Text back: There is nothing to discuss. Have a nice life. 👋🏼👋🏼

Where is this in relation to your most-uses entry/exit door? If you don't need it for kitchen use or a drink station, I'd evaluate what kind of "random junk" is landing there and why. If close to your entryway, it can be set up to be used as your landing zone for keys, wallets, sunglasses, library books, shopping bags - anything in transit into or out of the house and just processed and straightened out daily. If not close to the door, it can be your "command central" for all paperwork, calendars, mail sorting and processing, etc. that it takes to run the household. Or, clear the counter off and put a large-ish vase or piece of art there, for decoration only. It doesn't have to be a productive area, it can still be functional, even if the function is a place to add beauty to the room.

I can kind of sew, but probably won't have time. I will shop and drop either this weekend or Wednesday of next week, while working 9 hrs/weekday between now and then.

TLDR: Please suggest comfort items for a cancer patient. Will she need lotion? Chocolate? Fuzzy socks? A friend of mine who lives in a different city will begin chemo for colon cancer next week. Kids are 17 & 13 years old. I plan to give some restaurant gift cards and maybe a couple frozen meals and snacks to have on hand. I am also thinking about putting together a gift basket/bag for her with some comfort items while she does treatment. I'm thinking a super soft blanket/throw that is easily washable and portable. What else would you put in a bag or basket that she can either take with her to her treatments, or will want nearby to the couch/bed/easy chair at home during rest/recovery from treatments? ETA: I can drive to deliver the items, it's just too far away for day-day meal/in home help. Although I could offer to do laundry/clean house on a weekend.

@Tap Yep, relatable! Me after those exchanges: 🤯🤬😭😂

I'm sorry you are sick. I hope you feel better soon. It was nice of the universe to rearrange your schedule so you can rest.

Lol, this describes my DH and DD very well, actually. I might have to steal this and tell them to skip to recipe. 😂 My DH also starts things in his head and finishes them out loud, then gets grouchy at me for not knowing what he's talking about. Or will continue a conversation from two weeks ago without any warning or indication. A made up example for a semi-common occurrence. Scene: DH and I in a car or same room, not talking... Him: He still works at Acme Anvil company, I think. Me: Who and what are you talking about? Him: Wile E. Coyote Me: Ok, but why? Him: You mentioned Road Runner a couple weeks ago when we were talking about xyz. Me: Oh. Alrighty.

Communication is easier than it has ever been in the history of humans, and yet this... People do not actually know how to communicate necessary information. It is crazy-making. Some of my family members are the worst!

I'm actually in Canada and beaver tails is a newer commercial term, mostly found in tourist areas, yes. They are also know as elephant ears at fairs and carnivals. But, my grandparents called them flapjacks when they made them at home since before my parents were born.

Interesting. Our (family) version of flapjacks is fried bread dough. Served with choice of butter, jam, powdered sugar, honey, cinnamon sugar, etc. Basically a homemade doughnut without the hole.

I remember burning out in Gr. 12/senior year and I see it happening a bit with my DS this year, too. He's tired and ready to be done. He has also already decided to take a gap year to just work before doing any more schooling, so he's pushing through, because he sees the light at the end of the tunnel, but he has done more complaining about school in this first semester than in the rest of his life combined. He was informed a couple weeks ago that his marks currently have him in the top 5 candidates for valedictorian, so it hasn't affected his marks much, yet. He does have a spare period each semester this year, so I think that helps probably more than he or I realized until just now. My DD had actually started to show signs of burnout/shutting down in her senior year, too - procrastinating on scholarship apps for sure. Then the world shut down and gave her a break from school.

I will agree with @kirstenhill that Rochester, MN is easy to fit in in. IME, when we moved there, it was like we moved into a suburb in the 1950's. Our across the street neighbours brought homemade cookies to introduce themselves. One down the street neighbour invited our kids to play on their playset whenever they wanted - whether their kids were playing or not. One other down the street neighbour invited me to join their quilting circle, and there was a neighbourhood block party/potluck every August. Granted, not every neighbourhood will be quite as organized and welcoming, but we also made friends or friendly acquaintance with many of the parents at the school functions as well. We were only there two years, but they were friendly years.

I wouldn't kill the bug, either. And, I wouldn't take kindly to the demand "could you just kill the damn bug!" I also will not kill the spider. It is reasonable of you to make a request, but is also reasonable for others to DENY that request. It sounds very entitled to get online and tell the www that not complying with your requests makes other people "real jerks". Your phobia/anxiety is not the other person's problem, and is not their responsibility to make you comfortable. Edit: I do agree that saying you need to grow up is a jerk move.

Several is many. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Up to 15 years or so for a lot of women. Also, not mentioned in the video, but part of the package for some, including myself... itchy ears!! 😩😩 Turning 48 in a couple months, myself. I'm deep in the throes of this 💩, too. Solidarity!

You are considered in menopause - menses paused/stopped - after going a full 12 months without a period. Perimenopause is the several years prior to menopause when your body is in transition from fertility to non-fertility. Symptoms range from mild to pure hell and include physical, mental, emotional, and generally also comes with a side of gaslighting that "it's all in your head" or "can't be that bad".

That is a lot. Hugs. Wishing you the most boring, mundane, and uneventful rest of 2024.

Such a good update! I'm glad he is recovering and that the bills will mostly be covered.

"I'm not interested in doing any teaching right now, but I am open to manual labour or helping out in other ways."

Before "we" build affordable housing, "we" need to put more regulations in place regarding who can buy those houses. We don't need more AirBNB, VRBOs, or "investment property rental home" owners, corporate or individual, buying up all of the inventory.

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I'm sure you're aware that profits are what is left over after expenses including wages, yes? I didn't say just profits, I said profits and stockholder dividends and that it would be a percentage formula, possibly averaged over 3-5 years and they can't pay megabucks to the CEOs. I wasn't trying to formulate an equation, I was expressing an opinion. Corporate greed is out of control and under-regulated. If companies had to base their minimum wages on a combination of profits, shareholder dividends, and CEO compensation packages, the worker bees would be more fairly compensated for the value they add to the company and the economy. There's probably a mathematician or two who can create a more fair compensation formula, using various company financial metrics, than the one we currently operate under whether you can imagine it or not. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I didn't say anything about a year. Maybe it would be averaged over 3-5 years. 🤷🏻‍♀️ The point is that the current pace of low/no regulation or restrictions on capitalism and corporate greed is FUBARing the world exponentially every year it is allowed to continue.

Ok, so I have what is possibly an unpopular opinion: Lifestyle creep SHOULD be a thing. Life should not be hard all the time. People should be able to ENJOY the fruits of their labour. It should be illegal for CEOs to make 7+ figures. Corporations should have to pay wages based on a percentage of profits and stockholder dividends, billionaires assets should be taxed just like every other property is.

Mostly my thoughts on the article are that it seems ... light? Incomplete, maybe. Like, it's a space filler. There are a lot of words, but they really don't say anything of substance.

I have a merino wool set from Costco. I can't remember the brand, but I used it when I had an outdoor job on the Canadian prairies - cooooolld, cold. It did the job for a fraction (1/3 or less) of the price you are finding.