Biltmore always makes me feel a bit queasy. But for me I think it's mostly the crowds, and the motion of the crowds, and being inside. I've never been there when it wasn't wall-to-wall people. I don't like moving crowds anywhere, but it's considerably worse inside than outside (leaving a crowded inside event like a college basketball game or concert makes me feel that way, too).

This house and our previous house has/had the master bathroom adjacent to the walk in closet. We’ve had no issues at all. Both have been good sized bathrooms, though. Big enough that steam going all the way into the closets wasn’t really a possibility. But we don’t tend to take really long showers, either.

Brick adds a lot of expense. A few years ago when we were considering having a house custom built the contractors we interviewed estimated that brick versus siding would cost $30,000 - $40,000 more. We eventually decided to buy instead of build, and one of our highest priorities was having a brick exterior. In the past we've had both sided and brick homes, and we find brick to be far superior and well worth the extra cost if you can afford it. Our brick homes have all been maintenance free and seemed to be much more sound proof than the sided homes we had. I don't think I'd ever consider painting a brick house. I don't recall ever seeing a brick house before/after painting where I thought the look was improved. And any way you slice it the paint is going to be more maintenance.

We're on a septic system. I've spent most of my life on one, and I don't think I'm overly picky or paranoid about it. I use bleach whenever I need to and don't think a thing about it. But flushing cat litter -- no, that's not something I could ever bring myself to do, I don't think. I'd worry not only about the septic system but also for the plumbing lines.

I'm working on hugely reducing our use of single use plastics, but I have a long way to go. But for bathrooms and office trash cans--I've always lined those with a bag, but I've also always taken them to the kitchen trash can and dumped them out instead of replacing the bag every time. The bags in the bathroom trash cans get replaced if something nasty/liquidy is in/on the bag, but that's incredibly rare. I'm pretty sure I don't average changing those bags more than once a year. I probably could do away entirely with the bag in the office trash can. Pet waste is a big issue for me, too. We don't currently have any cats in residence, but we do walk the dog every day and he has to be picked up after. Generally I buy pet waste bags but try to get the biodegradable type.

We never saw any reason to limit time spent in bedrooms. But three out of the four of us are introverts who absolutely need lots of quiet time for optimal mental health. So I can't say that it ever really occurred to me or DH that alone time was something that should be limited. On the contrary, in our home it's encouraged.

I'm sorry, and I hope you get some relief soon! The worst pain I've ever experienced in my life was from a sinus infection. And I've had two c-sections and a hysterectomy. They were nothing compared to that sinus infection from you-know-where.

Ditto. We've had YouTubeTV for almost a year now and are very happy with it.

Have you tried vacuuming them (or maybe using canned air) to remove any dust? My brother has been a volunteer fireman for 40+ years and says dust can make them beep. And yes to the ten year lifespan.

Because I respect her stated wish to not discuss it. ETA: By "it" I mean that entire episode of her life. Her ex and the marriage. All of it. She made it clear when she finally left him that other than giving us the details immediately afterwards she never wanted to discuss it.

This may come off as a humble brag, but I don't mean it to. I wouldn't have thought of it, and certainly not brought it up, had it not been for this thread -- Both of our boys were in town this weekend for a family wedding. We were all driving to the event in the same car, along with my MIL. I forget now what we were discussing, but DS23 says "Punch bags, not people." I don't know where he got that from. Maybe it's a common saying among the males in his circle (I wouldn't doubt it--he runs with a good crowd). But I thought "Wow. He gets it." And I marveled briefly that I guess maybe we got something right raising him. "All" we did was model good behavior, and treating every living being with dignity and respect. We never monitored computer use and were much more relaxed parents than the majority on here. It also occurs to me (at the risk of a group pile on) that we can't absolve women from all responsibility. Many years ago my SIL made a horrible marriage choice. DH and I knew it was going to turn out horribly. We warned her. We thought she'd listen to us--we're just a bit older than her and thought she really valued our opinions above others. She didn't. She finally managed to leave him after he almost killed her. He'd been beating up on her regularly before the final episode that spurred her to leave. There were many, many instances of marital rape. So . . . why did she make that choice to begin with? She had a good job, a nice apartment, great family support. She had not been raised in an environment where domestic violence (or any kind of violence) was accepted. She thought she could fix him. She wanted a project. Sure the family blames him, and rightly so. But decades later we all still occasionally wonder what on earth prompted her to make that choice.

I don't currently raw feed. I have in the past and I know many people who do. I only recall knowing of two dogs who developed issues, and now I can't remember whether it was e-coli or salmonella that they had. I do remember that one of them was very seriously ill. But I tend to think it's much more a problem with the individual dog's immune system than it is with raw feeding in general. For me the concern about those things would be more for the humans in the household than for the dog(s).

DH has used nematodes in the past with very good success.

Ditto. DS20 is on the spectrum and although he wasn't formally diagnosed until a few years ago (ASD-1, GAD and gifted), I've been as sure as a layperson can be that he was on the spectrum since he was about two. I've read dozens and dozens of books and many more articles than that, and I still don't feel that I've got a good handle on what it means to be on the spectrum. I suspect part of it is because those who aren't NT are just like the rest of us in that each is a unique individual with quirks and idiosyncrasies both associated with and totally separate from their diagnosis(es). I will keep searching for that one book (I always think it's going to be a book) that makes everything click for me.

When we bought our current house three years ago it wasn't even cleaned, let alone staged. It looked like Herman Munster's house, literally full of cobwebs. I think it was on the market for a couple of months. Contrary to all current wisdom, we didn't put our last house on the market until after we'd moved and it was completely empty. We had a signed contract at full asking price in less than two weeks. I think a lot of what passes as the current wisdom/I HAVE to do these things to sell my house aren't true. Or at least they aren't in my area. I guess if you're in a very slow market maybe you need to jump through hoops. But the market in our area has never been anywhere near that bad, I don't think, and it's certainly not now.

Flip it? You mean go off the DMARDs? No heck no. I've seen up close and personal what happens when someone thinks they can treat RA with all natural stuff. It's not a risk I"m willing to take. The joints might be feeling okay while silent damage is being done to heart, lungs, eyes, etc.

I'm on two prescription DMARDs as well as turmeric. And I started the second DMARD at the same time I started turmeric. So it's not possible to really determine which of them is helping most, or if it's the combo of all of them.

IMO your rescue lady was absolutely right. It's not common, but it happens. And it's why I absolutely hate the saying "There are no bad dogs, only bad owners."There ARE dogs who have very serious mental health/behavioral issues that have absolutely nothing to do with how they're raised or trained. Anyone who thinks otherwise has likely simply not had enough dog experience to know better.

FWIW--My rheumatologist says 500 mg. of turmeric twice a day is plenty. That's for me (RA); I don't know if it would be different for people with other conditions. But what you're taking really seems like a huge, huge dosage. You might could cut back, save some money and still get the same results.

#4 in that link is exactly why I advised seeing a vet and perhaps getting a referral to a vet behaviorists. A six month old puppy who is biting hard enough to draw blood (not accidentally during play), and growling and snapping at people warrants a serious response, IME. Those are red flags.

When we had multiple large dogs DH sowed Bermuda grass. Some kind of expensive hybrid. Our yard was as plush as a golf course and almost 200 (combined) pounds of active canines didn’t hurt it a bit. I doubt it would grow too well in shade, though.

I’d have another visit and tell him the bad behaviors are escalating. At a minimum I’d want some basic bloodwork done, check spine, joints, mouth for signs of pain, vision/hearing, etc. Also, if this is primarily a livestock vet then I’d consider seeing one who specializes in dogs and cats. And perhaps consider getting a referral to a veterinary behaviorist if the vet can’t find anything physically wrong.

The first step I'd recommend is a thorough vet check. What exactly happened when the vet "looked" at her last month? Was it a regular puppy check? Did the vet know the specifics of her behavior that you're concerned about, and was checking her in relation to those? If not -- vet check. This really could be anything from something wrong with her physical health to rage syndrome to some sort of weird dog adolescence reaction that will pass given some time and training. At what age was she taken from her mom and litter mates? I kind of doubt that's an issue since her issues are just showing up now, and so strongly. But I could be wrong about that.

I had to do that when I was raw feeding our Brittany. He lost way too much muscle for my comfort while just eating raw w/o a goodly amount of added carbs. That was despite feeding him multiple times more raw than a dog his size/age/high energy level supposedly needed. It's also why I finally gave up on raw for him, and the final straw that convinced me that raw wasn't the best choice for all dogs. His muscle mass and overall body condition was much better on other types of food.

I've never been a fan of Susan Thixton. Nothing concrete, just . . . I've heard her speak several times and something about her attitude/demeanor is a huge turnoff for me. (Not that my vague dislike of her should mean anything to anybody else.)