Sounds like time well spent. Now let's hope that House Wren stays away. You haven't gone off the edge, just dedicated and doing the best you can. We have to make sure they accept the changes we make. Most of them learn pretty quickly. They do teach one another. I love to share this story from my backyard: An older female (with us for years) took a young male, probably his first adult year, as her new mate after her mate was lost. The nest was complete with eggs, and they both knew how to use the mealworm feeder. Evidently, he was ready to feed the youngsters already and kept taking beakfuls of mealworms to the nestbox, and dropping them on the eggs! Well, each time he did that, she would follow him, retrieve the mealworms from among the eggs, and return to the feeder to feed HIM! It was priceless. Eventually, he got the idea, and fed her. Many of us have seen their courting behavior, when the male feeds the female as she begs like a fledgling, wings all fluttering. But this was a first for me! BlueBars

OA, love the change using your wire cloche. So clever to cover the knob for different occasions. One would be pretty painted white too. Wish I was staying home today. I would be playing to see if I could make one of these. You are such an inspiration. Jeanne, your so funny! Punk

There's no bedroom downstairs, so the only way I could sleep in the same room as the dogs is if I slept on the couch. I'm reluctant to do that--although sleeping on the couch might not be much worse than the way things have been going lately. As I write this, it's 11:00 p.m. and both dogs are panting. Wolfy is clingy, nosing my arm and attempting to get under my desk. (He doesn't fit.) It's possible that these behaviors of his have something to do with the fact that I'm out of the house seven hours a day (minimum) now. Before I started this job in December, I was home with the dogs a lot more. Wolfy is quiet and seemingly content in the morning and early afternoon before I go to work, but when I come home at night his restlessness starts. Jodi, I've wondered about the sundowning phenomenon, too. Uxorial, I just noticed your message--sorry! I did remove the bone meal. Actually, I threw it out because Wolfy had bent up the box so badly. Sarah, it's nice to know someone else is putting up with very difficult behaviors from a much-loved dog. I caught some flak on the Pet Forum last year (just from one or two people, not everyone) because I tolerate a higher degree of ....well, mess from my two elderly dogs than was deemed civilized. I'm the first to admit that gracious living flew out the window when my dogs got old and often incontinent. But I refuse to destroy these loving and loyal animals to restore my standard of living. If the time comes for that decision to be made, it will be for their comfort, not mine. Thanks, all.

I have cute feet, too! LOL. >>You know what I really want⦠the best of both worldsYou know, I said the same thing! I wanted to continue dating my BF, and just leave the kids out of it. However, I realized that was not going to work. Who I am as a mother is a big part of who I am as a person. I could not respect a man that could not stand up to his son and make him mind. In addition, it will be next to impossible to never include the kids in the relationship. Even if you never see the son, you are still going to be dragged into any drama. Whenever BF has to go to court regarding custody or CS issues, he will vent to you. If he has to pay CS, that's going to be less money he has to pay for dates and going out. Whenever he has issues with his parents and how they are taking care of his son, you will hear about it. BFâÂÂs son is a part of his life, and as a result, you will indirectly be involved. ThatâÂÂs just how it is. Kroopy has said he and his GF have not blended families. However, at the same time, when his GFâÂÂs son was having problems he still was involved. Granted, it was not that bad, but he still was stressed enough about it to talk about it on here. There is also the possibility that BF gets full custody of his son. I never, in a million years thought that my exBF would get custody of his son, but that is exactly what happened. One day BM decided she couldnâÂÂt handle going to school and work and the son and let his dad have him. So overnight my BF went from part time dad to full time dad. While I thought I could handle his kid part time, I KNEW I could not handle his son all the time. I donâÂÂt blame you for wanting to live two separate lives. IâÂÂve heard of some people doing it successfully. But I knew it wasnâÂÂt going to work in my situation and it wasn't the kind of life I wanted.