Glad you enjoyed Department Q! This was one of my favorites from a high school lit class. Maybe I should revisit it. Glad the kittens are all going to homes. So cute, it must have been hard to resist. I am going to put Goblin Emperor on hold again. Maybe I will try the audio. Dd read it when I had it last time and loved it! She is currently reading another @Kareni recommendation, The Martian.

@Chris in VA That sounds like me at your dd’s age. BC greatly reduced my cramping and made me regular. Ibuprofen never reduced my pain from cramping, I had prescription meds. I was told that I didn’t have endometriosis at that time but always wondering if my doc had a clue. Fast forward a few years and I had severe endo.........the good thing as I understood it was my minipill probably slowed things down substantially but I would have liked to know.

I would definitely combine your older kids for the first year. Your preschooler might surprise you and join in. We did this with Sonlight and used the package appropriate for my younger child and supplemented a bit for the older. My dc’s are 22 mos apart in age. Buy the LA elsewhere........maybe Memoria.

Bumping you ......... My kids are in University so I haven’t taught or looked at elementary science books for quite awhile. I know where to buy curriculum but not necessarily individual books. This series of nature readers was good https://www.conquestbooks.co.uk/christian_books.php?menu_page=171. We used Usbourne pretty extensively for our science program. I have noticed Timberdoodle now offers secular and non secular home ed kits. https://timberdoodle.com/collections/curriculum-kits. It might be worthwhile to browse through their curriculum....they are wonderful at science.

A Shameful Murder generally has really long hold’s so I have never tried it. From the hold’s line people like them! 😂 It looks like something I would like but know I quickly abandoned one of this author’s other series https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1625740.My_Lady_Judge. No idea why but it was a book I really wanted to like because of Robin’s Lady Judge Bingo category last year. I will try to think of a few more series.......

I have been looking over my lists for my favorites so far this year and honestly I have had a really good reading year so far. It was hard to pick just a few........... The Au Pair https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37561550-the-au-pair was good in the what everybody’s reading type of category. What bookstores are displaying etc😉. I can’t remember much about the adult content levels but throwing it in because was a convoluted plot that totally entertained me. The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5458060-the-sunday-philosophy-club https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/140524.The_Unexpected_Mrs_Pollifax is first in an older cozy series that I managed to completely miss much to @aggieamy horror. I really enjoyed the second in this series also and need to put the third one on hold! All Systems Red https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32758901-all-systems-red is the first in the Murderbot series. I loved these books! The Man Who Died https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35960911-the-man-who-died is a very different murder mystery. The main character discovers he has been poisoned and will die. Before he dies he wants to track down his killer and pretty much everyone in his life has a solid place on the list. Finnish author...... The Sunday Philosophy Club https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5458060-the-sunday-philosophy-club I believe @Neginreally likes these and they have been a happy find for me. They aren’t what I would class as cozies because many of the mysteries are simply things that Isobel is curious about. This is another series where I need to check the next book out.......... @tuesdayschild wondering if you have read any Charlotte MacLeod? These are older American cozies that my Overdrive recently started stocking. It’s another author I completely missed but the two I read in this series were good https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/512989.The_Family_Vault?ac=1&from_search=true. I need to start using this author to fill in spelling challenges! 😂

Sending prayers.......

FWIW, my grandmother died in 1960 in California and my Uncle’s both traveled there to take care of things. They managed to get her birthday wrong, maiden name spelled really badly, and a couple of other things are off. I did genealogy pretty seriously for a few years and she appears correctly in many public family trees etc so I never even thought of having it fixed. I have her original death certificate but I am not sure anyone else ever pulled it. I got it from my mom. I wouldn’t worry.

Kareni, I am so glad you enjoyed it!😀 I had a vague idea that there might be a film version out there but I didn’t think it was in English. Maybe someday I will try it after I read all the books! @Pen, Like Kareni I have only read the first book which could be a bit foundational. But I do think they are going to have to recap much of the first book in later books so just make sure you go in order. The narrator is different for the first but I did like him.....he did a couple of Expanse novellas. I actually looked to make sure he did all the books and was slightly disappointed!😂 I am busy trying to spell Guido Brunetti and happened to have many of the needed letters already in the stack of Overdrive. When I am done with Guido I have every intention of listening to more Department Q.

FWIW, because I know you have looked at some Canadian schools also. My son already had online College credits in areas where he took the AP so did Dd with her one AP in Calculus. My kids are good test takers so the actual exams were easy for them after they learned about the format. The most painful part was the writing for Ds. That said they needed 3 AP exams/ SAT Subjects with 5’s or above 700 for the UK schools they were looking at. They were accepted......well Ds had to turn 18 first per some policy so he was deferred at that one. They never used that set of acceptances but they were confidence building for all of us. No regrets.......

Sending prayers your way! So glad you are feeling better.

VC, Congratulations to Middle Girl! Glad you are safe.....also glad you all hung out in the hallway.

I forgot to say one of last week’s reads No Exit was about a college student being stranded at a rest stop in the mountains during a massive snowstorm. That Bingo square is done!

FWIW, My kid’s best friend has a long bus ride through heavy traffic each day, one to two hours, with her school friends all 90minutes away on a normal drive. She doesn’t resent it but has lots of extracurricular activities close to home......she rides horses and her stable is walking distance from home etc. Gets some studying done on the bus. She does some extracurricular activities at school but many are wrapped into the school day.......clubs meet at lunch time so she eats a sandwich very quickly. It has been a challenge because her mom died two years ago and her dad became a single parent. I don’t think they would have made a different decision school wise if they had known because our local schools are dreadful. That private is the best and what we would have used. The drive is harder when there is just one working parent to make it. His work days involved a great deal of travel previously so huge adjustments have been made. I think a major part of the equation is your ability/desire to make the school run. Add to it what about when one stays after and the other girl wants to be on the bus?

Sending hugs and prayers......

@Negin Beautiful travel photo! I love stained glass. Share as many as you want, we would love to see them @Robin M I been wondering about the Kitten(s) too! @Mothersweets Another huge fan of The Passage. I am too lazy to quote the past summer reads link that @Kareni posted......I think I have read 5. I have been waiting for months for Crazy Rich Asians on Overdrive. I loved the movie! From the board books link I am so curious about the coding book for toddlers........ Recent finishes....... Twisted by Laura Griffin was very good. I am enjoying my reread of this series that I read ages ago. I plan to jump ahead and read some of the more recent releases soon. Meet Cute by Helena Hunting was a great romance novel. She appears to be one of the genre’s popular authors right now and I picked this book because I was curious. An easy read without too many explicit adult scenes. I am requesting another of her books😉 As a bonus I discovered that the title wasn’t a typo on my kindle.😂 No Exit by Taylor Adams, was a book that was advertised on my kindle so much that when I saw it available in my Overdrive I checked it out. I think it was compared to Gone Girl in a review and was like Gone Girl in many ways. I didn’t love it but will give it credit for being quite a page turner. Currently reading.......David Baldacci’s The Forgotten. Really enjoying this one. Thanks to @Angelaboord recommendation I am going to give Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft a try on audio this week. I abandoned the book last year but actually remember what I read so I think I may have been more intrigued then I thought.

@Pen The Expanse starting with Leviathan Wakes https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8855321-leviathan-wakes?ac=1&from_search=true is really good. My Dd plus @melmichigan have also been enjoying these. I am currently waiting for the next book which is a new release. There is a TV series based on the series on Amazon currently but I haven’t attempted to watch it. I really haven’t read that much Sci Fi which is why it’s one of my 10x10’s. Last year I read The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet and the sequels and loved them https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22733729-the-long-way-to-a-small-angry-planet?ac=1&from_search=true. This is a whole new area for me book wise and I am rather amazed that I enjoy them. I have identified a few that I want to try......I have been waiting because of The Expanse series..... The Linesman is on my list! I have A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe on my Kindle https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35520564-a-big-ship-at-the-edge-of-the-universe and am waiting for my hold on Pandora’s Star https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45252.Pandora_s_Star?ac=1&from_search=true.

My 10x10 categories are: Agatha Christie Perpetual Challenge (6)......over on 52 books, reading all the Christie’s in order of publication is my long term goal Nordic Noir (4) Outer Space (2).......I have read all the Murderbots and a majority of The Expanse this year, but as my major goal is to try new Sci Fi......... Alternate Worlds(4) The Last Book in..........(4) At this point I am only counting series that are most likely complete The New (to me) Cozy Sampler (5) Set in Scotland (7) Brexit Special (6) so far Finland, Czech Republic, Ireland, Spain, France, Netherlands Asian Detectives (4) so far India, Singapore, China, Laos Sound of Silence (7) ........over on 52 books Making this list led to my hunting for detectives set in other countries and I ran into a helpful link https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/crime-fiction-around-the-world-in-80-sleuths-873660.html. I now have a Mongolian Detective! This list also had some interesting Nordic Noir ideas.

I have never read the Moomins and need to. I would definitely count the Textbook! There is another Latin course with a rather readable text that we used to own.....I even did a few lessons. If I remember it I will post it. Dd has a copy of Winnie the Pooh in Latin which was bought used cheaply. My Latin is not great but that appears easier to tackle then the parts Latin Harry Potter she has.......some of her HP are in French and I believe German. The French and German ones were found used and given as presents over the years.

I think my favorite country of origin? 😂for Nordic Noir is probably Denmark, although I like them all! It might be because The Dinosaur Feather was my first. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17910827-the-dinosaur-feather?from_search=true It’s rather chunky as I remember but I loved it. Another idea for krimi (Thank you for that term!) is Lotte Hammer. I liked The Night Ferry https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36875684-the-night-ferry slightly more than the other book I read in that series. Of course there is Jo Nesbo and Harry Hole......the ones I finished were not set in Denmark so I would skip the first two. Also tackling books in Latin and Dutch Is awesome!

I have finished Persepolis Rising too. When the action finally started I really enjoyed it. I have Tiamet’s Wrath on hold.......I am about 6 weeks from it being mine so it’s very popular as I recommended it’s purchase quite awhile ago! I hope your copy of Wolf Rain arrives quickly! Overdrive was about to take Why Didn’t Ask Evans away so I had to finish that book also. I enjoyed it overall. I thought the ending was a bit too convenient but I still quite liked it overall. I considered downgrading it from it’s 5* status on my Goodreads but as I don’t write reviews there I left it because it is one I make sure I recommend to new Christie readers. I am currently reading Laura Griffin’s Unspeakable which is the second in her Tracers series. I know I have read a few of this long running series about a specialized forensic agency in Texas over the years but cannot remember much about them. I will probably work my way through the series in order (although I don’t think in order is needed with these) over the next couple of years. This particular book is just so so but I like forensic science books so will continue and I need the U. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7252256-unspeakable?from_search=true On Overdrive I am finishing the latest release in the Blue Ridge Library cozy series called Past Due for Murder which I am enjoying. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40234625-past-due-for-murder?ac=1&from_search=true

I am sorry I misunderstood. Sending hugs and prayers your way.

First I just want to remind you that you are present in your kids and husbands live’s and that is everything. I am not a single parent but I do have back issues and have spent months on bed rest so hubby has been on his own more than I wanted. I haven’t been able to do everything since before my kids were born. Hubby likes to vacuum which is great because that is something that triggers my back etc. I would work towards making many jobs around your house ones that the majority of your family can do. For instance laundry, I have to dirty clothes hampers that equal the size of one load in my washing machine (IKEA storage boxes in reality) that sit in a corner of our bedroom and my kids and husband have been taught to sort between the them.......towels etc in one, heavy clothing like jeans another, shirts etc......they stain treat their own clothing as needed, show me if it doesn’t appear to work, and carry the clothing to the washer when a bin is full, carry empty bins back upstairs. The clean folded clothing ends up sitting in the living room until someone carries it upstairs when I remind them. I can handle the in between parts but you should teach everyone who can reach in the washing machine so you just need to ask them to switch the loads and start a new one. The hampers equaling one load has been the key. 😉 Clean not perfect is the aim. Meals.......perhaps start having the heavy groceries delivered as soon as that service arrives in your area. Collect recipes for easy crockpot meals, the 5 ingredient ones, and work so everyone has a couple of meals they can start in the crockpot.......yes it adds to the mornings so the littles might be your weekend chefs. As opposed to doubling you might want to use two crockpots so everybody gets their turns.

@Penguin Wondering if you have read any of the Department Q mysteries by Jussi Adler-Olsen ?https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10822858-the-keeper-of-lost-causes. I just finished listening to the first one and loved it!😀. Regarding my earlier comment about having figured in out, I did in very broad terms. Shortly after I guessed the read is let in on the secret so it is a book where you are supposed to know. Great action packed ending! @loesje22000 I think you would like this one. Currently reading an Agatha Christie favorite Why Didn’t They Ask Evens? So good!

I passed the bean dip for years when talking about my kids. If I bragged it was about a past experience, not future plans. I spent a whole lot of time hearing how I was ruining my kids who would thrive at pretty much any other place because my kids weren’t involved in their favorite activity. I never would have dared to say they liked to sleep in for instance. I had a hard enough time with people seeing us getting into the car for field trips etc. When Dd was 16 she interviewed for a volunteer summer library job with the head librarian from our main branch.......she had never met our family. After the interview the librarian came out to the main library to tell me how incredible my daughter was, her opinion of home ed had been very poor........She gushed about how wonderful my Dd was. She is 😉........I loved it. I am just now getting comfortable with bragging (for me that’s just saying what they are actually doing) after downplaying the academics for years. It is kind of hard to brag now. Dh and I came to realize we needed to brag about the kids so they would know how proud we are. My kids are great and for us home ed was perfect.