It's fine to hang out at McDonald's. It's also fine to choose something else if he isn't comfortable with it. Go to several shops, go for a walk, find a patch of grass and sit, or just show up to his job early and hang out there. It's an important skill to be able to occupy yourself for an hour, even in less than ideal situations. When my ds started his job last summer (also age 15), he had several early morning shifts. He would take the bus over and then had to wait 30 minutes until the restaurant where he works opened. There was NOTHING open at this strip mall at that time. He could have walked a few blocks away to a McDonald's but he just brought a book and sat on the concrete until his boss got there. That was his solution. Other folks may have chosen differently. Also, I mentioned this situation to him and he said that people come and hang out for a LONG time in their restaurant (also a fast-food chain). He said they've had people stay up to three hours and it's not a big deal at all.

I would not eat that. I hate to waste food and money, but week old fish is way past my line. U.S.D.A guidelines are 1-2 days in the refrigerator for raw fish and shellfish. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/safe-food-handling/refrigeration-and-food-safety/ct_index

Very true. My dh says it makes it a far superior game because you can fake out the other kids by saying another color instead --- duck duck duck red duck duck duck gr . . . . een duck :lol:

If it suddenly starts raining and I actually have an umbrella with me, then it must be an alternate universe in which I am endowed with powers not of this world. I would use my powers conjure an umbrella for the stranger and a hot chocolate for us both and maybe some rain boots just to be safe.

Thanks, ladies. I guess ugly crocs it is. :lol:

I wear the original, clunky, bright colored crocs as house slippers. I wear my crocs pretty much all the time I am inside my house. I also like that I can wear them for quick outside trips (like to get the newspaper). Mine are probably 12 years old and there are nickel-sized holes worn through the bottoms. They really need to go, but I have no idea what to replace them with. I really like the feel of the material -- the shoe is much larger than my foot, so the top of the shoe doesn't touch the top of my foot. It just hovers over it like a roof. But the material is grippy enough that my foot doesn't slide around. I do not want anything like a slipper that encases my foot in fluffy stuff. I don't want ballet flats or flip flops or sandals or tennis shoes. Here is what I love and want to replicate: 1. My feet slip in and out easily with no hands. 2. I can wear them with socks or without. 3. They are warm in winter and cool in summer (it's like magic!). 4. They have plenty of traction for wood and tile floors. 5. They are soooo comfortable. 6. The very loose fit -- it feels like I'm barefoot (but actually going barefoot makes my feet hurt). Here's what I hate: 1. They are ugly. 2. So incredibly ugly. 3. How can I spend money on something so ugly? The only thing I have found that's remotely close is a Haflinger clog. I could use that as a house shoe in the winter. It's closer fitting than I would prefer, but in winter that probably wouldn't bother me so much. And it would give me a nice pair to take with me to friends' houses to change into when I take my boots off. I don't take my crocs anywhere. But the Haflinger wouldn't work in the summer with no socks. So I would still need a summer shoe. Is there anything else out there I should consider? Or should I just embrace the ugly? After all, I only wear them in the privacy of my own house. And they suit my needs in every other way.

Why do you snack then? Is it because you are actually hungry or because you want a break/indulgence? If you are hungry and it is several hours until dinner, then you should probably eat something. A piece of fruit is a healthful snack and will probably fill you up until dinner. If it's because it's a habit or you just want a break from your work, then choose an alternative that satisfies that for you. Maybe fix yourself a lovely cup of tea in a pretty cup and spend ten minutes recharging.

I usually am too, but this year really was a bummer. I didn't even hear the words "Happy Mother's Day" let alone get a gift or card or special treatment. I made my own breakfast, cooked lunch and dinner for the family, did dishes three times, folded laundry, changed the cat box, etc. without a single offer to help out. Sigh. (And yes, everyone knew it was Mother's Day.) I'm not going to dwell on it. It's been a difficult spring for all of us for a variety of reasons, and even though it seems easy to me to say the words or offer to make me a cup of tea or something, maybe they really didn't have it in them this year to do that. I know there have been times when even the simplest task seemed like too much to me. So onward we go.

Yup, me too. I used to run as a teen and young adult, just for exercise, not races or very much. But when I've tried to get back into in several times in my thirties and forties, the same thing has happened every time. I end up injured and have to stop for a couple of months and then when I start again I have lost all my progress. For a few years, I gave up on running and just did walking and swimming for exercise. But about 1.5 years ago I decided to give running a try again. I did not follow Couch to 5k. In fact, I went WAY slower than their program. I started off running 30 seconds every five minutes. So run for 30 seconds, walk 4:30, repeat. I increased slowly up to 2 minute running segments. Then I started increasing my first running segment but left the other ones at 2 minutes. Eventually I was doing something like: warm up 5:00 longer run 5:00 walk 5:00 run 2:00 walk 3:00 run 2:00 walk 3:00 Then I kept going, increasing the longer running segment. The first time I was able to run 12 minutes (a mile for me) without stopping was at least six months after I started. But I had been running for six months with no injuries. It's been a year and a half and I now do about a 40 minute workout -- 2 minute warm up, 2 miles of running, then some walking plus shorter fast running segments. So I'm not even to a 5k yet! It has felt like such slow progress sometimes, but I have never done running this long without any injuries. The other thing is that I never do it more than three times a week. I think that plus progressing extremely slowly has been key to preventing injuries. Good luck!

So happy/sad for you, quark. You will have to keep us updated on his journey. All his internet aunties (and uncles) wish him the best! :)

Ds finally got a paper score in the mail yesterday -- his FIRST and only one. I have no idea how they manage their mailings but something seems screwy.

My ds hasn't received any paper scores. I just checked today's mail and there's nothing there from College Board. Maybe it will show up in the next few days.

Maybe there's mold in your house? Are other family members experiencing symptoms?

I spent a year in high school as an exchange student. This was before the internet of course, so I wrote lots of letters home. Halfway through the year, I suddenly realized that I had been misspelling my mom and step-dad's last name on every letter home. They had been married for a couple of years at that point. I DID NOT KNOW HOW TO SPELL MY OWN MOTHER'S NAME. And they never said a word about it.

If you want to ask the police, I would just take it in. It seems hard to encapsulate in a phone call. Just tell them you "accidentally" opened it. That's the truth -- the accident was you forgot to use good judgment. ;) What an intriguing mystery, though! Have you looked up the person's last name in the phone book? Maybe it's a similar address to yours?

Is it action toward/away from the subject? Or is it toward/away from the speaker? If you say, "Bring me the ball", the subject is the person you are speaking to, but they are bringing the ball toward YOU, the speaker. The subject of the verb take/bring will always be traveling along with the object. I think it has to do with action relative to where the speaker is when they are speaking: "I brought a casserole to the potluck." -- I'm at the potluck right now, and the action was toward my current position. "I took a casserole to the potluck." -- I'm at home again, and the action was away from my current position "He brought a ladder outside." -- I am outside, and the subject's action was toward me. "He took the ladder outside." -- I am inside, and the subject's action was away from me.

That sounds so frustrating. I felt my anger rising just reading about it. I have a difficult relative, and what has worked the best for me is: 1. Not to hope for a different kind of relationship 2. To try to respond inwardly with a chuckle and, "There she goes again" and file the story away to share with dh later 3. To have a set of stock phrases and responses for the difficult behavior. If I were in the situation you mentioned of discussing your father's health, it might go something like this. 1. I don't expect to share deeply personal stories with this person, so I will only share the barest details: Father is doing better, or Father is not doing so well. 2. When she goes off on her tangents, I simply disconnect from the conversation and give myself permission to picture Tahitian beaches instead. 3. When she interrupts me with wrong information, I cheerfully speak over her, "No, that's not true." No need to say what is true because (see point 1). If I sense FIL really does want to know the story, I say cheerfully to him, "I'll have to tell you the rest later." This is just what works *for me* and keeps me sane. Not saying it's the best solution!

Wow, I'm impressed. I will strive to make my northern garden as lush and beautiful as yours. :)

I know someone who does the same thing, and it used to drive me crazy (still does a bit to be honest). I wonder if it's hard for these people to ask for help and so somehow they have to turn it into something nice that *they* are doing for you. Not, "Would you please make me a sandwich?" but "Do you want to make me a sandwich, because I can make that happen for you!!"

Ours are in the front yard, which is large, sunny and south-facing. Our back yard (small, shady, and north) would not work at all. We have lived in a big city neighborhood and a small town neighborhood and the protocol in both is the same: do what you want on your own property as long as you follow city codes. So no chickens at our house (though oddly we could have when we lived in the big city) and no shoulder-high weeds or broken down cars, etc. Personally I love to see yards with personality -- flower gardens, vegetable gardens, rock gardens, colorful paint, artwork, anything. I don't really care for the monotonous look of most suburbs. Lady Marmalade, how long is your growing season? That is a beautiful garden!

When she checked the luggage, what airport did she check it to? I have been on trips where I was able to check luggage all the way to my final destination, even if it was several legs of travel. Sometimes, the luggage will get there before the traveler does. I have been on other trips where I had to pick up my luggage and recheck it.

I don't know about other folks, but what bothers me is the fork scraping on the plate during the meal, not scraping afterward. Some people don't seem to control their utensils well and make a lot of clinking/scraping noises which are very annoying.

THIS TOO. *shiver*

People walking around while eating. It actually makes me feel very anxious and even nauseated. I don't know why. In our family, we always sit down to eat. Dh was never one to wander around eating anyway, so we just raised ds the same way. You put your food on a plate, you sit down at the table, then you eat. But sometimes we have house guests who wander around the kitchen eating a bowl of cereal (or even worse AT THE SINK). UUUUGGGHH. I can't stand it. I usually find some excuse why I need to leave the kitchen and come back later after they are done.

That's a great idea. I would never want to be part of a group text that's for "updates" like the OP describes. I like email and facebook for that kind of thing -- I can check it when I want to. I use texts only for immediate communication. But if you can turn off the notifications for that thread and just check at your leisure, that seems perfect.