Hi, all! I haven't been around for quite some time. One of my very young co-workers and I were talking and I said off the cuff that,"someone was acting sus." I don't really think we're allowed to use their language. She giggled. Hey, I get it from my young adult kids. I've never heard of "on fleek." And yes, I still think of tea as used only here as well as books!

Hey Dawn. Glue jewelry pieces to a frame, spray paint it all the same color. Put a photo of your mom in it. >>Or how about taking a lamp or a large glass jug or something similar and glue pieces of the jewelry to that, spray paint it. A friend of mine had something odd she bought at an auction that went perfect for some TV show that was set back in the 70s or 80s (was it That 70's Show? I don't know). She was contacted by them and they bought it from her. I don't know if she sold it through Etsy, Ebay, or Craigslist but that kind of stuff is popular, vintage.

They do not self-clean if they have diarrhea, long hair, and can't reach the area. Twice we've had to take lovely Ms. Longhairs (looks like a Maine Coon) to the vet for a trim and a bath. They said she behaved perfectly. I didn't get to see what their set-up was but they said she allowed them to bathe her with no problems, and then they dried her. I first tried bathing her when she was only about 4 months old so I can relate to the shredded arms. She had gotten a bit of boat trailer grease on her spine that I didn't want her to lick off. I don't think she could reach that either.

Homeless shelters are full, I don't think it matters where you look. Until she burns all of her bridges, she will continue to rely on family. Gently, what you might do is drive yourself crazy trying to figure out a solution for her and it will not matter because she will probably not like your answers. You said she gets upset if you mention being evaluated. She needs a confrontation. It is usually used on drug addicts and alcoholics and includes family, employer, etc. Most of the time it includes a therapist, psychiatrist, case worker, etc. I understand your wanting to help her. It will end up being a hard cold slap to her if she ends up going to soup kitchens for her meals. Some of the places offer a free place to shower as well and free medical care. There are shelters for single women. I hope that if you continue to try to help her that she accepts your help. Honestly, there are a lot more services out there than is realized, to help people get back on their feet again.

Definitely take before and after photos, Dawn! I can't wait to see what you do with it. I'm interested in painting furniture and haven't finished 2, or is it 3, chairs. Random dining chairs that have long since lost their family of chairs. I've been using acrylic craft paints. Not sure how I would have found the colors I fell in love with otherwise.

My piano is in the living room. In three other homes we've lived it was in the dining room. My daughters play it and eventually one of them will take it. One of them plays a grand piano at church and they all sing too and need it for rehearsing. LOL I can't believe we've come that far. It was mine when I was a teenager. Our most recent piano tuner said it was an "okay" piano and would suffice for a beginner. We also have an electric keyboard and no one ever plays it. Good luck to anyone trying to sell a piano. You can't give them away either. My MIL had a nice organ and she couldn't sell it or give it away. I think a church finally took it. We have moved ours ourselves (including into the moving truck and out again) with no harm done.

Check with Mountain Rose Herbs. https://mountainroseherbs.com/catalog/herbs-spices/organic-sprouting-seeds

Some of us think we're still cooking for a small army, leftovers will be plentiful. Tonight my girls made chicken soup with leftover chicken thighs and legs from Monday night's crock pot dinner. About a half a package of egg noodles was used, one regular sized (not 32 oz) chicken broth, 2 cups water, 2 or 3 sliced carrots, quarter cup of peas. Pretty quick (30 minutes), very easy.

Our big girl weighs 14 pounds, she looks like a mix of Maine Coon or Norwegian Forest Cat. A couple of weeks ago she was vomiting, a week before that didn't jump on any furniture. She vomited probably 8 or 9 times that one day and I finally decided to take her to the ER since what I read about cats and vomiting alarmed me (hello 10:45 p.m.). I was concerned she was dehydrated. A sonogram showed enlarged lymph glands in the abdomen (2) and possible infection. They gave her a steroids shot and antibiotic. We brought her home and she is basically back to normal and no vomiting. Appetite is back, litter box habits normal, all good. We used to give her a little bit of canned food every day even though she drank from the water bowl. We started giving her a little bit of canned food daily again. She is 10 years old. We were cautioned to slowly switch her kibble to other brands rather than anything with a buffalo or bobcat on the label. Pancreatis or pancreas cancer is common with the brand we were giving her. I hope you and Havoc are feeling better soon. Best wishes on husband's leg and employment.

How precious!!! Congratulations to your family!!!

Scarlett, how shocking for everyone. I join with everyone else in prayers and sending healing thoughts and love. So good your sister can help take care of them too. Your poor mom got the worst of it. Just awful. They'll get better with their loving daughters taking care of them. ❤️

Our school district has just started free breakfast and lunch for everyone enrolled.

honestly, haven't even thought about it because I was blindly assuming things would be "back to normal" and of course they aren't "back to normal." We've got one in medical field, one in college, two in on-line college, one in military, one in front line grocery store. Plus 8 others, give or take. That's just my kids and their spouses and a few grandchildren. I'm guessing at this point military will not be traveling and who knows what will happen with the medical field. I don't really want to share my family with other families (in-laws) this year (so much contact!). Whatever we decide, it seems like as a "single" parent now, things are definitely going to be different.

We had fireworks tonight. It's a Texas thing. Must have been because of April 1.

CONGRATULATIONS to your family!!!!! That is so exciting. I celebrate with you! 😇 It's April and she's due in July...TWINS!!! I'm happy for your family. We all need good news!

@popmommy personal opinion of UofMD College Park...party town. Campus population of 50k I think. It is fun for some, I suppose, as mentioned above, but for some others, not right for them. I don't think it is safe, but that is my opinion after knowing several kids who have attended and either left because they were overwhelmed or did see it through and graduated. I think it is expensive and I'm sorry I don't have any numbers or areas that I would even recommend. Hyattsville I don't think has gotten any safer and I definitely wouldn't suggest living there. Maryland is not the friendliest state either, I should know. I lived there most of my life.

@mom2scouts It is slow and not steady, but I still have been eliminating items, garbage bags even if they are not full, boxes of stuff that I couldn't stand to see any longer, etc. Going through craft supplies, I realized that I have had some of this stuff far too long!!! Fortunately able to use a lot of it up at a craft night for girls at church. Yay. I like mentally saying this, "GIrl, you don't NEEEEEEED that thing!" And that helps. Salvation Army is not near me. Goodwill throws away stuff that people might buy, kind of surprises me. I haven't seen much in the way of other second-hand stores in my area.

Basically he was saying that the sick and not sick were not clearly separated, it was chaotic and he was getting a lot of run around while on board, he was eventually asked to leave. He also said that the possibility for contamination was frequent and those on board were doing nothing to stop contamination. I read somewhere that even a doctor was not wearing anything to keep her safe, no mask, no gloves. She said she probably had it already anyway. And now they are losing the medical professionals in hospitals in China. I'm alarmed and have been for weeks. But I don't know anyone personally who is concerned about it, yet, I know several health care professionals.

I hope that it isn't seen as an across the board child sex abuse organization. My kids were in it for years and the leaders were always good people and they always did lots of good stuff. The leadership was always "two deep", meaning there were always at least two adults teaching the boys and on campouts there were more and dads went too. @Margaret in COwhat are your thoughts on this? @mom2scoutsare you still in scouting? My kids are finished with it so it doesn't affect us now.

I'm sorry too. There are no words I can come up with anymore when someone says these things they are going through. Having been in the mire with it with my husband last year I know how I felt ...We love you and we care about you deeply. Be thinking about you today and sending positive vibes your way. 🐶

My superpowers have not remained strong. I used to be able to tell what country someone was from by the accent. I used to know when I was being lied to by anyone. I used to be a raging maniac when thunderstorms were approaching (but I didn't know the weather forecast) and later when I'd start hearing the thunder I'd realize it was probably the barometric pressure working on me. I think we discussed this in a thread years ago here. Is that a superpower or a super inconvenience? I don't think I have this here where I live now. If a driver got us lost, I could get us out of it. I never got lost when i lived where I used to, even when in a new area or new city. Here I get lost when I'm over in the big cities, always make a wrong turn, something always goes wrong. So, I would say I had an uncanny sense of direction in my home place.

How is everyone doing on their de-cluttering? I hit a wall and haven't felt like moving forward. Hopefully tomorrow I can get it rolling again because I have made a big mess in two rooms. It is too cold to work in the garage lately, but will get back to that when it warms up. It is hard getting rid of stuff that was his, that I have no use for and the kids don't want. We are not going to discuss yard sales, nope. @Arctic Mama I found a box of little girl church dresses too, different sizes. I thought I had gotten rid of it more than 10 years ago but that must have been the OTHER box of cute little dresses. I like it that the dresses don't lose their classic look. Still haven't gone to the animal shelter, but that is on the list for tomorrow. What do you do with fabric? i have a good bit of lycra spandex in various prints but I now have no intention of making any swimsuits or swim shorts.

It doesn't matter if the student wasn't identified. Your daughter knew it was her work that was being critiqued. I can't imagine how that would help anyone to learn and grow, but especially when so young. It seems rather damaging to her psyche, IMO. I want to say that the teacher will most likely be backed up by the administration or that the teacher will not back down. I cannot envision the teacher even admitting it was wrong, or apologizing.

Congratulations! And it looks great! Nice beach day. Does he look anything like you? I love family resemblances. My youngest boy and youngest girl both look a lot like me and each other.

About shredding documents, etc: some cities or police departments offer it once a year, check your local government's web pages. Some libraries have shredders for public use. "Old" towels, baby blankets, etc. as mentioned above, can be donated to animal shelters. Call them to see if they accept donations. I get frustrated with this house because when I get a set of sheets or blanket out to use, it smells kind of funky and I end up washing it before using it, even with storing some open bars of soap or dryer sheets in the closets, tucked between stacks of items. Started on my closet, pulled boxes out and found there are some things I do not need or want any longer. if you have gone through a life changing event (and I don't mean menopause-- but you can start there if you like, haha)-- things change and I feel like things that used to mean something to me no longer do. My biggest boo: the projects I had every intention of making and got most of the supplies together but haven't taken the time to work on or complete. A friend taught me a new saying: Prove it. If I really mean it, if I really want to get it done, put aside the time to work on it. Some of my clutter is from purchased projects/supplies, etc. that I will not give up on. I will allow myself to keep some of that. Sometimes when you are in the depth of cleaning a room and it is an absolute mess and you can't go on, it's okay. We know this, and some of us might need to feel it or read it, get the encouragement. Some of us might need to get a kick in the butt to get back to it. It's just stuff. A friend was getting rid of clutter from her parents' estate and said someone from a TV show bought an item she was trying to sell online because it fit the time frame decor (1970s) HAHA