Time to find some new friends while you're in classes. Do you know anyone local who's into those classes? Sorry it happened this way, but really-- sounds like more hardships than friendship. Enjoy your freedom and have a great time!

That's what craft fairs are for. ;) No one needs to know where the handmade item really came from. lol

Not along the lines you were thinking, but how about a small journal or such with memories of times shared, perhaps photos, and a note of gratitude on how they've added to your life, things they've shared with you or taught you. My folks always love this kind of stuff. Us girls and our grown kids (okay--my sister built the book after we all sent our input) put together a photo book of their/our lives together for their 60th anniversary with lots of single liners from growing up with them, lines we associated with them that all our family recognized. They have always loved the mushy' thank you for teaching me whatever as I was growing up' notes/letters over the years, too.

My last one, dd, graduates this year. She just ordered her announcement/invites last night, tho she did FB invites a few weeks ago. Need to get those in the mail pronto! She only had one day in June available for the party, so that's the date of our open house. Tradition for us is a pig roast and lots of sides. Dh reserved the grill months ago, so we're good to go there. I've been searching for my food list the last couple days. Wouldn't you know I saw it recently but apparently didn't put it in a safe place! Lots of cleaning to do-- we serve out of one garage and use the second for indoor seating. One way to get that done. lol All her friends are graduating through with 2 yr degrees from the local colleges, so that leaves her without a graduation ceremony. She wanted to stay in the home school group til the end like her brothers, plus she was busy with soccer, basketball, ballet and New Wine. Our homeschool group gave her a table to put pictures and momentos on at the closing night, so she was pleased with that.

We had a maximum number of guests everyone could invite. Added to that were a couple per family and I was pretty close the year I was in charge of that. Had some leftover.

We ended up at the Hopsewee Plantation and then the Rice Museum in Georgetown. We also did Fort Sumtner in Charleston, and ate some fantastic seafood. We did do some mini golf and the Pirate dinner show, too. Drove into NC to check it off the list. hehe. Also,check out the menu at Blueberry's Grill which is open just for breakfast and lunch. We will probably go again sometime. Thanks for the options I'll keep on the list. :)

Headed to Charleston for history today!

We love historical stuff best. Thinking Georgetown and some plantation tour. Besides mini golf. The Pirate show could be fun. Any favorite restaurants in the area?

Any must see sites or attractions there we don’t want to miss? Thanks

My dd was just 17 when she became an aunt, and I was 60. I"m glad my ds and his wife didn't wait to have kids, but he was 24, too. They'll figure it out. my mil was too old to ever have our kids overnight when they were young, so she missed out on any time alone with them in the early years. glad i will get that time as dil asks. :) Just enjoy.

All the big 0s starting with 40. 50, and 60. Oh my. How did I get here?? What's left? Luckily my parents both have some longlived family members- 90 and 102, so I shouldn't need to feel I'm near the end. :)

We recommend peppermint oil on a cottonball near air conditioner, and I know people put them in cars and campers in storage, too. Mice hate peppermint.

My oldest loved Scouts and stayed with it to the end even tho he missed Eagle because he didn't finish a badge by the next cut after first class. I wanted second ds to stick with it, but he fought me on it, so I just made him go to the volunteer projects (good for him to do). He ended up playing jr/sr high school football with these same boys he never bonded with in 8th grade. They all went Eagle, and several years later he asked why I didn't make him stick with Scouts. He finished first class right near the end, wishing he'd gone the long haul. Just a thought.

How about registering at Amazon or another online site? That way her address could already be set up as the delivery address, and she could still be registered for everyone's ease of shopping?

How awful. Praying for her and the family.

Last time I fed a crowd of teens I made a couple pans of of beef/bean enchiladas and a crockpot of spanish rice. Cheap and easy, and gone in a flash. ;)

We set up for someone to shovel for my folks last year, with us kids paying. We were trying to get her to stop doing her own shoveling at 78yo. We knew they wouldn't consider it at necessity to pay for, and tried to make it a gift. She would call him and say she'd do it herself and stop him from coming and doing the job most of the time. She didn't want us to have the expense, and he didn't do it the way she liked it, and she wanted to keep doing it to keep her strength up. So what are we adult kids supposed to do?!

I know I have old veggies and fruit downstairs in the freezer. Kind of quit cooking there for a while and haven't had the time to get it cleaned out. It's on the list...

Praying.

For a while I used to pick up a new Christmas CD every year. Narrowed my pile a couple years ago to the best ones. :) I also try to read one or two Christmas novels.

The apple brandy skillet cake in the second link looks scrumptious and easy!

When we were kids that's what the stockings from the Moose or VFW were filled with.

Little Pet Shop sounds like a winner to me. Is there a computer game about a vet center or an aquarium? A trip to an aquarium? I once bought a beautiful book, written and illustrated by a homeschooler, with beautiful ocean fish- one for every letter of the alphabet. National Geographic has some hand sized books about animals of the woodlands, birds, hawks, etc. or just a book about various fish? Perhaps there's a few of those that would give her ideas in stocking her aquarium? A real aquarium or perhaps there's a board game about fish?

Gift cards for fast food, movies, gasoline. Jerky, food items he loves that you don't normally buy. (In my house it's Jif peanut butter, pop tarts and Fruit Loops). Sci-fi paperback, geeky t-shirt, shave cream, razors, etc. Thumb drives, portable charger, etc.

Well a few gift cards for nice restaurants could be used later together. Mani/pedi gift card? Some sort of spa treatment? Someone to deep clean the house once or once a month, or do whatever tasks you don't like? Boy, if you could find someone to come in and fix healthy meals for a week, that would be nice! But who?