The glue or ad mix ( bonding agent) adds strength. IMHO If your projects properly cure ( stay continuously damp) for a week or two, I believe they are less likely to cracking. Also always make your projects when it is about 50o f or above. I have experienced cracking, when I made projects at lower temps. Portland cement 1pt and sand 2pts and some ad mix can be used to create a thin layer - possibly for the windows ( depending how small). You can also buy a product called vinyl concrete patch. All you add is water. It is designed for to create thin layers of cement. I recently tried a product call shapecrete . It can be purchased on line through Home Depot, or directly from manufacturer. It is thin set mix that is workable like clay - I made this Bowl . This product is a little more expensive, but if you are making small projects it may be worth a try. Mike

tasymo - Thanks that's exactly what I wanted...to look like he just plopped down..lol. He is sitting on an old metal chair. I didn't want the chair to show so I surrounded it with some old pieces of wood we chopped up from a tree that fell in our yard during a storm. Mine is wired together & wired to the chair. The moss helps hide the wires & you never even notice them unless you are REALLY looking. It was quite a job, those pots get heavy when they are wired together....but I love my "potman". Thanks. luna ilena feliz- Thanks...I tried! I wondered what to do with him during winter since he is way to heavy to move...so during the Christmas holiday season last year I put a Santa hat on him...I thought it was pretty cute! Maybe i'll make him a Santa suit this year...lol

This all sounds very familiar! We bought our first business when DH was 57 years old! We put everything on the line and then some! We had both run businesses before and actually were working in the business we bought, so there were no surprises. We too were appalled at how badly run were so many small businesses. DH has a talent and track record for turning around failing businesses that he immediately applied to our own. We have never looked back though there have been times of extreme stress and anxiety. Owning a business is very different from being employed, and it's like having a family, you can't leave it behind at 5pm every evening! On balance though it has been great for us, and still is. It sounds as though you have considered this move very carefully but here are a few of my own thoughts for what they are worth. I always caution prospective business purchasers to make sure the accountant they use for due diligence is independent in every way from the seller. In your case you and the seller both have a relationship with your accountant. If you have complete trust in him/her then you may not need to get an independent due diligence. Having the seller hold a note is absolutely the way to go and you should make this note a significant value. Your contract should detail under what circumstances payment of the note could be withheld. Right now it will all seem amicable but things can, and frequently do, change very quickly! Because of your ages, take great care not to over extend to develop the business. Your DH will reach the stage, sooner or later, when he wants to quit working. If you have over invested in your business it may be difficult to sell. I can't stress enough how important it is to have a clear exit strategy from day one!! All that said, this is both a scary and exciting time for you. Owning your own business can be fulfilling in ways that employment never can be. It can enrich both your lives. As long as you have always pulled together in difficult times rather than fought, you should be fine. You have to decide what life is about for you, playing it safe but possibly risking DH being frustrated and unfulfilled, or taking the leap with all its attendant upsides and downsides. We took the leap and don't regret it! I wish you both the greatest success.

Hi, I read your post with interest as we are in the process of taking on our 20 month old Grandson. His Father (our son) and Mother are both on drugs. Our Son is currently in jail and is back to being a normal person who you can have a conversation with. He doesn't know we are taking on his son as he has no contact with him and becomes very angry about the situation. He would dearly love to see him but before being in jail his girlfriend (the Mother) and he had a very volatile relationship and the 3 children were taken by child protection services. The older two (different fathers) were placed with their maternal grandparents, who thought it would be short term. Unfortunately their daughter is still on drugs and only maintains spasmodic contact, which is getting less. Our grandson was placed in foster care, he was 3 weeks old at the time. He is with a lovely family who have two teenagers and two other foster children aged 6 and 4 and our grandson 20mths. We didn't take on our grandson at 3 weeks, hoping the parents would come good. That is obviously not going to happen for the mother and my son would have to jump through hoops to prove he has drug taking and anger issues under control. My questions are "how important is it for my grandson to be with family? Should he be allowed to stay where he is happy and loved? (my fear here is he will become part of the "foster" system and be parcelled around). If we don't take him will he grow up thinking the family didn't want him? We will have him before he turns 2, are we being selfish to take on a toddler at our age ?(54) We just want what is best for him. The overall question I suppose is "how important is family ?"