I think the split units are great, but I think the OP is in a rental. Split installation requires cutting holes in the outer wall and in some cases pouring a concrete slab or installing a bracket or something for the unit to sit on. It's a fairly permanent installation with electric wiring work required and has to be done to code (inspections, permit, etc). Also, in my area these are rare. People are not used to seeing them. So if a house goes up for sale, the look of the split unit inside a room, no matter how small, can be a negative for a buyer in my area because these are not the norm around here. It's mainly central air and window units in older homes.

I would say it is very difficult to adapt it to single student use. I used the workbook with the teacher's guide, although it was for a younger grade (grade 3). I had to add a significant amount of extra materials such as a body atlas and other activity books (Scholastic and the like). I remember looking at higher grade books and deciding not to use it again.

Last year we bought two portable units because our window AC was too loud. We found them quieter, but very inefficient. We insulated the vent ducts and did everything our Google search results suggested, but our electric bill was nearly double its normal amount last summer. This year we have small GE window units with "quiet mode". They do indeed run pretty quietly, but we found that they freeze if we use quiet mode for any length of time. I mean, if you removed the front grill where the filter is, you would see a thin sheet of ice. Google told us this is because there is insufficient air flow inside the unit because the fan runs low. We are still using these, but now they are on Medium, e-save. It's louder than quiet mode, but not as loud as our previous window AC used to be.

I would tell my newbie homeschooler self not to join. I did join a local group my first year of homeschooling and attended a couple of meetings. I did not enjoy them because I quickly discovered that there was an unspoken hierarchy with number of years homeschooling being the top qualification to speak. Newbies such as myself were deemed to have pretty much nothing to contribute and were expected to smile, nod, and absorb the wisdom. I did not go back. This board has been a far better place for me. I've been a lurker for years and have learned nearly everything I know about homeschooling here. There are many points of view and we are all very opinionated, but as a whole, this board has been a place where ideas are welcome and one's "status" or years homeschooling or whatever is not a barrier to discussion.

I cut things up in the hand, toward the thumb/toward self most of the time. If I have a large amount of cutting to do, I use a cutting board, but my in-hand cutting is faster and more controlled in terms of size and thickness. When I was growing up, watching people do this terrified me, but now I don't even think about it. I am not at the level of skill I observed as a child though. I have a memory of watching a neighbor cut tomatoes and onion paper-thin in her hand for salad. It was a work of art. Now, here's something I haven't seen mentioned in this thread yet. I have a memory of (mostly men) cutting a loaf of bread, hug-style. I tried to Google images or videos of this, but wasn't successful. Basically, you grab a large crusty loaf, either a round one or an oblong one, wrap your non-dominant arm around it so it is anchored by your arm against your chest, and then use your dominant hand to cut a thick slice across, toward your body. You stop while the slice is still attached, but nearly cut through with maybe a quarter inch left. Then you pull the slice from the loaf. I only have this memory from childhood. I don't remember seeing anybody do this as a teen or as an adult. This would be a more rural community before the super widely available presliced bread in the shops. ETA I do use a vegetable peeler, but I am faster and more efficient at peeling with a paring knife.

Same here! I've actually gone back and forth thinking I should cancel because we've done fine as a family without a freezer. My husband made a very good point that we are more likely than not to lose power and that it is better to have shelf stable food on hand. I just want both. lol. It's only a small freezer anyway. I think I'll be happy to have one if it does come, but I'll also be fine if it doesn't.

Thank you! I mean, I hope it comes of course, but it's not something I strictly need.

Sears! We ordered our freezer last month and it hasn't come yet. but at least I was able to place an order. Ours is supposed to come in about two weeks now.

Amazon changes their prices all the time. They are pretty up front about that. There's nothing that can be done to prevent price changes. You can keep items in wish lists, which may make price changes a bit less visible, if that helps with the visual changes, but the prices will continue to change. Amazon is a business, and they use the tools they have to remain competitive. Pretty much all retailers change prices, just maybe not as frequently. Products go on sale, return to retail price, go on sale again with a different discount than before, etc. It's just business. Here is an article that explains the "how" a little bit more.

I haven't traveled to Japan, but in general here are some of the things I found useful to know when traveling overseas: - Polite phrases (obviously such as please and thank you) - Directions to bathroom/washroom - Compass directions (north, south, etc.) for navigation - Do you speak (language)? - Sizes /flavors/numbers to order food at fast food restaurants that don't use picture menus - main dish ingredients for sit down restaurants such as chicken, beef, etc. - how you wanted the dish cooked, especially if you have to be careful regarding allergens - sparkling water vs. flat water vs. mineral water - names for currency notes and coins as well as their values - knowing how to list any medical conditions (good to have a paper with this written out)

Much commiseration. I grew up in the hospitality culture where you would be offending a person by not accepting a gift of anything. Yet my grandmother forbade me from accepting anything food-related. So, here I was, a kid trying to politely say no repeatedly to an older neighbor who I'm sure was super offended but couldn't show it because I was a kid. Sigh. I wish I would have just taken the gift (usually dried fruit or nuts, yummy things I enjoyed) and not told my grandmother. Ah, live and learn. ETA Just to explain a little more. I wasn't allowed to eat anywhere, even my friends' homes. My grandmother's explanation was that if you accept a gift of food or eat elsewhere, it would broadcast to the world that your family could not afford to feed you. It was basically all about her.

Thank you! That is very helpful! *Off to Google some recipes.

And then there's Promite.... 😃 ETA Well would you look at that. There are more "mites" than I knew existed. There are probably more. What I am really curious about is the note about adding it to soup or casserole for extra flavor. What would that look like, anyone know? What kind of soup or other cooked dish would taste good or better with the addition of a yeast spread?

Agreeing with all that was said. I can't explain it as well as Amira and Lanny, but WhatsApp doesn't always mark messages read or a person being online or not in a reliable way. I only use it to chat with my mom who prefers it to other chat apps, and she often says why didn't you read X or why didn't you watch Y that I sent you. The thing is that sometimes I do and sometimes I don't, but the app doesn't mark it reliably.

Most of our packages get delivered without much issue, but there was this one package that showed as scanned in our city after traveling across most of the US... Then, the next day, when it was supposed to be delivered, it was back in the regional hub, and then it traveled for another week and got to Canada... And then it went back to our state, sat in the nearby port for a few days, and then was finally delivered.

I pretty much use biscuits from the can, baked on parchment paper and for less time than stated so that I don't burn them. This thread reminded me of an Atlantic article Why Most of America Is Terrible at Making Biscuits . I can bake many things from bread to cookies to ... well, many things. Biscuits are just beyond me no matter how simple a recipe is. Maybe it is the flour after all.

My CS degree is a BA because my school was not offering "S" degrees while I was an undergrad (they do now). I also have a MS CS (pure computer science, as in how to build an OS rather than applied). My BA CS degree included a ton of extras. I had to take a class each in 10 areas including things like archaeology, art history, intro to Islam/culture, and so on. I also had to take a foreign language, philosophy, and a bunch of other stuff. It was horribly difficult because on top of all those I was doing full on math like linear algebra plus calc-based physics plus a CS course plus... My cohort regularly had 18+ credits in a semester, and my highest load was 21 credits. So I would be spending hours in the lab trying to figure out UNIX-based C++ assignments while struggling to write that philosophy paper, and then memorizing Ancient Egyptian dynasty names, and then going to the physics lab or recitation. It was very, very difficult. Did I enjoy the liberal arts component? Well, some classes were wonderful, yes. Did I wish I could skip them all or only have to take maybe 2 of my choice? Oh definitely. The BA degree time requirements such as papers, reading, memorizing, researching primary sources are extremely time consuming. I had to go to a museum for one class, which I loved, but it took so many extra hours with travel! I was very driven and efficient in my executive skills. Otherwise, I would have crashed and burned right in the first semester and never came back. Be careful. He needs to understand just how much work that kind of a degree is. The time requirement outside of the classroom is huge. Huge.

What styles, materials, price range? Novica is a good site. It supports individual artists and the jewelry is largely hand made and usually affordable.

Would you consider wearing a supportive bra under the diaphanous garment? That would give you a lot more options. I think it would be easier to find a beautiful bra and a lovely diaphanous thing separately that would end up fitting better and be more comfortable. In general, I really like Freya and Fantasie. These are European brands, and they exist in just about every size (depending on style) from teeny to something like 44K. They are expensive, no doubt about it, but oh boy are they nice. They also make swim suits on band and cup size. I have some, and they are fantastic. In the US, I think Nordstrom sells them as well as some online retailers, but I don't think they sell directly from their own websites. I am not going to link anything here directly, but you can Google if you like. I would get a lovely bra and then a fairly inexpensive night garment from elsewhere, perhaps Amazon.

Agreeing with the others so far. I would not go at all, and if I absolutely had to go - such as to retrieve an item so priceless, fragile, and unique that it could not be replaced, I would only go alone or with one other driver. I would definitely under no circumstances take the family or rent an AirBnB. I would drive without stopping as much as possible, as in with our own non-perishable food and sleep in the car or at the most stay one night in a hotel. Retrieve the item(s), drive back ASAP. I would not fly, and definitely not with the family. I would not rent a vehicle, I would just drive my own there and back with all the safety precautions. Otherwise, I would either be contacting the school for shipping options or just calling it all a loss and buy brand new stuff when the time came.

I never used to, even when the vast majority of women in my circle wore full make-up. Now as I am getting older, I see my skin tone changing a bit and becoming more washed out. I put on make up for church and occasional dates with my husband. That would be tinted moisturizer with SPF, eye brightener (kind of like concealer but lighter), eyebrow color, a little bronzer instead of blush, a little powder that gives me a more even skin tone, and a bit of eye shadow. This takes about 4 to 5 minutes to apply, and eye shadow takes the most of it. Sometimes I put on a bit of mascara. I discovered that you can put on mascara base first, which is like a white cream, and it makes the mascara stick better and makes my short eyelashes look longer and just nicer. I have sensitive skin, but I found that Bobbi Brown brand works for me without giving me breakouts, and even the mascara doesn't bother me.

Microsoft is actually great at free training for their products. Here is the Excel area: If you like learning from books, I own this one. It starts out with basics and goes to fairly advanced topics. The book has a website where you download the practice files, and then you work with the practice files, modifying them as per instructions. LinkedIn Learning is legit, and it has a lot of Excel and just about any other tech learning courses you can think of. You can either get a subscription or buy individual courses.

I will look into this, thank you so much for responding!

Thank you, Jean, I will try this! I wonder if it helps with constipation/diarrhea or what the cause of that is.

Hello! My big Maine Coon boy (about 2 years old around 16 lbs) had a urinary obstruction toward the end of last year. He was unblocked, and the vet told me to only feed him urinary formula food and no other food or treats perpetually. He's been eating dry food before that - canned food was not even food to him. Now, he eats Purina One Urinary formula (dry) chicken and rice. It took about a month to convince him that canned cat food is something a cat should consider eating (this was five months ago). He now loves it - Fancy Feast grain-free pate (chicken and poultry varieties). Initially, the combination of the dry food for breakfast and canned for dinner was perfect. After a few weeks, he started getting looser and looser stools to the point of using the litter box many times with diarrhea. So we went back to dry food only. Here's the problem. Now he get loose stools after eating the canned food, even half of a single small 3 oz. can. Then, he takes about 2 weeks to get back to normal (mostly) with dry cat food only. After that, another week and he is constipated. I don't really know what to try, given the current situation with the virus, etc. I have at home the dry cat food, the canned Fancy Feast, and some canned Purina urinary wet food, which the cat previously ignored. I also have some cat probiotics I think. I have a can of pumpkin (pure pumpkin) also. He is currently constipated, but behaving normally - playing, coming for attention, good appetite, clear eyes, sleeping, not hiding, etc. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I will take him to the vet if necessary, but funds are rather tight at the moment and the vet is very expensive. Thank you so much!