I love these. In fact, my goal was to replace all my hangers with this kind over time. Thanks for the reminder!

My favorite are the nonslip kind, which is what I assume you mean by flocked. That’s what I meant when I voted for flocked, anyway.

Can I just say that I never knew such a thing even exists?

Today I finished The Most They Ever Had by Rick Bragg. He’s a contemporary Alabama author. He writes memoir/nonfiction/essays. He writes so poignantly about the South. Here’s the summary of the book from Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6502869 Basically, it’s a collection of essays reflecting on the lives of textile mill workers in NE Alabama and the effect that mill work and the loss of that livelihood in the early 2000s had on them. It’s maybe a niche read, but everybody I know who’s ever read anything by Bragg has loved it. (Disclaimer: they’ve all been from Alabama. 😝)

I read a fair amount of Austen, but only in grad school. I took a class on the English novel. I never read any Dumas. (FWIW, my undergrad degree is in secondary education—English and history; master’s is in library science; I also have half of the graduate English hours required for a master’s in English.)

Congratulations!

The BFSU kit is a great idea! I have tried to use it several times and just couldn’t make it happen here. I think having the stuff prepared would solve part of my problem. (The other part is that I don’t possess the background to talk naturally about science myself.)

I’ve just started being honest in a polite way: “I’m sorry, but ____ is just not in our budget.”

Good morning! This is our last day at the beach, boo hoo. The dh and I went for a reconnecting walk this morning after several days of lots of work for him and me wrangling all four kids “on vacation” (not to mention the nights of 6 people in a hotel room!) I have enjoyed this trip and a bit of downtime, kid-wrangling notwithstanding. The sand and water kept my boys entertained enough that I even finished reading a book yesterday! On today’s agenda: take the boys for one last frolic in the surf, pack up the remainder of our stuff and load up, make a few more stops before heading north. Here’s a picture from this morning for you all to enjoy:

Morning, all. I’m coming to you this morning from the beautiful Gulf of Mexico. We’ve been on a little trip with the dh (he works, we play ⛱). Yesterday I finished The Clockmaker’s Daughter while enjoying the sound of the surf. I have to say that I haven’t enjoyed a novel this much in a while. This was my second Kate Morton novel, and I enjoyed this one so much more than the first one I read. Highly recommended if you like gothic, other-worldly reads. (Disclaimer: I would’ve never said I liked either of those overmuch, Jane Eyre excluded, but I really loved this one, so I’d say give it a chance, even if you think it’s not your cuppa.)

Pilates? My favorite is Robin Long’s Balanced Life program, and she happens to be doing a free challenge right now. She has a membership site, but I have only done her free stuff.

We have significant experience with anxiety in our house (and, as it has turned out, significant experience with OCD). When we first started our journey and didn't know exactly the nature of our personal beast, we used the Turnaround Anxiety program. It was helpful (though not the "solution" for us).

No to-do lists here today besides enjoy the beach and try not to freeze. 🥶

I think you’ll enjoy it more (& so would I!) if you wear something that makes you feel good about yourself.

Sounds like a must-read!

I just finished reading the delightful third book of the Penderwicks series aloud to my boys—The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall. This is such a good series—modern, but with a classic feel.

Thanks for the insight!

That’s how I feel reading this thread! 😝

Thanks! We’re only 15 minutes late so far, so we’re actually doing great! 😝

Morning, all. We’re off on a family adventure for the rest of the week, so I’m signing off until we’re back into our routine. Have a lovely week, everyone!

I should’ve also said that I use unsweetened almond milk in the place of regular milk and coconut oil in the place of butter.

This is wonderful, @Ottakee. Truly! Seeing people use their pain to help others is beautiful. We have had a similar situation occur in our community, and it affected the lives of some of our friends. I’ve also had a friend go through a devastating divorce due to her husband’s unfaithfulness (and the things he did were something out of a bad soap opera). I can see how your blog would’ve benefited my friend.

Well, *I* checked out eight books for my own enjoyment. This doesn’t account for everyone else’s books, plus the ones for homeschooling. 😝 I think I had something like 75 books out on my last check out cycle. 😅

Not that you necessarily need another one, but my favorite baked oatmeal is orange cranberry baked oatmeal from Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures. I add a half cup or so of chocolate chips to it, so I’m maybe not the best example. I’ve tried several of her oatmeal recipes and liked them all. Only 1/4 of my children will deign to eat this. The rest eat bagels and Pb, cereal, eggs, or a pbj.

I want to look this book up. Thanks for the mini review!