I live in Vermont up high in the mountains. I have the same problem! Anyone that can share any wisdom, I would be really appreciative. Had the worst, coldest winter ever. Have a pond that is ~5 feet deep. Ice has been off the pond for a couple of weeks now, still no sign of any koi. Last 5 winters had no issue, always saw them come back, and swim. Is it still too cold? (only saw a couple of small dead ones floating, pretty normal from year to year). Have about 100+ koi. The pond is roughly 20,000+ gallon pond. Should I give up and think they are all dead? Why wouldn't I see more floaters at this point if they were? I do have fox... coyote, bear, racoons, but they've never been an issue before. It's just so strange not to see them at all, despite the very cold spring we are having, after the cold winter. Again, any help/thoughts would be sincerely appreciated.

When one accepts the responsibility of operating as someone's POA, they also accept the legal responsibility of having to account for EVERY PENNY of the money they spend. And every penny HAS to be spent for the benefit of the person/patient. Your friend needs a lawyer if he wants to pursue this. But warn him, depending upon how far he wants to take it, it can become expensive. If there was a significant amount of money involved, it may be worth it. I've many times recounted our family story. SIL had POA over MIL. In the space of a little over a year, SIL spent over a quarter of a million $$$. Mind you, MIL was living at home (in a paid off house), being taken care of by family. To this day, we don't know where all the money went. Our journey to right this wrong involved: a 7 year battle, legal and forensic accounting fees that approached $20,000, the complete break-up of a family, threats from the prosecutor's office that if WE didn't cooperate with them (they wanted to put SIL in jail) WE'd be charged with a crime--but our lawyer forstalled that for us. SIL was resistant to accounting for how the money was being spent (as one can imagine--since it was going for vacations, shopping sprees for her grandchildren, $200+ restaurant bills and many other things that MIL could not possibly use/enjoy). I have to say, having 'been there/done that' as the kids say, I'm a bit divided on what to recommend to your friend. On the one hand, it's obscene to let someone get away with stealing (and that's the logical assumption, if the POA is reluctant to supply an accounting). On the other--the kind of fight it takes to get the information and then correct the wrongs is long, upsetting, expensive... If I knew 8 years ago what we would be going through and what it could cost us emotionally? I think I'd have insisted to my husband that we walk away from the outlaws, and leave them to fight amongst themselves until they burned each other out. Before your friend makes up his mind, though, he's going to have to sit down with his attorney, discuss the facts of the case, discover what his options are, and then he'll have a better basis for deciding what HE wants to do. I will add this--about that $20,000 we spent? That's really conservative for what one of these battles can cost. Our lawyer didn't charge us nearly what he could have--he didn't count up minutes for phone calls, he talked to us for hours at a time in his office, he put in many, many hours on our case that he didn't charge for. Also, the forensic accountant was so upset by the extremity of the case, that he put in a lot of hours gratis--we paid him a bundle, but not as much as we should have. Without having such good people on our side, our bills would probably have been double what they actually were, and we might not have been as successful in our fight to right a serious wrong. It's a long, hard, painful fight. DH's take on it was that there are some fights you can't afford to take up, there are some you can't walk away from. We did do the right thing at the time--I know that--but it came with a terrible bill. If this is over a small amount of money (under a couple of thousand $$$)--I'm not sure it would make sense to put out the kind of money/time it takes to fight. I empathetically offer my very best wishes and hopes to your friend.

Thanks for all the great ideas-from mirrors to glass cabinets to unique backsplashes and nice use of lights . They all look great! Gizmonike-you kitchen looks so incredibly clean and clutter free! Gorgeous. Glad to hear that you spend most of your time at the prep sink. That was a previous question I posted as my main sink will be against a wall but the prep sink will be in an island facing out towards the patio. happy to hear there are no regrets. As others know I am trying to adjust to not having my sink planned around a window! so this is helping. Thank you!

If you do not have a trust, you will need to go thru probate in order to sell the house. A trust might cost a couple of thousand dollars. Probate fees will easily be much much more than that. Talk to an attorney that specializes in Elder Law issues, and do not go to one of the heavily-advertised trust "seminars" that promise bargain rates. When the trust is established, just have the home's title changed to the name of the trust. This is the most important step. Granted, I don't know your local laws, which is why you get real advice from a real attorney.