Yes, and my friend whose daughter has a peanut allergy is the one who first told me about Penzeys. I believe they're recommended among her PA groups too. I don't know if she buys blends.

I'm happy with the emails and the stance Bill Penzey has taken. I posted my thank-you last month on their facebook page when they started getting a backlash, and I'll continue to buy my spices from them (I don't buy blends but I buy their individual spices).

:grouphug: I'm so sorry. :grouphug:

LOL. I always understood the rule to be Catherine and Kathleen. That's how you knew a Cathy was Catherine and a Kathy was Kathleen. But then, there's Katharine Hepburn and if IIRC her mother's name was the same. Different spellings might be more common but they're nothing new.

Unfortunately it seems we've already done that.

Climate change is not a belief system.

Raised Catholic in the 1960s I always heard it pronounced with the accent on the first syllable. Then again, I only knew it as a place name (Fatima, Portugal) not a person's name. In Islamic circles I think is where it's a common given name. I didn't learn that until I was an adult.

And don't forget Rudolph isn't the only one who is bullied. The poor elf who wants to be a dentist (The Horror!) is also bullied, until he too becomes useful by being able to pull the monster's tooth (who isn't really a monster, he's just in pain from his toothache). Then there's the whole Island of Misfit Toys. Talk about ableism. Ugh. Yeah, I grew up with that show and loved it. Then I watched it as an adult with ds, being excited to share with him one of my favorite holiday movies. I was appalled.

I finished A Man Called Ove. It was entirely predictable but thoroughly enjoyable. My review. And with that, I met my Goodreads goal of 75 books for the year. I'm pretty sure I'll finish about 5 more before the year ends. Current audio book - Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, by Trevor Noah (of The Daily Show).

I'm just glad this thing started as ds was getting wise to the whole Santa thing. I think it started the Christmas before he realized who Santa is. I never had to even consider adding this to our traditions. As far as I know dss and ddil aren't doing it with the grandkids either. Whew!

Ugh. I agree. Ours are due in November. Not a great time but better than just before (or just after ) Christmas.

The Amazon Echo Dot has dropped to $39.99. It appears to be out of stock but is supposed to be available again in time for Christmas. I ordered one this morning for my niece and her husband. BTW, if you shop Amazon regularly do you know about/use Tracktor? It's an Amazon price tracker. You can put in the item and the price and you'll be notified when the price drops below your preferred price. I woke up to such an email this morning, which is how I knew about the Echo price drop. You can also add a Chrome extension for any online store. Just be aware that using this extension means it has to know your browsing history.

I've never known a female Shawn, but went to school with a girl named Shawna. I've known males with the different spellings - Sean (my preference) Shaun, and Shawn.

I don't think I've ever joined a venting thread but there's a first time for everything. Why do expensive repairs always come up right before Christmas??? In the past we had a subterranean leak on Christmas Eve, vet bills for a pet in December, and the ever present car repairs. This year it was the power steering in our van. Cost for part and labor - $498. Ugh.

I didn't realize he was married to an Evelyn. I've always heard the male name pronounced Eve-lynn but women I've known with that name are all Eh-vuh-lynn. Not quite the same as the Waughs, but I once taught with a married couple named Denis and Denise. Ds 19 is Dennis but with two N's. I know the proper spelling is with one N but to me it leaves the possibility of being teased because it can look as if it's pronounced like the man's organ except with a D. (Also he's named after my dad who spelled it with two N's). Bob Hope's real name was Leslie. John Wayne's real name was Marion.

I finished The Grand Sophy last night and loved it It was hilarious! There was some Dickensian characterization of a Jewish money lender that had me a little :mad: but fortunately it was only a small part of the story.

OMG, do you know my ex-stepbrother's daughter? LOL Actually I doubt it was her but he did name his daughter (born around 1970 - I don't remember exactly) Michael, with the middle name Ann. It was a big deal at the time - kind of like A Boy Named Sue, which was a popular song then. As for your dh's name and the male/female majority name, that happened with quite a few names. I have a male cousin named Kerry, which is now a girl's name but was a popular boy's name for those of Irish descent when he was born. As one of the older boardies, I see quite a few names used now for the opposite gender than used to be common. And there were different spellings to tell you the gender too. For example Frances was female, Francis was male (Frank Sinatra was Francis). I also remember Lindsay (female) Lindsey (male).

I agree even though I'm not an Apple fan at all and am very much an Amazon fan. I love my Kindle ereader but my Fire rarely got used. I eventually replaced it with another (but not Apple) tablet. If it's the screen size that you want go for an iPad (even a mini) rather than an iPod. As much as I love Amazon and e-ink Kindles, I can't recommend the Fire.

Probably a bigger breed than you want but I agree. They're sweethearts.

A Sheltie is probably not what you want, with all that fur (When ours was still with us I used to say I could make a new dog out of what he shed daily) plus being in Florida. And it might be a smaller breed than you want. However, they're certainly old souls. They practically train themselves and are very attached to their humans. They're polite. They do however, require daily brushing and (as I'm sure you know) a job, since they're working dogs. Ours loved agility and we often played hide and seek with him, but he also assigned himself as chief cat herder in the house.

My bingo prize came today. It's perfect for me! Thank you, Robin! :001_wub: :001_wub:

Standard poodle? Or are they too high strung for you? All the ones I've known were smart and friendly and outgoing, but very energetic (aka needed a lot of exercise) and a bit on the nervous side.

It's my turn to choose this month as well. I usually go to the Goodreads book club suggestions list, then check our library system to see if it's available, how many copies there are, and whether or not they also have it in ebook format. Some we've read are: The Art of Racing in the Rain The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - non-fiction. Do you only read fiction? Station Eleven The Book Thief The Thirteenth Tale Bel Canto All are still fairly popular but old enough to likely be available at the library.

Or maybe you win! You and zoobie can fight it out. :smilielol5:

Hmmm. I must be in too deep because I no longer think of anything as being too weird to order from Amazon/online. We all use my account so dh and ds order stuff. We never set up separate family accounts even after Amazon allowed that with Prime membership. Some things I/dh/ds bought that others might think strange - - a dog agility training tunnel -pillows -a vacuum cleaner -pasta - I couldn't find wagon wheel pasta and ds (younger then) wanted a particular dish I used to make using wagon wheel shaped pasta -floor mats for our van -yeast - couldn't find Red Star locally -a horse head mask - they were popular a few years ago and ds ordered one -a touchless kitchen trash can -spare toilet paper roll holder -English muffin rings and a French bread pan, neither of which I've ever used -ice cube trays -a digital outdoor antenna -a bird feeding station and some bird feeders -shoes -a crossbow and arrows (dh) -yarn -center wheel caps for hubcaps, with the Toyota logo You win! :lol: