Working volcano model built around a miniature 1 liter bottle. Diorama of archeologists opening a mummy case. Maybe a cat mummy beside it? Buoyancy tank Rock cycle display with samples of various kinds of rocks.

It depends on the difference in price.

Our china pattern has available pasta bowls, and they are such a useful design—shallower and wider than rimmed soup bowls, kind of more like a deep plate/very shallow bowl. So sensible for better containment of salads than salad plates, and super nice for eating pasta or other ‘heaping’ main dishes that cool down too fast on a plate.

I love the duvet covers from Rough Linen. I’d consider any of their weights, in Fog, Storm, Ivory, or if you want to tilt toward color, Aqua.

Bjorn, Sofft, and Earthies are my go to’s in the cushy flats category. Abeo if you need heavy duty arch support.

Here in CA those are called Board and Care homes, and usually they don’t accept serious dementia cases unless they are double staffed. Even then the placement does not last very long.

My dad got that and it resolved within a day or two.

Epsom salts in a long hot bath are one of the main ways I supplement my Mg, avoid cramping, and relieve muscle aches. I also steep raw fresh ginger in water from my hot tea kettle for about 15 minutes until it cools to lukewarm, and then drink it. This is extremely helpful in curing my tendencies to reflux as well as being a bit anti inflammatory. I used to pop ibuprofen in large quantities but as my reflux has gotten worse over the years I had to stop using it. I very occasionally take enteric coated aspirin, which is less reflux causing than regular aspirin or ibuprofen, but I can’t take it as a regimen or I do get bad reflux from it.

That is super nice to hear. I will say, every time I read a memoir about someone attending a culinary academy, they get their superb knife kits right at the beginning of their classes and maintain them ongoing throughout their careers. They also get chefs’ clothes, although I don’t imagine that those last forever. I think that giving him some equipment is a really nice idea, but that it will need to be something else. I wonder whether a really good kitchen mat would be a good gift? The great ones are almost magical in their effectiveness. The Costco ones are knock offs and don’t pad nearly as well.

There is a somewhat unusual book about weaving called 'Kids Weaving' by Sarah Swett that is nice for that age, and not entirely girly. I think that that and maybe some of the materials for the first few projects would give you something fun to do with them and to remember you by. Also, that's a great age for a flower press. There are some good, funny, older read alouds that they would enjoy hearing now and probably enjoy reading to themselves later on--"Half Magic", "Ben and Me", and "The 21 Balloons". "From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" might be another good one.

Stupid easy and very good--half purple grape juice and half ginger beer (I use Reed's extra strong) over mini ice in a lowball or martini glass. Festive, tasty, and you don't have to make a batch of shrub or even a simple syrup. I also like to drink ice water served the same way, at times--people tend to assume it's vodka, and I just smile. I've been doing that since college.

I have a friend whose almost nonverbal k aged son was left on his transport bus because he did not know to get off and a substitute did not cue him and failed to notice him still in his seat when they left the bus at the end of the morning run. My friend thought he was safely at school, as usual, until she got a complaint call that she is supposed to notify them when he is not coming in. It took the school system several hours to even figure out where to look. During that entire time he was just sitting on that bus, in the yard or whereever they park them all day, waiting. Horrendous story.

Personally, I don’t think that an obit is where to be very creative. If you were writing a personal essay about your dad for a holiday letter, that would be the place for stories like that. But an obit is for the world, strangers mostly, a permanent, semi-formal record. That being so, it’s not the place for insider jokes or bad news or anything that could be interpreted as critical, even if overcome. I think that it would be better to craft a more formal obituary if you are going to publish anything at all, and possible one that remembers both of your parents now that they are both deceased. Your sister sounds annoying but at the same time I would leave out the dog story and the mention of dementia and especially the mention of ‘old goat’. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

I don’t see much of a downside to going for B with a parallel effort to really nail down what you would like to do and what it will take to do that in retirement.

We got a Jeep with a big towing package some years ago, and at the time it included extra cooling for the transmission.

Older books that are not SUPER well known that I loved: Beautiful illustrations with good stories: The Mitten Grandpa Bear’s Fantastic Scarf The Quilt Maker’s Gift I Love You As Much The Owl Babies Other catchy, clever, fun story books: The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins The Sneetches Sheep in a Jeep Anna Needs A Coat The 12 Dancing Princesses The Christmas Mouse (this is the old one from the 1960s) Sophie and Sammy’s Library Sleepover But Not The Hippopotamus Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Also, I scored an entire set of My Book House for my niece from a Buy Nothing group, and so now she has a library that will take her through age 11-12 or so. 12 volumes, very wholesome, gradual increase in difficulty starting with nursery rhymes. Highly recommended.

I wonder whether it is the dairy that he has gotten sensitized to rather than the eggs? Because that reaction sounds like dairy sensitivity to me. And unlike a true allergy, with dairy it seems to be proportionate to dose rather than binary for a lot of adults.

You could buy them a crib sheet that is partly organic and all American sourced, or an all organic baby onesie. If I wasn’t determined to hand knit baby gifts for each new baby in our family, that’s what I would do. They would be able to use it for a long time, and maybe for subsequent babies as well. These are available from American Blossom Linens. Or, if I was feeling more ambitious, I would buy all organic fabric from Vreseis and make a baby smock for when the baby is a little older: https://www.vreseis.com/shop/foxfibre-colorganic-buffalo-brown-fleece-fabric

I wouldn’t worry about it.

If they are cotton I sometimes use them for pizza gardening with heavy mulch on top. They are a better weed barrier than plain mulch, and let rain water through very well.

Those lodgings are not just for sleeping quarters. There are also common areas—living room, kitchen, dining area, bathrooms. So my answer would be in between the options. I’d figure on a per person charge for the common areas, and a per bedroom charge for the bedrooms. The rent would be a hybrid between the options you mention, with a savings for sharing a bedroom but not a free right for the ‘extra’ person in the bedroom.

I know it’s wearing but I think that trying to correct it in someone in their early twenties might be overstepping. I would maybe gently disagree with about one in ten. Other than that I’d commiserate. “Insurance costs are pretty annoying, for sure!” And maybe once in a great while lend some info on the subject. One thing that has worked really well for me is nod, smile, and say, “Do you think so?” That way I am agreeable without literally agreeing. In some people this makes them stop and think, others not so much, but I’m also always ready to move on after that with a fresh topic.

There is a gadget you can buy that hooks your two straps closer together about half way between the neck and the back strap that might help with that. I’ve seen them in stores but have not tried one. I wear only strapless bras now. I buy convertible ones and throw away the shoulder straps. The silicone strip on the bottom stops them from falling down, and I buy the biggest available circumference and then adjust with bra extenders to a comfortable size. I hate wearing bras at all, but this is a compromise that I can live with when it’s socially necessary.

Sure. Actually, I am mostly an introvert but when I was young I thought I was a people person. This was because I grew up pretty isolated so whenever I got around people I felt like an extrovert. But as an adult I realized that enough is enough, and that more than not I’m an introvert. I was just a lonely introvert as a teen.

Just saw this, praying now!