Well, we are hopefully coming to a place where we can actually DO something. Our lawyer sent a second and final letter telling our neighbor what OUR rights are and he has one week (which is almost up) to remove his fence from our driveway. After that, we have the right to remove it ourselves (after the judge signs the "breach of the peace" form) and put in a cattle guard and he won't be able to stop us. It has been a real battle just trying to get out of our own driveway. And mjowest....I most certainly remember that "HE" is a human being, even though he never acts like one or treats us like we are. I have been extremely patient with this man, but my patience is wearing out fast. I don't think our neighbor understands the golden rule concept or the simple concept of courtesy, so I don't feel as though I need to be a doormat for him. When you're doing what's right, sometimes it can get messy I guess, but we have tried to be people of integrity through this whole process. I appreciate everyone's prayers and support! You guys are the best.

Well it has been a while since I updated everyone on my personal journey through hell. It means a lot that when I go places and bump into any of you guys that you ask how the situation is going. First off, you Care! and second of all - you read what I write! It means a lot. Dad has declined further. He just now got transfered back the acute care facility where I believe a lot of the past postings took place. He begs to go home. He is finally paying attention to the bad news details. They say that patients focus on the sugar coating and ignore the uncomfortable stuff until it is way late in the game and then they act like it is all new to them. On the one hand I am dang glad I ain't the one there holding his hand, but on the other I am sad for my brother and sister who are there - more than likely answering the same questions over and over every day to both my dad and my mom. They are looking into Hospice care since it is paid for by insurance. As I understand it, all you need to qualify is a 6 month life expectancy. Once that is granted, you can recieve care at home even if it means round the clock nursing care (which is what he needs) and it doesn't matter what happens at six months, people have been in the system for years. The current dispute is over where to be buried. My dad is from this teeny tiny dustbowl town in western Oklahoma. A place that just screams 'prairie', surrounded by wheat fields and cattle with an occasional oil derrick. A place so flat you can sit on your front porch and watch your dog run away, run away clear to the next county!! I don't want to live there but I sure do like to visit it. So I would enjoy that drive once a year. Evidentally this place doesn't have the same appeal to my mother. She would rather have him buried in the town where they live now. Odd how we attach ourselves to places. Our family has lived in five states (and that's just the ones I remember! Lord knows how many there were before the kids were born), and two prefectures in Japan where I grew up. Guess this makes a good case for cremation. The only way you can possibly sprinkle yourself from one end of the country to the other. Since he seems to be one of those long lingering death sorta guys, nobody knows how long this could go on. The doctors are baffled that he persists today. He isn't uncomfortable, he isn't in pain, for part of the day he is alert and talkative. My brother is exhausted and wants someone else to swoop in and make all the decisions. He doesn't want anything blame-able to be tied to something he said or did. My sister is a realist. She sees that this isn't going to end well or soon. She just wants my dad to go home while he can participate in the house and activities there. Once he gets further diminished she won't care if he is placed in an institution. Right now, none of us can give him the medical care and cleaning that he needs. The only option would be to hire a live in 24 hour nurse. They only have the money to do that for a few months but by then he may qualify for hospice care. He is concerned about spending all his money instead of leaving any of it to us kids. Our answer is to ask him once again to draw us a map to the buried treasure in the backyard. We know its out there, somewhere, or maybe it was the yard in Fort Worth?

I don't work in this sector but I find it really odd that if your order was conditional on the sample that they wouldn't have checked the sample first? They have only themselves to blame for this so that they are trying to now extort money from you is just too much. If you have to go to a lawyer you are gong to need to map thngs out so I would start creating a timeline now of when you met, how long, what transpired, when money changed hands anything where you spoke or dealt with them. I tend to think the best defense is a good offense so I would send a registered letter (I would limit in person or phone conversations at this point) outlining what your expectation are for a successful outcome (full refund and a deadline to recieve it - cashier's cheque only) and once you receive that you would be pleased on receipt of an itemized accounting to compensate them for their time in a manner consistent with fair industry practice. Letter should be polite and stress that the situation emerged out of circumstances of which you had no control. If it isn't resolved by the deadline you indicate then you will have to look into the other avenues of recourse available to you. Stressing of course that you don't want to have to do that. Run it by your Uncle (I have drafted the odd one of these and less is usually more). Once you start creating written reasonable correspondence any BS they claim will be secondary if you have to go to court (is the amount small enough for small claims in your state?). Best of luck.

So sorry Raehelen!!!! It looks like it's not such a great week after all....for both of us. Today, the change order was brought to me to sign and guess what...they want me to pay an additional $371 for the 6" pullouts w/filler overlay (the cost over the 9" cabinets). I refused to sign it and called my KD. Her stance is that I'm getting more functional cabinets so I should be willing to pay the difference and that my only other alternative is non-functional fillers. Needless to say, we are steaming! I reminded her of our conversation last week when she stated that she would talk to her management about "marking down" the pullouts w/the overlay so they would be the same as the cabinets, but she seems pretty insistent that the best I will be able to do is MAYBE split the difference. None of these alternatives are acceptable at this point. She insisted that I have to sign the change order before she can order the products and that we can't get moving until that is done. She said we could work it out later at the end of the project. HOWEVER, the change order specifically says that we agree to pay the difference so I refuse to sign it b/c I know it will come back to haunt us in the end! Next, she tells me that the contractor thinks the Message Center niche in the pantry wall won't work b/c there won't be anything to attach the inside pantry shelves to. First of all, they aren't putting in the shelves, we are...so that's not their problem. Secondly, I explained to her that we already know how we're going to handle the shelves and they will be more than strong enough. So now she says she has to talk to the contractor again. So, with all this happening today, I got on the phone to call the Customer Rep who was supposed to be at our meeting last week but was too ill to attend. It turns out our KD told her that we had agreed to pay the difference...I told her that was definitely NOT the case and that we had said we did not want to pay another cent for our cabinets. I also explained that we have now lost 21" in base cabinetry plus our Message Center, and that b/c our pantry is now smaller in the one direction that we now have a smaller FR doorway than was planned or wanted. I pretty much unloaded all the problems we had. She now wants to talk to our KD and KD's manager and plans to come out Friday AM w/the contractor to see what's up. She told me she thought we only had two minor measuring problems. BTW...it turns out the Customer Rep is actually the Zone Manager. I'm hoping that my refusal to sign the c/o will give me some leverage since it appears it is holding up the project. They REALLY want to get moving. I have had it now...and I am now on the warpath (so to speak)...no more "Mr. Nice Guy" (my DH's words!)