Oh wouldn't I LOVE to have any/all of you as neighbours! But I would still need the chain link fence, both to corral the dogs and to meet the municipal requirements for TCS's pool. But the chain link is rapidly being covered with Clematis (of course), Variegated Honeysuckle, and Virginia Creeper. A dense planting of daylilies is already beginning to hide the weedy growth between my fence and my neighbour's 6 foot board fence. Works for me. You guys have hit the nail on the head re:dogs. Each of mine know their own names and are getting to the point of listening for my command by name. They have learned that their name followed by "Wait" means to sit quietly while the other dog has attention, food, affection, gets the leash on etc. DH also simply calls "Dogs" at around 10:30 every night and they both respond right away by going to the door for their nightly whatever. If they are being rowdy, we can call their names, say the command "Chill" and they will quiet down, although they will go back at it when released with "O.K.". When they are in the yard, I can call "Bostons" and they will usually both come running. Of only one comes I can call the other and get the appropriate response, usually. This all happens on their home turf of course; here we are higher up in the hierarchy than they are. When together on other turf however, they seem to lose a lot of their responses in the heat of the moment (ha ha, no pun intended!!). If I see another dog when I have one or both of mine on the leash on the street, I try to walk up a laneway for about twenty feet and make them (or it), sit and wait. They will still be excited but most of the time they don't come across as aggressive. Off the leash, well, let's just say that I don't do that outside our yard. We affectionally refer to them as "The Brats" - much like "The Wrecking Crew" or "The Huge One"..... Hey, I think I am going to try "Travelling with Pomegranates" if I can get it at the library. I have been reading reams of murder mysteries but many, if not most, are not realistic and are only mildly entertaining; after a while they all seem to be the same, and lately I've been chucking them after a few chapters. It's time for something new. Maybe the "Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society" will also go on my list. Our Hort Society is falling to pieces with cliques of the "Ins" and "Outs" forming within the executive. I was an "In" but I sympathized more with the "Outs", so I was not unhappy to tender my resignation when I injured my neck last Easter. Two "Outs", one "In", and myself have been meeting for lunch on a regular basis: We refer to ourselves as the Perth and District Ladies Poker Club. None of us play poker. But we are gardeners and friends. We are having a quiet Sunday. As it is Hallowe'en, we will roast our pumkin seeds (from the orange pumpkins), do the Trick or Treat thing, and sit back with a glass of red by 9.00 tonight. Speaking of seeds, does anybody want to try the seeds of white-skinned pumpkins? We call them Ghost Pumpkins. I am saving some seeds for TCS to grow next summer - should be a hit in our little suburban back yard! Cheers, Julie

yeap. that what is going on. I have to say that it did get a bit better because he stopped going on vacations with just her, but it is still not good enough. We have difficulty going with just him either she is always here when he is on vacation, he simply does not have much vacation days left. As about tickets or vacations, she always asked him to pay and he always did but he thought it would end when she gets married (they live very well), but she still asked him to pay this time and still asks for vacations. it is OK to help if help is needed but overall all this is just unhealthy and annoying. i had hopes for her marriage to change it, no change so far. By the way she asked for vacation during Christmas break this year, including her DH, but it means that SO will be paying again. I was glad SO answered that WE aren't travelling during Christmas break because finedream's DD comes home for Christmas break and finedreams doesn't travel at Christmas time. I was glad he said that, but SD was pouting the rest of the evening. I do not mind him to do things just with his kids because i do things just with DD, but he ends up spending all of his free time with her.

Ive done some minor trips alone-- extensions of business trips, a week at the beach, a day or overnight in a city. I really don't need the company of others for the times when I am lounging on the beach, shopping or museuming. I think the key is to plan your trip around the things you very much enjoy alone. I used to rent a house on the beach where I could take my dog. My sister and niece would come down for an overnight.. sometimes I would allow a bf to come for a night or two. I loved those getaways but I don't really think of them as vacations. I have been looking at options for a trip -- not yet sure of the timing but I am considering a cooking school in mexico that offers a lot of solo time as well as a trip to Cuba. The problem with these kinds of solo trips is that you are at least loosely connected with a group. I am not sure if I'll enjoy that.

One of the "older" dogs I've had came to me sort of like Summer's Pokey. He was a huge English style Lab. The people had 3 of them, a older female (the mom) and 2 younger (1 male/1 female). They were losing their farm and moving to an apartment. Obviously, 3 large adult dogs couldn't all come along. They were keeping the old one, thinking she didn't have more than a year or two left and felt it was unfair to ask anyone to adopt her. I had my choice of the other two. They asked absolutely no questions and though I tried multiple times, I was never able to reach them to let them know how happy the dog and I were together.