It definitely seems like you and this mom have drawn hard lines in the sand. I don't disagree with you, Mercy. I do wonder why you are pursuing this play date, though. I also don't think it's too much to ask. Does the kid have allergies or Covid? How are you supposed to know? You're not psychic. I would skip the playdates with this family.

Gently, this child has been sending up red flags about not being ready to go away to college for quite some time. Make a plan for a "gap year" and keep him at home. He can take local community college classes or get a job or volunteer. Or do school online. But he really does not seem ready to live away from home yet.

Vermont Country Store is my favorite for sheets.

Super Duper Publications has some great "fun decks" on idioms, metaphors and similes, and famous words and proverbs.

I am in a state with rising numbers but if it's a need, it's a need. I think it would be fine.

Can't things stay the way they are now? I would think that oldest would feel like she has no place at home anymore if you give away her room. Are you wanting her to leave as soon as possible? No judgment, but those are my thoughts.

Nearby beach (prior to Hurricane Hanna) (those tables are gone now): Backyard visitor awhile back:

Nevermind. I think I'm just sad today a little bit. Thanks for your thoughts!

Gently, your first commitment is to your family. Your first God-given ministry is your family. Are you doing right by them in this situation? What are the consequences to your family of this decision? And are you putting this Sunday School commitment above your obligation to your family? Food for thought.

Okay. Thanks for the reality check. It is indoors, so I guess that's a no. Thanks, everyone! I appreciate it. I have lost objectivity at this point, living in the midst.

If my beginners yoga class only has 6 people in it, all masked, do you think that is reasonably safe and that I can go? I have taken many weeks off as our cases spiked, but I am really wanting to go. We are currently at about 250 new cases per day in my county. I don't want to be unsafe but I think it would give me such a mental (and physical) boost. Thoughts?

One of each. You get a king size bed in a room all to yourself. DD and wheelchair bound hubby are in king handicapped room. The others are in the third suite. If this is a vacation, let yourself have this. That's a lot to manage.

Mine was Hurricane Hanna and a power outage. We knew it (Hanna and the power outage) was coming. It's just so stinking hot. So hot. So very very hot. Thank goodness they got the power back on last night at 9pm. We did lose most of our food in the side by side, but the chest freezer was good. And the a/c came on beautifully and cooled the house down pretty fast.

Frog would allow for some neat jumping and tumbling, I would think, as part of the nature of the character.

I'm not terribly worried at the moment. Most of dd's classes have gone online, and I expect even the "blended" and "face to face" classes will probably go online (her face to face summer class met in person the first week and has been online since then because two of the girls in the class had family members that got exposed or something. It has just stayed online since then). Dd is very careful about masking and hand sanitizer, and her school is being very appropriately paranoid. She needs to be taking classes, for mental health as much as continuing her education. She lives at home and commutes so living situation is not an issue of concern.

Apple here. Empire waisted dresses are more flattering. Like this: https://www.landsend.com/products/womens-elbow-sleeve-knee-length-fit-and-flare-dress---floral/id_335376?attributes=10179,43307,43324,44256,44959 Or this: https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/122071?page=women-s-summer-knit-dress-short-sleeve-print&bc=12-27-506213&feat=506213-GN3&csp=f&pos=2 If you are short-waisted, LL Bean has good pants and jeans for that (although I confess they are more of an 80s high waist which I prefer being an 80s girl).

Walmart does class rings (and I got mine there back in the day). It's the snake that will be problematic. I didn't see any on Walmart's options. Jostens has a dragon, but no snake that I could see. You'll have to do some heavy googling.

A kit from Timberdoodle? https://timberdoodle.com/collections/curriculum-kits/products/2020-eighth-grade-curriculum-kit

Same. Two of my dd's fall classes had gone online. The rest were Face to Face. Now, the school quietly changed them to "Blended" and only the Chem Lab is Face to Face. She is also currently taking a summer class that was supposed to be Face to Face. It was for the first week, then they moved to online (there were only 8 kids in the class).

My dd did a semester of Astronomy and a semester of Paleontology. They were really fun! (Home grown classes)

Bcp helped me with many of my symptoms. I'm allowed to take them until age 55. And I'm going to.

praying

praying

If a Catholic resource is acceptable to you, I liked Seton Books Composition for Young Catholics. It is mostly on research papers. https://setonbooks.com/english/1456-composition-for-young-catholics-key-in-book.html

1. Depends 2. No. I actually would like that. My dd likes to be a big fish in a little pond.