Thank you everyone again for your thoughtful comments. Many comments gave me some perspectives I had not considered. As far as my SIL's visits, they are not an issue for me. At least not an issue, that I am willing to alienate her over. There would be no way to limit her visits without her being hurt beyond belief. (If she had stayed mad at me for losing my temper, I was willing to let the relationship go, rather than grovel, but since she apologized, all is okay as far as I am concerned). I don't think we are enabling her as she is who she is. If we changed our response to her, it would just hurt her--it wouldn't make her suddenly realize that she is the one with the problem. My motto as far as many things in life is to never fight a losing battle--its just a waste of energy. If I can't change someone or something, then I find a way to change me so that I can be happy with it. I only have control over myself and my reactions. We have a very open door policy as far as guests, and we often have overnight guests. BIL stays with us at least once a month for a few days as he has clients in our area. When he first moved to USA, he stayed with us for several months. As mentioned, SIL is here regularly. My sisters and family often stay in the summer as we have a pool and are close to the beach. And on a weekly basis, I host a playdate with sometimes as many as 15 kids and moms. SIL can be a PITA, but most of the time (minus times where cake is involved LOL) I can tolerate her just fine---although after the cake debacle, my tolerance for her is lower. She does make some very rude comments about our house and the guest room, but my husband just tells her that if she doesn't like it, to go stay with their parents, and that normally shuts her up. I just go about my normal life even when she is here--that is why it never occurred to me to specifically plan my daughter's party when she is not here. She has been here numerous times for my older daughter's party as well, as it falls around MLK Day, so she makes the trip up as her daughter is out of school. Anyway, now that you all know more than you ever wanted about my relationship with my SIL, I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Glad to hear so many others wear flats-- whether because they like them or they have to. Someone asked up above if my shoes need to be flat flat-- they don't.. but the most important thing is that my foot feels secure.. and that it IS secure. Especially for this event where there will be a lonnnng hike in uneven grass to the event location (it's across a long field and up a hill). almost all the dresses I current have that are dressy enough have either ruffles or a flounce like this. Trust me, I've tried them-- flats do NOT look great with this style. I have a number of them because they balance out my wide shoulders and broad hips and I think look very flattering.. but alas, they just don't work with the shoes I am stuck with. I did receive the first dress I ordered above and while I very much dislike the dress (the pattern and the quality), the dress actually does look good with flats.. so the good news is I now I have a style to look for. JT.. that's adorable but the skirt is too full for my ample bottom and hips. Thanks for looking for me!

Thank you sooooooooo much, Lynn! I'm so glad that you enjoyed your trip, and love the photos you've shared! (How nice that you got to meet Charley Pride!) I'm glad you liked Rebecca's and hope we get a chance to try it this next time around. At the very least, I want to go into the Lodge and have a look around in the common area. We just did a quick drive-by on our last visit, but looks like there is definitely a good deal to get out and take a gander at! We aren't golfers, but the course does indeed look stunning. Just seeing all of those beautiful trees gets me excited for our upcoming trip. And your photos of cute little Cloudcroft also makes me eager to be there again. There's not a lot there, but we managed to make a few stops to go to various stores, including a mad dash to the outdoors outfitter when my boot laces broke! We will be spending two weeks there again (as last year), staying about 5 miles east of Cloudcroft in a small private community. It's so peaceful there -- the kind of place where one quickly falls into a slower pace and simply takes the time to enjoy the beauty of the surroundings. Here are a few photos of the cabin we're returning to, having learned it's almost always full of other Texans who consider it an easy drive and a place worth traveling to. Note the elk! They come down from the mountain every morning before dawn and again at dusk and snuffle around just outside the cabin. The rainbow pic was taken from the upstairs deck, and the interior pic is of the little cozy living room, which opens to an adjacent dining space and kitchen with island/bar. I love it here so much. On the morning of our departure last year, I stood on the deck and cried like a baby. I am so happy to be going back again ... it'll be a bit like returning "home." Love that you also encountered elk, and how cool that you saw bobcats! We did a lot of hiking in the Lincoln National Forest / Sacramento Mountains, and saw very clear evidence of recent bear activity, but thankfully no bear sightings. I don't really WANT to see one in the wild. I'm not quite that adventurous. ;-)

We are mostly concerned about Covid and other more garden variety colds and flu. I do like meeting new people but can see how repeating oneself three times a day could get old quickly. Njmomma, it’s going to be far too cold for sundresses and sandals for me with evening temps around 57…. brrrr! Maddie, I’m worried about the internet, DH won’t survive without it. We both read several newspapers online every day and he still reads medical journals. I am looking for a LONG show series to download onto what will have to be my new ipad bc my current old one is officially out of memory.