It's too big for your space. That's the clincher. If you can get a new one, it's time. 15 years is very reasonable, and I wouldn't spend the money on refurbishing a piece that's too large for your space. FWIW, we had a fabulous couch from Costco that made it 13 years, until it needed to be reupholstered. We gave it away, and bought leather. Sadly, we've already recovered the leather once, as the cushions showed wear too soon, and it's only 5 years old. Our Costco couch beat the higher end leather couch, hands down.

Glad it's been found!

Gardenmom, I hope things improve with your brother soon, too! Family shouldn't be this hard.

Thank you. I'll keep trying. I've left messages and emailed and texted, sometimes asking directly, sometimes just being bubbly and wishing them well (like on holidays). I think I'll try asking as you suggested, even if it feels like I've already done that. Phrasing it differently might help, or maybe the timing will be better.

Oh, this makes me sad. I will keep reaching out, but it's hard never hearing back from them (till now). I don't understand it, but it helps to hear it isn't unheard of. (Please excuse the bad grammar.)

:) That's a keeper!

Oh, Sparkly, you reminded me - we get Catholic type stuff from DH's family all the time. No biggie. It's not a change though, so I never even notice. And, ahem, they still speak to us, and we gave a good relationship. So maybe this strikes me as so weird because it's the sudden change combined with the relationship disappearing.

I should probably search for the other thread. :) I vaguely remember it, but we've been crazy busy here. That's a good way to look at it though, that they are not interested in a relationship as much as promoting their belief. Bummer. I'm saddened by the loss, because I love them. :(

If you have family or friends who differ from you, say they are religious and you are not, or vice versa, would it feel odd if they suddenly started sending cards with overt messages that differ from your beliefs, but agree with theirs? I don't know what to think. I'm not religious. I'm not an "angry atheist" by any means, there was no dramatic deconversion, and it's just a non-issue for me, mostly. The best analogy is the skier vs. non-skier analogy. I don't ski, but I don't spend much time thinking about the fact that I don't ski. I don't talk about it, it doesn't define me, I don't convince others not to ski, but I'm not taking my kids skiing either, and I have my reasons for that. If someone asks, I'll talk about it, but I don't often bring it up. I figure the skiers are fine as long as they don't push skiing on me or mine. I have friends and family who ski, I love them. I don't send them messages or cards about not skiing. I just don't talk about it. I send caring cards without any message for/against faith or no faith. Previously, my family had the same approach. We are all very welcoming and accepting. We have members of several radically different faiths. No big deal. We all accommodate. Or did. No one attempts to convert my orthodox Jewish sister and her family to another faith. No one tries to convince the Christians that they shouldn't believe. Over the holidays I mentioned my non-skiing status for the first time, to a family member who has hitherto been distinctly not religious, though I knew she had started attending a more evangelical Christian church with her grandchild here and there. She and her spouse have not spoken to me since, have not returned a single phone call. I just received a very religious birthday card. A bible verse encouraging me to pray. No more, other than a signature. They have never, ever sent anything remotely religious. They normally write a note of some sort, too. It's odd, all around. I don't know what to think. I'm hurt that they disappeared for so long. I'm hurt that they didn't return calls from me or my kids. I'm not particularly hurt that the card is religious, I'm happy that they thought of me at all because I honestly wondered if I'd ever hear from them again. I'm just baffled at the sudden shift. So, how do you handle cards to people of different faiths or no faith? Is this the norm?

Top dresser drawer, stuffed behind the undies? That where I found mine a few weeks ago. Everyone else's was in the safe.

I like a product called Glass. It's by Redken, I think.

You're welcome! And it's on Audible, too -bonus! Totally envious that you'll listen for the first time. :) DS and I can recite parts. Love it.

What on earth? This is serious?

It's fantastic! It appeals to a broad range of ages - We've been several times. It's a favorite of 23 year old DS, who even went as a blue man for his senior year Halloween. DS 11 has been as a 7 year old and a 10 year old. Loved it both times.

I think perhaps it needs to be viewed as an overview, much like a 101 type course. You might use it as a jumping off point for further study, but I don't think it is intended to delve deep into details. I think its intent is more to create interest, to feed passions, and to inspire and start discussions and exploration.

Did you enjoy the original Cosmos? We love the reboot. Then again, DS falls asleep listening to NDGT's Great Course Lecture Series - The Inexplicable Universe at night. We periodically head to NYC to visit the Hayden and marvel at the Scales of the Universe exhibit (sadly, we were just there and it's temporarily closed), and we've even entered the Star Talk lottery. So I guess we are fans. :) NDGT isn't an actor. He's a scientist. So I don't expect his acting to be fantastic. He's better live, much like Carl Sagan was.

Good luck!

Whew! So glad you did. Thank goodness for the rash. I hope his treatment is smooth sailing. :)

You probably know this, but just in case ... I don't think you'll over do it with either probiotics or S. boulardii, but the worst that will happen if you over do the S. Boulardii (Florastor) is a bit of constipation. If that happens, back down slightly. Thinking of you. My DS had a bullseye, and we caught it very early. After his 30 days of treatment via my LLMD, he's been fine. Catching it early is excellent! I think you did, right? I have not read your other thread as we're on vacation and I'm on only sporadically. But hoping you caught it early!

I like to do twice daily.

Yes, that's the best price I've found, too. Take it two hours apart from the abx, just like you would with any probiotic. And lots of liquids, it's so easy to become dehydrated, and that will make symptoms worse. Water with lemon, lots of it.

Don't forget Florastor, along with the probiotics. Beneficial yeast, not candida, which helps prevent C Diff. They make a powder packet for kids, you can mix it with liquid, stir into yogurt or applesauce. My LLMD highly suggests this, and as a C Diff survivor (due to prolonged Lyme and co treatment), I can't stress its importance highly enough. Also, you can ask for a scrip for VSL #3, excellent probiotic. Though I always just alternated between Culturelle and a few other brands.

Excellent resolution!

Happy bday!!!!!

We love watching!