Congratulations to your ds!

That's such a nice "feel good" story! Thanks for sharing!

Love seeing all the different coloured houses and the special names! I knew that they existed in lots of places, but I'd never heard of some of the local names for them. When I first saw the term "Jelly Bean houses" I was picturing some kind of gingerbread house covered in actual jelly beans. 😅

Has anyone ever heard of these? They are colourful rowhouses, and in some Canadian maritime provinces (Newfoundland, New Brunswick). They are called Jelly Bean houses because of the different, bright colours. The photo below is from St. John's, Newfoundland. I know that other coastal villages often have brightly colours houses and rowhouses. Do they have special names, too, or is this a Canadian thing?

@Soror Those are long days and lots of driving! Hope things get calmer and closer to home soon! I've been getting pretty worn out this week as well, mostly because dh and dd took a quick trip to NYC to visit family and see a show. Fun for them, but being a single parent to the puppies has been rough. Thank goodness the 3 ds's are self-sufficient! In fact, I can even send them to pick up groceries if needed. 😉 I had to drive ds18 to his 6:30am volleyball practice, then I drove the dogs to the woods but had to wait until the sun was up (7:15). We got in a nice walk, but I'm feeling rather zombie-like now. A nap would be great, but work is too busy for that.

He's like a gummy bear! He bounced back fast, but I waiting until this afternoon before taking them for their walk. It had also warmed up by then, which was a nice bonus!

I was just about to take the dogs for a walk this, when the little pup got jumped on by accident and was limping. I'm delaying our walk, which is essentially a flat-out run for the pup, until later this afternoon when I know his paw is better.

Wow, people are weird! Don't people realize that everyone driving and parking has shoveled out their car that day? If they haven't, then they are snowed in, but as soon an they drive away that spot left won't have snow on it.

That must be pretty funny to see! And if it should happen to snow while one is out and about, you have to dig out your "place holder" and your spot. Or do you just abandon ship at that point and move south? 😄

The likelihood of women outliving their spouse has been an observation of mine since I was young. Perhaps it's just because my extended family "fit the stats" more than others. I'm a little surprised that the women in the article seemed to not make this observation, certainly at an age when she's likely seen women friends become widows already. Maybe the statement was made as she was in shock and disbelief of her husband's passing. I don't know if she actually would have appreciated people telling as a young bride that one day there was a great probability that she would be a widow, rather than her husband being a widower. It's not like it's a 90% chance, depending on the region and age it's closer to 60%, while divorce can be up to 43%. As a politician, I'm guessing she was probably more likely to divorce than become a widow. Maybe she felt that she had it made, no divorce and plenty of time to enjoy senior years with her spouse. Whatever the sentiment, it's a shame that she lost her husband. I like the idea of living next door to a sister! That would be really nice.

Ya, I don't understand suburban possessiveness of the curb in front of one's own house. I guess if you sit and look out your front window, you want a clear view of the pavement - in all its beauty! 😉

I've never seen anyone claim an empty street spot as theirs. I've seen loads of cars snowed in when the plow goes around them while they were parked. I guess that's one way to claim a parking spot! 😉

Some of the possessiveness is if there is high demand for street parking, and people like to park close to their own house.

I always thought that "Cotton Ginny," the Gordon Lightfoot song, was a guy song, but Anne Murray and Olivia Newton-John did a decent duet with it. Does it really matter who sings a great song? "The Girl from Impanema" has been sung by both men and women. I love Tracy Chapman's version, but it's ok for others to produce their own versions, too. It often helps boost the popularity of older versions.

If you want to include both sil and dn, then perhaps you could agree to divide up the time of the event, half you and dh sit in the great seats, the other half sil and dh sit in the great seats. That's assuming there is an intermission or break in the event.

Whenever I had the good fortune of celebrating Thanksgiving or Christmas with my dad's side of the family there would be perogies and cabbage rolls added to the traditional turkey and sides. I loved those special times! 😍 My mom's side of the family had a different "special" item which I hated - jello salad with bits of fruit or veg inside. 🤢

I think the OP's idea of the timing of a large family dinner when everyone is in town sounds great. Why not make the suggestion and see how people react? No harm in making the suggestions. If there is resistance, for whatever reason, then ask for alternative suggestions. It sounds like there are a lot of adults who can offer ideas, then go with the day(s) times that fit the most people.

@Laura Corin So sorry your ds missed the family gathering. Sad about the landslide, too. Hope no one was injured. Hope the gathering was nice! @Soror Great job on the long hike and all the other physical activities! I've never thought of bringing hammocks and napping during a hike. Sounds quite lovely! ------------------------------------ More rain all day today. We got the dogs out for our woods walk this morning. Happily it's not hard rain, but it sure is constant! I have some yard clean up to do, but it will have to wait for another day.

Got in two nice dog walks in the woods today. Otherwise not much activity as the weather is rainy and overcast. The leaves are still colourful and on the trees for a few more days, which is beautfil!

I did enjoy his music in my youth. Sing-alongs with family or friends always included Country Roads. When I was really young, and played Barbies with my sister, the Ken doll was always named John Denver. I had no idea what he looked like, as I'd usually hear his music on the radio. He seemed like a good partner for Barbie, though. 😄

Bolt, you are not in the wrong here and there's no need for you to feel badly. Dirty pots and pans left for more than 24 hours is nasty, and it just makes it impossible for a kitchen to function. Not to mention this piling up of crap where you are supposed to "work" and provide food for the family is really depressing. Thank goodness your dh apologized and hopefully he will take responsibility of cleaning the pots and pans in a much more timely manner going forward.

The weather stayed nice and I was able to play tennis and get in another dog walk! Woohoo!

Comparing one's weight to stones has some kind of ancient civilization flavour to it. The Egyptians used body parts (cubit) to measure length, and the Brits use stones to measure their body weight. And what size of stone are we talking here. I'm visualizing a large boulder about my size. With this stone, my weight is 1. 😂

Morning walk in the woods with the dogs done. Lovely weather so far, but rain in the forecast. I'll be playing tennis this afternoon if there is not rain. Fingers crossed! 😊

@Laura Corin What a lovely water photo! Is it still salt water at that spot? I live too far inland to experience estuaries very often, but recently visited the St. Lawrence River where it was still salt water with whales and seals. So cool! Enjoy your vacation!