A framed photo of all the kids (a photo for which you do not have to organize, cajole, or drive anyone anywhere)? A second set of measuring cups or spoons? (I got a second set of each one year, thought it was useless and now use both sets all the time and am really glad I have both. It saves me a lot of washing when I'm baking.) Gardening items like new gloves, a new kneeler, etc.? A lot of those things wear out or get lost as kids walk off with them. A pretty serving spoon? A new water bottle? Or a new insulated coffee mug? A new family game? A welcome mat for the front door?

We have the US version and its 1910 expansion and the European version. We all like the European one better. In the US one, we always seem to get blocked out of certain routes early on, and then you're just in trouble. The European one has fewer routes that you can get completely blocked out on, and if you are blocked out, there are the stations you can deploy to get to your destination anyway. That makes it much more fun for us because we're not getting frustrated that this route that we've worked on is suddenly dead and impossible to finish!

That is so awesome! And...knitting group? Here at WTM? Can someone point the way?

No, he does not need his own itunes account. Three of us share one itunes account here, and we don't have any problems. He will need his own user name for icloud/me.com/whatever they're calling it these days. Once he has that, log into his phone under itunes & app store with the main itunes account. Then under Settings-->Messages-->Send & Receive, make sure you have his personal icloud email added there and ticked as the one to use. Untick the main itunes account email and any others that are ticked.

What do you have now? I stick with the same type when I update because then I can easily get my same apps and I don't have to worry about importing contacts, old emails, and old texts. They all just get transferred on to the new phone from a backup. If I were more tech savvy, I could probably figure out how to do all this and switch brands, but since I'm not, I stick with what's convenient. They both have good cameras--go with whichever will be easier for you to use.

We always have a lentil loaf. There would be complaints if we didn't have it. I've started mixing in some crumbled tofu, which lightens the texture. I made some veggie Cornish pasties recently, and those would make a nice addition to a Thanksgiving meal. I have a relative who stuffs a pumpkin or other squash with a veggie/grain/bean mix every year. That's always fun and festive-looking, besides being delicious.

How cold is it typically where you live? What do you typically wear? Some thin long underwear will help a lot. Even a pair of footless tights under jeans will significantly up your warmth level. Has your doctor discussed beta blockers with you for the Raynaud's? If you can tolerate them and the doctor thinks they're appropriate for you, they can help a lot with Raynaud's.

Of course you can say something! Just mention it as you show them to their room. "Here are your towels; here are some extra blankets; here are some towel racks that we had installed; please hang your towels here after use so they won't damage the floor or furniture; here's a nightlight..."

An assortment of pillows--it's frustrating being a guest of someone who only has extremely fat, firm pillows when you sleep on soft, thinner ones, for example! Nightlight on nightstand, ready to use if needed. We leave one plugged in in the guest bath as well. More towels than you think they should need An assortment of blanket/quilts in different weights--more than you think they should need A card with the wifi password on their nightstand A phone charger with a USB port--we leave an iphone charger in there since almost everyone who visits us has that type of phone. A glass and coaster for the bedside table A small basket/container of toiletries--I include a shower cap, ear plugs, sleep mask, lotion, toothbrush, toothpaste, and shampoo/conditioner. Blackout blinds or curtains--it's been said before, but it bears repeating! Freshly washed linens, including mattress pad, blankets and quilts--it's not so pleasant to sleep in a bed that smells of the previous guest's perfume. A new, in package, bar of soap and a bottle of body wash for the shower A snack to offer them when they arrive, no matter the time A wastebasket in their bathroom! (and please discreetly empty it daily) Few (very few) decorative items on surfaces--guests need that space, and it's hard to work around someone's animal figurines or dried flower bouquets. A tissue box on the nightstand Extra toilet paper in the bathroom Bedside lamps on each side of the bed Night table on each side of the bed if space permits Guide books or magazines about your area are a nice touch Coffee and/or tea supplies set out for them before bed Permission to adjust thermostat if needed--we're on the west coast and turn our heat down a lot at night. We don't want our east-coast, early-rising guests freezing for two or three hours until we're up!

I just sent two off to our kindles! Thank you!

I think the booties are really popular right now, but I also feel like they'll look dated a bit faster than the taller boots will. They do look really cute with rolled jeans above them, but I'm not sure how that style will translate as winter really sets in the northern hemisphere.

Would something like Bohnanza work? It's a card game that's based on a pretty silly concept--planting beans with funny names and pictures. If you like to use strategy you can employ it to some degree, but there's an element of luck and silliness that can keep it very light for those who don't like strategy. To succeed, you have to trade with the other players, which makes it fun with several people. It's definitely playable for a "brainy" 9 y.o. and for adults as well. Pretty much everyone I've played it with has enjoyed it, though it takes some people a little longer to accept the goofiness of it. I love Dominion, Settlers, Carcassone, Power Grid, and all those, but I would not get them for a family where one of the members who'll be playing the game doesn't like strategy games.

Mustard and jelly I'd keep for sure. Mustard is very vinegary. Jelly is full of sugar, which surprisingly preserves it. Some folks don't even refrigerate it. Besides, when it does go bad, it molds on top, so you'll be able to tell. Apple butter, I'd check the flavor. If it seems fine (not fermented at all), I'd keep it. It's almost certainly fine. Orange juice, yogurt, and milk: I'd smell. You know when they've gone bad. The juice will taste fermented, the yogurt will smell bad, and the milk, well, we all know what spoiled milk smells and tastes like.

At least they could have chosen chanterelles, which are native here.

Could the New York Times be any more out of touch? Some of the states' recipes seemed reasonable for their states, but others just seemed really random, like they were chosen by some NYT staffer or intern who only had the vaguest idea of what states outside the New York area are like. Washington state produces seven times the apples that New York state does, but New York got apple pie. Instead of apples or salmon, Washington got shiitake mushrooms, which is not exactly a Northwest dish, and when I googled, Washington didn't come up as one of the top four shiitake-producing states. Arizona got cranberry sauce with chiles, but I'm pretty sure that Arizona is not exactly a cranberry-producing state. It just seems kind of odd to claim that these recipes evoked those states.

I don't have that, but I do have the Instant Pot, which I love to a surprising extent. I love being able to set something up to pressure cook and then leave the house. It's like having a pressure-cooking crock pot. The Power Pressure Cooker XL looks similar in the picture, but I didn't check the features.

Yep. It's eggnog latte season, so I'll have to make a trip to Starbucks soon to get one. I did read that Starbucks is only doing its eggnog latte in the northwest this year because the rest of the US has apparently not noticed its yumminess. I can't stand eggnog if it's not in a latte. It's too viscous if it's not cut with milk and coffee.

1. I think you have my son. He also lives on black beans and won't eat them with melted cheese. He eats a lot of room-temp or cold beans with cheese on tortillas. If the beans are hot, then no cheese. :rolleyes: 2. Quesadilla maker? I'm trying to wrap my head around this and failing. How is it easier than a pan?

Look under settings-->messages-->send & receive. There will be a list of where you can be reached. Because my husband and I share an itunes account, the default is to have both phone numbers' boxes ticked. I had to untick the box next to DH's number.

Bright Pink is T-Mobile. The thing is that unlimited data is only valuable if you use a lot of data. I've tracked our data usage for the last two years, and on my line, I've used more than 1GB during two months (and barely over it then), and DH usually only uses about .5 GB. So, for us, paying for unlimited data is starting to seem like a huge waste of money. We don't stream movies or videos on data. We do check Facebook, email, use maps, etc. So, why do I need unlimited data? Is it really worth it for me to keep paying almost double each month? That's a serious question because we haven't changed out of our plans yet, and I need to make a decision. Right now we pay about $160-170 per month on ATT (not Big Red, I was wrong about their color!) for two lines. It looks to me like I could switch to T-Mobile and get $50 for my line and $30 for DH's with unlimited data here and abroad, slowed after 1GB (or $60 for mine, slowed after 2 GB). I could add lines for DS and another family member for $10 each. Since I rarely go over 1 GB (and am usually only about halfway there), I'm not sure it's worth it to keep paying more for unlimited data that we don't use.

Plus by the time we work our way up to the amounts of data usage that would make an unlimited plan beneficial NOW, the average person's usage will be so much higher that it probably still won't be worth it THEN. (Does that make sense?)

We've been going through the same thing. What I finally decided is that the extra money I'm paying Big Red (love that!) every month to keep the unlimited data is crazy. We're switching to Bright Pink and adding a line, which will make our final bill a bit more than half what it used to be. Plus we'll have free data abroad, which won't matter all that often for us but will be nice when we need it. If I take the extra $60-70 per month that I'm paying Big Red and spread that out over the years we've kept unlimited data, well, that's a LOT in future extra data costs somewhere else--$720 a year, at a minimum. Looking at the numbers like that convinced me that it's stupid financially for us to keep our unlimited data plans just because we might someday appreciate them.

Yes. The more I've thought about this question, the more I think that the blog woman has bigger issues than whether she keeps her counters clear or not. She seems to have a lot of stuff that looks like it might be able to be purged. That process might bring about a more long-term feeling of peace than the rather spartan-yet-crammed (in the cupboards) look she's got going on now. There is nothing about storing a KitchenAid mixer over the refrigerator that says "peaceful" to me, and I am someone who really likes clear counters.

I went in and cleared off the things that don't belong there that had migrated there. Could someone explain why DH can't put his phone charger back in his drawer when he unplugs the phone? I keep my counters pretty bare, and I don't intend to move off any of the things I do keep there, but I'm up for being more diligent about not letting other things stay there! I intend to keep a curvy, kind of sculptural wine rack (on an otherwise-unused section of counter), my phone-docking station for music (back in the corner, out of the way), a crock of cooking utensils, a fruit bowl, and a small tray with two pie pumpkins on it. That sounds like a lot, but it still gives me about 15 feet of open counter.

I have a very sensitive child, but he's never had an issue with the game, fwiw. There's nothing gruesome or scary in a concrete way about it, and unless your kids are really aware of past pandemics, I can't imagine it actually being scary. It's a very abstract way of battling diseases since each outbreak's intensity is represented by cubes. It's one of our favorites, and it's actually been really good for helping us work more constructively with each other. It's also been a hit with DS12's friends.