[Kilt sighting……in church]

One of our Walmart Pickup Guys routinely wears a kilt.  👍

[Bake Sale items]

I make cupcakes & the frosting ahead of time, & pipe the frosting at the last minute.

Walmart sells inexpensive cupcake boxes, which makes it easy to transport.

[Tinnitus/Hearing loss from Covid Vaccine?]

Zombie Thread

 

[Help me brainstorm a small gift for a teen I don't know?]

I would google "creative ways to give gift cards" & you may find a method that meets your limitations!

We give cash gifts creatively to our kids -- it's part of the fun. 

[Photo storage (physical copies)- boxes vs albums]

Photo Storage was one of my big projects when our Nest emptied.
I did scan all the photos in my photo albums, then reinserted them back into the photo albums.

I love having them both digitally and physically.

If I didn't have them in photo albums already, I would likely use photo boxes--so much easier to sort.

Here's a blog post about organizing photos. 
Link = How To Organize Photos & Negatives To Preserve Your Memories (home-storage-solutions-101.com)

 

[World Cup]

Our kids' 2nd cousin is playing goalie for the Japanese Team!  We're excited!

[Stocking stuffers that are actually affordable]

2 hours ago, EmilyGF said:

I always put a container of Pringles in every stocking.

This is what I do---it makes the stocking stand up. 
Honestly, I ask my young adult kids what kind of candy they like, & spend $5. 
They only are gifted candy on their birthday & at Cmas.
Put an orange or apple in the bottom, and some quarters. 
(For us, stockings are fun, but not a big spendy part of Cmas morning.)

[Happy birthday to President Garfield (11/19)]

Thank you, @Terabith, for another insightful summary!  I love these.  

[Is there a nationwide shortage of chicken? Or just more locally?]

I shop at Walmart, and their usual Walmart brand of frozen chicken breasts is been out for 6 months.  They have an odd off-label brand now, but they truly had ZERO frozen chicken breasts for months.

I paid nearly $6 a pound for FROZEN chicken breasts yesterday.
Thankfully, we're a low-meat-usage couple.

But the irony is that we're in a relatively rural area in western Kentucky, with a HUGE chicken processing plant 10 min from our house.
There are all kinds of chicken farms nearby.
They're just apparently not selling their chicken locally?!?

[Pre-Make Thanksgiving?]

I'm not a cook, but if hosting, I feel like the host family gets to choose how the food is prepared.
You can do most of those recipes ahead of time, & reheat in the crockpot. 

We've absolutely done the turkey the day beforehand.
I would be snarky right back to any complainers--- "we're ALL coming to your house next year!"
 

[Mad at Duolingo's new "improvement"]

1000% totally disappointed in the "improvement".
I've had it for 2 days.  I can't do what I usually do.
Plus the whole new graphic design looks like it's for a 7 year old (like Candyland?).

I miss the Stories.  I miss determining where I am, and where I'm going.

 

[8 billion people]

Avoiding the discussion above . . .
FYI = here's a Live Counter.
https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/

[gifts for hospital?]

Also, you could sneak in some homemade goodies, or have some local specialty store deliver some treats.
(Yes, it's breaking the rules, but it would make him smile.)

[Thanks]

Taking a Rabbit Trail = "sentimental-and-lower-cost" rather than Homemade.
If it's for the Grandkids, our strategy is to shop on Ebay for a (nice-but-used) toy our kids enjoyed at that age.

Fisher-Price, Duplo, beloved books, Matchbox cars.
My husband just finished rehabbing our dd's old bike, to gift to our granddd.
We repainted her old doll's bed, & sewed matching doll/girl fleece throws.

Highly sentimental, but lower cost.
 

[Anyone into making their own ice cream? Need some advice]

Adding = I make a vanilla frozen custard type ice cream all the time.
My MIL taught me, & said to slowly blend the eggs (on low for 3 min or so)--don't "whip" them into the mixture.

Also, my family is a huge fan of PB/Choc flavor, & always wish there was more PB flavor.

Great way to surprise him, but I definitely would start it early & let it firm up in the freezer a bit.

[POLL: What size guest book for wedding? Photos with white space for notes/signatures. Please advise.]

You may find that the guests sign smaller, to fit within the 8x10 space.
If I was signing it, I would not do a "John Hancock" (huge signature) if it was an 8x10 space.
I think this is a great idea.

Or just use a conventional guest book & scan the pages into the photo book.

 

[UPDATE: 8mm to digital converter?]

My brother converted my dad's onto VHS back in 1993.  I did VHS to DVD, then DVD to Mp4.  Honestly, it really is worth the effort (if you remember the events).

 

[AP tests - pros and cons?]

It depends on the student's goals.
Not all AP tests and/or CLEPs are accepted and/or awarded credit.
Some AP tests are very difficult---more difficult than the gen ed taken at a Community College.

We skipped APs due to the single-date pressure to perform.
APs can also give the top-tier university evidence that the homeschooler is able to handle college pressure.

[Do your older teens or young adults use a desk?]

Zombie Thread. 

[Happy birthday to Warren Harding (11/2)]

IMO, the nation was very fortunate that Calvin Coolidge succeeded him.  👍

[S/O Young people and work - what is your minimum wage?]

KY is the federal rate too.  But our COL is also low compared to larger cities. 
 

[place mat recommendations please]

Our outside-the-box solution:  we had a thick piece of glass cut the size of our dining room table.
(35 years of messy kids eating on my grandma's dining room table = fantastic. )

But yes, placemats are easy to sew, fun to DIY creatively, and likely lots of free ideas on The Internet.
I used quilted fabric on one side, & made them reversible. 
We also use vintage souvenir plastic placemats, of favorite locals, and  woven (colonial style?) navy/cream placemats.

I also made sentimental ones using large/pieced cardstock & photos, laminated between 2 large pieces of clear contact paper.

 

[I am looking for a housekeeping organizer]

Rabbit Trail:  I love watching Youtubes for motivation . . . but in reality I just focus on the WORST area of the house, not a schedule.

Fly Lady has all those cycles divided into a workable way.
Also Secret Slob on youtube has a great daily chart for adapted Fly Lady chores.

 

[Happy birthday to John Adams!]

His wife's letters are a great read. 

I'm thinking SWB would help you publish this!  😉

Competitive until the end, JA's final words were "TJ still survives" . . . but in reality TJ had died 5 hours earlier.

[Not-so-scary movies for Halloween]

Wait until Dark (1967) with Audrey Hepburn
Or an M Night movie:  Signs, Unbreakable, Sixth Sense (some gore).
Indian Jones (some gore).

My dh wants to watch Stranger Things with me on Monday....

I hate horror movies, but enjoy suspense.