They're not for me either. I've looked them over at a homeschool expo and there's something about the overwrought design that drives me a bit crazy.

I like red benches too but was worried whether it would be too much with the black cast iron, compared to a 100% wooden bench. If you were doing a bench in Emperor's Silk, would you leave the cast iron black or paint everything red? I also considered red under the yellow so as it wore it might look like this. But the bench will be exposed to the elements so I can't really control how it wears and I didn't want something that looks like mustard and ketchup. I will definitely take another look at Antibes Green and also Old Violet. Great ideas!

I don't think it's as depressing but it's more violent and suspenseful. The writing style (colloquialisms, lack of quotation marks, etc) is the same. I like it much better than The Road.

Yes, another Annie Sloan thread. :) I'm thinking about repaint a bench for our (someday) garden using Annie Sloan chalk paint. The bench is one of those ones with the cast iron sides and the slats of wood, like this one but not the same cast iron pattern. After researching I'm not going to wax the paint because it's outdoors in the sun and that can re-melt the wax. It will eventually get worn here and there and I can either repaint it or if I like the worn look, leave it. Another option is some kind of petroleum-based coating to protect it. Right now I'm thinking about leaving the cast iron black, although my research showed that could be painted with chalk paint as well. I want a brighter color for the wood so I'm avoiding grays and browns because they are too close to the natural color and I'm avoiding greens because I want the bench to stand out against foliage. I was thinking about Arles and found this example of a console with a graphite top, which is the closest I can find to Arles next to a blackish color. Any other ideas of what would stand out in a garden and also go with black cast iron? I was considering the possibility of layering two colors so that as the paint wears off the other color begins to show through as well, but that seemed like the next thing to think about after picking the main one. But I would love suggestions here too. Here's a link to the current palette.

There are two sisters and PBS says they're all going.

That's just what I was thinking last night about Cormac McCarthy. Re-reading No Country for Old Men reminded me again of how much he conveys with such simple writing. It's astounding, really.

I love movie marathons but our family has so much going on right now I couldn't see my way to doing a marathon on a Wednesday. If only they'd gone forward in time to a weekend! The last two marathons I watched were Hobbit when the last one came out and before that Indiana Jones, which was not related to any opening, just for fun. I'm also not sure I can match my childhood memories, but I'm trying to do the same for my kids. They've only watched the movies on my laptop but they love them. That's good to know. I did feel that the first trailer gave more away than I would have liked so I just stopped watching. This is me right now.

Interesting update.... I wonder about the move. I'd be surprised if he couldn't have gotten a scholarship here as well. Perhaps he didn't feel comfortable being here anymore. I hope he does all the things he was invited to before the move or he'll have to either give them up or travel quite a bit.

Interesting. I got two pairs last year and they're still going strong. They have day-to-day socks and hiking socks. Any chance your old pair is the thicker hiking socks and the new pair is the day to day sock?

We're pretty excited. I really like JJ Abrams. We only watched the first trailer months ago and have been avoiding them since. They seem to give too much away. Anyone else?

The SmartWool socks don't itch. I used to wear regular wool socks for hiking before I discovered SmartWool and I would wear a breathable liner sock with them.

I also love SmartWool socks! I'll have to check out the Costco ones. We do buy undershirts there so I don't know why I never thought about socks.

Shakti Mat It's basically an acupressure mat and releases endorphins to stop pain. You do have to take some time to get used to it. You can start with shorter times and wear a thin t-short and work up to it. Here are some tips. You don't have to use it directly on your hands. If you lie down with it under your back it will release enough endorphins to stop quite a bit of pain. It's very relaxing and we usually fall asleep when we use it.

:hurray: :hurray: :hurray:

Very interesting! I'm trying to wait to read this book but you're tempting me to add another item to my "currently reading" pile. :lol:

I hadn't read about the chocolate/slavery connection, but I just assumed there was one as I do whenever something is grown in undeveloped regions and/or has a fair trade version. For chips, I buy the more expensive Fair Trade (Akoma) version of Guittard. We only go through 1-2 bags/year, 8oz of which are for our Thanksgiving chocolate tart. I don't eat much chocolate but it's easier to get Fair Trade bars than chips.

Thanks for the update! Continuing to hope for a good outcome.

Pam, maybe delete the spoiler? The book is still making the rounds in the group. Hmmm. Now that the meanings of the words has been made more explicit, I'm also wondering about allegory.

Yeah, I would find that confusing. I live in the land of no snow so I'm not that familiar. One time MIL (who lives in a snowy area) and I had a conversation in which she explained that the district in her town schedules extra days for snow and if they have fewer closures than that they end early. It's been very rare to go over, but when they do they extend the school day to end the year on time. If I looked at a school schedule in a snowy area I would think the snow days were already built in. I think at a minimum your DH and DS10 should go, and I would try to reschedule finals for the others as well.

Once you elect COBRA you have 45 days to make a premium payment, which will be retroactive. At least elect now in case something happens. If there's an emergency during that 45-day period you'll find that it's cheaper to pay the COBRA premium and have the medical stuff covered. It will also buy you time to figure things out. Also check in with the new employer and ask if you can submit for reimbursement of the first month of COBRA before paying the second, rather than paying both up front and then submitting. If your DH has a receipt and fills out the reimbursement form I doubt it will be a problem to do them separately. Since it's going to be reimbursed, can you borrow the money from family?

DH and his brother keep in touch by playing online Scrabble. Of course that would be for when your nieces are older. If you knit you could get their input and make them scarves each fall. Can you guys Skype or use FaceTime?

Funny about the "I have that too" phenomenon, because our copy of Moby Dick is the same as yours. I'll have to think about my ideal bookshelf. Something tells me I should form my own before reading about other people's or I'll be reminded of too many other possibilities! Jane covered our conversation but missed one of my posts: I sent my copy to Eliana so hopefully when things settle down for her she'll read it and chime in as well.

Yep. Just roll with it, I think. :) I was going to read this next month. It sounds like I should gather up my nerve first....

I finished The Silver Chair and started (just this morning) The Horse and His Boy. Yes, I am still plugging away on Narnia when I have time. I think I started in March? I also completed A String in the Harp, which I picked up thanks to recommendations in previous threads. It fits in well with our history studies this year and I'll be passing it on to DS. I really enjoyed this story once I figured out I should be patient about action and there wouldn't be any Narnia-like endeavor in which children enter another world, which was what I had expected. I've spent too much time the last week Googling about holiday in Wales. I'm still reading and enjoying The Spoils of Poynton, House of Leaves, and (my re-read of) No Country for Old Men. I took DS to see Benedict Cumberbatch in Hamlet, shown on the big screen here but a National Theatre Live offering from London. (The set was amazing. Some people had issues with it but we loved it) He was the only kid there but was able to hold his own when approached by other audience members to discuss the production. :001_wub: We got home around 11:30p and I let him sleep in the next day. I love homeschooling!

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