Yes, BM does live out of state (3 hours away) and I'm sure SD misses her...But yes, BM is unfit. I am talking about drug use, alcoholism, abandonment for 2 1/2 years, constant fighting between BM and her husband when the skids visit and her husband is very cruel to my skids verbally. Last month, BM's husband announced to his kids and my skids that BM was not allowed to get MY skids for at least the next visit because she was spending all of her money on visitation weekends and not helping financially. He then told my skids directly that if their BM comes to get them the next weekend that he WOULD kick her out of his house. BM apparently just sat there. We do know that BM's husband spent some time in jail for domestic violence against his first wife...do not know if he is hitting BM though. What concerns me most is that this drama has turned BM into a victim in the kid's eyes. Day after day is drama...and the kids are caught up in protecting her and worrying about her. Add to this that BM feels guilty as well for all the drama which adds another issue. SD knows BM feels guilty...and she takes advantage of this every chance she gets. Every other day SD is asking BM for something new. A new haircut. A new pair of shoes. A new calculator. A new jacket. Earrings. A bigger cell phone plan. DVD's. It's constantly ongoing. The whole thing is unsafe and unhealthy in my opinion. At one point, after the kids finally started seeing BM again (after she came out of hiding after 2 1/2 years) SD told us that she wanted to move in with her Mom. DH told her that he just didn't feel BM's house was stable enough. SD then cried and said that her BM was trying to get her husband to stop drinking...SD said that if she had more time at BM's house she could help BM to get her stepdad to quit drinking also but that 4 days a month was not enough time to help him. I had to leave the room in tears...She was 12 years old. The relationship with BM is not a healthy one...but at least it was somewhat limited...until the UNLIMITED texting came about last month. Now let me add that BM's life is so screwed up that she LOVES to hear negatives about our life. The skids have constantly told me about her asking about my job or how DH and I are doing. If I do something special for the skids, she either downplays it or tries to outdo me...(Remember the story about Christmas 2007? I told her in November what I was getting the skids. She had Christmas that year so we were going to have our Christmas when they got back...Ironically BM got them EVERYTHING I told her that I had bought them. When they got back to our house they just opened the same stuff they had got a week earlier from BM...not quite as exciting, you know?) I can't make BM disappear...but I certainly don't want her knowing about every sneeze I have.

Smashing staues was certainly not solely the preserve of Cromwell's men, iconoclastic fervour appeared as you say on the continent when the reformation got a bit further on than Luther - If I remember correctly, there would be well over 100 years between Luther's 95 theses (1517) and Cromwell (1649) - but England had largely escaped protestant religious fervour, preferring the more cynical exploitation of attacking Rome's power for political ends. And this perhaps is the point. There is not a single brand of protestantism, there were all types, from Henry VIII's "English Catholicism" to some real extreme loonies out there who believed really preposterous stuff. It's possibly safe to say that Cromwell appealed to the loonier end, and counted amongst his supporters people who were happy to smash heads off statues for religious reasons, but we mustn't forget that he was fundamentally a politition, soldier, republican and parliamentarian. Headless statues may be one of Cromwell's most lasting legacies, but it was not the greatest sin committed by his supporters, the Irish campaign, including the destruction of Drogheda with most of its population was a far more evil act. Possibly those defaced statues have a role in reminding us all of those dark times - a sort of negative memorial ? And then (- as this is a "readers" forum -) Cromwell shut the theatres ! Directly after the age of Shakespeare, Marlow, Johnson....and worse was yet to come....when they reopened...RESTORATION COMEDY !!! I don't think you can really blame these dreadful 17th century "Carry On" plays on Cromwell, but without him, they wouldn't have happened ;)

Hi all. Ten minutes ago, I finished The Forgotten Garden. There was so much going on in that book that a synopisis is rather difficult to formulate. At first, I was interested in the book but could definitely put it down. Then slowly, it grabbed hold of me. I found myself out in the garden and having to stop my gardening to grab a quick chapter. How do I rate it? An enjoyable read but not a book I will keep or re-read. I will be getting it in the mail to my aunt tomorrow morning. Next up? When I figure it out I shall let you know. As I sit here typing, I can count my downstairs TBR pile... 36 books. And before you ask, yes, I have an upstairs TBR pile, too. I am afraid to count the titles in that pile. I have come to terms with the fact that I shall always have a TBR pile (Or two, or three) so rather than worry about their sheer volume, I am rejoicing in the fact that I always have so many choices at my fingertips! PAM P.S. to both AnnPan and Woodnymph, Thank you both for your dog breed suggestions! I had friends who had Samoyeds. I always felt that they were lovely dogs. But the long coats have me wondering about grooming and bathing. Scottish deerhounds! Never heard of them before! I will look into them because I don't even know what they look like. Sadly, I am still a one-dog person. The good part is that my black lab, Captain Nemo, is really bonding more deeply than he had before. He was always second fiddle to Snoopy. Without Snoopy here to guide him, Nemo is becoming more confident, and more protective of the family. It is nice to see him growing up! I will keep you all posted on my doggie status. My daughter (12) has petfinder.com memorized. She was ready to jump in the car and have me drive her to Indiana for a puppy just last week. (If the puppy had been within a five-hour drive from me, I would have jumped in the car and consented. But Indiana? That's a bit too far.)

I am in the midst of The Curse of the House of Foskett by M.R.C. Kasaskian, but I am not sure exactly why. It is the second of a series of mystery novels with a Sherlock Holmes-like detective (only distinctly nastier). In place of Watson is his female ward, tenderhearted but bright. I found the first book clever but unpleasant, and started this one to see if it would be better. So far it is not. The hook that keeps stringing me along is the ward's tragic love affair from days past, recounted in her diary but concealed from the outside world. As far as I can see, it is the only redeeming grace.