I have the most boring dreams ever, so I think I'd lose any friendships I had if I told them. I will often dream about going through an entire day of work or going grocery shopping. The worst is when you have what feels like an 8 hour work dream just to wake up and realize you have to go live it!

@knitgrl's video is spot on. 🤦‍♀️ Vermont is way too white - I think we're slowly seeing an increase in diversity, but it's really slow. @Carol in Cal.'s comment about the seasons changing suddenly is so spot on. We're living it now. On Tuesday, we woke up and suddenly the leaves are changing. Monday- everything green. Tuesday - leaves changing. Next week we are going to be closing in on 80 some days and I wouldn't be surprised if we get a frost the following week. Wood stoves are a bit less common - I mean, they're everywhere but for most people I know, they're not the main source of heat. We have oil here, there is natural gas now up near Burlington and lots of people use propane for heat. Highway signs are often in French and English: "Bienvenue a Montpelier" greets you as you're driving to Montpelier. Some restaurants have poutine on the menu, especially newer, craft beer types of places. That's about it for French influences. (although poutine is not a bad one!) As @jen3kids put it, Vermont people are terrible at pronouncing French words and names. If you meet someone with the last name, DuBois, they will most likely pronounce it "du boyz." The town, Barre is pronounced "Barry."

Here's our forecast - no snow for a week at least!! 🤣 The best part is no humidity!

I'm here! I live in Central VT and have lived in Burlington as well. Happy to answer any questions. One of the things I like is a little thing - no highway billboards. It's jarring when I go to other states now, and the roads have advertising everywhere. I had to get used to life being slightly less convenient than when I lived in southern New England. Depending on where you live, there may not be a Starbucks or most of the chain restaurants/stores. I know the "right" answer is: "I love shopping local for everything," but honestly, sometimes I just want to go to Target, get a Starbucks, and shop while drinking a darn coffee. VT is an interesting mix of very liberal and very conservative - often in the same town/neighborhood. I think we're probably known for Bernie Sanders and Ben and Jerry's, but our governor is a moderate Republican, and there are many who think he's a radical leftist. I'm not a person who likes to strike up random political conversations, but if I were, I'd be navigating a minefield because I'd have a 50/50 chance of someone wanting to argue with me here. Weather is getting more temperate - we've been here 20 years, and in the past few years, winters are ending earlier, which is nice. But summer is hotter and more humid - less nice for me. The main natural disaster to worry about is flooding and VT got hit hard this summer. Let me know if I can answer any specifics!

I feel like the ground turkey plastic cover is often ballooned out a little like that. I'd probably give it the sniff test and be fine with it as long as it smelled fine.

Oh this is wonderful news! I am glad you are mending and close enough to see family! I've been keeping you in my thoughts and reading all of the updates. ❤️

It used to be 2 days, sometimes overnight. Over the past few years, delivery has gotten slower and is regularly closer to a week. I used to order on a Saturday and delivery would be Monday. I just looked - anything I order right now will be delivered on Thursday. I haven't moved. It's annoying, but I use Kindle unlimited all the time so I'll keep prime because the money I save on books makes it worth it.

I promise I left my room. 😁 I believe the issues with the school I attended may have been a combination of extremely prevalent Greek life - almost everyone rushed- and the wealthiness of many of the students that attended. I received a generous scholarship that paid for almost my entire tuition, but many many kids were from very wealthy families. Wednesday-Saturday nights were all about parties everywhere - many of them in the frat houses. Every weekend, some drunk idiot would pull a fire alarm in one of the dorms, and we'd have to stand outside in the middle of the night waiting on the fire department. Monday morning class conversations would be about how many different people each student hooked up with over the weekend. It was gross. I believe they've cracked down a little bit on the partying based on my googling, but it's still known as a party school. I was the first in my family to go to college and there wasn't much of an internet in 1995, so I was unaware of the reputation of the school prior to attending.

I pulled VT State University and University of Vermont's room and board fees. They seem reasonable. There's no way you can get an apartment in Burlington for anywhere near that price. My friend living in a crappy 3rd floor 1 bedroom in rural central vermont pays $1200/month before utilities.

That's good to hear - the LAC I attended for my freshman year was only about partying. Almost every night, if you weren't at one of the frats, you were sitting alone in your dorm. I tried to find things to do, but there really wasn't much. I made one friend who didn't want to get blackout drunk and hook up with random people every night, but that was it. And that was all we had in common, so it wasn't a friendship that stuck. I transferred to a small state school in my home state and commuted, and had a much better experience. I played tennis, helped at the radio station, and got a job. My experience at the LAC (mid-90s) was pretty common based on my high school friends' experiences, too.

YES!!!! I am SO happy for you guys!! 🥳🥳 Congratulations!!

Slightly underhanded, but is there someone in the community with more social power than Other Person that DS could reach out to for support? He could phrase his request in a way where he's asking for this person's help in managing a tricky social situation, but in the process, they'd see what's really going on and possibly be in a better position to shut down Other Person? I've done that in tricky work situations. For example, if a colleague is asking for something inappropriate or pressuring me, I've gone to another colleague who I know has the boss's ear and said, "I have this sticky situation, and I'm not entirely sure the best way to handle it, can you help?" Then, helpful colleague went to boss to shut down the inappropriate colleague. Or, colleague with more clout can shut down colleagues with less clout. I'm trying to come up with an actual situation I've used this type of tactic, but I'm drawing a blank right now.

I agree that retirement is super important, but it's also often a lot easier to get a job when you have a job. So, don't necessarily look at the first job you take as a permanent one. If I remember correctly, you haven't had many full-time positions as an employee for a company in your career (forgive me if I'm wrong), so securing one and holding that job for a year or so may put you into a better position to make your next move. $15/hr isn't great, but it's a lot more than the minimum wage in your state, I think? If that's the position you get, you're not settling necessarily; you are building your resume while earning. Hope that made sense!

Eddie Bauer has Trail Tight leggings that are super comfy and they have tall sizes. Don't pay full price - they are regularly on sale for 40-50% off.

I love this idea and I may steal it for our staff this year. Last year we did a "Thanksgiving Madness Tournament" and had a huge bracket in the cafeteria narrowing down best thanksgiving sides over the course of a week or so. I love the idea of a cookie bracket that people can taste test and vote on during a staff meeting!

My friend gives her dog Dramamine for car trips because he gets car sick too. Her vet recommended it and she says it works well. She pops one (or half a pill, I can't remember) into a bit of cheese and he gobbles it up and then he's fine in the car. As a human who gets carsick, I can verify that Dramamine is great!

I like any bathroom that allows for privacy - I hate stalls that are open at the top and bottom. I'm very happy that the schools I work in all have single bathrooms, so I don't need to pee next to someone.

I've always lived in states that have self-serve, but we do have some full-serve stations still. The one near my house has the same prices as self-serve, and they will also clean your windshield, refill windshield wiper fluid and check oil and tire pressure. So I can pump my own just fine, but, especially on cold days, it's nice to go to a full-serve station!

Ugh, I'm so sorry! I've found it helpful both with DS and students in my school to discuss different social scenarios and "sneaky" ways kids can be less than kind. I explain that it's often because those students are insecure and are looking to make others feel insecure as well. I also talk a lot about circles of trust. I start with a small circle and go through the people in my life - the people in my inner circle are very small, my husband and my aunt. Those are the people I can trust with anything in my heart. Then I make a slightly bigger circle around that - that's where my immediate family and best friend live. I trust them with almost everything, but maybe not 100% of everything. I draw a bigger circle, which is where my close friends are, and explain that here is where I can get a little guarded. Then an even bigger circle- this is where acquaintances are, including most of the people in your classes. I don't word it like this to the kids, but this is the circle where you don't give anyone psychological ammunition to use against you. I talk about how, in a new school, while you're getting the lay of the land, it can be helpful to think of yourself as an observer first. Watch people, only make polite small talk for a bit. Make sure they're all in that outer circle until they start to earn your trust bit by bit. Sometimes it helps. I hope she has a good day tomorrow!

@Ginevra- I apologize for assuming ill intent in your question. I'm overtired getting ready for the school year and just spent the morning in my school cohort discussing equity in schools, and I am probably being oversensitive right now.

Because you don't speak the same language? Or because you made up the scenario for rage bait?

Have you asked them what they would like?

Yep - this. I can't remember the last time I was in a school or public place in VT that didn't have a gender neutral option. At the middle school I work at we just have bathrooms. They're all singles. Also, from my experience, the kids that describe themselves as gender fluid do not act the way you described at all.

Also, long-distance charges! I couldn't afford to call home too frequently.

Exactly. I was watching the board meeting online and DH was in the room. He was stunned and just yelled, "it's the WHOLE library!!!"