I am not Meghane (I know you were waiting for her to answer), but will try to help nevertheless. I am very sorry that Fred is going thorough this set back. Prednisolone on a long-term basis does cause side-effects (suppresses immune system) and has bad interactions with other drugs such as NSAIDS. Maybe your vet can wean Fred out of Prednisolone slowly. Be careful with pain meds. As I mentioned in your previous thread, those white 'spots' on her lungs may indicate metastasized cancer (from somewhere else)as you are well aware of. At any rate, I just hope she perks up before you leave or you may not have any peace of mind. Boarding her at the vet's would be best in her current condition, but ...I could not leave her! What a hard decision! My very best to your lady, Anne-Marie

Lazygardens, I'm sure you're not far from the truth! I have to admit I have thought many times how much easier this situation could be if he were a widow :-) Mom 2 4, regarding the divorce and length of time it has taken for the legal separation, this can be summed up in one word - finances. In Canada, you must wait one year from the date of separation to file for divorce and many couples, especially with children, considerable assets, and where there are issues of spousal support, go the route of a legal separation agreement to deal with these issues. Once the year has passed, this document can be filed with the application for the divorce and becomes the divorce agreement. These issues can also be brought before a judge, prior to a divorce and orders made with respect to child support, spousal support, the matrimonial home and the division of assets. Instead of taking their issues before a judge, they decided that they could work this out between themselves and their respective lawyers and have an agreement drawn up that would be satisfactory to both. I won't go into all of the issues that turned all of that into a nightmare, but after it became clear they could not work things out between themselves, they tried a mediator, which cost a fair bit of money and got little resolved. At that point, he now sees that he should have pursued the court option but at the time, he was already under a mountain of legal bills. Theirs was a very complicated situation financially that could have dragged on even longer in the courts. In the end, he gave in and walked away with very little. Maybe that was a mistake, and maybe it was fueled in many ways by guilt but it's what he felt he needed to do at the time and a decision he has to live with. The timing for filing for the divorce is purely financial since he will have to absorb the entire cost if he is the one filing. This may sound like a lame excuse but he is just now finishing paying all of the legal bills for the separation agreement. I think you are right in suggesting that in many ways, he has done things to encourage her behaviour. He is in no way the innocent either when it comes to his behaviour toward her and he has come to realize that the hard way. I do believe he has a lot of guilt over the break up of the family but there is no interest on his part in reconciling with her. He really just wants to try to make their relationship better so that his sons don't suffer the consequences any more. I know she will never go away and I have no doubt she will try her best to turns his sons against me. There is nothing I can do about that. I can only hope that they will form their own opinion based on my actions and my character. As for not seeing the big picture, you're wrong. I know more about the big picture than I care to at times. I did a lot of soul searching before I decided to make the step and meet his children. I knew then everything that had gone on and decided I was strong enough to handle it because I think he is worth it. I appreciate your concern and the warnings but I really do want to make this work. I posted on this site because I really need some good advice on how to proceed in slowly building a relationship with his children and some guidance so that I don't make mistakes with them that will later prove fatal. I don't want them to suffer the wrath of their mother, simply because I exist and I honestly don't know what I can do or what he can do to make that situation better. I know from reading many of the posts on this site that there are some very sad situations out there but also some rewarding successes. As a step child myself, I have experienced both and maybe that's where all my hope comes from. It's funny, but I see so much of myself in some of the teenage SD stories. I was the SD from hell for a couple of years! My step mother and father are still married 16 years later and they have a good laugh at my expense sometimes over some of my antics. I really don't know how my step mother hung in there but she did and she loved me and was there for me no matter what a little B**** I was. I have seen many posts where people have hoped that one day their step children will appreciate what they did for them and I can promise you that at least some of them will.

You are to be congratulated....BEAUTIFUL JOB! The contrast between counters and backsplash is perfect! The way you accessorized your countertops just brought everything together wonderfully! I will tell you what I've been using for the last five years. Maybe the lighting is different in your home, maybe the colors in your home won't work the way it does in mine. But for us, the perfect tan....not too dark, no undertones,no pinky, no green....has been Pony Tail by Pittsburg Paints but we've had it mixed in BM and SW. Computer monitors vary so here, the color might not look as good (or might even show undertones-which it doesn't have) as it does in the rooms where we've used it. Here it is against Dove White Door in our bedroom mid-afternoon/blinds open, with ceiling light and table light on: FOR DIY TILE PEOPLE: Our first bathroom: we tiled everything except what needed to be cut. We took those to Ho-De and since we are on a first-name basis with some of the employees, we asked about having them cut and they cut those tiles for us....I think we were charged 35 cents per cut. After the fourth cut the nice employee just cut the rest for free. While we were there, another employee wandered over, chatting with employee that was cutting our tiles. Second employee told us to buy a $15.97 tile cutter (only does straight cuts but that's all we were doing anyway) and told/showed us how to do it ourselves. These inexpensive Straight Tile Cutters are called "Snap and Score" tile cutters. By the time it came to doing the second bathroom tub tile, we decided we'd try the tile cutter. It's nothing fancy, my 11 year old grandson was helping with the cuts. The second bathroom used 4" x 4" Travertine squares and we had no problem making straight cuts with the little tile cutter. Line up the tile on the board/bar, score it with the little sharp thing attached to the running handle, then put a bit of pressure with the handle on the scored line and snap...easy peazy! I know there are the pro tile cutters with the water that runs to keep the blade cool. But for us, the few tiles we had to cut, the little $15.97 tile cutter paid for itself 10 times over! Buy some extra tiles and practice and I know you'll get the hang of it! IMPORTANT: make sure the tile cutter you buy is big enough for the tiles you want to cut, and that it will cut the thickness of your chosen tile. Then there is the grinder. We have several grinders....4" 4.5" and 5 inch. You can buy special blades, buffers, sanders that will make straight cuts on granite and those types of stone. Just measure the stone, draw a light mark in pencil where you want to cut and run the grinder blade over the pencil line. In less than half a minute you have a cut tile. Then switch out the blade to a sanding disc or buffer disc and smooth out the rough edges you just cut. Again, 11 year old grandson helps with the sanding/buffing and is getting pretty good at it. lol The little bit of $$$ you spend on the tools....they really do pay for themselves. If you want professionalism and perfection, then you might not want to do the tile cutting yourself. Reason I say this.....the more we did the better we got and we can now look back at rooms/areas where we first started our own cutting of tile and see where we could have done better. Mr.Amity's Motto: "It's not professional, but it's passable and presentable (just don't look too closely)." :) Grinder: Here is a link that might be useful: YouTube Video: How to Straight Cut tile

I would take him to your closest wildlife rehab place, and ASK them what they will do. Ours never euthanizes anything until after their vet has looked at them, and they go to extraordinary lengths to save all animals. I turned in a common crow once, and they gave me updates as to its condition every 2 days, did surgery on it, and it survived and was released. Jackie