We live in a mostly warm climate and we have never owned a dryer. Our laundry air-dries on clothes drying racks. In winter they do fill up the living room for a few days at a time. We could probably live without a dishwasher and the cost of running it, but its a luxury I appreciate having. The ice-machine is another! We fill it with purified water, so there is a cost beyond the power.

I could see that working. This sounds like the opposite of what we term a Granny Flat.

I've been watching programs on Tiny Houses on HGTV. Do you know of anyone who lives in a Tiny Home for real? How is that working out for them?

We have been married for 25 years and still have separate accounts, although each has access to the other's. Our assets are owned 50:50. I worked part time when the kids were little and now earn about half of Dh's income. Over the years he paid for the big stuff like mortgages, cars and investments from his salary and I paid for the household and kid's expenses. He is very frugal and to this day I am happy that he never has to see some of my splurges and then how I save on the groceries to recover!!. My sister married a few years ago and they have a blended family. They didn't have any fixed assets and only retirement savings in their own name, and they have kept those separate. They each paid for the larger expenses for their own (now mostly grown) kids such as school fees, extra curriculum activities, clothing, allowances, ect as the terms of their divorce agreements differ. She specifically did not want to feel that either was 'sponsoring' the other's kids as she saw that really affect the relationship of a friend. The standard of living of the kids was fairly similar, so that hasn't been an issue. They are married out of community of property and not liable for the other's debts. The bond is in her name, but each contributes to the bond and household expenses in a joint account. She says as long as he contributes the agreed amount, she does not care how he runs his business because that would have stressed her out otherwise.

Incrediblely happy for you and your Dh Saraha!

My thoughts are with you, (((Saraha and family)))

This. There was a notorious bully who was my senior (but not line manager) and he once started yelling at me in a meeting with other senior people because I disagreed with him on a particular proposal and started telling him why. Raising his voice was a tactic he used a lot and it seems his colleagues had got used to and let him get away with it. I just sat and stared at him as if I was watching the spectacle of the century. Once he was done, I continued giving him a quizzical look, waited at least 5 seconds and then said, "as I was saying..". He never yelled where I was nearby again. I just think to myself, "you're no relation of mine and I don't care how you behave". Don't engage in his game. If he's doing this to the children, I would escalate.

Laughing emoji at the irony, but sad for you too.

We live in South Africa and it's www.rovos.com. We're looking at the Pretoria to Vicoria Falls journey and will stay on to enjoy Zimbabwe. It has been a lifelong dream to do it, but we could never justify the cost.

We've always saved for "one day". With dh's health issues (which aren't yet over an recovery will be long), we've realised how important it is to enjoy the moment. Splurge!

Well....It was this past December and I sat next to DH's bedside in high care in hospital while he was delirius. During a more lucid moment around that time he told me that he loved me 95% of the time. I pried a bit and asked him about the other 5% and he answered that then I really annoy him (in more flowery language)!! He had major surgery to cut out oesophagal cancer and has been in hospital for 10 weeks due to a string of complications. We are going to use the dread disease insurance payout to go on a luxury train trip with dear friends.

Oh, and then there's the That one went here as well! And our sheep's brain dissection for science. We had a 'history club' and a 'science club' with friends where we rotated presenting the lessons of the week. My one friend was big on the gory stuff.

We have those too!! Ours is a softcover set printed in 1993. We also have a softcover Young Scientist set from 1994! Both sets are in pristine condition. They were on a fantastic special and I bought them for DD's first birthday in 1999. My mother in law thought I was completely crazy, and I reckoned Dd wouldn't remember what she got for her first birthday.

....the bin of Story of the World 1 crafts that we did more than 15 years ago! We've got a large chest containing 50-pocket display files for each year of homeschooling as well. Originally created for potential audits by the Department of Education, I just can't bring myself to throw those out either - the kids will have to do it themselves! All of our old curriculum has been sold or donated. We also have a few bins of quality picture and read-aloud books. I'm so sentimental about those. What are the things you are hanging on to?

Big big hugs to you Laura4321. It never becomes easier, you just get more used to the hole in your heart.

Yup, we still fed punch cards on a mainframe! PC's became available in a computer laboratory in my final year of university. Only the most affluent students had their own. We had to book time. In my first job, we also had shared computers. The first cellphones that looked like bricks also became available around that time. Film to digital cameras were a revolution! At my wedding we had disposable film cameras. Chatgpt has been amazing to produce essay outlines for the Advanced Certificate program in Financial Coaching that I've just completed!!

Congratulations on your birthday!

The most important thing for me is that whatever is there is current and up to date. Rather have too little, than out of date information on the website and on social media,

I love this idea. Foodies have a good deal in common to keep the conversation flowing! My sister belongs to a "round the world" dinner club. There are 12 members in the group that meet on the last Saturday of each month. Some are couples and others single (she's a widow). A member of the club hosts and provides the main dish. Then two others do a starter and a dessert each. Own drinks as some are teetotalers. They choose a different type of cuisine every month. There may be acquaintances whom you think might enjoy this and the opportunityto get to know each other better. You could start with a smaller group. I have an acquaintance who grew up in Hong Kong and has a Chinese mother and English father. She hosts a pop-up restaurant offering Asian food at her home. Hers is now a business after she got divorced, and she bought her new house specifically with this in mind as she hosts once per week at least, but when she started it was a creative outlet and for fun. At that time she only charged for ingredients. She has 'regulars' with whom she has become good friends. Conversation over dinner allows one to get to know others. It took a long time for it to happen, but I've made a good friend through book club. We started meeting for coffee and having heart to heart chats. Our club meets once per month and we have one founding member who hogs the conversation and holds court, so that hindered a lot of one-on-one interaction.

Non Destructive Testing of materials is also a good field if you're prepared to travel. There are different specialisations such as weld testing, allow castings, aeronautics, etc. One can take courses here for just one specialisation and grow from there, or also diploma courses that cover more than one testing specialisation.

You really have been through the wringer. I'm so sorry for the loss of your friend and for the unsettling situation for your children and for all the house worries and car stress on top of it. Wishing you a totally uneventful remainder of 2024.

We had to do this as well. They check that passports and visas (in our case) are in place too. We also print paper copies as back-up for local flights, car rentals, hotel bookings, etc.

This is very good news! I hope they work well together.

Do you have any access to trauma debriefing with a counsellor? It is good to process feelings within 24-48 hours of a traumatic event and useful to do so with someone with whom you do not have an emotional connection. Here we an organisation called Lifeline where well-trained volunteer lay counsellors do this - you can make an appointment for a walk-in session. They will refer if they need to. ETA: I may be using the wrong terminology. We have psychologists and registered counsellors here, but the word lay counsellor is also used.

Just before his release from Victor Verster prison, Nelson Mandela was treated in a State Hospital. My boyfriend's father at the time was his attending surgeon. They had a complete security protocol in place for how he would be brought into the facility, which routes would be taken, guards stationed at doors, vetted personnel, etc. All staff had to stay in the unit until his treatment was complete. Back in the day there were no cellphones, but all telephones were unplugged. He left very late at night, to be taken back to prison, and still told his guards to wait so that he could greet each and every one of the staff and thank them for working late and missing time with their families!