I would have loved to use Kirin for a girl. But it is the name of one of my old best friend's sisters and I didn't want to look like I was naming my daughter after her. Luckily I enjoy writing so I can pour over those baby books for character names.

He might also enjoy Bernd Heinrich's books especially Summer World and Winter World on adaptations to seasons or his books on ravens. Wild Season is a narrative story of the food chain (be aware bunnies are eaten) by Allen W. Eckert Rachel Carson's At the Edge of the Sea and The Sea Around Us David George Haskell The Unseen Forest David M. Carroll The Year of the Turtle and Swampwalker's Journal: A Wetland Year Book Edwin Way Teale The Strange Lives of Familiar Insects and Grassroots Jungles: A Book of Insects Sue Hubble Broadsides from Other Orders and Waiting for Aphrodite: Journeys to a Time Before Bones (invertebrates)

I had something similar. Go to the gyno. If it is a cyst, they can excise it right in the office. Then, no more pain!

I hate getting my hair cut in a salon so much that I adopted a simple style, straight across the bottom, no layers, and bangs cut using the twist them and cut the bottom of the twisted bunch at the length you want trick, so that my mom could cut the bottom of my hair and I cut my bangs. It costs nothing and takes 15 minutes and is stress free. Maybe one of your friends or family members could be trained to do it. Or maybe there is a barber shop near you if your style is simple enough. They won't be putting smelly stuff in your hair or trying to sell you product. https://www.refinery29.com/women-mens-barber-shop-haircuts https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/12/fashion/For-Women-Hairstyles-at-the-Barbershop.html

Here's our worst case scenario. Four years to sell our old house. Seriously. In part because we had to have renters some of the time or we couldn't afford double mortgage and taxes. Both renters (despite good references) were horrible and the first one cost us $10,000 in damages and the second $8,000 in back rent. The rest of the problem was because we bought our house during the real estate bubble and nine years afterward our town/county still hadn't recovered from the loss. Houses lost $150,000+ in value and were underwater, meaning there were many cheap foreclosures on the market that sold before ours. Also 10 years apparently makes a house "dated" and unacceptable to buyers. We painted and spruced up what we could, but we knew we were losing money on this house big time so we didn't completely replace totally functioning bathrooms etc. . Finally, four years after the first for sale sign went up a single dad who didn't care that the faucets were bronze instead of brushed nickel and the appliances were black instead of stainless steel bought it for much less than we were asking (which was break even), we lost all our principal and had to pay the difference as well at closing. Soooo. No, I would never buy a house without selling the first again, and I will never be a landlord again. The stress of those four years was horrible. Now if you have a totally updated house in perfect condition, newly painted and priced low in a market that is not underwater and things are selling like hotcakes you will probably do better than we did!

Born in Maine, have had many trips to Quebec City. The old city is completely magical, European even. So different from what you will find in the US. I always stay in a hotel right in the Old City. The shortest route is the best route. The roads are rural but the first half of Maine has interstate and actual small cities, once you get above Waterville, the road is sprinkled with small towns. It is not like traveling through the wilderness. They are generally in good condition as well. You might even see a moose (the route is called "Moose Alley" and for this reason, it is best to travel during daylight hours). The very last bit of the road before the border is wooded and curvy and very pretty. Once you cross the border (which is easy if you have your passports), you leave the rural Maine and enter the agricultural Canadian small towns, then bigger towns, then, finally the city. There is a nice waterfall right outside of Quebec City, https://www.world-of-waterfalls.com/canada-chute-montmorency.html. If you have more energy and time, you could drive up the St. Lawrence and go whale watching in Tadoussac. You won't have trouble being understood in Quebec City (there was a time long ago when a separatist movement was active and people were to speak French in restaurants and shops, but that has fallen by the wayside). If you travel up to Tadoussac there will be some people who only speak French, but the whale watch and hotels have people who speak English. Go! Have fun!

The Simple Dollar. Several Contributors but the originator was Trent Hamm. He started out earning enough money but then made lifestyle choices that put him in deep debt. He had a baby and realized he had to change his ways. There are very specific tips, which I like, and there is a lot of content. The site is a little hard to navigate. There are a lot of financial services ads on it to ignore. He also has a book: https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Dollar-Wiped-Achieved-Dreams/dp/0137054254/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1531938547&sr=8-1&keywords=the+simple+dollar Read these first to follow his story: https://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-road-to-financial-armageddon-1-the-earliest-mistakes/ https://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-road-to-financial-armageddon-2-early-profits-lost/ https://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-road-to-financial-armageddon-2-early-profits-lost/ (You can continue to follow the ten part story through links at the bottom of each page. Then the getting started posts: https://www.thesimpledollar.com/little-steps-100-great-tips-for-saving-money-for-those-just-getting-started/ https://www.thesimpledollar.com/category/money/getting-started/

Now I am having flashbacks to my first apartment, and how I lost a significant portion of my security deposit because of the adhesive from hundreds of stars!!!!

Since it sounds like you frequent the library adding a few Maine titles to your haul might give some insight to the culture here. The books are all works of fiction, but a good start: Empire Falls by Richard Russo (really about Waterville, ME) Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (Brunswick area) Home Repair is Homicide Mystery Series by Sarah Graves (Eastport) (fun cozy mysteries) Answer the Tide by Olivia Ogilvie (down east) Also reading back issues of Down East Magazine (Maine) and Yankee Magazine (all of NE) will alert you to interesting people, areas, things to do.

Answering as a Mainer who has lived in both Maine and NY during various periods of my life and who has relatives in the south and in the midwest, and whose father has that generational, his family has been in Maine for almost 200 years, Maine ancestry cred. Maine is a subtle place. The natural beauty, the solitude, the hardship have molded the people over time to be respectful, reserved, and yet quietly there in times of crisis. Some areas of Maine have such a deep and interwoven history that an outsider might never break in. But these days, those areas are rarer than they once were. Mainers in rural areas often have two or three jobs to make ends meet. Many of them are land poor; they have a house with acreage but very little income. They often (almost by necessity) limit their social interactions to family and perhaps a town parade, church supper, or town meeting. Living in such close communities under hardship conditions sometimes elicits a strategy of minding one's own business in order to keep conflict low. Mainers are not the type to speak up about public/private matters (like how well kept a yard is) or private matters (like what church you go to). They believe in freedom that includes freedom from being judged by people. Many are independent, even eccentric, that live here in order to avoid things like the "lawn police" or any of the subtle or not so subtle social control that goes on in the American suburbs. This "freedom" extends to things like restaurants where they figure if you need water you'll call them, and you probably want to have your conversation uninterrupted by the waitress coming by ten times (being from here, I HATE it if the wait staff comes by more than once during a meal. It stops conversation in its tracks. Totally unnecessarily!) Oh, there are plenty of extroverts here too. We are kind of a split culture too. With the English and Scottish and Irish descendants being more reserved and the Franco Americans displaying a lot more joy de vivre! It takes a while for the locals to warm up to new people (though this depends on the town, mid coast to southern coastal towns as well as mountain tourist towns like Fryeburg are used to a constant influx of new people and are "friendlier"). That doesn't mean that in a reserved small town the locals don't know exactly who the new folks are, where they live, what they do. They love gossip as much as any other folks, but it is kept real quiet (and men are just as big gossips as women here!) They hang back though and let newcomers settle in rather than overwhelming new folks with the welcome wagon. But if it seems the new folks are struggling with something big (broken down car, lack of food, ice dams on the roof), someone might drop by to lend a hand and accept no thanks. Mainers feel responsible for others, but not in chit chat sort of ways. They spring into action when hardship strikes. They are a literal safety net at times. And they are often very good at big jobs like cutting up that tree that fell across your driveway or winching you out of the ditch you slid into. Not so good at small pleasantries. Though if you are patient, you will find individuals open to a nice conversation. It is not necessarily productive to analyze every social interaction and how it "went south". So many cultural differences to wade through! It is better to be your normal polite and kind and helpful selves, the locals will soon enough learn you are respectful members of the community, good people, even if you are "from away". Mainers generally like children and dogs, though they don't talk about them much. They like outdoors activities. They like their small town events. They love their libraries, but often grouse about paying taxes to support them. They like art and artists. They aren't so much into music as other places. They love their writers (and not just Stephen King). Mostly they've carved out a decent life for themselves and are living it as best they can, occasionally with the three jobs and the weekend trips to Ma Mere & Pa Pere's and the grange meeting and the garden, they don't have room for "friends". That doesn't mean they don't want them.

Brach's Ice Blue Coolers (blue mints, hard candy) Lime life savers. Lime Charms lollypops. Lime anything! (Curse you watermelon!!!)

Searched all over the Internet to find nothing better than the Hive!

I have a Jamis Citizen comfort/hybrid bike with suspension fork. Very comfortable. Upright riding posture. I also tried the Giant comfort bike which was also good. Some people like the step through comfort bikes as they are easy to get on and off of, mine just has a regular crossbar. Cruisers are not what you want. They are heavy and most of them have only three gears. Their super cute retro designs are adorable though.

If NutriSystem worked for you there are alternatives to NutriSystem that may have options without all the wheat. Here is a gluten free option from Green Chef. https://greenchef.com/home If it were me, I'd consult the doctors, try a low wheat meal plan to take the daily food decisionmaking off your plate (so to speak), and begin a physical activity that has great mental benefits. You've probably got your mind tied up in knots trying to figure out this health and dieting thing, give it a break for thirty minutes a day. I recommend daily walking preferably in an area with some greenery (if your joints allow for walking). Yes, for the exercise, but really because walking is great for the mind. Start small (even a block), and increase slowly over time. Think of walking as a meditative exercise rather than a physical one. Walk alone if it is safe and do not listen to music. I find long walks in nature (or along streets with many trees) to be the perfect way to spark creativity, work through problems, and to feel strong and alive. There is also a reason for the saying "walk it off". Sometimes a short walk is the best solution to frustration. Sometimes, I come back from walks wanting to do more traditional exercises, sometimes I have an inspiration for something to write, sometimes I see something so beautiful (wildflowers, birds, etc.) it makes my heart sing, sometimes it was just some fresh air. But all the time, I am better off physically for doing the walk (think here of endurance and muscle tone rather than weight loss) and in a better mental state than before the walk. Here is a blog post and an article about the brain science behind walking in nature and how it positively changes outlooks. Sometimes if we just have one thing that is going really right, everything else falls into place behind it. https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/22/how-nature-changes-the-brain/ https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/06/how-walking-in-nature-prevents-depression/397172/ Also seconding Laurie4B's list in the post above mine. She covers just about everything (sleep!) and has the same perspective about caring for your mind and body rather than focusing on the scale.

I think most liberal arts colleges, though the one I picked was more flexible than the others I applied to. I didn't have to take Freshman Comp or Phys Ed. or any math for example which was absolutely not the case in the seven other colleges I applied to. I think many other colleges have a set of particular "core courses" that everyone takes. Many colleges seem to have electives as well which is very freeing but may be limited in number. Also I went to college in the late 80s and early 90s. Things may have gotten a lot more flexible than they were back then.

I went to a very well respected liberal arts college that remains focused on the liberal arts and a well rounded education. It was such a broadening experience and definitely provides the background for someone to become an informed citizen as well as the flexibility to do many jobs (except for technical ones). The key factor though was that it wasn't a "core courses" curriculum grafted onto one's major. There were distribution requirements rather than core classes that everyone had to take with the philosophy being that all their courses were equal in training students how to think. So it was something like: you had to take two courses in the humanities, two in science and math, two in non Eurocentric studies, and two in some other category that I can't think of at the moment. In this way, it was possible for individualized studies and dabbling in areas that were not your major. The vast majority of graduates are employed upon graduation or go on to graduate school. A common theme I see in the profiles of the successful graduates in the alumni magazine is that they get jobs as innovators in largish corporations (LEGO, PIXAR etc.). I of course, did not go that route...

Definitely appropriate. But if she is very, very, very sensitive there is a frightening scene where one of the engineers gets her heel stuck in a grate in a dangerous location, she gets out in time. There are a number of references to the main character having to run across campus to use the bathroom (she might get (rightfully) upset about the unfairness of that), but her boss eventually does something to fix it. And there is a scene of couples romantically dancing which is appropriate but might get an "ick" response from a kid.

We live in a south facing two story home on a corner with windows on all sides and no porch so we get sunlight pouring in all day long. The direction the house faces, the number of trees in the yard, and the presence or absence of porches (I am no fan of the interior darkness caused by porches) will all influence the amount of sunlight. A previous poster mentioned latitude too. We are at 43 degrees, the sun is only directly overhead for very short periods in high summer.

Sesquipedalian! (Thanks to our Michael Clay Thompson curriculum for this one.) "A long word or characterized by long words, long winded."

An overwhelming number of science picture books come in at a higher reading level because of the scientific terminology within. A couple of five syllable words can pop those things right up to a 5th grade reading level with the calculations the publishers use. But story based natural history picture books also come in with high reading levels: Song of the Water Boatman is a Caldecott honor winner. It has gorgeous illustrations, poetry, and nonfiction biology content and is rated K to 5 in interest/reading level: https://www.amazon.com/Water-Boatman-Caldecott-Ribbon-Nonfiction/dp/0618135472/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520182980&sr=8-1&keywords=song+of+the+water+boatman&dpID=51I7QSBX71L&preST=_SX218_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch Pagoo, a picture book about a tide pool hermit crab has a reading level of 5th to 7th grade. https://www.amazon.com/Pagoo-Holling-C/dp/0395539641/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1520183176&sr=1-1&keywords=pagoo&dpID=617uzN%252BHWbL&preST=_SX218_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch A Dragon in the Sky: The Story of a Green Darner Dragonfly comes in at a 2nd to 3rd grade reading level https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Sky-Junior-Library-Guild/dp/0531303152/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1520183312&sr=1-1&keywords=A+dragon+in+the+sky&dpID=51r33TCuOsL&preST=_SX218_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

Oh my! So trippy! College was clearly more fun in the 70s than it ever will be again. Shared with all my bio friends to brighten their morning.

My cousin teaches the natural history and outdoor recreation part of their regular adult trip and their grandparent/grandkid trip when they come to Cumberland Falls State Park in Kentucky. He's super great so I am sure the whole trip is too! The other teachers at that park focus on Appalachian history and music for the guests. My aunt has gone on a number of their trips and loved every one of them. All of them seem very focused on learning and enrichment. Road Scholar used to be called Elderhostel. You might remember it by that name.

What about working on a citizen science program? Ecology is a very math heavy discipline with a large outdoor component. This is one example that game up from a Google search of citizen science gap year. I am sure there are more. https://career.virginia.edu/blog/2016/mar/gap-year-opportunity-research-assistant-environmental-science

I think of hiking as taking place in a natural area and walking as a more suburban or urban activity. Terrain doesn't matter as much in my definition, there are plenty of habitats in which to take a hike that are flat and level and there are some cities that are built on hills. I will happily walk or hike with people, with my dog, or alone unless I feel the area is dangerous for some reason (usually places where sketchy humans hang out as I don't live near cougars or grizzly bears). I can be fearful when hiking or walking alone but I try to overcome it. I live in a fairly safe region. I have a cell phone that works in most places (except my house for some reason). On heavily traveled trails most of the people I meet are really friendly. On other trails I am unlikely to see anyone, nice or not. I started worrying a little about rabid animals after a very intense, dramatic, detailed story I heard on the radio about a rabid racoon attack, but those are rare and I suppose rabid animals are just as likely to be in my yard as along a trail. I go on two or more "walks" down my road per day. There are hills, and the road runs along a large wilderness preserve. There are coyotes and black bears and thousands of acres of beech/fir forest so the experience of my walks is a lot more wild than my "hikes" when I lived in suburban NY. My dad uses a term for a twilight walk that I really like and have adopted, an "evening constitutional". I don't know where he got it from, but I just looked it up and it appears that while it means a healthy walk, people have used the term as a euphemism for heading to the outhouse. lol

I remember trying to break that habit when my son was five. He slept so little that there were a few times I was afraid to drive. I tried the advice of sitting in a chair and gradually moving it toward the door. I remember my son talking, talking, talking on and on and on every night for hours until one night I fell asleep and slumped right out of the chair onto the floor! I was so exhausted, I almost gave up and slept right there. It wasn't until he was twelve that he got a handle on his fears and could quiet his racing mind enough to be alone after a short goodnight. My daughter, who is the youngest, always went right to sleep which is why I am still sane.