Perfect, absolutely perfect... Jane, yes...that's the house and thankyou so much for the pictures of it..it's one of the chosen places I really want to see in person, if the day comes I jump aboard the clipper.. Kathy and Kathy....both are excellent... if I wasn't so adamant about gardening, with actual dirt and plants, I would love to fill my yard with this same kind of yard art but that never was the goal of what's transpired with my battle with the gestapo guy... I always had tripling up the garden space, with whimsical things added all around..but it's been an uphill fight, for months with the next door neighbors and for the life of me, I don't know why they don't just get a life and leave me alone.. before they had the fence built, I could understand them not liking the pile of junk I had on the side of the house..that was acceptable..I mean acceptable that they didn't like it all.. but after the fence was built, they just didn't let up. the day the survey was finished and I had a copy of it all in my possession, I was like given a second chance at life itself.. you know when you're in a restaurant and by chance you end up at a table, where the noisiest people in the world seem to gather..not just a couple but an entire extended family and they talk a mile a minute, top of their lungs and you wonder if they will EVER shut up or EVER leave... then, they finally finish and leave the place.. you sit back and are so tired from them all, that you just sigh a sigh of relief... or if you're out camping..in the quiet, in the woods..and some idiot cranks up the car radio, or battery operated radio, with music you detest....and they have a 'good ol' boy' party, bbq... drinking...then arguing, then either the cops are called or they finally pass out, till morning, when they start it all over again.....finally, camping is over and you go home, exhausted.... well, having the survey papers confirming my thoughts that the fence was on my side of the property.... that was the same kind of 'silver lining' in the clouds that came over me.. I could think straight, I could sleep at night, I could feel comfortable in knowing my boundries, both realistically and figuratively.. it was awesome... now, since we've gotten rid of what I believe were the points of concern...solid waste..(appliances that showed, since the carport fell down from snow) and the bags of coffee grounds and other misc...I don't think there's any reason for me to concentrate on anything other than my gardening in potted plants and raised beds, with the other garden junk art that I had planned. if he has a problem with any more, I will take it up with the county and file harassment charges. it's just gotta stop somewhere. and....I will have more than one person here, in my defense, to walk around, while 'gestapo guy' does the same. I have 30 different emails I've sent to myself, from google, emails and posted pictures on here and other albums some of you have in your own folders... there must be no less than at least a hundred photos... all of them too cool to single any out.. thankyou to any and all of you, who have contributed to this cause..I appreciate it so much. and sure wish you could all converge in my yard, the day he shows up...lol sincerely, Becky .(*_*).

Thanks for the nice comments on my guys. I wanted to call Rex, " Blaze", because of the white streak up his head, but hubby named him Rex, as in "wrecks" the house" LOL!! He is the one they are pretty sure has liver cancer, but he is still here at 4 months after they told me that he probably had 3 months. So we just keep on going. I think all the good thoughts I have received for them here keep them healthy and happy!! Thanks again! Rita

Although it was in 2008, someone said above, "I agree that it is difficult to post on this [step] forum. . . it is hard." This is pretty much true today, almost 10 years later. It is still difficult for a SM to post on a step-forum without risking getting roasted. I find that those who usually insist on needing to know more and more "facts," are unwilling to take SM's word for anything and waiting for the right moment to jump on SM to discredit her. Bio-parents can complain all the time, but when a SP does, the first thought is usually SM is over-reacting and SK is being misjudged. A lot of this I see as a cultural or societal issue. Most have no clue what to do with SPs. No clue whatsoever, other than to try to pretend like they don't exist. What is normal or best for SMs? No one seems to really know. Even a lot of SMs aren't sure. Sure, there are some theories out there, but do they work? Like Imamommy said above, we are told to keep at arm's length, so to speak, but what does that accomplish other than ever-present awkwardness? Is it true that it takes a village to raise a child, except when it comes to SPs? Somewhat exaggerated, but I always say a SM's world is backwards from most other's "normal. It's a world where you are supposed to have no say in your own household, a world where you are supposed to give love and settle for nothing in return, a world where you are supposed to be a servant or babysitter and never get paid, and a world where you may be married to your DH but BM and adult SKs still get first dibs on your spouse. Society as a whole doesn't get it, and that includes even some counseling professionals. The entire focus is on pretending like the divorce never really happened to "make things easier" for the children involved. SMs, the vast majority of whom never got involved with DH until after the divorce, are basically expected, in the year 2018, to sacrifice themselves (a/k/a take the high road, suck it up and take it, be the bigger person, etc.) for another family's divorce and fallout from that. There is absolutely no way anyone can justify that a person is supposed to pay a higher price for something she had zero involvement in than the people who were actually involved. There is just no way. Some still try, however. Some SMs get lucky and have both supportive BMs and DHs, and some at least have supportive DHs. Other SMs have neither. And, in these situations where SM is lacking support, what is SM's reward for trying to be the glue that somehow keeps everyone together? It is usually to become the family scapegoat or punching bag. And, society endorses this. If SM doesn't accept her role as the family lackey and a lesser wife, well to get back at her, they'll just slap the Evil SM title on her. What it all comes down to is divorce sucks big time for everyone, but because society as a whole doesn't want to deal with the realities of divorce and wants to act like it is not that big of a deal, and pretend like mom and dad are still the real, one-and-only couple even after the divorce, that means that the only way to keep up this fiasco is to totally degrade anyone mom or dad goes on to get involved with or remarry, to totally discount them. And, to make matters worse, if they dare to protest, then you slap them with the Evil SM label or tell them they are not minding their place. SM's main role is to be a wife to her husband. Her husband's role is to be a husband to her and a dad to his children. SM is her own person, and she doesn't owe anyone anything for what has gone on in someone else's past and not her own. She shouldn't have to give a long laundry list to anyone to justify that she needs help and support. She wants to do the right thing, and it is certainly in her best interest to do so. But, the only support most ever seem to want to give a SM is to tell her that she is over-reacting and to suck it up and take it. I always tell SMs to do what works best for you, because no matter what you decide or do, someone will be there every time telling you it is wrong. Comes w/the Evil SM label finely embroidered on all of our chests.

Yes, I don't mind if the dry season is dry, which is where we're supposed to be now. But we had rain all winter till a couple of weeks ago and after a week of heavy rain with no time to dry out, the ground is totally saturated here already. We've had flooding inland in spots where it never floods. So if we continue to have so much rain and then get a wet storm, we'll be in trouble in this area. I live on the Treasure Coast and over the past years the daily afternoon rain storms of summer and early fall have slowly been disappearing I live on Hutchinson Island and I'd say they've been shifting. We've had much, much more rain out here the past few years than used to be normal. ETA And I don't get the people who say lots of rain = no hurricane. It's rained like heck the past two years and Matthew, Irma.