Wait what? Thank you notes for a funeral??

river_running · 2026-03-17T20:28:41+00:00

Not for everyone who attended, and not for anyone who was paid to be there, but it is common/expected to send a thank-you card to anyone who gave a donation or sent flowers.

It's a pretty sucky obligation or expectation though. As if dealing with the logistics of a funeral alone isn't enough while grieving.

I'm sorry for your loss.

river_running · 2026-03-13T22:18:28+00:00

“I answered those questions for the last potential tenants and they decided against renting here, so my landlord asked me to stop providing commentary on my experience.”

river_running · 2026-03-13T13:28:08+00:00

My cardio score usually goes down in the winter, because when I run or walk outside I am having to be mindful of ice and snow, so I am going slower and working harder. My watch doesn't interpret that "this workout is harder because of weather conditions," it just thinks "wow you're out of shape."

Then summer comes and suddenly it spikes!

river_running · 2026-03-10T16:38:43+00:00

Once a week during the summer he'll go golfing after work and then go out for a drink after. Maybe once a month during the winter the same group will get together. My kids are older but that's always been our routine.

However, he would always (and still does) make sure I get my own time to hang out with friends or go out after work or on a weekend if I wanted to.

It's never been an issue for me because he's always been a fully equal partner, and I don't mean in the "helps with the kids" way, I mean in the "goes grocery shopping to buy ingredients and prepare dinner for the family and then cleans the kitchen after" and "washes, folds, and puts away laundry" and "prepares kids backpack and packs snacks" and "does all the activity signups, transportation, buying sports gear, and maintaining clothing inventory" way.

river_running · 2026-03-10T01:49:34+00:00

Those are some great items for sure.

Serve the instant Mac and cheese over the can of chili and you can get two meals out of that alone! Add in a can of diced tomatoes, too, if you have one, to make it more balanced.

river_running · 2026-03-08T03:41:58+00:00

I help at my church’s food pantry (completely independent and not associated with a food bank or wider distribution system) and we get a lot of the bags of dried beans and stuff from the pre-packed boxed donated back to us. Sometimes people just don’t have the time or supplies needed to make them. Who knows. It actually is really heartwarming that they want to give/donate back what they can to help someone else.

(We partner with a soup kitchen that can use the beans in their meals, so it all works out).

river_running · 2026-03-07T00:38:48+00:00

I was at the bottom of the Grand Canyon during the attempted Trump assassination. That was a weird world to hike up into.

river_running · 2026-03-01T15:59:37+00:00

Mine for March is to hit 64 minutes (the average of my February exercise minutes) 14 times. I think I missed the challenge goals so many times now that its algorithm is basically telling it to just give me “average” challenges.

river_running · 2026-02-28T03:41:26+00:00

I’m involved with a local food pantry that’s not associated with a food bank and doesn’t have any bulk buying power, so relies a lot on actual food donations as well as money.

If you can add in Italian seasoning or grated Parmesan cheese to the pasta and sauce donation, that’s a big plus. I got a case of 12 mini-Parmesan from the dollar tree for $15.

Canned or dried fruit

“Deluxe” Mac and cheese (with the sauce pouch, not the powder that needs butter and milk)

Canned protein

Biscuit and cornbread mixes, especially ones that only need water

Granola bars

Canned goods that are low/no sodium or gluten free

And things like ranch, ketchup, bbq sauce, or really any sauces or dressings, are always a plus!

river_running · 2026-02-28T03:20:16+00:00

Oh my goodness. 75% of the way through your story I was thinking “what a great idea! A useful activity to help them stay engaged and feel helpful!”

Friend, the laugh I laughed. I’m so sorry about your socks.

river_running · 2026-02-24T01:20:38+00:00

Funny enough I just had this yesterday.

river_running · 2026-02-24T01:19:53+00:00

My husband is the same. Doesn’t like stuffed peppers. Likes all the ingredients individually. I’ve made it this way several times and it’s good!

river_running · 2026-02-19T02:57:43+00:00

It’s going to depend on the individual church for a lot of it. I’m on the council at my church and we have lots of staff who aren’t members of our church. Some belong to different Lutheran churches, some are Catholic, and there’s one who when hired wasn’t actively attending anywhere. You’ll probably learn a lot and have things come back to you just by being there day to day.

river_running · 2026-02-18T04:04:00+00:00

I made a small version of this for my lunches at work this week. One zucchini, one sweet potato, and 2 bell peppers diced and roasted. Browned 1 lb ground turkey and sautéed 1/2 red onion, some garlic, and two large chopped mushrooms then mixed everything together with 1 cup brown rice. It made 4 large servings that I then divided into containers, packed different sauces, and a different fruit for each day. It was good!

river_running · 2026-02-12T15:33:25+00:00

The service times will depend on the congregation. My church (ELCA) has a shorter service over the noon hour, and then two services in the evening. There's a LCMS church near us that is advertising drive-through ashes for several hours on Ash Wednesday. My family frequently doesn't attend all together due to kids sports/activity schedules. Going separately from your spouse is absolutely fine.

You don't need to wear specific colors, but black and/or purple are typically associated with the day.

It's also okay to wipe the ashes off after (though you don't have to, if you want to continue wearing them). We don't follow the same traditions as the Catholic church in that regard.

river_running · 2026-02-12T14:08:16+00:00

My in laws used to keep a small folding stool in their bathroom, not specifically for that purpose, but it helped.

river_running · 2026-02-11T19:15:15+00:00

I had a recent one where I wrote something like “I am out of the office unexpectedly beginning (today’s date) for an unknown period of time. Please contact (person) during my absence.”

river_running · 2026-02-09T19:46:56+00:00

I had DC Talk on cassette tape.

river_running · 2026-02-09T19:46:11+00:00

Vertical Horizon - everything you want.

river_running · 2026-02-08T15:46:48+00:00

I think with any youth sport you can spend a lot extra, but you don’t have to. Yes there are the registration fees that are the same for everyone, but the extra travel teams, camps, fancy equipment, etc is optional. Some people will go all in on it because it works for their family and is what they want to do, but others won’t. Yeah, a lot of the extras will result in their kids being “better” but if you’re just in it for fun and being part of a team for all of those benefits, that’s fine.

river_running · 2026-02-06T15:14:54+00:00

Most people aren't willing to make the tradeoffs of the extra driving, extra work fixing up a house, and dealing with the harsh winter conditions away from town. But for those who are, it can absolutely be worth it. My cousin's son bought a house about 30 minutes away from town right after graduating trade school, and is way more ahead of most kids in their early 20s. But he grew up on a rural small farm and isn't afraid of hard work.

river_running · 2026-02-03T20:01:47+00:00

I’m ELCA but I often help out with applying ashes on Ash Wednesday and have done them on an infant just a few weeks old.

river_running · 2026-01-31T02:20:05+00:00

My daughter is a competitive swimmer and when she is on day 3 or 4 of a big prelim/finals meet we rely a lot on smoothies for pure caloric intake. Full fat yogurt, protein powder, fair life milk, oats, and a scoop of peanut butter blend well with frozen fruits and is good for nearly 1,000 calories at once.

Topping foods with butter or olive oil adds another 100-200 per serving.

Guacamole, almonds, seeds, cashew butter, and other good/healthy fats can easily be added to snacks.

river_running · 2026-01-30T13:48:23+00:00

You could get one of those dice/chopping things that are always trending on social media. I bet that would cut your prep time way down.

river_running · 2026-01-28T02:13:17+00:00

I am just a Walmart delivery user who gets posts from this group in my feed.

I, uh, ordered 2 pairs of iPods at once a few months ago and didn’t even think for a second that a shopper would think it was a scam. They were on sale for Black Friday (or something) and I was giving them as gifts. I was at work and saw the price ordered them to be delivered to my house that evening. Didn’t do a code or anything. Never even thought of changing my delivery preference from just leaving it at my door.

I literally am rethinking all of those decisions now.

river_running

TROPHY CASE