I realize I was raised differently than many, especially many here. When I grew up the value of a visit was tremendous. It was a gift to give someone. That's how it was viewed by many in our neck of the woods. But with that you also realized and acknowledged that others may have other people there, or they may be going somewhere, or someone may need rest for their work schedule, or they may be painting the house or something. And they may not be wearing their Sunday go to meetin' outfit. Sometimes you'd stop for a visit and be put to work. For that you usually would have something to offer the people. Seldom do I remember it being anything less than a wonderful time. I far prefer a visit from friends than some siding salesperson, religious nutcase trying to recruit me, fundraising or political stomping. Now things are different though People are far more selfish, self-conscious and self-centered. They have to put on the airs, look in a certain way and pretend their house is always pristine. Some people might even believe that, but I sure don't! There's been times I've had mixed feelings on it. I've had varied schedules so I might not be here during normal "visitation hours". Or I might be trying to sleep or I might be getting ready for work. And I've worked from home a lot. However during those times most people whose visits I'd value were aware of it and respected it. I guess I have a relationship with my friends that this just isn't the problem it appears to be for some. Some people want an appointment to receive guests. If I care to see them, I'll certainly respect that and oblige. Some people I know are flat out insulted by someone calling and asking if it's OK to stop by. Guess they grew up in this area! I don't expect refreshments and make it known. Close friends (whether relatives or not) know this. I go there to "visit" in the old time vernacular, not mooch. And they know not to expect me to cook them a gourmet meal when the come to my place. And then of course there's the, shall we call it "private time" that may be interrupted. Well, that's life. You should be locking the door and can ignore the doorbell. My old GF learned that she should be locking the door sometimes when she'd come in. And a good time was had by... some. :) I will say I started calling people beforehand more when gas prices went up, just for the cost of going there if they weren't home or something. Seeing if someone will be around is great, however there's the other issue that perturbs me where people say I'll stop by later and don't show. Far more offensive to me than a visit without an appointment. I have to ask, for the ones who are so bothered by it, have you ever told people it drives you crazy or is a required courtesy or whatever? If you have and they still do it, they're not friends so why associate with them? If you haven't, then don't complain. I often leave my door unlocked when I think someone might stop by. Some people have the combination to get in. With health issues the past years I've been the beneficiary of a number of peoples' calls or the consideration to stop by occasionally if I didn't answer the phone, to see if all was well. The good thing is when it takes me a while to get to the door now as it sometimes does, the sales folks and religious recruiters usually are gone by the time I get there. I did like the Andy Capp cartoon the time he was looking at door mats and asked ""ave yer got one that says 'buzz off'?" I've looked for one of those myself!

Hi craftyshe, " ... sxty-thre more and ...", indicats that u're not a permnnt fixtre at Strbx, regdles of th mrtgg/ttle on yr hose. Oh ... you can attend two, or half a dozen, kinds of coffeee hose? Fancy that! C.P.R. = Canadian Pacific Railroad. "Oh, Ya can't get to heaven On the C P R, 'Cause the C P R Don't go that far ... ... I ain't a gonna grieve my Lord no more ...." (heard at campfire). ole joefilled

" just hoped she would be able to have a litter to ensure a friend for her." I really hope you are not serious. There are enough cats out there that need homesthat it is beyond crazy to hope that a cat actually has kittens so they can have a "friend". I had two pregnant cats that were either dumped near my house or found their way there. One was so thin I had no idea she was pregnant and she only had two kittens. After the kittens were weaned the mother wanted nothing to do with them. Another cat had five kittens (found homes for two, kept two and still trying to find a home for one and they are 9 months old now. Their mother didn't get along with ANY of them. In fact one day she just had enough and snapped and started attacking the kittens and I had to separate them. So just because they are related does not mean they will be friendly with each other. A litter of 9 kittens was dropped off at the shelter recently. If one cat can have 9 kittens that all survive and there are thousands of unspayed females out there - do the math. Way too many homeless animals.

The people that came by the day that started this post have become friends. They told us ,then, their house was decorated close to the same way as our house is.Yard sale eclectic. We dropped into see them and she was totally right only I think their antiques are so much nicer than mine. Anyway it really was a pleasure to visit them and compare. In a good way.We do have many of the same kind of furniture pieces. We laughed a lot. Their house is fairly large but two stories each story has a bath. Stairs were a bit steep but manageable. We all laughed in the uniqueness of their house and how they made it work for them. I could move in there and be wonderfully settled in with out any trouble. Even though our house is a totally different lay out. Their upstairs is just a little smaller than our whole house. A person could live in the upstairs with out even using the lower floor which was a daylight basement. One whole side was not filled in and a nice door to the outside. It used to be the garage and work room or?? Made into a wonderful man cave for him on one side which would double as guest suite as it had the bath. On the garage side now closed in with large windows is a pool/ping pong table and washing machine dryer. If we were ever looking for another place to live this would be a wonderful house. EXCEPT it was on 20 acres. UGH