jane- I am a big fan of GoBack. Unfortunately it is not made for newer Operating systems like Vista, so I only have it on my older machines. Do not un-install it: if you do you are taking away the chance to fix this problem easily, and doing so will not create any old, regular System Restore points. GoBack works by creating its own set of restore points which actually include a complete image of your entire disc at different recent times. If you pick a point that is prior to the virus infection, it will be like going back in a time machine as it will simply restore the whole machine to the state it was on that date. One caution: it will undo anything you did in the period since the restore point, so if you have documents or photos created after the restore point, or new software installed, that will also disappear, but it should definitely solve your virus problem. If you have something important that is recent and on your hard disk, just transfer a copy to a flash drive and then invoke GoBack. It usually only allows you to go back several weeks, so if you have had the virus a long time, this won't work for you, but it saved me many times when I had a virus or a new software install that messed up my machine. Good luck.

My guess as to "where the money went" is college and (possibly) new house expenses. If they have two recent college graduates and one who's still in college, that's three tuitions. Just out of curiosity, I took a look at current expenses at my alma mater-- a state school. Expenses for in-state students were estimated at roughly $19,000 per year. For out-of-state students, the estimate is about $33,000. And an Ivy, like Harvard, has as estimate of about $50,000. Your friends may not need to have some other problem going on if they're trying to cover those kinds of expenses for three children. Especially if they had their children early-- if they started having children in their early 20s when they themselves still had college debt, they probably didn't have enough earnings to start saving for the kids' colleges when the children were young. And that may also have set a pattern of them knowing that they could get along without savings. So when they bought a new house when things were good for them, they may have felt okay about buying new furniture or new electronics or whatever, and leaving themselves without much of a safety net. If I were them, I think I would definitely shift the burden of college loans to their children now. It's loving of them to want their children to start their careers debt-free... but it sounds like the parents are starting to go under themselves. Would the older two kids rather pay their own college loans, or would they rather their parents and younger brother/sister have to move in with them? Beyond that (as everyone else has said), they need to really analyze their financial situation, figure out what they can cut, and determine if they could afford the house if they were to change their spending. And if they can't, their choices are to sell it or be foreclosed upon. It's a hard situation. As their friend, I would maybe think about ways to shift our socializing time to less expensive venues. It may not make much of a difference, but if I know that my friends were having problems I would feel more comfortable with visiting one another's houses or going on hikes or doing other activities where spending wasn't part of the environment. They don't need to know that you're doing it. It's just that that way, you'll at least know that you're not contributing to the situation.

Thank you everyone for your kind words and prayers. It has been not quite two full days after saying goodbye to Henry and it is still hard to not imagine him being in his favorite spot when I go in a certain room or find him following me. It has been such a hard emotional month dealing with all this; I miss him terribly even though there is a relief that I don't have to worry about him anymore. It was hard to put away his bedding and I have yet to clean his food dish with his latest meal still in the fridge, but I know it will probably take me a few more days before I am able to think of him without such saddness. I am just still so bitter and in shock that something like this can be so devastating. I wish I could do something to help fund research to find a cure or a medicine that would allow cats to live with this disease. Does anyone out there know if there is a place that is working on an FIP cure/vaccine? I would be interested to know. Soemone said it earlier, that this is just such an evil disease, and I figured out that it is because there is no hope that one can hang onto........you feel so helpless........as his "mom" that was just so hard for me to deal with, and of course the not knowing when and how long he would stay with me until the time came to relieve him of his suffering. I found comfort in reading all your words, so thank you again for supporting me through this hard time. Wow, it hasn't even been a month........i think back to a few weeks ago, I have a picture of him in my washing machine where he was exploring one day and I had to snap a picture, that was Henry.......just a sweet little kitten snooping around my space while I was close by. He always had a way of looking right at me with his eyes, almost like he was trying to tell me something.......and I have to believe it was love, and that's why losing him has been so hard, he was one of those kitties who really, really loved you(me). I hope that if anyone else is going through this with their kitty they can find some help and support through this forum, I didn't know who I could talk to and this really helped fill a void. So onto the healing and again, just love love love your animals, in sickness and in health, because once they're gone you can't go back and have more time with them, and at least you can hold onto the fact that you gave them all the time, attention and love that you had. Again, peace and thanks for your prayers, D.

Thanks for all your advice. What prompted my question were the following events: We have impervious tile in our current kitchen. Until we considered putting wood in the new kitchen, I never realized how many times it gets wet, but it's really quite often. Not REALLY wet, but little splashes here and there. We never paid much attention to it (sometimes we don't even wipe it up if it's just water) and the tile looks as good as new after 8 years. But now, every time it gets wet, I think: "What if it were wood?" Also, after 8 years without a single leak, both the ice maker in the fridge AND the DW sprung serious leaks (almost at the same time!), so badly they damaged some sheetrock in the basement. Again, despite having been soaked for days, the tile looks the same as it always did. But...what if it had been wood? BTW, for this (and other) reasons we are NOT buying a fridge with an ice maker for the new place. But you can't get away from having a DW (although we ARE buying a Miele).