I have read all three in the series and liked the first two the best. The books were recommended to me by a lovely gentleman were was a docent at a church we were touring, he thought they would be a perfect way for my dc’s to learn how Cathedrals were built ...very enthusiastic about home ed, maybe my oldest was 12 at the time. Fortunately I preread because there is a particularly vicious r*pe that reverberates throughout the entire first book which I never would have wanted my kids to read. But for me I felt the book including that scene was historically accurate for the Middle Ages and was able to keep reading without difficulty. The r*pest is the villain of the book and he is just awful. Easy to hate him! I know of people who hugely dislike Pillars because of that scene. The tv show was hugely violent, at least the first few minutes.? I just reread what I wrote and want to say I actually really liked Pillars but I did feel that I needed to warn you.

I just listened to Murder at the Vicarage a couple of weeks ago and loved it. I have been meandering my way through Agatha Christie in order from Robin’s list on 52 books. For the most part I am really enjoying myself on the reread. Someplace we have pictures. If I ever find them I will post them. Lol, about reading the Shetland book the day it was released. I need to get back to Vera......Another cultural egg funny, we went to a huge rather posh breakfast buffet in France several years ago with friends who had lived in France and were totally fluent. The wife and I were wandering through the stations which mystified me to some degree. She stopped and grabbed an egg in the shell out of a basket......I was collecting fruit and pastries. When we got back to the table she very professionally hit her egg with her spoon and opened raw egg all over her lovely pastries. Huge accident, they had no idea what the raw eggs were for or why there was a basket of them. Others took them.....she expected soft boiled btw.

One more thought, it is typical in the UK to license your 17yo and let the license age so when they buy their first car the insurance will be less expensive. For many young drivers the last time they drove was literally the day they got their license. You can buy insurance by the day quite easily so some do that for when the kids are home from Uni and need to drive. You could easily get a 21 yo from here who is fully licensed but relatively inexperienced.

This is my belief also. In the UK the licensing procedure is pretty rigorous and I know it was in the Netherlands(per good friends) when I was getting my manual license here. The rules seemed pretty similar from discussions. A manual license means I can drive both manual and automatics. The automatic license is considered the quick way and you cannot drive a manual with one. Someone who has the manual license in either will find driving an automatic in the US easy. Our Dutch friends lived in your area with their Dutch licenses for several years. ? My UK license looks very similar to one from the US and is good until I turn 70 I think. The big difference is I don’t carry it with me......no one does. Kind of nice if one forgets her purse and Dh drove to something.......If we are in an accident and asked to, you take your license in to the local police station within 30 days, I believe. So need /requirement to carry my license ever. Ask to see her license from her country. Tell her she must carry both at all times when she is driving your children that it is the law in the US. It can take awhile to get your plastic license, maybe 3 weeks, you have a document showing you passed all the exams until then which is considered legal. I do know someone who got an international license with that document and did HAVE to drive in the US using it on a business trip.

Egg cups ......we have developed quite a collection over the years from charity shops. Not because we eat soft boiled eggs but because the Horticultural Show had a kids category for years titled “flower arrangement in an egg cup”. Since they are tiny a really clever egg cup is part of the arrangement. It took awhile for me to grasp that because I could buy Wedgewood single cups for a pound so buying silly ones seemed silly!

Every night for at least two years I read Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom followed by Madeline and finished with Goodnight Moon. They were all in a treasury of children’s stories we had. I still have it actually.

We used the MODG study guides with Henle. https://books.modg.org/latin-i-syllabus-henle-first-year-latin-units-1-7. There are several different versions if you decide you are interested.

For Brit Tripping we are rolling into Bath and there are so many great books set in Bath. I adore the portions of Northanger Abbey which are set in Bath. Peter Lovesey also writes an enjoyable detective series that has at least some of the books set in Bath....The Last Detective the first Peter Diamond mystery definately is set in Bath. This is a series I plan to return to soon. I read a great book set in Glastonbury earlier this year which will be my official Somerset book (Grave Goods by Arianna Franklin) but plan to check out Lauren Willig’s The Mischief of the Mistletoe which is the 7th in the Pink Carnation series which is supposed to have a setting in Bath and Jane Austen as a character. I have been waiting all year to arrive in Bath and read this bit of Flufferton. ? I am currently listening to Exposed in Darkness by Heather Sunseri which is a BaW recommendation but no idea who made it! So far it’s enjoyable. I have several in my Mercyverse series on hold so will be listening to those as soon as possible. I made an exciting discovery earlier today, my library has several of the Rivers of London series in audiobook format. I checked out the first and hope to do a reread of the series in honor of the Brit Trip visit to Spooky London in October! i am reading and enjoying Kristin Lavransdatter and hope to be caught up later tonight. I have the old version and am having no problems with the translation in case anyone is hesitating due to availability.

Hugs, I am so sorry that you are going through this. A close childhood friend of mine was convicted 25 years ago but I have had no contact since in part because his family had moved before it happened.........sending prayers.

We actually did really well as a family. My kids are great bakers and did really well in those categories. Handicrafts went well with the big surprise being my flamingo quilt received a second place in a super competitive class - Dh and I actually have been drinking a bottle of champagne because I have never received a prize above third (which was wonderful btw, not complaining at all) in any quilt category. The judge is a wonderful quilter and teacher with me being a total fan girl of hers, I can’t believe she liked my quilt! Just in case I haven’t made you guys look at it.......btw Dd’s Marvel characters received a second place and the Green Man received an Honorable Mention along with the Gargole.

Congratulations! Btw, the elephant is adorable

I was up late last night finishing the Green Man and waiting for bake goods to cool. Here are a majority of my family’s entries stacked on the table waiting dropoff at 8 this morning. I came home and took a nap!

That is where I am expecting them......I think the boy sorcerer appears in the one with the fae in a mountain, maybe on a bridge?????? Obviously a reread is in order! ?.

I didn’t end up first in line for Leverage in Death but will hopefully have it soon. I like the Disrupted Magic series, might even like it more than the original. I think I am heading back to listening to my Mercyverse ...... really loving having these read to me! I read the short that was required this morning and it was good but I don’t remember The Star of David characters appearing elsewhere in the series. I am looking forward to finding them in future books as they must be there somewhere. ? I hope you and James have an enjoyable year exploring both your interests. It’s a nice age that many miss with the off to college rush. I love talking to the man my little boy is turning into although my understanding of his class work is really remedial. Before I forget I want to mention my new favorite very cozy series which @tuesdayschild recommended listening to Mrs. Jeffries. I finished the first in the series last night https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/905755.The_Inspector_and_Mrs_Jeffries and really loved it. I will admit that it is so cozy I don’t think I could stand reading the books but as light background it was perfect. I know my library has a few more in audiobook form and I will be listening to them in the future! For Brit Trippers set in London.

I am a dreadful at texting and I would guess my brother’s are worse than me. We have never tried to each other. I wouldn’t think a thing beyond he can’t work his phone. I only text if I have to, I hate it. He is probably very frustrated by this text chain.

Hugs to you and your dd. I had a dreadful roommate freshman year and wasn’t allowed to move even after being sick with mono and returning with doctor’s instructions for rest which was hard with that roommate. So a few rambling thoughts..... I like the idea of boxes for her dirty pots and pans if there isn’t room on her counter......my only fear is an infestation of bugs. The kitchen I would divide in half and keep it that way. She needs to remember she has to sleep in that apartment so she could escalate things to a totally intolerable level regarding noise and more people she dislikes, i would be careful about being too confrontational. I would probably hang a bunch of her own artwork if I was her since she has been given wall space and ignore the rest for now. She could take it as a challenge to make the red work. My room had a revolving door, 24 hours and we shared the room, back in the dark ages! I would open my eyes to some really shocking things in the middle of the night. One of her boyfriends fell out of her loft bed without anything on, that was actually a favorite moment of that year, I really disliked him and he stopped sleeping in our room! I guess it hurt! awww Your Daughter is so lucky to have her own bedroom and bathroom with a key and needs to remember that. She also needs to apply to move.........take photos when the kitchen is trashed, balcony blocked etc. so she can prove that her living conditions are poor if the opportunity arises. No one cared that I was miserable because my roommate was seen as fun and nice by everyone. I was considered lucky???????

That course sounds like so much fun! ?Cambridge Latin is good and the book has never changed.......I know people who used it decades ago and have compared their copy to the current five or so years ago. Years ago I was able to get really cheap copies of the American edition in England and am now curious if the books have been updated at least for the US market. The only difference I remember was one country's books were divided into 4 and the other 5 for the main coursework. I agree with the advanced levels as dd used our collection for review for the SAT Subject the time they lost her exams. She thought she did well but used Wheelocks for the retake review. Both were recommended texts. Btw, The characters from the first book are featured in the Dr. Who Roman episode with Donna if you are a fan.

We have pheasants and partridges all over. My favorites are the hedgehogs. Occasional foxes,deer,......

I was curious and looked, Aunt Dimity and the King’s Ransom is set in Rye which is in Sussex and we will be there soon! Btw, Rye is really cute, we used to stay near there. I really need to get back to assembling my Green Man and listening to Miss Jeffries but am having more fun online......

I am so glad you are enjoying D.E. Stevenson. I loved the first Mrs.Tim Christie and at one point the Vittoria Cottage series was available on prime for free and I really enjoyed it. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1404707.Vittoria_Cottage Thanks for the Anna and her Daughters recommendation, it’s now on the list. At some point this year I plan to read the first Mrs. Buncle........ Great article! I have Kristin Lavransdatter ready to go but have been waiting for a peaceful block of time to read as I wasn’t able to get the audiobook from the library. ? I did buy the book as backup so I am going with my book! ?. This week is slightly crazy as the horticultural show is on Saturday. I have a couple of my own craft entries to try and finish assembling for the knitting section and I need to do all the work prepping for my kids baking entries, basically I plan to have the kitchen counter set up for each recipe with exactly what they need to bake.....not cooking for them. They have no time but can’t resist the urge to submit something to the show as they love it. Dd made several Marvel arigumi figures that I need to figure out how to attach to her foam block for her. I bought a box of toothpicks yesterday! Yeah to Brit Tripping!!! I think I am at about the same point. I know I have three counties that I need to visit yet. Also great job on the spelling challenge with a huge variety of titles. I noticed you made it through the Michael Innes... I ended up abandoning the one I started. One of hubby’s friends is emigrating to NZ at Christmas, when he told me the news I thought of you. @Penguin I lost your quote but am looking forward to hearing about your Latin class. Did you do Latin as part of home ed? I always really enjoyed Latin with my kids and was a bit sad when I had to let Dd move on without me. Which books are you using? Sorting through home ed books in the garage is another thing I am doing this week as I recently discovered a different friend of Dh and his wife are home eding and seem to be using a great deal of the same things we chose. Their oldest is just starting middle school and is a lovely girl. I decided to cull the collection a bit but am keeping all of the different Latin curriculum I collected over the years. You never know I might just use it myself! Hopefully we will be visiting them in the next couple of weeks and can give them a trunk full of books! Sadly I have a number of classes I prepped for that never were completed......AP Art History among them. Sniff! My daughter fell in love with French that year. ? I talked to the oldest girl and she will love doing it so I will pass that stack on!

I did a math curriculum called Professor B with dd who is now 20. We both loved it and it encouraged counting on fingers. My dd took it to a whole new level and had little movements that made sense to her which she was still doing when she was taking calculus. Finger counting didn’t hurt her in the slightest even though the curriculum expected to students to give it up after they mastered their math facts. Btw, did has a math degree. ?

We used Shurley English https://shurley.com/hs/?583c10bfdbd326ba145bc15183861. It’s been around for a long time and apparently has a digital edition now.

We have tried using a cooler bag like pizza delivery to keep things warm. So far we have been successful but haven’t had any problems with timing. If there is room wrap a bath towel around your dish. I misread your title and thought you needed a “man”dish which my guys generally feel that I do need. I was laughing because I didn’t know other people considered it to be a category. My go to is chicken legs for their potluck needs because they are fine if they get cold.

Our reading seems to be following similar paths as I am about to start the third in Olson's Disrupted Magic series. I am actually back to listening to Patricia Brigg 's Mercyverse with Cry Wolf only being turned off so I can coordinate my thoughts enough to post. ;). I am on the wait list for Leverage and close enough to the top that I might actually get a copy on Tuesday! I have The Wreath ready to go..........currently finishing Bloodfever by Karen Marie Morning on the Kindle. This morning I finished Sophie's World for my Philosophy Bingo square.......getting close to done. This is one of those books that I wish I had known about while my kids were still going enough for mom to read it with them. It would have gone in the stack next to The Tao of Pooh but I think I would just let Simon Vance read it to us! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30122978-sophie-s-world @Negin I just read the wonderful quote you posted and rather universally true in my limited experience.

I plan to be wherever my kids want me to be.....my mil gave me a hard time throughout all my pregnancies (the ones that ended in miscarriage also) and I could write volumes on what not to do. Dh barred them from the hospital for dd’s birth and for ds they were with dd until bf could get there. Ironically Dh’s partner sat in the waiting room while I was in labor which was comforting because I trust him, my mom was too far away. My pregnancies were so hard with lots of bed rest and hospital stays that I just want to be supportive.