What great news Robyn has filed, and is turning that page in her life. I hate to celebrate anyones divorce filing but I think this marriage was clearly over - best she is on her way to being happy again. Please be careful not to overdo....that was a very long time not to be using that leg and the muscles will need gradual buildup. Have to tell you, I can remember getting out to weed while still using one crutch, but I ended up on hands and knees involved in my task and lost track of where I was. Where I was when I finished weeding - at the other end of the garden with no way to stand or walk back and no one home. I crawled, feeling really dumb. ;)

I am very happy to hear that you are taking in this poor dog. He needs a good home and crating, though sometimes necessary, seems cruel to me (when its long periods of time). My brother had a Golden Retriever with skin problems, don't know exactly what they were, but he spent most of his time in a cage (when he couldn't break out). The vet couldn't figure out what was wrong and eventually they decided to give him away. He was trying to get my parents (who have 2 Sheppard's) to take him in but on chance remark I found a friend at work and her hubby had been discussing getting another dog. They usually have 2 but lost one and were thinking of getting another for a companion. They also only consider Golden Retrievers (its their favorite breed like Sheppard's are for my parents). He was 2 years old when they took him and he went to a great home with 3 kids who were used to dogs and a dog companion as well as an active family that included their pets in their lives. I left but still spoke to her and they never had any skin problems with the dog since they got him. Long story but the short of it is that I think the skin condition was the result of stress. My best friend had very sensitive skin and it got worse for her when times were stressful in her life and I think the same applies to animals. Watch the rash and see if it doesn't go away by itself in his new, happy home. As for your Grandson I am not worried about him growing up to be abusive. I think if he saw this behaviour in his home and was rewarded for it or imitating it from someone else then he might learn to deal with things more violently. My concern would be that he would become desensitized to the feelings of other creatures. You're doing a great job in helping correct his behaviour and are providing an example of kindness and compassion that should be shown to all living creatures. I'm not saying that abusive/violent adults don't sometimes start down that path with cruelty to animals but I'd be more concerned if he was doing that behaviour as a teenager. In high school I remember overhearing a conversation of some teen boys saying they lit firecrackers off in a kitten's face and I turned around and told them I hoped one day someone would do the same thing to them. That they were joking and thinking it was fun was disturbing and those are the kids we need to educate. I hope the bite your grandson got wasn't serious but I have to say it was educational. I wouldn't want him to need stitches and I'm not saying I'm glad he got bit, but sometimes in life we have to learn things the hard way. It reminded me of an ex's sister who owned a horse. It had it moments when it wasn't nice to her. When it bit her, she bit his ear. When he kicked her, she kicked him back (in a spot he wouldn't forget). I think after that he learned not to bite or kick anymore. Some of the most valuable lessons in life can be learned by experiencing them.

sippimom -- no way! But I only have one leaf. MCM-ers unite! I think 8' x 11' would be the safest way to go, but it might overwhelm the space. The "room" is 11'8" x 18' 9". The pictures show the "dining room" half of the larger room. The DR is slightly more than half of the room near the buffet wall, so is really a 11'8" x 10' area in the larger room, with the table slightly to one side of that "area". I'm wanting the rug to basically anchor the dining area in the larger room. The other end of the room has two loungy chairs and a jukebox (quite the decorating dilemma, that one). When we still had (ugly, dirty W2W) carpet, we had a big antique rug in there that was leftover from the other house -- 10' x 13' -- HUGE! It was both too big and too small for the room. We put in cork last summer and the whole thing has been bare since then. It just needs to be warmed up. flyleft - I know, love the magic of the interwebs, no? As for the "sticking", I guess it doesn't really bother me. When we had W2W I don't think it was a problem, but that stuff was so nasty and cheap and beaten down I may have just blocked it out entirely. And the old antique rug that was there was so thin that it wasn't really grabby.

Wow, I'm so miserable about my kitchen delays, but your situation is worse than mine. I really feel for you. This is my second big renovation, and I found myself in tears a lot with delays and mistakes the first time around. But it did get done eventually, and you'll get through it and have a beautiful kitchen in the end. Keep your eyes on the prize. Of course, I wish I could take my own advice. I'm ready to tear my hair out. We did our demolition in mid-February, signed our contract months before that, and we still do not have appliances installed, or cabinet doors, or light fixtures or pantry shelves, or a pantry door, paint etc., etc. I just heard today that the panels for our appliances will not be ready for three more weeks. So even if they manage somehow to ever get our appliances installed, they will still look ugly, and have no handles. Early on, in an attempt to be laid back, we never compained when no one came for days and days at a time. Big mistake. The GC was obviously sending all his tradespeople to the houses where people complained. We ended up having to do a major redesign midstream because of a mistake that would have looked awful. That was two months ago. When the electricians did not show up last week, and we didn't end up with appliances for the weekend as we'd been promised, we called the GC to ask what happened. He said "well, when you do a major redesign, you have to expect delays," implying that the redesign was at our whim. Really? So, the cabinet redesign that we had to do two months ago because someone (not us) messed up big time was the reason that the electricians didn't show up when they were supposed to on Friday? Sorry to hijack your thread, but I'm at my wit's end. We were supposed to have a big party in mid-August that we had to cancel because we had no kitchen. But we thought for sure we'd have at least a mostly functional kitchen for Labor Day weekend, and now it looks like we won't. Every day I come home hoping and praying to see progress on my kitchen, and every day I am disappointed. But we will have kitchens some day, right?