Carol, I have a pet spider also. He/she lives in the living room at the bottom inside corner of the entry door frame. At least once a week I clean up tiny wings and or legs or otherwise apparently inedible body parts that the spider tosses out. I am sure it is not the same spider that has been there for years, but there is always one there. It is very tiny, but is certainly earning my respect and it's keep. Other than lady bugs, I don't see any other bugs around. The LBs seem to know about what spiders do.

Hi ya'll. Kay just introduced me to this site a few minutes ago. So I'm gonna add my two cents worth here. Blind dates are awful! I don't do them. Friends fixing me up works better, but not quite well enough. Tried online dating. Total fiasco! Perhaps I'm too picky. I've been single for years. My last serious relationship was about 12 yrs ago. I dated some but decided I liked my own company best. I've become quite happy being alone. Ya know, "one less bell to answer, one less egg to fry." I hate cooking! Do you think that's a major flaw?? LOL So I was hanging out with myself, certain I'm happy that way. I have all kinds of hobbies and friends to occupy me. So I never really cared whether I dated anytime soon. Until... I went out of town to visit a friend for the weekend and we dressed up in costume and went to a Halloween party at a bar. OMG it was a blast! I fully intended to get a drink, sit at a table and just listen to music. But about 15 minutes after sitting down, a handsome fella came and insisted I dance with him. He wouldn't take no for an answer, and I finally gave in to his sparkling eyes and genuine smile. We ended up dancing the night away. He was a great dancer! I felt clumsy and awkward and he said I was perfect and beautiful. And now you're gonna laugh. When the evening was over, he asked for my number, and I stammered around and changed the subject and never gave it to him. I was suddenly so shy and unsure!! I felt like I was back in Jr. High!!! And now I sit here kicking my own butt! My friends are gonna try to find him for me. Do you think that's too forward? I feel like such a fool!! But I haven't dated in YEARS! Anyway, it's good for a laugh. You gotta know me because generally I'm so self assured and gutsy. My friends couldn't believe the sudden shyness and stuttering. LOL So, um, I vote for the bar scene. Make sure he's a dancer rather than a drinker. LOL Casper

Landscaping here, too. In fact, we were all set to embark on an $8,500 landscaping project and a $2,000 driveway gate in the fall of 2008 when it became clear that I was about to be part of a probable layoff. We called off the contractor and three weeks later I was indeed part of a RIF. I got a new job in about 4 months, but in 2009 we decided we could live with the landscaping and really wanted to do the kitchen instead. We knew the HVAC was old and wheezy, but figured we could deal with it when the time came. Our DIY kitchen came in around $14K and we finished in April of 2010. The A/C died in June! We had a small piece of property for sale and sold it for just about what it cost to put in a brand new HVAC. Somehow, it all seemed to work out. I still want to do the landscaping, but we have decided to do some of it ourselves a little at a time. DH has torn out all the delapidated raised beds. Now we need to get out there and smooth out the humps and reseed grass. The other work involves a lot of fill dirt and routing of drainage, and we need help for that, as well as the gate. However, I've also embarked on a new business adventure that leaves us short of disposable cash, but has a great upside to it in about 6 months. So here's to hoping that 2011 will bring landscaping at long last!

donaleen - you said in your blog, "i walk a couple of times a day but am afraid of falling and of someone bumping into me." My mom broke her hip a few years ago (at 90), so ended up in a rehab place for a few weeks. In this very nice facility she had PT/OT twice a day. The therapists told me more than once that the biggest issue with older folks and a bad fall was regaining their confidence, and I think this applies to younger older folks too. So, 1) your anxiety is perfectly normal and 2) it will get better. As for the associated aches and pains, I think that is par for the course too. Think of them as sprains, which is probably what they are, and realize that sprains often take longer to heal to comfort level than fractures. Have you read any Dick Francis? He usually writes about English horse jockeys. Being jockeys, they regularly fall and break something, or sometimes (being in a Francis mystery) they get beat up by the bad guys who break something for them. His jockey characters, who need to get up and ride again, often choose to go without a cast for exactly the reasons you cite. They're terribly heroic in their pain, but according to Francis, the end result is more satisfactory if you happen to be a jockey. For the rest of us, the cast makes more sense, but Francis is a fun read.