I cried when I read this! Bless them for caring about children enough to do the right thing, and spend the money to make it special!!!!!

Yes. Some nutters are saying around here that needing a booster is proof the vaccines are garbage. (Yes, they used the word garbage on social media.) Sure. Same idiots both work for a construction crew and have to keep their tetanus vaxes up to date or risk being fired. So every 8 years.... Exactly how ignorant are they?

Yup. I think HCW's and facilities will have to stand up for themselves. They have their own health and families to consider as well. At some point if the damn political machinery and the public refuse to get on board with NOT overwhelming them and killing them off, maiming them, making them depressed even suicidal, then f@ck the public and the politicians. They are at the end of their ropes. So.tired.of.the.stupid.

We had a bucket for this when the kids were little. We don't really get the stomach bug here much anymore now that it is just dh and I and adult college kids coming and going. But, I would just not want anyone who was already so miserable to then lay on the bathroom floor, however I did make comfy beds on the floor near the bathroom when they were teens because they much preferred to make it to the bathroom.

Bingo! And at this point if they want to live in the dark ages, then I am all for them having their own compounds to go live in and spread their crap to each other. Keep their damn measles, polio, and diphtheria to themselves! If Alabama ever passes something like this, we would have to consider selling the house we just bought, and helping dd and family get the hell out of there!

Wow! That legislation is evil. Pure.Evil. and it sure does punish the students who did their part to stop the transmission of this disease. I wonder if there is any way for colleges and schools to push the costs of any epidemics on campus due to this. Have to quarantine a dorm because of measles? State has to pay for extra staff, food delivered to the dorms, the entire care of the students in quarantine. Would the money aspect talk? Could students and parents sue the state? Oy! I really want to believe there is some way to punish the state legislature for this! Seriously, Ohioans, stop voting for these idiots!!

Well then, I don't have sympathy. A way forward was made, and the students dropped the ball. Their bad! The school is off the hook. That said, I would really like colleges to stop spending ungodly wealth on sports and administrative salaries and put some thought and action into making things better for the students in terms of getting the coursework they need to graduate because last year was a crapshoot in which all the effort seemed to go to making sure sports went forward, but not much else, and we are heading into round two of crapping on academics during the pandemic which is not the professors faults because the administration has bungled everything from scheduling, to not hiring enough instructors to cover the online work, to not having enough T.A.'s to handle the technology issues foe the professors, to firing instructors because "covid, we can't afford the faculty because of how much all of this costs" except that they all got state and federal dollars to help so it is nothing but a big lousy excuse, to....ya. You can tell I am not happy with the some college administrators at the moment! But, this new information leads me to believe UVA is not on the hook here. They made reasonable accommodations and the students didn't take advantage of it and just hoped they would get away with it. Bye bye students.

Oy! I will tell Mark. He is going to be ALL over that idea. My guess is he will use his huge sheet pan under the skillets when transporting the food, or his big, antique ceramic surgical tray which his former nurse mommy gave to him. That thing has been very handy!

Do they have "Deliver a Chef" subscription? Can I just get Bobby Flat or Wolfgang Puck or Alton Brown delivers to my door to cook? This would be the best subscription ever. I have not tried any of these meal subscriptions. I have tried misfits and wanted it to work so so much. But they only use FedEx which is profoundly unreliable in my area such that not only was every delivery late, but by several days, and the produce was no good. My daughter has it in the Huntsville area and loves it. I am really NOT a fan of FedEx. The only reliable package delivery we have here is UPS.

No wrapping paper or bows, and put it together as a larger care package so gift cards for dad to use door dash for some meals, freezer meals - with simple instructions, the 11 year old should be able to thaw and warm some meals - condolence cards and notes for both the dad and the boys, a fruit basket. Just get the kinds of things that are often given at a time like this, and then deliver it in a bundle as a care package from everyone.

I am on the fence about that too. Mark has been investing in all kinds of grilling implements and what not, and has become a grilling machine. The food is epically wonderful, and I hate to cook. If I buy an air fryer, I might be expected to use it! 😂

I don't think they should be disenrolled. But I think the college has a right to push them into online classes or independent study. They should make a path for them to not have to transfer this year because the students and parents have paid in good faith many thousands of dollars for the program. A student I was working with has been waiting to perform a senior recital so she can graduate with her vocal performance degree. The college has yet again pulled the plug on live performances and lessons with student, accompanist, and professor in the same room. I get it. The voice prof has their mask off to demonstrate, the student has their mask office, most of the offices and practice rooms have practically zero ventilation. It is a pretty big hazard. On the other hand it, would mean she has to wait yet another semester to graduate. So the college told the students to submit a resume of the solo work they have done, and they will count the pieces. If they have done seven solos over the course of their years in college, including performances in church choirs, community choirs, musicals, etc., they are waving the recital requirement. So she is being allowed to graduate in December. Except for certain labs, and of course medical clinicals, there is a way. But I guess I also see that the administration probably doesn't feel it should have to go to the work if they won't follow the mandate. Chances are this school requires other vaccines like tetanus and measles...very standard at a lot of colleges. If these students complied with those and not this one, then the administration probably does not think they have a leg to stand on. But, I would prefer, given the student loan debt situation, loss of scholarships when transferring, extra thousands paid in tuition because rarely does transferring keep a student on the path to graduate on time, that the colleges offer a reasonable alternative because darn it all, they have sucked in a lot of money from most of these students! As a nation, we also have a vested interest in them getting done in a reasonable time frame, without huge debt, and participating in the work force.

They are lovely!!!

I hear that in my area. Same folks are very PRO forcing a lot of their beliefs on other people through legislation. So really it is just a red herring. They aren't worried about "socialism" and are actually all for an authoritarian government, just one that authorizes their personal agenda or advances their religious beliefs. Total double standard.

I did a grocery shopping, put a lot of stuff in the chest freezer, and am doing another one this week. I will have three months of food for the most part. Obviously we would run out of eggs and a few things like that, but I could adjust menus to account for staying shut down if I couldn't get these things with curbside pick up. I am making salsa and pasta sauce at the end of this week. The salsa is something I run through the blender and use for enchiladas and as a base for tortilla soup. Two places that I had gig piano jobs lined up for mid September begged me not to cancel and wait to see where cases go. I said that I would consider it IF they go to 25% capacity and a strictly enforced mask mandate. They are thinking about it. My very last gig on the maybe list was for a vocal student who needed an accompanist for her senior recital. She is vaxed, I am vaxed, her professors are vaxed. So with a masked, small audience would have been okay I think. But the school has officially announced no live performances. Her adviser did a degree audit, and found a sentence in the school catalog that said in the case that senior recitals are canceled due to natural disaster, illness, death in family, and other extreme circumstances, other performance experience can be considered in its place. She has had a ton of solos in the college choir over the years, lead parts in musicals, etc. so she has been cleared to graduate in December without the recital. That is off my plate now. So it looks like we are in a position to hunker down. Right now our area of Michigan is doing okay, but by winter when everyone is driven indoors but doesn't want to stay home, mask, or socially distance, it will probably explode. I have become so anti-social because of how people behave and treat each other here that I am beginning to wonder if it will bother me at all!

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/21/us/conservative-talk-show-host-phil-valentine-dies-covid-19/index.html See I just do not get the self assuredness that people have that they won't die or have permanent damage or long covid. I just don't know where they come up with this amazing belief that they will be unscathed. That is certainly not a confidence I have even though I have no special reason to believe I would be susceptible to a bad case either. I really don't think anyone can predict this, and especially so with delta variant. So sad. So very, very sad.

That is one of the purposes of the big, multi-generational house in Alabama. Our adult kids are welcome to get jobs in the Huntsville area and live there without rent just contributing to food and utilities, helping with mowing and repairs as needed. Auto insurance is so much cheaper there so keeping a vehicle to commute to work WAY more economical than here in Michigan, and cars don't get damaged from all of the winter road salt which seriously weather's the undercarriage of cars here and costs a lot in maintenance. Hopefully they will take advantage of it. It would be one way for them to have significant savings at a young age.

Yes, I had cookies in them. I bought a Danish American recipe book on eBay dating back to the 1960's and written by a Danish American who spent most of her childhood in Denmark. Tons and tons of recipes. I had to tweak many of them to accommodate my son in law's food allergies, but it worked out really well. Our tree was Scandinavian themed. Lots of Nisse, reindeer ornaments, berry garland instead of tinsel, a flag of Denmark, etc. This year we are having an Icelandic Elf house at the Alabama home.

Well, let's just bring back polio, diphtheria, small pox, and measles! It is so enjoyable to have those outbreaks ravage entire communities. (Dripping sarcasm) How many kids can we shove into the grave????? Sigh. I guess that is one way to combat global climate change. Just put the Grim Reaper in the driver's seat and buckle up for a good season of back to back plagues.

I had the same thing happen right at 50, like the tolling of a gong! Ugh. I went through a gazillion moisturizers before finding one that works. I am nor comfortable making recommendations. As for make up, I can't wear rang mascara anymore. I actually just do a foundation with sunscreen, it is from Mary Kay. And then just a neutral eye shadow with brown eyeliner just on my upper lid. I then wear lip tint. It is not a striking look, but it is more natural and does not highlight my age so much. The main thing for me is I am not getting enough deep sleep so I have bags under my eyes. I am trying to combat that with cucumber slices and ice for a few minutes each morning - in and of itself fairly relaxing - but it sure would be nice if I could just sleep better. Melatonin doesn't work. Now that said, no moisturizer has any chance of working with me if I stop regularly exfoliating so I use a daily cleanser that isn't drying, and when I am on top of my game, a clay mask once per week and then load up on moisturizer afterward. Keeping the dead skin off really helps. I don't know why I suddenly turned into a mummy, but ya, just like a light switch flipped. Sigh!

Right. Most people I know only consider what they pay for mortgage vs. for rent. They do not consider what it means financially to make major repairs plus property taxes, bond issues for town improvements, liability insurance baked into homeowner's insurance, and interest paid over the life of that loan. I think my middle boy who is going to vanlife live for a while as he pays off student loans, and then begin investing probably will do better than his sister and her husband who fully intend on buying a home in a few years.

Seconding this. We do all three. This year we had our nuclear family for Christmas and I did a Smorgasbrod (Danish open faced sandwich dinner) and all the trimmings. Everyone loved it. I highly recommend it. So much fun!

Not wrong. I mean at this point due to the 100% wicked brokenness of the educational system, there really isn't a price tag that would woo me back into the fold. There would have to be a radical change in how schools operate and how faculty are treated to make me take up the mantle again. Yes, a good and decent pay in relation to the level of responsibility and training is a must, but that is NOT the only hurdle. The other hurdles at this time are so high it is difficult to imagine ever getting over them.

This, this, this!!!! We 100% suck at valuing the people who take care of us in our most vulnerable moments, but revere and worship stupid celebrities, and athletic programs. We have a very deeply sick culture in this regard.

Sorry. United Methodist church! I have grown used to using the initials.