Ok, my friend rec'd http://archive.skyehawke.com/latest.php and http://archiveofourown.org/works Happy reading!

Sure she wasn't casing the place? We had a spate of break-ins in our neighborhood recently where the would-be robbers would knock on the door offering some service--don't remember now what--but if they didn't get an answer would break in and steal stuff. :(

Is there ANY chance she's trying to organize a 70 letters for his 70th type thing? That idea has been making the rounds with the photos of the teary dad going through his letters/cards from friends & family, yadda yadda. Maybe she's trying to do that? I love the idea of a photo book, btw.

Fanfiction.net is mostly crap. Sorry, but it's been my experience. A lot of the good HP authors post on LJ or InsaneJournal. What pairings do you read, or do you prefer genfic?

So she and Noonan may have lived on that island for months or even years after the crash? Wow!

Is this the type of thing you mean: http://www.amazon.com/June-Tailor-12-Inch-18-Inch-Shape/dp/B0001DUMTA/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Thanks, I'll look for that. I think I have the cutting mat, need to check about the rotary cutter.

This winter, my son and I started a "quilt". We cut squares of fleece about 15X15, then I cut 3 inch squares out of each corner. The plan had been to cut strips along all the sides of the squares and then knot each square together. Nice fine motor practice, yk? [i had briefly considering teaching him blanket stitch and having him sew the quilt together...] But the cutting of the strips is defeating me. It's daunting, and I gotta make sure there are the same number of strips on each side, and if I cut crooked then they break off. Is there some other method I'm not considering? Or??? I dunno. He really wants to finish it, and next week we're reading the Quiltmaker's Gift, so I thought it would be the perfect time, but I'm dreading it.

Well, we were also visiting family there, but instead of crowding her house, we rented this place. ;)

We stayed at James Beach Cottage in Holland MI last year. It was nice. It's not RIGHT on the lake, but it is walkable to a small beach. Their website is http://www.lakem.com I think they have other rentals as well.

I'm going to post without reading just based on my experience, so if I repeat, I apologize: * Jugs or something you can fill with water at the first indication of an approaching storm * a generator enough to power the fridge at least and gas to run it * charcoal or gas for the grill to cook with if your stove needs electricity to start or run it * Pepto-Bismol or Immodium or soemthing--We all got sick. Some said it was a flu that blew in with the storm. In retrospect, I suspect we all had food poisoning or else that the water supply was compromised. * sturdy clothes for clean-up [hard to chop down fallen trees, rake, etc. in flip-flops and shorts * If you're sheltering in place, this may not be an issue, but if you have to evacuate: books and/or other small portable things to keep the kids entertained without power * crates for any pets Ok, that's all that I can think of right now. It's a beautiful, wonderful area, but I'm thankful not to live on the Gulf Coast any more. :(

I have some cards made for SOTW Middle Ages, and if you search Quizlet others have made cards. I'm not sure how to share them with you to use in Anki. I'm torn actually. i love all the features of Quizlet--the quizzes and games--but Anki seems to be a little more scientific. My son has his own "method", but I'm not sure I completely trust it.

$1 a day for videos, and I can't remember if it's 10 cents or 20 cents a day for books. Not sure what the block limit is, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't stop me from using the website? That seems odd. Our library is also pretty good about working with you on fines. They'll often take half if the items are returned. Fines are annoying, but I try to think of them as donations. I use the library resources heavily, both the physical resources and the human resources. But if they stopped me from using the website? Ooooh.... That would frustrate me. :(

We have one. I hate it. If you're just sorting ordinary plain blocks, no biggie. But I guess we have too many speciality pieces and larger pieces. Everything gets jammed, smaller items get trapped in the larger pieces, and no amount of shaking got them through. We also just have a LOT of of Legos. If you just have a small collection of more basic blocks, it might be just the thing!

Wait, I didn't see that. Was that in the article or the video? :(

Well, ok, but it is a PRINCIPLE worth mocking. That is the principal's wrongly-held principle that she has any right to control what 17 & 18 year olds do before they get to school. ;)

Our house is mostly hardwood, but the planks aren't sealed well and there are gaps between some of them. I do mop them occasionally with one of those spritzer mops with a flat cloth pad, but not with a bucket and string mop. Do you think the Scooba could damage my floors? We have 2 cats that shed and track litter, and 2 boys that track in mud and eat messily, plus I shed like crazy. I SHOULD vacuum daily, but I don't. :/

Now I want 1 [or 2] of each. :/ Hmmmmm.... Father's day is coming up, and my hubby loooooves robots. Maybe..... LOL

I'm sorry, I'm unclear: are you looking for a way to store the built and in-progress projects, or the loose Legos? As for portability, my mother made a huge drawstring pouch for our Legos using a double layer of the widest piece of fabric she could find, with grommets around the edge and cord run through so it would lie flat and then could be cinched up when we were done. The rule was that our Legos HAD to stay on the cloth, and be put away when we were done. Occasionally we would keep a creation on a shelf or something, but usually it just got put in the bag, and put away each time. My son can't seem to understand the idea of keeping the Legos ON the fabric. :/ Perhaps you could use those wide but shallow under the bed bins? I like to keep the instruction books in a separate bag or bin so that they're out of the way when not being used. As for storing creations... I saw something on Pinterest yesterday where someone had attached those plates to a 6 in deep shelf. But that's not portable. :/ Not sure.

I think we all have a vested interest in the education system whether we are "using" it or not: this generation will be the ones taking care of us when we're old, making the laws that either help or hurt us, running the country when we no longer can. As a nation, we need to build a strong society of well-educated people capable of thinking through problems and coming up with solutions that help the most and hurt the fewest. Some of us choose to provide that education personally to our children in the home. Others are relying on an institution, public or a private, to do that. Even if you don't have experience directly with the local school system, doesn't mean you don't have ideas about education. It doesn't mean you can't care about the future of the children that ARE being education through the public system. If you choose to run, be prepared to answer the, "Why do you homeschool?" in a way that doesn't make it sound like you think the public system is failing and without any redeeming qualities. Approach it with the idea that you have some out-of-the-box ideas, and/or that you believe in public service and feel you have some value to add to the discussion, and/or .... I'm sure there are lots of ways to fill in that blank, but I'm tired. There was a local woman who ran for school board who was a homeschooler. I voted for her, even before we started homeschooling, because I thought maybe she would bring needed revitalization. [but I can't remember if she won; isn't that sad?]

I went to google.com.au and saw a fun little synthesizer thing. Is that what you meant?

My husband had this as a teen. It was benign. It has a name, but I can't remember off the top my head. :grouphug:

My guess is that it didn't cool enough before being closed up. Is it humid in your area? I know it is here. Also, the stove-top recipe I have include cream of tartar. Does yours?

I buy Wild Planet Wild Skipjack Tuna that comes in a BPA-free can. It is also very low in mercury. I get it through Amazon Subscribe & Save, so the price is reasonable, though clearly more than what I'd pay in a store. I do still occasionally use canned tomatoes, but try to get them in BPA-free can when possible. Sometimes it's just not feasible, but I hope that the occasionally exposure is tempered by reducing exposure elsewhere, yk?

If you're able/willing to go to the Canadian side, do it. There's so much to do in town, both falls-related and not. My family has vacationed there several times, cuz it just has it all. Pretty much all of the "falls" attractions on the Canadian side are fun. I can't think of a one we were disappointed in. The boys liked the Behind the Falls one [but don't wear your nicest shoes! I ended up buying flip-flops from the gift shop at the last minute]. We didn't take them on the Maid of the Mist last time cuz our littlest was still so little, but next time we will. If you want to do the fireworks, get a take-out meal, and get there early to get a good spot. We managed to get a spot right next to where the park police ended up putting "do not cross" lines [i guess it was the "fall-out zone" for lack of a better word], and so our view was unimpeded, but we pure-lucked into that. North of the falls, the butterfly garden is great fun. I have several pics of me with butterflies landed on my body, checking me out! We also took a horse & buggy ride through the botanical garden. DH & I enjoyed that, and our elder son who was still pretty young at the time enjoyed the novelty of the horse, but didn't get much out of the guide's comments. The floral clock is pretty, but not sure what its appeal to kids would be. If you enjoy checking out this type of thing, there is a nice Buddhist temple a little north of the falls. It's not necessarily a tourist spot, but an active temple, but we did take the older boy there 2 trips ago, and probably would again now that we've studied a bit about Buddhism. Inland a block or two from the falls [again, all this is on the Canadian side] there are all sorts of fun touristy things that have little to nothing to do with the falls. "3D" dino movies, a wax museum of criminals, arcades of all types, a huge ferris wheel [great view of the falls], the revolving restaurant on top of the tower [again, a great view], virtual reality attractions, a dino putt-putt, etc. etc. etc. Choices are endless. It's practically impossible to get bored. Niagara-on-the-Lake is a cute little town even further north of the falls, but more adult-y. I do enjoy Goat Island on the US side. The attraction there where you can go down and get in the spray of the American falls is fun, and easy enough for kids. And they give you flip-flops [or they did 5-6 years ago when we went]. If you can't tell, Niagara is one of my favorite places to vacation. I'm actually trying to find another place like Niagara that has such a great variety of things to do just for a change, but I truly do love it. Enjoy!