Mira Bilis, I only just came across your comment. That was what happened to my son, though the children were his. She cheated on him blatantly. While he was out at work her fancy man parked in the drive. The eldest child, who was only 4, had mentioned the odd thing but it was neighbours who told him what was going on. He flipped, she called the police and had him removed from the house. And that was it. She wouldn't let him see the children, he had a breakdown and eventually lost his job, attempted suicide. I recently had a new door lock and the young man who fitted it was having the same problem with access to his children. He gave me leaflets about a group that fights for Father's Rights that I shall be giving to my son this week, but by now the children's minds have been poisoned. Yes, women can be bitches.

The law usually works in favour of the woman here in WA.  Hubby was the main breadwinner, providing for his first wife and her two children by her first husband.  They then had a child together, so he had to provide for three children.  Then she decided to cheat on him and have an affair.  Then she kicked him out.  Even though she committed adultery and didn't have a regular job, she still won custody of the kids and got to keep the house etc.  Hubby was left with the clothes on his back and his car.  That was it.  Women can be complete and utter bitches just as easily as men can be complete and utter bastards ... it works both ways.

Just saying.  :-)

Homely, it was 1983. I had a wonderful solicitor, Sue Massey. She told me to get receipts in MY name each month when I paid the mortgage. The property was in joint names and the first time I paid, in the local office, the clerk made out a receipt in both names. I said "Do you see HIM here paying you money?" She said it was "form" to make it out to joint names. I argued my point and from then on had no problem. All water under the bridge but I'm glad things have changed so that women get a fairer crack.

Good luck with the trials....... and packing!

MD, it just shines through in you! I can't imagine how difficult those times were for you, but am grateful that a judge saw fit to make an effort at making amends and meeting the ends of justice. And that was in the days when men still really had the upper hand. In the state in which I practice, it really didn't start changing until the late 1980s. Up until that time, no matter how much a woman contributed to the acquisition and maintenance of a property, the law of the land said that in a divorce the property belonged to whomever had their name on the title. Consequently, we had lots of military guys moving families to this state six months to one year before they planned on walking out, and putting all the property in their sole names. Thank goodness the legislature put a stop to that!

I will continue to keep in touch between tasks here. Sometimes, I need a little bit of relief from this insanity! Trial number one is over next Wednesday, then we settle on the house Thursday. Moving day is in May. 

Better get back to work!

Homely, you sum me up correctly, I AM an optimist and a can-do kind of gal! My first husband left when our children were 8 and 9 years old. He paid no maintenance and stopped paying the mortgage after 3 months. The first I knew of that was when I received a letter from the mortgage company telling me I was in arrears. Hubby thought I would be forced to agree to sell the house so that he could have his half. As well as my job, I became a self employed lecturer on nutrition, taking 3 classes a week. I had to take my children with me but they were very well behaved. I cleared my arrears, kept my mortgage up to date, raised my children and when it came to court about the division of property, the judge said that my husband's name was to be struck from the deeds within 28 days and that the property was all mine. In my darkest days I would say to my kids "There MUST be a way," and there was. You just have to believe it.

I hope your move goes as smoothly as possible and that you still chat with us during your trials.

MD, I like you because you are an optimist and can-do kind of gal, being willing to take either type of bacon! It was, indeed, a quality spring break. It was much needed for our souls after this winter, and it was an excellent break before the heavy duty part of my packing for the move starts (which would be starting today!), and two big trials I have coming up this month and next. I'm pretty sure it was the best vacation I've ever had, and it will sustain me through the next eight weeks, which are fairly certain to be hellish. Cheers!

Homely, that sounds like a quality Spring Break, a choice of soft or crispy bacon!  I'm a crispy bacon fan but at the moment I'd happily eat either as I have neither!!!!

Hi, Ladies! Mira, I do most of my shopping at Whole Foods. They are putting one in just at the end of our street right now. Of course, I'm moving away before it is finished, but let's hope it boosts my property value ;-)

Actually, we are fortunate to have a wealth of "alternative" markets in our area, as well as farmer's markets. I usually don't have too much trouble finding the odd ingredient. It's funny to think how differently we prepare food these days compared to my meat and potatoes upbringing!

Oh, and MD, you'll enjoy this - we've just returned from a Spring Break trip on which we were in the company of many Brits and continental Europeans. The food selections to serve all our varied tastes were quite interesting - especially the fact that the breakfasts included the option of either soft or crispy bacon!

Mira.................. what a find!  Wiltshire bacon!  And it's freephone!

Oh wow ... http://www.britishbacon.com/  ... I may have to do some pricing on this! Yum!   :-)

French bacon is soooo thin. You just can't do a decent buttie with it!

The closest thing to British bacon here is Canadian bacon ... not bad but still not quite the same.  ;-)

Mira Bilis, I was surpised to find that it's impossible to get proper bacon in France. At first, when we visited England, we would get our friends to freeze bacon for us which we would take back to France in an ice box. In later years we just didn't bother. As you say, you improvise. Another shock horror deprivation for me was ........ French do not do pork scratchings. However, you CAN get duck scratchings. Absolutely no comparison!

I do enjoy cooking MD.  I love experimenting and trying out new recipes ... and living out here comes with its own set of challenges when it comes to obtaining certain ingredients ... often I have to improvise, but it's very rewarding when things turn out well.  :-)

Mira, you have put many excellent food links, which I've bookmarked. The pasta bake one is a favourite, so many simple recipes. I get the impression that you enjoy food and cooking. I enjoy food but I like the easiest recipes possible!

LOL MD ... I aim to please ... really!  ;-P

Homely ... I love Whole Foods Market ...  http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/   Unfortunately our nearest one is in Seattle, so we usually combine a trip to Whole Foods with a visit to IKEA, about twice a year.  :-)

Homely, you think I'M a terrible influence ....... Mira Bilis got me to buy some pork pie so that I could tell her how delicious it was! Not that I needed much persuading.  :)   When we lived in France my husband craved cheddar cheese. The French equivalent is Cantal, good but not quite the same. I loved all the French cheese, stinky ones, the lot.

Charolais is the best beef ever. It is originally from the Charolles area of France. When you buy meat in France, the label tells you the name of the farm where the animal came from and the address of the abattoir. Likewise, the tastiest chickens (for me) are cornfed and the label tells you the farm, abattoir and the age of the chicken. It sounds cruel but 49 days old chickens are divine.

And now I'm thinking "What shall I eat?????"

Green thumbs clickety-click.  ;-)

Mira, you are positively EVIL with that cheese tray picture! It all looks soooo good. We are really fortunate here to have a Whole Foods Market that stocks a lot of English cheeses. My fridge almost always is stocked with some little bits of Stilton and Wensleydale. Since visiting the North, we seem to always want the local cheese from there!

Now now, MD, you have me wishing for sheep so I can watch them play. You are a terrible influence. We know the current owners of the new house, and their sons, now away at college and medical school, used to name the cows and petted them all the time.

When I was in law school I worked at a horse farm and the cows were the bane of our existence. The'd break out from the neighboring farm and would always tear a hole in the fence in the process. The horses inevitably found it and off through the countryside we'd have to go and round them all up again. One of the neighboring farms had Charolais cattle - have you seen them? They are huge, white beasts. Well, one day a LOT of them got out, and we found them in our lane surrounding one of our cars, just licking, licking, licking away at it. Took forever to get it clean again!

A beautiful place to visit with Google Streetview.