43.6 :)

Yeah, I was operating from the idea they were dry, since they didn't "look wet" to me.

Same here. And more and more research points to our carb-heavy diets as being a large part of our overall national declining health and increasing obesity. I choose Atkins, but others find South Beach or Protein Power more forgiving. re: normal food comment - REAL low-carb diets are normal food. The craze in the early 2000s replaced carb-laden, fat-free junk food with low-carb, high protein junk food. It was still junk food. You can't eat junk food and expect to be healthy and at a normal body weight, no matter what kind of junk food it is.

No experience with a reverse mortgage, but if the home is valued at more than they owe, perhaps it is time to sell it and downsize? (I know that puts you guys looking for your own housing solution.)

Is she suffering from more advanced dementia than you previously knew? It may be time to reevaluate her mental status.

Bacon! It's what's for breakfast ... and lunch ... and dinner ... and snack ... well you get the idea!

We doubled down our bets. I have a tubal ligation and DH has a vas. There will be no more new babies in our home unless they are grandchildren.

Right now, outdoor unstructured free play. And no, it's not optional. They all 3 go out and play.

It could be worse. She might be pregnant.

NP, Patrick. I have sons that I am trying to teach to be independent, resourceful young men. You came here, and while not of the targeted demographic of this site, posted a legitimate question in an appropriate section and in a polite tone. Kudos! Bulletin boards are about forming a community. (Although I doubt there's a BB out there about laundry, it wouldn't surprise me!) we should all remember to be polite and and respectful to other posters.

And I'm sorry other people are being snarky and rude. The internet, and bulletin boards in particular, can be harsh.

Patrick, Your load is fine for a front-loaded machine. If there is enough room for you to put another towel or 2 in at the top, it's not overloaded. You want a small amount of space at the top of the load. When the water fills, everything will still be able to agitate around and get cleaned.

I am unsurprised. Affirmative action schemes and racism are still alive and well in the South. (By AA schemes, I mean things like requiring an ACT score of 18 from a white student and a 16 from a minority for college acceptance. NOT the other way around: a 16 from the whites and an 18 from the minorities.)

I agree with counseling now. Since you have a pretty open dialogue with her, perhaps you can talk more about Ms Todd with her. Ask open-ended questions and allow her to verbalize what she thinks/feels. Do not interrupt. I have a difficult middle child, who is dramatic and complains of being unliked. She's been difficult since she got here too. If I had any suspicions that she had thoughts of harming herself, she'd be in a counselor's office. My DH suffers from severe MDD and has had multiple unsuccessful attempts. Every unsuccessful attempt raises your risk of a successful attempt in the future. I'm 99% certain that I will be a suicide widow someday. He's really good about talking things out with me too. I usually know when he's having thoughts and I make an extra appt with his doctor. Winter is the worst. Fall is nice. He likes the fall. Nice enough to be outside without melting or freezing and not much pollen to make me miserable. December every year is a struggle. I think it's been 2 or 3 years since he's come to family T-giving/Christmas celebrations. It's difficult and lonely. It's hard to explain to his family that it's not about them. It's about him being trapped in his own brain, a prisoner to his depression.

Industrial mechanic? Fixing large machines, especially pneumatics like what is often used in theme parks, is a skill set in need. I'd suggest airplane mechanic, but ever since the advent of "LEAN" coming over from Asia, airplane mechanics are expected to kick out jobs in about half the time they previously did.

I've got 2 cats and got them when they were kittens and that still doesn't make sense to me! (Of course it is obvious now that they are boys. They're not yet fixed. I need to do that soon.)

We call ours a Harvestival. It's still Halloween. And Christmas isn't Baby Jesus' birthday either.

Gum, tic-tac, toothpaste all cause an increase in gastric secretions and peristalsis just like eating or drinking would.

If you get to pick, I say Hurlburt. The FL panhandle isn't bad at all and most 'canes go NW once they're in the Gulf.

Sorry. I hope I wasn't sounding like I was going crazy on you. DH's workplace has seriously had to repaint the parking lot multiple times in the last 15 years to add yet another row of handicapped spaces. These are airplane mechanics. Most of these men are of sound body. It's ridiculous how many of them have obtained handicapped parking tags for non-physical disabilities. (Please don't think I am being derisive of non-physical disabilities. My husband's disability is non-physical, but it doesn't make it any less real. The whole point of handicapped parking and wheelchair shopping carts and scooters is to accommodate people with physical disabilities that make it harder for them to walk from "the back forty". It's not to be exploited by physically healthy individuals who want a space closer to the gate.)

I hope y'all know I'm teasing. I've bounced back and forth from AL to MS my whole life and rural MS is a pretty nice place to live.

We did try everything else first. Believe me. I am a night-shifter and I am no stranger to the coping strategies useful to people who work nights. I'm talking about someone who is very nearly completely incapacitated by his depression, especially in the winter and on night shifts. If I wanted to deal with the government bull**** and 2 years of him being out of work, I could make a strong case for his depression being disabling. As long he is able to and wants to work at least part-time, we'll do that, but he requires some accommodation. Tough s*** to his co-workers who think they actually know anything about him or his mental/emotional health. I don't cry about their handicapped parking tags.

Giving you a free bump because my poor tired brain was trying to figure out what peritoneal dialysis had to do with her reading...

Yup! We all point to the charts and proudly declare "We're not dead last! MS is!"

I live in AL. At least we're not MS! ;)