Jump to content

Menu

RoughCollie

Members
  • Posts

    9,129
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by RoughCollie

  1. Fruit salad, but that's not very odd. Apples, bananas, oranges, raisins, pecans, with lemon juice mixed in.
  2. The south of France sounds like a good choice to me, but only if a full-time interpreter were on the household payroll. Actually any place that has truly mild winters sounds good to me at this point.
  3. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:
  4. I forgot to say that my sister is allergic to eggs, an allergy that started about 5 years ago. One of my close friends, age 72, is allergic to garlic.
  5. Well, to be fair, you didn't state the reasons for your questions. Those reasons can be filled-in by the reader's brain in various ways, which can be thought of as interpreting the question when no further information was available. The human brain likes to fill in the blanks, according to an interesting course I am taking on Ed-X, called The Science of Everyday Thinking. I thought you could have posed the questions for various reasons: 1. Idle curiosity, which doesn't require a reason. I'm sure most of us have wondered about things from time to time, but don't have a motive for asking the question. We didn't have internet service for a long time, and that is when I noticed how many questions I have that stem from idle curiosity and it was frustrating not to be able to find out the answers immediately. 2. Various reasons that linked the seeming abundance of food allergies in younger people with the apparent lack of food allergies in people over 40 (in your experience). For example, you could have been thinking that many younger people don't really have allergies since older people don't. Or you could have been thinking that gluten free diets are helpful only to people with Celiac disease, and they are a fad for everyone else. Or you could be wondering if the onset of allergies in younger people is due to environmental reasons that occurred at the right time of life for the person to develop allergies. I'm sure there are plenty more things you could have been thinking -- these are just off the top of my head. *** Celiac disease is a serious disease -- it is an autoimmune disorder. There is more information on it here: https://celiac.org/celiac-disease/understanding-celiac-disease-2/what-is-celiac-disease/
  6. I have a life-threatening allergy to shrimp. I cannot touch it with my bare hands or eat it. I am well over 40.
  7. I had bad heartburn for decades, much worse when I was pregnant with the boys. Have not had an episode since I started eating a diet with < 8 gr saturated fat per day, quit putting any sugar in my coffee and rarely eat foods that contain sugar (except fruits and veg), and lowered my coffee intake to 2 cups (with Truvia) per day. I still eat spicy food. I have no idea whether those dietary changes helped, but I suspect they did since my stress level is always too high. If I eat a high sat fat meal or sweets, though, I still don't get heartburn any more.
  8. 1. Call Legal Aid. Call Legal Aid and ask for help. Perhaps they will get involved, at least to the point of having a letter sent by an attorney to the client. I'd make that call first, because I wouldn't want to risk a police report ending in an investigation by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. 2. Going to the police. I would go to the police and take this with me. I would ask the police to visit the person and tell them they've seen the texts (which hopefully prove their intent to file a *false* report) and that a false report is a felony. Along with the texts, I'd bring the letter I'd sent to the clients to the police, too, along with a copy of the statute. (The reason I'd take the statute copy with me is that sometimes police have to be reminded that something is against the law when the individual officer considers it to be a minor problem and not worth messing with. That's been my experience a few times.) (325 ILCS 5/7.6) (from Ch. 23, par. 2057.6) Sec. 7.6. There shall be a single State-wide, toll-free telephone number established and maintained by the Department which all persons, whether or not mandated by law, may use to report suspected child abuse or neglect at any hour of the day or night, on any day of the week. Immediately upon receipt of such reports, the Department shall transmit the contents of the report, either orally or electronically, to the appropriate Child Protective Service Unit. Any other person may use the State-wide number to obtain assistance or information concerning the handling of child abuse and neglect cases. Wherever the Statewide number is posted, there shall also be posted the following notice: "Any person who knowingly transmits a false report to the Department commits the offense of disorderly conduct under subsection (a)(7) of Section 26-1 of the Criminal Code of 2012. A violation of this subsection is a Class 4 felony." (Source: P.A. 97-189, eff. 7-22-11; 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.) http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=1460
  9. This is the type of situation in which I would point out that there are many kittens available at shelters, and my relatives can get one from there after they move out of my house. Nearly every kid I've ever met wants every kitten or puppy they see (and so do some adults). I'd explain that I don't want the kitten, they can get one when they move out, and impulsive pet acquisitions are not a good idea in these circumstances, especially. Then I'd look up no-kill shelters and Google "cat rescue [the name of your city]" and try to find a place for the kitten. I would take the kitten to them. I would not be overly worried about how my relatives view this because when they move out and are in a position to add a kitten to their family, the kids will be so happy they will forget all about this kitten. If that doesn't work, you can ask friends if they want a kitten. This worked once for me, but only because it was a young kitten. You may be stuck with it, but it won't be for lack of trying to get rid of it. You don't have to tell anyone this plan until you make those phone calls since it may not work. No sense in getting everyone riled up for nothing. Your biggest problem will be finding a place for the kitten because shelters and rescues are overcrowded with cats. You might get lucky, though. I have had to do this a few times with cats and kittens people dump in my yard (rural area). We can't keep them because two of my kids are allergic to cats and I have a terrier. Even if that weren't true, I still don't want another pet.
  10. Favorite: peanut butter toffees wrapped in orange or black paper Hated: Tootsie Rolls, Sugar Daddy Parents did not control the candy. I remember telling myself never to remark upon this because we ate very healthily all year long except at holidays. My mom is German, and I figured she didn't realize she had a choice! No x-raying of candy. I don't think anyone did that back then, in the era of being invited inside people's homes and getting homemade treats during trick-or-treating. I don't miss any candy I loved during childhood because it is all still available.
  11. A friend of mine has a rental house. The neighbors got together and hired a lawyer, and called the township because the tenants were in violation of several ordinances. The township fined my friend, the landlord, which was the first time he knew of the problem, and the ordinances. He evicted them (he had plenty of reasons to do so in addition to the ordinance violations). Whether the police will get involved or not, I would call the landlord, and ask other neighbors to do the same. I'd also find out if they were breaking any ordinances at all, and report that to the powers that be.
  12. It may have been due to jury nullification: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jury_nullification
  13. For several years, I hid Christmas gifts in the storage boxes for Christmas decorations. The boxes were empty, and the kids assumed they stayed that way. I also hid them in the trunk of my husband's car, at his office, in the basement in boxes marked with something boring (summer clothes, Grandma's stuff, DH's books) as to their contents, and in the storeroom in the garage. (MIL had a yard sale before she moved to assisted living. She literally packed up everything that didn't sell and sent it to me. We had a lot of boxes of Grandma's stuff for awhile!)
  14. I started babysitting when I was 12. I made up flyers and advertised my services. I was in demand because I played with the kids and taught them to read and to do simple math. When I was 16, I added working at various jobs -- fast food, waitress, retail salesclerk. My sister did the same, only she saved every dime she ever made. I remember thinking she was a miser, especially when she charged huge interest rates if I borrowed money from her, which I only did one time because of the interest she charged. My brother started doing yard work for people at age 10. He made a lot of money that way -- it paid far better than babysitting or minimum wage work. I figured my sister and I could do that, too, but our dad said no. Ladies do not do any work like that, period. I was in my early 20s before Dad let me mow one strip of lawn just to see what it was like, and I had to talk him into it! So there I was, age 14, and my little brother was making more money than I was!
  15. #1 Tie a bow (not a knot) when closing trash bags that have things you are moving in them. Knots are for actual trash only. Then keep the bowed trashbags far away from the actual trash. #2 Before you decide which furniture to take, measure it and convert the feet to inches. Draw the furniture onto a piece of graph paper. Then measure the rooms of the apartment and draw that out and make sure the furniture fits. If you haven't done this before, you can Google about how much room to allow for traffic paths and chairs (especially dining chairs). #3 Make sure the ceilings are high enough for your furniture and the doorways are wide enough to move it in. #4 In the kitchen, measure counter space, drawers, cabinets. Make sure your kitchen stuff will fit in there. Also, make sure there is room for pantry food. Measure the distance from the bottom of the upper cabinets to the counter -- sometimes that space is not standard and if the things you keep on the counter are too tall, you will have to find somewhere else to put them. #5 If there is no linen closet in the bathroom, you will need somewhere to put towels and sheets. If there is, measure the shelf space and decide what goes on it. #6 Try not to bring more stuff than will fit in the apartment. It is really hard to prune your belongings, but it is also amazing to discover you don't have time to miss it because your daily life requires all your attention. We downsized our belongings by over 50% when we moved, and so far I haven't needed any of the things we didn't take. #7 After you've measured everything and decided what to take with you, be sure to label the boxes with the room they go in and with their contents. It helps to use fat magic markers or sharpies and to color code the rooms. #8 You should pack separately the bedding, towels, cooking and dining stuff, personal grooming supplies, clothes and cleaning supplies that you will need during the first 3 days packed separately in clearly labeled boxes. That way, you will be able to locate what you need NOW without having to go through a bunch of boxes to locate those things. * All that measuring is a pain, but it saves time and aggravation in the long run.
  16. I have a Cuisinart Smart Stick 200-watt that I bought for $25 six years ago. It is wonderful for blending just about anything. I recently discovered it whips cream in about a minute. I use it for soups and when I make tomato sauce from peels and tomato gunk, too. Here's the newer model (there are lots of reviews and answered questions, too): https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CSB-75BC-Blender-Brushed-Chrome/dp/B00ARQVM5O/ref=dp_ob_title_kitchen?th=1
  17. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: I am so sorry for your heartbreaking loss.
  18. One of the best books I've read on managing money is How To Manage Your Money When You Don't Have Any, by Eric Wecks. https://www.amazon.com/Manage-Your-Money-When-Second-ebook/dp/B007IUGLYO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1476799551&sr=1-1&keywords=how+to+manage+your+money+when+you+don%27t+have+any What made this book great was the discussions about how we spend money reflects our actual values. So making a budget work requires thinking about your values and getting your spending in line with them. Once that is done, staying on a budget is a lot easier. The budgeting part of the book was great, but I could have written it myself (and wish I had) because I am a cost accountant. This book is free with Kindle Unlimited, 99 cents for the e-book, and $9.99 for the paperback. You can have plenty of money and still benefit from this book because of the connection the author makes between one's values and one's spending and attitudes about money.
  19. I voted for Adalia because it is both pretty and unusual. I have always thought that homeschooling encourages children to be themselves instead of becoming part of the herd - and having a pretty and unusual name fits that belief. We named our daughter a name in the top 3 (by accident - I thought it was unusual). There are too many people with her name, including her friends and dogs we know. Our dog, Aidan, has a popular boy's name. That is not my fault -- I voted for Jetson. Everywhere I go, someone is named Aidan -- and when his mother calls his name, I have a little one second prick of panic that my dog is wherever I am and running loose. I wanted to name my daughter Octavia. Everyone hated it except for me. For years, she has said she wishes I'd named her Octavia because she doesn't like having such a popular name - there must be 3 people with her name in every class she has except for math (in which she is often the only female). I offered to pay to have her name changed, but she hasn't taken me up on it. The reason I didn't name her that had to do with the fact that October was the 8th month on the oldest Roman calendar and she was born in the 10th month of our calendar. Pregnancy hormones must have messed with my brain!
  20. Thank you! I immediately wondered why I've never seen $0.99 milk in PA!
  21. We moved to a house in which the living space is about half the size of our former home. We could not move all that stuff with us. At that point, I didn't have time to care. In the end, it didn't matter because I didn't miss the stuff. I didn't need any of it. My neighbor's house (a single elderly man) and my mother's house (a single elderly woman) made an impression on me. I felt relaxed in both places because they were so neat and pretty and didn't have a bunch of stuff lying around. So I went home and made sure that everything had a place and was in its place. I moved the excess stuff to the basement, then I gave it away to thrift stores. If we didn't use it in a year, out it went. I still do that every year. Then I added a routine to my day. I hate routines, but it turns out they make life simpler because if I don't "work my routine" everything gets messy. I begin my chores by going to every room and doing daily clean-up. This takes maybe 5 minutes per room. I put everything my DD (all grown up now, but messy) leaves lying around in common areas in trash bags on the porch. The rule is that anything left on the porch will be put in the cans on trash day. Silly thing to do for a girl who is going to be 21 next week, but needs must. I also made sure that my stuff was in check. I have enough clothes. If they don't fit (too small or too large), I keep them in storage boxes for one year. If they still don't fit, they go to a thrift store. I do not have enough clothes to outfit wardrobes for more than one person. I like to have an 8-day supply of clothes per season. Right now I'm about to give away nearly all my clothes because they are too large. (I am going to try to alter some of them.) If I keep them around, I will gain the weight back, that much I know about myself. It is easier to gain weight back when I know I won't have to go naked. I generally don't re-read books. So after I read a book, I give it away. If the book doesn't get 3-5 stars on my personal rating system, I throw it in the trash. If I want to read a book again, I go to the library or to abebooks. Most of my books are stored on my Kindle now. I don't forget which books I've read because I keep a list on my computer. I have a small kitchen and right now have a plastic bin in the basement with kitchen things I never use. Once it has been there for a year, I will donate the stuff to a thrift shop. Aldon Brown has a great book that hails the idea of not having an over-stuffed kitchen: Aldon Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen. It's at the library. It helps while reading it not to think that his kitchen is probably so large he doesn't need his own book! I have a binder in which I keep recipes that I've copied from cookbooks, magazines, and the internet. If I don't make those recipes in a year, they are tossed. This keeps the number of cookbooks I own way down from a high of several hundred. I also borrow cookbooks from the library -- let them store the books. So, I'm perking along, feeling very tidy, when three things happen: My neighbor confesses that his house is so tidy, organized, streamlined, and clutter free because all his stuff is stored in various outbuildings on his several pieces of property. His outbuilding are climate-controlled. My mother, well she has lots of closets and they are all neatly stuffed to the gills. She lives alone in a stuffed 3-bedroom house -- you can't see the stuff unless you snoop, is all. I snooped. She has over 100 kitchen towels! No point in going through what else she has, just suffice it to say that many trips to thrift stores are in my future (hopefully far away future). My husband moved his office into our home. His former office had been home to his things that there wasn't a place for in our home. He brought most of it home. He cannot bear to throw away ties (over 200 of them), clothes (enough to wear something different for every day for about 6 weeks), and books (which he will never re-read, but he doesn't like e-books). So now I'm starting over, finding a place for everything so I can keep everything in its place. And I will do it simply because I feel much less stressed out when my house is tidy and organized and I have a daily routine to keep it that way. DH has been warned -- if it won't fit, out it goes! My kids are adults. Their personal belongings stay in their rooms. I am happy to help organize, but they don't want me to. They keep their doors closed anyway, so our dog doesn't get into stuff. Except for DD, who leaves stuff all over the place, and in whose bed the dog buries his marrow bones. Keep in mind that I have fought this battle since my kids could walk. Success came along when they were teenagers. When I was homeschooling (a full-time job in itself), I would get one room organized and tidy, and move to the next. While I was doing the next room, the previous one would become disorganized and untidy. It was a losing battle, and I think that any SAHM who homeschools has at least 2 full-time jobs, so no wonder.
  22. I am not a single-issue voter. However, this time around my interest has narrowed its focus considerably. I will not vote for a particular candidate no matter who runs against him or her. I will vote for that candidate's opponent no matter what. What matters to me now is that the particular candidate does not win the election. So that's my single issue.
  23. I like lots of light, huge windows with beautiful views, lots of wasted space (like extra wide hallways and huge kitchen), lots of color and patterns, and sleek-ish furnishings. Shaker style, clean lines in the upholstered stuff. No clutter. I know what I like when see it. I probably do like some decorative accents, if someone else figures that part out so it looks good, not like clutter. No ruffles, nothing overstuffed. white woodwork, wood floors that can be beaten up a little by dogs and people dropping things on them. Colorful patterned rugs. No wall-to-wall carpeting. Comfortable seating everywhere, and lots of drawers to put stuff in.
  24. We do. We have the Dairy Princess and her Dairy Princess Court: 2 Dairy Ambassadors, 2 Dairy Maids, 1 Dairy Miss, and 2 Lil Dairy Misses. Their goals are to promote the dairy industry and to make the public aware of the need to have at least three servings daily of dairy food to maintain a healthy body. The Dairy Princess also has a 13-member Dairy Promotion Team to help her.
×
×
  • Create New...