She is a superhero, don't let her fool you, lol. Yes that is John in the pic and I really need to paint the house. I hate the color now that I can see it, lol. I got the massage this morning and will be like brand new by tomorrow I hope, lol. Kylie, maybe Patty and I can take a road trip to your house one day if we can get some free time at the same time, lol. I don't know how the geckos are getting in and out of the fuse box but they are always in there when I open it but now one is missing. I will try and get another pic of him tonight. He is faster than the flash on my camera, lol. I did get a whole pic of him but he up high and shadow from the door was in the way. I had the idea to stuff the donkeys belly but Patty broke the planter and shoved it up his butt, lol. The nose was her idea too. I am ashamed to show the pics of my brugs. They look pitiful. I fed them last night so I will take pics of them after they green back up. Everything got a good soaking last night.

Wow that is some experience. Hey is your car one that is 'frequently stolen' for parts or something? I really don't know what to say other than that must have been really scary to go through. Having grown up around here, I've seen things change so much. I hope you find out what it was all about, so you can have peace of mind. Looks like you should start locking your cardoors, terrible that you may have to remind yourself to do it, but it may make you feel better. I can imagine the frustration of the police not getting back to you, and acting odd that you called back for a follow up, to see if they found anything out. You may want to pursue it with the officers directly. ( They work shifts, so maybe the dayshift didn't know how they made out) Hopefully you asked the officer's name and if they made out a report. I honestly am not that familiar on how they conduct their reporting. The few times I had to make a police report due to theft, they did not get back to me one way or another. Maybe if there is no news, they leave it at that. I did find that our town police did not question or alert anyone in the neighborhood regarding either incident. These incidents were years ago, but I did know that I wanted them to put a little effort into finding out who did what. ( The first incident for me, someone actually broke into our house three weeks after we closed on it and stole some things.) Imagine my uneasyness and the fact that they didn't even ask any questions of any of the neighbors to see if anyone saw anything, or alert them to be aware for themselves. I didn't know anyone in the neighborhood yet, and when I did tell them about our incident, they were surprised that they weren't notified. I had to practically beg the police to take fingerprints of the door that was broken into and the sliding glass door that was broken too. They told me it was a 'messy procedure'. Like I cared about a little more mess. I understand it is difficult to get a good usable print, and maybe I watch too much TV, but to tell me it is too messy to do seemed like a lame reason to me. To them it may have been nothing, but to us it was a security issue, especially when you have young children in the house. We never heard anything further either. Maybe this is a public relations issue that might need to be addressed somewhere in the local political forum. I still appreciate the job the police do, they surely don't get paid enough to see what they see, and do what they do, and put their lives on the line everyday. I am sure it changes them. Either way, I wish you peace and security. Try following up with the police and maybe ask around and see if anyone else in your local neighborhood saw anything. It did seem mighty nervy to show up with a flatbed, if they weren't there legitamately (?). Wonder if it was a case of mistaken ID... Good Luck. The cottage garden forum is great, isn't it? Hopefully you will be able to put some of your frustration aside while you garden..it is definitely theraputic. Breath the fresh air, smell a fragrant flower, pluck a pesky weed and thank God that your incident didn't turn out worse..you never ever know. Give DH a hug and kiss, things may have turned out different. Peace in gardening ...JoAnn

Foundation cracks have a variety causes. Some are indicative of serious damage, others are typical settlement cracks. In general, relatively uniform vertical cracks with no displacement to either side and no greater than 1/4" in width are minor settlement cracks. But they can still let lots of water in. Here is a link that might be useful: Foundation Crack Evaluation This post was edited by worthy on Sun, Feb 3, 13 at 15:14

I bought a foreclosure and I think it is the best decision I ever made but I am sure each circumstance will be different. I live in northern Indiana and found one on Yahoo real estate. A 1991 DW 3/2 with a full basement,3 city lots and a two car garage for less than $20,000. So far have only done new exterior doors some windows and interior updates. But It is definely a gamble. I do know you hear how they depreciate rapidly so I do not think I would buy a new one.