Dave, you're saying they didn't keep you over night in the hospital for observation? IDK, I would like to be given the option of whether to go to the ER or not. When Charlie fell they did not call me, they called his work who then gave me minimum information, then I had to figure out what hospital he was in, it was in another state. By the time I looked up the town, then called 15 numbers, it was late. I was able to speak to Charlie in the ER then the doctor who said he seemed fine, they'd give him morphine, then probably release him the next day. Charlie told me to stay home, deal with getting his tractor trailer home the next morning, then to come up. Took me 2 or 3 hours of phone calls starting at 7 am but I did it. I would have loved to go the night before but it would have been almost a 2 hour ride in the dark; I don't drive more then 45 minutes away tops because of my back. Did Deb swat you with a rose cane when she saw you? LOL You would have deserved it you know lol I can't believe you're back working. It had been so long since I had lost a rose..... I was beginning to think I couldn't lose one :) Sometimes I need a wakeup call to keep me from getting too full of myself, Same for us. With our sandy "soil" at the old house, the roses would own root, they'd be horrible for year 2 then year 3 they started getting nice, year 4 awesome. It was them own rooting that we were able to take as many roses as we did when we moved. The only way we lost some was due to them sitting in pots since fall 2006, not sure of the dead count yet, but it means I finally get to buy more roses lol I have to rebuy red Eden, that was planted in dads garden, my "mother" didn't let me come back to take my roses/plants before she sold the house. We were going to buy it, then she got another offer without telling us. It is easy to be 'brave' and uncomplaining when I can feel steady improvement. Pain woke me this morning and I began to feel sorry for myself. Realized that I would have given anything 2 weeks ago to feel as little pain as I had today. It would have been wonderful even a week ago :) I don't think you ever get used to the pain. Chances are you are going to have some problems from this. You're right though, you remember how you were when 1st injured then are thankful that the pain is going away, but it's still pain and when it wakes you up is the pits. I fought pain meds for years but gave in. They changed them back in March but once again, I'm used to them and they are only taking the edge off for an hour; as the day goes they don't even touch that. Best advice I can give you is to speak up about the pain, then if needed get a script for something mild for days like you had. Suffering through the pain isn't going to help you any and if you are like the rest of us, you'll get grouchy. You also have to watch because you probably injured muscle which is a large part of my problem. I have really bad muscle spasms, which are nothing like when you feel your muscle jumping around, it's a deep, deep pain that will wake you up. What I usually suggest is to google the body part, say lower leg muscles or nerve posters, you will then click on images and find this. Pick a decent one, then print it out and trace your pain with marker or pen/pencil then also write what the pain feels like. If the pain shoots from the left side of your knee to the right, mark that. Bring it with you the next time you see the doctor, they will be very impressed & it will give them a better idea of what you are going through. I've gone so far as to write down the various pain I have during the day. If you are good with a photo program, you can open the poster image in that, then draw the pain lines using the pencil tool. You can get creative with various colors for different types of pain. Duke is happy. He can keep up with me walking now. He lets me use the ramp I built for him to get in the house too. Glad to hear he's still around. Tell Deb hello! feel better and stop going to work. You should be home with your feet up still.

marys1000 - It sucks renting and it would be hard to find those things you want. Also since you don't know how long you'll be staying it might be hard to sell what you want in the future. One other option you have would be to buy a house, not your ideal house, but one that would be a compromise. For example something like the below. I'm sure people that get transferred often has some good suggestions too. 1. Buy something in an area that will always be popular so it will be easier to sell when you are ready to move. (good school district etc.) 2. Something that will allow you to put the vegetable garden and bird feeders, but would appeal the a majority of the people if it was just lawn and regular plantings if you needed to sell. 3. A reasonable price range where the majority of the buyers would be in the area you are looking for an easier sale later. One that also would allow you to save money and this could include your commute if you drive due to gas prices. This way you can have some of your most important things, but you may have to live with neighbors closer than you'd like for a while and a few other things, but still have what you can't with a rental and also enjoy it some with the gardening even though it wouldn't be your full wish list. BTW when it comes to closing costs it depends on who the lender is how much you'd have to pay for the loan. For example we used a local bank to buy the lot next to us and we only paid the same closing costs as a cash buyer except for an extra $100. If you have to pay a loan origination fee then it could add up. A bank should be able to tell you what their fees are for a closing, however they can't tell you the full closing costs due to things like title insurance etc. Only things related to the loan. I think it makes sense to invest your cash and use the bank to assume the risk. This way if you need the cash you have it available and if you have to sell for less than you owe and have to bring cash to closing at least you made money off your own cash until that point. Even though you will pay mostly interest to start it isn't much different than throwing the money away on rent except you have a tax deduction and you get to put the bird feeders and the vegetable garden you want.

a2gemini, there are three knife trays in the drawer. On the left is a JA Henkels that I've had for many years. In the center is the Wusthof 7 slot tray and on the right is the Wusthof 14 slot tray. I bought both of the Wusthofs locally at Sur la Table even though I don't see the small one listed on their website. According to the dimensions listed they shouldn't have all fit but in fact they fit perfectly. I can also say that my Electrolux refrigerator has been perfect thusfar. It's the quietest fridge I've had in decades. I bought a couple thermometers and placed them in several areas inside and the temps are good and consistent too. I thought the interior lights that come up slowly was a gimmick until I needed a drink at night with no lights on and was able to quickly reach in for some water and close the door before being blinded by full brightness. Now I think it's a great feature.

I talked to her. It went pretty well. She seems to be in the same boat with her kids. They are having a real hard time with dad's new relationship. Her son is taking it the hardest because he was really close to his dad. The kids were still adjusting to the divorce (it was final in May) and then BM moved in with him in August. She said he hid it from his kids on the weekends they came over, which explains why she kept leaving SD at her mom's house in the beginning. When she suggested that the kids needed counseling because everything was happening too soon, he told her that SD & her sister had gone to counseling and were just fine. (I don't know if they really believe that or are in denial that SD is having a hard time too. She's been a mess over this) She said it didn't sound right at the time, that SD and her sister must really feel abandoned. It was funny that she said all the same things I've been complaining about. She says that every Monday, at least one of her kids misses school from being sick from eating junk food. She says the kids tell her they stay up all night playing video games and watching movies. She had the same concern over where everyone is sleeping, since she knows the house has only one bedroom. I really tried not to criticize BM but she has already given BF's ex the same attitude she gives me. The impression I got from her is that she is a very mature person that is only concerned with doing the right thing for her kids. She says that BM doesn't like her and that her ex has actually called her to apologize for BM's attitude toward her. It went well. She took my number and said she'd like to keep in touch if we ever have concerns. She said her kids only go there two weekends a month and she tries to be as nice as she can toward BM. She says if BM doesn't like her, she might not be so nice to her kids. That's pretty much my philosophy too. She also reassured me that her ex hasn't been drinking for a couple of years. (she may not know that BM is a party girl and he may have partied with her, but I don't know for sure and I'm not going to throw that out there without proof) I didn't tell her everything because I think it would come across as me bashing mom and that's not what I wanted to do. She is just as concerned about the same things and that was basically what we focused on. There were no bombshells. No bashing either.