Debi Gliori's Bedtime Stories. We still quote from this!

Particularly veggies and seafood ideas, but any recipes welcomed. Thanks!

I got DH a cute little gas grill for his birthday; we haven't had a grill in almost 20 years! So far, we have had steaks (reverse seared...yum!), hamburgers, and brats. Can you tell me what you like to grill and how? We would like to do veggies, corn, other meats, and seafood. Do we need special pans for anything? Thanks!

Our new grill has porcelain coated cast-iron grates. I am seeing recommendations to avoid metal brushes and use nylon. The brush that came with the grill is tough nylon, I believe, but I also bought DH a wire one, so I went looking into which to keep.

We moved our garden, have too many pressing projects going, and are just not the best garden processors, so this year is simple: Asparagus begun - yay! DH began many varieties of tomatoes and peppers from seed. Two jalapeños, at my request. I planted some cilantro. Oh, and DH finally began plants from designer zinnia seeds he gave me for Christmas one year.

It is the game referenced in that article, namely GeoGuessr.com Thank you!

Found this in my screenshots - would love to find it again. Wish I had taken a bigger screenshot! Anyone know what website this game is from? Thanks!

So sad for the dog and you both. Unbelievable!! I agree with you: never, ever, ever would they be allowed to watch my dog!

I am surprised no one else uses: Powder! For the shoes you showed us, I would first put a little powder in the shoe - the toe area and all along the inside. I would powder the bottom of my feet with a little from my hand, then carefully powder the tops of my toes. I only use the orange Gold Bond powder, because it doesn’t cake like some brands - it is readily available in the trial size area, so I have bottles of it wherever I put on shoes or need reapplication: master bath/entry closet/purses/travel bags/each car. I’ve gotten good at putting it on without making a mess=) When I travel, though, in a city, I inevitably get blisters with the extra walking, but this powder trick has made an amazing difference. New shoes may still require a bandaid around a toe and, especially, on the back of the heel for a few wearings to break them/my feet in. Actually, new shoes/sandals that are worn without socks need the bandaid on toe/heel or other hot spot for a short while...but it is worth it. This is new as I have gotten old(er).

Oh, what a beautiful morning! Already ran out for ribs, thinking early would be best choice. Planning a special meal for all of us tomorrow. Did some research for a newbie homeschooler friend Catboxes/birds 2 masks - DH & DS go back to offices next week where they are required. I've given all of my masks to the local hospital. The fam's masks are being made from super soft crib sheet cotton. Kitchen - Super tidy & wiped, vacuum & mop Living Room - Super Tidy, dust & vacuum Make cheese/nut tray for Saturday date night Dinner??? Leftover/clean out fridge night, I imagine! I sure hope to get outside to soak up this warmth - expected to be high 70s today!

Yes, A is correct. The words ‘revenue-generating’ are functioning together as an adjective. ‘Highest’ is an adverb modifying ‘revenue-generating’. Purdue Owl or Grammarly sites are my go-to for quick grammar helps. https://www.grammarly.com/blog/hyphen/

We tested with the CAT test each year at the end of the school year. Although I was not one to test during actual school work during the school year. Since it was a novelty for us, it was actually something our children looked forward to. Sort of. My #1 goal for testing was to help eliminate future test anxiety. I set up a very quiet desk, fed everybody a good breakfast, and donned a timer. Then, I read the official rules and left them alone in each section to do the work. I made sure to be upbeat and pleasant through the process, telling them that it was a way to see where our schoolwork lined up with the average school and to give me ideas for the next year. I also made it clear that some of the work on the test would likely be topics that they haven’t covered. We went out for fast food those days to make the day extra special. A relatively rare treat for them. I worked on this primary goal of eliminating test anxiety because I knew testing was an inevitable part of their future. Eldest, especially, hated being timed from a young age, and I thought this process would help him get over that. I was low-key about and hardly ever mentioned results. When they arrived, I read the results, shared with DH and barely mentioned to the children. Maybe I got by with that (not sharing much about results) because I began so young, and that had always been the routine. They were trained that it was about the process. End of story. What did I do with the results? I could see not as much academic strengths/weaknesses as personality traits. Careful workers, workers who knew info and didn’t bother to apply it, or what they truly didn’t get. I knew how they performed during normal school work, so it was obvious to me the difference between not knowing it or not applying it. And, simply the test taking was telling. Eldest went from not liking being timed to accepting it. But...once, when time ran out before he had finished a math section...broken pencil and tears! That from a relatively calm child. In seventh grade. It helped me help him work through that type of frustration. Lastly, I did consider what the test covered and how it matched what we were covering a little bit, but I didn’t have much concern there. I did not test in high school. We worked on PSAT/SAT/ACT prep as an actual separate subject for roughly a half hour each day to make sure those where familiar, and they took the PSAT each year 9th and 10th grades at the local high school with me demonstrating the same low-key attitude. I felt like they were well prepared for their college entrance testing when the time came, academically pretty much and depending on child, but especially from an good-as-can-be-attitude-about-it perspective.

We have YA’s living here and afar. From the beginning, ours have had the feeling that they want to keep others healthy since they themselves were a low-risk group. They have been able to do school and work at home. But, socially, I see more restlessness; seeing them get together for jogs and workouts, and ready to get going, even if that means with masks. Overall. But, I am wondering if YA’s are getting together socially more than we realize in private homes, etc. What is the experience with your family?

Thanks for mentioning how you use a brass brush on it @Spy Car I think mine needs some work. My seasoning was poorly done between uses, yet still performed nicely for both bread and pot roast. The last time I made pot roast in it, it tasted terrible, but only to me; my family did not notice the off flavor. Maybe it was the poor seasoning job (using regular canola oil, too heavily), using light soap when washing (it is so hard for me not to use soap=), and the wine in the pot roast liquid. Could the wine have reacted with the pan?? Do you mind, @Spy Car walking me through the details of how to resurrect my pan and avoid problems going forward?

Looking for neutral cotton fabric or elastic? On my last Walmart pickup, I purchased 100% cotton (not knit) crib sheets. I chose grey for DH and DS to wear to the office. Bonus - yards of elastic salvaged from the surrounding casing!