I always say the “fall off the dock” line when I watch it with my kids. I mean, why would they cut that? I loved it, gave Ma Otter just enough of an edge, otherwise she just feels like a doormat. Too meanspirited, I guess?

Yes. I have no intention of watching this and just want to know what the heck happens!

Enjoy this Christmas Carol from the geniuses behind Adventcarolndar. There’s no escaping Christmas!

We played an April Fool’s Day “prank” on our kids once, where instead of taking them to their Saturday morning language school, we took them out to breakfast instead. Totally backfired. My middle child was so confused she started crying. No more pranks for us! 

The phone scene is there, but it is all from Beth’s perspective, so a lot quieter and not that “The gang’s all here!” energy. Just support from across the sea. And she goes to the chess park and sits down across from an old man, says “Would you like to play chess?” and that’s it. No recognition or anything. So yes,…

It has the same basic plot beats, but the weird inclusion of the “love interest” is entirely fabricated for the show. The book ending is beautiful and introspective and perfect, and I thought it was far superior to the show in that regard. Less about the acclaim and more about Beth finally feeling like a full person.…

Not sure? I read the book before I watched the series, and it felt like a bit of a waste of time to watch, honestly, because all of the major beats are there. But as I said, I enjoyed it much more, just because TV always glamourizes things in a weird way, and the book is very detached, in a way. Beth in the book feels…

Yeah, you beat me by two. I only have ever heard of 6 of the people on this list. I am so old. 

I also read Sword of Destiny this year, and it was indeed amazing. I started the one following that, Blood of Elves I think, but felt bogged down by the plot and missed the light feeling of the previous book, with every chapter being its own story. I might try it again, though.

Also, two other people have mentioned Lonesome Dove in this comment section! Must be something in the water...

Oh man, that’s one of my favorite books. Just wonderful.

Okay! Made these! I actually bought an air fryer because I wanted to try this recipe so badly! If we go by my kids they were a complete success. Even my extremely picky son’s eyes lit up when he took a bite. I was a little underwhelmed, and felt like the dough could use more flavor. I did have to substitute a bit…

This looks, I mean, what, I can’t, but all I can say is

Bienenstich is my favorite German cake, and I always have way too much when I visit my in-laws. I never considered making it, and the recipe here looks a little much for my rudimentary skills, but it is so delicious I might have to give it a try. This version looks a bit darker than I’m used to, but it sure does look…

My mother and I always pronounce “picturesque” as “picture-skew”, with a heavy Ohio accent, just for funnsies. That is until my German husband, not realizing we were mispronouncing it, pronounced it that way in all seriousness to a third party and we had to jump in and correct him, apologizing and laughing in…

“Refund! REfund!” I love this movie. We used to watch it so much when I was a kid, and I recently showed it to my own kids and they loved it, as well. Much cheering during the final race. Paul Dooley totally deserved an Oscar nom. 

Season 3 of Daredevil was fantastic. 

We always called him “John Mellen Cougar Camp” or “John Camp Cougar Mellen”.

And that’s Charlie Cox, aka Daredevil, which I only discovered when I rewatched this recently. Also, Henry Cavill is in this and is completely unrecognizable. 

My argument is that things like aloofness and curiosity are definitely inborn and not built by your environment. Same with interests. I mean, your environment can influence what kinds of things you are exposed to, but people without an inborn inclination are not going to magically get one. My kids were all raised in…