Maria's answer: extremely robust. She said she is confident in the back-end infrastructure, but when it comes to the front-end architecture, there is much to do - it is a question of best practices. But the foundation is solid and ready for "smart growth".

Maria also commented that although Etsy may seem like a big company to the average small one-person business, in terms of the global marketplace (i.e. Amazon and eBay) Etsy is a small company.

Maria also touched on the ever-important question "what is handmade?" as it pertains to Etsy's fundamental principle. Matt also chimed in on this issue. To them, "handmade" takes on meaning that is beyond the literal interpretation of the word. It is the unique end product and the story behind it that matters. They talked a little about why vintage fits into Etsy - things that are cherished and have history can fit into the handmade ethic this way.

Maria admitted that Etsy is very U.S.-centric, but that their intent is to make the site become internationalized in the front-end architecture (i.e. currencies, languages). She gave some interesting statistics: 25% of monthly gross merchandising sales involves either a non-U.S. buyer, a non-U.S. seller, or both. As well, last year transactions took place in 159 different countries. She spoke about geography as it applies to allowing supplies on the site; supplies form a part of the continuum of handmade, and it is hard for small-town and rural sellers to get supplies as easily as their big-city counterparts.

As an example of their efforts to be more interntionally-friendly, Maria pointed out that they had retained legal counsel in order to make the current Etsy Handmade Moment Video contest enterable for sellers from several countries, including Canada.

Etsy is not yet a profitable company. This is something I have seen posted in the Etsy forums before, but it was news to a lot of people there. They are, however, at the break-even point.

Etsy's focus right now is on the buyer. Their top priority is the buyer experience. To this end they are developing the "playfulness" of the site, encouraging discovery, self-expression, and a strong focus on sharing and favourites. Someone asked for the ability to organize and group their hearts and favourites, and this is a to-do item for Etsy. Matt described a term they use at Etsy HQ to describe such organization: listology. Matt also mentioned that he'd like to see no limits on treasuries.

Someone asked how Etsy plans to bring in buyers. Maria listed off various ways: ad campaigns on blogs identified by Etsy survey participants, email marketing (i.e. Etsy Finds), social marketing (Twitter, Facebook), word-of-mouth marketing, and some limited print campaigns. They are also partnering with venues like Lucky Magazine, Martha Stewart and Good Housekeeping. They are skeptical of traditional media channels for advertising, as the return on investment is not that great. Since Etsy is not yet making a profit they have to be cautious with their advertising budget. At the present time they would prefer to focus on a campaign with more impact.

A few other questions were asked - who curates the Etsy Finds emails? Maria answered that they are curated by a small group of Etsy employees who also source items to fill the Gift Guides and the items that accompany Storque articles.

I asked what Etsy intended to do about resellers, namely in terms of the flagging system operating at a glacial pace, and the frustration of seeing resold items in the public areas of the site. Regarding the flagging system, Etsy added more manpower to clearing the queue of flags about a month ago. The goal is to have no queue at all. How to keep resellers off the site in the first place is a more complicated problem. Maria gave a bit of background to the issue by explaining that when Etsy was first created the intent was to make it as easy as possible to sign up for and open a store. This front-end ease of access is what also makes it easy for resellers to set up stores. She talked about a possible solution being to make the sign-up process a little more involved - not by jurying, but by requiring a profile to be filled out or questions answered. This would have the additional benefit of assisting Etsy in dealing with flagged items/shops as well. I mentioned the problem of lack of clarity in the emails sent to flagged sellers - frequently the flagged item is not mentioned at all and so the seller does not know which item to address - and Matt said this was a pet peeve of his as well. Maria said Etsy takes full responsibility for that problem and is going to address it.

The final question involved copyright and what to do if you find your work being sold by another seller as their own. Anda spoke up and said that Etsy's in-house lawyer, Sarah Feingold (a.k.a. SarahSays), takes copyright complaints very seriously and acts on them immediately as they are received, so if your items are being infringed upon, Sarah is the go-to admin.

That wrapped up the Q&A part of the evening, but a lot of people stayed on and mingled for a couple of hours. I had an interesting chat with Matt about what he likes to make (lamps out of guitars!) and read (books about online payment systems), and talked with Anda about the excellent shopping along Main Street, and the upcoming move to their new digs. Altogether it was a very enjoyable evening, and, as Matt said more than once, it's always great to put a face to a name.

Much thanks to Etsy admin for coming all the way to Vancouver, Canada!

bunnies, past and present

Today was the one-year anniversary of the sudden death of my dear bunny Narcissus, friend to me and girlfriend to Attila for seven years.

 (Narcissus on the left, Attila on the right)

A few weeks ago, I came home from work to discover Attila acting strangely, and refusing to eat. As anyone versed in proper rabbit care knows, ileus - the cessation of gastrointestinal activity - is deadly for bunnies, and swift. I rushed him to the vet in terrible fear. The vet diagnosed Attila as having a stroke, and broke the news to me that he believed Attila had been blinded. It had scared and stressed him into not eating.

The next few days were miserable for the both of us as I mixed copious amounts of small-animal gruel and forcefed it to him every few hours. After three days of that he'd had enough and refused. He nibbled at some bok choy but the vet told me to remove it as it was too sugary for the delicate state of his stomach. I resorted to shoving dandelion stalks in his face until he snapped at them in frustration. Finally, he took a bite here, a bite there. When he started eating hay on his own again I nearly cried in joy. Never have I been so happy to clean a litterbox.

He's doing fine now, and the vet even believes he's regained some of his eyesight. It's hard to say how much, but he navigates without a problem and rarely bumps into things. He's become exceptionally affectionate, and enthusiastically licks my collarbones when I hold him. Other than the residual loss of eyesight, he's perfectly healthy, which is amazing for a 10-and-a-half-year old rabbit.

Much thanks goes out to my friend Meredith and all of my imaginary internet friends - you know who you are - for being so supportive and rooting for Attila the whole way, and to the pet-loving community members of Etsy who touched me with their many responses and concerns to a thread I posted there about Attila. Such big drama over such a small rabbit! But he means the world to me, and I hope we have a great many more years together, before he rejoins his beloved Narcissus.

it's too nice outside to be blogging

It's been three weeks since I wrote anything here, which is pretty shoddy. But I have an excuse:

I live here. Yay me!

I also have another exam coming up in June. Maybe after that I'll have a life.

other women shop for shoes

I spent a lovely morning and afternoon in Squamish shopping for rocks. Specifically, visiting one of our suppliers' quarries to select focal boulders for a project under construction. We also visited what I have lovingly dubbed The Biggest &%$#@! Scariest Saw You Have Ever Seen.

This is what cuts the largest boulders on the site into slabs. I like the helpful arrows pointing out its killing edge. I am sure I will be encountering it again later in my nightmares.

We visited two different quarries (one charmingly named "The Boulder Patch") to select about a dozen specimens from among thousands. It had just rained and the entire quarry was oozing mud, and we had to scramble across huge piles of boulders trying to not break our ankles in the process. The foreman dropped his watch and lost a little piece of it down a crack. It was a lot of fun.

If you are still reading this post, which I fully admit is waxing poetic about piles of rocks, I commend you. They don't look like much in a big heap, but when you get up close and start examining their unique forms and textures and colours, and start envisioning how they will look in the finished project and express the intent of your design with their individual beauty, well, that's when you realize you're the sort of dork that writes blog posts about big piles of rocks.

Anyway, I found some beautiful jade Cheekeye river boulders for the project's water feature. This one in particular had gorgeous colour and texture. Isn't it cute the way they mark them, all tied up in a red ribbon like it's a present?

This is a pretty massive Cheekeye, about 5' across, and will be the main boulder in the water feature grouping. The bottoms of all of these will be sawn flat with the giant &%$#@! scary saw so they will be stable on a flat concrete pad, cored into the middle and dowelled in.

My coworker was scoping out some enormous chunks of granite for her project. The largest the foreman measured was over 7 feet across.

   

It's always exciting when you can find some boulders with pre-existing moss. Yes, I said exciting. Like finding a shirt with diamond buttons for normal people. I picked out these lovely mossy little basalt pieces for the project's meditation garden.

  

  

 

When these boulders are installed in the next month or two, I'll take some more pics and post them here for show-and-tell (if everyone hasn't passed out from boredom, that is).