I love under bed storage. I like an uncluttered look and it’s a good way for me to hide stuff we only need occasionally. Without kids or animals in our house it really doesn’t get that dusty under the beds and we only clean under them every few months.

We have several high priced private schools near us and they use that info to tout how much scholarship money and how many elite colleges their students have earned admission to. It kind of annoys me because last year one grad we know got into a few ivys and a service academy. So touting all those plus the combined scholarship dollars is misleading. But I get it- they want to attract students.

It’ll be the third coronation my dad has been alive for. Though he wasn’t crowned, if you count Edward’s almost year long reign, it’s the 4th monarch he’s ‘seen’. Elizabeth was so young at her coronation and loved so very long…that DOES seem like something we’ll never see again.

I’m so sorry for your loss.

Yes, you’re absolutely right about this. She does need to find out exactly what the guy did. In my neck of the woods, using perforated of some kind is absolutely the norm, as is lining the ditch w gravel and using fabric. But in Katie’s area maybe what the guy did is typical.

I’d start by calling the bigger company and just inquiring that they would install if you asked for ‘French drain’. If it matches what the guy installed, maybe you have no case. Our French drain has a deep angled trench lined with gravel, a specially designed perforated pipe that is covered with landscape fabric to discourage dirt from going into the drainage holes, and of course a pop up. we also have a dry well, but that’s not pertinent to this discussion. And what is installed here as ‘French drain’ might be a very different product down there in Florida. Anyway, if after hearing the big company’s description of a French drain, if it doesn’t match what was installed, I would request a complete refund. He’s welcome to come dig up the materials and take those, as long as he fills in the trench. When you hire work done, you’re not at fault if they don’t do what was contracted. You don’t watch a brake job being done on your car- you hire experts for a reason. If it was a miscommunication, there’s room for compromise. Is small claims cheap where you are? in our area it’s a small filing fee and you just each state your case and the judge decides. Usually a good way to mediate a disagreement without the stress of badgering someone. I mean, talk to him first, but if he won’t work with you and you feel you’re right, I’d do small claims rather than smearing his name. I hope it works out!

If he was paying for gap insurance as part of his car payment (which he was behind on) then he might have lost gap coverage because he didn’t pay the premium.

The question and answer service is an inexpensive way for a kid to see what they missed and whether it’s something they can prep for if they want to improve their score. I’m assuming your kids didn’t take the test on one of few dates they offer the service, so that service won’t help you, though it is something for those with younger kids to consider. Retaking it without prep seems like a missed opportunity, though. If they’re going to retake it, maybe they would be willing to spend a few hours prepping. I’d probably suggest taking some full length practice tests under actual time constraints, and after each one go through every question missed and determine whether it was a dumb mistake, a question worded in a way that confused them, a topic they didn’t know, or whatever. For instance, were there sections they didn’t finish due to time? If so, perhaps taking practice tests will help improve speed. Such a stressful time for students and parents, but boy won’t you be happy once they’re done?! All three of you are probably discouraged that the boot camp didn’t help.

We’ve used ACA since dh retired and ours have always had column B filled out. I’m guessing it’s because as Jumpy pointed out -we applied subsidy as we went along. Good to know Turbo Tax has now caught that glitch between the form and their software. That’s a chunk of money you’re getting back!

And animals in general! As our cat aged he wasn't as able to tolerate new foods. Sometimes a food he loved was discontinued or unavailable and Chewy recommended a substitution. In every case, if Pick didn’t like it, they refunded our money and asked us to donate the food to our shelter. When Pick passed away and I contacted Chewy to cancel our auto ship they were not only quick to cancel, they sent us condolence flowers.

Canton to Atlanta was a commute back then! But likely didn’t take more time than now since traffic is nuts. When we moved to Marietta (from Connecticut) so Dad could work at Lockheed in the mid 60’s, it was booming like crazy because everyone wanted to live close. Perhaps because at the time Lockheed didn’t have enough parking for everyone and they encouraged carpooling.

That reported mpg surprises me. I bought a gently used 1975 VW Rabbit that easily got 30 mpg putting around town. Most of my friends got similar mpg and even my dad, who drove a VW van got around 25. Sure, my teen friends driving muscle cars got crummy mpg. We walked a whole lot more than than many folks do today. I don’t recall there being a pick up line at our elementary school or junior high like I see now. We rode bikes to friends’ houses- our folks rarely drove us. Cars had lower mpg but I wonder if folks lived closer to their jobs than many do today. I grew up in metro Atlanta and while there were plenty who lived in Marietta and worked in Atlanta, it wasn’t common to commute from more distant suburbs.

I’m so sorry.

This. And understand that how you drive is their model. When oldest Dd was 14 (she’s turning 40 so this was a LONG time ago) I was following a friend home from an event, and at a railroad crossing the lights were flashing and bells going off but the arm was not yet down. She quickly went through the crossing, and got mad when I stopped, knowing the arm was about to be lowered. Why did I stop? Because I didn’t want my kid to see me take an unnecessary chance.

I consider anything that’s done for pleasure to be hobby-like. Not as traditional as photography or tennis, but still done for pleasure. I find volunteering fun. The price of nursery veggies is astronomical in my neck of the woods! $5.50 for a single squash or tomato plant in a tiny container. My fellow shoppers at Lowe’s were pretty shocked. Hopefully your supplier has lower prices.

Home improvement, day trips that often include antiquing, woodworking, jigsaw puzzles, we enjoy shows together, volunteer together, birdwatching, nature walks. Although our pace is slower now that we’ve retired, we’re still pretty busy.

Does frozen have the same…aroma…as fresh?

It bugs me, too, but I think non mathy people hear a nurse say 7 2 and assume 7.2, not 7 pounds 2 ounces. I know it shouldn’t annoy me, but it does. Probably because I felt like I always had people questioning whether our homeschooled kids were learning enough. And clearly some people should have been more worried about their own kids’ math education.

As traffic has resumed after Covid we’ve noticed more people pulling out in front of us when there really isn’t quite enough time to do so. Roundabouts have been the worst- people seem to have forgotten how they work! Either they completely stop when they don’t have to, or they don’t stop/slow down when someone is in the roundabout. It’s so dangerous to be in a roundabout and have to hit your brakes because someone pulled in with no space! Tailgating hasn’t been bad around us, but down in Atlanta it’s nuts.

If we’re visiting family or friends we sometimes unpack. But generally we live out of our packing cubes, which has one side for clean things and the other for used clothes. (I have a label on the zipper for the dirty side because I spent too much time trying to remember which clothes were clean)

Are you planning to shop for merchandise? Folks we know have said two hours+ are a must if you are buying things before. Our Dd who went to a Bieber concert at his high point said the crowd was nothing compared to Taylor Swift. Selling her merch outside is genius becuase even fans without tickets can buy it…but that does increase the crowd size for concert goers. Have a great time!!!!!

I was babysitting at that age and was fine not having an adult around. But to me, if the kid is otherwise responsible, I’d leave it up to him. He may or may not feel comfortable being alone that late at night. So I’d let him decide. (assuming he has a phone so he can call you or another adult if needed)

In 2017 I bought a zojirushi stainless steel water bottle and absolutely love it. That’s all I use. I do have a Tervis bought before the zojirushi but rarely use it, and never as a water bottle. (It’s for tea)

We’re not masking unless required, such as a doctor’s office. I don’t know that any of us living here have had Covid (me, dh, ds). We’ve tested every time we’ve felt off, but never had a positive result. Doesn’t;t mean we haven;t had Covid, just that we’re not aware of it.

Why would anyone sell a sink made out of something that heat sensitive????? Nuts.