We moved from Hawaii to the Norfolk area last summer and have been adjusting to the cold. We're getting our coldest weather now. We've rediscovered the blessing of warm outerwear and hot chocolate when we come in from the cold! Have your DH bring some heavy "traction" with him in the car. My sister always gets big bags of dog food and/or cracked corn for wildlife and carries them in her trunk. The extra weight in the trunk helps w/ traction and if she gets stuck in the snow, she can use the corn/kibble for traction on the road and not feel guilty about littering because the local wildlife will appreciate the snack she leaves behind. ITA with the suggestions for taking sleeping bag/food in the car for the drive. Better to be prepared an not need the supplies, than to be left in a jam.

Okay, I've finished watching the episode. We recorded it, and it took us 2 nights to watch it because DH has to get to bed early so he can get to work while it's still dark in the AM. My prediction is that this season will be like a 70 hour version of the show "24", w/ them trying to gather everyone up to get them back to the island. Gotta say that Hurley showed some smarts (or at least I thing his choice was smart) when he ran outside. Nice to have you back Remudamom! I've been absent recently, too. 2 kids both shareboarding horses... we spend a lot of time at the barn.

We bought a drop-leaf Ikea table about 19 years ago, and have moved it 8 times! It was our dining table until we got something more "posh", then it became my sewing/craft table. It's still really sturdy and in great shape other than where dh, in a moment of genius, drilled a hole in it while trying to show the kids how to drill a hole in a piece of wood he'd laid on top the table!:confused: When we needed a classroom table we didn't hesitate to go to Ikea. We found another birch drop-leaf table, but this one has 3 drawers on each side of the middle (main) section of the table. That gives dds plenty of storage for pencils, rulers, markers, and some books.

Yankee Candle.com When it was looking like my order wouldn't arrive in time for gift-giving, they sent me another shipment, express, at their cost... no hassles, just wonderful, friendly service.

What qualifies as SW Virginia? And how are the housing costs in that area?

We took a trip back to the mainland this fall and drove from Seattle to near Sacramento. There were parts of both Washington and Oregon that interested me. But as one pp asked, we are interested in being at least close enough to a military base to allow for once a month commissary shopping, etc.

:grouphug: You have my sympathy and also my thanks for giving him a loving home and the support that he deserved. Pets are a gift... sometimes we only have them for a short time, but they touch us all the same and leave us with a little more depth in our hearts.

Yeah, we have friends who live in SE Virginia and while they'd love for us to live close to them, neither DH nor I can see ourselves being comfortable in that area.

We have a longer-haired dog. How do roombas do w/ that kind of hair?

:lol: my dad used to work developing paper pulp... as a kid we hated drives down south because Dad would suddenly stick his nose in air saying "I think I smell a pulp mill!" and we occasionally had to take a detour to determine precisely whose pulp mill it was! Those things stink in a major way! But hey, my sisters and I can all pick out the odor of a pulp mill from miles away now! ( And steer clear!):D

As I mentioned in my "Worst Place" posting, dh is nearing retirement from the military and we still have no real idea where we would like to live. We know a few places that wouldn't suit us, but no place that would be a truly good candidate. I'll post our basic criteria and perhaps some of you can make a few suggestions for us. 1. A change of seasons (preferably w/ some snow, but not buried under it!) 2. I don't want to be constantly dealing w/ small-minded, bigotted people. A poster on the "Worst Places" thread summed it up perfectly for me... I, too, am driven to tears by some of the cutting, heartless things people say/do to/about each other. 3. Decent COL... 4. Access to horses, we'd love to have some land, but I'd prefer to board the horses at a nice facility for the first few years. We ride English, and after living in So.Cal, I know that I need to have green pastures for them. 5. DH's work is pretty flexible, govt contracting, or perhaps a logistics-type job. He'll probably go to freelancing in a couple years. I will be returning to teaching (elementary) in a year or two, so anywhere there are schools I should do okay. So our work doesn't tie us down to one location too much. 5. Adequate shopping/library/restaurants within 20 +/- minutes. We are curious about the Charlottesville area of VA, but seeing as we are currently living in HI, there is little chance to explore. And all we know of Charlottesville is from a trip to Greenbriar and DH having been offered a job nearby. Being USMC, we have lived around the Quantico (DC) area several times and like it, although it is way to overbuilt for my long-term comfort. I'm guessing that we will need to be near a college town for my sanity and no more than 1-1 1/2 hours from a good-sized airport w/ International capabilities. Okay, so now that I've offered up my wish list is there anywhere in the US that might suit our wants/needs?

Bowling Green, OH... weirdest year of my life, I think... when we moved cross country a few years ago, DH insisted on swinging through BG just so he could see why I dislike it so much! Flat, boring, and oh, did I mention that some local kids decided to go out joyriding, taking potshots at co-eds w/ BB guns?! I was one of their targets. After that year, I decided to go to school in Philly, where, while it definitely has it's run-down neighborhoods, at least I would be expecting the need to be watchful. And yes, I agree w/ the pp about Philly, too, so my preferring Philly to Bowling Green might give you an idea of just how much I dislike BG!

Okay, I gotta admit that while we try to pay off the balance every month, I haven't been as good as I'd like the past 3 months. Our interest rate has also increased and I'm in a quandry... I like using the card and getting the cash back, but if I can't get my act together and pay on time, then the interest more than cancels-out any cash back. It's not that I'm really buying stuff I can't afford, I just find myself being postponing making the payment. So there is a part of me that recognizes my current lack of discipline and resents the bank hiking my rate. That side of me says "get out the scissors!' The other part of me wants to give myself another shot at making the payments on time and getting the. cash back.:confused:

We should be moving back next summer. I hope to be pleasantly shocked by the lower costs. I keep cautioning dds that winter on the east coast will be VERY different from here in Hawaii where they are riding in t-shirts and at most are complaining about the rain! One day I was wondering where I picked up the habit of really "cuddling" w/ the horses as I groom. Then my sister reminded me that all through HS and college I was working at barns in the NJ winter where the only source of warmth was the horse!