No essay for me either. I just submitted my grades/transcript and SAT score to the only uni I wanted to go to and got in. It didn't used to be complicated at all, at least in California.

We are all fully boosted and travelled to several countries in Europe over the holidays, including both huge and intimate events plus of course public transport; we did catch a cold but not Covid. I saw very very few people masking anywhere, including ourselves. For anyone keeping track, DH and I both had the Pfizer; I'm not sure what DS got since he was boosted in Ireland.

To download a show, just go into whatever streaming app it's on (say, Netflix), and hit the down arrow next to each episode he wants to download. They only take a few seconds. Then the shows are on his device in case you lose internet as well as power.

I like using battery operated twinkly lights when the power is out. They are cozy and the light helps things feel more "normal". If you're on well water or septic, have plans ready. Do you have a secondary heat source?

It's more work and $ for most companies to take back incorrectly shipped items. Keep the soap guilt free, the matter is closed.

If you have a gas stove, there's really no prep necessary. I insist we will always have a gas stove in our climate (Northern New England) for food security; we lose power *a lot* and it totally reduces my anxiety knowing we can make coffee and cook almost anything (other than baking) on the stove. Prepping soup is always great, but as long as you have gas you're okay.

Same. But I have to admit I'm a bit nervous for the next one this weekend. It's crazy we have flooding in January! 😳

This is so cool! Can you share where it is? Nevermind--suspicion confirmed ✅ 🙂

The coast took a major beating. Houses swept away, buildings flooded, roadways under feet of seawater. Photos are all off the Maine subreddit. Mods, if they aren't ok to post please lmk and I'll remove them right away. Shown: a light at Pemaquid, a cabin that floated to the mainland in Owl's Head from the island in the background, a restaurant in Georgetown

The photos are wild, so many places we are all familiar with and love destroyed and washed away. 😞 Our house isn't directly on water so we're fine (lost power, of course), but I'm thinking of everyone on more vulnerable properties. Is everyone okay? More snow and rain coming on Saturday; this is one weird winter!

We have had more cardinals the past couple years than we used to. I love them so much! And actually, we didn’t have bluebirds at our feeder (though they lived in the fields) until maybe 3-4 winters ago and now we have them year round. We used to have nesting woodpeckers but I haven’t seen many the last couple years. We used to get lots (several varieties). I miss them and hope it’s just a fluke they’ve not been in our yard as frequently.

we have this one: https://www.target.com/p/cuisinart-air-fryer-toaster-oven-stainless-steel-ctoa-122/-/A-88956563

Where do they go, do you know? I ask because we have bluebirds all year and they are extra prolific at my feeders in winter, and I live much farther north of you. Maybe they migrate north, usually? I truly have no idea. But they are so beautiful in the winter landscape! Our loons are still on the open lakes, instead of having moved onto the coastal waters. It's not often that lakes aren't frozen by now.

We just replaced our old air fryer with this type and I love it! Ours is silent, to the point that we can't tell it's actually running (though maybe dogs can, idk; our kitties don't seem to notice), whereas the other kind was SO LOUD it drove me crazy. The oven style is so much more versatile, too. I'm sorry your pups are suffering, OP. I hope you can find something that works!

Nope, no way. This is a definite toss, sorry.

We use Signal to chat with DS. There are no fees/costs. Otherwise we just call as usual. Country codes are still used. edit: Signal is a free, encrypted texting app. When we call him we can opt to do video or not. It's what we use for everyday texting

DH just shoveled the driveway and said we have at least a foot already, and it's still coming down. It's going to be a mess if it really warms up and rains later this week!

We mostly ate a combination of German and Southern foods, reflective of my parents' upbringings. My mom took a lot of "ethnic" cooking classes so we also enjoyed whatever she was learning about--lots of Chinese, Moroccan (inspired by a trip to Morocco), Turkish (same), Mexican etc. My dad enjoyed cooking a variety of Southern dishes from his childhood; he's a terrific cook and baker. There was a hefty amount of '70s American food in there too, like Hamburger Helper and weird casseroles, but also non traditional things like cow tongue and steak tartar. My parents didn't shy away from anything, lol.

Same! Packing cubes are awesome, for all the reasons. I'll never go back.

It's coming our way tonight. We are due for around a foot tomorrow, and then a big rainstorm on Wednesday. Gross!

Thanks! Is there anything else to know or look for?

Does anyone have experience with keyless entry/codes? We had a mishap involving keys and our sweet cat sitter (not her fault, and kitties were hungry but fine) and have decided to change out our bolt system, but have never used the keyless kind before. And advice? The front door is protected from ice by a storm door. We don’t want Wi-Fi or “smart” entry.

Just a cold for us, but we are overseas and want to do all the things, yet feel draggy instead. I spent an entire day in the hotel missing out, but it was the best decision. Yesterday we all took a Big Nap all afternoon before forcing ourselves out for the NYE festivities. DH felt pretty miserable but it was sooo worth it, even if we don’t recover as quickly as usual from staying out late. Hope everyone is/soon to be on the rebound, and that no one has anything serious.

Well darn, I find them to be such a treat. We never had them growing up in California (though my dad ate a lot in the south). In fact there are some in my bag of nuts I'm currently mindlessly munching on. I guess I should stop now. 😳

Weird. I love Brazil nuts, definitely eat more than that. As do my parents--they buy those huge bags from Costco and regularly eat them by the handful. Yum. Not that I don't believe you, but do you have sources for them being unhealthy?