Yay, verification! I am in Virginia (transplant) and my son-in-law, hard core Virginian, loves Country Roads. He always INSISTS it's talking about western Virginia NOT West Virginia. He says the Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah River are mainly in Virginia. I had no idea if he was right, but if a West Virginian says so than maybe so.😀 I was a hardcore John Denver fan in high school. Had all his albums on vinyl and spent senior skip day in line to buy tickets to one of his concerts in 1976.

I got two of the knock off ones from Costco for my twin granddaughters for Christmas last year. They LOVE them! They are about to turn four. They still need help building things with them but love climbing and jumping on them. They have been a big hit.

I had Covid in March and lost my sense of smell. It began to come back at about a month and took several months. I am not a coffee drinker and didn't discover until December that it doesn't smell right to me at all. Family was here for Christmas (they had Covid in March too so we were okay together)and were brewing coffee. I used to love the smell and now it stinks. Also, milk chocolate doesn't taste good anymore, dark is okay. I read an article in Smithsonian that said that it can take up to 2 years for coffee and chocolate to return to normal. Most other things are okay. My toothpaste smells odd to me too. I didn't do any smell training, although I researched it. I took to smelling ground cloves to test it at the beginning.

I read about it online shortly after it happened, but I read a lot of online news sources. I probably noticed it more than I normally would have because we were hit with one in 2012. It began in Illinois and crossed Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, DC, Maryland and New Jersey. There were 22 people killed and $2.9 billion in damage. It was absolutely freaky! Glad you are all okay!

I haven't read all the replies. But I'd recommend renting an RV and take some trial trips before you actually buy one.

Had a trip to Ireland with DD booked for early July through a travel agent. DD is on active duty in the army and very early in this pandemic it was clear she wasn't going to be able to go. I called the travel agent in the beginning of April and she advised we wait to see what the airlines would do. I just saw this thread and was about to check what our flight status was, when low and behold I received an email from the travel agent. We are getting a refund from United, less processing fees. We canceled the tour portion and will get that back, less penalties. I'll file with the trip insurance to get the penalities back. The travel agent said it is taking around 90 days to get money refunded.

I just went and looked at my cabinets, which have hidden hinges, and there is 3/4" of wood. The hinges are like this - https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-35-mm-105-Degree-1-2-in-Overlay-Cabinet-Hinge-1-Pair-H70223E-NP-CP/303459243 And I would HIGHLY recommend the soft close. While it is more work now, next year it will be forgotten😀 Every time you close a cabinet door and it closes softly you will be happy you did!

I'm pretty sure I had it in mid-March. My 25yo daughter and her boyfriend were here for a funeral for 4 days. The Sunday dd left she felt poorly and was sick the following week with flu like symptoms, fever, fatigue. I got what I thought were allergy symptoms on Monday, by Tuesday night I had an elevated temp, 100.2, but not technically a fever. I felt VERY fatigued. DD, who is in the army, went to the hospital triage tent on Thursday and they wouldn't test her. They told her to go home, she was COVID free. By the weekend we were both feeling better. I noticed my sense of smell was totally GONE. Not just lessened like I have had with colds before, but nonexistent. Next Monday, a week after dd and I got sick, dd's boyfriend is feeling sick with a 100 degree temp. He goes to the triage tent and they test him, probably because he is a nurse. He only had mild symptoms for 2 days. He tested positive. Both my doc and my dd's doc think we had COVID. My sense of smell is SLOWLY coming back after three weeks. My dd and I both want to get the antibody test when it is available.

I got a laugh out of it, thanks for sharing the link! 😀

Keep an eye out for estate sales of quilters, crafters, or sewers. I got several wonderful rulers for around $1!!! They aren't ones I would have paid even 40% off for at Joann's, but for $1, of course. I've also added to my fabric stash from estate sales. They usually price the fabric by the pound or by height, with pieces stacked on each other. I felt like a kid in a candy store - I didn't know where to start 😀

I guess I hope that the military member knows their family well enough to judge what is good for them. Maybe that is not always the case, but I hope. Kind of like, neither of my daughters would have liked one of those huge, elaborate proposals in front of lots of people. And none our family likes surprise parties.

Of course, these aren't the "surprise" reunions. The surprise ones have to be arranged by the military member themselves. They are the only one who knows all the info to make it happen. So I guess I don't want to begrudge that surprise to them after what they've done. I saw one where the young man said he had dreamed and planned of surprising his mom from the time he went in the military. She worked at his old high school and he set it up for during a school assembly. I thought it was sweet.

I hate emotionally manipulative commercials like the ASPCA one; I will actually change the channel. I like ones similar to Hallmark commercials that bring a tear to my eye. That's what I thought of when I read the title of your thread and was ready to argue. But turns out no argument from me😀. The emotionally manipulative ones don't make me cry, they make me mad! I agree with Tanaqui, I might actually give if they showed happy dogs. Or maybe the contrast of a sick, sad dog and the same dog later, happy with a family. Mary

Yes, often times the military member is slated to return "soon." But as to the where and when, it can range wildly. By weeks or months, depending on the needs of the military.

I understand what you are saying. My DH was 21 years active Air Force, I was 21 years active and reserve Air Force, DD is active Army, my dad was 20 years Army. We are a family with a military heritage. My dad fought in two wars. My DH only had one short deployment because he retired in 2005 before the crazy deployments started. BUT I guess you have to ask, who is putting these reunions out there for us to see. It is the people who are being reunited. They want to share their joy with others. I love the reunion videos, but I also know what happened before them. That to me makes them all the more powerful. I love sharing in their joy. Mary