I thought I would take a moment to tell you a story of a water problem my parents had recently. In spring of 2011 my mother noticed water dripping from the light fixture in her kitchen. This fixture is just inside an outside wall that has an external vent in it (venting the floorspace), and above this light fixture is a flat roof deck that is surrounded by walls and drains out a scupper through the wall and then down a pipe that passes the aforementioned vent. Sorry if that sounds complicated - maybe just take away the message that the construction of the house is unconventional and the problem could have been coming from any number of sources. So my parents engaged an engineering consultant to evaluate the problem. For $500, he told them the problem could be coming from any number of sources and recommended a contractor who could address them. The contractor came and looked, and said that the problem could be coming from any number of sources and that once he opened the wall to start looking at them he was going to have to open the whole wall and rebuild it to meet current building codes. All this was to cost $20,000. It was summer when the contractor came, and he couldn't start work for two weeks, and then he came again but couldn't start work for another two weeks, and then he had to zip over to Europe to see his mom before he could get going, and in the meantime, rains were forecast as we got into mid September. Finally my mom went and bought a can of roof goop and asked my husband if he could at least seal the scupper before it rained, since he's still a little more mobile than she is, and she thought maybe the scupper was what was leaking. One thing led to another as he examined the situation, and finally my husband ended up putting a ladder up from the outside and having a closer look at the vent. It should be noted that neither the consultant nor the contractor had gone up a ladder before pronouncing their opinions. It did require a 24' extension ladder fully extended (we tie two together for stability) and a safety harness, mind you, but nothing you wouldn't do for $20,000. Upon close inspection it seemed that the flashing above the vent was bent out of shape behind the down pipe. And indeed, evidence of a leak did date back about five years to when the gutters had been replaced and a new, larger, down pipe installed (yes, it was leaf guard). So my husband focussed his efforts on this area of the flashing. Removing the piece of down pipe, he straightened the flashing and extended it a little by screwing on a new piece of flashing. He then used a couple of washers to space out the down pipe so it would not squash the flashing again. Then we awaited the rains. So far this fall it has poured and the winds have blown, but nary a sign of moisture has there been in my mother's kitchen. A moisture meter confirms that there is no water in them thar walls. The fix cost a total of under $50 (and was this high only because I had to buy a whole roll of flashing) and took my husband a total of two evenings up the ladder with me on crew, doing the shopping and handing tools and washers etc to him through the window. That is why, although people on the internet can tell you many things, how to fix a water problem is likely not one of them! Your problem may be as small as one bead of water rolling the wrong way somewhere, so you could throw $20,000 at it, with mudjacking and replacing, and still not resolve it. That is how carefully you have to look at the problem. Fifty cents worth of mortar, or sealant, may be all you need to fix it. The $20,000 is saved by taking the time to figure out where to put it. And no one from a distance can do that for you. Karin L

Winnowing - you don't really want to leave your cozy home where your kitty is so happy and you have your independence, do you? Having been a frequent apartment renter and now, finally, a house owner, I can tell you that there is no comparison. I am also now a landlord, having inherited my mother's home in another state, which is managed for me by professionals. I echo what others have said about your light problem. Try going to your landlord and asking him if he would be willing to repaint the interior of your house. If not, then ask him if you may do it yourself. Paint it a light but warm cream/ivory color throughout, after showing him the intended color. The heck with the loud, fashionable colors - nothing opens up a house like light walls. Paint the ceilings slightly lighter than the walls. This will lift and enlarge the rooms. Then hang some mirrors opposite various windows. You'll be amazed at how they also enlarge the room. If possible, have a lamp next to or in front of the mirror; this will almost double the reflected light. Light bulbs don't use lots of electricity, so you can leave some lamps on during the day when you're home. I don't know what your budget is, but also consider your window treatments. They should also be fairly light in color. The Country Curtains catalog has a very large selection of inexpensive window treatments. Other than plain light curtains, etc., you could consider light-toned florals and/or ticking stripes, which look very sharp, but also light in tone and attitude at the same time! Now - doesn't that sound better than uncertain neighbors with noisy kids and barking dogs?

I'm a woman. I also understand statistics. >I understand your stats that we are more likely to get into a car accident than have a child abducted from their bed but do you think that Polly Klaas's parents would take comfort in those stats. So if it was your child you would just say wow, they had more of a chance being killed in a car accident than being abducted from home. That's insane thinking. If my kids died because they got a phenomenally rare form of cancer, I'd be devastated, but I wouldn't spend time obsessing about the possibilities of really rare cancers and wouldn't make sure I lived close to a great cancer center, just in case. Nor would I go around hysterically advising parents of the same if it DID happen. >The biggest risk from an unlocked window is burglary and a possible encounter with the burglar(s). That risk will vary greatly by location and time of day. The VAST majority of robberies are during the day--for a reason! If someone who knows you wants to kill you, having a bedroom on the second floor isn't going to help. And the vast majority of murders are of this type. If a stranger is interested in a crime of opportunity, there are many other things to think about before decided that having no first-floor bedrooms window is the solution. A stranger can enter just as easily through any other window and then CLIMB THE STAIRS. Windows can be broken, believe it or not, too. Want to block off all windows with bars? Then you're far more likely to die--from a fire! If you live in a bad neighborhood or a neighborhood with high "crime exposure," then you should have burglar alarms, lights, thorny plants, a dog, etc., before worrying about what floor your bedroom is on. Best advice for not getting murdered? Stay away from unstable people. Seriously. Be careful who you marry! And stay away from drugs, gangs, etc., and those who are involved in them. Don't work in a convenience store or gas station. or be a food delivery person. Don't live in the most crime-ridden neighborhoods, and don't walk through them, either. There. You've just taken out more than 98% of the risk of being killed.

Well, this issue is a real one for people like me, who have 3 hobo cats who knocked on the door of a 988 SF ranch sans basement and said "There's a sign out in the green belt that pointed this way. It's said around kitty campfires that you are a sucker and will give a good meal." Until now there has been NO PLACE for a litter box that isn't public space. Luckily, 2 of the 3 prefer to "go" outside. One of the side benefits of the conversion we are doing to switch hot air furnace and water heater (which was in the kitchen corner of all places) to a hydronic boiler system is that not only did we lose the water heater, we just MIGHT end up with space left in the furnace closet to put in a litter box and a spot for mops/brooms. Crossing my fingers on that... Otherwise, it's going to come down to some kind of creative solution like those posted here. The truth is, in a house this small, you really can't remove the litter box from the public space. It's all one, in a very zen, simple-living kinda way, I prefer to think. ;) I recently saw a neat kitchen remodel that had integrated a cabinet for a litter box, complete with a cut out of a cat for the entry door. Wish I could remember the link now, that should get people reacting. lol