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TrixieB

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Posts posted by TrixieB

  1. I haven't had very many real jobs, so this is going to sound weird, but it was fun to be a custodian in college in a natural history museum.  Also, it included cleaning the bell tower.

     

    Oooh, now that is cool!  'Cause you got to go into the bell tower, where most people probably never got to go.  Did you clean after hours so you had the place to yourself?  That is what I'm imagining, and it sounds awesome!

    • Like 2
  2. My mother's mom was named Martha Frances and she went by Fanny like your grandma.  My mom's name was Frances Roberta and went by Frannie.  My middle name was Frances - was because I don't use it anymore.  That tradition putting Frances somewhere in the name had to stop. 

     

    I do like my first name.  My dad named me after Susan Hayward if anybody remembers that actress.  The other choice was Beverly Jean, so I'm pleased with their final choice.

     

     

    I like Frances!  I think I would choose Frankie for a nickname. :)

    • Like 1
  3. I like it, but not the way it's spelled because it seems too fussy to me.  I prefer the more common spelling.  So I used that as part of one dd's name and she told me she wished I'd spelled it the way mine is spelled. :001_rolleyes:

     

    I am really glad that my parent who wanted to name me something else didn't get their way.  I would not have liked that name because it's way too prissy for my personality.  Or maybe I would now have a different personality if that were my name...?!

    • Like 1
  4. Ear plugs for the other party.  My favourites at Sparkplugs - very comfortable and reduce the snoring to distant waves on pebbles.

     

    Can you hear an alarm clock, or do the ear plugs block that sound too?

     

    Because I need to get up in the morning... so I hesitate to try ear plugs.

  5. I just returned the copy I had to the library, I was only about half through but I couldn't renew.

     

    Same here.  After I read part of the book, I canceled my Amazon order.  The book is interesting, but I don't think I'd re-read it enough times to justify the cost and the space that the book would take up.  I'm going to put a hold on it again, though.

  6. When dd went to Europe last year, we opened a new Visa card and added her as a signer.  Also she and I opened a joint checking account so she could use the debit card at the ATM or for purchases.  One of my friends told me that when traveling abroad, you should always have at least two different cards in case something happens with one account and the card gets frozen.  Well... even though we notified the banks in advance, one of the cards didn't work in one country because the stupid bank didn't put the correct foreign country authorization on the account.  She also took some euros so she didn't have to go to the ATM right away.

     

    Also, she took an iPod and used free wi-fi to keep in touch with us through email.  And she said her small backpack came in very handy, as did a small camera (took better photos and video than the iPod did), and she had several memory cards with lots of capacity.

     

    Some countries want the passport to be valid for 6 months (I think) beyond the expected date of return.

    • Like 1
  7. Pony camp here (3 hrs day, 4 days/wk) is 1 kid per pony, and costs $425.  They do not spend all of the 3 hours riding.  There is craft time, snack time, grooming and tacking up time, etc.

     

    When I say 1 kid per pony, what that means is that there are twice as many kids as ponies.  They split the kids into 2 groups.  One group does non-pony stuff, while the other group rides, and then they switch.  I don't remember if both kids groom the pony at the same time.

     

    I just did the math:  that is $35+ per hour.  Horse stuff is expensive. 

  8. My high schooler said, "I do whatever I want whenever I feel like it and get everything done.  I never thought of myself as unschooled, but compared to the schedules here, I feel like it."

     

    Hmm.  I think "whatever I want" is in regards to organizing her day, not literally whatever she wants to do (eat cookies?  watch YouTube videos for hours?).

     

    Here is her schedule:

     

    Monday: co-op classes; youth symphony in evening.

    Tuesday: schoolwork, exercise, music practice. 

    Wednesday: schoolwork, exercise, foreign language prep class, music practice.

    Thursday: music lesson, schoolwork, exercise, music practice.

    Friday: schoolwork, music practice.

    Saturday and/or Sunday: work, music practice.

     

    Almost all of her classes are outsourced so she manages her own schedule to get her assignments done.  I work a couple of days per week so I actually have no idea how she arranges her day while I'm gone.  She also helps with household chores, some cooking, and helps her younger sibling with schoolwork when needed.  I'm pretty sure there is plenty of personal time for doing... whatever... built into her day, but she meets her deadlines so whatever she does is working for her.

    • Like 3
  9. Roughly what size are the ones you are making? I might create my own.

     

    I am on Ravelry but not great at searching. I signed up because of the long knitting thread on WTM last fall.

     

    Here is what I make:

     

    The Original Prayer Shawl - Knitting Pattern

     

    It ends up being maybe 2.5 by 4 feet or thereabouts.  Then I put fringe on it, which makes it a little longer, closer to 5 feet.  I use 3 skeins of Lion Brand Homespun yarn and size 13 needles.

    • Like 2
  10. The shawls I knit are rectangular.  Although I have knit a number of them, I've met only one of the recipients.  She told me that in addition to using it as a shawl, she also sometimes used it as a coverlet while napping.  I had never thought of the extra bit of versatility of the rectangle.

     

    That said, I have seen a number of patterns for triangular shawls.  You can make whatever you prefer.

     

    If you are on Ravelry, search for prayer shawl patterns.  There are tons, and you can filter by knit/crochet, yarn weight, etc.  If you're not on Ravelry, it's free and it's a GREAT resource.

  11. It depends on what you consider counting...

     

    Good scores may open doors to opportunities well before college. Those doors may lead to the roads that lead to riches in the form of elite college acceptances and/or scholarship $$$. So in some respects, they count a great deal!

     

    I was not aware that pre-high school scores were used for anything other than satisfying state testing requirements.  What kind of opportunities do you mean? 

  12. Some of my kids' favorites:

     

    The Complete Brambly Hedge by Jill Barklem

    Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm by Alice & Martin Provensen

    Big Book of Farmyard Tales by Heather Amery & Stephen Cartwright (I see there is also a "Complete Book" that has 4 more stories)

    Burt Dow, Deep Water Man by Robert McCloskey

    Lentil by Robert McCloskey

    Yoko by Rosemary Wells

    The McDuff books by Rosemary Wells

     

    One of my kids had the huge Thomas the Tank Engine compendium.  That got a LOT of use although I have to admit I'm glad I'll never have to read it again!

     

    My middle schooler is now nostalgia-tripping on the Yoko and Friends school days easy reader series by Rosemary Wells.  "I remember this!"  Maybe I should open that cabinet more often. :)

    • Like 1
  13. Yes to the e-reader. See if your library will loan you the books through an e-reader.

     

    Or pick one day every week where you all go to the library, always. Everyone knows that is library day. Books must be returned or renewed. Have one of your middles take on the job of making a list of the books you all check out. Another middle is responsible for confirming the books are ready to be returned when you go back the next week. Pay them a fee. Like 50 cents or something.

     

    Or if your library has online renewal and you have a smart phone, set an alarm for when books are due and when the alarm goes off if you can't make it to the library renew on line.

     

    That is what I do.  It has eliminated our overdue fines.  Also I read a lot of e-books which go away when they're due, so no fines on those.

  14. Have him look at South Dakota Mines. We have a friend who is loving it there--his classes are mostly hands-on, unlike CO Mines classes for my ds, which are pretty theoretical. The young man at SD Mines spends much of his day in labs, and has an internship in gun-smithing. 

     

    Thank you for mentioning SD Mines.  I had not heard of it.  After looking at the school's website, one of my dc has added it to her "I'm interested!" list. 

    • Like 2
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