Great pictures, all of them ... Here are some of my "kids": Sambina & Cosmo on a frosty November morning Lily (the dog) and her best buddy Bailey cuddling on a cold day: Dakota, the old man, with his bone: Cosmo, Sambina and their son Merlin: Merry Christmas and Happy holidays everyone! Pam

I am fine, Gill. Thanks for the concern. Those of us that are in the cities are just dealing with smoke and ash. Those that live along the hillside edges where the houses meet the open scrubland have the danger. This has been a yearly problem as pyromaniacs set fires in the chapparel brush. As more homes are pushed into the hills, this can only get worse. Actually, my plumies are enjoying the warm temps, the red skies, and the ash fall. Many are still blooming and have not yellowed any leaves. A few are showing the first signs of dormancy today. Thanks again for the worry. Bill

Holy cow, I didn't expect to come back to so many responses. I think part of the reason nothing has happened in the last couple of months is that I spend my whole day running to and from my kids' events. Thanks for all the commiseration, everyone. When I was hysterically shouting about the half-done room, I was really exaggerating. It's really more like 80% done. Obviously I apologized to my DH after pulling up my big girl pants and getting a firmer grip on things. kimberlee - It never ends does it? One of the base pullout cabs came a hair out of square and Kraftmaid sent a new one to replace it. We decided that it would work out great in the laundry room for pretreater, vinegar, starch, etc. So a laundry room makeover is planned already even though the kitchen has yet to be finished. ajsmama, I've been following your renovation(s) and I totally feel for you. You should definitely be documenting all the ways your builder messed up just in case you decide to go to court. janjan, I'm glad you could vent. I'm definitely taking advantage of the yoga g.c. I think I knew I was being ridiculous even as I was flipping out, but I just couldn't stop myself. I suppose finding my center was definitely needed. enginerd, We host a monthly card game for 30-40 people and entertain often outside of that. If having people over was a motivation to finish, we'd have finished a month after we started. But I think you're right that I need to pick a date to work towards. Maybe I can invite my sister up from NoVa. That might provide the proper motivation. nalcar, your DIY is one of the superduper ones that I go back to often. I'm a spreadsheets kind of gal (you should see my camping packing list,) but DH, though he's a computer guy, is not. I can create a schedule for things that are solely mine(floors for example,) but tasks that are his (trim carpentry for one) or ours (electrical install, etc) can't be put on a firm schedule. Staying out was never an option. You have no idea how much I loathed doing dishes in the laundry tub. kitchencommander, you are definitely not the only one who fights over the positively trivial. Although to be honest, it's mostly me blowing my top over something silly because I've been silently resentful while he looks on bewildered wondering why I'm suddenly acting crazy. rmiriam, oiling soapstone is fun isn't it? I really can't keep my hands off mine. overlyoptimistic I love how you praise your wife. I can see what a gem she has in you. DH is so laid back, we really don't fight per se. It's more me blowing off steam. If we ever do start actually fighting, I'd certainly consider therapy. rhome410 Big Hug from upstate NY. My frustrations are really quite small in the scheme of things. What's funny is that I know yelling never provides the results you're looking for. This is why I don't yell at my kids. They honestly listen better when I drop my voice a bit. It's the old proverb : He strains to hear a whisper that can not hear a shout. For some reason I can't ever remember that when I'm frustrated with my DH. And I definitely appreciate the yoga and will use it and hopefully get a better handle on things. Happy anniversary, BTW. janiek, the empty bank acct factors in a bit here too. We totaled my van hitting a deer 2 wks ago so we'll be spending quite a bit sometime in the next few weeks in order to replace it. We don't believe in car payments. I had finally been ready to place my backsplash tile order when it happened. The accent tiles that I fell in love with are $58 per 2"x10" tile. Darn expensive taste.

My initial reaction is to have a freak out when I'm faced with change. Then I open my mind and take a look around, and before long, I realize things are better than they were before. I'm still in the freak out stage. But that didn't stop me from uploading pics to my profile page!