I think it's cool that this thread started in 2007 and still lives, and thanks to all for keeping it alive, it is very inspirational. This is going to be a long post, so sorry about that. I'm sick, so lots of couch time yesterday, and I finally caught up on a few decorating mags. April's Elle Decor has several homes that sort of qualify as coastal, breezy, etc., though with more of a multi-cultural flare than the strict British Colonial. There is one beach house in Brazil that is nicely done; casual, quirky and fun. Even though we live at the 44th parallel, and as I write have ice on the pond and snow on the ground, I love the styles posted in this tread and the combo of having some time to think and seeing this thread again has given me an idea for our screened porch. We built this house 5 years ago, and 3 years ago finally screened in the porch (on the east side, we have a SW exposure and get hot afternoon sun, even up here in NNY, the porch is respite from that). The flooring and ceiling are lyptus, and we have wicker furniture, some white, some dark green with white and green striped cushions. Classic, yes, but we already have a lot of green, house exterior, LR, entry way, MBR, and while they are all different greens, I wanted something different. So, I sprayed the wicker dining table base a tomato red, sprayed the dining chairs purple and had new cushions made for the dining chairs in some Sunbrella fabric I have toted around for umpteen years. It's a very crisp stripe; yellow, green, purple, red, aqua, blue and white, and since I'm not a crisp gal, it was bold move for me. In the porch seating area I sprayed the white chairs a deep, glossy brown and painted the desperately faded cushions an ivory color. And while it looked OK, I could not put my finger on why it didn't feel right. Seeing this thread again has helped me to diagnose the problem, the look, while cute, is too cottagey, and the porch is more coastal. Aha! So, once the weather breaks, I'm going to spray the dining table base and chairs a deep blue (pulled from the stripe in the cushion) and probably paint the green wicker the deep glossy brown. Then I'll bring in some white and a lighter, but still strong, blue (sort of the colors Target is featuring in their latest collection of melamine plates, navy, white and indigo, I think, I'm not sure what color the lighter blue is called). I would also paint the currently green house walls that are the back of the porch the color of the trim out there now (BM Sailcloth) and maybe get a sisal rug. The wicker couch has been moved out, it wasn't working in the space, and in its place we brought in 2 smaller, vintage chairs, one wicker, one sort of 1950's porch furniture, with wide arms and a wooden frame. I'll need new cushions made for the wicker, not sure of the print, will paint first, make cushions later (I paint and paint is cheap, I don't sew and cushions are $$$). Here are a few pics of the porch, what do you think? Would that work or am I kidding myself that a porch in this style would work in the far north? I should add that we are on the water, so that does add some legitimacy (she says hopefully) to the "coastal" thing. The pics are 3 years old, and don't reflect the brown painted furniture, but hopefully it gives you an idea of the space. Dining area: LR area: Thank you for listening to my ramble, hope I haven't bored anyone to tears- sandyponder

This is what I would do... Start out by getting the dog to accept you. When you are out in the back yard and the dog comes to the fence, try this; go up near the fence (5 feet or so) and stand with your side to the dog, or your back, and become a statue. Make sure your stance is powerful but calm (think, Queen Elizabeth). Do not speak to him and do not look him in the eye, at least not directly, and definitely do not give him a treat. After a few minutes, he should go into sniffing mode. This is exactly what you want. Once he does this, slowly walk back into your yard and continue your yard work. Do this several times while you are outside gardening. As he gets less fearful, move closer to the fence until you are right next to him. Once he accepts your presence at the fence without growling you should squat/sit down near the fence and allow him to sniff your hand through the chain link. Do not stick fingers through, just let him smell the back of your hand through the fence. If he is trained, you can give him some basic commands, "sit", "down". If he obeys you, you can give him a treat or tell him, "good boy". I would not give him a treat just for being quiet, so if he is untrained, just skip this step. The idea here is for the neighbor's dog to respect you as a pack leader. Once he is giving you respect, let your dogs out one at a time, on a leash, to meet the new dog. Repeat the same exercise you did solo, but with your dog at your side. Once he has accepted both dogs individually, bring them both out on leash; if all is well, unleash them. Do not let them play fence lords with the neighbor's dog as this sort of play can cause aggression to rear its ugly head again. Until you get this settled, see if you can work out a schedule with the neighbor so that your dogs and his dog are not outside at the same time. I hope this helps give you some ideas of what to try.

Just like Abby, Max still is not eating and hasn't in several days. It is virtually impossible to even get his pills in his mouth and he is drinking very little water. Yesterday and again today he threw up bile, which is a bad sign, and like Abby just lays on the couch. He is so thin, shakey and his back legs are weak. I have decided not to have him suffer through this terrible kidney disease anymore and he will be going to a better place, described in the poem "The Rainbow Bridge," to see his sister Bonnie. I will be taking him on Friday and like Laura, this is the most difficult decision anyone has to make. I call Max my little man, because my other 3 dogs are all girls. I will always remember him as a free spirit, so happy and hyper. I will remember his kisses and cuddling up to me on the couch at night, and his barking at people walking past the house and being so happy with himself when they passed by because he did such a great job scaring them off. He was with me for a wonderful 14 years, and I will wish him a safe journey, and I will miss him forever. Godspeed, my little man,until our journey comes full circle and our paths cross again.

I recently solved a problem with a guy and his barking dog that would wake me up at 5:00 am EVERY morning for a few weeks. One night my wife and I came home from work and I noticed he was moving around in his kitchen. I walked up to his back door and knocked on it. He about crapped his pants and then walked over. In a calm voice, this part was not easy due to the amount of sleep and frustration I delt with for so long, and politly explained that his dog kept waking me and my wife up at 5:00 am every morning. He appologized and said he would make it stop. Well it has been two weeks and no more barking dog! He still owns the dog, but he now waits by the door while it makes its deposits in the yard. My condo is up for sale now, but I plan on going back over there to thank him. I would try the option of approching the person first. I know I got lucky but you never know. Another solution I thought about while I was in bed awake at 5:00 am, before I had my talk with him, was to find his phone number and call him every morning at 3:00 am. :-)