I only want a front door!!

This post is as simple as the title.  I only want a front door!!!  As I have written about before, we bought a 1950's property that needed work about a year ago.  In that time we have transformed the inside and it is nearly a proper home.  Today I gave a deposit for the flooring and we hope to have some laid by Christmas.  We are rushing a little bit now because it is getting colder.  Without the floors covered, warm air is leaving the house faster than the radiators can pump it in.  The front door is another fly in the ointment. It is old and lets in a lot of cold air too.  I thought I would refurbish it and see if it helped.  I was sanding it back and on reaching the bottom panel, I discovered that it was rotten all the way through; so in-repairable.  This is a shame on 2 levels, one, because it is a lovely door and two, I now need to find the money for something else!

This task of door hunting is proving very difficult for a couple of reasons.  Our door is an odd size - or so I am told by the carpenter - it is a large door.  I do not want to reduce the door as that means messing with the frame and costing more.  I have looked on ebay, googled it and checked many other places and it seems that I need to spend a large amount, just on the door.  Plus those doors are unglazed and so glazing would be on top.  I have found some beautiful doors but they do not seem to come in the size I need.

After paying out for the flooring we do not have the funds at the moment to get a new door.  Plus some of the flooring cannot be laid until the door is done so it is a catch 22 situation.

Who would have thought that looking for a solid wood door with some glazing panels would be so difficult?

My plan is simple, I need to try harder to fix this.  If there are any door people out there who supply wood doors, please contact me.  On the same note, if anyone needs some odd jobs done that I can complete from home, let me know!  One way or the other, I want to try and get the front door sorted.

Thank you in advance.

Toys going too far?.....

I was pottering away on the computer the other day, had a look at facebook where someone I knew I had written about their disgust of a new toy.  At this stage I should tell you about the toy so that you are aware from the start.  There is a new doll on the market which comes with a breastfeeding bra to enable the child to put on the bra and feed her doll.  Think about this before you read on....

On the face of it, the toy could be seen as just that, a toy. I feel, however, maybe it goes a tad too far but not for the same reasons as others.  My friend was worried that this is why we have a problem with teenage pregnancies.  I disagree. I  cannot see that a doll could increase or decrease teenage pregnancies.  Many children try to mimic their mothers while she feeds siblings does this mean we are all to blame?  What I fear is that giving the child an actual feeding bra has taken the concept too far.  Children are happy with fake bottles and the make believe that that conjures up for them.  They do not need to know or re-enact anything more than that.

The issue of teenage pregnancies is a complex one.  I really disagree that dolls can affect this as I said above.  What I fear is that people/parents are passing the blame too much.  As a parent it is your responsibility along with schools, (and I mean along with) to educate your child.  Learning things from an early age with take away the mystical world of intimate relationships making the child less likely to start too early.  If your child does fall pregnant as a teen you need to deal with it. It should not be seen as failure on anybody's part.  You as the parent are there to support and educate your child through whatever life throws at them.  Don't judge them and don't try and find reason to blame someone. 

Back to toys in general, there are many toys on the market that 'go too far' but our children have grown up faster than we did.  Who would have known that children as young as 5 would use computers?! We need to move forward with the next generation.  We also need to make sure that our children get to be children even if that is with a computer or games consoles.  Different generations, different attitudes.  Just don't let yourself get carried away with advertising.  If you do not like the look of a toy, don't buy it.  Simple.