I lost my Candy in Oct....we got Tootsie about seven days later. I had Candy for ten years before I Lost her...she was with me in college and got me through law school and the BAR exam before she left me. She really did...I study too much sometimes and she would just come and sit on my books and make me take a much needed break. Toots is not Candy and I still miss my baby but Toots has her own charm...like when she wiggles her butt when its feeding time or when she wants to lay and she grabs ALL of her toys. I think you just have to look at you new baby as her/his own "person", and remember that she hasn't gotten to know you yet either to be your perfect dog...she needs love right now just as you do. You have to let go of your grief, not forget your old dog, just think of the good times and don't dwell on the end. You said your new dog is a good dog...spend time with him and get to know the quirks and personality of your new family member. He can help you get over your grief if you allow him too. When Candy died I went into deep depression....its hard to sleep all day and cry when you have a bundle of love waiting for you and begging for attention.

I miss so many things that were so wonderful from my childhood. I lived on a small town street with a ton of kids. We had so much fun. We all walked to school together. Kids nowadays don't know what they are missing. I miss my grandma. I saw her for the last time on my wedding day, June 1, 1968. She died a week later. I miss my wonderful FIL. He was so much fun to sit and chat with. I wish my dad had been that way. I wish life would slow down. Everyone is in such a hurry. I can't go anywhere that someone doesn't have a phone hooked to their ear. They stand in the grocery isle. Please move aside!! I miss the drives in the countryside we used to take. I love taking the back roads instead of the super highways!! People don't have a clue what they are missing.

I can not even begin to imagine what you are feeling. Just the thought breaks my heart, brings tears to my eyes and makes me feel almost like I am suffocating. My Mother In Law lost her oldest son a few years before I met their family. Its been about 25 years ago now that he died. While most of the time, she does well and can talk about him just fine, a few months ago she had a really bad day. My Step mom lost her only son several years ago. Just a few months ago she said, "I have taken myself off of my anti-depressants." His birthday was last Thursday. She took the day off of work. Its only been a few short months for you. Bless your heart. ((((Jamie))))

Lavender Lass, I can't exactly speak to the cost/effort of having a garden tub pulled out ... but we did just pull out the tub in our girls' hall bath, and we replaced it with a walk-in shower (equal in size to the old, standard tub). Details: - They removed the old glass doors, tub surround, and plumbing fixtures. We talked briefly about doing the demolition ourselves -- my husband said jokingly, "I can destroy things", but we didn't follow through with that idea. We decided to pay. - They cut the old tub in half (so they could get it out) and threw it out in the yard. They told me that someone would probably steal it and haul it away for scrap, but that didn't happen -- at least I THINK the garbage men took it away. - The flooring underneath was good, but they installed a new concrete shower pan w/ a slope, then nice tile and all new plumbing fixtures and new pipes behind the new tile. They used a standard 3-4" "step over barrier" into the tub. - Finally, they finished it off with a new shower-sized glass door. I couldn't be happier with the results, and my girls like it -- they haven't used the tub since they were small children, and if they "get a hankering", we still have a tub in our bathroom. Total cost: About $2600 ... plus another $150 for tile. We plan to sell this house in another year or so, so I wanted to stay basic and inexpensive on the tile. Our walls are 12x12 in a simple varigated tan, and our floor is a 2x2 mosaic of tan shades -- inoffensive, appealing to buyers, coordinates with the tan tile floor we already had. The shower floor, though smaller than the wall area, made up over half the tile cost -- smaller tiles add up fast! You could easily spend $$$$$$ on tile without even trying. Choosing the larger tiles and a mosaic on mesh saved us money ... because our guys were able to install it faster. Total time: 2 full days They're coming back in early summer to do the same thing to the walk-in shower in my bathroom. If they make this into a slightly smaller version of my girls' shower, I'll be thrilled. I'll do one small thing differently: I'm going to have them install TWO niches (or one larger niche) for more in-shower storage; in retrospect, I wish I'd done that in my girls' bathroom.