My Nook just came in the mail today, and so far so good. The main reason I got it was that they're selling refurbished ones on Overstock.com, so it was a good bit cheaper than the Kindle (new). I was leaning that way anyway, though. I like the touch screen, since I'm used to my iphone. And I like that you can get library books on the Nook. My library actually doesn't have e-books, yet, but the county south of mine does, so I might get a non-resident card there. Also just the principle of the thing; who is Amazon to tell me I can't read library books on my e-reader!?

A ha! Thank you! That was easy :)

apparently it's fruStrating me so much that I can't even type!

It came today. I bought a book on B&N.com, and it showed up no problem. Then I set about trying to get some books from Project Gutenberg. First, I tried going online through the Nook, but I got a message that "downloads are not supported in this release." Okay. So I downloaded Calibre. It SAYS it's putting the book I'm trying to get onto my Nook, but then it's not there. Or I can't find it anyway. Apparently I need a remedial course in getting stuff onto my Nook. Can anyone help me?

There's a book for you! How to Be a Perfect Stranger: The Essential Religious Etiquette Handbook. It answers all of those questions. I have the second volume, because I picked it up at a book sale (at church!), so I can read about all the more obscure denominations/faiths, but I imagine the first volume covers all the biggies.

It sounds like the DOC might well be a good fit for you. We just joined a DOC church a month or so ago (after attending for several more months). Ours is actually theologically AND socially liberal, but my understanding is that socially conservative congregations are at least as common. But they should all be open to disagreement and questioning on theological issues.

I'm interested in the answers to your last question. I just ordered a Nook (largely because they had refurbished ones for sale at overstock.com, but I was also leaning that way)....I was doing a little reading today, and I think the deal is that you can buy from other sources with the Nook (like Borders, etc; anywhere that uses epub?), but you can't put Kindle stuff on there. But I really don't know, so I'm lurking on your thread :)

I haven't read it since I was a kid, but the first thing that popped into my head was Carolyn Haywood's Snowbound with Betsy

hmm...mine is upstairs in our house, has been for years, and we haven't had any problems. You can hear it downstairs, but it's not bad at all.

Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage by Hazel Rowley Sleepwalk with Me and Other Painfully True Stories by Mike Birbiglia one from DH, one from the kids, both from my Amazon wish list.

It's really coming down here (North of Atlanta) and sticking! (not to the roads yet, but my yard is white). I just checked the local paper, and they said the last time it snowed for Christmas was 128 years ago. Now I just wish I were planning to stay home today so I could relax and enjoy it instead of fretting about whether it's safe to drive and visit people.

We really like Puertas Abiertas.

My currrent second grader is using: WWE2 Singapore 2a RFWP's Aesop series SOTW1 (along with his brothers) Discovery Education Science/Nebel's BFSU ETC5 Puertas Abiertas/Spanish tutor Spelling Workout B lots of books! piano lessons with DH

oh, also...has he tried any organized activities with the dog that might get her interacting more? Obedience or agility or something?

I looked into this awhile back (although we ultimately decided we had enough BIG pets already), and it seemed to me like rats were the way to go, as far as interactiveness and intelligence.

mine are getting a kitten, and, yes, I'm very excited about playing with her :)

I'm six months older than he is. I'm an Aries, and he's a Libra, so he can't make decisions, and I know that that's for the best, because I'm always right ;)

I've never really thought about it before, but one thing my kids' (relatively uncommon) names have going for them is that they're pretty easy to spell. Gus is really August, but either way most people can spell it. I do have to spell Ari for people frequently, mostly because they're just not familiar with the name, but it's only 3 letters, so it doesn't take too long. I do know someone with an Arry, though....

DH can't donate because he had a false positive on an HIV test once when he donated...it was a total weird fluke--he's about as low risk as he could possibly get for HIV, and he went to his doctor and got another test right away--but now he's on a list and can't ever give blood again. I haven't tried in awhile, but I have terrible white coat hypertension, so the times I have tried I've been turned down because my blood pressure was too high.

I've always heard the name Regan pronounced with a long E: REE gun

Maia actually has a pretty long history (older than Maya, I'm guessing?); she's the eldest of the Pleiades in Greek mythology.

:iagree: The Long Winter is the one that really turned me against Pa. Also, couldn't they have just soaked the wheat and eaten it that way instead of spending all day grinding it with the coffee grinder?

Fiction: this might be cheating a bit, because I read it along with DS, but, for real, it was way better than any grown-up fiction I read this year: Tuck Everlasting Non-fiction: Don't Sleep; There are Snakes by Daniel Everett

We went to Disneyland Sept. 09. We stayed at the Howard Johnson, about a 10 minute walk from the parks, and we LOVED it. We stayed in what were at the time brand new pirate themed kid suites. I'm not sure if you can do 6 people in the rooms, though...they have a king bed in one room, and a set of bunk beds plus pull out sleeper chair. But it was really nice. My understanding of why the dining plan isn't worth it at DL is because they don't have a real dining plan--it's not like WDW's at all. Basically you pay for vouchers to use for food, but they're worth exactly what you pay for them, and if you use them to pay for something that's less than the face value, you don't get change, so you lose the difference. I.e. if you have a $20 voucher and you use it for an $18 bill, you lose the $2. That's how it worked when I was researching it a year and a half ago, anyway. We actually did 5 days at the parks, mostly because they were running a buy 3 get 2 free promotion when we were there. We were also visiting with extended family, which made everything slower. I think 3 days, maybe 4 would be ideal. Just saw that it's September you're going...things were pretty slow when we were there then...I'd say it's comparable to WDW in September. We really liked the pizza place at Downtown Disney (although it's the same company that owns Via Napoli at Epcot, so now you can get the same thing in Orlando). We ate at Storyteller's Cafe in the Grand Californian, and it was...meh. fine, nothing special. There's not the same focus on food at DL that there is in WDW; there aren't a gazillion heavily themed restaurants to pick from. We weren't impressed with the counter service options, either, for the most part. I'll not get into a contest about which resort is better...IME people tend to like their "home park" the best. But for me it was really cool seeing the original park and doing all the stuff we can't do at WDW. WDW's Pirates kind of bums me out now that I've ridden the one at DL. And we all loved the Matterhorn, and the Alice in Wonderland ride. If you're there in late September, you might get to see the Nightmare Before Christmas Halloween overlay at Haunted Mansion, which is wonderful.

Have we done this one before? Ours say "you, like snow, like love" It's from "Love Recognized," a Robert Penn Warren poem that was read at our wedding. It is incredibly difficult, I discovered, to find really good, non-ironic poems about love. I re-read this one a hundred times searching for cynicism, and I didn't find it. And RPW is one of my favorite poets, so it was lovely all around. I'm not sure if it's okay to post the whole thing here, so here's a link to someone's blog where they posted it: http://tatianna172.multiply.com/journal/item/8