Non-theoretically, a boss who was paying me under the table in college did it, and I told him if he ever did it again, I'd slap him. He laughed and did it again. I slapped him. Then I quit. Then my guy friends went in when he balked on paying me and demanded my pay. I got it.

I've been having my Logic Stage ds do some of the projects at the ends of the chapters in Suzanne Strauss Art's book, The Story of Ancient Rome. He's very interested in comparing Alexander's battle tactics to Hannibal's, and also in comparing Hannibal's to George S. Patton's. He did a great job at the library yesterday looking up books in the juvenile section, but of course today he's sitting down with them and finding that they're offering general life stories, and not the kind of detail he's looking for. I was kind of hoping this would happen, actually, b/c I think he'd be fascinated by some of the books in adult non-fiction, and it would stretch his reading level. We're headed back today, but if the Hive has any suggestions I could nudge him toward, I'm all ears.

NM. I found it. They had moved it and updated it: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/giants/

That's my arsenal. (I am fond of pumpkin spice coffee, too, but my local shop sells flavored syrup, so I can still use real milk in my coffee...) My MIL gave my husband the Keurig from her office when she retired. He was living here alone for five months while I was selling the house. He had the reusable filter, but he bought some k-cups in a moment of weakness. He was sheepish about it. They went out the second I got here. Reusable or nothing. It's *okay* with the reusable filter if you need a quick cuppa, but it's still a big hunka plastic that's going to have to go in some landfill eventually :glare: I still think it tastes better from the press. I am surprisingly curious whether Bill used cloth diapers.

This is our first day, too. We went out to breakfast, took pictures, went on a fossil hunt. You know. As one does. They broke up some rocks out on the sidewalk to get at crinoid stems. We went over their schedules, and I found things I'd done wrong in HST. Now we're watching a documentary on possible historical corroborations for the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts. We'll go to the library in a while. The rest of the week will be core subjects with no spelling or handwriting. Next week will be full bore.

You are my new She-Ro. I love it!

Ooh, OK! Um, I'm going to do it like a judge on Project Runway! Don't. Bore. Nina. "I like this outfit a lot. I think it was bold to do a pant, and it's not easy to get all of the details on the jeans right when you're dealing with this kind of a time crunch. It's stylish, but commercial. I could see this on a shelf in Old Navy, and I think it's something a real woman could wear. Her booty's not hanging out, and the cut is flattering. The flare at the ankle gives her that hip edge. As far as the top, black is always classic...you could say it's the new black. You've got a knack for knitware...it's draping very nicely, and covering all the problem areas." Very therapeutic. Thanks, elegantlion. I've been stewing all evening.

I knew of someone who lived in one in upstate NY. She was a fellow homeschooler, with one son.

This kind, not the Hive Mind kind.

AFA the insulation factor, you can wrap it in a tea towel, OR... http://www.etsy.com/search?q=french%20press%20coffee%20cozy&view_type=gallery&ship_to=ZZ&min=0&max=0&ref=auto1 We bought this one specifically because of the glass beaker issue. You get the coffee ground coarse so that the fine particles don't clog the screen. I love ours. Drip coffee makers didn't work out well for us at our last house, b/c we had hard water. I didn't want to put nasty de-scaling cleaners through it, lest we end up drinking them, and vinegar just was. not. enough. to stay ahead of it, so our coffeemakers would clog and break. The French Press worked out best.

AGREED. Right on, mirth!

Honey, NOBODY in your family needs contact with those jerks. You come on over here and we'll have coffee. That's the shallowest, most Queen Bee, nonsensical...Don't. Listen. Just don't. You know better. It's NOT your fault, It's that horrible mom's. There's NOTHING WRONG WITH YOU. Maude knows how horrible it would have been for both of you if you'd gone and had to spend a night with people who act and think that way. Don't you worry. you and your daughter are going to find nice people to hang out with. IME, the people you first make friends with after you move often pass out of your life, and someone you'd previously overlooked ends up being a real treasure. I'd not send your daughter over there anymore. If they'll do it to you, they'll do it to her, and anyone else who's low on the totem pole that week. Don't let them model bad behavior to your dd. Don't give the kid the gift card. I know, it's not the kid's fault the mom is awful, but she's clearly privileged half to death, and at this point it's the equivalent of rolling over for an alpha wolf. Just don't do it.

She is checking craigslist constantly, and has called four realtors, all of whom have either laughed at the idea or not called back. :glare:

Thank you! I am passing info. on to her via fb. She is very encouraged by the responses, and is following up on leads as fast as they come in. We are both big planners, and having just moved I know how crazymaking it is for her to sit halfway across the country trying to figure this out. Although I have not shared with her the most important information...Mrs. Mungo potential!

Yes. She has looked at houses in the Capitol Hill area. I'll pm you.

He can't. He has cancer. It's treatable, but not curable, and long commutes are very painful. They're going down to one car, no square footage, little or no yard. The economy is tough. We all know it. This is what they have to do.

This is all helpful, thank you! Here is what she says about the commute in from the west: The need to be near a metro stop is for her and the kids, as they're giving up one car to afford to live there at all. Needing the metro to go into Arlington is more about the need to get to each other than the need for him to get to work each day.

sillymommy, I pm'ed you! I think they have looked at the MD side, but I think she said the Metro there does not go to Arlington?

I've got a friend who homeschools her three kids, and her family is relocating from way out west to Alexandria, VA. Her husband is having a terrible time beating his way through the traffic to look at rentals, and they're also having a hard time finding anything they can afford. Here are her basic criteria: She says everyone's telling her it doesn't exist...and I know, it's super expensive there. But I'm worried about her, and asking around is what I can do. Does anyone have any ideas? Please?

It still summer break at our house, and I *still* want the special coffee. My oldest is micromanaging every. single. thing. the other children do. I think I have a tiny bit of Grand Marnier left in the cupboard...(rummages)

And doctors will probably listen about as well as they did before. The one person who did try to forcibly retract my kid's foreskin was a pediatrician who poo-pooed the AAP's policy as a reason not to. I had to literally put my hands in her way and order her to stop before she stopped. Same woman told *my* Bill that we should give our kid multiple vacs in one visit b/c he'd bring HiB home in his nose and kill our son, then didn't want to bother scheduling boosters according to the CDC's schedule. OTOH, the specialists at JHU are now telling my sister that multiple vacs at a time and heavy metal exposure (they are including aluminum) may have "triggered" her two autistic sons. But I still had to pass a whole lotta bean dip when a physician acquaintance realized during a casual conversation that I delay and stagger vacs for my kids. Bill, you come across as smug, that's the thing. And this, to me, should be taken to be about as definitive as the study in CA linking autism to parental intelligence/education.

Good luck to you! I have had everything just so other years, but we've moved houses three times since we started homeschooling...puts a dent in the perfection. This time, I'm digging through boxes for books on the Middle Ages, and the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that will allow me to unpack everything are getting built on Labor Day weekend, but will probably not be done when we start school on Tuesday. It will be OK anyway. Can't wait to hear how it goes!

I heard on the news once that some autodialer systems do not allow the telemarketer to hang up. You have to hang up first. This woman would. not. stop. badgering me. I told her I was busy, that I had two little kids and one of them was crying, etc., and she would not let me politely end the conversation. So I dropped the phone on the couch and went on about my business for twenty minutes or so, talking to the kids loudly enough that she could hear. Then I retrieved the phone and asked, "Are you still there?" A slow, sullen: "Yes." "OK. I don't want to buy ______. How about we say goodbye now?" Long pause, teeth almost audibly grinding. Finally, "Goodbye." Me, super cheery: "Bye!" Then I hung up. Do. Not. Mess. With. Me.

I was reading the OP on the 1800-1850's novel thread and instantly thought: Jane Eyre! Then I paged down and saw that strider had the same thought, which made me think of this series of texts between the characters: http://thehairpin.com/2012/07/texts-from-jane-eyre

I'm so sorry. I'd be feeling the same way.