u/Ok-Zebra8851

Background:

My 5 year old bernedoodle loved his crate and it helped dramatically with the potty training. Now he's 80 pounds and rarely goes in his crate but will if told to. The crate was helpful in calming him and keeping hims safe.

Now we have a new bernedoodle, 11 weeks old today, and he's expected to be about 90 pounds. I've been introducing him to our crate (with a divider to make it small again) and puppy likes it but when locked in there, he's miserable. He loves eating in there, hanging out, but if the door is shut he's unhappy.

Meanwhile, we puppy proofed a room in our house (pretty well, there's basically nothing for him to get hurt by) and moved him in there. It's been about 4 nights. He's sleeping under the bed very nicely We leave the door ajar to the dog run where there's a small area he can access and he's had ZERO accidents while he's in that room. He wakes up during the night, and I take out out there and he poops like clockwork. This morning I woke up and found a poop out there which must have happened while I was asleep, and that's the second time he's gone on his own.

When he takes a nap then goes potty, he gets rewarded by getting to run around in our main house where there is lots going on - another dog, kids, tons of stuff to check out.

Yesterday there was a party here and he was out the mingling and he had an accident - but our house is big and he was SO far from the potty area I think he forgot :)

But, I am kinda starting to feel like his potty training is going very nicely even though he doesn't sleep in the crate AND he seems to love the quiet bedroom as his home and naps often in there AND he just seems happy and calm since we stop trying to get him into the crate.

So I'm thinking about abandoning the crate. I also am thinking that our adult dog hasn't needed his crate in years and he's so big that in an emergency or vet visit he's just on a leash anyways - and the new dog will be bigger.

But, I worry that abandoning the crate might be mistake. It's the technique I know and trust. Any input much appreciated.

We got a ton of good info from this sub so I wanted to report back in hopes of helping someone else.

Our trip was excellent, but we really only had 3 nights so had to make the most of it.

Day 1:

We drove up from Portland early, and made a quick stop at the worlds largest Sitka Spruce which was nothing life-changing but a nice drive and great spot to have lunch at a picnic table. Later, we visited nearby Maple Grove and did the very short, very easy nature walk through the rainforest. Just beautiful and hardly anyone there - we had the place to ourselves most of the time. Highly recommend if you are in a hurry or it's just on the way. Around 5pm we made it to the Hoh Rainforest and did Hall of Mosses. No trouble parking. It was lovely, but packed with tourists making a ton of noise, walking quickly without really enjoying the forest, etc. Beautiful walk, though and nicely maintained trail.

Next we stopped in Forks and ate at Marble & Oaks, which had good reviews but our dinner was an expensive disaster. Every dish was awful with bizarre things like pickled onions in the shrimp scampi, etc. - the chef must have been off that night.

Then we checked into the Quillayute River Resort which was fantastic in every way. The setting, the rooms, even the sofa bed was surprisingly comfortable. Riverside location and lush rainforest nature walk right on the grounds. I can't say enough about this place - stay there if you can.

Day 2:

Woke up at 5:00 and made it to Rialto at about 5:25, just before low tide. Tons of parking and not too many people. We got to Hole In The Wall and tide was still way out, easy walking around checking out the tidepools - very beautiful and peaceful to be on the beach. We took off around 8 and were surprised to see a lot of people walking down the beach, even though the tide was coming in. Still, it was a very nice experience.

Then we went to the Riverside restaurant in La Push, not far away, for a terrific breakfeast and coffee. A bit pricey but super friendly and good food. Then back to Quillayute River Resort for a nap. After waking, we hung out on the river and walked the very nice nature trails right by the resort, chatted with some of the other people staying there and finally used their bbq to cook a big dinner and eat at the picnic table by the river.

Great day.

Day 3:

We woke up early to head to Port Angeles. On the way stopped at Ancient Groves. For me, this was by far my favorite rainforest location. Yes, it's a short trail (<1 mile) but we had the whole area to ourselves (literally) for 90 minutes. The scenery is spectacular and unique, and lots of places to sit and chill out. Peak moment for me.

Then we pushed on and did the Marymere Falls hike. Pretty easy, a bit crowded but not unpleasantly so, and a lovely little hike to a great waterfall. Nothing ultra-special but such a short hike that I would recommend it for sure.

Then we drove to Port Angeles and checked into the Angles Motel, which was had reserved due to last minute debacle in the accommodations. It was, spartan. Simple. A bit noisy. Zero luxury but adequate.

At about 4:15 we started heading up to Hurricane Hill. We were pleased to see that parking was tight, but there were spots available so we just kept pushing on hoping to park at the trailhead at the very end. We got there around 5 and it was full, but after waiting maybe 15 minutes we got a spot. The hike was easy in some ways - a paved, well maintained trail. But, it's quite an uphill slog so it's not exactly a cakewalk. At the top, incredible views and marmots hanging around, snow covered peaks - just great.

The next morning we were up early to take the ferry to Victoria. For a 3 day trip, I think we saw a lot (without rushing too much) and was a great experience. Thanks to all for the advice.

And, one more time: Quillayute River Resort is a winner!

I am using Boldin with the Claude Chrome plugin so that it's open in a sidebar while I'm using the tools.

It's a great combo - at any time, I can ask it for feedback, to look for nuances or mistakes, or model things. It found a couple of errors I made. It can click around and check things, update stuff.

It's like having a second brain, albeit an fallible AI brain, doing it all with me. Give it a try!

Age 58, plan to retire at 63. Between retirement and when our pension and Social Security kick in (ages 68 and 70 respectively), I'll have a 5-7 year window where my portfolio needs to cover a significant income gap — roughly $60-190K/year depending on the year.

I'm considering building a TIPS ETF ladder using the iShares iBonds series (IBIG, IBIH, etc.) — one tranche per gap year, each maturing and liquidating in the year I need the cash.

I am a it pessimistic about the state of the economies/markets during this next decade so looking for a way to ensure that I have liquid cash (or some strategy) to weather the gap without screwing myself. This approach offers inflation-protected, predictable money but it sure feels like Im kind of exiting the market, sitting on the sidelines, maybe that's the point.

Total ladder would be about 25% of my ~$2.7M investment portfolio. I'd fund it by shifting from existing bond holdings inside my IRA, so no tax event.

Curious whether people think the iBonds TIPS ETFs are the right vehicle vs. buying individual TIPS directly, and whether 25% feels right-sized for this purpose or overkill given I still have a 39% bond allocation overall.

I'm not big on trying to predict the market, but it seems like this is a risky time so worth considering. Just starting to learn about this so any insight much appreciated!

hi all -

We are arriving in Port Angeles around 2pm, and spending the night to take the car ferry the following morning. We are hoping to visit Hurricaine Hill, and since we'll be arriving in the afternoon I'm not sure what to expect regarding parking/traffic, etc.

This shuttle has been recommended, but I see that they don't take reservations, which feel risky (although we'll have our car as a backup). Is this a good option ?

Any input much appreciated, thank you!

A trusted friend told me that I might want to learn about orthodox Christianity. I am not well educated on any type of Christianity so I don't really know what the different types of Christianity are.

Can anyone recommend a resource (videos are great), teacher, podcast - something that will not just talk about Orthodox issues/topics but what it actually is and the history?

thanks!!