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Everything posted by Stacia
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Investigators look into report STEM school security officer fired at sheriff's deputy Detectives are also trying to determine whether it's possible a bullet from a private officer's gun hit one of the injured students.
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(I am not aiming my comments directly at you, Mbelle, but rather responding to this topic/comparison you are mentioning.) At least in the military, it is adults who are serving (most often by choice), they get paid for their service/job, and they know that being deployed to a combat zone is a possibility or likelihood. They are also trained repeatedly for scenarios involving combat, weapons, working as a team to overcome adversarial or dangerous conditions, etc...; they often have protective gear, high-tech equipment, &/or other defenses. Why should our school-aged kids to have to navigate such violence? (And, just like military members who return from combat with PTSD, we are also saddling our students with PTSD from this. In March, two survivors of the Parkland shooting each committed suicide from the trauma, PTSD, & horrors they initially survived.) When we're comparing the safety of our kids in our schools in our country vs. our military actively serving in combat zones & the numbers are getting close as far as gun fatalities (& semantics are being argued vs. just being upset that more kids keep being killed in a not uncommon scenario), we should be outraged, screaming, & making changes. Comparing these two things (students vs. military) shouldn't even be a thing, yet it is. It's not even apples vs. oranges but more like apples vs. rocks or some other completely ridiculous comparison. It shouldn't be a comparison that we should have to make in the first place. Ever. It shows how seriously we are messed up as a country and with our values. It is completely insane. ETA: A different set of statistics regarding firearm deaths (not just school shootings but all shootings) & children in our country (bolding is mine): Study shows alarming increases of firearm deaths in US school-age children
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Hugs. With my cat who had kidney issues, we used the transdermal ear cream (in addition to a kidney-friendly diet). Much later (after a few years), I gave him IV fluids at home. He lived for quite a few more years after his initial diagnosis & still acted like his same old spunky, busy self the entire time to the very end.
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Books that come immediately to mind (I have others too, but these are at the top of my list): Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade by Kurt Vonnegut News of the World by Paulette Jiles The Plover by Brian Doyle Sweet Dreams by Michael Frayn Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (as well as the movie) I think all of these books ultimately carry a similar underlying message, which is reflected in this quote from Cloud Atlas:
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Not sure if the size will work as it's 11x13x6. https://www.katespade.com/products/margaux-large-tote/PXRUA226.html
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A little more than 25 years ago, I found an Arzberg porcelain dinner service for 12 at Tuesday Morning for $50. (I lucked out on a massively great deal.) The set didn't have bowls with it, but otherwise, I got dinner plates, salad plates, dessert plates, & coffee/tea cups w/ saucers. That's the only china we bought & made it our set of daily dishes; we have used it every day for over 25 years now, including with our dc when they were young. We stick the dishes in the oven, the microwave, the dishwasher, etc., all the time. I think we've broken one plate through the years & chipped one (on the underside edge). It is incredible. (Heck, I don't even like using chopping boards so I end up cutting up stuff on the dinner-sized plates. Just last night, I used a plate to cut up two cantaloupes as well as two small watermelons. These dishes just keep going & going & going.) So, I would suggest looking for a good porcelain set (any brand of good porcelain, I know some have mentioned Mikasa too), maybe at Tuesday Morning or some other place that might carry it. Ebay. Local resale or antique stores. (Just don't get anything with gold or silver edging if you want dishwasher/microwave use.) Estate sales. Call & look around. Since my set didn't have bowls, I eventually bought some plain white bowls from Ikea. I did not like those at all. (I think it was something similar to this, which is stoneware, not porcelain.) Without much use, they looked like they had gray-ish scratches from our silverware (mostly spoons as the bowls were primarily used for soups or cereal). They weren't scratches, per se, but massive discoloration that looked unappetizing & also made me wonder about the safety of the glaze. Eventually, I bought white porcelain bowls from Crate & Barrel. Those were expensive, but still look nice & have held up fairly well. (They do chip easier on the edge than my Arzberg porcelain. A couple of our bowls have chipped on the edges but we still use them.) (I'm not a fan of Corelle. My aunt had those when I was growing up & I remember some shattering accidents. Perhaps they quality has improved over the years, though?)
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In preparation of redoing/reusing the closet in the extra bedroom (which dd wants part of for storage), I was going to revisit my own closet so various things can go in my closet. I decided to KonMari it. (This includes my closet as well as some additional clothes I had stored in the extra closet last year.) Wow. It was like unloading a clown car. Stuff just kept coming, and coming, and coming. How can so much fit into a closet? I have many large bags of clothes, shoes, & accessories to donate. (My sister gives dd & me a lot of clothes, so we always seem to accumulate a lot.) Now I have room in my closet to store my luggage, possibly other pieces too. And all the gift wrapping stuff. My car is loaded for donation again. Plus, I have a lamp in there as well as a cat climbing tower that my cats never use.
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For the stuff that dd wants to pack up & store, we had some of the original boxes in the attic. I got those down for her. While doing that, I also pulled out a bunch of empty boxes (many for things we no longer even own or, if we do, don't want the box anyway) & put a big load of broken-down boxes for the recycling people tomorrow. (I wonder if my trash & recycling folks are getting tired of my bins being stuffed to the top every week?) My trunk is loaded with stuff I've gathered in the past few days (some of dd's clothes, various shoes from all of us, extra purses, more dishware, books, a few random items I pulled out of the attic tonight) & will donate it tomorrow. I also have a couple of bags of linens & towels to donate to the vet office.
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Still plugging away here. Have cleaned out & purged bed linens & towels. A favorite local charity of mine runs a temporary thrift shop for about eight weeks to raise funds. When I saw they were opening their store, I gathered a bunch of stuff to donate to them -- books, decorative items, some dishes/serving ware, etc. Dropped off a car load this past weekend. I have more gathered that I'll be donating at the end of the week. I'm re-visiting my closet & trying to reduce more in there. Dd has her "den" in an extra bedroom. The closet in there holds a random assortment of stuff -- clothes from various family members, suitcases, the chairs to our card table, etc. Dd wants to pack up & store some things, but I don't think they would be well-served by the temperature extremes of storing in the attic. So, we'll unload this closet, put in what she wants to store & things I deem most essential to be stored there & then redistribute or get rid of the rest. By working on my closet, I think I will be able to fit my luggage in it (still with room to breathe in the closet). Possibly can do that in ds' room too. Again, basically looking at what we have stored/used where & deciding if there is a better way to store or access things (or get rid of them). I read that oftentimes, you make decisions on where stuff will be stored when you move in a place & then never revisit or change things down the road even if a better arrangement would work better for you. (Thinking of kitchen cabinets & drawers here.) I've been here a long time & am trying to really assess what we use now, how we use it now, & decide on the best ways to have our things in the house now. I'm really happy so far with the changes I've made. Next week, I'm helping a friend work on cleaning out her garage. She is hoping we can make massive progress. What is everyone else up to?
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teen drivers--should they have to follow this law?
Stacia replied to cave canem's topic in The Chat Board
I have read a few of the responses, but not all the pages. I would absolutely expect a teen driver to follow that law. We have that type of law in our state & I, sadly, know one of the families affected by a wreck that helped lead to getting this legislation in place for our state. The teen that our family knew was driving the car. She survived, but some of her friends didn't. She will be living with that the rest of her life. And the families that lost their children/siblings/etc. will live with that forever too. It was horrendous, & I say that as an outsider seeing the impact. Laws like this originated out of horrific wrecks & lost lives. They are not isolated incidents & they happen in every state, which is why many states have such laws. -
Many years ago, my sister had a small dog who definitely got colder as he aged. So, as an elderly dog, she had some vests/jacket things for him & it seemed to help him immensely. She also had a medium-sized black lab/mutt mix. After the elderly, small dog started wearing clothes, the medium-sized dog started acting a little strange. After a short while, my sister figured out the dog was jealous & wanted her own clothes. When the little dog was wearing his stuff, my sister would put one of her t-shirts on the other dog, which made that dog completely joyous. 😂
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If the family resents the land being sold to your in-laws in the first place, and they have indicated they want first dibs for a buy-back, how will they feel when they see you (a younger couple), moving onto the property? Would they possibly see it as usurping their place in line for the property? (Not saying that's how it is but how it could be perceived.) It would make me uneasy. The hard feelings over the land ownership could lead to real problems, imo.
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I did get rid of some big items I listed previously -- a couch, 4 chairs, a bike, our remaining few bins of homeschool materials, a mattress, and a few other things. And, I have donated another car load of miscellaneous stuff, easy pickings I think of when I am not at home, then go grab to donate as soon as I get home. I also have a box of books that my dd wants to drop at various little free libraries. As far as papers and filing, I have gotten a lot done. Many things filed, many things recycled or burned. Still have old school papers to deal with and a few old files re: house things to go through. Freedom Filer has been awesome. Now that I have it set up, it is easy to file (keeps things from piling up on my desk), and it has been easy to retrieve a few items I have needed. Really happy with this choice. I also read both of Dana White's books. (She's the author of A Slob Comes Clean blog.) The cleaning one is basic but I can see that it would help the overwhelmed. Her decluttering one is really very good for overstuffed houses. She has some great advice. Generally, still working on reducing overall and having everything in the house have its own home. My other goal is to clean out/use up pantry items, then do a better job of not overstocking.
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I'm watching Hoarders. Does anyone know if there are meds to help?
Stacia replied to unsinkable's topic in The Chat Board
Hugs, heartlikealion. -
Late posting this year, but if you want printable Oscar Bingo cards, here they are (from the How About Orange blog).
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Congrats Hoggirl, sounds like you have done a lot of work! Re: framed diplomas.... Have you considered removing the frames and matting and storing just the diplomas themselves? If you're not planning to hang or display them in the future, maybe it's something to consider?
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I didn't start the thread, but jump right in! There's still a lot of 2019 remaining to get rid of stuff.
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Re: shredding... I would have faced many hours of shredding as I had a lot to shred that I ignored for awhile, plus all the stuff I am culling now. My sister said to burn it instead. We bought a metal trash can and added some gravel I already had to the bottom of it. She, the dc, and I burned a bunch of stuff earlier this week. So much more fun than shredding! And we want s'more supplies on hand next time, lol. Definitely a great alternative. I already have another large paper sack filled for our next burn. A friend of mine wants to bring some of her shredding pile to burn too. It's like an ugly fire pit, I guess. Still fun, though, with family, friends, and food, lol.
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I decided to get the Freedom Filer labels and have been setting it up, then filing or trashing as needed. Got all the main categories done, am now mostly working on other stuff like resource materials, mementos, etc. Really liking it so far. Not as minimal as I would eventually like to be, but this works well for me now. And it has helped me trash and recycle a lot of paper, so I am happy those pounds are gone.
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Me too but my sister had the perfect solution for me. I bought a metal trash can, added some gravel I already had into the bottom and made a burn bucket/can. She, my dc, and I burned bunches of paper earlier this week. It was fun and freeing and so much better than spending hours shredding. Next time we'll be better prepared and have s'mores fixings on hand, lol. Have been working steadily on the paper monster. After asking in another thread for filing help, I decided to invest in Freedom Filer labels. So, I have been setting that up and filing or trashing as needed. Have another large paper sack filled with papers for the next burn. Loving this set-up so far. Continuing to do random stuff too. Have a couch, chair, and a bike pulled aside for donation, some desk chairs that are broken to trash, etc.
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A trio of Ikea Gassa etched glass art, hanging in a horizontal row. You can switch out the color panels behind them to be red or blue, but I just leave them out so it's more of a white on gray look.
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I didn't see this one but have seen previews for it. It's based on the French film, The Intouchables. The French version was great. (And it's based on a true story.) I'd definitely recommend it (the French version). It is rated R, which is fine as we have teens. Our whole family loved it.
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I am overrun with papers. Inspired by KonMari (& because I hate paperwork), I'd like to toss or simplify as much as I can. I would love ideas & inspiration for ways to reduce & then easily maintain a simple system. For example, I found this post online & really like the simplicity of it. (Not sure I can make mine quite as simple, but I would like to get close.) I am really working on tackling paper, would like to greatly reduce, & then set-up a relatively simple system that will be easy to maintain. Do you have a simple system for keeping up with home-related files (bills, medical records, accounts, etc....)? Do you have simple categories for filing (rather than separate files for every little thing)? How often do you weed or clean out files (especially older ones)? What *don't* you save? (What should I be tossing & never saving/filing in the first place?) Any tips, ideas, or examples are appreciated! I am fine with accessing some stuff online but I'm not interested in having to scan a bunch of stuff in order to save it (at least not right now). Thanks!
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Maybe it shows that I'm just old or boring at this point, but one thing my mom gave me for Christmas was this Oxo Extendable Sweep Set. Yes, I'm admitting I love a broom & dustpan. 🤣 The most awesome thing about it is that the dustpan has teeth & is amazing for removing cat hair from your broom. If you have pets, you need this broom with the toothy dustpan.
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Does a salad spinner work well for kale?