I have been thinking of you and your family ever since you posted about your brother last year. I am still praying for you all.

Praying for you. Your dh sounds like a keeper.

We recently tried this chickpea recipe from Smitten Kitchen: https://smittenkitchen.com/2017/05/a-really-great-pot-of-chickpeas/ We served it over rice, and it was really, really good. I did add a small rind of parmesan I had bought at Aldi. It was still cheap because I used dried chickpeas and sage from the garden.

I agree. How did you get rid of them?

Whoa! I have never heard of that. That's terrible!

Wow, I'm sorry about the judgy comments. You are an awesome mom.

Way to go! I am a pretty fearless bug squisher, but even I use gloves to pick off those big hornworm caterpillars. They are fearsome when they lash about. If you do sqush them always point the rear end away from you. :) A couple of things I've noticed about hornworms: - Hornworms usually appear around mid-June in the mid-Atlantic, after the weather has settled. - The more plants we have with the tiny blossoms parasitic wasps like, the fewer hornworms we get. Right now we have lovage (perennial, carrot family), parsley (biennial, overwintered from last year), cilantro, dill, sunflowers, and buckwheat blooming in and around our vegetable gardens. The blossoms are covered with small insect pollinators and predators. Also, leave the hornworms with the cocoons on their backs alone. Congratulations on your garden!

For those of you who are still looking for a German course, you may want to consider DuoLingo as an option. My dd did the entire Duolingo German course after which she tested into German 3 at her university (UGa). DL could be used for CLEP study, homeschool high school credit, or prep for placement testing. Dd did the entire program, then went back and reviewed. She felt DL delivered on their statement that the program is the equivalent of 2 semesters of college-level foreign language. It's also free. :)

We have an older edition of Larson Precalc which we use with the Chalkdust videos. I do not have a syllabus. Instead, I circle the numbers of problems in the text for my students to work. I usually have them do one of every four problems, so 1, 5, 9, 13, etc. I usually assign 1 or more per problem group.

Congratulations, Creekland and son, for a job well done! We are so glad med school worked out. Your son is a gem, and we wish him all the best. Hope the party is wonderful.

Thanks, Reg, for your very detailed analysis and for recording all of this! Here's hoping what we've learned will help others.

We live on a rural road and pick up trash on a two mile stretch of it. We recycle what we can and take the rest to the dump. The number and variety of items people throw out oftheir cars is disgusting and amazing. The saddest part is that it looks like they are training their children to toss their trash, too. The polyester filters in cigarette butts take a long, long time to decompose, if ever. We've picked up thousands and thousands of cigarette butts. Ugh.

Just saw this. I'm so sorry she was hurt, and am glad it went well today. Praying for complete recovery.

Praying. I am so sorry your family is going through this.

I live farther out than NoVa, but I just wanted to put in another plug for Capital Baptist co-op. Our family is in the speech and debate league that they are, and we have worked with many of the Cap Bap folks for years. They are a first rate bunch, and we really like them.

If you're near Washington, D. C., Lincoln's Cottage is well worth the visit. He spent summers there while serving as President and wrote the Emancipation Proclamation there. There is also Ford's Theater and the house across the street where he died.

I have seen half slips at thrift stores.

Hooray!!! Wonderful news!!!

Wow! Congratulations!

Well done! Congrats!

If you live within driving distance of D.C., you could attend the National Spelling Bee. The oral competition rounds will be on May 31 and June 1. It is always fun and exciting, and seating is free and open to the public. Or you can watch it on ESPN.

Congratulations, Nan! Way to go Nan's youngest! Graduating from engineering school is a huge accomplishment.

Aw, Quill. You've been given some great advice here. I don't have any more to give, but I just want to say that you are a terrific mom. From what you've said about your son, it sounds like he will be just fine in the end, especially with you helping and guiding him. He is fortunate to have you.

We have found poke to be diggable even in our heavy clay soil. You have to dig deeply to get most of the roots, and expect for there to be seedlings for several years afterwards if you have let a plant produce berries. Pokeweed seeds can remain viable for up to 40 YEARS! :O So much for the old adage, "One year's seeding, seven year's weeding." Don't let poke go to seed. :)

Dh used one of those kits on a couple of our family's cars, and it really worked. The difference between before and after is remarkable. Be forewarned that it is messy. You are basically sanding off the film with a circular disk using compounds. The compound spins off and gets everywhere, so it's best done outside wearing old clothes.