LOL! Love Pinetree!

My favorites are Baker Creek, Johnny's Seeds, Park Seeds, and Southern Exposure. Dh and I have been to both Baker Creek and Southern Exposure; we've met Ira Wallace (she stayed at our house!) and Jere Gettle. Nice folks and great seeds! National Seed Swap Day is January 27! I'm going to the one at Blandy. Look for one near you.

After working part time for a year and a half, I got a full time job there when the former manager quit in early August. It's been a big learning curve, but it's going well.

I can't decide between The Warmth of Other Suns and The Wisdom of Finance. ETA: Three-way tie with Hillbilly Elegy.

Praying!

I always brine them with Kosher salt and brown sugar using The Best Recipe recipe, then pan fry them in an iron skillet with a splatter screen until they are brown. They are so good that way!

We've enjoyed That Quail, Robert by Margaret Stanger.

I am 5' 2", am hourglass-shaped, and wear 10P jeans. I have a pair of NYJD jeans that rise over my bb that are really comfotable. The denim is incredibly soft in this pair. I got them in a thrift store, though, so I can't link. Thrift store are great places to find jeans because they have many different brands. Another brand I like is Bandolino.

Weeelll ... how did it go? Did any new WTMers come? Any pictures? New recipes? We are still in Missouri. Sorry we missed you!

It's very sad that the cattle died for lack of water, though.

Funny! You live in a beautiful area. :)

Aw, we wish we could come, but Reg and I are going away. I am going to training in MO for the ordering/inventory software for work next week. Reg and I are making it into a 10-day trip for the two of us, and we will sightsee on the way there and back. My mom is coming to stay with the children - she is happily planning for keeping our four teens fed. Please post a picture! We'll miss you all.

Dd CLEPed out of 4 semesters of Spanish. She used Rosetta Stone (didn't like it, but it was paid for), a Barron's Spanish verbs book, speaking with her cousin, reading a Spanish Bible, and the Speedyprep Spanish review. We can't compare with a CC class; ymmv with that because there are so many CCs with different profs, books, etc.

For a lighter option, you may want to try the Khan Academy High School Statistics mission. It has all of the stats & probability necessary for the PSAT/SAT and can be done in a couple of months. KA also has AP Stats. All KA courses are free.

We do Chalk Dust, and our children study those topics in Alg. 2, then again in Precalc in a little more depth. They are worth studying both times to review and really learn them. Fwiw, our oldest 3 have gone on to become math majors.

I am still homeschooling, but just a little but since I began work full-time two months ago. Dh has been transitioning to doing the bulk of it, and he does all of the running children to activities. While I will always be happy to talk shop with homeschoolers and about parenting in general, I will not be seeking out those situations going forward. I simply won't have the time or energy. I had once thought I'd be doing "grandma school," but I will probably be working during those years, too. So I am now on my third career. The first was as an engineer, the second (and probably the longest) was a 22-year one as a homeschool teacher, and the third is as a bookstore manager. I am already thinking of what I could do next if the precarious independent bookstore market gets to be too tough. I'll definitely be working on building marketable skills.

Reg and I had planned to come, but we won't be able to make it this time, unfortunately. We hope you all have a wonderful get-together!

Congratulations! Thank you for sharing your wonderful news.

She's beautiful! Hope you and your family are doing well.

Those who make their own syrup - could you please post your recipies or links to them? I just bought a pound of dried elderberries from Frontier. I purchased an elderberry plant a year ago from a vendor at the Heritage Harvest Festival. She didn't have the variety name, but it is probably an American type because she said it was native. I had bought little elderberry plants from a catalog years ago, but they didn't make it. I planted them far away from the house and neglected them. So this time I was determined to treat my new 10" high elderberry well. Dh helped me plant it in a prime spot, then he dug out several tractor buckets of our native clay soil and replaced them with composted manure. It was a lot of work, but the pampered little bush loved it and grew to be about 4' high and wide this spring, with many branches. Unfortunately it only produced one cluster of very tiny berries in early September. I am hoping it will produce more and bigger berries next year. If it doesn't, I will replace it. We certainly have a nice spot for it!

Good for you! I did that, too, about a year and a half ago, after not working since April 1990. I applied for and got a part-time job which turned into a full-time job a month ago. It's been an adjustment, but I am thankful for the work and especially the benefits. Sometimes peple don't hear anything about jobs for months after they apply, and sometimes never. Hopefully you will hear next week. I hope things work out well for you. Please keep us updated.

What is the brand name? Thanks!

That is scary. What a relif that she is on the mend. I pray that she quickly moves to a complete recovery.

How fun for your ds, Creekland! He doesn't have to worry about forgetting his roommate's name or hometown. :)

We occasionally bake a really good coffee cake and a double recipe of The Best Recipe pound cake for strawberry shortcake in ours. I could get rd of it, but there it sits, next to the springform pan we use for our twice a year cheesecake baking.