And you are safe and among friends here! Everyone needs somewhere to vent and this becomes that place to many of us. As far as following Randy's thought about how he'd treat his mother should he find a rant like that, well... I'd also have to consider how I'd treated my mother to earn such a rant in the first place. Granted, we're getting only one side of the story here, but I have a feeling Ilene's stating it pretty closely. It's plain that a deal was struck to work off the mortgage payment rather than paying it in cash. If he had a landlord or bank who were not his parents, would they expect to wait so long to have the work accomplished? Would they have accepted such a deal in the first place? I doubt very seriously that a bank holding his mortgage would have accepted such an arrangement in the first place. Perhaps a landlord may have. But they would not have waited so long. It would have needed to be done in good time. Keep in mind here, my Mother and I do not have a speaking relationship. I'm sure there were things on my side as well, but the ultimate causes are her fault. Should she ever come across a rant from me regarding our relationship, I would not mind. I have no problem in standing behind anything I say or type. I would hope that her coming across such a rant would perhaps open her eyes to her own behavior, but knowing my Mother, that's doubtful. I have children as well. Two of my biological children are grown and on their own. Should I ever come across a rant from them regarding me, I'd have to examine my own behavior. Perhaps it would be hurtful, but I'd rather face up to my behavior than not. It would open a conversation between us regarding the why's and how's. I would see it as a chance to make my stance clear and see if there were a compromise we could come to without me being "walked on". LOL, alright, I'm touchy on Ilene's behalf and I don't mean to rub Randy in it. I know I've ranted about my Mother and having attempted a conversation regarding certain things, only to be told I didn't understand, that my brother was born dead, though perfectly healthy now, and he needs help- though his problems... and most of my parents'.. are his making. I'm not going into those issues again, it serves little purpose. Ilene, I'm very happy for you that the painting's finished and I'm glad that he finally fulfilled his obligation. I still agree with your stance in the previous thread regarding future accommodations like this. The house looks GREAT, even if you did have to do a lot of it yourself! I want you to know I think you're a wonderful parent for doing this for him and I'm sorry he didn't realize that you were really doing HIM a big favor. You probably could have had the job done sooner and for a better price (considering all those brushes and rollers!!!!!!) by a professional. And as for the extra paint, welll... you've got extra for touchups in the future :) BIG HUGS to you! Kathy

Love the quilt. I fell in love with the block when we did it as Lotto block. Despite what they said, it's wonderful! I agree with Jackier. I had a similar problem with one I made specifically for my daughter. I was so excited at how quickly I finished the top that I took it to show her, just the top before quilting it. She expounded, "I can't sleep under that!" For her tastes it was too busy and would keep her awake! Needless to say, I never quilted it and she still hasn't got a quilt from me. I took it out recently and decided I don't like it anymore either. Unfortunately, her favorite type quilt would be a solid blue, no piecing, with lots of quilting! LindaB/CA

Thank you all! It felt good to get something done. It poured rain all day yesterday...I think we had around 4 inches. Today we are having gusty wind and more rain, and it's about 30 degrees colder than yesterday. I think I'll still make a run to JoAnn's for some BOGO thread. Quilting fabric is 50% off, too. ðÂÂÂ

Beautiful use of color and I love the mixture of applique and piecing. Reminiscent of of Lisa Bongean's beauties at Primitive Gatherings..