oooh, this sounds good! Thank you!

We did similar games to those mentioned in the post above mine. There's one called something like Distraction, you have to play the card, say back the number, repeat back all the ones before yours, and then every so often a card comes in with a question and you have to stop and answer the question before continuing. We also played a lot of those "I'm going to grandma's house and I'm taking a......." games (where each person says a thing, and you have to keep repeating the full list). Other games would also be Scattergories, Ticket to Ride (being able to plan the routes, adjust, etc. seems to work that set of stuff), any of the various slapping games (where you slap cards that are played), or Solitaire, or especially the various group solitaire games (it's called something, where all the aces go in the middle and you're trying to play on those...?). Even chess & checkers can be good, for one on one. There are likely single player games via apps for a smart phone that would be good for an adult, too. You may check into that.

I think there used to be only one hanging basket arm??? The addition of a second one appeals to my sense of symmetry for sure. It *is* starting to look lighthouse-ish. The decorating one could do with this thing, once they get it complete, is limitless....I'm starting to kind of want one.....

Oh, yay!!! What a great update!!

You get a good few days from a chest freezer. According to this, 48 hrs. https://wtop.com/health-fitness/2018/03/food-last-fridge-freezer-no-power/ https://www.foodsafety.gov/blog/poweroutage.html Also, once the power comes back, if the temp in the freezer isn't above 40*F (fridge temp) the food is likely still okay. You can check the temp of any meat (once things are back) and either refreeze or cook & refreeze. We just had to do this recently -- we had an upright in our garage (outside temps in the 90s) and the power went out & came back on, only the freezer wasn't actually working. Two days later we realized it and most of the meat was still safe to cook; we cooked everything and refroze it. With a chest freezer, you've got even longer. Hope that helps!

All in good fun; we're happy for anyone rooting against the Yanks 😉

Ahem. The Astros will be in the World Series, not the Yanks. 😉 (or, so hopes this Houston girl, and the rest of the city.....)

Hilarious! So....sports hat? Witches hat, for Halloween, to go with the child's pumpkin? Won't they need the ladder to get the hat off later....??? I wish the Easter Island Head people would dress up the EIHs. That would be super fun!!!

praying!

I would love to live at the beach. I would not want to live in a lighthouse. I would consider living in a lighthouse if the residence part was all downstairs/one level and I didn't have to climb a zillion stairs to get in & out every day. (And if I didn't have to actually go up to the light all that often. That's a LOT of stairs).

Thanks, Selkie! Got my 18 yr old picked up, the 14 & 18 yr olds dropped off at the D&D house, heard from the 22 yr old that yes, he is coming home tonight....but that was 1.5 hrs ago (he was going to leave right then, as soon as he loaded his car) and he's not left yet, so........anything could still happen. I got one column of quilting done on my niece's quilt, taking a break now to eat and rest after the 2+ hrs of driving (round trip) to get DS & drop off the boys). There's no real rush (and it's going fast when I do work on it ), so very likely I'll have time tonight/Sunday to keep working on it. I figured out a fun thing for it, and it's going well. Have a great weekend, everyone!

This is hilarious! (I, too, hope it's not a memorial that we've all been laughing at.....oh, I'll feel terrible!). Did you notice the level on the base in the first picture?! So, I mean, they actually went to an effort to get it right? I am *dying!*

Folded laundry, getting ready to hang it up now. The cat is napping on one pile..... School is DONE with DS14. D&D is at 3-ish, so leave here to pick up DS18 at 1, get him at 2, drop him off at 3. The time between now and 1, and between 3 and dinner, is FREE. Sewing. Quilting. Bliss. No word from DS22 as to when he may come home; he said yesterday yes, he was coming home this weekend, but that could mean anything from "Hey, I'm leaving now..." to "I need to do homework so I'll leave in the morning.... (Saturday)..." or anything in between. Fingers crossed he is home in time for the football game tomorrow (DS18's college is having Family Weekend, and while we aren't doing all the stuff, we are going to the game, and he did say he'd come for it, so we do have a ticket for him.......also it's my bday tomorrow, so....). I've learned, though, not to count on it until he texts that he's on the way. Now, putting up the laundry and heading to the sewing room! See you all later!

Jen, I can't imagine trying to play any kind of sport in that weather! Yikes!

TGIF!! Happy Friday, everyone! We have a cold front coming in -- yesterday's high: 98; today's high: 58. Dropping throughout the day, so, "yay" (insert sarcasm font back there, please....). House is clean, b/c of the boss maybe coming (but not) yesterday, so nothing to do there. Laundry is waiting to be folded, but otherwise caught up except for sheets ready to go in the wash. Will fold while I watch Grey's Anatomy. Got all school with DS done already, except for a small Lang Arts assignment, so once he comes down we'll do that. DH can't pick up DS18, so I'll do that, once I hear from him what time he needs to be at his friend's for their D&D session. Then drop off DS18 & DS14 at their friend's house, come home, and have the rest of the day to sew/quilt, which never got done yesterday. DS22 will, theoretically, be home sometime today-ish. We'll see; haven't heard from him yet, so not sure if he'll be home today or tomorrow. We shall see. I'll sew/quilt till he arrives. Tonight is potato soup (a copy of zuppa tuscana), perfect for our first cold night, and the kids all love it, so when the other 2 get home from D&D they'll have something yummy. It was the planned dinner before I knew D&D was happening, so it's staying. Other than that, no big plans today.

When we got back to the US, I finally got Fiestaware, in all the colors. Love it!! It is heavy, of course, yes, but the colors are just so very *happy* that it's worth it.

Fencing done -- another private lesson, by default. I love this for us, not so much for the fencing school. For their sake, I hope they get more hs students. But man, in the meantime, it's amazing to have private lessons for the price of a group lesson/class! DS is thriving with this. School done -- found a worksheet after we finished, that his teacher sent to use to record the answers to certain questions. :sigh: I'll transcribe it later for him. He had a test in class, and thinks he turned it in, but can't remember if he did well or finished or not. Normally he does not finish, so that surprises me, but okay. We'll see; I think if he completely did not finish, his teacher will send it back for him to finish. I hope. Folding laundry, (well, maybe not, DH has called, so trapped on the phone with him), DH is on the way home and then going for haircuts for him & DS. Dinner will be pork chops w/cranberry stuff. No boss for football.

It's her side hustle, more or less. She isn't selling them in a shop or anything, but yes, she makes/sells shirts for people, mainly via FB and such. Money won't come into play again until we (at some later time, not right now probably) ask her to remake them, or at least remake mine, b/c of this issue. But yes, paying her for them is non-negotiable, and I'll insist. I could just see her, when I tell her of this freak thing, *offering* to remake them free of charge. Which I won't let her do......but which she'll possibly try to do. Yes, prairiewindmomma, that sounds exactly like her. Thanks, everyone; I'll talk with her this weekend sometime; I do think it's going to be better in person, b/c of how strange the whole thing is; she'll need to see my face/hear my voice to understand I just find it freakishly odd, and to believe that I don't fault her at all.

Well, she's just this super sweet, super kind, super non-confrontational, "Oh, gosh, I can't believe that! I'm soooo sorry! Oh no, I'll fix it for you, no, you totally cannot pay me...." kind of person. That's basically how I think she'd reply if I am not super careful in how I word this; it's just who she is. She's an absolute gem. She will be *horrified* that this happened, even though it was absolutely NOT something that she could have known, predicted, expected, is NOT in her control, etc. Just her personality. Not so much that she'll have her feelings hurt, but more.....feel oddly responsible (even though she is absolutely NOT).

I think you and your DH need to very quickly figure out if you are paying x amount per month, period, to have her coming in at those times (and thus you would still pay that amount even if she is a bit late, or you take off a day, or whatever) OR if you are paying x amount per hour, and she only gets paid for the time she's actually there (as you would with a babysitter). You sound like you lean towards "we're paying her by the hour" but that she thinks "they're paying me by the month" and that *really* needs to get clarified, soon. If you are firm on the "by the hour" part, then, yes, you'd only pay her for the time she's actually there. So, you take off a day and swap to Friday, but she can't come b/c of her other job, she only gets paid for 3 days that week. You're off for Christmas, she's off, she doesn't get paid. You offer that she *can* come on the 1st or not, she chooses not to, she doesn't get paid. You reduce her hours from ending at 1 to ending at 12:30, you adjust her pay accordingly (so, what, 2 hrs fewer per week/8 hrs fewer per month?). She's late, you keep track and reduce it when you pay her. She's sick, or her kids are, or you are, or your kids are, or whatever....no pay. Etc. OR, you realize that you are not just paying for the time she's at your house, but ALSO the committed availability, the guarantee of having someone available/willing to come in every day, each week, at that time, and OF COURSE it's reasonable to pay a set amount for the month in order to have that commitment rather than dealing with uncertainty each week. In that case, if you cancel a regular day to swap to Friday, and she can't come on Friday, you still pay her the full rate b/c you are the one that cancelled on her, and you still want her to come the following week. If you choose to do school on a holiday, and she chooses not to, you still pay her for that, because you still want her to come the next week. You take off for Christmas, and she takes off for Christmas, YES, if you tell her now, you can not pay her for that week, because it's agreed upon early/ahead of time. (Or if you really want to, you pay her for that week anyway as a thank-you/Christmas bonus/because you want her to come back the next week). You adjust her hours from 16 hours/week to 14 hrs/week, you may (assuming she agrees) adjust her pay accordingly going forward. She's late, with notice, you accept that. You may have her stay late to make up for it, or, let her know if there's more than 1 hour worth of tardiness in a month, you'll deduct that from her pay that month. (I mean, I wouldn't go around deducting 15 mins of pay each month, that's very nitpicky, but if she's 15 mins late 4x a month.....that's a lot, and yes, that would be worth deducting maybe). Personally, I'd shift lunch by 15 mins to make up for it, if possible, rather than hassle with keeping up with a time card or something, but that's just me. The bigger question would be what's the cancellation policy if she, you, your kids, whoever, are sick and she can't come/you cancel on her/ask her not to come. One "free" sick day/month? Obviously you don't want to have her come if she's ill (and I wouldn't ask her to come if your kids are ill, either), and if YOU are the one that cancels on her, I'd be inclined, personally, to still pay her. If she cancels b/c she or her kids are sick, I don't know. You don't want a policy that encourages her to come despite being sick, and then you & she are passing around illness between all of you/your children all winter, but neither should you have to pay for tons of time when she's not really there. Maybe a policy similar to the tardy policy...? One free sick day/month, and anything beyond that, she makes up the hours? Maybe comes 30 mins/an hour earlier the rest of the week (or stays later, or whatever) to make up for it? I don't know. Anyway, those are my thoughts. Hope it helps.

School prep is basically done. I have printed: science, history, language arts for K, and created the homework checklist for the week (need to switch to colored paper before I print it). I need to double check if I printed the history stuff for 1st grade or not, and print it if needed. Math is sorted. Just need to pack my stuff. Laundry is going in the dryer now, with yesterday's load about to be folded/put away. DS and I are eating lunch, we head to fencing in about 30 mins. School with him, and sewing, when we return. No word yet from DH as to whether the boss is coming for pizza, beer, and football. Hopefully I hear by the end of fencing so I can plan dinner when I get home, if needed.

Well, yes....that's a given, LOL! But *everyone* here gets ants in their house at some point every year. When it rains a lot, they come in looking to dry out. When it doesn't rain for a while, they come in looking for water. It's just a fact of life, and an issue that likely ALL of her customers will have at some point or another. It happens like clockwork.....it pops up in the neighborhood FB group, in my FB memories, etc. at the same time(s) every year. So, I mean, yes, the problem is that we had ants. BUT, the ants weren't *leaving* because they liked whatever material was in/on the shirt vinyl. Which isn't *her* fault at all, but *is* something I think she'd want to know, so she uses a different brand shirt vinyl next time. For three DAYS they ignored the (normally works w/in 24 hrs) bait traps because the food supply on the shirt was that much more tempting. We removed the shirt last night, and this morning, the bait is GONE and able to do its job. This particular shirt had 3 colors of vinyl on it, in equal amounts, distributed equally over the shirt, although with one color on one side, one on the other --- the ants crawled up the wall, *across* the other 2 colors, to the far side of the shirt, to eat the vinyl on the far side. Literally, the red was on the side facing the wall (on that sleeve, and across the chest on that side); the white was on both sides as a secondary color in each emblem & across the chest, and the maroon was on the side *AWAY* from the wall (on that sleeve, and across the chest on that side). The ants climbed up the wall, onto the shirt, ACROSS the red (leaving it alone), across the white (leaving it alone), and onto the maroon, specifically, eating that emblem entirely OFF the shirt (the sleeve side) and eating bites out of the wording on that side of the chest (and again, leaving the white totally untouched, and the red mostly untouched). So.....yes, the problem happened/was found because we had ants get in the house (as happens in our area, yearly). BUT there is *definitely* something about this particular vinyl that is attracting them, and I do think she'd want to know "Hey, if you have to do more shirts w/this color.....you may want to find another brand, because this happened." Heck, she may want to check her stash to be sure she's not got ants eating whatever of it she has left at home, honestly.

Yes, this is my motive entirely -- I know she'd want to know, so that she's not using that particular brand/color/whatever of vinyl again. I'll probably ask her to remake the shirt at some point (and of course pay her again, not ask for it free or anything like that), and will need to explain at that point at least. In person will definitely work; we're neighbors and so I see her often. She's the sweetest friend, super kind, and I know I need to tread lightly so she doesn't take it personally (she will be horrified, probably; I *must* explain it in a way that lets her know that I know that it's the vinyl, not her at all). But again, I know she'd want to know so that she isn't using it again on other people's shirts, just in case. It's so odd! (DH was joking maybe the ants are fans of the rival college, LOL!)

So, we have ants. Every year, around this time or in the summer during the heavy rains, ants find their way into our house. It's just part of living where we live, and we're well versed in how to deal with it. Put out bait, they carry it back to the nest/mound, they die and it gets rid of them. No big deal. (I mean, it's not fun, but we're used to this at this point). Well, this weekend ants showed up in my closet, crawling on my t-shirts (hanging up on the lower bar in the closet). Weird, but not the first time. We put out the baits, and waited. Only the ants weren't leaving this time, and weren't taking the bait. Finally (3 days later) DH moved the ant-covered shirts outside so they'd quit spreading. Put out more bait. Noticed, when he moved the ants, that the one shirt they were favoring is a shirt a friend made for us (heat-set vinyl decals on the shirt). The ants are *eating* the vinyl off the shirt!?! Mostly one color of vinyl. We've had other shirts by this friend, with no issue (even shirts in the areas where we've had ants before). My question is: HOW do I let my friend know that this vinyl, or something in the process, or something, is attractive to ants?? I mean, I need to tell her, right? But how, in a way that doesn't make her feel bad??? It's not a problem with her shirts, at all, and she tracked down this color specifically for us (went lots of places to get the exact right color, for our son's college), and.......it's such an odd thing, but I know she'd want to know in case she uses it again. I mean, it's unlikely to recur just like this, but on the other hand, these ants literally like the vinyl so much they were coming in from outside, ignoring the bait, and chowing down. One of the decals is completely eaten off the shirt, visible holes in the rest, but almost all on the one color only.

I love the variety of weather/climates around the country/world! I'm so sorry all of you are having snow already, packing up the hummingbird feeders, etc.....we're hoping/planning for our first "cold front" tomorrow, when temps will drop from a high in the 90s today to a high in the 50s tomorrow. Yay (or BRRRR, if you ask me). Yesterday, I finished cleaning up the house, put away the one load of laundry and got the other into the dryer, but not folded/put away. Also got the school planning mostly done. So, today: ....finish school prep ....fold/put away the laundry ....wash the next load of laundry (wash, dry, put away) ....sew/quilt ....school with DS ....DS to fencing lessons ....sew/quilt some more ....dinner is either pizza, or....? Depends if DH is bringing his boss over for football or not