That is a a pretty sweet story :) She sounds very down-to-earth and welcoming, especially with the making breakfast for you part.

I’ll allow that “very” is incorrect - though I was thinking in relation to his approval of the pipelines that would place him to the right of even US centrist politics, in my view.

I was being facetious, but Poe’s Law.

When will we stop objectifying male politicians?

It looks like Melania is applying Trump’s tie philosophy to belts now.

What an absolutely lovely conversation. I feel as though I am sipping tea with your grandmother. She seems so incredibly grounded and balanced.    

I prefer full upper body armour, while striking a pose with a sword. Nothing distracts from armpit cushions like having to ward off blows from above.

What the header image reminded me of distractingly:

OMG you too? It’s true there are so few who got hit with the double-whammy - religious extremism and survivalism. I got to laugh a little that your parents are still eating their hoarded food.... 17 years later. We went through ours way more quickly - with all the unplanned parenthood there were plenty of mouths to…

That’s a very positive take - thank you! I’m always still unpacking about how this affects me versus my peers and so many areas of life, including dating, relationships, and work, and it seems like there’s always more baggage. Though not always in a bad way - just definitely different. I know this double…

Extremely conservative Catholics (no birth control, removed from “corrupt” society including school, TV and music and I was un-schooled in the woods). Also, my family was reasonably certain the world was ending in the year 2000 and consequently was somewhat survivalist, at least until 2000 rolled along.

I didn’t know Dresbach’s name until I googled it just now! A genius. And that’s definitely reassuring.

Speaking as someone who escaped from a cult-like religion, it’s completely plausible that her learning curve continues for some time. I’ve accepted that I will never catch up to the pop culture knowledge common to my cohort and there are still pretty basic things that I lack knowledge about in the real world, despite…

Wow! Thank you for the recommendations! I am looking forward to perusing this list :D

She’s in the header photo!

I can see how the writing style would not appeal to everyone though I love it. Captain Randall was a monster... He didn’t have to be a gay character :p Lord Grey though is a major gay character who may be a little boring but is definitely worth rooting for morally. She wrote a whole series about him as well…

Well, if you’re ASKING for a spoiler... lol

It makes you wonder if they WANT her to be boring... I thought she wasn’t developed much initially in the books but there is also a sense that she has a certainty and stability to her that I think is reflected in her choice to be an engineer. Kind of her mother’s pragmatism with less emotionality. Definitely not as…

Good to know! I had a feeling these books were different from the romantic genre... Definitely must be nerdier...

I felt bereft too! I really felt drawn into the family circle and transported in time. It was like the end of an era, and it will take me a long time to forget it enough to want to start the whole long process again. Maybe I’ll look into her Lord Grey books eventually for a taste of that writing, even though he’s…