On a similar note, our PBS station showed "Eva's Promise" (2022), which is now available on their Passport streaming. (I was unable to watch it at the exact time it was broadcast, unfortunately.) I've screenshot a photo and synopsis. (On the way to Auschwitz, Eva's brother told her that he'd hidden his artwork.)

There are lots of Youtubers who demonstrate cheap, healthy meal prep. I like Frugal Fit Mom. Here's one where she shops for the food at Dollar Tree. Dollar General has frozen veggies, other helpful items (in a pinch), and a robust Generic brand! I'd also suggest Breakfast for Dinner, Taco Salad, & Soup.

Zombie Thread!

I gave them to a friend with rising high schoolers. My stuff had been "used", so it wasn't really sale-able. (I still use the scale for food!)

Mom's Night Out (2014) The 6 Hour Version of Pride and Prejudice (of course) 😉

Zombie Thread!

Yep. My dh was a 4 until he rolled his car on the way to work (35 years ago), successfully avoiding a car that pulled out of a side road. The guy he would have T-boned had recently lost his daughter in a car accident. He instantly became a 2.5. Totally agreeing that he is a great driver, & I've just learned to (silently) hold onto the car door handle to brace myself as needed.

Surplus Eclipse Glasses can be mailed to this address, by Aug. 1: Eclipse Glasses USA PO Box 50571 Provo, UT 84605 They'll get them to children in Hawaii & Latin America for October's Eclipse. https://www.westkentuckystar.com/News/State/Donate-your-eclipse-glasses-to-kids-in-Latin-Ameri

E) Just retire. As you said, it's hard to decide to leave your career . . . but these job changes you are facing are an easy sign that it's time to retire. My 63yo dh retired 6 months ago, and we are absolutely thankful we are able to enjoy this time together without immediate health problems. (We're living frugally, & getting our house fixed up so we can sell/downsize/move to our kids' hometown.) If I was in your shoes, I would quickly realize that NO paycheck was worth having to go into work on a Monday morning while my dh had the day free. 😉 There's a common pressure to "work another year" because it will make you more financial secure. However, it's just as easy to guess (like @prairiewindmomma just said) that you'll regret giving this company the healthiest year of your life . . . to deal with some huge stressful changes/assignments. If you're thinking about retiring, you need to start doing your homework, set up a budget plan (if you don't already have one) & learn about the rules surrounding your government's retirement programs, health care, etc. This research eliminated a lot of the uncertainty for us.

Agreeing that experiencing the Totality was a lifetime memory. Our grandkids will be 25yo for the 2044 one! We drove about an hour from our house, & were able to avoid the horrid exiting traffic. We were in our favorite Southern Illinois state park, sitting near folks from MS, WS, GA, MN, AL, Chicago . . . and a family who lives 2 miles away from us!

Here's a (user-made) Google Map with the Eclipse Path, but you're able to zoom into a specific area. https://www.besselianelements.com/path-of-the-2024-april-8th-total-solar-eclipse/ The NWS Cloud Forecast was just updated (see pic): https://www.weather.gov/bou/2024SolarEclipse

Over the years, I just buy more fitted bottom sheets at Walmart. They're not sold in sets. I never matched sheets for the kids, & in fact, took lots of sentimental sheets from my parents' house when we emptied it.

Adding the NASA Eclipse Explorer, which gives fairly detailed statistics at every Zip Code in the Eclipse Path, including the time of each phase, temp, rain & cloud forecasts. https://eclipse-explorer.smce.nasa.gov/ ETA: It's showing cloudy in the Northeast, so I don't know if we should believe NWS or NASA!

FWIW, here's the NWS website's Cloud Predictions: https://www.weather.gov/bou/2024SolarEclipse It's updated several times a day.

Paducah (roughly 1:45+ of totality) is hosting a Downtown Eclipse Festival, near the Riverfront. It will be well attended. The McCracken County Library is hosting an Eclipse Watch on their lawn, which may be a smaller crowd. The patch of grass is about 100 ft x 100 ft there. The challenge is that there are only 2 bridges from Paducah across the Ohio River, north into southern Illinois (where the Totality is up to 4 minutes). The main bridge is on Interstate 24, and has 2 lanes each direction. The Brookport Bridge (the backup bridge) is a beautiful 1929 Blue Truss Bridge, with only 1 lane in either direction. Legend is that you can drop a soda can down between the gaps in the trusses. In reality, it is totally safe, but it's not for the faint-of-heart. You are driving on the steel trusses, not asphalt (photo). My guess is there will be a big backup on Interstate 24 as you drive past Paducah and seek to enter Southern Illinois. Totality at Carbondale is about 4 minutes. I'm local & happy to answer questions. Today our local Walmart only had about 50 eclipse sunglasses left, so I'd plan to bring your own, if you can! Link to "X Marks the Spot" Eclipse Festival Info (Paducah has totality in both 2017 & 2024) = https://www.paducah.travel/event/x-marks-the-spot%3a-total-eclipse-festival/34424/

Four of our kids, 2 grandkids, a brother, and 11 of one kids' friends are coming to our not-quite-totality home. We had totality in 2017, and it was brief, but memorable. It's worth making a SMALL trip. Yes, there will be traffic. But hopefully not Clouds! Here's the U.S. Navy Website, showing length of totality at any location (you provide Longitude/Latitude, which you can google): https://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/SolarEclipses

Did no one prank their kids this morning, for April Fools Day?

Series of Unfortunate Events! 😉

Our son thought the Lt Commander Nella Darren was a single episode character. Wow. The actress Wendy Hughes died 10 years ago, at age 61.

Our son said Ensign Ro, like @TechWife's dh.

I've posted this question to our Family Chat, & I'll pass along their replies.😉

Have a great trip! (You can always buy something you need!)

If you're just using the suitcases once (even one way on your trip), I would consider shopping at Goodwill. There are OTHERS who have donated/decluttered their seldom-used gigantic suitcases! Youtubers like Minimal Mom and Dana K White say re-purchasing the VERY few items you regret is actually a cheap tradeoff for having a more organized house. (Trying to commiserate/encourage you. I'm thrilled for your upcoming trip.)

Maybe another option would be to file amended tax returns! ETA: (And make sure your student includes the out-of-pocket essential educational items they bought, for the Education Credits.)