Dd's school uses Chromebooks. It's been pretty good for the most part and really does have excellent battery life. The main drawback for us is that she can't print from it; our printer isn't compatible. So if an assignment needs to be printed she has to switch to her desktop to do that. It hasn't been that big a deal, just a minor inconvenience.

We've had trouble in the past with our state's online tax form because their form didn't recognize dh's SSN. His starts with zero and the form would just drop that off and put the next digit--not a zero--into the first box. Maybe OP's ds has a similar situation? If so, that's not something he'd be able to fix. ☹ï¸

Love the sock idea--I might have to get these for dd. On another forum I read, there's discussion of a boozy chocolate calendar. Like the socks, not a true calendar but more of a variety pack--at World Market (if you have one of those). They also have one for beer. And I saw a tea calendar at their website.

Whatever.

Wow--I've never heard of this condition. Interesting! Thanks for the link, hornblower!

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Run errands, knit and listen to podcasts, read the forums. 😉

Same here, though I did once have a newer worker who had to double-check with the other deli worker what number one-third would be on the scale. I appreciated that. The deli at my local store has been consistently awesome, and I try to post positive feedback for them often.

Mono? When ds1 had it, it took awhile before he felt really really sick enough to realize it was more than just a cold.

I use Anne Burrell's recipe, modified. I use only beef--2 # because that's what comes in the package, lol. I also leave out the onion, red pepper and fresh parsley, but sub in dried oregano and basil or Italian seasoning--about 1-2 tsps.

This is my friend's go-to as well. Mine is chuck roast with carrots and potatoes and a green salad. If I'm up to it I'll add blondies or rice krispie treats for a dessert.

gah--the internets ate my earlier response. We haven't actually ordered wreaths but MIL sent us one from LLBean one year. It was really nice! And it lasted about a month in spite of our failure to spritz it regularly (according to the directions that came with it). Hmm, I might have to order one myself this year. As to your relatives, the suggestion for lottery tickets is sounding like a good plan. Or maybe some nice candy from the Dollar Tree. :tongue_smilie:

Mail order a pine wreath for their front door?

We do occasional volunteering with a rescue and they're happy to have us come in for about an hour each month just to pet the cats. I think it helps that we bring a huge bag of kitty chow when we go--they remember us in spite of our irregular visits. We have friends who go once a week and only work with the dogs, taking each one out for a 15-minute romp in the play area. They stay as long as it takes to ensure each dog gets outside time--usually just a couple hours. This shelter keeps the cleaning chores limited to regular staff and folks assigned to do community service.

My BIL was a math/accounting major and after working in the field a couple years decided he hated it and now does road construction, which he loves a lot more. As a history major our niece worked for a university as an archivist and is currently pursuing a MLS. We have a friend who was a history major who is now an airline pilot.

I once met IRL a Gerald Ford who was not the dead president. We chatted for a couple minutes about his name. I think he liked to see if people knew he had the same name as the president. (A couple of young people--20somethings--who were part of the conversation did not. :ohmy: ) I never did find out if he was named him after GF or if it was just coincidence.

You might be surprised at how fast you pick crochet back up after a bit of a refresher. I learned the very basics as a kid but didn't do anything with it until at least 30 years later. I looked at a book (before it was all on the internet) to re-learn the stitches and it came back to me fairly easily. My gauge was rather off but that evened out with a little more experience.

I voted Columbus Day because it seems to be just a retail holiday. The kids still have school, there's no mail delivery and it's just another excuse for stores to proclaim a sale event. I'm not even sure there are any kinds of official observations of the day, e.g. parades, ceremonies, etc. My second would be Black Friday because it's the start of holiday insanity and the road traffic practically doubles until about the second week of Jan.

:grouphug:

I must have been around for those threads because this story sounds very familiar.

That picture is awesome! My dc are older and no longer follow me in the bathroom, but now we have a cat that follows me there. :001_rolleyes:

OTOH a box of Sbucks instant is nearly the same price as a bag of coffee and you get a lot more cups of coffee from the bag. You might be surprised by how many will take you up on the coffee. Years ago we attended a small (50-ish people) church that had 2 boxes of coffee (as well as juice and hot chocolate) at each service and they were nearly always empty by the time church was over.

Saw these in the store today and was tempted. We did recently try the red velvet and I like those. Dh liked the mint ones. The dc were split on both those. Hmm I might have to get some of these mystery ones. Y'know, for science! ðŸ˜

Seconding Person of Interest. Adding: Hinterland Wallander Happy Valley Doctor Blake River Death in Paradise Samurai Gourmet (short, sweet, no character development or plot--just a fun series)

My local Kroger recently started this--designated spots and everything. It seems to be a pretty popular service.