When I worked in a fancy restaurant many years ago we kept a crock pot of beef broth on the carving station. When someone ordered the prime rib well done you would cut a slice from the medium section and pop it in the hot broth until it wasn’t pink.

You could make a non-chocolate Yule log. Make it a birch log with mostly white frosting.

“School nurse’s office” is exactly what I thought when I saw the first picture.

I’m having flashbacks. My MIL was the same way . . . offended that anyone wanted to eat when she wasn’t hungry, and expecting growing kids to eat like 80 year olds. In case it helps anyone else . . . EShakti dresses have pockets large enough to fit a full meal in. I used to sneak my kids food while MIL was in the bathroom. That was before I figured out the “she’s not going to be happy anyway” thing and just insisted on stopping for meals at regular intervals (or going out for them) whether she liked it or not.

The most important thing is to give up on the idea that there is a perfect solution if only you could find it. There is no realistic solution where your mom isn’t hurt/offended/disappointed because reality hasn’t bent itself to give her the exact daughter and grandchildren she expected. Once you’ve accepted that reality you can stop discarding possible solutions because they will make her hurt/offended/disappointed. She’s going to be that anyway, so stop taking extra pain onto yourself and your kids in a futile attempt to prevent it.

In what other context does “butt” mean sheep?

Of course they aren’t. Most people aren’t thinking about it at all. But if you think of the actual words, how is there any possible origin story that is not both anti-gay and racist/Islamophobic/xenophobic (pick one or more)?

What I have done in a somewhat similar situation is give the younger family members permission (and even encouragement) in advance to walk away if they are uncomfortable. If the problem person says anything about it I will tell her “I gave them permission to leave if [you criticized them/they were bored/whatever the situation is].” Our problem person is now much more careful with her conversation when the teens are in the room, which is more than I’d hoped for. My concern was protecting them, changing her was unexpected. At a holiday meal is hard, because you don’t want to exclude the non-problem family from the holiday, but I would still give them permission to leave if they want to and promise an immediate-family-only treat or activity later. Sometimes just knowing that they can leave even if they don’t makes it better for them.

I’m trying to understand how it could not be vulgar when it’s using a sex act as a metaphor, isn’t that pretty much the definition of vulgar? Whether that makes it inappropriate for adults to use is a different question.

Murderbot has no sex parts and lists its gender as “Not Applicable” so assuming female is equally as wrong as assuming male. I’m waiting with anticipation and apprehension, but I’m fretting more about how they’re going to adapt books that rely so heavily on the character’s internal thoughts than about the gender of the actor.

In the OP’s case it isn’t being posted. It’s using the photo as part of a photo collage on a Christmas card. There are no internet implications, unless you think grandma’s friends are going to scan her Christmas card and post it online.

That doesn’t look at all like a skeleton to me. It looks like a cute animal holding a gift.

Since she has occasional contact with her son she should ask permission to include the photo. If I were you I’d say “Grandma, I know you think it’s bonkers, but since your relationship is already on thin ice why not ask first instead of risking annoying son and dil?”

That and the idea that no one thought of doing things that reminded her of the past until the granddaughter overheard a statement that made her remember the old-but-in-great-condition truck that happened to be conveniently stored in the garage. I wanted to like it, but for me it was just irritating.

Those are the originals. The new ones have warnings about not for children and pregnant women and people sensitive to caffeine.

I mean, it says it right on the sign on the dispenser and not in particularly small print. I know I’m an outlier in reading text anywhere it shows up (I can go to the zoo and forget to look at the animals because I spend all my time reading the signs) but it was pretty clear. Caffeine from [some plant that starts with a g] and green coffee extract.

The beverage itself is about the same as an energy drink. It’s the serving size that’s a problem. “ A large 30-ounce Charged Lemonade has about 390 milligrams of caffeine, according to the posted nutritional facts. That's more than a 12-ounce can of Red Bull and a 16-ounce can of Monster combined” is a misleadingly sensational way to say that 30 ounces of charged lemonade has slightly more caffeine than 28 ounces of energy drink.

I don’t know how I could be more clear. I don’t find the thing you posted disqualifying for younger readers.

Yes. I am absolutely fine with elementary students reading a book in which someone does something wrong. Depicting wrongdoing in fiction is not endorsing it.

I’m fine with people reading books in which things happen that I’m not fine with. In fact, I’m actively in favor and think it’s a good thing.

Even if I believed her ridiculous story, which I do not, someone who developed a porn addiction from seeing a drawing of a scene one would expect to see in a church when the pastor says “you may kiss the bride” is not someone with the moral character or discerning judgement to be advising anyone on book choice.

Anything L’Engle in the YA imprint. Depending on if “prefers no sex scenes” means no description or “I don’t want to think about sex at all” L’Engle’s adult novels might not fit. Also I don’t think a 12 year old is likely to enjoy them.

Esther Friesner’s Princesses of Myth series.

I have toured the cranberry museum in Warrens, WI and they have lots of information and pictures of the harvest. I don’t remember anything about spiders at all. I wonder if the museum people didn’t want to scare everyone off.