That's true--dry ice is fine. I drove on it all the time in Eastern WA. Here in Western WA, we never have a long enough cold stretch to have ice without water on top, so we get the ice rink roads. I'm glad that your dh is okay after his accident--how nerve wracking!

When I lived in Minnesota, a friend's mom would do a "brake check" when driving for the first time after a snow store--she got going about 30 mph then slammed on the brakes. Having grown up in the PNW, I was sure that she would end up in a ditch. But she slid a little bit, the snow squeaked, and the car stopped. Yeah, dry snow is much easier.

This drives me nuts. Yes, my city closes roads when it's icy--do you really think it's a good idea to start down a sheet of ice on a road with a 25% grade?

Especially in Australia, where, if nature shows have taught me anything, all spiders are horrifically venomous and on a mission to kill all humans.

I am stealing chilly bin. That's the most charming phrase I've ever heard.

Yeah, she was annoying. If she wanted to disagree, the correct "small talk" way to do it would be to joke about it. "I must be part polar bear, because I love it!" Then you could both chuckle and the interaction would be over.

I feel your pain. I always forget about the card until they hand it to me at the very end of the transaction, just as I'm digging out keys, getting the receipt ready to be checked, wrangling children, etc. It's another step in my finely-honed "going to the store" routine.

No snow in Tacoma, but dh reports there was snow in Auburn this morning and my relatives in Olympia said the roads were a mess down there.

30 F and dry. Cold for our area.

I've been wracking my brain but I cannot remember the name of the toy I want to get for my 6 y/o. I learned about it on the hive, so somebody here must know what it's called! It's a set of plastic connectors and bits and bobs for putting together cardboard creations. It seems like it should be simple to find, but I'm having no luck. Does anyone know what this is called? Thanks!

Ugh. I just saw that my cousin went 2 miles in three hours, then gave up and returned to work to crash on a couch. What a mess.

I double, triple, quadruple the herbs and spices in most recipes. And if it's an old recipe, maybe x20 or so. Seriously, 1/4 tsp of curry powder cannot flavor a meal for 6. Except for cloves. For some reason they taste soapy to me, so I stick to the recipe. I usually reduce the sugar a bit, especially if it's a breakfast food. I gradually reduced the sugar to nothing when I make Dutch baby pancake and now it more closely resembles Yorkshire pudding, and my kids haven't noticed. *evil laugh* I might throw an extra egg in, too.

Lol. The only way to get Lucy in the house when she's on a trail outside is to shake the treat bag. If she goes deaf I see a lot of going to the back yard to physically move the dog back into the house.

Oh, I'm sorry. That would be maddening. I find the beagle's baying to be charming, but if she sees a squirrel or something and gets going while outside we bring her in. Our neighbors probably don't find it as charming as we do. :laugh:

We did it last year, and the kids had a lot of fun. It was empty. We're not really in BPS territory, fwiw.

I think you need a hound dog. Our beagle needs a either a couple of decent walks or a couple of good play sessions in the backyard each day, but other than that she's content to be a couch potato and snuggle with whomever is sitting still.

Bassett hound? Maybe harder to train than you're looking for tho.

My kids like the sets, which are built once as pictured, then thrown into the general bin and built into armies of fighting robots. They use all of the special pieces like hinges, guns, blasters, etc. to outfit their robots.

My kids really like Downfall of Pompeii. After a long, rough day of homeschooling, they find something irresistible about throwing mom's meeples into the volcano. :lol:

It's kind of like ceiling cat. Except it watches you do everything, not just one activity.

I do hoard stash craft supplies. Christmas is rather tight this year, but because of my yarn stash, all of our relatives are receiving beanies or scarves in their favorite sports team colors.

I'm pretty sure that baristas write names wrong just to mess with us. It's a boring job so I don't blame them. :)

I have come to the conclusion that minimalism is for rich people who can buy whatever they need whenever they need it. I'm not advocating hoarding, but a reasonable stash of stuff is essential for us.

We do that too. :) My 6 and 3 year-olds join in, but the 9 y/o is old enough to be embarrassed. :lol: SaveSave

I don't know, I'm always corrected when I say the name Anna. If I try a short a at the beginning, it was supposed to be an /ah/ sound. If I use /ah/ at the beginning, it's supposed to be a short a. I can't win even with easy names!