oh wow!! You've already gone to closing?!!! How exciting. So happy for you. You must be so relieved. ❤️ edited to add... I just finished reading the rest of the thread.... you have a GREAT offer. Congratulations... closing is coming fast.

Most of ours have gone smoothly until the house we live in now. The previous owner also would never leave the house when we went to look at it... including during our home inspection. His wife was scheduled for surgery (we didn't know) so they did eventually leave. I should have realized that he was hiding a lot of problems with the house that the inspector picked up (and some he missed). He gave me control-freak vibes. When we went through the walk-through on closing day we were shocked that *nothing* from the yard had been cleaned up. I'm talking 3 sail-boat masts, 3 trailers (2 were boat trailers), lots of wood and lumber, lots of junk & insulation bats left over from a small metal shed that had been removed (it was full to the brim with junk). Four large metal tripod things that you put boats on to clean the bottom. I can't even remember what else. My realtor explained that it was customary to ask the sellers to put good-faith money in escrow until the stuff was cleared up. We decided on $1000 and went to closing. OMG - you'd a thought we'd ask for his first-born child. The 2 realtors and they were gone a long time to discuss this. Apparently, he was screaming and yelling at MY realtor for her gall to ask them to clean up their crap. They were so angry they wouldn't even sign the papers in the same room with us. If I'd known how badly they'd treated my realtor I would have walked from the deal. She told me later. They did give their realtor $600 to pay for removal (it cost more because one trailer was infested with wasps). I've since found, buried in the brush we've cleared out, more masts, motors, approx 50 feet of heavy chain, winces, drywall, metal rigging for sailboats,15 rusted saw blades, lots of empty caulk tubes. We realize now that he used his back-yard as a dump.

I skipped the Roundup and went for Crossbow. We moved into a house where the previous owner and the owner behind us did not take care of their property. We had weeds, vines, brambles...you name it ...all along the property line. I now know which OTC meds really work on poison ivy. 🙄 I bought Crossbow https://www.amazon.com/Southern-Ag-Specialty-Herbicide-Triclopyr/dp/B00D0JHB5K/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=crossbow+herbicide&qid=1558890958&s=gateway&sr=8-3 It's serious stuff but it works if you have large patches to deal with.

it's a beautiful video. Thanks you for sharing it.

I know it doesn't look like much... Some of you may remember my woes in getting my kitchen started with the contractor. Finally, we started demo last week. There's been an unexpected delay in delivery of the I-Beam so we're a bit on hold until next week. The good thing is I still have use of the stove, sink, and dishwasher until next week. The wood is just holding up the ceiling until the beam arrives...but the wall is GONE.

wow... I remember when you went to Italy. Welcome back - just in time for summer to hit to area.

I really love Alexander Scourby reading the KJV. It sounds like Gandalf is reading the Bible. I think you can still buy the DVDs, but someone posted it to Youtube, if you want to check it out first.

I've been thinking about this a lot because we've downsized. I would definitely have a multi-purpose room . I like the library idea, but I'd want it to also be a weaving room. right now my loom is in the TV room. It's too small to hold a couch/tv and my macomber loom and weaving supplies. My plan is to enlarge the space... once we have money to do so.

First I would get your thyroid checked. Sudden or early onset graying is one sign of hypothyroidism, as is hair loss. the wiry part is harder to "fix". Your texture will change. I love that my hair has more body. I use some anti-frizz products before I blow-dry my hair, but what really works the best is a straightener. I'll also use some leave-in argon oil products to help give it back its shine. You spray it on when your hair is still wet and then brush it through. Don't use too much or it'll look greasy. This is the product I use: https://www.amazon.com/One-Only-Argan-Spray-Treatment/dp/B005ZXH3OS/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=argan+oil+spray&qid=1558613961&s=gateway&sr=8-4

Darn - you just reminded me of another project we should be doing. Ours has not been properly organized since we moved in 18months ago. And it was a mess from the previous owner already. I keep telling DH we should take advantage of the mild days/evenings and get this started.

putting up a privacy fence (still waiting on a quote) fixing and enlarging a small almost unusable deck continue to try and reclaim the backyard- it's still a tangled messy place and I have the poison ivy to prove it 😞 continue to spread out the very large mound of wood chips from a tree we had taken down (it's as big as a small car!). paint, paint paint. (MB, kitchen, family room, sunroom)

I did not see the car when I was out tonight watering my plants. Hopefully, it was a one-off weirdness.

wow. That is crazy.

oh gosh, not sure exactly. They're all 1 acre lots so it's long but not crammed with houses. Maybe 20 houses total.

We did this with my youngest last year. Except we didn't go up and down the same street. We wandered through the neighborhood, going up several dead-end streets and coming back - once. But I agree, the stopping in front of my neighbor's house once they saw me was suspicious. If they were lost, they could have wound down their window and asked me for directions.

Last night I was helping my college daughter unpack her car after she'd arrived home from college. I noticed this car driving up the street (we live on a dead end). I only noticed it because it looks just like the car my contractor's wife drives (she's the designer) and it's not very common. Of course, today I've seen this car EVERYWHERE. LOL. We continue to unload the car and I see this car again, go up and then back down my street. So I begin to pay attention. Sometimes it stops at the intersection of my street (I live near the corner) ... then leaves and comes back and goes up toward the dead-end. Definitely odd behavior. I need to water my new plants in the front so I do that. I watch this car stop at the intersection of my street and sit there. Then it backs up and turns onto my street again and goes up.... then back down a few minutes later. This happens more than once. I see it go up one more time... and some of my new plants are by the mailbox, and I'm in mama-bear mode and annoyed enough that I go water my plants and STAY to wait for this car to come back. I want this person to know that I see them. I go there (it's getting pretty dark by this time). I ask my college daughter to come outside, just in case. Anyway, the car comes back down from the dead-end.. and stops about 1 house away when it sees me. It just sits there in front of my neighbor across the street's house, with its lights on. I tell daughter that I want to take the dog on a "walk" up the street, but she's on the verge of freaking out. So I just stay there at the road in front of my house - picking up sticks, etc. Chatting with my daughter. The car does not move. It stays where it is. It is too dark to see who is in the car. After about 10-15 min we decide to go back up to the house. Once we're walking closer to the house, the car drives away. I sit outside on the front porch prepared to take a photo but it never comes back. Hopefully, they got the message. The car was too nice for a druggy car (IMO). Plus, I don't think someone going to get drugs would troll the street...they'd go and leave. A friend thinks it was someone's Ex who was spying/stalking them (they're really bad at the spying part).

Goodness!! I would be so stressed out. Hoping for a quiet Tuesday for you.

I've been trying Gwynnie Bee and have been underwhelmed. You pick from a large selection of clothing and have them in your "closet" but what actually arrives is picked by them from your closet. For example, in the beginning, I was picking lots of stuff I liked and putting it in my closet. When it arrived it was really not the appropriate season... like sundresses in 50* weather. Stuff like that. I can have 2 items at home at a time but the turn-around seems a bit slow. Almost everything I've gotten has gone back within a day and you can let them know it's coming back so they can prepare your next box. Even so, I still only seem to get clothes about once a week. Most of the clothes are very office appropriate so they don't really work that well for me. I wanted to try it and see... but I'm not planning on renewing after my subscription runs out. I gave my oldest daughter LeTote for her birthday (last week). She's got her first job out of school and I thought she'd need some updating of her wardrobe.

Hate is a very strong word. I like most people I meet. Some I prefer to like from a distance 😉 Currently, there are 2 people in my life that I actively and strongly dislike. One is no longer part of my or my family's life. They created an awful situation for my family. I'm glad their hold on my family has gone to nill and I will be happy never to have to set eyes on them again. The other person I have to deal with on a semi-regular basis. I pray very often that they would move away. It's more than that they annoy me... I feel a very strong and passionate dislike. Part of me wishes that would go away and it wouldn't bother me so much and part of me thinks, "I'm rarely wrong about that gut feeling".

We used to use the old fashioned spring traps until someone here mentioned Rat Trap in a thread several years ago. I love my rat trap. It's been known to catch 5 mice one right after the other... on multiple occasions. But, they were little mice who were probably just venturing out ???

Praying this is the one.....

I don't know how old the author is but "The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra" is about a retired Indian police inspector in India. Not exactly about "days gone by" though.. but it is an older person. But for Memoirs I enjoyed: "An Irish Country Childhood" by Marrie Walsh "Call the Nurse: The True Stories of a Country Nurse on a Scotish Isle" by Mary MacLeod "Father and I Were Ranchers" by Moody

@moonflower - I understand. We had family members who would send us newspaper clippings (back in the day) with scare stories about any number of things we did that they disapproved of: homesbirthing, homeschooling, big families, a swimming pool (oh the horror). I don't think I could read the book if it's about child abuse. I just don't want that kind of reality running through my head.

praying for you.

@DawnM how frustrating!