It just seems odd to me that these mugs that had no degradation in the design for at least 10 years of washing in my old dishwasher have now faded away to almost nothing. It has to either be the different detergent or the dishwasher. Interestingly I have the old dishwasher at my weekend lake place - use the same old liquid detergent - mugs there are showing no sign of designs wearing/fading off. I only use the normal cycle (nothing hotter due to the etching problem) so it's not that the water is so hot. It's also apparently not due to super cleaning power of the DW or the detergent because there's no way my Miele would get a black crusted lasagna pan clean because of the small amount of detergent and low temps I have to use due to the etching problem. It doesn't even get coffee cups clean half the time under those conditions. Baver - the way I deal with etching is to throw out my glassware when it's ruined and replace it. I have quite an eclectic mix of mismatched stuff now.

Well, I tried the yummy treats, but the instant I lifted his tail, any thought of his eating went away. I used an electric trimmer, but didn't get much shaved--only the longer strands. I'd flinch every time he did, and his fur is so silky soft that it just got pushed around, not shaved. I know it'd help if I took off the "length guard" and used bare trimmer, but I'm so afraid of hurting him. So, I checked at Petsmart to see if they have a cat groomer, which they do. I might take him in for at least his first butt trim and then maybe I can keep it up after that (I can hope). If he ever needs a bath, I'll have to remember to use the shower or tub hand-held sprayer (never had one before till our new house we just moved into). That might make spot-treatment much easier! I'm still working on a regular food for them. Both kittens had soft stool with the female bordering on diarrhea all the time. Second trip to the vet (and 2nd med later), he said maybe the food was too rich for her, so I've had to move down the chain a bit (from the higher-end dry foods), and that's when Coco's problem started. His poo went to more firm, but stickier, "pellets" while Ellie's has stayed soft. Funnily (and thankfully), the soft hasn't posed a problem with their butt hair. We're still trying to find a canned food they'll eat. I've wasted well over $100 in the last 2 months, but I might've finally hit on one. Fingers crossed.

I had a horrible day with my computer as well!! I checked my emails and saw that all of them were dated 2010. All the 2011 emails were gone...I checked the "deleted" folder and nothing there either. I looked in the other folders..nothing. I checked C drive, program files, Outlook..nothing. After a couple of hours of this, I called my server tech. He said he'd check my account and see if they were still on the server...NO. He said I (or someone else) had to have deleted the emails, therefore putting them into the deleted folder. Then deleted them from the deleted folder, thus deleting them from the server..permanently. I absolutely did not do that!! DH said, "Well, maybe you did it and forgot." I can't even tell you my reply. :( I do delete the unnecessary emails as I read them. I flag the ones I need to save. I publish a monthly newsletter for our little city and have people who write some of the columns for me via emails. I try very hard to get the paper out by the end of the month with the details of activities for the following month. So as I was preparing to start the paper for January, my writers had emailed their articles. See? Now I'm rambling, of course. The episode ended about 4 p.m. with 2 Excedrins, coffee and a nap. Pulled the cover over my head and decided I'd surface next year. But, oh no, someone mentioned that Christmas had not come yet. Deep breath...I am now wrapping zillions of gifts, preparing bedrooms for DD and grands who will come home with us after Christmas & making cookies. Yep, all at one time. No stress...

Wow, I can imagine how fearful you were to go under general anesthesia, especially with hemorrhaging and dropping blood pressure! But thankfully you were at the hospital and in good hands. I'm so sorry to hear of your loss, which may have been a fetus medically, but was of course, a potential child, to you and your husband. The fact that you did get pregnant naturally, is a good sign. It means that you are not infertile, so I'd think your chances of a successful pregnancy, whether natural or through IVF, will be great, since you have proof that you were able to conceive. Take the time you need to recover physically and emotionally, then look forward to planning your 'rainbow baby,' with all our best wishes!