A couple of quick AMC and AIME thoughts. My dc's found the past papers really helpful. They normally did several past papers with their team....it ended up being one good friend from their mathcounts team. Going over the problems was great and fascinating. I loved hearing how differently they all solved the same problem. They also liked to use Alcumus for prep. For them it free time fun, sort of like video games for many. :lol: They enjoyed it. I would start with Alcumus now and introduce the past papers in a couple of months. Sign her up for both the AMC 10 and 12. The coordinator that worked with us said many who do both advance to AIME via AMC 12 not 10, she strongly advised both exams.

Melissa Olson apparently stopped writing the Scarlett Bernard series for all of 6 months thus the first 3 and the second 2. Apparently she really did consider the series to be over but people begged her to continue. It's really confusing and I do not get it but the books are good. I'm just glad that I got the order right because of reading them very near the release date. Stacia, I just keep picturing the sounds all those cats must of made! My cat hated car rides and screamed at us most of the way. As you said probably the start of a great cozy. Erin, I was so glad you posted before I went to bed last night. It sounds like the surgery was a success. Yeah! Nan, It's great to have you back with us. Very brave of you to go sailing with your shoulder. Not being a sailor I hadn't really thought about the physical end of it. Glad your ds went with while you found your sea legs. Today will be devoted to the prep for the Horticultural Show and a trip to the dentist. The quilts are done, folded, and waiting by the door. Today will be devoted to baking and flower arrangements (dd). There is a new category for baking this year, cakes with vegetables. I went through my recipe collection and looked online. I may try a parsnip cake https://blissfullyscrumptious.com/2015/03/31/parsnip-and-ginger-cake/ but I have different toppings planned. Ds plans to enter the Men's Baking category which he won with Snickerdoodles last year. His category is an anything goes type which is fun. Books.......I am finally actually reading Women of the Castle which I have had on my currently reading for months. All my audio book requests have appeared from holds. They stared arriving within minutes of my grand finish, naturally. Two weeks ago this would have been great but now it's intimidating! :lol: I am going to start next years quilt but not sure how many hours I plan to invest right now......it's literary as in Lucy Boston. Planning something along this line https://www.linapatchwork.com/lucy-boston-patchwork-crosses-tutorial/. Totally different colours, purples, greens,and reds.

Seriously sharks!!! :lol:

Rose, I am so glad to hear that Shannon's treatment can finally start and that you trust the new Doc. That is so important! Erin, Sending prayers and positive thoughts your way. To our BaWers preparing for Irma stay safe! We keep looking at the models and they seem to be changing rapidly.

:grouphug: Definitely check with ACT and the college. A cancellation due to a hurricane should definitely qualify as an exception. I wonder if the make up is simply October or if they might be willing to do it in a couple of weeks somewhere in the area.

Congratulations!!!!

I was incorrectly diagnosed with Crohn's in my mid 20's so please tell her it happens. Definitely get the second opinion. I had a new gastro doc who specializes in Crohn's do my second. My dh found him through a colleague. Part of my switching was because I didn't care for my first doctor. I did really like the second one, not just because he said the other doctor who had been his resident several years previous was wrong. ;)

I just saw this. I'm so glad you are home and hopefully feeling much better. :grouphug: Huge Doc Martin fan here if you haven't already found something. :)

I just finished listening to The Apartment by Greg Baxter https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18568443-the-apartment. It's a book with an intriguing cover. The basic story is a American ex Navy man is searching for an Apartment with a platonic female friend in an unnamed European city. That's it. Totally stream of consciousness with many flashbacks to Iraq. It was actually pretty interesting in places but drove me nuts because the European city seems to be a combination of many and fictionalized. I spent the entire story trying to figure out where and still don't know!!!! I'm moving on to A Darker Shade of Magic https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22055262-a-darker-shade-of-magic?ac=1&from_search=true. It's been on the wish list for ages and is available on audio. This might be the last book needed for to finish these quilts!!!!

:grouping: and Prayers.

:lol: Your machine is absolutely fine! I have made 3 of my quilts 99.9 % by hand. I think the machine has been out 3 times this summer to piece backing that wasn't large enough. So I have LOTS of time to sit and listen or watch the somewhat familiar. My fingers are sore, really sore, but life is peaceful. I read 50 or so pages of the Paying Guests back when it was first published. All I can remember is not liking it at all. I can't remember the details but I think it was class issues and perhaps the plumbing that made it an easy book to abandon. It has remained in my mind as an author I am unwilling to try again without an incredible recommendation.

I also finished my August gemstone challenge today. I am getting tired of hunting for vowels. :lol: All I have left for the alphabetical titles are the vowels and the X. I know I could reuse but planning to read new books if I have time. I spelled both Peridot and Spinel but used the same I and E in both. P. Sacred and Profane by Faye Kellerman E. Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh R. Down a Dark Road by Linda Castillo I. Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan D. The Rise and Fall of DODO by Neil Stephenson O. Black Out by Ragnar Johasson T. The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny S. Summerhils by DE Stevenson P. Murder at Puppy Fest by Laurien Berenson I. Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore N. Two Nights by Kathy Reichs E. Enter a Murderer L. A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny I have to admit I'm looking forward to Flufferton month. I also have Sapphire spelled in my stack so I just need to read them!

I finished listening to The Zookeeper's Wife https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13552110-the-zookeeper-s-wife this afternoon for my Z in the alphabetical by title challenge. I am so glad I listened to it as opposed to reading it, I enjoyed it but I tend to get bored with what I would class as rabbit trails taken by the author. There must of been 5 pages about types of beetles for instance and I know I would have quit. I have been on the holds list for this book for months and when it came up in the audio section as available now.....I grabbed it. The book is set in Warsaw during WWII so is filled with horrifying parts. The Zookeeper and his wife were responsible for saving many Polish Jews by hiding them within the zoo property. Those stories were interspersed with many interesting animal related facts. It was taken primarily from diaries and fleshed out by interviews with survivors and other research. Interesting but probably too dry for me in book form but it was good to quilt to. My fascinating animal bit was their carnivorous rabbit. Yes, their bunny loved sausage a whole lot...mine considers sweet fruits and muesli to be the best. Don't worry he a huge assortment because 3 families feed him their leftover vegetables and fruits.

Somehow I missed the whole Brainy Bunch thing. I have to admit my dh just ordered the book! :lol: We followed a pretty child led path which is the thing to remember. We always schooled year around so basic curriculum accelerated somewhat naturally. Accelerating hugely at times. Trying to find the right fit for both kids. When we discovered Coursera our style changed hugely. Suddenly things like MIT math classes came into view. But they could also "sit" in classes and give them a try. We had some surprises, learned they had academic strengths we never anticipated. It's been good. Fwiw, we did go on to convert much of our mooc style learning in to Clep, SAT Subject exams, and AP exams during "high school". My kids enjoyed it. That's the important thing to remember.....enjoyed.

I am in the take a break camp. Ds was difficult to teach but had been totally reading ready for at least two years, as in he had the skills, the ability, and simply refused because I was desperate. He wouldn't even do BOB books! We travelled between two houses for dh's work at that point and I had a special bag we carried filled with his reading stuff. We were switching houses for a holiday weekend for social reasons so the weeks schedule was full and I purposely skipped packing his bag because I knew he wouldn't use it. He realized HIS bag wasn't packed and went and got it. I was a bit stressed and told him we didn't need it because he would never use it that week. Painfully blunt. He looked at me and announced he was planning to learn to read that week so we needed that bag. He did. Completed it all. The pressure was off.......

Yes, because we already did that when I was pregnant and on bed rest. He also renovated it without my ever seeing it although I did get to look at paint chips etc occasionally. I was familiar with the basic house because we lived in the same neighbourhood at the time but not that particular house. It's actually my favourite of the houses we have lived in because it was really convenient in design. He did a great job with some really extensive renovation. By the way I didn't get to go in until right before dd was born to supervise the nursery set up!

Kathy :lol: Believe me I feel your pain!!! I do my best to convince mine to go together because my dd forgets to turn her phone on. I think she honestly forgets. Ds is good about updates normally. Fortunately their friends are pretty much the same thanks to pretty similar interests. I read a book that I would class as popular suspense fiction yesterday called You Belong to Me by Colin Harrison https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31574745-you-belong-to-me. It was quite a page turning book with lots of twists and turns that I had a hard time predicting. It also is my Y for alphabetical by author. I am attempting to do this by first word in the title and this book look interesting.

:lol: Looking at the syllabus does seem to be a hard skill to master for some.

:grouphug:

Rose :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: I hope you find your answers soon. I also hope you find a good way to deal with those temperatures.

Honestly probably not. Robert Bathurst was just fine but it wasn't really right. The story was so good that it didn't really matter but it would have been better with Cosham. ;)

Amy :grouphug: to you. I hope you get an early night and a good book! Give them both a hug from me. I listened to Cadfeal many years ago. They were actually my first audio books back when they came as cassettes. :lol: Definitely a great idea for a reread or should I say relisten. I finished another Louise Penny audio book this evening. The Nature of the Beast was great and fascinating. I was amazed to learn that what had seemed fictional was basically true. Only one more to go while I wait for the new one, Glass Houses, which was released today. Number 17 on the holds list so I am hoping for more copies to be added to Overdrive!

It's good to know the pattern actually works. It's one of several I downloaded but a favourite. I am starting to think a vest for ds and the scarf for me. Dr. Who for him but other stuff for me. I may make some Tardis mittens for Christmas presents. I need to finish the quilts first. One week to go and it's going to be close! Two completely done and two to go...... Kareni, I have to say that Winter Wind sounds unusual. A blind and deaf detective is not something I have ever encountered. I looked in my Overdrive but need to do a better search later.

Angela :grouphug: What a day! This blog post has been my morning's entertainment. For all of our Doctor Who fans..... I am pretty sure Angela is a Doctor Who fan (we have several) although I don't see how she could possibly have time to knit! But I think she could use some distraction. http://knittingfornerds.com/free-doctor-who-knitting-patterns/ This was discovered because I want to make an infinity scarf like thishttp://www.shareapattern.com/knitting/my-favourite-things-infinity-scarf/ and was thinking something Dr. Who might be great for my ds. He used to like nerdy vests with fair isle. I think he still would if any actually fit him... 6'4". Might make him one for Christmas.... I finished a book! More Scarlett Bernard https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34181876-blood-gamble by Melissa F. Olson. I really like this paranormal serieswith a null. It makes me smile every time a mean character loses their powers! :)

A pizza crust army! :lol: Definitely something else I suspect. As someone who has been hosting a pizza night this summer (tonight's is the last one :( ). I immediately wondered if the crust was stuffed. We've tried many many pizzas......we were actually able to get Papa John's, Dominos, and Pizza Hut as part of the experience. I still can't believe they are all available here. Dominos isn't quite right (from memory) but othrwise. Fyi, I think Papa John won the overall award from the kids.