Sweet - what fun!

First, congratulations on your anniversary! I love wedding reception stories; where did you have the cake/punch? Did you get a caterer, or just do it yourself?

DH built in fish tank in our basement in another home...huge tank...the next owners kept the platform as a bar. When we had chemo going on, we moved our birds to our basement, where they now reside. I am glad they have one another, but the cockatiel could use more conversation than my once a day visit affords him. I am certainly glad to no longer have the random feathers spewing out of the cage up in our main living space, though. When it was up here, I vacuumed it once/day, now only twice/week.

Two items that are small, yet annoy me frequently: Earrings: DH gave me a gift to pick out a new pair (I'm a one pair gal), so I purchased lovely pastel crystal blue/pink ones, passing by the (same design) classic black/crystal ones. Pastels just do not show up on me, so they are a flop. I look at them once in a while, but rarely wear them. As soon as I purchased the no-return policy earrings them, I knew I had made a mistake. I detest spending money on anything I will not use everyday/frequently. New kitchen faucet: Pro - pretty to look and doesn't leak. Cons - reaches too far out so gets you wet with splashes if turned on too high & difficult to adjust flow rate.

The other sides of dice have the typical pips in addition to suit icons. Lots of resources for how to play are online.

Update - quite satisfied. Thanks for this thread...I’ve made $25 since Saturday!!! I simply set up an account on Rakuten on my desktop on Saturday. Monday, when I purchased a raincoat for DD, two Amazon orders, and tickets through Groupon, I reminded myself each time to click on those vendors through Rakuten. Well, there is $25 in my account that I can cash out. This was easy-peasy. I am stunned, thank you!

Antique ‘Poker Dice’ from eBay. Eldest loves poker, vintage items, and display items. This particular set comes in a lucite case, often they come in a leather carrier. I am particularly happy since finding the fun gift for this young adult male is getting harder and harder.

Whoa! That seems like a lot to keep track of. Can you describe your use of those? Specifically, do you check for particular items through each one, each time, or do you use each for different vendors?

Hello Hadley, I think I know exactly how you feel. Welcome! 🌼

DH has been traveling a lot. I think sappy movies could just be what I need to distract me while also entertaining me & the pup this holiday season 🐶

You are correct; others, above, have given good explanations as to why. The ‘do not end a sentence with a preposition’ is an oversimplification of the rule which is in place to keep away the basic error of not completing a prepositional phrase at the end of a sentence. For example, perhaps “Max is who I went with.” is a bit casual, but it is a grammatically proper complete sentence. One should not write, “I went for a walk up the hill with.”, as a complete sentence because it leaves the reader hanging by not completing the prepositional phrase at the end of the sentence.

Historical: we enjoyed Up From Slavery by Booker T Washington. Joan of Arc Mark Twain Funny: All books of P G Wodehouse

Were we separated at birth @Little Green Leaves? I so agree with your sentiments. A completely different path of life has followed those “..showing up to Thanksgiving Dinner with just flowers” days for me. I host. And, I do love it. China. Chrystal. Requesting menu helps/accepting what is brought. But, we have no choice. For many years, we have hosted a large Friends-giving, because there just wasn’t any family beyond the IL’s. That has all faded away, and, this year, with only the IL’s it will be quieter (just our immediate family) and the ILs and UNO games. Fun, for certain, but I am longing for the day when there is some extended family to wash dishes with.

Oh, recommend some, please!

Turn on your self-cleaning oven feature early in the morning (Wednesday) or tonight (Tues) if you are still up. WARNING: it will usually render your oven AND stovetop inoperable for up to six hours. (Mine is four hours) Mine was done last week, and DH oiled the racks. We keep them in while self-cleaning is on & wipe/rinse/oil to render them back to their easy-slide days.

Agree with @Junie Here's my recent post about Art Reed's DVDs/streaming. I have no experience with Dive, but I believe I completely wasted money on Saxon Teacher when I purchased it. It is simply the same lesson information from the book (exactly) done on a board. My son said, "Wait, this is what I just read!" Art Reed insists the student read the lesson first, then attend his 'class' lecture. 5-20 minutes of Mr. Reed giving a face to face lecture, explaining the lesson's concepts from a different perspective.

I recommend that you look up Art Reed. Truly amazing IMO. He will personally respond to students regarding any individual problem they have in Saxon 5/4 though calculus. He mainly provides DVD (now also streaming) instruction to complement the use of the regular Saxon program - a lecture a day of anywhere from 5-20 minutes. Our children said he was amazing (one went on to be a math major, but we had our share of math phobic, as well) Many families we know began using him, and their students have the same opinion. This was our experience: eldest, quite bright at math had a rotten eighth grade Alg I year. I tried three programs that year because I was so tense about high school math, and I decided to experiment. Super big mistake. Our math-loving son was floundering and began freshman year unprepared for Algebra II. Somehow I found Art Reed (probably from someone here), and left him an email. He replied quickly, asking me to call him. We were on the phone for a half of an hour - he kindly and patiently listening and then explaining that our son needed to repeat Algebra I. I said, "My son will croak!" Art Reed asked if I would like him to speak to our son and explain the rationale. It was a successful conversation, a successful year, and that particular child went on to get a mathematics major and study finance in grad school, so I did not mess him up too much=) Look up and contact Art Reed. He'll personally help you through this. His face to face lectures each day for Saxon are the bee's knees! https://teachingsaxon.com/contact/

Great minds think alike - first sons making cranberries is a tradition in another families, too...DS will crack up! Your recipe sounds amazing!!

I have streamlined my mother's recipe. It is a delicious, more sweet than tart, gelatin dessert. Every year since time immemorial, I have asked eldest son to make this. Funny that it took him a few years into adulthood to figure out that I wasn't going to stop asking him to make it - I guess I am attempting to guarantee a family traditional recipe by force=) He will arrive on Wednesday, and he will be handed the recipe card so he can get busy! This link to my Plan to Eat recipe should work for anyone: https://www.plantoeat.com/recipes/17710830

I'm going to ask her that, thank you! Oscar, the mule, has made such miraculous, yet slow, progress since bad early experiences with previous owners. I am proud of my DD for getting this far. And, having such patience! But, maybe she hadn't thought to do that since she doesn't really like me around the equines. haha, I both spoil them with extra treats/yet my lack of comfort with them makes me unsafe up close. Perhaps DH can help.

I have an awesome unusual gift idea that, alas, cannot happen. Horsehair jewelry. Perhaps this was an idea from you @Margaret in CO? A keychain made from my daughter's donkey (she has a donkey and mule...not horses, but close=) So sad - the donkey's tail is not in good shape right now, while the mule will not allow her to cut it. I had given her the job of collecting the hair, although she did not know why. I am so disappointed. Maybe next year. In case anyone wants to do this: imsilver.com Not sure how much lead time they need.

Prayers offered.

That is fascinating about the decorations being on a lottery - what an amazing amount of work that is for them. We are thinking of driving to/from Cocoa Beach for lunch the last day since we fly out at dinner time and have nothing else to do all day. If the weather is drizzly (as is predicted), maybe we will spend time at the Grand Floridian instead. Also, I am exploring the Disney website more thoroughly. I've been relying on the app, and the app doesn't have wish list or nearly as much info as the website. So, I am reading about transportation. Lots of maps, times, etc.

Congratulations! And, have fun on your trip!!

I think I had seen on an old TA forum that the resort (FQ) didn't decorate until 15th of Nov, but I'll head to that resort even it it isn't. So glad to hear MK is decorated!! And, yeah, sounds like a pain to navigate the people on the bikes. Our trip is short and afternoon/evening time to explore with DH will be last minute each time, so maybe not bother to go all the way there. When you said you watched from 'the boat', did you rent one? Was that at Fort Wilderness? Or, a boat at Disney Springs?