dulci I'm so happy for you, yes the Lord will lead you though. I'm not on the site very much anymore because I just don't have the time. But was looking around today and saw your wonderful porch. (before) and then read your story. God can always find someone worse off them myself and your story has just inspired and renew me. (I guess I was setting here at work feeling sorry for myself) I too have a wonderful Daughter and three grandchildren but her choice of men has not been the best so I moved them into my home. Seems all I pay for is Attoney fee for her and now one for the grandchildren. Ex is really bad man, But I know that God will find and end to this 2 year battle where we all can be happy in the end. Sorry. Just wanted to say God Bless you and please keep the pictures coming. I so enjoy watching your progress. I agree with Seamommy on the PURPLE DOOR AWARD God bless Betty from Indiana

Very odd things happening with my houses this year. I had bluebirds in one house that laid 5 eggs. For the most part I try to stay away so they don't get spooked. In this case the next time I checked there was one fledgling that I saw but he didn't seem ready to fly away yet. But when I checked 2 days later there were no babies or eggs. The nest was empty. This box was protected with the mesh on the opening. I'm hoping time just flew by and the brood hatched and fledged in my absence! Will the parents start a new brood in the same nest or should I clean the box out for them to start over? I had another box that had activity, 5 eggs layed and a week later no eggs or babies. I fear they were killed since it was an old house from last year and it did not have the protective metal mesh at the opening. I have a nest nearby with the mesh protection. I kept checking and there was no activity or eggs. Then suddenly there was one egg!! I assumed the mom would lay more. I checked for 2 days, still only one egg. The third day the egg hatched with a tiny bald with a little fuzz baby bird. I kept watching from a distance and I did not see the male or female going into the house. I skipped looking inside the box today. I wanted to stay totally away. Tomorrow I will check again. I hope the little guy is okay.... Is it unusual for a female to lay only one egg? I'm thinking that perhaps the pair that were in the other box moved to this box when a predator got their other eggs..... Thus only one last egg to lay??? The box with the one egg is about 20 feet from the empty box. Perhaps this is part of that brood? Can the mom or dad move an egg or did she just lay it in a different box?? I have another box about 100 feet from that one protected with the mesh that some sparrows have taken over. They have built a nest and hang out in front of it on the mesh opening and on top of it but no eggs for well over a month. Perhaps they are the culprits that got the 5 bluebird eggs. Very strange that they built a nest and aren't using it. I know they will build several, one as a decoy or to give the female a choice, but I don't see that they've done that unless they are planning to take over the bluebird box. I will be keeping a watch on that....

B: 1 egg, 2 egg whites, deli salsa, grilled corn omelet, coffee S: coffee and a granola lemon bar (my friend was an HOUR late-grrrrr-so I got hungry and chose the most healthy thing I could find in the coffee shop case; what a waste of calories!) L: 1 cup cottage cheese mixed with finely diced tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, and spicy spices S: 10 pretzels D: Taco salad: 1/3 c refried beans, 1/8 c. shredded cheese, lot of shredded lettuce, tomato, ¼ c cottage cheese, salsa, 120 cal worth of baked chips on top. S: Arg. Lays Baked BBQ chips, 2 handfuls, and a ½ c of fritos. I hate having chips in the househate it! Salty snacks call to me. S to redeem myself: one red delicious apple. ----------------------- Marci~ It must have been the moon or something. I went on a snack hunt as well yesterday. Did some damage, but am back on track today. ...That's a cool pic you took, but I can see the damage the algae does. It's sounds like a nightmare to try and get rid of! Too bad someone can't harvest it and market it as a health food. JEN!!!!!! Start posting your menus NOW that Tara is better. I know when a kid is sick, hard hard it is to stay on track! You're tired and then fixing carb-y foods for sick kids is SO tempting. Is there anything more enticing than the smell of baking bread or toasting toast? :) Just start over...TODAY! I'm lining up all my pairs of boots to kick you in the hind-end...and I have a quick a few pairs! DeeMarie~ That endo appt sounds like REAL KINDA FUN!---not! We better ALL light a candle for your other tooth. You have a great attitude about it tho'. It's sounds like you're going to healthfood boot camp at work! Bon Voyage!!! NHSuzanne: I'm curious. Do you guys get ticketed if you don't take care of the noxious weeds? I have some property up north and if I don't clear the Canadian Thistle every spring, the fines start! The county fines people a 100 or more dollars a day for noxious weed spread. Now that's motivation to do yard work, eh? Needless to say, I've never gotten fined. We're expected to have a hella wind storm tonight. Remember last year when we were out of power for days? They're saying this one won't be as bad. That was a 10 and this is supposed to be a 7. I'm bringing in wood today and getting the candle and flashlights ready. And we're all sleeping downstairs tonight. There are 200 foot trees next to my house and they DO fall occasionally! If I'm not on tomorrow, it'll be because I have no power! Short story: Yesterday, my DD in college called me. She says, "Mom, I have a problem..." Well, I am thinking the worst, but then she tells me that she's babysitting a friend's offspring and that the baby has been crying for 40 minutes. I can hear the baby on her shoulder crying its heart out. 10 minutes later, we finally got the baby quiet--air in tummy or overstimulated; I'm not sure. Dimly lit room and some pats on the back, pressure on the tummy, etc---but talking my DD through that baby's crying spell gave me the strangest feeling. Now I know how my mom felt when I called her with my colicy babies! It's tough not to BE there to help! Is Raeanne on her wine tour in CA already? And where's Maddie? Patti? Tikanas? JOHN???????? Halloween is almost here, so let's get motivated to step away from the candy. Anyway, have a great day and stay safe!

davidrol, The faucet was an American Standard---about twenty years old. It had been slowly falling apart in various ways for some time. We had been putting up with it until now. I am shocked to hear that the hose could not have been full of holes, because when I emptied out the cabinet and turned on the faucet, the hose was leaking at multiple points along the length---kind of like a soaker hose. Unfortunately, the faucet has been put out in the garbage, so I can't offer a post-mortem autopsy to provide any other answers. As I said, the faucet must be about twenty years old, so I think it provided adequate service for some time before giving out. This was one of the first faucets made with a pull out sprayer instead of one on the side--quite advanced for the time, but archaic compared to modern faucets. The pull out sprayer portion was made of black plastic. You pressed on the top of the sprayer and the water stream would change to a spray and automatically go back to the regular stream when it was turned off. It stopped going back to the regular stream when it was turned off years ago, so we had to turn it on and off manually ourselves. We had a friend who worked for a plumbing supplies distributor at that time and he was able to get us a good deal on it at the time.