I am sure there are a lot of people working on this - certainly some of them are well intentioned. The fact is, however, there are large numbers of lobbyists out there wanting their piece of the pie to continue, or, to get larger. The lobbyists have a huge affect on anything that is done in this country. ,, Also, there are a lot of smart, well-intentioned ordinary people out here, and on this board, who are telling of their own experiences, giving their opinions as well. I doubt anyone making decisions, will listen to them, but that doesn't mean their experiences, their ideas are not good or just as 'smart' as all those others who are thinking about it. My experience with Medicare is the exactly as I described and it is the only experience. I can't speak to what 'Medicare allows' - only what the doctor charged and what Medicare paid. I have no copy of the rules, only the medical bills. We will have to wait and see what Americans will tolerate in healthcare - because I think change is coming. I'm pretty sure some form of national healthcare is in the future - just don't know what kind. We do expect too much from medical care and too many procedures are done that I think should not. A lady I knew in her mid 80's was convinced to have bypass surgery. She was a pretty active, self-sufficient lady, and I don't know if she had had a heart attack, never heard of it, but it's possible. She lived 7 years after the surgery, but never recovered, those years were spent on dialysis, in a wheelchair and then dementia before she died. That was cruel - to her - to her family.

Hi, We are renovating our house and will need new radiator covers in 2 rooms. One is a hw radiator from 1950 with a metal cover now that we have been told has lead (NY makes you test every surface in rooms that are being disturbed). It is 48" wide, 24" tall and approx 5.5" deep. The other one will be a baseboard cover that we hope to do in a vintage style and not just the Slant Fin cover look. Does anyone have a reasonable source for nice radiator covers? I did a quick Google search and saw some amazingly high prices IMHO. The low we found was $160 and high was $423. The low one would require us to pick it up a ways from our house. The other ones would all involve paying for shipping in addition. I'd appreciate any advice or warnings you may have. I would like simple white older style covers.

Labmomma-My inside cat is totally inside. Has never has been out. I can definitely tell a difference in her coat from summer to winter. And,as I mentioned,it is a more subtle change than that of the outside cats,but a change that is noticeable. It is also possible that the climate you live in has something to do with your cat's coats? If your climate is cooler year round,a winter coat might not be as much of a change as it would be if your summers are very hot and winters are very cold. I live in W TX where summers are in the hundreds most of the time and winters can get very cold. I think that is why there is such a drastic change in the cat's coat about this time of year. Anyway,I do see it in most animals and believe that it is natures way of protecting them. That is why I mentioned it in the first place. I just had a thought about something to use for a warmer that would also be very inexpensive. I make warmers for my gourd bread warmers like this and someone else had mentioned using the same principle with an old sock for a sore neck. Cut an old towel or some fleece fabric in a square,oval or round,whatever size you like,sew it up and fill it with rice. Heat it up in the microwave and it will stay warm for a long time. You can stick this in the cat's bed and cover it with a blanket or something that will also help to hold the heat in. Dried corn can also be used as the filler. If you use rice be sure it isn't the quick cooking kind,just regular long grain rice.

I think Crestview makes the doors from the top pictures - that was the main one I found. They apparently didn't even sell whole doors at first, just the windows and associated hardware and trimpieces for you to insert yourself in a plain flush door. Those became so popular that they started selling whole doors since then, and I may get one. But there must be other choices out there, one with a local vendor where I can look at the doors and check out the quality.