Cathy, I adore your father. Ask him what day he wants to come with his chain saw at anywhere from 4 to 5 am and see how much noise we can make. And I would love any ferns you can spare to help replant what has been despoiled. I have asked several tree companies to come for an estimate of whether the trees that have been splintered and topped will survive and be healthy or should they just come down. But after last week's storms, it will two weeks before they can get to me. With those figures in hand I can proceed with the registered letters etc. I want to take these buttheads to court because ever siince they moved in, they have trampled my property. The easement that is the common driveway is 10 feet wide, but since the day they moved in they have driven off the side of the driveway and over my plants. When I complained they said I should not plant along side the driveway. They only stopped when I told them I was having tire spikes installed along side of the driveway and perhaps that woudld teach them to be able to stay on a 10-foot wide blacktop. One of them ran over the dog of the people who live next closer to the road than me on the driveway. What made me maddest was the wife saying she had talked to her insurance company and they said because the dog wasn't on a leash she wasn't responsible for the vet bills. I asked if she had told her insurance company that the dog was on its own property at the time (sleeping, not running into the path of the car. The driveway is an easement, not joint property). Not to mention the moral responsibility. They eventually paid the vet bills and the dog is ok today. These peole need a lesson and I think being dragged into court would be it. The wife (who handles things contracts with landscapers and tree companies) said she watched them go onto to my property and break up my trees and plants, but it was more important to have her trees taken down so she told them it was ok I would go after the tree company but the butthead neighbors will not provide the name of the company. One lawyer I talked to said that homeowners are also responsible for dangerous work done on their property and tree removal is considerd dangerous. And that their continued refusal to provide the name leaves them solely responsible. I'm thinking seriously about having a banner made to hang from my deck which is now clearly visible from their windows (despite their saying the big tree they took down had no leaves) that says something like Deadbeat despoilers live next door. I'm seriously considering putting in a fence and giving the neighborhood teenagers cans of spray paint to decorate the butthead neighbor's side.

I only wish I had visited the shop to pick out my extras. The shop is so amazing-I definitely could not have put everything in my budget. My daughter broke her arm the day I was supposed to visit and I ended up doing everything over the phone so I could stay on schedule. I wish I had chosen the solid sink with the bowed front and medallion (My mom just got that) and I wish I had seen the Franklin edge in person. Somehow I would have fit that into the budget, but probably not the sink. You don't need any tips. They run a flawless operation there, all the way from from the computer template process to the invisible seams at the install. Plus they installed my counters only 48 hours after the template (I live several hours away too.) Good Luck. You will be impressed!

Hi, qshopper and gadgets, Guess I forgot to say that I DO fund my Roth IRA faithfully, for the full amount, annually. Thankfully, someone wiser than I set me up with a TSA person years ago. Of course, after a while, that person's quote of "they don't put teachers in jail" made me wonder just what kinds of monkey business he was doing with my money, so I got a new TSA person. I'm always telling new teachers to pay themselves first by getting a TSA. I'm still trying to get my sister to set one up, but oh, she is soooo busy! Well, now she's 48 and maybe she thinks she's gonna win the lottery, but really, that's not likely! I was wondering about dollar cost averaging and investing in no-load funds--stuff I can do myself, and wondered if anyone else had some advice about things like that...I just learning and one of my cyberpals is talking me thru it...just wondered what everyone else may know... Thanks!

Sylvia- "No. She couldn't." You don't know her. You haven't seen her action. You haven't witnessed her get it together when it's something she WANTS to accomplish. You don't even know a small fraction of the story therefore it isn't your place to say what decisions she could have made. When she was in rehab for two months she could of stayed there rather than run off with her BF to get high. Daisy- "Doodledoo, if you would never leave your children with someone who is on lithium, however stable they may seem, I can understand why you'd feel that way. If I had lived through all you've lived through, I would feel the same." Thank you so much for understanding that a person who witmesses a worst case scenario probably isn't going to be likely to take chances. Even if the percentage is low on the risk factor scale once you have been part of that percentage you probably arn't going to be convinced by others who haven't personally experienced the situation. Based on this scenario I would never let my daughter be taken care of a person who has a known mental illness. It's my perogative. I appreciate how you can see why I would feel that way after what we have gone through with BM. Thank you. PJB- "I would like to know where this info came from regarding 'people on lithium' not being allowed to work with children, teach etc." I know this because I work in this field and that is one of the questions you get asked. They want to know if you have any sickness or injury that will prevent you from doing the job (back injuries, Epilepsy and the like) and they specifically ask if you or family members have a history of mental illness. Then they want to know what medications you are on. I have been through that process five times since I was 16 for Daycare center jobs and currently for a Early Learning Coalition position. They also do extensive background checks. They are covering themselves. People with epilepsy and back injuries could drop a child. Mental illness could cause highs and lows or make a person less tolerant to children depending on the diagnoses and the severity. Certain Meds prescribed for mental illnesses can also cause sluggishness/drowsiness which is no good when you have babies in your care. As for the Millitary I had a boyfriend in high school who had some form of MI and he was on some popular drug for depression. It may have been Prozac? I don't remember...anyway long story short, they asked him the same questions I was aked when he was trying to join the Army. When they asked about the history of MI and found out he was diagnosed and on the medication they turned him down. He couldn't join. Too much of a liability. They flat out told him it was because of his condition. Love- "Doodle and J are doing the right thing and the ONLY thing they can do, anyway--protecting the girls." Thank you Love. We don't doubt for a nano second they we are making the wrong decision here. For the record to all of you who think I am so horrible to BM, I have obtained another application to the House Of Hope and explained her situation to the ladies there in hope to get BM bumped to a priority spot. BM claims she will go if I can get her in and as aggravated as I am with her I am doing my damndest to get her accepted for her own sake and the girls. I am such a vindictive,venemous,mean person, Yes?