Nora, Thanks so much for your response...I feel so fortunate to have so many people respond over the past 24 hours. Your idea of a styrofoam ball with yarn is fantastic. My mom knitted and crochet her entire life...learned while in school in 7th grade and actually did it for a living while raising me and my sisters. Now, I have bags full of yarn and I've tried to encourage her, but she won't (I realize now it's probably that she can't). But, if I get the styrofoam balls, maybe, just maybe I can get her interested in winding the yarn around them. I cannot tell you how much this forum has helped me already...For 4 1/2 months, I've been so frustrated with my mom constantly refusing everything I've tried to get her to do. At times, she seems completely fine, so clear headed that I lose sight of the fact that she's losing her mind and at times have actually argued with her!!! How ridiculous! I'm beginning to realize that it's not that she doesn't WANT to do anything, it's that she CAN"T, or is AFRAID that she can't. I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like for them...what are they thinking, what are they feeling? How frightening it must be for them. These are thoughts that I torture myself with. I so want to cure her and take care of her; all I can do is be there for her and let her know that I love her and will always be here for her. Every day, when I leave the house (I go to my main office for a few hours 3 days a week) she asks me "where are you going?" and every day, I say "I'm going to the office" and she says "be careful and make sure you come home" and I walk up to her, every day, give her a big hug and a kiss and I say "I will always come home, and I will always love you." I guess that is all I can do..let her know she is loved and truly cared for and that I won't let anything awful happen to her. Now that I've rambled on so....I do have a question, if anyone is even still reading this...How do you manage caring for your mom knowing that she doesn't have a clue who you are? It must just tear you apart.One more thing Nora...nine years is a long time...how was she through the majority of those years? Was she aggitated? Did she get along with her caregivers? Did she put up a fight about bathing?...I'm done for now....thanks again...you've been more help than you can ever imagine...my heart goes out to all of you for taking the time to respond to me and caring enough to do so....

Me too. I hadn't visited the site for a few days and was quite shocked to see it so very different from the one I got used to for such a long time. I wonder if the website management was outsourced to a non-nature/garden outfit. They sure ruined something which was working well and was user-friendly. BN has the perfect adjective to describe this new format and I will add mine - sterile. Shyamala

It could also be that the coffee you are getting is not as consistent as it once was or that they have changed something in the sourcing, roasting, etc. That has happened to us before. More than once. One was a local shop that roasted their beans abd they changed something. The first time they tweeked things it was good -- the second time was awful. Another was a name brand -- you expect them to be more consistent, but they make changes too. When you say milder, what do you mean? Lighter roast? Less acidic (a lot of dark roasts are more acidic or biting than we like)? The coffee we have been using is one that is roasted about a hour away from our house. I just happened to spot it in the grocery store and had to try it because of its name -- Jet Fuel by Independence Coffee Company. LOL Later found out they named he roast for a friend who was a pilot (the roastery sits near a community airport). Our favorite coffee when we were in CA was Deaf Dog Coffee (we even mail ordered some before they went out of business). They had fun names like Sleeping Dog (decaf), Bark and Bite (dark roast), etc., so the Jet Fuel name sounded fun and friendly to someone who was missing the old dogs. Anyway, Jet Fuel is a true dark roast, but not so acidic. We tried Jackhammer. It is pretty similar to Jet Fuel, but we weren't able to try them side by side so I'm not real sure of the differences. The Texas Tradition Epsresso is not carried in our stores -- don't think I've had that one. If you want a lighter roast, I am not much help. DH is pretty much a one coffee man. Independence coffees are sold at HEB and Whole Foods stores in Texas or on their website.

Thanks for your feedback! Here are the plans (they don't reflect the newest updates I made). We originally had walls around the toilet, but when I put it in Sketchup, it felt too enclosed and cut off the view of the mountains. Also, it felt very dated, like something that would have been done in the 90s. In terms of the closet, we really need/want the extra closet space. And we put the tub in the shower because we like the idea of having a "wet area" - which is sort of a new thing that's being done a lot these days. But open to your thoughts! We just wanted a view of the mountains from both the tub and the shower. Thank you!!!!