Idk what it's like now, but back in the 90s it's was a cheaper store. We shopped there a lot. I did pop in to one recently but didn't find what I was looking for.

On a related note to my previous post... Just ran out the door to take youngest DD to the library for a club. 60 degrees and heavy mist. Her response as she runs the 30 feet to the car: "Omg! It's raining! It's nasty! I'm dying!" *snort* roflol (once in the car, she admits "that might've been a bit much.")

Is that learned helplessness or personal preference? I'm probably geographically close to where you are, but I feel no compulsion to sit outside on a damp or chilly day. Not gonna happen, lol.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I got sucked down the hole of researching the Killgallon stuff (still might see if it can be used somewhere...), but I think I'll start DD on Wordsmith Apprentice. (Which works because I already have it.) Speaking of already having something, while rooting through my writing stash, I found Treasured Conversations (never used with oldest as originally planned) but will work perfectly for younger DD next year. Woo!!!!

Cheese sticks precooked turkey bacon (I cook a bunch and then just reheat for 10 seconds) cottage cheese Will he eat deviled eggs? They don't seem breakfast-y...but why not!? 😉

I weeded a much neglected (aka abandoned) flower bed, and discovered three thriving clumps of cilantro. Score!!

Oh dear, now I'm worried that it might be too difficult. This kiddo didn't read til 3rd grade, and we're still playing catchup in the LA dept. Cover Story looked fun...

For sure! I probably would've climbed in after my dog and thought nothing of it. I'm pretty sure there will be law suits that follow this (negligence, etc).

Thanks for the ideas! I'm thinking about using Cover Story in the fall with DD (8th). Is it different enough from Wordsmith Apprentice to use them back to back? (One being working at a newspaper and the other creating a magazine.) I don't want to "ruin" Cover Story by using something similar right before... any thoughts?

Idk but I've read bad reviews about those Smile Direct-type companies. Mostly that the teeth are straightened but bite/alignment issues aren't resolved, causing further problems.

Oldest DD (7th) will finish her writing curriculum this week. I don't yet want to start next year's program...but I don't want to do nothing. If you had 2 months to fill, what would you use? I have Wordsmith Apprentice on hand...but I'm not sure how long it'd take to finish (I suppose we'd have 4-5 months, if she works through the summer). This child is not a strong writer and would benefit from continued practice. Any suggestions or thoughts?

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I have girls (10 & 12). They watch on Netflix: The Dragon Prince, lots of game-based anime (Wakfu, Beyblade, etc), the new Voltron series, Hilda, The Hollow (slightly creepy). Older DD says the new She-Ra is awesome for boys and girls. And they liked Puss n Boots and How to Train Your Dragon the tv series. On Prime: they like DIY Sci, Ninjago, and Just Add Magic (girl based). (Mine also watch a lot of YouTube junk - mostly minecraft based.)

That's a great update! I very much enjoyed reading all your successes.

Our neighbor listed his house (which is similar to ours) this past week and had an open house on Saturday. I know at least 20 families/couples came. I told my DH that we'd just keep an eye out for what that house sells for -- I might be swayed to put ours on the market if there's demand! (Our house isn't especially nice but is a rarity in its price range -- a smaller 3br/2ba for <$250 -- that makes it desirable.) (ETA: I've daydreamed for a while about moving on to a house with less yard to maintain. I didn't realize that we could possibly list for as high as we can...)

Does it blend with anything, like this:

My iPad is just the right size to hide amongst stacks of paper/books.

She's probably too young, but she didn't by any chance burn herself with a curling iron? (Just throwing it out there...)

Yes! We've toured a couple of open houses recently. I was amazed that the 1400-1800 sq ft houses were feeling smaller than our 1150 sq ft house. Same number of bedrooms but things were not arranged to make best use of space! (We have bigger closets, bigger bathrooms, more closet storage, better flow, etc). DH and I could not figure out how these places were more square footage than us! (One must've included the garage...)

Oooh, it's got video instruction. General Science was a bust for us this year, but I'd consider this for next year (8th) if everything looks good!

I like the idea of moving the littles to the master! But I hear you. Our house is cramped and starting to feel like a money pit. I've been obsessively searching realtor/zillow but idk why. We actually can't afford to move...

Haha. Just the other day, my 10 year old asked me which Apple TV screen saver picture was my favorite.

We like our Apple TV but have nothing else to compare it to. We have an older tv that we run it through. It's convenient for watching Prime, Hulu, Netflix. I also mirror a lot of stuff for school on it. The remote is small -- but there's an apple remote app so when the remote is missing (lost in a couch crack likely) I just use my phone for it. (Don't know that I'd pay full price; bought ours second hand.)

If you're Jane Austen fans, Netflix has a movie called The Jane Austen Book Club that I recently watched and enjoyed. It's a fluffy-ish romantic comedy (with some serious matters: infidelity, etc). Not one of the "greats" but a maybe a good light movie for between more heavy ones.

My small town library keeps holds behind the desk and private. In the large, college town nearby, holds are like what is described above: shelved in the common area near the self-checkout. It is very weird to me. What's to keep someone else from grabbing a sought-after title? Or a child from pulling them off the shelf and relocated?