The saga continues ... The decision was made that the floor needed to be replaced, everyone agreed and we were told they would be ordering the wood. After not hearing anything for a month, I call them and find out that they forgot to order it. Then we were told they were not going to replace the whole floor and the sub-contractors wanted to send more people out to look it. After discussing this with my BIL lawyer we told them that no one else would be coming out until we had something in writing from the BBS that they were going to replace the flooring. Yesterday they came out and ripped out the flooring and today they began installing the new wood. I spent most my morning trying to get a hummingbird out of the garage and when I came in I knew immediately that the flooring was different than what we had before. I pulled out the excess pieces that we had saved and compared them. The right wood was ordered but it is entirely different than what we had the two previous times. Even the contractors agreed that it looked like different wood, not just the natural variations that inherent to wood flooring. My husband took samples of the old and the new to the BBS and they also agreed that it looks entirely different. They are sending both samples to the manufacturer and asking them to be sure that the next order is the same as what we had previously, and what matches the store samples. I was really tempted to just accept it to have this over and done with. But it just didn't look right with the molding and cabinets. SO it's still not done. Now we wait and hope they don't forget to order it again. Is it ever easy????

Hi Dances: I sometimes wonder if the "female liberation" and the "equal opportunity" push in the sixties and seventies didn't do more harm than good to working women now. Of course I am for equal rights and equal pay for equal jobs - it just seems like NO ONE - especially the men - wanted to tackle that ever-present question of WHO'S GOING TO TAKE CARE OF THE HOUSE WHEN BOTH SPOUSES WORK?? Unfortunately, for the most part it still falls on the women to do most, if not all, of the domestic household chores. The result: Woman who now have less time than ever before; who are having to work outside the home full-time and still are expected to keep the house shining like a brand-new penny. I call it the "Ozzie and Harriet" syndrome ;)! Our house isn't as neat and spotless as I would like. Like most families (I think), both my husband and I work full-time jobs. We don't have any kids with us (his youngest daughter lived with us until she went off to college, but that was six years ago), but we (I) have four cats. To be honest, about the only thing he does is mow the lawn once a week. I edge, weedwhack and sweep the sidewalks. Even when it comes to yard work, I get more of the chores! I honestly don't think he would even remember trash day or recycle day, and he certainly wouldn't remember water bottle delivery day! He does like to cook big meals when time allows, but to be real honest with you I'd rather have soup, salad and sandwich for dinner after a long day at work than to eat a huge meal and than stay up until 10:30 that night cleaning all the pots and pans he uses! Yes - the bulk of the entire house workload does fall on me; and I am becoming increasingly more angry about that fact. Even though we both have full-time jobs, my husband earns about three times what I make, and I sometimes wonder if that's why he doesn't do more around the house. My opinion is: It shouldn't matter about the size of the income; we're both away from the house all day, and we both have the same amount of "free" time in the evenings and on weekends. I sometimes wonder how men can just sit there and watch the women they supposedly love and care about work their fingers to the bone doing all the housework? I know I couldn't do it. And when you ask them why they don't contribute more, most of the time the lame-ass answer is: "You didn't tell me it needed doing!". I find that hysterically funny, because you sure don't need to tell the WOMEN that the clothes need cleaning, the kids need feeding, the house needs vacuuming. I remember telling my DH that "this was his house too, and he should be able to see the things that needed doing just as well as I could!". It's amazing how they can turn a blind eye to the chores that need doing when they don't feel like doing them. A man can get away with a messy house and uncut lawn - but due to an awful double standard, women can't. Make no mistake - I love my husband, but this household workload inequity is really starting to bother me. And don't even get me started on the holidays - I'm beginning to dread holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas; simply because it means all that extra work on top of all the work that I'm already doing! DH and I have been together 15 years; and for those 15 years, he has NEVER once taken charge of the holidays, whether it be Easter, Thanksgiving or Christmas. It's ALWAYS been up to me to take care of the Christmas cards (and that includes keeping track of all HIS friends when they move!) and accompanying letter, decorating the house, getting the tree up and decorating it. It's kind of hard to enjoy the "season" when your bone-tired! I'm beginning to feel like the "perfect" holiday for me would be a holiday where I wasn't expected to do anything - no decorations, no presents, no extra work of any kind! It's not that I don't like the holidays - I do - but it's becoming just TOO much work that it's tough to take some time out from all the hustle and bustle and just enjoy the holidays! I know that doesn't sound very festive, and I wonder if anyone else out there feels the same way I do about this. Now, I know that there are men out there who do more domestically than their women; it's just that more often that not, it's the women to do all the domestic housework. It's almost like we were expected to go out there and have full-time jobs and careers and STILL act like Donna Reed and have a four-course dinner prepared with the house spotless and ready for "hubby" to come home! Thanks for letting me vent, everyone! Dances - I know this doesn't solve your problem, but hopefully it will make you feel better so know that YOU ARE NOT ALONE in this.

I do hope you took her to the vet already. My dog had a swollen toe, which I didn't think was a real problem since it didn't affect her walking or seem to bother her at all. I had taken her to the vet for other things and they noticed the toe, but didn't seem too concerned of it, so I figured they would know and left it as just another in a long line of benign bumps she'd previously developed. It became a natural part of life for months until it suddenly turned dark and made her limp, at which time I panicked and took her in. My deepest nightmare and regret... Even after they surgically took the toe off, she developed Mast Cell cancer from it. The surgery was too late and killed her about a month later. The kicker here is that once the toe turned dark, my vets relayed of their having heard of many other dogs getting Mast Cell cancer from swollen toes before and that if ever a dog had a swollen toe you should just take it off and not chance it, because even if it's benign in the beginning, the chances are it will turn later, and probably too late. These are the same vets that noticed it earlier and didn't say a damn thing! I'm angry and frustrated and just don't understand. I miss my girl terribly and feel I truly let her down. I know I was in denial and should have investigated further and not just count on bumbling doctors not paying attention or simply not giving a damn. I think I was afraid of knowing due to not being able to fix it, but this was fixable if caught in time. Please do not allow this to happen to your baby. You'll regret it forever. I do. My heart aches terribly from it all. I will never forget my beloved baby girl and pray I reunite with her in the ever-after when my time on this earth is done. God knows it would never be Heaven for me without her.

I appreciate all the replies, even though most of them were on the ugh! side. lol Nita, if I can remember I'm going to tell my doc to be sure to get all the root out! Anne ct, have you talked with a good orthopedic surgeon about your situation? Better to know what the options are. Deamn, since you regretted having yours done, have you considered what it might be like if you hadn't done it? As for vanity, that is not a problem with me; I haven't worn open toed shoes for ages. Or sandals either and I don't like to go barefoot. I've never painted my toenails. I know, I sound really dull, huh? So be it. I am very much aware of the pain factor, because of all the other surgeries I've had. As for going to a podiatrist on a regular basis, I like to think in terms of solutions to a problem, rather than temporary and routine treatments. Sandy, a baby born with a hangnail, now that is unusual. I promise not to go to the mall any time soon. My surgery will be done by my orthopedic surgeon, who did both of my knees, and a Keller Bunionectomy, which I remembered only as I was typing all this. The *KB was about 20 years ago, and I didn't even have a bunion, but did have terrific pain in that toe, and that being my accelerator foot, I just had to get it fixed He also keeps a check on my hip joints, which although they are painful at times aren't in need of surgery. Hi, Rita. I have thought about this for a long time. I know it will be painful, but hopefully in the long run it will be beneficial. If all goes well I will have the left toe done later. Hellion, yes, for me, going anywhere every two weeks or so, at a specified time would be a nuisance. I don't like appointments! Jannie, maybe if I had started years ago, going to a podiatrist, it would have been better, but of course I've always thought I could take care of these things myself. Sunshines, now really, how big was that needle? I have had so many cortisone shots, I don't even feel them any more. Rhizo 1, I looked at your My Page. Welcome back! I've been here forever also. I will let you all know how this has gone tomorrow, or Tuesday. PS. In case it matters to anyone, I'm 87 years old. Sue Here is a link that might be useful: *Keller Bunionectomy