How are you liking the Dickens? I started Bleak House because I'd caught an episode of the old BBC [i think it was] series, and hadn't followed it much. But I was turned off by the incomplete sentences just on the first page. In fact the very first sentences. or three. were incomplete. I thought maybe I'd gotten a bad Kindle version [most of the old classics are FREE as kindle versions, and will work on almost any ereader], so I PBSed for it, but no, the print version is the same. But I've always wanted to read Pickwick Papers because of Little Women.

I have distinct memories in 4th grade of the nurse coming to our classroom and checking our heads while we worked at our desks!

I finished Code Name Verity last week in one sitting, and LOVED IT!!!! OmG. Maybe we should start a thread just for it, cuz I did have questions at the end, but LOVED it. Read it almost all the way through a second time actually. Today I finished Among Others by Jo Walton, that Rivka had rec'ed a couple weeks ago. I like it alright, not sure I loved it though. Another friend who had read all the books that the main character mentions DID love it though, so I wonder if that's my problem: I'd only read a small fraction of the books she listed. I started a reading list to get through at least some of them. I just started Orlando by Virginia Woolf. The language is so different from the 2 above though that it's slow going so far. I hope to get more into it as it goes on.

FarrarWilliams, I read somewhere recently while looking into this that scientists think in our area [DC Metro] the population is back on the rise. But I don't have the reference handy to share.

MBF definitely. Hated my Boppy, never used it. Use MBF for AGES, even after it wasn't really necessary.

Hmmm, sounds promising. Off to check it out!

Sorbets do have sweeteners and/or are made from fruits. There's a recipe that's been floating around on Pinterest that's a frozen banana blended with 2T of cocoa powder. Makes a frozen dessert with the consistency like ice cream. You can similarly make sorbets using frozen fruits with optional sweetening. Here's an example: http://www.dietdessertndogs.com/2008/03/14/flash-in-the-pan-speedy-fruit-sorbet/ I love frozen grapes, myself, and munch on them all summer. Other's swear by frozen cherries or blueberries, or even other berries. But again, that's all fruit. Do you drink tea? Could you make tea popsicles? Chocolate milk popsicles? I'm :bigear: to see others' suggestions. ETA: I realized I "dissed" sorbets in the first sentence then suggested them a few more sentences later. What I meant is that commercial sorbets have sweeteners [as far as I know], but you can make them without.

My husband LOVES his Miele. And honestly the only thing I don't like about it is that it's a, well, a vacuum. I've decided I'm just annoyed by all vacuums. I thought I didn't like it because it is a canister vac, and I am annoyed by having to pull it behind me like a recalcitrant puppy. So I bought an upright*, a Shark Navigator LiftAway. Even with the upright, I'm still annoyed: I can't vacuum under our bed, the arm attachment isn't stretchy enough so if I try to pull it too far without hold the upright still, it falls over and bonks me in the head, etc. We're talking about getting a Roomba. It's really tempting to not have to "do" the vacuuming. *Our Miele is starting to break around where the hose enters the canister; the clamps that hold the hose on are loose, and it's a pain to get it attached and unattached. But DH has had it for YEARS! so...

This has been on my mind recently [and I hadn't seen the news]. My g-ma died of complications from Alzheimer's. My mom is TERRIFIED that she's coming down with it, and honestly, there have been some moments I've wondered about her.... But... They still can't do much about it if you do have it. Would knowing help? I dunno, maybe it would. Maybe earlier treatments would be more effective? :/ It really is a hard question. ETA: Sorry, I started this hours ago, and forgot to hit "submit". :tongue_smilie:

That reminds me. My younger son's name is "correctly" pronounced by Brits with a short vowel, but I chose to make it a long vowel because I also chose a rarer spelling and the long vowel sound made more sense, plus we just preferred how it sounds. It's not usually a problem [once people get past the "it ends with an M not a B"], but we do have one British friend that I had to gently correct with a "Yes, I know we're wrong, but we say ... ". :D

Yes, and I accept that as a consequence of giving my child an unusual name. I still love his name, and wouldn't change it for the world. I hope to just teach him to gracefully let people know that his name ends in an M and not a B. :D

No, no, no, he's finishing up 2nd grade. I do an assignment book that I write all the things we need to do each day on. I like the idea of a visual reminder, but I also like having the historic record. Hmmmmm, the 10 minutes per subject is an interesting idea.... Would also help with his concept of time.... That's the thing, we get a lot of time off around the holidays and birthdays, cuz I have a hard time balancing everything. I am trying to keep the schedule light: a little bit of math review, some MCT language arts very stretched out, and a little bit of history or science, and the occasional composer study. He's continuing his piano lessons so he needs to practice, and I want him to keep up his Latin, so I've been having him practice his flashcards. But no direct Latin instruction. Mostly we're doing the same subjects, just I'm stretching it out more, and not doing extra readings and stuff.

DS went to public school for Kindy. Last year we DID take a summer break--just the way it worked out, though I'd originally intended otherwise. I really want to continue working, if perhaps a bit less, this summer. I was hoping if I gave DS time in the morning, he'd be willing/able to give me a couple hours after lunch. Theoretically 2 would be plenty for most of it, with maybe piano practice and chores done some other time. But all his neighborhood friends are off school now, and he just wants to run around with them all the time. I can't seem to convince him that if we did a little bit right after breakfast, and a little bit right after lunch it would be done easy-peasy. He just fights it, takes forever to do the simplest things, takes frequent potty breaks, and/or snack breaks. Truly, kid, we could have been done if we could just get some uninterrupted time! Thoughts? Does anyone else have this problem, and if so how do you deal with it?

So wait. You were at an event about diabetes, and the meal consisted of large amounts of sugar-y things? Ay-yai-yai! Congrats on the weight loss. I really need to step up my own efforts.

Drill bits. My dh swears he can't have too many. One year for Christmas I told everyone to get drill bits for his stocking. He loved it. :lol: But he's weird that way.

Yup, call a doctor. They can prescribe steroids, which help Another idea for at home treatment: oatmeal baths, Donboro solution, and/or hot baths. Someone recently posted about using vinegar, I think, on her son, and maybe something else, and really decreasing his discomfort. Do a search for poison ivy.

I honestly am not sure how I feel about this. My parents would sometimes allow us a small amount of alcohol--sips of their beer or wine just to taste it, once the 3 of use shared 2 wine coolers with T-giving dinner--but we never had a whole alcoholic beverage with them until we were much older. The thing with non-alcoholic beer is that is DOES still contain some alcohol, less than .5%. Surely not enough to cause intoxication. I dunno. Would he settle for some root beer in a "beer-like" bottle? What is his reasoning for near-beer vs. some other beverage?

You said you don't have any fresh veggies; do you have any frozen? I usually surround the roast with veggies [corn, onions, peppers, beans, peas, potatoes, whatever] and pour a little liquid in [red wine is good, but broth works too, or even water in a pinch]~about a cup, cook on high a couple hours [or when I worked, cook on high until I had to leave the house] and then low the rest of the day. I suppose the cut of roast would make a diff too. I always use rump roast. Oh, and I put the fat side up so that as the fat cooks it seeps into the roast. Good luck!

I'm confused about the radio. The article made it sound like the plane's engines were somehow involved, and my son's first question was, "How could that work if they ran out of gas?" DH speculated that maybe they had just a bit left, but knew they didn't have enough to get to another island. But if you're saying that the fact that there was no contact after day 5 means she probably died that day or the next, then it sounds like the gas wasn't an issue for getting the radio running? Otherwise I'd say, well, maybe they just finally ran out of gas. And what was that about Gore Vidal?

Both my boys were nakey-bummed-trained fairly early [15-18 months], but it took BOTH of them AGES to figure out the whole undies thing. We used split crotch pants around the house when it was cold, and sadly, pull-ups when out and about. I don't remember how my elder son figured it out, but with the younger, I finally convinced him to try undies at home, and after he'd mastered that, we started going out with them. Loose pants might have worked too, but I agree any accidents would have been messy.

Wow, that corset is beautiful! I'm glad to hear you're going to get a custom drawing done. I had the same thought: both are nice, but it should be meaningful and unique. Can't wait to see the results!

Faith, thanks for that! I'm so fascinated by her story, and saddened to think about how it ended. All this new evidence just makes me sadder. I just looked up a map of the island in question. It's barely an island! It's a circle of land surrounding a lagoon fed by the ocean. I can't imagine.

I try to get my 3yo in bed by 8:30. Sometimes it's later though. :( And either way, he's usually up by 6, 6:30. :(

There's one more band about to move through, but it doesn't look as bad as some of the others, so hopefully no more tornado warnings. I do worry about about our stream, but I think the overall rainfall will be ok as far as it flooding too much. We've lucked out this time. In my exact location, I've been BETWEEN a lot of the warnings. And the rain only got heavy a few times, and the wind never got too bad. I'm sure the dam my sons and the neighbors have been building has washed away though.

I have a big brimmed hat from Coolibar....no, I take that back, it's from Hats in the Belfry: http://www.hatsinthebelfry.com/product/pc-sea-breeze.html. I like it cuz it has that mesh around the head that allows it to breath, and is adjustable. I decorate it with pins and/or scarves. My ONLY complaint at the moment is that after a couple washings the brim isn't as stiff anymore and it flops down into my eyes. I need to figure out how to stiffen it again. Also, I never wear the brim bent up like that; I think it looks silly.