Mount Etna’s producing giant versions. https://wapo.st/4avbHXx (gifted)

I’m not committed to everything matching, and many of our sheets are white, so it wouldn’t occur to me that I needed to do anything with top sheets that are no longer part of a set. They get used just like they always have been, with sheets that look good with them.

First, I can relate. I’m sorry. Second, as this was a paid webinar, I would be tempted to send an email explaining the difficulties, on all levels , from the accommodations actually needed to the problems with the format for questions, to the organizers. Give them something to think about before they offer this again. Maybe they can do better next time, maybe they can wrestle with some of the problems families are facing. Maybe they’ll even offer a partial refund. Cold comfort, when you need actual information and help, but they need to understand that they didn’t do a great job.

I’ve made quince jelly, and used quinces in other jellies for the pectin content. Are your quinces the big ones? I don’t think I could use a tree’s worth of them, though I enjoyed having access to them when I did, years ago. Maybe offer some to neighbors?

I was wondering if she was bored, too. She sounds like she enjoys lots of drama.

I’d have a hard time with the election comment, especially. I think in the best possible world, I would want to ask leading questions and get them to think about their assumptions. I’d want to know if they’re basing their comments on actual issues like @regentrude mentioned, or if they’re making sweeping generalizations that don’t correspond to reality (neither candidate is at all better than the other? Really? Not being thrilled with the choices is one thing, but shirking a civic responsibility to make tough choices is another. Better is better.) In the real world, I don’t always have the time or energy for this. But my goal would be to have an actual conversation, assuming the young adult is interested and willing.

I’m so sorry. It’s hard, even when you know it’s the right decision.

We have an older generation ( my generation, but older by ten+ years) who all have nicknames which they use universally among themselves. Like a pp said, the nicknames came from childhood abbreviations, mispronunciations, and one intentionally-bestowed nickname. Our own kids haven’t really had nicknames. I did use a pet name for dd1 when she was tiny, but she strongly preferred her given name. Now she has fond associations with what I used to call her, but no one has used it as a nickname since she was maybe two years old.

There’s a thread on the Politics club. I haven’t had time to read the article yet.

Same here. Thinking of you and K, and hoping things are better.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/01/health/bird-flu-cattle-human.html?unlocked_article_code=1.hE0.O3bf.gR6ZJS1-Hvti&smid=url-share (Gifted)

Holding K and all of you in my thoughts

Can you talk to an emergency vet, preferably today? Get an informed opinion. The worst thing is waiting too long. I’m so sorry you’re facing this.

If the child’s presence in the organization endangers other children, I would be more inclined to alert the negligent organization leaders to how things should be done. It seems to me that the safety of the children is the highest priority. I sympathize with wanting the child to have due process, but if he needs to leave the organization, the departure needs to be done effectively.

This. It sounds like, to your dh, his family of origin is the primary unit, and you’re expected to fit into it, instead of you and your dh being the primary unit and determining together how to deal with the family of origin. Until this is addressed to the satisfaction of both you and your dh, problems will persist. The individual issues change, but the underlying dynamic persists. I’m not from a farming family. I can’t comment on how this works out in practice, but I have to think there are more and less successful, healthy variants of farm family relationships. My own response would be to insist on therapy, for myself alone if Dh wouldn’t agree to participate. It would not be a point on which I would budge. I would try to find someone with experience in the sort of extended family dynamics you’re dealing with, but that might be an impossible standard to meet, since finding anyone can be hard. Hopefully you’re in a region where this situation is fairly common, and that could make finding someone with experience easier. My goal would be to reorient my marriage to be the primary part of family life. The rest fits around the marriage, not the marriage around assorted other family.

I was reading about this in the newspaper. Thanks for sharing more information.

Fwiw, we’ve moved a bunch of boxes of books already, but we’re dealing with a much shorter distance than the OP, and an extended timeframe, so it’s easier in our situation. We have rented a U-Haul a couple of times for smaller or lighter furniture that we could handle fairly easily. The big, heavy stuff we’re mostly planning to leave for the movers, but we’re taking some of the more fragile, older, or more emotionally laden items ourselves. Our main book dilemma has been that we can move the boxes of books more easily than the bookcases, so now we have accumulations of books at the new house and no shelves for them. That may require another U-Haul trip at some point, possibly utilizing some help at each end of the trip. U-Haul does have an option to hire someone to help, but we’ve also found good people through local antique shops that have people who help with deliveries. They’re used to handling things carefully.

What do you mean here: that you personally wouldn’t move the books, preferring to have the movers carry them? Or that you wouldn’t bring them at all to the new house, because of weight or other factors? I can see that some might be cheaper to replace than to move, but others are well-nigh irreplaceable for us. Obviously ymmv.

You could add them to a compost pile, and then down the road put the compost in the soil.

So, this isn’t what OP asked, and is a bit off the wall, but throwing it out there anyway. For emergency situations, I’m toying with the idea of getting a wood stove which would permit some cooking, either just on top or in an oven. I’m sympathetic to the need for backup options: fairly concerned about having some redundancy, in fact. I think I prefer a wood stove precisely because it requires a bit more effort. We wouldn’t be using it as often, it wouldn’t be constantly leaking fumes, and it would cover both heating and cooking needs. Just another option.

I’ve been using a small induction cooktop for several years now. We had intended to do a major kitchen overhaul, drew up plans, talked to contractors… and then decided to buy another house instead, so I didn’t get my induction range as planned. It’s still planned to go into the new house, once we finish our move. So, that’s the background for me. The built-in cooktop I’ve used for years is a smooth-topped electric unit. It’s essentially never used now, unless I desperately need to use an extra unit while cooking a big meal. It’s slow and unresponsive, and cleaning it is a pain because everything burns on before I can remove it. I used a gas stove for about a year while I was in college, so thirty+ years ago now, and occasionally in vacation rentals: not much current experience. I love the induction unit. My favorite things are the responsiveness and the easy cleaning, which is largely due to the fact that the surface of the cooktop never gets terribly hot. The gas would have similar response to temperature changes, but not similar ease of cleaning. My dd who has her own living space now quickly requested a small induction cooktop for Christmas, after experiencing cooking on her own electric stove. But that’s not a comparison to a gas stove. I’m glad I don’t have to worry about gas leaks, which are an issue affecting air quality in homes with gas stoves. I’m glad our house just isn’t connected to gas at all: no fossil fuels, no sources of carbon monoxide. I’m glad cleaning is easy. I’m glad that the cooler burner means greater safety. I have rarely heard the vibration noises. Repositioning the pot seemed to help, but maybe I’m just not sensitive to the sound, or maybe my unit just doesn’t make the noise. No one else in the family has noticed noise. On low settings, yes, there is a pattern of heating briefly and then cooling briefly. It hasn’t affected my cooking: the low temperature is genuinely low. My impression is that some full sized induction cooktops don’t do that, but I would certainly ask about the specific models you’re considering. If you’re undecided, and you already have some pans that would work, try a portable induction burner for a while and see what you think. For an investment of roughly a hundred dollars, you can give it a try before you commit to a big expense. Finally, if you’re reluctant to give up gas but like the sound of induction, I’ve noticed there are some small, built-in induction cooktops with two or three burners. These are cheaper than the full sized ones by an order of magnitude, ranging from about $110-$250, so less of an investment to start, and cheaper to replace down the road. They could supplement a small gas stove, providing flexibility. I doubt the quality is as high as the best induction ranges, but probably the same is true for the small portable induction burners, which in my experience function quite well.

I’m so glad of that. Hope your dd isn’t very upset; an incident like that is bound to create a sense of vulnerability for the students.

Saw this in the news a little while ago. It’s terrible.

I’m so terribly sorry. I’ll be thinking of you.

What a beautiful baby! Thanks for sharing.