@melvin123 I don’t all the spots that might have low COVID but some thoughts:
Niagara Falls area?
West of Cleveland/Lake Erie area (NOT Put-In-Bay) but other lake communities.
Hocking Hills area, Ohio (amazing state park and more country!)
Unfortunately (?) Ohio is your middle base I suppose.
@1214mom H’s birthday is also this week. His big present? Masks and a face shield and he’s seen them all as they arrived. And our big outing is dropping off comics at a comic shop in the big city. He asked if we could pick up some cheesecake from the Cheescake Factory and I said sure because I had nothing planned/ordered at all yet.
Of course, I’m not the best gift giver. One Xmas he got a toaster and a frying pan. 
I’ll admit I was never a big fan of the Sinner’s Alley thread (which is fine). I’m not a drinker (nothing against it, I just don’t) and a lot of the posts seemed to be of the nature of beverage of the day/hour.
At this time, any distraction from COVID can’t be all bad. 
Just make sure other threads DO get started too and that you post on other threads as well! My opinion!
@ClassicMom98, is it a big one for your H? Normally we don’t do “big” gifts, but for 0 birthdays we tend to do trips. I will be 60 in 2 years, so my best guess is we will do a combined big trip for each other at that point.
My husband mentioned ice cream cake, but we don’t have enough room in the freezer. Not sure what I’ll do about that.
The excitement in my life right now is trying to figure out how to disguise 120’ of ugly chain link fence for my S’s backyard wedding on the 8th! This had to be the year my neighbors decided to take out all, and I mean ALL of their trees so I can now see through 4 yards and nothing but that ugly, old black chain link fence separating our lots. They told us they got caught in a permitting hole when the shutdown happened here in NY. (Yes, our town has draconian permitting requirements, even for trees!
I have yards of tulle and faux ivy strands…cakes I can decorate…fences, not so much!! Never planned to add event designer to my repertoire!
@melvin123, what about Granville, Ohio? Home to Denison University, it’s a quaint community. Might be worth looking at? Or Marietta, Ohio? Beautiful historic area. I grew up in SE Ohio so am familiar with Hocking Hills too - just depends what you feel like doing!
My first thought was to cover with silk :, maybe have a design painted on it. Or a scene. Hang the entire length of the fence. Frame it in greens. Make it look as if it was meant to be there. This is something I learned building our house. If it looks on purpose then no one notices. AND do not discuss with anyone. Don’t bring attention to it.
Coconut Matcha bubble tea was just what I needed this morning.
Totally respect your opinion, but that thread, all 670 pgs of it, while it did have its virtual toasts and glass clinking in the virtual bar, it has some of the funniest, cleverest, wittiest banter that makes this community (especially the parents cafe) what it is. The contests, the pet marmots, the witticisms, etc was what this thread is recreating. They are big shoes to fill, IMO.
Love this random thread! I discovered my Face Shape yesterday. Amazing what you can learn online these days.
I spent way too many hours “trying on” new eyeglasses online. Even texted with a friend across the country and got her opinions.
No decision yet, but have narrowed down to just a couple of shapes of glasses for my Pear-shaped face.
Do you know what shape your face is? I did not know until yesterday, and it took me awhile to figure out.
Had a close call with supply chain issues with my daily disposable contact lenses. They turned out to be back-ordered, which has NEVER happened! I was able to get a bunch of samples (not back-ordered), but I was getting nervous. I did the no-no of reusing each pair a 2nd day, and with 2 weeks to spare, the 3 month supply showed up!
@MomofWildChild, do your contacts happen to be multi-focal? If so, can you read without reading glasses?
I will only wear single day lenses (had a serious eye disease in my 20s from extended wear). Problem for me is I can’t read very well with the multi-focals. Now that I think of it, I may not have tried this particular prescription at work, but I know I can’t read small type on menus, for example.
@1214mom They are for astigmatism and I have monovision lenses (one near eye, one distance). I don’t need reading glasses unless I’m in a really low light level. I had retina surgery in 2015 and my vision in low light with that eye is terrible.
Ah - thanks for letting me know.
I need to go back to eye doc soon - I’m going to ask if they’ve made much progress with multi-focal lately. I think my last prescription for contacts is years old at this point. I really only wear them “socially.”
Thanks for the many threads you initiate, @abasket, which surely helps keep CC chugging along.
@melvin123 How about the Finger Lakes in upstate NY? They’re slightly over 10 hours from Chicago and a shorter 4-5 hour drive from NYC. Normally I would like Niagara Falls, but the best view is from the Canadian side and that’s not an option unless you’re dual citizens.
Did you start this one?? I am lost.
@1214mom , I wear one distance contact and one multifocal. It has worked fairly well for about ten years. I have started to need reading glasses in low light. My choice for reading is to take my contacts out and just hold the book <8” from my face. ?.
@MomofWildChild , I was told that my contacts were back ordered as well but they showed up last week. I wonder if your daily wear lenses and my 4week lenses are actually coming off the same production line?
Any quilters here?
I’m finishing my 7th quilt since April. (They’re all smaller quilts–baby or lap size.) I started by making 2 flannel baby for D1 who’s expecting twins and just kept on going from there. The quilt I’m binding right now is a scrappy pattern made up from all the leftover pieces from the original baby quilts. Besides those 7, I have 3 partially quilted lap quilts and 2 finished, but unquilted tops I’m working on.
My next project will be to finally make the “adult nap quilt” my brother had asked for as a Christmas present.
^^ I took a quilting class years ago but didn’t keep up with it. I sort of have an aversion to sewing machines. I have enjoyed hand quilting in the past.