Yeah No

I've noticed that a lot of products are being discontinued or reformulated more rapidly lately and it's driving me crazy. They keep messing with products trying to find ones that sell better but in my opinion they're only alienating customers. I didn't know Aveeno made a soap for eczema. Good to know, thanks. I like the Dove bar soap for sensitive skin. It's fragrance free and very gentle. I use La Roche Posay Toleraine Hydrating Gentle Cleanser on my face. Not to be a nudge or anything but I found a few "vintage" Ivory soap bars for sale on Ebay Canada. Unfortunately, though, most of them are from the U.S. and the shipping can be high. But some are still reasonable.: https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_nkw=vintage+ivory+soap&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p4432023.m570.l1313

Speaking of sad, I can't get over Victor Willis claiming that the song and the band never had anything to do with celebrating gay culture in Greenwich Village in the '70s. That's because he's made so much money since Trump started using the song so now he says what Trump wants him to say. It's a real slap in the face to the gay community and a rewriting of history. As someone that witnessed that gay culture in the Village in the 1970s, I know that it's like denying that the sun came up this morning. Does he think no one is still alive that would know better? And then he's threatening to sue anyone that says otherwise too! Unbelievable! It's really just a cover band now with one original member capitalizing on the original band anyway. And still sad.

Oh that's probably like I would wear if I were a mom. I used to love it when Stacy and Clinton on "What not to Wear" would take a tired, hardworking mom and make her over to look fantastic. I have always liked fashion although now I pretty much stick to stuff that's practical and comfortable. Nothing too "fashionista" for me anymore, but I usually look put together. My mother and all the women in her family were seamstresses and my father's father's family were tailors. So I guess it runs on both sides of my family.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DEdN6z4PRrK/?hl=en

I agree and it's a shame, although I wasn't so wild about Brandon anyway. I do think he deserved to stay over some of the others, though. My husband isn't exactly ignorant about current comedians and the only one on this episode that he knew of was Judy Gold because she's been around forever. I agree with the others that the challenge to teach them was dumb and irrelevant but I guess that's entertainment. At this point I'm pulling for either Egypt or Hannah. Whit and Kyle are long past due to get off my screen. Kyle is smug and obnoxious and Whit is showing a bit of an attitude that doesn't go well with leading a kitchen.

Yup I'm fully versed in all the ways petite sizes differ from regular sizes. It used to be more consistent but now forget it. It depends on the brand and the cut of the style as to which fit me better. That's why I have to try on petite regular, petite short and regular short. Everything is so inconsistent these days that I have to in order to find something that fits. Petite short is even shorter than Petite regular length. It's often too short for me. Regular short is supposed to be longer than petite regular, and that's supposed to be longer than petite short but it doesn't always work out that way these days. I was dealing with pants that were inconsistent lengths even in the same size/length combination so I couldn't even count on that. Like you, I'm one of those that also doesn't look as short as I am in photos. Part of the reason for that is wearing clothing that fits. When you wear things designed for taller people it makes you look smaller. I hated having my mother alter things when I was young before petite sizes existed. They didn't come on the scene until the mid to late '80s if you can believe that. And altering regular sized clothing doesn't take into account the shorter rise of a petite and other proportions like shoulder width and pocket placement, so just taking up a hem or a sleeve often doesn't look right. Everything has to be scaled down for a petite. My additional challenge now is that clothing is not made for older people. Most older people have bigger midsections so the waists aren't roomy enough. That's why elastic waistbands are associated with older people, LOL. So that makes buying traditionally styled jeans challenging for me. The bigger the waist the more everything else gets bigger, but older people don't need wider and longer legs in addition to a roomier waist. They just need the roomier waist. My favorite jeans are "jeggings" that have that hidden stretch waistband, but they are not as in vogue as they were for several years now and I want to be able to wear traditional jeans with belt loops so I can wear blouses tucked in with belts like they're doing again now.

I spoke on the phone with a friend today that I haven't spoken with in a while. We got on the topic of politics and he spent the next hour or more downloading on me all his frustrations and disgust with Trump and the Republicans while I sympathized and agreed with pretty much all of it. Most of it was stuff we've talked about many times here. He impressed me with his knowledge and awareness of the situation and thanked me for letting him go on about it because he lives in a little red patch in the middle of blue about 25 minutes away from here and doesn't know too many people he can talk to about this stuff without getting into an argument. So he's got a lot pent up inside of him. I told him about this thread and how therapeutic it's been for me, but he's not an online guy so I doubt he'll join any time soon. But I think we'll probably talk more often about it in the future. Anyway it made me really appreciate this place. I don't know what I'd do without all of you. My "stressed sideliner" husband often agrees with me but he is so disgusted with politics in general that he doesn't like to talk about it anymore. And my BFF who voted for Trump and then regretted it is also someone I can't talk about everything with either. Right now there are 3 people I can talk to in my "real life" about this stuff - the friend I talked to today, my lawyer friend and my sister in law. But I don't talk to them every day so this place has been a real godsend. Thank you everyone!

They were an upbeat couple, I liked their vibe. The houses were a little ho-hum but wow, were those reasonable prices! I actually liked the feeling of the middle home better but it felt small next to the third one so I think they made the best choice for them. I figure they bought in a development that still had a furnished model when they filmed the show so they showed them touring that. Then they filmed the last segment in their actual home like the next day or something, LOL.

Yeah, I guess it is! Although the "newfangled" ones like mine have an economy function or a "green" function that's supposed to conserve energy. I don't know if it really works, though. If you have your own furnace maybe the furnace is a cause of higher bills and it needs a service or something. And I JUST saw a report on my local TV news saying that closing the vents in unused rooms can actually raise electric bills because it forces the unit to work harder for some reason. Don't quote me, but that was the gist of it and I found that interesting. We have plumbed baseboard heating, not forced hot air like in most houses because we don't have a basement and we're on a slab foundation. I use one of those newer, supposedly safer tower heaters in our bedroom because it's the coldest room in the house and the farthest away from the furnace and we were told it would be quite an expense to make it a separate zone. But I only use it when we're asleep at night. I shut it off during the day and especially when out. And I unplug it when we go away for vacations. It has a very sensitive shut-off switch that turns it off if you even sneeze at it. I don't mind because I'd rather it be too sensitive than not sensitive enough!

I took my response to this to that episode thread, BTW.

I'm not the biggest Joy Behar fan but I didn't take it that way. They were there to discuss her ancestors, not his. If they were having a friendly conversation maybe I could see it but they weren't. This is a TV show so it's different. I don't think she was making too much of something insignificant either. I also don't see any reason why he shouldn't sympathize with her ancestors' troubles. He's done that with many people on this show from all different backgrounds, some whose ancestors' struggles were less than Joy's. It doesn't mean they are insensitive to what his ancestors went through if they don't acknowledge it on a show that's all about them. Oh, like it's only because of their proximity to Northern Europe that they were progressive and intellectual? Yikes. My Sicilian half is having a hard time with this. If anyone wants to know why the Cuomos have a hot button issue with this stuff, this is why. The stereotypes are unbelievable. My Sicilian family was cultured, intellectual and progressive thank you very much. Not everyone from Southern Italy was an uneducated peasant and even for many of them the only reason why they were is because of the mafia. It's not because they were so far away from the so-called "superior" culture of Northern Italy. Forgive me but I have a well earned hot button issue about this. If you want to know why, PM Chris Cuomo and you'll likely get an earful. Oh and BTW, Michael Imperioli pissed me off with what he said about the Cuomos and how Italians love the Godfather and the Sopranos. A lot of the educated, sophisticated Southern Italians like the Cuomos don't because they only confirm and further spread the negative stereotypes about our people. And because some of us know how even to this day we are not considered "white" by a lot of Northern Europeans and bigoted WASP Americans, no matter what our DNA says*. And how Sicilians were lynched along with Black people in the deep South in the 19th century because they weren't considered white. But I suppose I should think we don't deserve any sympathy for that....😏 * Like my neighbor who I only just posted about in the political thread that made a comment to me a few months ago about how Northern Italians don't consider Sicilians white, and I have good reason to believe he is a bigoted WASP based on some of his affiliations so it felt like HE was the one that doesn't consider Sicilians white. Meanwhile here I am with a very pale complexion and blue eyes like all my Sicilian relatives, and on my other side I'm a Mayflower descendant. So screw him!

I just posted a thread for the latest episode here: https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151488-s11e2-la-famiglia/

Episode premieres on PBS: 8 p.m. ET, Tuesday, January 14, 2025

I guess no one started an episode thread for this week. I started one last week but I'm not good at remembering to do it.

I just had a very exasperating experience with Lee petite jeans and was actually thinking about posting here about it. Thanks to gaining 7 pounds, most of it in my midsection, I couldn't fit my favorite Lee jeans and had to go one size up. Kohl's stopped carrying the style I like in petite sizes and I couldn't find them anywhere else except online. I got a great deal on them on Amazon on Black Friday, but I noticed that they came in not only a petite length, but a petite short length and a regular short length. I didn't know which one would fit me so I ordered one in each size in 3 colors. I figured whichever ones didn't fit, I'd return. Well the problem wasn't only the length but the fit was wildly different between them. Some fit like a bigger size and some were way too tight in the same size. And defying logic, some were too long in the Petite Short length and others were way too short in the Petite Regular length, if you can imagine that! And the regular Short was all over the map too. I couldn't get over it. I know sizing is not standard anymore and it depends on where they're made, but this was just ridiculous. I managed to find two pairs out of nine that fit. Then returning the rest was a nightmare too because Amazon doesn't show you the exact size in any but one view and you have to search for that view and it's not where you think it's going to be. And with a few of the same jeans in the same color on one order that was an important thing to know. I thought for sure the emails they sent me with the QR return code would show the size but they didn't and I had to search to find it on my order history and other views. It was crazy. Anyway, with all those lengths maybe if you throw enough spaghetti against the wall you'll find a pair that fits. I told the return clerk at Kohl's, where I brought my Amazon return, that it's no wonder everyone is mostly wearing sweats anymore. 😏

Thats so funny, I heard that was an old wive's tale, but whatever works, right? I used to get them and then I read that it could be from low potassium so I started taking potassium supplements and they went away.

I feel your pain. Many of my health and beauty products have changed or been discontinued in the past few years. It seems like nothing is sacred anymore. And when you have Rosacea and sensitive facial skin like I do changes like that can be very upsetting because then you have to find new products that don't aggravate your condition. And that can prove to be an expensive and time consuming challenge. I am ordering blush and moisturizer that was discontinued over a decade ago on Ebay because I can't find new ones that don't aggravate my Rosacea. I have quite a few stockpiled but I worry about the eventuality of not being able to get them anymore. Hey, that's an idea for you - maybe you can find the older formula online and order it? You'd have to see the ingredient list to make sure you're getting the older formula or ask for it from the seller.

Yes we found that out in Ireland 20 years ago but he has never pursued it.

I have Hashimoto's disease which is kind of the opposite issue from Graves and comes along with hypothyroidism and other medical issues. But I would know better than to attempt to run a restaurant. I don't mean to be unkind either. I feel sorry that she might have a disease but I don't feel sorry for her restaurant problems because they are self-caused.

What kind of heating do you have? Is your bill higher in the Summer with air conditioning? In CT we have the highest electric bills in the country next to Hawaii, and they keep going up. Don't get me started. We are sick and tired of this here. My husband and I have level billing which is the same as balanced billing. You pay an average of what your annual bill was the year before split over 12 months. For a 1475 foot ranch with 7.5 foot high ceilings our monthly level/average bill is $275. It actually was over $300 a month for a while until we got a new furnace a few years ago and that made the difference. We have also lowered the thermostat temperature in the Winter and raised it in the Summer. Every month on our bill they give us a usage comparison with the year before. I find it interesting that for two years straight now the bill is telling us our usage has gone down between 10 and 15% from the same month a year before. We can't account for at least the last year of it. The average temperature outside that they're giving us per month is pretty much the same as the year before and we changed the temperature in here over a year ago. So it's a mystery, but at least it's one in our favor.

Thanks to your post I just found out I qualify for British citizenship based on having a grandparent that was born there. My husband qualifies too thanks to his father having been born in Northern Ireland. My first thought was it was really a security move. He knows he is a target and that area would be hard to keep secure enough from a sniper. LOL, there was also the removal of the Trump name from several buildings in Manhattan, including the row of apartment buildings on the far West side that each bore his name in huuuge gaudy letters, even though he technically didn't own them. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/22/nyregion/trump-name-removed-buildings.html

I was going to say it sounds like a cruise, lol. Most of those activities are the kinds of things that take place on a cruise ship and horseback riding could be on a shore excursion. When I was young my husband and I would take long weekends at couples resorts in the Poconos in Pennsylvania and it was a lot like camp, except with a heart shaped Jacuzzi and mirrors over the bed, lol. We even won T shirts for winning the "Newlywed Game" once, lol.

Years ago a friend of mine signed up to transcribe census records. Sometimes the handwriting was atrocious and she'd ask for my opinion. I seem to be good at deciphering bad handwriting, a skill I developed as an exec. assistant typing up documents written in longhand by bosses with notoriously bad handwriting. People used to come to me to "translate" notes the boss left on their desk, lol. I should sign up for that but after so many years doing tedious work behind a desk I have developed an aversion to stuff like that.

I brought this up to my husband, who is the Ms. Manners in the family and he and I both agree that this is a "general rule" kind of thing and it does depend on the situation. If the person inviting you out is your mega-millionaire client who as part of his way of thanking you for your service takes you to his golf club in Sarasota where the cheapest entree on the menu is $50, have at it. I was in that situation last year when invited by this client and his wife to come visit and stay at their mansion in Sarasota. They insisted on paying for EVERYTHING and told us not to worry about price. I still didn't feel comfortable ordering the most expensive thing on the menu, though. If I feel that way I usually order something average priced. There was one time on that trip I wanted to order this huge African lobster tail that cost over $50. I saw it being served to someone at the table next to us and the client saw how much I wanted it and told me not to hesitate to order it. So I got it and I will remember that lobster tail for the rest of my life! But would you believe I still feel guilty for ordering it? But if I didn't get it after all that I am sure the client actually would have been disappointed! They just went back to Florida for the Winter and took us out to dinner before they left. I really wanted to order the $45 special but when I saw them order the $30 entree I did the same. Of course my husband offered to pay for the entire meal as is his custom, but they insisted on paying and he didn't get into a match with them over it. Anyway if a friend treats me I usually default to ordering an average priced entree no matter what they order. One of my friends eats like a bird. She'll order soup and a side salad, so there's no way I'd be able to go lower than that. And I know she doesn't expect it, either.

That was my thought too. It would also explain her low weight as it comes with hyperthyroidism.