First, I think you need to strengthen your health care system, so that people who are so delusional as to think that those who fall victim to torture and oppression have somehow deserved it and should be nuked, can have adequate mental health care, including institutional mental health care, where most obviously necessary.

Around here dinner means noon meal, but they're wrong. Lunch is the noon meal. Dinner is supper, which is also dinner. Both are in the evening.

I had massage therapy for a while after getting some medical treatments that left me feeling very rough and ragged. She was very helpful and was also able to give me some good advice for managing some of the after effects so that I could sleep better and get through my day better. I would recommend giving it a try.

Who is *not* a fan of Hermès scarves? :001_wub: If only I had the $$!

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DisneyWorld is a bittersweet childhood memory for me. At this point in my life, it's not feasible to ever go again, but I will always remember my parents' laughter and joy when they took us there as kids many times (former FL resident). It's one of those things that makes me happy and breaks my heart at the same time. I miss them, but going there would just make it that much more sharp a loss.

That's a good point.

I hear you, and agree, but.. It's not just restaurants that use mechanically separated, ammonia treated meat products. And, Beef Products, Inc. is only one of the producers of this type of meat. In the US, you can find it in many pre-made chicken and beef products -- chicken nuggets and strips, pre-made burgers and meatballs, pre-made appetizers of all kinds. You can also find it in some brands of pre-ground beef (hamburger). If you see the words "finely textured beef" or "boneless lean beef trimmings" on the packaging, that is mechanically separated, ammonia treated meat. It is true that use of such meat is less so now than 5 and more years ago when it was ubiquitous, but it is still rather prevalent. In Canada and many other countries where food regulations are more conservative, this type of meat is banned and manufacturers of food products cannot import any product that contains it.

I was trying to keep it as open to interpretation as possible. Everyone's situation is their own. You get to define what love or like means to you and whether or not that's part of your own marriage. What I wanted to get at, and what I think has been very honestly displayed here, are the reasons that keep people in a marriage where those things, in their definition, is missing. I don't pretend to know what love is supposed to look like for anyone else. Ditto for liking a person.

I will edit that into the post. Don't like or don't love... why stay? That's what I'm curious about here.

My take is that he should be well informed of realities, and if he still wants to give it a go, then do it. While my time spent having a professional stage career had me in the poorhouse and working like a dog's dog, I don't regret it. I learned a lot about life, the real world, and how to survive with my self-esteem intact. Strong stuff, that. That said, while I would not dissuade him, there are some pursuits that would truly disappoint me. I'd still love him, but there are some things that would make me wonder wtf.

Same goes for acting/theatre and music. Talent is the last thing you need to survive. And, I mean survive in all the ways. It's all cutes and roses and 'aren't you so talented' when they're kids, but as adults, life as an actor is brutal.

My mom put together a box of basic kitchen gadgets and a small set of 2 saucepans and a fry pan for me for my first apartment. Best. Thing. Ever. It was stuff like a can opener, wooden spoons, spatula, potato peeler, box grater, one of those plastic lemon juicer thingies... stuff like that. It was all those things that you need, but don't always think to have around.

This is a completely anonymous poll, and you can select more than one. I am interested in reasons why people stay with spouses they don't love or don't like. I am NOT talking about cases of abuse. That is an entirely different thing. What I am interested in knowing about is with people who no longer love or like their spouse, but choose to remain married. Why do you do it? If you feel inclined to share further, please do, and know that there will be no judgment coming from me. I appreciate the insights. Thank you in advance!

Well, they all gather around and inspect his work while he's doing it. I think one of them is the foreman. I suspect the calico.

For this chore, there's no difference. We both do the dishes and wiping down tables, counters, etc. This holds true for just about any chores in our family. Everyone does chores. Everyone pitches in fairly. There are some chores, though, that people have kind of "claimed" over the years. I'm the only one who does windows, but I am clear that I like it that way. Only husband takes out the recycling and trash, but he is clear that he likes it that way. Only son cleans the cats' litter boxes. I am not sure if he likes it that way, but the cats are very clear that he is the only one who can do it to their liking. :laugh:

That's my boy, too. Doesn't want a party, but he would like to go do something with his dad and me. I'm a little surprised. He does enjoy a party usually, but maybe he's like me and doesn't like fuss when he's the centre of it.

Sometimes you have to be the bossy one and just say "no! There will be no party. She wants x and that's what's happening." And then you go ahead and be the best Miss BossyPants you can be and organize what she does want. FWIW, I detest parties for me. I like parties for anyone else who wants a party to be thrown for them. I'll party all day and all night for anyone else. But, if you throw me a party, I'm out that door in a heart beat. All my family and friends know this. I'd consider it a real slap in the face if anyone did that to me.

"Well, bless your heart, darlin' for waving your big 'ol bigot flag so high, there's no one going to miss that signal!" Accompany with steely, withering glare and sharply raised eyebrow. It works. True fact.

And this, my friends, is the post where Amber won the internet. :gnorsi:

It must be! It is cute, I suppose -- almost perfectly symmetrical button nose. When I was acting, I used to get asked more often. I remember one time when a certain notorious fellow actor flew into a rage because I wouldn't share my plastic surgeon with her. I finally just repeated the name of one that I'd heard before, and then she scoffed at me and declared that there was no way he'd have been able to do that and that I was a truly awful human being for lying to her twice. Oh well! Sometimes you just can't win!

Shortly after I moved here, an elderly woman I barely knew shared her views on race with me and said, "but you know better than me, I guess, since you're from one of those (racial slur)-filled states." She said this like we were old racist buddies or something. I was so appalled, I was speechless, too. But, I never forgot what she said and I held a very low opinion of her until she died. Well, even after she died, too. She was really horrible.

Ha! Yes, people get weird about tall people. My whole FOO is very tall. My mother was just a hair shorter than me and I am 6' tall. My father was 6' 5" and kind of shrunk a bit as he got a lot older, but still when he passed away, they couldn't fit him in a regular coffin. My brother is the tallest at 6' 10" which he reached about mid-highschool years. I remember once going out with my family for supper (all of us were adults at the time), and a little boy stared at us as we were walking in to be seated. After we sat down near his family's table, he darted over (much to his mother's displeasure) and asked us if he could have our autographs. When his mother swept him away, he said, "they're real, Mommy! The giants are real!" He sounded so happy! :D

The most frequest weird thing I get asked in public is "who did your nose?" If I had a dollar for every time I've been asked that, I'd have a tidy retirement savings by now, I'm sure. :laugh: FWIW, my standard response is "my parents," which is the truth. It's all natural.

No. The farm is a 5th generation (so far) family farm and is in his name only.