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LostSurprise

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Posts posted by LostSurprise

  1. I 'un-friend' people. Facebook is my space for sharing my life and talking with people...if people won't talk to me then I 'un-friend' them. It's not meant to be personal. I'm not personally upset that they don't want to interact with me, but I share personal things so if folks don't want to have even short, occasional interactions with me I'd rather not have them on my list. My list is small and intimate and I like it that way. I'm not interested in being a number on a huge friend's list.

  2. Ray Bradbury has a lot of short stories and I can't think of any swearing in his either. I haven't read his most recent work. Start with The Martian Chronicles or The Illustrated Man. Cordwainer Smith is excellent and has many stories. Lem is good. The youth novels and early stories (not his later more adult stuff) of Robert Heinlein. If they're from the '50s they're generally okay. My husband reads Isaac Asimov Presents The Golden Years of Science Fiction. Anything before the 1960s does not usually contain swearing. If she likes any of those stories she can branch out to the work of the individual author. There are a lot of interesting stories there.

  3. That's very similar to my ratio (35/39). You can sometimes find things in the juniors department that fit. A size 13 or 11 in juniors will sometimes have 34" waist and a much smaller hip and bottom. I personally like LEI Chelsea size 11 (its been discontinued of course). It has 34" waist, 40" hip, and 33-34" inseam. You can go to ebay and search your measurements and see what you can find. Often online retailers will have measurements as well.

  4. The Hamelman book is fabulous. That would be my choice out of your list.

     

    I have the Laurel book and it's not a favorite.

    I have the Berenbaum book and it has a nice range but its not intuitively organized and I'm still working through it. Her raisin bread is nice but I tried one or two others that didn't work as well (could have been my fault).

    The King Arthur books I've read were both good. I have them and Flatbreads and Flavors on my list.

     

    I'd also mention the La Brea Bakery book as well. It's very sourdough focused though.

  5. Boardgamegeek.com is a wonderful resource for checking out games, reviews, etc.

     

    My boys (5-10) recommend:

     

    Sorry Sliders

    Apples to Apples

    Memoir '44

    Starship Catan

    Animal Upon Animal

    Zooloretto

    Ticket to Ride

    Dominion

    Pandemic

    Apples to Apples

    Pictionary DVD

    Chateau Rocquefort

  6. Coop by Michael Perry..non-fiction memoir about a northern WI man starting a new life with a wife, step-daughter, baby on the way, and a farmette. Funny. Interesting in the way he tries to live green and come to terms with his religious raising as a new father.

     

    Anathem by Neal Stephenson..speculative fiction about a planet where scientists have been separated in monastery-like organisations from the general population for thousands of years. Math, astronomy, philosophy, neo-platoism, geometry, parallel universes, aliens, religion. Has some flaws but a really fascinating tale.

     

    Three Way Tie:

    A Primate's Memoir: A Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life Among the Baboons by Robert Sapolsky...non-fiction story covering 20 years with a baboon troop in Kenya, plus wanderings through Africa. Funny, full of human (and animal) foibles.

     

    Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic by Reinhold Neibuhr ...an early work from the famous theologian and social activist. Thoughts/memoir of the time he spent in Detroit as a pastor of a small church. I was shocked at how his feelings on WWI were similar to my own feelings about the Iraqi War.

     

    Breads from La Brea Bakery by Nancy Silverton...sourdough primer

  7. I used to have a great blog post on file for this subject, but it has since been deleted.

     

    I also use Shelfari. LibraryThing costs $10 or $25. When I input our collection in late '07 they were very similar but Shelfari was totally free.

     

    I use a series of subject categories.

     

    picture book/early fiction

    mid-grade fiction

    classic elementary fiction (some go a bit older or more girly in our boy household so they stand on their own shelf)

    juvenile biography/history

    juvenile science/other non-fiction

    homeschool/reference

     

    History

    ~memoir

    ~biography

    ~travel

    ~general

    ~American (chronologically)

    ~World (by culture/chronologically)

    ~Religion & philosophy

     

    Nonfiction

    ~garden

    ~biological science/ecology

    ~other sciences (geology, paleontology, archeology, astronomy, etc)

    ~cooking

    ~building/making

    ~politics/culture

    ~linguistics/patterns

    ~~language dictionaries

    ~~cryptology

    ~~history of language

    ~~literary criticism

    ~reference

    ~general

    ~yearbooks

     

    Literature-fiction

    ~Classic American (chronologically)

    ~Classic British (chrono)

    ~Classic World (by culture/chrono)

    ~Classic poetry/drama (by culture/chrono)

    ~Literary fiction

    ~~favorite rereads for quick access

    ~~by time period/author

    ~Mystery/Horror

    ~Science Fiction/Fantasy~I arrange this one the weirdest. Bottom shelves hold general anthologies. Mid-lower shelves hold boy-appropriate classics. High shelves hold my favorites that are appropriate for older readers. Boys are most likely to want to pull Lord of the Rings or something off of this shelf so I group authors together but ignore anything more structured.

     

    We also have a few shelves of business, computer science, coding, and old text books in the basement.

     

    I find that the most intuitive arrangement relies upon the interests of the family and the available areas for physical display. Once you have some ideas about that, then you can fill in with spheres of use (for school...in bed), subject headings, chronological, and alphabetical order.

  8. Bob Dylan

    Indigo Girls

     

    Jethro Tull

    Johnny Cash

    the Beatles

    Neil Young

    Cowboy Junkies

     

     

     

     

    Norah Jones

    The White Stripes

    Shawn Colvin

    Gillian Welch (alt country)

     

    Van Morrison

    Dire Straits

    Derek Webb

    BB King

    PFR

    Sting

    Tom Waits

    Darrell Scott & Tim O'Brien (bluegrass/country)

    Thrice

     

    Sixpence None the Richer

    Steve Earle (country)

    Marc Cohn

    Simon & Garfunkle

    Nina Simone

    Magnolia Electric Co.

    Neko Case

     

    I keep most of my classic rock on record so the 2 worlds don't meet in my Ipod. My ipod is definitely more singer-songwriter. ;)

  9. Same thing happened to me, it was stress and 'reaching a certain age' (for me 35). I lost 5lb in my hips and butt and my stomach got bigger. When I asked the same question on an online community most of the women told me it was a natural consequence of aging.

     

    I didn't notice how much you lost. 5 or 10lb? Or more like 20-30?

     

    There are several intestinal problems (food allergies, irritable bowel syndrom, colitis, crohns) which also can mean an increase in waistlength. If you have abdominal pain, constipation/diahrrea, food sensitivities, gas, that can also be a factor.

  10. I started with a bread maker. I used that for a year or two, baking occasionally.

     

    Then I took the final step and started making it by hand. The variety is better. I can make more loaves at a time (just 1 in the machine) and freeze them for later. I can do a cold rise overnight, adjust the times for the heat/humidity, do sourdough, crisp the crust...all things I can't do with the machine.

     

    I had a bread maker. I gave it away.

     

    If you're interested in having one I'd recommend yard sales and Goodwill. Many times people have good intentions (or they get a Christmas gift) and don't go through with it. I have seen many bread machines over the years and had several offered to me. There's nothing wrong with preferring one, but I would recommend getting a cheap one first before deciding if you like it or you'll use it on a regular basis.

  11. I like after lunch (but before resting time) chores. That way they're snappy during school and if they're tired after chores and lunch they can nap.

     

    Some smallish chores:

     

    put away silverware

    put dishes by/in sink after eating

    fold washclothes/hand towels

    put shoes away

    put toys away

    wash windows (lower half)

    wipe out bathroom sink

    bring small room garbage cans to kitchen on garbage day

    put recycling away

    water plants

    feed pets

    put dirty laundry in basket

    push wet laundry in dryer (while you load)

    sort dirty clothes by color

     

    My 6 year old feeds/waters the dog, picks up own things, sets the table, clears the table, collects trash on trash day, brings trash cans back up.

     

    My 4 year old wipes out sink and washes windows. He also helps others with their chores so he can learn.

  12. Freaks and Geeks~this is an amazing series, must see.

    Lie to Me

    Life

     

    If you liked Battlestar Galactica you'd like~

     

    Babylon5-invented the long story arc BG used so well

     

    Firefly-space western, a little rough at first but like most things Joss Whedon is worth holding on for the charcters and humor once the cast gels

     

    If you like fantasy, LOTR type stuff, Legend of the Seeker on Hulu is a fun way to pass the time.

  13. They each have a 2-3 shelf bookcase in their own room with books at their level.

     

    When the boys were babies I had only 2 bookshelves in the living room where they could reach them. I put the sturdy, not-used-very-often ones on the bottom 2 shelves and we covered them with something. All my other cases were in rooms they didn't use.

     

    I organize mine by subject (and sometimes chronologically within a subject). I have a history shelf, a sci-fi shelf, English and American lit shelf, poetry & drama, science & psychology, religion & philosophy, world lit, favorites, non-fiction, gardening & nature, cookbooks, reference, to-read, homeschooling reference, homeschooling in use, homeschooling future, picture books (age birth-7), chapter books (age 7-12), and my husband has 2 cases of programming and business books in the basement.

  14. 10 year old~put away silverware, sweep kitchen, vacuum living room, clean toilet, pick up own things

     

    8 year old~unload dishwasher, feet/water cats, take out compost, take out recycling, pick up own things

     

    6 year old~set table, clear table, feed/water dog, collect trashcans/bring back empty trash barrel, pick up own things

     

    4 year old~clean windows and mirrors, wipe out bathroom sink, pick up own things

     

    On weekends I take on dishwashing tasks and we ignore floor cleaning tasks and all boys work on cleaning their rooms. Every 4-6 months we redistribute tasks. Everyone gets to chose one of their chores, occasionally more depending on what's popular (or unpopular).

  15. First of all, nephew is not SIL. Nor is any particular behavior (irresponsible, etc) a given.

     

    Second, this is your husband's family and if he's agreed, even if he wishes he hadn't and grouses about it to no end, the likelihood is that he won't do anything to change this. From your words it sounds like this is part of his generous (and sometimes passive) character.

     

     

    Personally, I think the best response is to buy a cheap set (garage sale/craigslist) and have dh call nephew and offer to take him out golfing before you go. "I was excited to hear you were taking up golf and thought you might prefer your own set. Since you've called I've thought about taking these with me. Let's get together when we get back so I can watch you beat me."

     

    A cheaper solution than the worry and bad blood within the family, not to mention replacing the expensive clubs if something does happen.

  16. I received my secondary degree in the mid-'90s.

     

    There are things I thought were helpful. We had some great Ed Psych guests who were very interesting on stages of development and how that relates to what you can expect from children. Bloom's Taxonomy. Learning objectives. Learning styles.

     

    As a whole though I don't feel its added to my ability to homeschool. It did make me much more confident, and I feel that I'm more aware of ways to make subjects in-depth, more ways I could do things, more ways to drive myself crazy with making this perfect.

     

    I do notice 'workbook' homeschoolers more than my peers. I worry about people that just order curriculums and see that as the end of education, but I don't find that to be a homeschooling problem. I've met enough teachers with the book-notes-homework-test philosophy so I know its a human struggle, not just a homeschooler struggle.

  17. There are men who are very child-oriented and who form bonds with children outside of their families. Dh's family is very much like that.

     

    However, even with very affectionate, child-focused people there is line where you get to know the parents, receive their permission, and keep the child within their sight. This is not the case here. Even if he is an innocent man he will not keep normal boundaries and so is dangerous to himself and your daughter.

     

     

    What I find more frightening is that your daughter is being taught by you and your husband that it is correct to be picked up by strangers, to kiss them, and perform other affectionate acts upon request. This is not healthy for a young child. You certainly wouldn't expect your 13 year old to give a relatively unknown adult man 'some sugar.' It's just as inappropriate for a 2 year old who is still learning how to interact with people appropriately.

     

    At 2 she should be learning about privacy and her body. She should know who is in her family and who is not. She should be learning appropriate behavior to each. She should know that she doesn't have to obey strangers requests (or commands) and that she should not go with them.

     

    Right now she is learning that it is necessary to obey the requests of any person who encounters her, at least if she's met them before with you (most molestations are done by people who are known to the child). Even if this man is completely innocent that is a bad start which could make her passive and open for molestation in the future.

     

    Please, help her learn healthy boundaries now so she can protect herself in future years. You can protect her now and be so passive that she learns this behavior is okay.

  18. We mix different sets and reboil. You can also boil down a pan and then add fresh/cold sap.

     

    We don't own the sugar gauge and I've never been able to get it up past boiling (I don't think we have enough sap..we're at the bottom by then). I usually start it in the morning and boil it through schooltime. By lunchtime it's down to the last inch. Then I watch it carefully. When it thickens (won't run through a coffee filter or paper toweling) or starts to foam I turn if off and filter/squeeze it through a piece of cloth.

     

    I agree with Bee on everything else. We do tap our front maple though. It runs the faster then our backyard maples. And we try to keep our taps on the southern side of the tree and we move them around year to year. When it warms up at night you want to stop tapping. The sap is no longer sweet.

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