Not sure what the deal is with pork - all of our dogs have always been given table scraps that include pork and since they live to ripe old ages of 13 or 14, it does not seem to have been a problem for us. Our vet is aware of everything we feed our dogs and has issued cautions about several of the things on the list linked above, but those are things we know to avoid. When I mix any vegetables in with food for my dog, he manages to pick them out - he's allergic to green, it seems! Oakley I'm not seeing cattle dog in that mix - doesn't mean it's not part of the mix but just curious what part you think is cattle dog-like? Boone looks to be 100% mutt to me - not a bad thing at all. I read somewhere long ago that if all dogs were allowed to interbreed until they were all the same, they'd have markings like your Boone, be about 45 lbs, and have an upward curled tail. No idea if there's any basis in fact in that but it stuck with me! One other thing - we've had success training our dogs in regards to food by taking it away while they are eating. The breeder of our Dalmatian told us to challenge our dog with food regularly - while he's eating, reach down and take the bowl away - if he gives it up without any challenge, praise him and give it right back. We also had our sons do that when they were very little so the dog treated them as alpha, not just us. We give our dogs a treat, then reach to his mouth and take it away - the dog should not fight. In training our dogs, my DH and I and our kids take turns and get down on all fours, shoulder to shoulder with our dogs as they are eating and lower our heads to their bowl - nudge them out of the way and pretend to eat their food. They have to know from day one that we are top dog and submit to us and we've never had an issue with a dog challenging us or someone else. It's important to get them used to kids and never challenge them, but kids also need to learn 'dog manners' and not pull tails or ears, jump on them, etc. I have a hunch that Boone is a gentle soul and you're not going to have a bit of trouble with him. He just won the jackpot landing on our doorstep and doesn't even know it!

red lover, I bought the blancowave sink in the link for my pending remodel. Got a deal on ebay, so went ahead and bought it. After just looking at it lying there in the box for a few weeks whispering to me how much I would like to be using it, I finally caved and jerry-rigged an installation in the non-remodeled kitchen over the weekend. (It is an undermount sink, I have laminate counters, it is supposed to need a 42" sink base, I have 36 inches, the hole in the counter for the existing sink was totally the wrong size and shape, blah blah whatever. watch me make it work anyway). So far, I love it. The large side is big enough to hold my largest baking sheet, roasting pan, or largest skillet with handle; the small side is still big enough for a colander or stockpot. This is what I was doing with it Sunday. From January 26, 2012 Here is a link that might be useful: blancowave 42 double

Cheryl, DH has designed and built all of our cat trees. The first one we had was just a peeler core, wrapped with sisal twine, and with 2 carpeted shelves that were notched into the post. At that time, the cats were little and just loved to climb, so that was ideal for them to work out their energy. The second was just a series of posts and boxes that were carpeted and put together. That one was a pain to keep clean and after several years of wear and tear, it was done. The one we have right now is very simple, but the cats still love it. It is 5 alternating shelves- one to the left, then one to the right, then back to the left- so they could climb them more like stairs as they got older. The shelves are supported on one side by a narrow 2x4 frame, and a sisal wrapped peeler core on the other. We only carpeted the tops of the shelves on this one, and the cats were just fine with that. Our girl especially loves the top shelf that is up almost at ceiling level, it probably stays a little warmer up there and she can sleep soundly without worrying about being disturbed by anyone (she's very high strung). If you have someone in your life who has woodworking/construction experience, a cat tree can be pretty basic- just use your imagination. The real pain is if you decide to carpet the whole thing, it's like the worst upholstery job ever. That's why we opted with just stapling flat pieces of carpet to the tops of the shelves. Over the years we learned that our cats enjoyed just being up high, and climbing carpeted or twine wrapped posts most of all, so carpeting the outside of a box was just too much trouble. HTH, sorry to ramble.

I can certainly appreciate all the frustration contained in this thread. While I could regurgitate my angst with building our custom home that took about 8 months longer than the builder noted in the contract, I'll just get to the point at the end of our story. We knew going in we were going to be stretching ourselves financially. We'd become accustomed to having a certain amount of discretionary $$ to do what we liked, when we liked. We knew that was going to change, gave ourselves a 5 year 'scrimp plan' as we didn't want to 'scrimp' on building. As noted above, nothing seems to work out like planned, spent quite a bit more than planned but still within the 'plan'. Now 2 years into it and the reality of it is settling in, scrimping isn't fun. I'm a car guy and can not indulge that 'want' right now, our trips are shorter and closer to home, we can't always join the crowd on evenings out. I sometimes loose sight of the plan and get frustrated we're in this situation even though our eyes were wide open going in. I just have to step back for a moment and appreciate what we have and know that sticking to the plan is critical to opening up more opportunities in the future. Heck, only 3 years to go right?? Yep, gotta look at it that way or just get depressed. I love my house, my DW my kids and I don't even mind my 55 mile, 1 way commute to work (been doing that for almost 20 years, actually used to be longer). We've got our dream home on 30 acres in the country, what's to complain about? It's really easy to get jaded, to see only what's wrong, to lose sight of what's important, to give in to doubt and self loathing (why did I ever do this?). It's all temporary, life moves so fast the things that kept us awake at night last year are hard to recall this year, was it really worth all the lost sleep? Most situations work themselves out if you just keep in mind what you want. It's easy to give in to the negative, too easy, it's easy to lose sight of what you believe in, it's easy to be distracted by all the things that pop up in everyday life. Once in a while it's important to step away, take stock in your life, revisit the things that motivate you and keep you looking forward, reinvest in your mental well being, fortify yourself for the challenges ahead. Sometimes we have to see the 'wrong' thing through just so we can get to what we believe is 'right'. One thing I tell people is it's better to make a decision, be it right or wrong, than to procrastinate and worry something to the point your unable to do anything. If it's right you'll know it and move forward, if it's wrong, you'll learn why and make the necessary changes to make it work. I'm an electrical engineer, that sort of thinking keeps projects alive, promotes learning, and creates a feeling of accomplishment. Not everything is a home run but if you don't swing the bat you can't hit the ball.