I agree these women are very lucky to have you as a neighbor. As for the problem of family, the kids love to turn a blind eye because otherwise it would mean they'd have to get involved and be responsible. It might put a dent in their lifestyle and require work and comittment. I'm living this scenario which is a surprising repeat of the situation my parents were in when I was growing up. My grandfather lived with us most of the year, spending part of the winter in the south. His care and shelter fell to my parents. My uncle and aunts were hands off never as much as inviting him to dinner much less spending the night or driving him to daily cancer treatments - my mom (with 4 kids to care for) did that. My SIL and BIL are totally clueless to what happens on a daily basis when living with an octagenarian. Even a healthy person can drive you nuts! We've had to call 9-1-1 several times for medical emergencies and they've as much as said we overreacted. What a crock since one of the incidents involved a gangrenous gall bladder! I'm always defending my actions and trying to point out the difficulties of living with a strong willed, contentious person. They don't want to hear it and they certainly don't want her at their house for more than two days. (She's been here for 14 years). I feel very, very alone in dealing with this woman, constantly defending my actions and attempting to garner some understanding of the toll it takes on me. Linda C and others here at the GP have seen her in action. An incident in my kitchen during one of the get-togethers summed it up pretty well. The jig is up in a couple years when we retire and move out of state. This ought to be pretty funny as everyone assumes she can pay big bucks to live in a fancy assisted living place. HA - the jokes on them. Thanks for listening and allowing me to go on and on.

I feel sorry for my Mom too but she's not asking anymore. My sister has the run of this place and it IS HURTING my marriage. Try 2 years of the same conversation over and over and over again with respect to DH & I asking if she would let us know if my sister wants to send the kids over. The asking stopped. The 'want' stopped. The 'by the way the kids are coming this afternoon, is that alright' or 'they're on their way for a visit' became the norm. Mom stopped letting us know and believe me - she mentally has all her faculties and is manipulating things to suit her need/want to have her grandchildren here whenever my sister wanted / needed to get them out of her hair. If you owned your home, and asked for over 2 years to have your homelife/marriage life respected and just got ignored and put a revolving door at the front so kids, sisters extra family not invited to stay just got dropped off for you to feed clean up after disrupt a movie/tv show your watching and enjoying disrupt a home renovation disrupt any planned activity hurt your marriage Cheeryfizz, unfortunately you really don't have the full picture. This is my home, my husband's home. My mother is a guest here. This is not the old family home - it's MY home and I'm PISSED. Don't feel sorry for my Mother - she's brought this on herself. I've quit my job over a year ago to look after her 24/7. I take sleeping pills because I lay awake at night to listen when she might go to the toilet and may fall. I got a medic alert alarm for her in case she falls and I actually do go into a normal level of sleep. My mother has been taking advantage of me since DH and I moved home from a very happy life in Scotland to look after her 24/7. Don't feel sorry for my Mom, she knows what she's doing. She left home at 16 to get away from her family and live her own life and never looked back. I'm 45 years old and still getting walked all over by my family. I wanted to put her in a care home with 24/7 care but she doesn't want it until now because she's not sure if she can handle living with my sister. Ever read the story - Cry Wolf? Cherryfizz I like you, and appreciate your feeling towards my Mom. Please believe me when I tell you my marriage is being hurt and my health has suffered enough. There aren't enough pills in the bottle to take to fix family problems. And it's not fair that I should need to take them to get through my day and sleep at night. If there is anything I haven't explained well, please let me know, I'll do my best to respond. I hope none if this is taken personally - after almost no sleep, 2 different pills to sleep each night, 2 prozac each morning - i'm not always writing clearly. I don't mean any offence to you Cherryfizz at all. I'm just hurting inside. I wish my Mom could stay but as long as she does, my sister will be interfering. I can't take it anymore. I have another sister and brother who have done NOTHING to help but sure know how to appear at meal time or holidays. Door's closed. Don't come back ya'll. The diner is closed. Cleaning services are gone and no more free meals or take out being served here. The maid is tired. I am the dishwasher and floor cleaner, laundry queen. I want to go back to work again - this has cost me over a year's income. My mother REFUSED to let me get her doctor to sign her as a dependant so I could claim back some lost wages.... do you still feel sorry for my Mom?

Adam's leaving? I guess he's retiring--or maybe he doesn't like living on the west coast. No, I can't imagine it. He's a big part of the story line right now so maybe it will be a while--but then, they could have his bad ticker give way at any time.

What DW did the new Miele replaced. For example, on the other former 2 Mieles's in the same cavity, the holes were exactly the same spot on it's new replacement. On the new Miele replacement, the holes were smidge off. I can't recall if I ended up scewing into `new holes~ or did I tweak the angle and uses some toothpicks in the old holes to make it work... At the end of the day, as long as the machine is level , and with door on the correct plane both in Hortizonal/Vertical and Flush, those screws we speak about are just retainers, per-se The screws are not that long. I would say around 3/4 or 1" in length. It's not rocket scientist. With the DW level and flush, it should not move already with it's weight. The screws are there just to help keep the unit from ~walking~ due to vibration/in use, etc. CJ. Are you DIY handy ? If so, I would attempt to *reinstall* it yourself if a option. More attention to details than a installer possibly. It's really that simple. Level it out. Make sure front panel dool looks level against the 2 sides of te adjacent cabinetry. Open DW door to test level height. Then put the sidescrews in..