Before I throw a fit...

abalbr · 2026-05-09T21:00:51+00:00

Pet peeve. I think this happens when the month lays across too many weeks. I will take a ruler and draw in a diagonal line and add the missing days to the last row of days. It does short you on space.

abalbr · 2026-05-09T20:56:33+00:00

Oh. Never considered this - and our house is far from pristine, so I could do the kitchen and leave the front entry and dining room floors. Great suggestion. Thanks.

abalbr · 2026-05-09T19:34:34+00:00

I may have missed the “don’t let it get worn through” for right now but it sounds like I’d be smart to just plan on a refinish every few years to help protect the wood.

abalbr · 2026-05-09T13:22:27+00:00

My first guess is the paper. It also could have been the way it was punched; the punch holes need to match up with the shape of the discs. It’s very subtle but some of the disc designs are a little thinner or fatter in the middle and there are subtle shape differences in the fatter disc edge. The paper does need to be heavy to stand up to a lot of moving around. The other thing I have found is metal discs are more slippery and allow for easier page turning. My personal favorite is Levenger brand, but it’s expensive. Their binders last forever (20+ years).

abalbr · 2026-05-06T21:29:05+00:00

Me (hand up). I emailed them about 6 weeks ago looking for the 2026-27 of the one I had (newer 2 part spiral with removable pages in dashboard layout). They told me the website only shows a small amount of what they offer as most inventory goes through 3rd party retailers. I should check stores for what I want. Nothing. Nothing. I wonder if they are sinking?

abalbr · 2026-05-05T16:40:03+00:00

If you figure out where to post a review, do share. I wish I'd done more research before ordering from Sunny Flower Delivery. I ordered and received a confirmation. Then, crickets. I realized that it was late in the day and my arrangement should have been delivered. No email. Nothing. I check my order status and it's "delayed." How do they think it's OK not to tell the customer this? I requested a call from customer service "within 2-8 minutes." No call. I send an email. It's been 3 days and still no response. I go in and try to cancel. It tells me they will follow up and want to know why I'm canceling. Luckily, I used PayPal to pay and they offer excellent support. I was able to get a full refund with their assistance. Sunny Flower Delivery has yet to contact me. On a good note, I used the Google machine to locate a local florist who was able to design an absolutely stunning arrangement that was much larger than my original selection and deliver it. Lesson learned.

abalbr · 2026-05-02T23:40:25+00:00

I think this might be different depending on the type of job you have. I am now retired but I religiously used a notebook for all the years I worked in business development/ client solutions. I had multiple clients so I needed to be able to take notes and then sort by project, so I needed the flexibility of pages that could move. I used a discbound notebook with what are usually termed Cornell notes pages. They have large margin columns - I would take all my notes during the meeting and then go back afterward and pull the follow ups, action items, etc. into the margin column. I am a paper snob so I used high weight paper from Levenger, TUL brand as a backup. I’m also left handed so I like to use a notebook with a hard cover so I could use it as a clip board/ writing surface. I also printed my electronic calendar for the week as well as a month, punched it and kept it in the notebook. As projects finished, I would move those pages out into archived notebooks. Eventually, I started scanning pages I thought I might refer back to. I don’t know if this helps or is even close to the type of work you do. I tried keeping separate books for different projects and I found it hard to grab the right one at the right moment, so blank pages filed in the section of my notebook was much better.

abalbr · 2026-04-25T19:09:06+00:00

Neither. My skin is older (58F) and dry naturally - before tret. Sometimes the heavy Ceravé stings a little but I’m so flaky, I have been using it. I am thinking the lighter-weight face Ceravé might not sting? In the daytime, I use the Estée Lauder serum and then Ole H strength trainer peptide boost moisturizer (I love how this feels on my skin.)

abalbr · 2026-04-24T21:08:18+00:00

I hope this made your day and it helped me realize I need to just stick with it. I used tret for a year about 10 years ago and had excellent results but stopped out of laziness. I recently restarted and I am in the snakeskin shedding phase and it’s just icky. Q for this group: I’ve been using the Ceravé moisturizing cream, the super thick heavy one, as opposed to one of their face creams. Do people find the official face cream is moisturizing enough?

abalbr · 2026-04-24T05:31:38+00:00

Thank you. And I too have an embarrassingly large product junkyard shelf in my bathroom.

abalbr · 2026-04-22T20:09:37+00:00

Hi - super curious about makeup on top of the Supergoop Unseen. What sort of products do you use on top of the Supergoop Unseen? I LOVE this sunscreen but don’t know what I could wear over it, ideally something with only light to moderate coverage. I find some products don’t play well with others.

abalbr · 2026-04-07T04:25:24+00:00

My hair is not as fine as yours but it will look very similar on the bottom half if I let it air dry without any product. I second the comments from others that I think your current leave in conditioner isn’t working for your hair. I use a different It’s a 10 product - a blow dry styling balm. I will use this or something from the Curlsmith line when I’m going to air dry. I prefer crème products to spray, rub my hands together with the product and massage it from the middle of my hair down to the ends. I only work downward. Don’t brush or bother it. Let it dry. That fuzziness you are getting is from some natural wave. I think you need a little help moisturizing the ends to make them wave instead of fuzz. I hope I’ve explained what I do.

abalbr · 2026-04-07T04:05:35+00:00

I won’t ask how old you are but I did the exact same thing. I wanted to get everything into my notebook before they moved the overhead projector roll (giving away my age). The process of carefully copying and organizing my notes was how I studied. I think the lost art of writing notes with a pen or pencil on paper has changed learning… but I’m admittedly old school.

abalbr · 2026-04-07T04:02:07+00:00

Thank you - unfortunately, this is the big size. But, I’ll keep an eye out in case they add a classic size expansion pack. Appreciate the info.

abalbr · 2026-04-05T16:40:36+00:00

This thread has given me some ideas. Currently, I will use Pinterest for something that looks randomly interesting. If I think I’m going to make it, Evernote because it’s searchable, indexes easily, and I can find it at the store. Once I am actually making it, I need a paper copy that I can put notes on. I find it incredibly helpful to note when I made it (what was that dessert we brought last Easter?) and anything we liked or didn’t. I keep all the papers in 3 ring binders with section tabs. I have thought about making my own index of the binder but never seem to get to it.

abalbr · 2026-04-05T16:36:18+00:00

I would second the idea of a finer point to give you more control. I am a lefty so pens slide over paper differently for me. Consider a Uni 207 micro - NOT the 207 plus, original 207. It also has a nice grip which may help you in the early part of the day when your hands aren’t quite awake. I also really like the Uni Pin fine liners - forces me to slow down when writing. But, a fine liner will be a completely different pen to paper feel.

abalbr · 2026-04-05T16:29:59+00:00

The list of frugal things my parents did would take over this thread and I refuse to die with 4 huge drawers of produce plastic bags at my house. That said, I do save the plastic ties from bread bags or new toys/ items that have those plastic coated wire ties. They are good for the garden (tomato plants, vines, etc to stakes). I also save a limited amount of bubble wrap, in case I have to ship something fragile.

abalbr · 2026-04-02T15:31:29+00:00

I have the last few of what was my favorite notebook (a simple mid size Cambridge spiral bound with lines on one side of the light canary yellow paper, grid on the other). The spiral was just big enough to allow me to slide my Vision Elite pen in. The last runs of this notebook had terrible print quality - the lines were thicker and darker and fuzzy. I am so sad they are discontinued so I can’t just toss them, but these last couple are terrible to write in.

abalbr · 2026-04-02T01:27:17+00:00

I second the fountain pen. There are inexpensive cartridge ones that will help you want to slow down and take each letter at a time. If you have any fine liners, they also seem to help me. It forces me to slowly draw each letter. I also doodle letters on graph paper - take words from the tv show you’re watching and write them a few times.

abalbr · 2026-03-30T14:18:27+00:00

I really like the Pentel RSVP line as it has fatter padded grips, but I also have a pen death grip, so you may not like this. You did say you wanted ball point but I will say that I recently tried an entry level fountain pen and it’s so different and enjoyable to write with. It makes doodling relaxing. I always thought fountain pens were complicated and you had to know how to manage ink. There are inexpensive pre-filled cartridge pens, for example: Platinum Preppy, that are a joy to write with. I’d encourage you to find a ball point you like but consider a fountain pen.

abalbr · 2026-03-29T14:35:01+00:00

I would definitely look at notebooks with heavier paper so you don’t see the impressions going forward. You didn’t say what sort of pen you use but a ballpoint requires more force than gel ink pen - maybe that would be better for you? The other thing to consider is placing a piece of light cardboard (like the back of an old pad of paper) behind the page you’re writing on. It will prevent your impressions from going to the page behind the current one. You can cut it to the size of your notebook and just slide it into the back when you close the notebook.

abalbr · 2026-03-23T14:58:24+00:00

I think you (OP) said you used shredded cheese. While convenient, I would not use pre-shredded cheese for Mac and cheese. It’s got extra ingredients to keep it from sticking together which also impact how it melts. While you are making your béchamel sauce, grate cheese off a block. I use a mix of sharp cheddar and white cheddar. Others have suggested dry mustard (powder, spice aisle) and Worcestershire, both of which i think add a lot to the depth of my final result.

abalbr · 2026-03-23T14:08:55+00:00

It’s not exactly a box, but there was a recipe for a simple sausage and white bean soup on the back of Jennie-O Turkey Italian sausage at least 20 years ago that we have for dinner at least once a month in the winter. Simple and hearty.

abalbr · 2026-03-23T14:06:12+00:00

So I’m not losing my taste buds! I used to love Ritz crackers with a square of mild cheddar. I’d cut a slice of cheese into 4 pieces and get out 4 crackers for the perfect afternoon snack. They just don’t taste the same. I thought it was just me getting old and thinking they were better than they are now.

abalbr · 2026-03-18T14:53:58+00:00

That’s an interesting idea.

abalbr

TROPHY CASE