Ha, when I saw “Mating of Millie,” my mind went to Millie the dog, pet of Barbara and George H.W. Bush. Eeps!

More seriously, the article about relationships is interesting. I’ve recently moved, and I need to make new friends (plus keep old friends) and I feel the need to be picky with new friendships.

Wow, that article on friendships hit very close to home, and I thought it was very well-reasoned. I’ve been examining my own friendships a lot lately, and this touched on several things I have thought about and lots of things I haven’t. Thanks for sharing the link, Trent.

Don’t know where to post this actually.
A few posts ago, you said you were having 11 people in your house for at least one night.
Where do you put them all?
We live in AZ for part of the year.
(Not quite retired yet though!!)
Have guests a lot.
Could use some advice.
LOVE this site,
MO

I forgot you lived in Iowa — I was just home seeing my parents this past weekend and I bet I drove right by you. Email me when you get the chance — maybe we could do a meet up in the future. ;-)

i enjoyed the realtionship article. Giving space does work and many times you and your friend reconnect. The two times it didn’t happen, I noticed a little less stress in my life. I realized that those friendships weren’t worth the investment of time and energy.

Thanks for the link (again) Trent. Stacie (the guest writer and my wife) does have her own site, but it’s about nutrition and fitness, not relationships :) She’s a registered dietitian by trade and a strong friend by nature.

Apple picking is not about saving $ but to show you kids how food grows.The point is this is not some billion $ agribusiness that we are paying a premium to support. When I shop at the farmers market I can see how hard these people are working on a weekend and Californians are supporting them am proud to say. You want to teach your kids to be frugal but also feel the pain and hardwork of their fellow men. Not everything in life is about finding the best price, counting pennies saved in gas money and bargain fruit.
While I agree that an entry fee to the farm is bad, these are small farms that are working hard at staying afloat. I would try to find farms that focus on selling fruit rather than having a carnival.
I had a lot of fun visiting a neighbor’s farm as kid, snacking on mango and sugarcane, playing in the river in India. Unfortunately those people have fallen into poverty and have no hope of ever living a comfortable life. So small farmers deserve a helping hand.

Trent, I appreciate the link :). Glad to know you’re not yet ready to retire in the traditional sense of the word. Also, the relationships article was a nice read. I’ve realized that some of my friendships / relationships benefited from some “active” management.