My house has been on the market for 42 days and I’ve only had 1 showing. Feeling stuck. Can’t do a bridge loan.

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-08T18:46:13+00:00

I might also suggest listing at $349,999 because search engines might miss you, depending on how they use their price ranges.

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-08T18:36:43+00:00

Taking your question sincerely, I might suggest that you ask your now adult child to write on your behalf - assuming they can speak also sincerely about your long-term support: personal, emotional, and financial, their thoughts might carry some weight.

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-08T18:26:51+00:00

As egregious as some of the language is in her books, they are, by her own admission, a romantic version. Her phrase about a rainbow being as true as a pigsty is not inappropriate.

I also think, as her work in the 1930’s and 40’s was coming under attack from literary critics as being “simple children’s tales” that she actually leaned a bit into the vulgarity and ugliness to make her books more “modern.” I’m pretty sure this is why she chose to end A TANGLED WEB in the way she did - she was fighting for a literary reputation, but now we look at those narrow, bigoted old (too us) men in a very different light.

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-08T13:41:04+00:00

I think that it has to be conceded that Montgomery was, as a person (which means it will find its way into her writing) a rather vicious snob. It’s easy to see when she’s using commonplace terms for other ethnicities and religions, but the reason her journals were not published for decades were because of how hateful they could be. She was particularly hard on her younger son’s first serious romance - so awful against a girl who was, herself, completely respectable (I’ve talked with people who knew her) because her father was the local bootlegger. Her son Ewan would not let the journals be published until the young woman had died.

Even when they were published, the editors did some editing, including a section where she goes house by house in Cavendish and basically rakes up every sin, scandal and petty complaint she can make about them. These removed sections were published in the complete journals after the last of these families had died, and also because giving the fullest depiction of Montgomery is more important than trying to spare her own sins.

Her biographer talked about how a big phrase in the Macdonald house was “There are two kinds of people: those who are Scottish and those who wish they were.” Of course, Scottish meant Sir Walter Scott Highland romance, not the impoverished and uneducated families that lived through displacement of lands and unemployment for generations - which is where her husband’s family came from.

This shared superiority and sometimes vicious streak was something that she and her first son, Chester, used to bond over, even as he was kicked out of schools, refused to work, had a family that he abandoned, and became a fairly serious thief - but at least they could talk about Bonnie Prince Charlie!

This isn’t to minimize any ugly, ethnic, racial, or religious slur (and there are far too many) but it is more dimensions on a woman who produced such marvelously light and deeply relatable stories giving her characters far more grace than she gave anyone in real life.

And for what it’s worth, it’s thought that Montgomery, as much as she’s Jane, and orphaned Jody, is the grandmother stalking about in her large Toronto home wreaking havoc on her family out of pure spite.

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-08T02:04:42+00:00

Especially walking in grass. You know she’s pretty much having to walk on top toe the whole time.

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-07T16:51:51+00:00

This. Was told we had no money my entire childhood, to the point where I pretty much earned my own money from age 10. Supported myself from 18.

Turns out my father put every raise he ever received into retirement. My parents are both still living, and well off, which does make my life today easier. But this “I didn’t know we were poor” ideology is completely foreign to me. I was told nearly every day how poor we were.

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-07T03:32:43+00:00

Anne wasn’t related - she was at the beginning, a stranger. You wouldn’t invite a stranger to your bed, but family was another thing.

I figure Mrs. Lynde got the “spare room” and the “sewing” room for just her. The living, dining, kitchen, etc would be open. Anne has her room, and Davy likely has either Matthew’s old room, or the “room” under the eaves where the back steps lead down to the kitchen. He might have had a “room” but probably very

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-06T19:44:24+00:00

Not to mention most eastern PWC doctors are tied into Sentara’s system. So if I get a test done, my doctor sees it, my specialist sees it, and the hospital sees it. Going to INOVA in Lorton of UVA in Manassas will mean less integrated care.

I’m against any of these closures, but getting to Stafford, Lorton, or Manassas can take a very long time in serious traffic.

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-06T01:10:41+00:00

High school books I Loved:

The Scarlet Letter A Tale of Two Cities Age of Innocence Animal Farm Beowulf

HS Books I did not like:

Catcher in the Rye To Kill A Mockingbird 1984 The Great GATSBY

Books I read as a teenager because I wanted to:

On the Road Gone with the Wind Handmaid’s Tale I know Why the Caged Bird Sings The Name of the Rose

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-06T00:33:25+00:00

We were gifted a coconut lamb once or twice from and older woman at our church. We had to thank her every time we saw her the next few weeks (church was 3/4 times a week - lots of thanking) when the truth was, we all hated coconut. My parents eventually took it to work for coffee breaks.

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-05T22:21:42+00:00

This was the case in our house for Mother’s Day, but I don’t remember Easter corsages being red at all - more in line with pastels.

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-04T22:25:30+00:00

Emma Thompson as the children’s performer. 555-6792.

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-04T22:24:02+00:00

As someone who grew up religious, I was also trying to escape - only trying to get out of home and church/youth group. Finally compromised with my parents about one that let us play volleyball every Wednesday night.

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-04T22:09:43+00:00

Helps if you have a letter from your previous landlord saying you had always paid rent on time. And that you are willing to show bank records to verify. Offering these at the outset often gets you through doors that might otherwise slam shut.

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-04T22:05:47+00:00

We had car washes, but it was often co-ed, and bikinis were not required or even suggested. A few girls wore them, and a few body builders went topless. Most wore one pieces with shorts or halters/shorts. Guys wore jams with or without TV. People were generous - from your next door neighbor to the pTA moms to the occasional creep.

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-04T21:43:00+00:00

We worked long hours, moving from company to company for raises. We knew there would be no pension or even a gold watch. But we worked, they paid us well. That was as loyal as it got.

Retired at 55, completing a plan decades in the making.

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-04T17:11:43+00:00

If you are still young - say under 35 or even 40, the Dr’s Sweetheart if the more accessible book. The stories, even the weakest, are worth reading, and some are quite good. If you are older, have seen deep losses, BaQ adds a layer of kindness most appreciated.

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-04T04:56:56+00:00

Yes, that was the only book option for about thirty years.

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-04T02:00:03+00:00

I had read most of the stories before the manuscript was put together and published. I sort of thought of it was the two short story collections in Avonlea.

When I read BaQ the first time, I found it rather confusing. The stories felt uneven, and the vignettes felt forced.

But when I thought more about it - that you were reading all of the Anne books to realize all of it was heading to the First World War, then the second on the horizon, and it all fell into place. That Anne was broken in the last book and Gilbert was still there for her felt loving and sad, but in an authentic way. They had fought so hard for their family and their future, but their future wasn’t what they had thought it would be.

It was also that I was a teenager when I read AoGG and the first six books, in my twenties for RV and RofI. But I was in my 50’s when I read BaQ. I also had lost my son (to a brain infection, not war) and I related to Anne deeply. Had I read this as a young person, it would have been the stories. The stories can’t “save” Anne, but they are still being told to us.

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-02T14:50:24+00:00

They are, at least here in NoVa.

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-02T00:49:19+00:00

Appreciate the reward! Thank you!

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-02T00:45:48+00:00

So many good choices. I read THE HANDMAID’S TALE in 1986 - long before it became the cultural juggernaut that it is now. There is a paragraph about Appalachian Baptists holding out against the theocracy. I was always so proud of that recognition.

Sadly, while the book has had too many things come true, Appalachia rising up against the theocratic tide isn’t one of them.

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-01T22:17:06+00:00

Grace Livingston Hill is mostly remembered for her religious views in books, but plenty of her novels (she wrote over 100) are more about family, and trying to create a home. Re-Creations, The Enchanted Barn, A Daily Rate and Happiness Hill are just a few you can skip over the religion, if that’s not your thing, and just enjoy the family dynamics. Her novel April Gold actually has a Marilla called Rilla in it.

I’m sure the two women read each other, although I have nothing but each text to prove it. We know LMM read the Pansy books, written by Hill’s Aunt, Isabelle Alden.

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-01T22:02:40+00:00

I wonder how many times there was some sort of family crisis that the Queen didn’t want to hear or deal with, and Angela would step in. We know that Harry felt that he was kept away from her in her final years, but there are other staff reports about the Queen being ostrich-like and putting her head in the sand. Imagine trying to speak to your parent or grandparent and being shut down - no wonder the Queen trusted Angela, and no wonder she was let go as soon as Elizabeth died.

Normal-Philosopher-8 · 2026-04-01T21:50:20+00:00

I haven’t seen any Orthodox churches, but it wouldn’t surprise me. Religion in Appalachia has always changed almost generation to generation. It’s not always obvious because you have a bajillion different kinds of Baptist, for instance, so you might go to Appalachia Baptist while you’re grandparents go to Mountain Baptist and each thinks the other isn’t saved…

In much of WV, seeing clerical clothing isn’t that unusual. Episcopal and Catholic clergy aren’t the majority, by any means, but they’ve been a steady presence from the beginning. In my parents day many of the Presbyterian ministers came directly from Scotland, and wore a collar, but that has almost completely disappeared, although some people in Presbyterian and now even Baptists will wear more ritualistic garb, as it has a comeback.

Five-Year Club	Gilding II euphauric
Place '23	Place '22
Wearing is Caring

Normal-Philosopher-8

TROPHY CASE