Does it look weird to have dark grout on the floor and white on the walls? Not at all. Of course, you don't want to go DARK gray for the floor tile. something like a silver, or SOFT gray will still really stand out. If you go TOO dark, it'll tend to overpower the floor.

Here, I'll just paste what I wrote over on the other side, and expand a little. [S]noring was part of the equation, but not the only reason DH had surgery (to be technical: septoplasty, turbinate reduction, tonsillectomy, partial resection of upper palate soft tissue). He had frequent rounds of tonsillitis and sinus infections that often spread to ear infections (which meant antibiotics that trashed his gut for weeks no matter how much acidophilus he took), difficulty breathing through his nose, and airway constriction from swelling in the excessive soft tissue in the upper palate as well as the tonsils when he got a cold or hay fever. And yes, he snored to shake the rafters. Medications and other interventions weren't doing the job and he was miserable - and I wasn't too thrilled with the situation either - so he went the surgical route. However... There is NO guarantee of a cure or even an improvement, it's not reversible, and there can be side effects like dry nose/throat (true for DH, he doesn't go anywhere without his saline nasal spray and throat drops anymore, and I have to go buy a humidifier tomorrow... we have one built into the heating system but it doesn't get enough humidity into the bedroom), voice changes, taste changes (and I don't mean suddenly preferring gingham to toile!), difficulty swallowing. I am enjoying the quiet bedroom but I also know what it took to get it. Have your household's snorer get a sleep study and be evaluated by an ENT, or ideally a few different ones. Many snorers have sleep apnea at dangerous levels (everyone has a few apneic episodes per night) which can have serious health ramifications. Like heart attack and stroke kind of serious. Surgery is usually the last resort for treating sleep apnea, typically when other routes like oral appliances and CPAP machines fail, because it's not reversible and it's not guaranteed to work. However, some snorers do not have what would be considered diagnosable sleep apnea and are just plain loud sleepers (or have other contributing issues, like Sue's DH's polyps). DH's apnea episode count was so close to normal that he barely qualified for a diagnosis so our insurance would cover the surgery (thanks, Doc!); surgery specifically for snoring not accompanied by a diagnosis of sleep apnea is typically considered elective by insurers. However, I don't think there's much they can do for the dog. LOL (My pooch has begun to snore as he gets older - he's 9, middle-aged for a Keeshond - and it sounds so funny.)

Thank you all for your good suggestions. They are all thoughtful and sensible. I wish I could take your advice. I hate to sound like I'm just whining and not willing to try but there are reasons why some things won't work very well. Coolmama, we do have three sweet dogs and they are very dear to me. They are outside dogs and that's good for them because they have lots of room to romp and play but they are not close by like a house dog would be. They are supposed to be guard dogs but they are a little too quick to make friends to be really good at it. I don't care because I love them anyway. Close1972, I would be happy to talk with a counselor but I'm afraid I just can't afford it. My insurance wouldn't cover it and I don't know when I would be able to make an appointment. Do those people work on weekends? The same applies to the cleaning service, Monablair. My job doesn't pay very well although it is the best I can hope for in this area. Since I've been working there I've gotten a raise of 35 cents an hour but my health insurance premiums have gone up about $25 a week. So I'm gradually working my way out of a paycheck. I don't have any retirement plan and will just have to work til I can't work any more. There isn't any possibility to retire for me. I'm just glad that my husband could. He has worked even longer than I have starting with picking cotton and potatoes when he was only 6. I am really glad for him to have the chance to play a little although it would be really nice if he could see that it is hard for me to carry so much of the work at home when you think of my heavy work schedule. At least he isn't one of those husbands who complains that I don't do more! Most work nights I don't cook. We just snack if we are hungry. He is a good cook but he doesn't get around to it and I'm usually so tired by the time I get home that I am not hungry anyway. Thank goodness for that. If I had to stand over a stove after the days I put in I would really get upset. Popi, I'm sure exercise would be good for me. I do better in the summer when I do more in the garden. In winter my arthritis really gives me fits. Exercise would be good for that, too, though and I should do more. We live WAY out in the country so there isn't really any neighborhood to walk in. I don't like to even go outside the fence to the mailbox on account of stray dogs and such but there is room inside the fence to take a turn through the woods. I'm lazy I guess. I just hope housework counts as exercise. You are right about getting down on account of dwelling on this problem a lot. I try to fight it but I do get blue when I think too much about myself and how things are not the way I thought they would be at this time in my life. I have had a hard time with depression in my life and sure don't want to get there again. In a way I guess it is a good thing that I have such a stressful job that keeps my mind completely busy so much of the time. At least that's eight or nine hours a day when I'm not thinking of myself. As for your questions, Popi and Monablair, I've been with my husband for about 15 or 16 years. We have been married for 13 years but we were friends before that. We used to spend a lot of time together and had a lot of fun. I honestly thought we would always be like that. We both worked in the yard or on projects in the house. We cooked together and made jams and candies and all kinds of things. We used to go out to eat often or to listen to music or see movies. It's been at least 5 years since we went to a movie. But I am completely committed to the marriage. I would never cheat on him and I don't think he would cheat on me. I promised to stay with him in good times and bad so there is no reason for me to quit just because things are not as I would like. I'm sure you are all right about trying to find ways to make friends and have fun things to do sometimes. It is just really hard to find time and money to do that. I can't see to drive at night and it's such a long drive to town that I don't even do that every weekend. And weekends are so filled up already. I do thank all of you for your suggestions. I need to think about them some more and try to figure out some way to make some of them work.

There were so many funny stories posted years ago. I'd be laughing until the tears were rolling. Anyone remember Marlin, the lady from Cuba who became a US citizen? Her posts and Dottie's were hysterical.