Lol, at your cat story, anneliese. I wonder how they know what they know. There is a vet office in our small shopping center and it is not unusual to see people with cat carries , where there are very loud noises coming from that carrier. Next door there is a Dog Wash shop, and we see dogs sort of slinking in, with their tail between their legs, heads down and looking totally miserable. Poor babies, they don't know what's good for them, they just know they don't like any of it.

Grazzie figfan.Era importante per me saperlo.Forse non hai fatto caso,ma io sto in Bulgaria.Se queste varieta hanno matturato da voi,alora sono ottimista.Dopo tutto,la mia pianta e ancora giovane e questo e il suo primo anno in terra.Estate era veramente caldissimo anche da noi...eppure settembre ed ottobre alcuni gradi sopra la media.Speriamo bene per l'inverno che viene...Grazie ancora ed "in boca al lupo"... pako

Good Evening/Morning Book junkies, I have not been around for a few days...thought I would check in on the book swap and happenings. Speaking of "Goodwill" and books.....I chuckle (just a little) when I think of a lovely, classy lady who had many books....many, many books. She kept them in boxes around her home. She always said that one day she would donate them. But for the time being they would stay put as she often would read them again. I offered to take them to Goodwill and she would always say no. In fact, she did not want anyone even looking through the boxes of books. Her husband got to the point that he could not stand it anymore....boxes of books everywhere. While his wife was gone one day, he took several of the large boxes of books to Goodwill for donation (yes, without telling her). When his wife returned home, she noticed that many of her beloved boxes of books were no longer "home". She became very upset and I mean very upset!!! She screamed and yelled and ranted and raved and called her husband every name in the book....I know because I was their. She was one pissed off woman. I did not blame her, especially after I heard why she was really so ticked off. Yes, she loved her romantic novels, mysteries, best sellers and biographies. But in her beloved books in so many boxes, she had hidden money to the sweet tune of $15,000. One book had $100, another book had $300, and so on. After she told her husband of the money that HE GAVE AWAY, I think he nearly died. He never touched one of her books again. To this day when I pick up a used book at a garage sale or donation facility, I page though it. You just never know what you might find in a book...a good mystery, lots of tears, laughter, romance and escape or.....a few bucks!!! Let me fetch the closest book. Page 56, sentence 5....... "Many pieces require highly intricate finishing touches and their tiniest details must be treated almost microscopiclly". Off to watch the news! Happy Wednesday! Annie previous 313 + 18 = 331 books

Still going through over 20 pgs of small-type print, but I wanted to drop in to clarify a couple of points really fast. 1) DD has no "problems" socially. She tells me often about how people react with disbelief at the fact that 1) she's really smart even though she wears mascara and straightens her hair (quiet laughter on my part here--such a HUGE change from last year!) and 2) she homeschooled up until last year, because she 'seems so normal' (makes her laugh every time). We learned through our years of homeschooling that stereotypes are powerful and can be powerfully misleading, and often say more about the person who's making the assumptions than they do about the person who's being stereotyped. She's made many people reconsider their stereotypes and pigeonholes. It's eerie how quickly and easily she slid into complete comfort at this mega-size school, but I give lots of credit not only to her but to the atmosphere the school creates - so far, people seem to fall over themselves to say sweet, supportive things to each other. She's got a wide circle of social friends and a good tight circle of close friends. She's got no fear at all, and is happy being id'd as a 'music nerd' since the music program at the school is big and high-profile. In fact, the one time some of the 'popular' girls tried to do a 'mean girls' thing to her in science class, she laughed at them and acted it right back at them (at least I did my homework preparing her by having her read all the 'Reviving Ophelia' and Queen Bee' -type books--thanks, Amy!!) so hilariously that they ended up inviting her to their table and have become good friends (I've seen it corroborated when I pick her up from things). Those aren't the kids she prefers to hang out with, but I mention it to show that she's got social skills that people may not associate with the stereotypical 'homeschooler'. Our world-learning wasn't stereotypical, either -- I hardly taught her anything, actually -- I was more like the concierge who found resources to facilitate her exploring her interests, and chauffeur to her various classes/activities. She's also comfortable being in advanced classes, has no problem with it, and she'll be doing AP classes next year and IB after that, and there are always options to take more advanced math at a local CC or state U. My only problem is that she's now letting the institution determine how curious she is about something--if she does enough to meet an assignment, she's done. No more investigating something for its own sake. It's *sad* to watch that really exciting drive in her life extinct itself (or more hopefully, go dormant). Which leads me to 2) A couple of years ago, I started volunteering solidly back in my field, and I'm gearing up to try to find paying work in it, albeit at a much lower level than before. I love what I do, I'm *thrilled* to be back in it, and I'm seriously not a stereotypical 'helicopter' mom. So not. Since she was about 10, I've actually tried not to be too involved, so she can have her own space in her activities. A somewhat extreme example: DD keeps asking me to be an orchestra-mum in the city orchestra she's in (you sit through all rehearsals and do volunteer work), but I just won't do it. The vast majority of those are stage-moms who make my skin crawl--the ones I think I talked about in another thread who seem to think that nonstop bragging is the highest form of conversation, and I don't want to be around them because they feel toxic to me. I want to relate to her orchestra in a positive way without all the drama. So I take her there and pick her up but don't prostrate myself before the altar of the conductor. We did arrange to have DH's company match our donation to this group, though -- the first time an employee had donated to the group at all, which is really strange, considering my DH's company's dominant position in the area. So we give in the way we feel most comfortable without hovering or pushing. I'll let moms who want to do that have the face time with the conductor. So I hope these further details maybe clarify some vaguenesses or misconceptions. I also hope you all know how unbelievably much your thoughts and support, and individual stories you've shared mean to me and my DH. He's reading the printout too and we'll have more specific thoughts later. The folks who come to this forum are gems, every one. And beyond that, the web is phenomenal, and not at all just a replacement for RL relationships; as you have pointed out, it offers opportunities and resources that RL just can't, sometimes. Anyway, I lerve you all : ) (oh, and the Greece thing -- I realize it may sound like she was sitting in a closet coming up with plans for the world, but it was actually for Model UN and is documented in her position papers as Greece's "Environmental Minister" (LOL) from last year. She actively participated in MUN with her resource center's team last year even though she was only an '8th grader', but this year at the huge/high school, MUN is overenrolled, so only Juniors and Seniors actually get to go to the event. There's an example of a very tangible difference in activities/involvements available to homeschoolers and to public schoolers...: ()