[Tax-chick]

Y'all must have had sturdy furniture! We have little wire shelves that probably wouldn't even hold skinny Pat.

[AnAmericanMother]

The shelves in my closet were wood, framed up like a bookshelf. They filled the whole back of the closet and went up to the ceiling (the closets were quite deep - mom and dad built their own house.) Only problem was, the closets had those wooden sliding doors on tracks, and when I jumped down off the higher shelves I tended to knock the door out of the tracks. < LOUD CRASHING NOISE >

Dad still is an excellent carpenter, has always liked building things. He and mom panelled the entire inside of the house (cypress tongue and groove downstairs, pine upstairs), he built all the kitchen cabinets and the "entertainment center" (except that wasn't what it was called then) in the living room, plus stuff like chairs and bookcases when somebody needed one.

They sold their house when the city taxes got too high -- and some fool wrecked it out (it was an architect-designed contemporary) to build a Monster Mansion.

[Froufrou]

I can't imagine feeding and caring for 8! You must be wonder woman! I had only one and she STILL gives me a hard time [but I love her dearly!]