I would love to find socks that my boys wouldn’t just destroy in short order.

Even back in the 90s i knew a girl who was well off, and her grandmother bought her clothes all the time. She rarely wore things more than once. So there are people out there skewing the average, and probably more of them now, since fast fashion has really ramped up. what i can’t believe is the clothing that only lasts ten wears. Like, if I bought something and absolutely hated it, I would still probably get ten wears out of it before passing it on or making rags out of it. Years ago I had a couple of Walmart tees get little holes after only a few washes. That was basically the end of Walmart clothes for me. I still wore them, I was just annoyed by the little holes. But I buy mostly secondhand clothes, and I repair my clothes (and my husband’s, and my kids’). I think if more people had basic sewing skills, they could get more out of their clothes. I had a roommate in college who got really upset when a button popped off of her nice wool pea coat. She was amazed that I could just sew it back on. I was amazed that she couldn’t.

And not just a pawn. They are deliberately keeping her from seeing a granddaughter she clearly loves, during a time of precarious health. This is so needlessly cruel, not only to popmom but to her grandmother as well.

Really? I know exactly how I would feel. Completely disgusted! I hate mice, I do not want them in my house, dead or alive. (And yet, mice in illustrations, like the mouse hole stickers, can look adorable.)

That’s really cute! I love making kids quilts with fun novelty fabrics. And what a deal on fabric!

I do the same thing, hopping from hobby to hobby. 16 years ago I started quilting a lot, was serious about it for five or six years, then got busy with kids and dropped it except for occasional gifts. Then I knitted for a bit (which I had done a lot of several years before). I did some bookbinding for awhile. I hardly ever get rid of hobby supplies because I always find back to them sooner or later. I’ve started quilting a lot again, and it’s nice that I already have books, templates, quilting gloves, a walking foot and free motion quilting for my machine, everything I need, including a whole lot of fabric. I really over bought on fabric back then. I too also have a partly finished quilt ( two actually) from years ago that Id like to get done. But the lure of new projects is strong.

Well, I guess mostly it’s black suit Anne white shirt. But that is exactly what they would wear to a funeral. About half, probably more, of the weddings I’ be been to, the groom doesn’t wear as tux, just a nice suit jacket with jeans. And if DH pulls out the suit jacket he wore at our wedding, people tease him about going to a funeral.

I Didn’t, but my slightly older cousins did, and I played with theirs. i bought one a few years ago for my daughter with updated styles, and there was a version with superheroes with different masks and outfits and stuff more aimed towards boys.

Can I just say, why is it tradition that the groom wears black, but if guests wear black b it’s some weird sign of disapproval? This is one of those things that belongs on the cranky thread of things to do away with😡

Well, thanks for all the suggestions, everyone! I did go ahead and buy a blue and gray plaid skirt this morning, so I’m done overthinking that, at least. I’ve got lots of sweaters and tops to choose from to go with it, and I had been kind of wanting a plaid skirt anyway.

No, i just wish I could because I have a nice black dress and it would save a lot of trouble!

Yes, I was not going to run this by anyone except maybe DH. The bride is very busy and stressed, as well as super sweet, and she would say anything is fine. It’s more that I just want to avoid any unintentional offense/faux pa.

I am definitely not a single-use dress person. Whatever I get, it will be part of my future church/dressy wardrobe. It’s not a very formal wedding, just a dressier than denim wedding. That’s actually part of my dilemma , because a black or gray skirt would be most versatile for future use. i have one really nice black dress for funerals and a black sweater to go with it for winter funerals, and you have no idea how badly I wish I could wear it for this wedding. So much stupid thinking and shopping avoided! But as I wore it to MIL’s funeral, that would be a bad idea on multiple levels.

You’re hosting the meal, it’s your house. Do what works for you. If anyone doesn’t like it they can eat somewhere else on Thanksgiving. In my family, i can imagine my Dad giving me a hard time about it, and myself telling him to go somewhere else for dinner then, but all in good fun with no one getting upset. Nobody else would comment.

I am going to a winter wedding in December for a BIL. I am having a terrible time finding something I like, and I keep gravitating to things that are not black, but are like navy/midnight blue, or dark gray, or plaid skirts that have large amounts of black in them. I realize many people don’t care about black at weddings, and if think it’s as silly “rule ”, but the bride-to-be ‘s mother seems very invested in some wedding tradition things, so I feel like she is maybe not one of those people. Is dark blue okay? Is no black at all the thing, or just no all-black dress? i have never gone to a winter wedding. I would have no trouble at all with summer or spring , but in the fall and winter if I wear a “dress” it’s denim skirt + a sweater or a shirt with cardigan almost invariably and I feel like denim is just a little casual.

I can see the appeal of that. This was our hometown cemetery. There were people I knew in there!

Obviously whoever wrote that list is spoiled. I mean, the real list of worst places to go on a date (first or otherwise) should include the cemetery. I mean, not that it was the whole objective of the date (I think we went bowling first) but he was a carpenter and wanted to show me the gazebo he’d helped build. It was still weird.

Mine is male with an Australian accent. I changed it the first day I got the phone because it bugged me that the default for the “assistant “ voice was female.

When I’ve made shepherds pie ( but with beef, so actually Cottage pie?!?) it has no bottom crust, and mashed potatoes on top, no actual crust anywhere.

Thank you! You know, I really think if I can do it anyone can. My first quilt was quite different, and had unmatched seams and (unintentionally) wonky pieces galore. It really is practice over time that made the difference.

Last crafts of October for me, I think. I made two table runners for my soon-to-be sister-in-law’s bridal shower. Each is reversible. They took way longer than anticipated, so due to incompetence at time management, I was up very late last night finishing them for the shower today. Nordic Stars table runner, free pattern here. The other side, no pattern anywhere. I improv pieced it, and it was lots of fun. Used up a lot of scraps. This is the least “me” quilt I have ever made. I love all the bright colors. I have an almost physical disinclination to work with cream/white/tan neutrals like this, yet I love how it turned out. Christmas table topper. I made up the block pattern to use up charm squares. I wasn’t sure how I would orient the pieces, and so fiddling with that too a lot longer than anticipated. Reverse side of the Christmas topper. Quick and the most simple of all, but I like how it showcases the ornament fabric. i quilted them both with an all-over pattern that was simple and looked okay from either side.

Cute! I love all the color.

Our elementary is more easy-going than our high school. In elementary and jr. High a parent can call in an absence and have it excused. In high school, won’t be excused without a note from a doctor (or other corroborating evidence; my DD had to bring the funeral program from her grandmother’s funeral to have that absence excused, even though it’sa small town and everyone at school knew what happened and where she was. Several teachers were there.) I find this ridiculous. I don’t want to send a child who is contagious to school, but neither will I take my kids to the doctor for something that will likely be a one or two day illness. (Our insurance is not good; it won’t be a$40 copay, it will be at least $100 because I’ll end up paying the entire cost.) so when they’re sick I just have them take an unexcused absence. Luckily we haven’t been sick much high school started.

Also puzzles are risky. Sometimes they’re complete, sometimes 1/4 off the puzzle is missing and you don’t figure it out until you’re halfway through. So I’ll buy them if they’re a quarter or fifty cents, but not much more. I’ve had good luck buying used games, but I do it knowing that it will be a risk. Not as frustrating s as puzzles, though, because you figure it out before you play, so the time investment is less.

I try to avoid buying computers/phones/that sort of electronics used unless they are professionally refurbished. I think refurbished electronics are great, but I don’t know enough about computers to buy a used one that someone hasn’t gone over. I feel like there could be all kinds of things wrong with it, and I would be unable to do anything to fix it.