missypie, My sister has done that for years in terms of buying 2 tickets for her city’s Broadway Series. She has always found someone that wants to go with her (sometimes it’s me if I happen to be in town-have seen Once, Beautiful, and Bridges of Madison County in the last couple of years with her ). Many times, the person who goes with her buys dinner beforehand (although she certainly does not ask them to do so). It has worked out well.
Just to add- my sister also has had a subscription to the symphony in her city for years, but that is for Sunday matinees. She only has one ticket for that and usually goes alone and that has also worked out fine for her (I’ve gone a couple of times with her if I happen to be in town and we just buy an additional ticket near her subscription seat). She seems more comfortable going alone to a matinee with the symphony than an evening performance with the Broadway Series.
FallGirl - I totally understand. H and I had no family near us either when the kids were growing up. i will say that we depended on each other a lot and probably made us closer.
GrandDog is doing better. Skin is much improved although still some dander I will check out the link kmc. May be that what I"m doing now won’t work. Still a month or so to go before I really know. He is better but I can still see some dander. I think they may have let it go way to long. He was sure happy to be home!
Took GS the water/sand table and that is all set up on their deck. GD received her clothes. Got flowers for DIL and for S a couple of gift cards to a takeout place that they like so that they can get some food if they don’t want to cook. That was Sat. Yesterday I took down a pasta dish for them and some homemade molasses cookies. That should last them a couple of days!
You are a great mom/MIL, RM!
I start my 5K training program tonight and am very excited. I know I can finish (I walk that far frequently) but am hoping to run more than walk. I have been doing some of my own pre-training.
MP- It is so unfortunate about the yoga studio’s near you. I am really lucky to have a wonderful studio 2 minutes from my house ( I timed it). People of all ages, races/ethnicities, body types, fitness levels, women and men practice there. The studio is locally owned by a lovely woman who makes a point to get to know everyone and make them feel welcome. Honestly I think this studio has spoiled me.
I bought a Groupon for another yoga studio. A very nice studio, but 20 minute + drive on a Saturday morning, meaning getting there after work at rush hour isn’t gonna happen. The class was quite tough but they offer a lot of classes.
RM, what a nice MIL and grandmother you are! So nice!
It’s very odd being the MOG. All the RSVPs and gifts are going to fiancé’s parent’s home, so they know who is coming and who is sending what, but H and I don’t. I need to call fiancé’s mom to get an update. It’s not that they are intentionally shutting me out. I certainly didn’t share RSVP and gift info with the groom’s family either time I got married…it didn’t occur to me and they didn’t ask.
missy…my girls kept track on an excel spreadsheet and then just sent it out with updates once a week. Easy to keep updated and so very helpful with thank yous! Perhaps they are doing this and could just send it to you.
I have no idea what gifts S and DIL received from our friends either when they married or when G’Son was born.
I think about it from time to time and the one time I asked they had no idea (the list was at home). I know they sent
thank you’s but that is all I know. Odd to me but I have had to let it go.
Like the spreadsheet idea --they were too young and did not have a formal wedding so there is that.
D has been with us for many months now and will be gone next week. One more month back in the fall and I do think that will be the last time she lives with us. Bitter sweet of course.
Waiting for a pool update. I found the information fascinating.
RM, nice gifts.
FG, hope you have great weather!
cq, belated congrats to your S!
We are bad examples of many things, but years later, we found a pile of thank you notes under our bed.
I’m eating dinner by my lonesome in Istanbul and thankful. I am being minded all week by people who want to take care of me and make sure I’m happy, but a little piece and quiet. I’ve had a bunch of interesting calls today – fascinating cosmetics industry challenge, an old Mexican client with new work, a company that wants to use our material for e-learning, and soon enough, a Canadian utility. Plus my hour of abs/glutes workout. For the next two days, my schedule is full with meetings with owners and/or senior execs of large Turkish companies and local country managers for a few big multinationals. My plan was to get work for my folks but not me. We’ll see if that works. They’d like me to come back in October. I don’t know if it will be settled down enough for ShawWife to want to come.
Take good care Shaw 
Oregon, its hard to tell the tale of the phosgoo life form I’ve created without pictures, but I’ll give it a shot
First off, Frankenpool turned out to have an even higher phosphate level than we’d originally calculated a few years back…it took h 10x dilution in the course of an hour with the highest ranging test kit avail for aquariums to get a reading of approx. 37,000 ppb!
In the mean time, I opened to a clear, clean pool with a FC (free chlorine) of 5.5 ppm. Heated the 47 degree water to 72 degrees so that the crazy volume of lanthanum chloride (commercial strength SeaKlear phosphate remover…2 whopping gallons) I would dose would actually interact/cause the phosphate reaction. By Sunday morning I was ready.
The second I added the remover, the pool turned to milkshakey-blue-white. Cool to watch, despite being the one responsible to clear that mess. I added some chitosan-based clarifier (natural product by Seaklear) to aid the process a little. Over time, and with sand filter running like a champ, much of the phosgoo had clumped to form a blanket of sorts on the bottom.
Yesterday, I vacuumed to waste twice (noon and after work) and got about 80% of said goo out. It took all day for my poor well to keep up on replenishing the water. Turned the filter back on last night, and will have another go today at lunch.
Surprises included the fact that the psi on the pump has only risen 6 points (in this case only, not supposed to backwash until 10 higher than clean pressure.) Second surprise was that my ph dropped rather dramatically, though I’m reluctant to add any washing soda at this point due to unknown reaction. I have an email into the mfg on this.
The exciting part will be to see what the next phosphate test produces, but I wanna have the floc completely removed and then have another day or so of filtering not to skew the test. Also have to conserve reagents in case it was only reduced to 50% or something. Technically, it should reduce by 36,000 ppb. Fingers crossed.
Apart from experimenting with rare earth minerals (which is what lanthanum is) other big fun this weekend included cleaning the concrete with my new Generac one wash pressure washer and rotary brush that nearly took the skin off my toes during an exuberant “look how it can hover like a flying saucer” moment plus wearing a sprayer backpack to treat the stone area that covers the drain built around the entire pool enclosure and cleaning out the terrace beds.
So by Monday morning I discovered I am no spring chicken and if I hope to manage this property in my golden years, i’d better start working out again Or adopt a kinetic refugee who also happens to be a Male nurse
KMC - they have robots that can serve drinks now. Maybe they will have a robot that can aid with tasks at home someday. I am hopeful because if there ever is one I will be in line for one the minute they are available.
I actually am starting to get back to the gym as the winter I was dismal about getting there. I just couldn’t manage to get up at 4:30 and brave the cold when a I didn’t want to get up because it meant that I would have to go to work! 
and b the bed was so warm and cozy.
kmc, lovely visuals. I feel like I am a kid reading an article in Scientific American.
Simply in awe at how little I understand!
Waving both hello and see ya later … we leave EARLY tomorrow morning for our trip to Asia. I managed to pull off the carry-on luggage challenge.
Congrats to RM and family on the new addition.
Good luck with the pool, kmc.
Have a wonderful time, CBBB! Safe travels!
Have a fabulous trip CBB! Sending the travel fairies your way for a wonderful trip with no problems or troubles! Enjoy!!!
So is this weird or normal? D1 is interviewing for a teaching position at a new school in her area, to start up this fall – and it doesn’t yet have a building. It’s a charter school that’s part of a (national?) network of schools that seems legitimate (there is a website for the school with all sorts of documents, applications to the state, budget, etc. posted). But here it is April, they open in August and no facility?
Charter schools are often pretty under-resourced. Never heard about one not having a building. Maybe a school in the Greek tradition – classes under a tree.
Went for a boat ride on the Bosphorus yesterday afternoon and had dinner on a restaurant on an island. Phenomenal view of the sunset.
CCB - ENJOY!!! Sounds like quite the trip. I would NEVER pull off the carry on - even for 1 week to CA we both had checked bags and carry-ons. I just don’t pack light.
Zetesis - I get where you are coming from. That would make me nervous as well.
DIL posted a couple of photos of GS and GD on Facebook last night. Yesterday GD was a week old.
Safe and happy travels, CBB.
Happy trails, CBB!
Z, are they a startup charter, or have they operated for some time in a borrowed space? I actually know of a small, classical Ed (trivium) charter that shares space in an unrelated church and their staff seem happy, smart, and long-term. I am hopeful this means they put the tuition money into their people instead of bricks and mortar
Enjoy the trip, CBB.
Heading to Toronto for the first Seder (just landed in London) and then to Boston for the 60th birthday party of a BF of ShawWife (not sure if there is a seder too). She and her H are ShawD and ShawSon’s godparents (at least they are among them) and ShawD will be at their house for the first night and will stay over. They love her and don’t have much of a relationship with ShawSon. For some reason, the father loves girls and ignores boys and despite the fact that ShawSon is gifted in the field he got his PhD in, he doesn’t talk to ShawSon.
Not sure if he is going to a seder. I think he was invited, but I kind of doubt it. But, you never know.
I am feeling a little weary of traveling after 3 weeks on the road. I have two weeks at before another week in Europe. In between, I shudder to think that I may also go to NY, Mexico City and Calgary (with the latter the least likely as the client just is so busy that they can’t plan meetings in advance well).