Happy Bitrhday to Mom ninja. I am voting for three books also! :) Amy, I am in finally in Moose County. This whole book seems to be a surpise. I don't remember Aunt Fanny as a living character either. I suspect this might be one the library didn't have or my list was bad years ago. Anyway I'm enjoying myself.

I am so sorry, Prairiesong. :grouphug:

Dd and I would tell you we are both willing to sample pretty much any Christmas pudding. Most people do keep it in tins as they faithfully add a whiskey to it occasionally. It would have to be a fancy pudding to be in a true tin these days. Most are wrapped colourfully in cellophane these days. The local favourite seemed to be the ones fron Lidol this year. I probably would like the brown bread in a can with raisins although I suspect I would probably prefer custard to beans. Although I do like truly good baked beans, thick with molasses. Culturally beans on toast is a really common thing to feed kids for tea (dinner) here. My kids have missed that bit of their culture. British beans are very runny with tomato sauce compared to something like Campbell's Pork and Beans which I know I don't care for. The beans are heated and served over toasted white bread. Absolutely no reading progress today other then the first two pages in the car.

I am feeling less confused about what the product is. The can picture took care of that but have to admit the whole concept is a bit horrifying. Bread in a can and not something in an MRE (military field meals that live forever). I don't think I plan to let dh know about this potential gift for his friend, they give each other odd food items and things with gnomes. It's weird but they have a great time at it. This would definitely make dh's list as this year's birthday gift but would mark me forever as the wife of the guy with bread in a can. He alread gave an MRE ....we have received chocolates made with horse milk. The kids actually had fun with those. The competition will go on..... I finished Before the Fall https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26245850-before-the-fall?ac=1&from_search=true. There was much I enjoyed about the book but the ending was a huge disappointment.

Ok, I am confused. I never had brown bread in a can to my knowledge growing up. I can understand baking it homemade in a can because my sil's mom always gave me a coffee can cheesecake for Christmas. One of my best gifts each year btw. What is confusing me is some mom's appear to be baking it from scratch which I get but others bought it. Did you buy it than bake it or buy it baked from a bake sale?

I saw that too. I actually own at least one of the books in the series because it was free on Kindle. The mystery series with the X author that Robin recommended upthread is also quite good. I read one for a different challenge in the past. The only reason I haven't read more was I couldn't find them at a library. I'm currently reading Before the Fall which Stacia read months ago. I've been on a wait list this whole time. I'm not ready to render an opinion on the whole book but have to say the Jack LaLanne parts are cracking me up. He had a fitness show when I was little (5 or so) that I was somewhat obsessed by and used to exercise with Jack frequently. For the main character Jack was a hero of what a person with determination can do. It makes me really like the guy so I am hoping he doesn't turn out to be dreadful.

No problems obtaining levothyroxine which I believe is the common treatment. I know many people taking it so treatment isn't a problem. It's actually a condition where if forms are completed ALL prescriptions are free from the NHS for life. Same thing for people with many other things that require lifelong meds.

Robin :grouphug: I refuse to like a post where everyone is uncomfortable. I was going to say miserable but I know you like the books. I am also sure James likes a videogame day or two. I hope all of you feel better soon!

She claims to have been to busy to eat. Her brother certainly wasn't! :lol: He seems to really like haggis. Dh went and picked up Pizza for them around 5 so they wouldn't have to eat if they didn't want to so he probably spoiled her appetite. She had the clootie pudding which she really likes. http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/clootiepudding_9528 I am on The Cat who played Brahms in my reread. I hope to reach Moose County soon.....do you know which book?

Great link Jenn! I probably should just stop there but will be a bit brave and go on. I found the University educational system parts of the book fascinating. I learned a great deal from that so could easily stop there and say it was a worthwhile read for me. I normally stay away from books where suicide and death play such a large role. During my teens one of my closest friends had a long tangled history of suicide attempts and destructive behaviour with me as someone trying to save her. To say I empathized with Toru is almost an understatement. Eventually she pretty ruthlessly cut me out of her life (I now wonder if she did it for me and think it was) and I went off to College. When I heard about her suicide when we were 22 I wasn't surprised. Sad, very sad. I so very much wanted her to find happiness or at least contentment. I have always thought of her frequently with regret for the things she didn't get to do. For her there was one thing that set the whole chain of events in motion, impossible for me at 15 to change it. Not sure it could be changed. I also think of all the great adventures we had....This book was good for me. It made me remember through clearer eyes. I have always felt a sense of guilt because I couldn't save/fix her. Not sure what more I want to say. I suspect I have way overshared. But I do feel a bit better after having read the book.

Pretty sure kids on the NHS dental plan get two cleanings a year. It seems right with what friends do. My kids weren't on NHS and since they didn't need braces we didn't put the effort into finding a dentist where they could be. Eye exams and glasses are free to under 19's here too. Regarding the midwifes...One of my close friend's husband worked for National Rail when she was pregnant with her first. They were apparently very bored waiting for her to deliver so grabbed her hospital bag and used their train pass to go a far as possible every time he had time off. No worries about delivering away from home, I think she actually wanted to but didn't. The different midwife idea doesn't seem to bother people, although it is generally within a practice. It's rather like going to a practice with 8 ob's and being required to have one office visit with each.

You would have to sit down with a scope and sequence and compare. I never made an effort to attempt to put them in sync with each other. We simply started the next book when one was finished. At that age most days we did a lesson from both curriculums(also had Challenging Word Problems for Singapore). I liked Abeka for its spiral methods and Singapore for it's frequently slightly different more intuitive approach. They did compliment each other really well but not on a daily or weekly basis. I did notice that if one of the kids was having a problem grasping something I could simply discretely set the book aside and within a couple of weeks the other curriculum seemed to tackle the topic with a slightly different approach. Back to both books! :)

I am, but on the way out the door. Will be home in a couple of hours.

Dp Sorry!

Isn't grade 4 where the books stop being easy to write in? Neither of mine were happy when they couldn't write their answers in Abeka anymore. We used Singapore also and they could still write in those. I am going to be honest and say Abeka was our spine all the way through high school. Some books were done totally others a chapter or two. In one ds did all the story problems. Generally all the tests were taken just to make sure I wasn't skipping something needed. Not a fan of their geometry but otherwise solid. We also used Singapore through NEM. Life of Fred and Lials for parts of high school.

It was a couple of years ago and none of us can remember which problems were recommended by Barrons for the graphing calculator. The dc's did learn the techniques and we did buy the calculator for the exam. I made them, to be really honest. That being said ds did not use his calculator for the graphing function on the SAT maths exams or the Calc AP. No need. He had plenty of time and had 800's and a 5. So obviously it isn't required for a high score. If you son looks over the list of topics and is comfortable I don't think he needs to learn. I would have him go through one timed practice exam just so he knows the pacing of the exam. Remember the SAT 2 is more forgiving than the SAT 1, a question or two can be missed for the 800. Dd learned also. Same scores. She used it to check her work but not to answer. She thought it was more fun than useful. I wouldn't bother with it again. ETA. I just talked to the dc's and both say ds must have used the graphing calculator on the AP exam. Ds and I had a rather turbulent couple of days last spring when I discovered he did not even know what was on the AP exams he was taking in a couple of days. I had provided review books and had believed they had been used. The evening before the Calc AP was once again a how to use your graphing Calculator session taught by dd. He informed me the next day after the exam that the calculator lesson had been unnecessary which I thought meant he did not use it. I still suspect he didn't use it much because it hadn't been going well the night before.....knowing my child he may have been tormenting me!

Just going to quickly add that in my area of England the waits for a gp appointment are done pretty fairly. If you truly need a same day it happens. Otherwise a week or two. We also have a couple of good walk in clinics that are great. Quick efficient treatment for minor injuries with good referral into the main system if you need ongoing treatment. Dh was home within two hours for a shoulder injury, with xrays. Totally impressed with his care. My area is considered to be in one of the less well served areas by the NHS so we aren't in a great place NHS wise. Doctors and nurses do make home visits. It can be hard to get on the home visit list but once again it appears to be pretty fair. People who truly can't go to the office seem to be the ones with the visiting nurse to change bandages etc. I know a lot of elderly people who have had hip and knee replacements. Lots of cataracts too. The outcomes seem to be great. A friend was out at her Christmas lunches in under 3 weeks with a walker after hip replacement surgery. If the wait is too long or it's an emergency they switch the patient to the private facilities in the area and the NHS pays. I'll be honest and say things don't appear any slower here than for friends and relatives on the other side of the Atlantic. The people who take longer are frequently trying to schedule around things and can't get the appointment exactly when they want it. This is just an interesting side note a not elderly friend paid private for a knee replacement not covered by NHS roughly 8 years ago. I want to add that her knee replacement was pretty elective (sports related) and probably would not have been covered easily by an American heath insurance company either. We looked out of curiosity. All consultations, the physical therapy, operation, and two week stay in private hospital she calls the spa....£10,000. You are given the price upfront. Btw, friend is not rich. No private insurance. Solidly middle income. The switch to private and back is interesting and people do at times use it to jump the queue. Your records all stay together and people seem to move pretty seamlessly between the systems. The doctors just pass you back and forth. With cancer, literally next day biopsies etc and back to the regular NHS for treatment. No one has gone private beyond biopsies, with or without private insurance. Treatments and timetables the same and with the NHS in our area it may all be closer to home. One last comment, healthcare in the UK seems to be very sympathetic to the extremely elderly and the dying. If you are willing to have the treatment they do provide it even if major surgery will just extend life a few weeks at best. No rationing on MRI etc. which is something that I thoght happened before I moved here. My friend's 90yo mother has had numerous scans in the past few months tracking the degeneration of her hip joint. For various reasons a hip replacement isn't the best choice for her but they are willing if she wishes to try. She has decided not to. They keep doing the scans which surprises me but I am glad.

There are two books that have recently. The one by Daisy Goodwin is the one the tv script came from but the book ends before the marriage according to a Goodreads review I read this morning. I had thought by reading this one I would get a preview of the next series. :lol: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30841109-victoria?ac=1&from_search=true Since the preview is apparently not happening I may go back to this one by Julia Baird. I was on the hold list for sever weeks and cancelled my hold when I realized the other book's connection with the tv show. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24423800-victoria?ac=1&from_search=true Thanks, I had a bit of a panic when I saw you were reading ing alphabetical order. I am going to continue my less organized plan of seeing where I stand in the fall! I watch this last summer too. It must of been on Amazon Primehttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/4994692/Queen-not-amused-by-inaccuracies-in-The-Young-Victoria-film.htmlfI liked it. It was a slightly different portrayal of Victoria. In this one she was much more attracted to Albert from the start. And I envy your life in the sun. I am a sunshine girl but we don't mind cold, hate snow, especially when it measures in feet! Part of my childhood was on a small island off Florida, so sun! All of our trips to IoW have had great weather but we book at the last minute because we aren't sure what we would do in the rain there. It was raining when we left last time. We ended up joining the ferry queue early in hope of an earlier boat (achieved) and left the car there to walk around the shops in the rain. Oddly enough that's where my yarn for my green man was purchased. It all ties together!

Hopefully the links are fixed. The patterns are straightforward. Occasionally fiddly if doing fingers but generally they are all there. I don't remember problems with directions being wrong ever.

I really liked the second one better because I simply read it cover to cover this morning with very few breaks because I needed to get my January prime book. I think it tended to jump around character wise rather unexpectedly which probably means these are chapter at a time books not paragraph at a time. I read the first one a couple of months ago and tried something else the next month. I wasn't happy with that series at all so I'm back to Miss Seeton. Jenn, I loved Norwegian Wood too. I am also finding it improves with age. I have been thinking about that book quite a bit. Osbourne House is one of our favourites. We go to Isle of Wight every summer because we always love it there. I had just finished watching the Victoria series http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2016/10/02/victoria-a-pregnant-pause-for-jenna-colemans-witty-queen--episod/ when we went this year. The house tour was laid out differently because Judy Dench was filming Victoria and Abdul. The show actually made a couple of rooms that I think were new on the tour more meaningful. Also the carpet was up and I was able to see some incredible mosiac floors! Yes, everyone I like mosaics and green men. I study gargoyles too! :lol: There are a couple of new Victoria books out. I had been planning on reading one of them this year but am now wondering if I should read this one.

The Green Man is on Ravelry but not for sale yet because it was in a magazine recently http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/green-man-3 It should be out on his web site or Ravelry really soon. Dd and I have made many of Alan Dart's patterns over the years and he is the best knit toy designer. We subscribe to Simply Knitting just for his patterns. The Dickens Mice are great and sat in the library's Christmas window one year. Dd has made many of his different mice including the fairytale ones.http://www.alandart.co.uk/product/all-patterns/dickensian-party-mice/ I bought St. George the Dragon http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/george-of-york-dragon for dd's birthday while in York a couple of weeks ago. She made Goswald http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/goswald-of-graveney-st-george--gargoyle a couple of years ago and he is great! I feel like I need to mention a book or is Dickens enough? Currently reading a Miranda James cozy, Digging up the Dirt. Eta, I hope I have the links fixed. Odd.....

I had to take a look at The Green Man because they are some of my favourite carvings to hunt for in churches. I actually have a toy green man on my knitting needles which I hope to finish this year! I was a bit shocked to discover that I had been born when this book was released! ;) I read a couple of interesting reviews and think I might give it a try. I actually need to join a hold list for it so it might be awhile. I have been keeping track of my authors for the A to Z challenge but I wasn't planning to read in alphabetical order. At this stage I can change because I don't have that many books for that challenge completed. Is is supposed to be read in alphabetical by author order? I was going to follow Robin's lead and talk about Norwegian Wood but decided I should wait and make sure everyone is done. Please post if you aren't. :) I finished Miss Seeton Draws the Line by Heron Carvic. This is an older cozy with a retired British spinster who has a gift fot drawing the truth. She works with a policeman to solve crimes. My affection for this series is growing. I am able to get them with my Amazon prime membership.

When we were in the process of moving to the UK I bought journels for both kids made with paper similar to Draw Write Now books. Half a page was empty for a drawing and room on the bottom for a bit of an explanation. The books are a beautiful keepsake of our first few weeks here. I think I ordered them from Rainbow Resources but that was 10 years ago.

I can't remember what classes but I packaged the Coursera up with Dino 101. I think I found a couple of Archaeology ones. Your classes sound great. I made sure they did the work for a free certificate and had those as back up for completion.

I would be tempted to just buy some of the supplemental math workbooks at a bookstore/grocery store and have part of maths be figuring out the German instructions! I know there are normally huge displays of workbooks for elementary/primary ages in many stores. I have bought the language ones but there must be math ones. I would put some good read alouds on the kindle, maybe all of the Wizard of Oz books just to be covered. Pack Ordinary Parents.....and go have an adventure!