For us it depends on the trip. Quick weekend trip to see friends 8 hours away? Fly, because we don’t need a car there and I’m not going to drive a day there and a day back for a three day visit. So generally if it’s a destination trip we fly. We love road trips and prefer to drive when we have time to stop and see things along the way.

All of those reasons PLUS you can use your own bathroom and change in the privacy of your own house. And run in for a poolside snack if you want one rather than lugging it in a cooler or buying at at a concession stand.

I’m pretty envious of the property having no building restrictions. We live in a rural county and even they have tons of rules about more than one dwelling on a property. We built a detached garage and workshop w storage loft above and the county has come back TWICE to check to be sure we didn’t finish the loft as living space.

I would have cried some serious tears to leave those cabinets behind. How cool that he made them!

Sounds like a great fit for you! Will the attic space become where your son would live long term? You’d mentioned a separate apartment or something for him but the finished attic might work nicely. The current owner might have been processing deer and other stuff for hunters. At least what you describe is how folks here work. They do it in a garage and have freezers to store meat until the hunters get it. Often they have some extra parts that the customers don’t want so they keep it for themselves or family.

I can’t quite figure out how to add thin molding to hide that gap since the doors go all the way to the top of the cabinets. But that’s a lot of storage to lose if you take them out. A more colorful backsplash or some typical kitchen clutter/decoration might be enough to make it not look so bland. I love the wood!

There’s an Instagram dedicated to chicken bones of Atlanta! I feel like I must be living under a rock not to know about this ‘tradition’.

I live in Georgia but not familiar with this practice. At BEST it’s littering, but beyond that it’s gross.

I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that they didn’t teach the kids what sex is and yet they spent a LOT of time talking about how men have ‘problems with their eyes’ and that they need to remain pure, etc. The indoctrination and control they had is mind boggling because evidently the kids never asked questions like normal curious kids do.

While watching the series I assumed the Holts had left IBLP, as I don’t recall any other of the participants still following IBLP. But now I’m not so sure about that. Bobye has a lot of courage to seek the protective order. Wonder if a divorce will ever happen.

Bobye has a restraining order against Jim? Wow. Why was Jim even part of the docuseries???

Any idea when Jim and Bobye Holt left IBLP? They were critical of how Jim Bob and Michelle handled Josh’s teenage transgressions but how long did they follow Gothard after that time period? I thought after the teen transgressions happened that Josh lived with them for a time before he went to the work camp. But maybe that’s not at all what happened. I’ve just never heard them say IBLP was bad, just that Josh did bad things.

It’s not likely to make him any money though. I absolutely agree that he isn’t invested in his kids as individuals.

Such a disappointing setback. Prayers for a safe trip and for your mom.

Me too. It’s curious that she used Jill Duggar on the cover instead of adding Dillard. I don’t understand that family at all. I thought the relationship with Jim Bob was already strained, but saw a video of him meeting Jill’s newest baby at the hospital, and everything seemed fine. (Though I don’t recall her husband being in the room ). When Freddie was born she was already well into the book writing, and Shiny Happy People had already filmed. I wouldn’t think JB would be happy about the book and series. She’s strong and I wish her all the best.

I’m so very sorry.

Sending good vibes for an uneventful surgery and quick recovery!

It’s common to exclude the bottom tray from the weight, but not the clear wrapping around the package. If your pack of chicken weighs a half pound, it’s probably mostly water that has come from the chicken and has soaked into the pad on the tray. A lot of chicken is pumped with a salt water solution to make it more moist after cooking. ETA: our Publix packages by using the tare feature, but I’m guessing places like Walmart where they buy it already packaged includes the packaging in the weight.

These folks are probably saying the same about you- that you’re traveling so much that you’re not available to develop relationships. Your schedules aren’t meshing- when you’re home and rested and ready to hang out, they are busy. When they have downtime, you’re traveling. It’s hard. Do you have hobbies/interests that have ‘groups’? For instance, I’m a quilter so a guild is a great place to meet friends. I know there are meetup groups for folks new to an area, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there aren’t also groups for new empty nesters or recent retirees.

What would I do? Until I read that she’s toxic, I thought she sounded a lot like my mom used to. She had so much anxiety when in the car, especially in the front seat. With Mom, we knew she was doing the best she could to cope, and we knew she wasn’t really judging us. But she wasn’t toxic. If it’s not anxiety driven I’d probably have to air my feelings about how much it bothers me to have her react as she does. And then depending on the answer, either stop driving her or learn to tune her out. Driving with her must be really difficult.

Since we have a few days before the show drops, I wonder what you guys think about ‘blame’ as far as the parents who followed IBLP. Adults join cults and get caught up in things and many are brainwashed and truly don’t realize their beliefs are toxic. But on the other hand, if I was a Duggar, especially an older girl, I think I would have a hard time not being angry with my parents for how I was raised. Jessa, Jinger, and Jill have clearly left Gothard’s teachings behind, yet they don’t publicly criticize/blame their parents. *I know there are folks who think the girls have just moved laterally to different but similar religious beliefs. I don’t know enough about those to comment. I’m just wondering about the time period when they were living with their parents.

@ktgrok I get confused whether IBLP and the Pearls were somehow linked. I never knew any IBLP families when we homeschooled but there were definitely some who followed the Pearls as far as discipline went. Did IBLP have detailed discipline instruction? Was it very similar to the Pearls? In any case, it was awful and I’m like you- I’m not sure I can watch that part even though it’s demonstrated with a doll.

Definitely planning to watch. I hope this advances Jill’s efforts to get past the damage caused by her parents following IBLP.

I’m so sorry. Sending hugs.

May has to feel like it’s a bajillion days long to you.