minet - You are correct. Regular Notaries are only allowed to charge $10 per signature. DH was doing the Loan Doc Signings. Since you lved in OC, you're somewhat familiar with the area. DH covered a wide area - parts of north OC, parts of LA county, all the Inland Empire, Parts of Riverside and San Brdo. Counties. He also made occasional trips to the Victor Valley-(High Desert) and Big Bear. It was a lot of driving! Advertising popped up everywhere "Make Big Money - Become a Notary Public!" What happened to that retired guy you knew is also what happened to DH - they were finding people who would do it cheaper. I don't know how anyone made money doing signings for only $50.00. The only way is if one had a few per day and close together - like, in their own neighborhood! Plus, like I mentioned, more and more companies were requiring the Notary to print out the Loan Docs on their own - which took a lot more time and cost. OH, and another thing this one company did...they would just put the assignments up on computer - leaving it "up for grabs" for anyone. So, DH had to sit at computer all day long everyday and refresh every couple of minutes to see if something "popped up". (If he was out on a signing, he'd miss out on any new assignments) It got to the point it wasn't worth it anymore. ----------------- runninginplace - Yes, we are not married. Been together for over 20 years. I refer to him as "hubby" most times. "Significant Other" or "boyfriend" or "life partner" just sound odd to me. I sometimes refer to him as my housemate also. "Hubby" is just easy. Someone in a previous post mentioned my 1/2 should be protected. Not sure what that means...should I get out the chainsaw and cut the house in half? haha j/k! ------------ "DH" saw the attorney. (hubby also was able to get most of the file on this specific trx from the lender) Attorney told him to just keep all the info for now, but to NOT respond to the letters...and just wait to see if anything happens. DH hasn't heard anything since. I don't know what the statute of limitations would be on something like this. (Maybe the other guy's attorney told him he didn't have a case? I donno) -------------- And, yes, I was too busy to read the letter when he first presented it to me. DH had already told me most of the highlights in the letter. By the time I was mentally prepared & calm enough to read the letter, it was gone. He had taken it to attorney. Everyone has their own ways of dealing with things. I guess my way is different.

Sorry its so long. I was trying to recall what I could for you. That really is such severe weight loss. Very scarey when those things start to happen and no one can figure out whatÂs going on. I have been told that the thyroid tests arenÂt always accurate. There are other tests and ones with different levels of sensitivity that they use to try to get a picture of whatÂs going on, but usually start with the basic thyroid test (canÂt remember, maybe itÂs T3; and T4 is the more sensitive one.) Feline HT is pretty common these days, so I would think they would have been screening appropriately for something going on there. They do test periodically and look for a change and trend in the values. Even though she may be classic, I guess they canÂt actually treat it with the radiation until itÂs clear from the diagnostics whatÂs going on. I think my vet tried meds on kitty #1 to see if it helped, even though the actual tests were showing he was ok after the first treatment. She is a cat specialist though, so may be more comfortable with something like that. ItÂs very frustrating, confusing, and expensive with a lot of these health issues, and with the various medical procedures and options. Doctors don't even agree on things, so you can get conflicting information. Around and around, and often evasive or illusive information from the docs. I often feel like IÂm dealing with a sales person rather than a medical professional, and have definitely become pretty wary about all of it at this point. ItÂs best to read and talk to others as much as you can, to educate yourself. Can you tell me what symptoms your cat was experiencing before the diagnosis and proceedure? The symptoms I remember with my cats are: - very hungry - but losing weight - very thirsty - increased urination - hyper behaviors like more aggressive, playful, or affectionate - increase in energy (crazy cat spurts) - heart rate also increases significantly (sign noted at the vet). The heart murmur on your cat is concerning, as HT can cause heart damage when the disease is uncontrolled. ItÂs a condition thatÂs very hard on the body because everything is revved up. Did you try the medication first with limited results? Yes. Both mixed and limited results. Can you give some detail as to why it failed, and if you know if this is common or not. As far as whether the radiation works or not, IÂve had mixed experiences. My first cat was controlled for a while with meds. Then he became symptomatic again, so the radiation iodine therapy treatment was done. He did well on that for a while, maybe a year?, but then was having trouble again. So, he had another treatment. I donÂt recall whether that helped at all, but he was still having problems. My vet (a cat specialist) figured he had other things going on, which is why the disease didnÂt appear to be under control. He eventually landed in the University hospital ER and, while they thought he had some asthma based on the xrays and negative lung aspiration, it turned out he had cancer and it was riddled throughout his body at that point. My second HT cat, I donÂt recall being terribly sick when he had his treatment done. He was diagnosed, we tried meds for a short while, and then I just decided to cut to the chase and get the radiation therapy done. His kidneys were ok but, right after treatment, it was like his whole body shut down. He had a heart murmur and his kidneys started to fail. I remember the doc saying something about his stomache slowing down too. I think he was even drooling. He was put on synthroid, but it was just downhill for him. So, the treatment was not a good thing in his case. My vet always explained to me that if thereÂs kidney deficiency, they wonÂt do the treatment. Unfortunately, also, by the time a deficiency appears on the labwork, their function is already 75% gone. She also explained that it doesnÂt always work, as I recall. With my third kitty, things were rough. She was very timid and sensitive, and I didnÂt want to put her through a weekÂs stay at the treatment center. She was also not a good pill taker, so we tried a med that gets absorbed through the ear. She wasnÂt doing well on that, as I recall, and her disease was difficult to control. She was scheduled for the radiation, but a week beforehand she became seriously ill and landed in the ER. They were able to stabilize her enough for the treatment and, fortunately, she had no heart damage so was able to get it. That did work for her. About a year later, she seemed off but the labwork wasnÂt pointing to anything. Then she became seriously ill and landed in the ER again. The doctor told me she felt a small mass in her belly. She was there for maybe three days and each day they felt more lumps appear. This time it was lymphoma. I did start the chemo after being told that it had a good success rate and that there werenÂt bad side effects, as with people. She went down so fast though. It must have been some sort of a galloping version of disease. I had to drop her for a few hours for one of her treatments and they called later to say she passed right there in the hospital. That was the last thing in the world I ever wanted for her (or any of my cats). To die in the hospital. And it was very hard to deal with. Lastly, our vet gave us no indication that there is a risk the treatment could fail. Your post is the first I've heard of that, so understandably it's a red flag to me. Can you give some detail as to why it failed, and if you know if this is common or not. I'm very interested in any information you can share also about the process, the healing period or side effects. My vet also always explained that it usually worked but not always. Sometimes they would need a second treatment. Or sometimes other things were going on. I donÂt recall the pre-treatment procedure, other than an initial visit with the radiologist for assessment. The doctor did an ultrasound to check the thyroid and for any incidence of cancer. If he finds cancer, the treatment isnÂt done. For the treatment itself, they stay in the hospital for a week because they are eliminating radioactive waste, which needs to be controlled. The tech called each day with a report. After they come home, youÂre instructed to be careful with their waste by using gloves and washing. I think it was a separate litter box, too, which is supposed to be discarded afterwards. DonÂt recall how long this goes on for but it wasnÂt terribly long. Other than my one cat, where the treatment actually killed him (unusual, I think), there were no side effects, other than stress, that I recall. The financial aspect was pretty shocking the first time I went through all that. And I was very afraid of the treatment, too. I can say that HT is a horrible way to go. And that there is a successful treatment for it. My little girl was a small, frail kitty to begin with and she got so terribly sick when it was uncontrollable. The treatment did stop that disease process and we had a good year until the next thing hit. If sheÂs actually well enough to go through with the treatment, I would do it. Though I donÂt know much about her. She will only continue to decline  and itÂs not pretty - and she will die from the disease. I do think itÂs a very treatable disease, unlike some others. IÂm so sorry you and your kitty are going through all this, and that it took so long for the disease itself to be diagnosed. It is terribly heartbreaking and often so confusing as to what to do. I always think IÂm going to die when one of my cats gets sick and there usually arenÂt clear answers on what to do. If you are going ahead with the treatment, I hope you're already scheduled, as it sounds like there's no time for delay at this point. Take care, good luck with everything, and please keep us posted. P.S. My vet said that there's research to support that the food canning process may be causing hyperthroid disease. The pop-top cans have a chemical used to seal them, which is suspect. There's also a preservative sprayed on the linings that may be involved.

Hi, Carol! Sounds like a fun project....with the temp swings we get here in No TX, it's pretty much a crap shoot with many tiles and some ceramics. Like Nicethyme said, the high fire frost proof tiles would be best, but if you're like me you just used what you had on hand or could easily get. The ones under the cabana may not show damage as soon as these did since they have more protection from rain, dew, etc. An idea, if you want to salvage the pretty table top you did....can you remove part or all of the "remains" of those tiles that have lost their tops and replace them with bits/pieces of stained glass using some thinset as the adhesive? Just a thought. Course, you might want to scatter some more sg pieces about the top randomly to make it look more planned. Pat

Okay, so FINALLY had an electrician in! We are good to go with whatever we want to do! No issues with attic or rafters, vents, etc.! Yay!! So now, PLEASE, help me with a plan! Here's what we have so far: 7 under cabinet strips will be installed & wired in to switches on each wall (one switch per wall added. Need to decide to convert above cabinet light fixtures to actual LED or just eliminate altogether. Decide between replacing the existing center kitchen fixture or eliminate & replace with wafers. Electrician suggested waiting to decide on above cabinet lights and see how much light would put off if they are kept and set to 3500-4000K - then decide how many wafers might be needed if not using another fixture. (Semi-flush? Or flush? Would that look odd on an 11ft ceiling?) Decide between flanking pendants over sink or counter end. Or just keep cans where they are - or move them (where?) and change to wafers. Replace breakfast area fixture and move approx 10-12" toward windows and lowered approx to 36" over small oval table. Under cabinet lights starting in 2 weeks! So I need to make decisions on the others pretty quickly if I want to try to bundle everything around that. Backsplash going up end of December. @Sharon Fuller, @cawaps, @RL Relocation LLC and anyone else who wants to chime in! Please and thank you!!