And the letter she wrote to go with it. She might want to carry these documents with her the next few times she travels, just to be on the safe side.

I find I don't need to tighten it super-hard; a firm fit will do just fine. It's also much easier to clean if I do it right away; leaving it with fluid in it will mean it needs a serious scrub afterwards, whereas depending what I've blended, sometimes I can fill it with water and give it a quick blend to get it nominally clean then a quick handwash and I can put it in the drying rack and be done with it.

We have a spring-tension curtain rod across a doorway (that doesn't have a door - just an opening) between two rooms. We often use it to hang things that have been ironed, or that need to dry and be worn the next day, as our laundry area has limited hanging space and is in the basement. The rod goes largely unnoticed when nothing is hanging, and can easily be removed if desired, then put up again when needed. It wouldn't hold a lot of heavy clothes, but can easily handle a couple of freshly-ironed dress shirts on their way up to the closet, wet dresses needed as costumes for the weekend's high school musical, or ballet costumes with voluminous tulle skirts needed for Recital.

I have had plain rayon garments, but not rayon/spandex. For plain rayon that's store-bought (RTW*), I wash on cold/gentle and hang to dry. After putting the garment (usually a dress) on a hangar, I gently grasp both ends of each lengthwise seam (side seam, center back, etc.) and gently stretch it out to the original length, so there are no puckers/wrinkles in the seam. I do this with linen blends also. It's kind of like blocking knitwear. For plain rayon that I sew myself, I wash and dry the fabric before sewing, sometimes twice. Again I use gentle/cold in the washer, and low heat in the dryer. Then I sew up the dress, and after that I can put the finished garment in the dryer without it shrinking. I sometimes still hang to dry, just so the garment lasts longer. I don't iron rayon dresses. The ones I sew come out of the dryer beautifully, and the RTW ones are up to my admittedly not-perfect standards once they're dry. *RTW=Ready To Wear, as opposed to things I sew for myself

Rent the Runway. Three hundred dresses to choose from in size 18. Rent a $400 dress for under fifty bucks. Or a thousand dollar dress for under two hundred. A friend has done this several times and always been more than happy with her dress!

But Janeway, the OP was asking for information about a product she was intending to buy. "Which version of Product X should I buy, if I want to use it with the Product Y I already own?" is, I think, a perfectly reasonable question. And if Sonlight didn't want to answer these questions over and over again, they could put a page on their web site with a guide for purchasing consumables to go with earlier versions of their products, and simply refer people to it. And it's not just those who buy used who would find such a page useful For example, if a family bought a Core for their oldest child, and kept it on the shelf until their younger child was ready for it, they may need to purchase new copies of anything consumable, and perhaps of things that went astray for one reason or another over the years. It was frankly none of SL's business where the OP got her Core; if she was buying something to go with it, then she is a customer and should be treated accordingly.

Can you share a little more about your thought process on this? Obvs. if you don't want to, that's ok. But I am always interested in learning more about people's choices in life, especially when they are different from "what everyone else is doing".

Non-negotiable. Meningitis is too fast, too deadly to mess around with. And if the school doesn't require it, I'd ask why. It would make an outbreak all the more deadly if many or most students did not have the vax. I would have a LOT of questions about the school's plans as to how they would handle an outbreak should one occur.

Yes, but isn't the OP asking about a product she is intending to buy? That is, while she didn't buy the Core, she was intending to buy the timeline figures, right? So there is a potential sale there for Sonlight. And if she enjoys her year with her used Core, there may be more sales down the road. And even if she doesn't buy more, if her impression of the company is good, she will share that experience with her friends, giving that priceless word-of-mouth publicity that is so important in the hs community. My local family-run sewing machine shop has always taken the time to answer questions, beyond what I would think to ask of them. They sell parts and user manuals and accessories for machines I didn't buy from them, patterns to use with fabric I didn't buy from them and vice versa, and they will always take the time to show me a machine that catches my eye, even when I make it clear up-front that I'm not going to buy it. As a result of this graciousness, my family feels like we have a relationship with this shop, that we can trust them, and that they are knowledgeable. And while I may not be about to buy a machine every time I step into the shop, over the years my extended family has bought quite a few high-end machines there. We wouldn't think of going anywhere else, as we know we can rely on this shop to be gracious and fair in their business practices. In the days of Amazon, eBay, and such, personal customer service is the one area where small businesses can have an edge over the big guys.

That looks so cool. I bookmarked it for Christmas giving this year. Thanks.

Several people have suggested videos, video games, etc. But in my experience, if you are flying in the morning, then flying all night, you can't have them just sitting during the layover - that will backfire in the long run when you're trying to get them to sleep on the plane and they haven't expended enough energy to do so. Keep the electronics for the actual plane - I'd actually put away the electronics for the layover, at least to start with. You need to run 'em, physically and intellectually. If there's no kids area per se, perhaps you can grab a corner somewhere to coral them, and play some physical games (Simon Says, etc.). Look out the windows and see what's happening there. Walking on "missions" to, say, find the cheapest water bottle available in the terminal can burn some energy. Perhaps you can come up with some "team challenges" where they can buddy up on a mission. Or a terminal scavenger hunt - perhaps taking photos of a set list of things to find - things that start with each letter of the alphabet, for example, or get artsy/creative in some way with the item list (think colors, animals, uniforms (not just airline staff), different kinds of airplanes, different kinds of food, different kinds of computers...). Anything that helps them to really see their environment (with all the obvious safety caveats, of course). Think of the airport as a classroom or field trip location - what would you have them do to really learn about the airport and all the different functions it serves? Might even want to read a few books ahead of time about airplanes, flight, airports, and so on so they have some background and a better understanding of what they're seeing.

I used to special order the big tubs, a case (12 tubs) at a time. I haven't found a plain (not vanilla) soy yogurt since. I don't want the sugar that's in most soy and other non-dairy yogurts, and I DO want the protein that's lacking in the coconut one I tried this week.

I used to bring bubbles, but nowadays, liquids ban. Ugh. A set of small polyhedral dice opens up all kinds of game possibilities. I used to bring a few craft supplies to make various toys as we went - things like converting an upside down paper cup into a garage for a Matchbox car, or using origami to make one of those fortune-telling thingies that can also be a puppet if you draw on some eyes. Doing a bit of yoga would give you all a good stretch. A brisk walk to explore the airport will take some time and wear 'em out. Take the time to look at art pieces, etc. Have the kids navigate. Have them figure out what your gate is by looking at the TVs, and how to get there by looking at the signs. Good luck!!!

No suggestions, sadly, but I share your feels about a much-loved item that's been discontinued. RIP, WholeSoy plain soy yogurt, Bobbi's garlic hummus, the Mountain Hardwear hiking skirt with deep pockets and a button fly, the Amy's lactose-free frozen lasagna and the mac cheese that seem to have been replaced with gluten-free versions, appliances of all kinds with mechanical control panels instead of computerized ones, the Capezio dance sneakers that actually fit me (and the Nike sneakers too), navy nubuck Birkenstock Arizonas with the original hard sole... it takes so long to find the perfect version of something useful. So annoying when it is discontinued.

I would change to reading aloud from non-fiction books. Gather a few on the same topic (or different angles of the same topic), perhaps at different reading levels. Read together, discuss. Gives practice in reading aloud, plus subject area content, plus experience with non-fiction text. Win-win.

I borrow a pair every time I fly. They are amazing. I arrive so much less frazzled. Last time I flew, the person I borrow from was coming with me, so I was worried I'd have to go without and almost coughed up the $300 for my own pair. Turns out the lender had a very old spare pair, so I didn't have to spring for my own. Even the ancient, tattered pair was awesome. My low-frazzle flight recipe = Bose noise-canceling headphones + yoga music (or something else stress-reducing) + my Kindle loaded up with a ton of books using my NYC Public Library card*. *Available to out-of-state folks for free, for three months - stop by the library with your ID to get yours; renewable in person. Borrow 12 books at a time, from a vast collection.

I've spent time in several houses with kitchen washers. In one house, the washer was just off the kitchen on an addition that had been a back porch. This was super-convenient. In the morning I brought down all the laundry from the night before, I washed and dried it during the day while also doing kitchen stuff, and returned it upstairs to bedrooms when I went up in the evening. It was easy to do a load or two as I went about my day, and so I never got behind. There wasn't a backlog of laundry, so no need to store dirty clothes, nor was there a huge backlog of clean clothes, as there was never much in a single day, so they all got put away each evening. In another house, the washer and dryer were front loaders, under the counter in the kitchen. They were towards the end of a fairly long counter, so they weren't right in the middle of the kitchen, and there was adequate cabinetry and counter space in the kitchen end of things, so no problem there. It was a small house, all one floor, so it was convenient to have the laundry with the kitchen as that was where most of the day's work was centered. Again easy to wash and put away so no backlog. In the UK (and Paris), most of the older homes I've stayed in and some of the newer had a washer/dryer all-in-one combo under the counter in the kitchen. In one home the kitchen had a typical door to the back garden, making hanging out the wash quite easy. A few homes - those newly built - had the laundry in a small room off of the kitchen - no door you could close, just a kind of laundry alcove/mud room type of thing. It just seems normal to me I guess. That said, I do like that my current home has a deep utility sink I use for dyeing and bucket-filling, space to hang clothes to dry, and space for clothes waiting to be washed, all in the basement laundry area and out of sight of the general public. The Euro kitchen laundry set-ups seem to be made for a life where people own fewer things, and where they do real cooking in the kitchen rather than microwaving dinner.

I have distance glasses. I don't wear them at home, but I wear them for driving and usually keep them on once I'm out and about. When my prescription gets out of date (and my eyes get worse) I am much, much more prone to migraines. In fact, getting them is usually a hint that I need to update my prescription. I agree that if one has glasses for driving, there needs to be a sunglasses solution. It doesn't have to be a separate pair; some glasses come with magnetic sunglass lenses that snap on to the regular glasses frame. These are nice as there is less to carry around, although the lenses in regular glasses tend to be smaller than sunglasses, so there may be some compromise there.

Not crazy. We haven't doubled up on Scouts, but we've done it with other things. Be up front with the leaders that you're doing both, so that there is no drama around it later on.

Hmm. I suppose the witnesses can verify that the wedding actually took place, in the event that things go awry after the licence is obtained and there's a he-said, she-said situation down the line as to whether the couple is married or not. In PA, the identity verification part happens when you get the license at the courthouse, but the couple isn't married until the ceremony (if they have one) when they and the witnesses fill out the license (which is then filed by sending it in).

A Quaker wedding has no officiants, and anyone in Pennsylvania can use the Quaker version of the marriage license. It requires the signatures of two witnesses, but other than that you can have whatever ceremony suits your fancy, or no ceremony at all. Bride, groom, and witnesses simply fill out the form, couple keeps the top, and tears off the bottom part and send it in to the courthouse. Super-easy, super-flexible.

15 liters for three weeks? Did you wear only a bikini the whole time? :001_smile: I try to travel light (one pair of shoes, etc.), but 15 liters is *really* light. Can you share how you did it?

I prefer a backpack, the right size to fit under the seat. I like a large main compartment rather than a bunch of different sections. I organize the things inside with a variety of lightweight zippered bags. (I've made couple out of a pair of men's board shorts, which I love because of the strong-but-lightweight fabric.) I usually carry a change of clothes, my squishable cooler bag full of food (*love this*), assorted electronics (laptop, kindle, ipod), etc. I like a water bottle pocket on the side; I take the bottle out and put it in the seatback pocket, though the pockets are getting smaller and smaller... * My cooler is a nice cotton batik on the outside, a wipe-able & washable waterproof fabric inside, with insulation-type batting in between. It's got a big square base and a zipper across the top. It can carry a lot but because the sides are soft, it can squish down to the size of the contents so I can cram it in a totebag or backpack. Keeps stuff cold for a long time. I made it myself and I use it all the time. I wish you could buy something similar, but I've never seen anything like it. Most coolers are designed to be carried as a separate bag, and are super-bulky so wouldn't fit well in another bag. The neoprene ones are nice, but they have such a narrow base they don't work well for the kind of food I carry; my bag can hold a big rectangular container of salad or dinner leftovers, along with a stack of different smaller containers. Anyway, it's perfect for travel!

Yes, that is how ours works as well. The bill says "office visit, $150, insurance adjustment -70, payment due 80" or something like that. Make sure they're quoting the rate after the insurance adjustment, not the base rate.

See if you can borrow a copy from the school. You can then skim through, chapter by chapter, and focus on any areas where your ds might need additional practice or instruction.