Trust me when I say...nothing stops me from cooking if I want to! I have 2 grills (charcoal & gas), 5 slow cookers of various sizes, an electric indoor grill, 2 different sized George Forman grills (that I'm not thrilled with), a big roaster, a rotisserie oven, and an Advantium oven. I'm dead serious about cooking! My aunt was the chef for President Grover Cleveland's son...I think it's in my blood! lol And I probably have more recipes than Martha Stewart! lol It just really ticks me off that I was too stupid to check to be sure the gas line ran to this part of the house! Until today, I didn't even know the difference between a gas pipe and a water pipe...except of course that one carried gas and the other carried water! lol Our plumber came over this afternoon to check out what needs to be done, but can't do it until Friday or Saturday. Oh well! DH returned safely today from his brother's wedding in Florida. (As Martha would say, "That's a good thing!") We went out for pizza with a bunch of the kids tonight. Tomorrow night, rotisserie chicken! Yum! Garden, I'm an expert at "going with the flow". When you have 6 kids and 11 grandkids, it's go with the flow...or have a nervous breakdown! lol Just as long as I have my stove hooked up for Thanksgiving...I'll be happy! Oh...Nancy...a fireplace in the kitchen? That would be my dream! We have a gas fireplace in the livingroom. They're great...no muss no fuss! We don't use it much because we spend most of our time in the familyroom, but it's nice to have a heat source when there's a power failure during the winter. That along with the lighting from my oil lamp collection...and we're good to go! I can just hardly wait to get to use my new stove! ~Sandy~

I am so, SO thankful, so blessed that I had all of you to turn to. I just re-read all the replies again and I'm smiling from ear to ear (and to be perfectly honest...my eyes got a bit teary) and I am about to start RE-decorating the tree....for the second time; thanks to all of you. To read some of your stories....terribly sad yes....those memories. But then I read how someday I can look back at this and laugh and I'm hoping all of you who've had the fallen tree mishap are able to do that also. To all of you: If any of you ever need a shoulder, or need to vent, I'll be here for you just as you were for me-I sincerely mean that. Just holler! (or, at least email through GW and I'll be there for ya...any of ya!) My Dad is doing much better....thank you so much for asking. It was sure scary the night I called 911. The fact that he is diabetic didn't help matters. E.R. Dx'd as severe food poisoning but because his sugar was through the roof and white count was so high they decided to keep him. On day three they were still insisting it was food poisoning. Took matters into my own hands and got a second opinion. Five tests later...... Severely Gangrene Gall Bladder, infection throughout bloodstream, etc. etc. Emergency surgery at 9 that night. Today, Dad is going to the bathroom without me helping him get up and walk there and without me standing outside the bathroom door waiting for him to finish. Thus....I'm redecorating my tree today! LOL My son? My voice of reason and comic relief. I will be showing him this printed thread. Thank you all so much. As for mice, rats and Sterilite....here's some pics I took really early this morning. This is one of the last two Sterilite tubs that we didn't get broken down in time for the curb/trash pick-up. Until now I thought those cute little round mouse holes in cartoons were just that....round mouse holes in cartoons. Nope, those critters really DO make almost perfect holes to get at what they want! And yes, thank you for that tip.....I just finished printing out this topic, all the replies. I want to put it with the pics I took of the mouse holes....so I can hopefully laugh about it some day. If you are squeemish about 'rat and mice stuff', don't scroll down to the pics below.....stop right here *smile* But I did put pieces of bubble wrap behind the holes to keep you from seeing the 'stuff' inside. Considerate of me, no? *grin* ------------------- ------------------- ------------------ ----------------- ------------------

When my daughter was 7, she decided she wanted a birthday sleepover party, to include her best friend "Tom". It was a little strange, 6 girls and one boy. I spoke with his mother, she said it was okay with her. He was just a little boy, after all. I very carefully watched the party whole time. Around 2 am , everybody fell asleep in our family room, either on couches or in sleeping bags. "Tom" fell asleep in a big rocker. He was still on the rocker when I woke everyone for breakfast the next day. Oh, the friendship with Tom didn't last, my daughter now has a different boy friend, Mike.

I don't think there is anything wrong with fake dormers if it fits in a particular situation. To say that only attributes which are functional should be added to a house is absurd - and I doubt there is a single participant on these threads who doesn't have interior trim or other things which serve little to no functional purpose. Eh, thing is, the trend today seems to be, "A fancy house with lots of gee-gaws is a nicer, more impressive house -- no matter if they serve a purpose or not!" With that statement, I do not agree.