I'd like to know how the realtors figured out how to write this up. A home that is ugly is usually listed as needing "tlc" or we use the word "potential", but really, what can one say about this? This is the largest collection of ugly I have ever seen. One almost had to work hard at it to make everything come out so awful. I noticed that the sink in the red bathroom and the 2nd floor ballroom floor were not so bad, but seriously, everything else was! The tiger/woman picture was nightmare inducing. I had always wanted a fireplace in my bedroom, but now I am cured of that thought thanks to these poor examples. I don't know if I would laugh or cry if that were my house. One would need a huge sense of humor to get through the day....

Wow....what an amazing list of people.... too many of them no longer with us or active here. It is nice to remember some of their names and their struggles that we shared. Thanks for the memories.

Even though my marriage was over after just under 10 years, I still think we did the wedding just right. We were married at Niagara Falls with just our families. Yes, it was a destination wedding but we weren't requiring anyone to come. We were eloping and if our family wanted to be there they were welcome to be there. We knew it wasn't a financial hardship on anyone except maybe my cheap FIL but my MIL was thrilled because it was the only real 'vacation' she ever had. I don't think she's ever even been to the beach and she is over 60 (and she lives within just a few hours of the beach!) The weather was beautiful and everyone had a good time. We were married outside on the American side of the falls and my parents paid for dinner in a private room at the Red Coach Inn. The kids did the touristy stuff, the adults got to gamble at the casino. My sister was able to bring her dog who is part of our family. It was just a great, fun and relaxing weekend. My cousin had a HUGE fancy wedding and her marriage lasted less than a year. I have never seen so many gifts at a bridal shower. I just feel sad that she wasted that on her first husband since she has a great marriage with her second husband and they didn't do a big thing since, well, it just didn't seem right after the first wedding. Actually I have at least three cousins who had VERY short marriages after big weddings. Our generation just hasn't been very lucky in that respect, no matter how big the wedding was.

annpanagain, re your earlier comments on library closures, it turned out that the village we moved to in July lost its local library in April, part of cutbacks that saw 20% of libraries in the county council closed. There is a monthly mobile library service to the village. I am probably fortunate in that the county town is only 3 miles away and the central library there, readily accessible as I drive, is well stocked. After joining I came away with 3 books. The first, which I have already finished, was by a new author to me - Giles Kristian, with Raven Blood Eye, the first of a trilogy about Vikings' expansions into England. The other 2 were crime novels - 4th of July by James Patterson, a women's murder club offering; and a gentler The Coniston Case by Rebecca Tope, the third in her Lake District trilogy. I am looking forward to making good use of this library facility and saving myself a fortune. I have read over 50 books already this year and do not even want to think how much I have spent.