The enormous yawning pit in front of the door is here!!
Sep. 15th, 2025 01:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cimoreneOn the plus side, plumbers are here digging up the yard to fix the drain to the sewer.
On the minus side, the plumber asked me if Wax was my mom. ššBut on the plus (?) side that was probably more embarrassing for him than for us? (I have gray in my hair! But apparently not visibly, at a glance.) (Wax also looks young for her age, but I guess her hair looks much grayer now.)
The tenant side drains will be cut off from tomorrow, so we have to clean the bathrooms tonight so they can use our bathrooms. And the giant pit that's being dug has eliminated the direct route from their door to ours, so they'll have to go the long way around the house to reach us. And we'll have to climb over the railings and jump down the side of the stairs to our door for a little while.
But obviously it's all worth it! Because ultimately it means working drains instead of open septic tanks with a pump in them.
On the minus side, the plumber asked me if Wax was my mom. ššBut on the plus (?) side that was probably more embarrassing for him than for us? (I have gray in my hair! But apparently not visibly, at a glance.) (Wax also looks young for her age, but I guess her hair looks much grayer now.)
The tenant side drains will be cut off from tomorrow, so we have to clean the bathrooms tonight so they can use our bathrooms. And the giant pit that's being dug has eliminated the direct route from their door to ours, so they'll have to go the long way around the house to reach us. And we'll have to climb over the railings and jump down the side of the stairs to our door for a little while.
But obviously it's all worth it! Because ultimately it means working drains instead of open septic tanks with a pump in them.
looking at the spot
Sep. 14th, 2025 05:55 pmmusesfoolMy original plan was to make pork chops with peach butter for dinner tonight, but then no peaches arrived with my grocery order, so I did a quick pivot to pork chops in lemon-caper sauce (NYT gift link) and they are delicious. I think it would also be very good with chicken if you don't eat pork (or eggplant, which seems to be my veggie substitute for meat these days, though it is more labor-intensive).
Anyway, I substituted a half-cup of chicken broth with a tablespoon of white wine vinegar for the wine and forgot to add the flour until I'd already added the broth, but it all turned out all right. Definitely recommended!
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In other news, I've had Saja Boys' Soda Pop stuck in my head all day. "Tom's Diner" vanquishes it briefly but then it returns. It's a cute song! Very catchy! I'd like to not have it in my head all day!
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Anyway, I substituted a half-cup of chicken broth with a tablespoon of white wine vinegar for the wine and forgot to add the flour until I'd already added the broth, but it all turned out all right. Definitely recommended!
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In other news, I've had Saja Boys' Soda Pop stuck in my head all day. "Tom's Diner" vanquishes it briefly but then it returns. It's a cute song! Very catchy! I'd like to not have it in my head all day!
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Resuscitating Wax's Tom of Finland tote as a Stumpy Buck of Finland tote
Sep. 14th, 2025 10:53 pmcimoreneYears ago Wax bought one of Finlayson's original Tom of Finland tote bags. She carried it a long time (12 years maybe?), until finally the handles wore so threadbare they were falling to pieces and there was a big and several small stains, so I confiscated it for treatment.
Washing it several times and soaking it in oxygen bleach only faded the main tea stain. But this week I finally got around to unpicking the stitches that attached the handles and sewing in new longer ones of cotton webbing (by hand because the sewing machine isn't working). I embroidered over a couple of small rust spots where there had been button pins and then sewed a zipper into the pocket. In the process, I accidentally put it down on top of a wet teabag, so it had to soak in cold water and be spot-treated with oxygen bleach, which removed the new spots. I then soaked it in some diluted lemon juice and the older tea stain faded to a faint yellowish.
See, I was going to embroider over it too, but it's much bigger than the other spots, about four inches long and two or three high. And the bag shrank a bunch when initially laundered. It's sturdy cotton canvas and it didn't occur to me to worry, but umm, it only shrank vertically, not horizontally, and so all the semi-obscene gay guys in the print became... stumpy. And Wax thinks that they will stretch out again over time when the bag is weighed down with cargo; a big embroidered patch would interfere with that.
Washing it several times and soaking it in oxygen bleach only faded the main tea stain. But this week I finally got around to unpicking the stitches that attached the handles and sewing in new longer ones of cotton webbing (by hand because the sewing machine isn't working). I embroidered over a couple of small rust spots where there had been button pins and then sewed a zipper into the pocket. In the process, I accidentally put it down on top of a wet teabag, so it had to soak in cold water and be spot-treated with oxygen bleach, which removed the new spots. I then soaked it in some diluted lemon juice and the older tea stain faded to a faint yellowish.
See, I was going to embroider over it too, but it's much bigger than the other spots, about four inches long and two or three high. And the bag shrank a bunch when initially laundered. It's sturdy cotton canvas and it didn't occur to me to worry, but umm, it only shrank vertically, not horizontally, and so all the semi-obscene gay guys in the print became... stumpy. And Wax thinks that they will stretch out again over time when the bag is weighed down with cargo; a big embroidered patch would interfere with that.
(no subject)
Sep. 14th, 2025 09:01 amskygiantsWe watched Scavengers Reign because it was enthusiastically recommended to genarti as fun animated science fiction about being stranded on an alien planet with interesting alien biology. Which is true! This is not incorrect! Not Mentioned was the extent to which it is also very definitely lovingly animated body-and-survival horror ..... every time we watched we checked in with each other like 'still good to proceed? not too much eugughghhhhhh?' '[grimly] let's watch at least one more episode and see what happens,' and in this way we eventually crawled through all twelve episodes.
NONETHELESS I do think it was very good, once we acclimated to the eugughghhhhhh factor. (I ended up higher on it thangenarti did, in some part because I liked the ending for my favorite character better than she liked the ending for hers.) The first episode introduces you in media res to the several sets of people stranded on this planet that the show will be following:
- Sam and Ursula, an older man and younger woman traveling together, who've developed a plan to bring down their heavily damaged ship, the Demeter,, still in orbit around the planet with most of the crew in cryosleep; Ursula is fascinated by the planet and interested in learning more about it, while Sam is laser-focused on Getting Out Of There
- Azi, a motorcycle butch who's been in crop-growing survival mode supported by (a) Levi (unit), a pleasant manual labor robot whose behavior is becoming increasingly altered by some kind of planetary growth thriving in its innards
- Kamen, alone and still trapped in his escape pod, on the verge of death until he encounters a telepathic creature that brainwashes him into symbiotic/parasitic collaboration, and yet somehow his biggest concern is still His Divorce
Over the course of the story, we learn through flashbacks more about who these people were on the Demeter and what happened to strand them on the planet, while they cope (or don't) with the various challenges of the planet and the hope of escape provided by the Demeter. The real fears that the show evokes, IMO, are isolation and transformation -- being, yourself, transformed without your knowledge or consent, or, perhaps even worse, seeing your only companion changing into something unrecognizable and untrustworthy. These are things that scare me personally very much and so I often found this a very scary show! But -- like Annihilation or Alien Clay, the two other stories that Scavengers Reign reminded me of the most -- it also evokes the flip side of this fear, the beauty and wonder of the transformative and strange. The animators loved animating these weird alien ecosystems.
You can watch the trailer here:
(The trailer is very clear and accurate to the amount of body horror in the show. From this you will be able to tell that we did not in fact watch the trailer before we began the show itself.)
A second season was planned, but has not been ordered and may never be made; IMO the first season does stand as complete but I would very much like to see the second season and I hope it happens.
genarti as fun animated science fiction about being stranded on an alien planet with interesting alien biology. Which is true! This is not incorrect! Not Mentioned was the extent to which it is also very definitely lovingly animated body-and-survival horror ..... every time we watched we checked in with each other like 'still good to proceed? not too much eugughghhhhhh?' '[grimly] let's watch at least one more episode and see what happens,' and in this way we eventually crawled through all twelve episodes. NONETHELESS I do think it was very good, once we acclimated to the eugughghhhhhh factor. (I ended up higher on it than
genarti did, in some part because I liked the ending for my favorite character better than she liked the ending for hers.) The first episode introduces you in media res to the several sets of people stranded on this planet that the show will be following: - Sam and Ursula, an older man and younger woman traveling together, who've developed a plan to bring down their heavily damaged ship, the Demeter,, still in orbit around the planet with most of the crew in cryosleep; Ursula is fascinated by the planet and interested in learning more about it, while Sam is laser-focused on Getting Out Of There
- Azi, a motorcycle butch who's been in crop-growing survival mode supported by (a) Levi (unit), a pleasant manual labor robot whose behavior is becoming increasingly altered by some kind of planetary growth thriving in its innards
- Kamen, alone and still trapped in his escape pod, on the verge of death until he encounters a telepathic creature that brainwashes him into symbiotic/parasitic collaboration, and yet somehow his biggest concern is still His Divorce
Over the course of the story, we learn through flashbacks more about who these people were on the Demeter and what happened to strand them on the planet, while they cope (or don't) with the various challenges of the planet and the hope of escape provided by the Demeter. The real fears that the show evokes, IMO, are isolation and transformation -- being, yourself, transformed without your knowledge or consent, or, perhaps even worse, seeing your only companion changing into something unrecognizable and untrustworthy. These are things that scare me personally very much and so I often found this a very scary show! But -- like Annihilation or Alien Clay, the two other stories that Scavengers Reign reminded me of the most -- it also evokes the flip side of this fear, the beauty and wonder of the transformative and strange. The animators loved animating these weird alien ecosystems.
You can watch the trailer here:
(The trailer is very clear and accurate to the amount of body horror in the show. From this you will be able to tell that we did not in fact watch the trailer before we began the show itself.)
A second season was planned, but has not been ordered and may never be made; IMO the first season does stand as complete but I would very much like to see the second season and I hope it happens.
thunder's rolling down this track
Sep. 13th, 2025 07:40 pmmusesfoolA couple weeks ago, I finally realized I was never going to go to someone else to get my hair cut, so with some encouragement from my sister, this morning, I did an extensive detangling (both before and after washing) and then trimmed about 3" off the bottom myself. Is it even? Probably not, but it was in long layers, so I don't think it really matters. It will eventually even out as it grows and I trim it. Mostly what matters is that after 3 years, the old ends have been trimmed away. And now that I know I can do it, I will try to keep up with it on a more timely basis. At least, I don't think I'll let another 3 years go by. *wry*
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The Mets did not get no-hit last night but they did lose, and then lost again today despite leading for 7.5 innings. *hands* There is something very wrong with this team, but who can say what? Sigh.
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The Mets did not get no-hit last night but they did lose, and then lost again today despite leading for 7.5 innings. *hands* There is something very wrong with this team, but who can say what? Sigh.
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(no subject)
Sep. 13th, 2025 07:08 pmconuly posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
agonyauntMy husband is the middle of five siblings. The three oldest were high achievers who earned advanced degrees and are now comfortably retired, living far from their hometown. The fourth, a brother, has struggled all his life. After four years in the Army, he drifted between unemployment and low-paying jobs, never able to support himself. His parents covered his expenses or let him live with them, even paying for his car while he worked as a pizza-delivery driver. He also developed substance-abuse problems.
After my husbandās father died, the brother stayed in the family home, supposedly caring for their mother but, in fact, exploiting her. He drained her accounts to feed his habit and neglected her care, and after her death he was convicted of elder abuse ā something his out-of-town siblings hadnāt realized was happening. Before she died, their mother begged them not to let him be homeless.
Because the brother couldnāt maintain the house, the siblings sold it and split the proceeds. With his share, they bought him a mobile home and placed funds in a protected account, which covered rent and utilities for nearly 10 years until the money ran out. They eventually transferred the bills into his name and explained how to manage them.
He rarely communicates with the family, except when heās in trouble. Once on his own, chaos followed. He claimed that his pizza-delivery job was enough to live on, but he missed rent, faced eviction and squandered money on predatory car loans and endless repairs. Last year, his siblings discovered that his car had been repossessed and his water had been shut off for six months. His trailer was collapsing from a leaking roof, and garbage was piled everywhere. Yet he had never asked for help. They stepped in, restored utilities, reclaimed his car, cleaned his trailer and signed him up for Social Security. But he quickly burned through a lump-sum back-pay benefit (he said his account was hacked, though he was more likely scammed). Soon after, he fell behind again, and his Social Security is now being garnished by the I.R.S.
The mobile-home park wants him out for unpaid rent and unsafe conditions. Heās clearly mentally ill, but perhaps not impaired enough for a sibling to secure guardianship. My husband and his siblings want to honor their motherās plea to keep him housed, but contributing to his rent payments and repairing his trailer isnāt financially sustainable for them, and none of them want to take him in because heās horrible to live with. Social services might help, but he resists cooperation and canāt manage on his own.
So they wonder: At what point do they stop trying? Are they obliged to sustain someone who refuses to sustain himself? Do they owe him the effort of seeking guardianship, or is that more than can reasonably be asked? ā Name Withheld
( Read more... )
After my husbandās father died, the brother stayed in the family home, supposedly caring for their mother but, in fact, exploiting her. He drained her accounts to feed his habit and neglected her care, and after her death he was convicted of elder abuse ā something his out-of-town siblings hadnāt realized was happening. Before she died, their mother begged them not to let him be homeless.
Because the brother couldnāt maintain the house, the siblings sold it and split the proceeds. With his share, they bought him a mobile home and placed funds in a protected account, which covered rent and utilities for nearly 10 years until the money ran out. They eventually transferred the bills into his name and explained how to manage them.
He rarely communicates with the family, except when heās in trouble. Once on his own, chaos followed. He claimed that his pizza-delivery job was enough to live on, but he missed rent, faced eviction and squandered money on predatory car loans and endless repairs. Last year, his siblings discovered that his car had been repossessed and his water had been shut off for six months. His trailer was collapsing from a leaking roof, and garbage was piled everywhere. Yet he had never asked for help. They stepped in, restored utilities, reclaimed his car, cleaned his trailer and signed him up for Social Security. But he quickly burned through a lump-sum back-pay benefit (he said his account was hacked, though he was more likely scammed). Soon after, he fell behind again, and his Social Security is now being garnished by the I.R.S.
The mobile-home park wants him out for unpaid rent and unsafe conditions. Heās clearly mentally ill, but perhaps not impaired enough for a sibling to secure guardianship. My husband and his siblings want to honor their motherās plea to keep him housed, but contributing to his rent payments and repairing his trailer isnāt financially sustainable for them, and none of them want to take him in because heās horrible to live with. Social services might help, but he resists cooperation and canāt manage on his own.
So they wonder: At what point do they stop trying? Are they obliged to sustain someone who refuses to sustain himself? Do they owe him the effort of seeking guardianship, or is that more than can reasonably be asked? ā Name Withheld
( Read more... )
(no subject)
Sep. 13th, 2025 09:21 amskygiantsBroadly speaking, I liked Star Wars: The Mask of Fear, the first book in a planned trilogy of Star Wars Political Thrillers pitched as Andor Prequels, For Fans Of Andor.
This one is set right after the declaration of the Empire and is mostly about the separate plans that Bail Organa and Mon Mothma pursue in order to try and limit their government's whole-scale slide into fascism, with -- as we-the-readers of course know -- an inevitable lack of success. It is of course impossible not to feel the weight of Current Events on every page; the book came out in February '25 and so must have been complete in every respect before the 2024 elections, but boy, it doesn't feel like it. On the other hand, it's also impossible not to feel 2016 and Hillary Clinton looming large over the portrayal of Mon Mothma as the consummate politician who is very good at wrangling the process of government but whom nobody actually likes.
That said, as a character in her own right, I am very fond of Mon Mothma, the consummate politician who is very good at wrangling the process of government but whom nobody actually likes. With her genuine belief in the ideals of democracy and her practiced acceptance of the various ethical compromises that working within the system requires, she makes for a great sympathetic-grayscale political-thriller protagonist. I also like the portrayal of her marriage in this period as something that is, like, broadly functional! sometimes a source of support! always number three or four on her priority list which she never quite gets around to calling him to tell him she's back on planet after a secret mission before the plot sweeps her off in a new direction, oops, well, I guess he'll find out when she's been released from prison again!
Anyway, her main plot is about trying to get a bill passed in the Senate that will limit Palpatine's power as Emperor, which involves making various shady deals with various powerful factions; meanwhile, Bail Organa has a separate plot in which he's running around trying to EXPOSE the LIES about the JEDI because he thinks that once everyone knows the Jedi were massacred without cause, Palpatine will be toppled by public outrage immediately. Both of them think the other's plan is kind of stupid and also find the other kind of annoying at this time, which tbh I really enjoy. I love when people don't like each other for normal reasons and have to work together anyway. I also like the other main wedge between them, which is that both of them were briefly Politically Arrested right before the book begins, and by chance and charisma Bail Organa joked his way out of it and came out fine while Mon Mothma went through a harrowing and physically traumatic experience that has left her with lingering PTSD, and Mon Mothma knows this and Bail Organa doesn't and this colors all their choices throughout the book.
Bail Organa's plot is also sort of hitched onto a plot about an elderly Republic-turned-Imperial spymaster who's trying to find the agents she lost at the end of the war, and her spy protege who accidentally ends up infiltrating the Star Wars pro-Palpatine alt-right movement, both of which work pretty well as stories about people who find themselves sort of within a system as the system is changing underneath them.
And then there is the Saw plotline. This is my biggest disappointment in the book, is that the Saw plotline is not actually a Saw plotline; it's about a Separatist assassin who ends up temporarily teaming up with Saw for a bit as he tries to figure out who he should be assassinating now that the war is over, and we see Saw through his eyes, mostly pretty judgmentally. I do not object to other characters seeing Saw Gerrera pretty judgmentally, but it feels to me like a bit of a cop-out in a book that's pitched as 'how Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, and Saw Gerrera face growing fascism and start down the paths that will eventually lead to the Rebel Alliance' to once again almost entirely avoid giving Saw a point of view to see his ideology from within. But Star Wars as franchise is consistently determined not to do that. Ah, well; maybe one of the later two books in this trilogy will have a meaty interiority-heavy Saw plotline and I'll eat my words.
(NB: I have not yet seen S2 of Andor and I do plan to do so at some point, please don't tell me anything about it!)
This one is set right after the declaration of the Empire and is mostly about the separate plans that Bail Organa and Mon Mothma pursue in order to try and limit their government's whole-scale slide into fascism, with -- as we-the-readers of course know -- an inevitable lack of success. It is of course impossible not to feel the weight of Current Events on every page; the book came out in February '25 and so must have been complete in every respect before the 2024 elections, but boy, it doesn't feel like it. On the other hand, it's also impossible not to feel 2016 and Hillary Clinton looming large over the portrayal of Mon Mothma as the consummate politician who is very good at wrangling the process of government but whom nobody actually likes.
That said, as a character in her own right, I am very fond of Mon Mothma, the consummate politician who is very good at wrangling the process of government but whom nobody actually likes. With her genuine belief in the ideals of democracy and her practiced acceptance of the various ethical compromises that working within the system requires, she makes for a great sympathetic-grayscale political-thriller protagonist. I also like the portrayal of her marriage in this period as something that is, like, broadly functional! sometimes a source of support! always number three or four on her priority list which she never quite gets around to calling him to tell him she's back on planet after a secret mission before the plot sweeps her off in a new direction, oops, well, I guess he'll find out when she's been released from prison again!
Anyway, her main plot is about trying to get a bill passed in the Senate that will limit Palpatine's power as Emperor, which involves making various shady deals with various powerful factions; meanwhile, Bail Organa has a separate plot in which he's running around trying to EXPOSE the LIES about the JEDI because he thinks that once everyone knows the Jedi were massacred without cause, Palpatine will be toppled by public outrage immediately. Both of them think the other's plan is kind of stupid and also find the other kind of annoying at this time, which tbh I really enjoy. I love when people don't like each other for normal reasons and have to work together anyway. I also like the other main wedge between them, which is that both of them were briefly Politically Arrested right before the book begins, and by chance and charisma Bail Organa joked his way out of it and came out fine while Mon Mothma went through a harrowing and physically traumatic experience that has left her with lingering PTSD, and Mon Mothma knows this and Bail Organa doesn't and this colors all their choices throughout the book.
Bail Organa's plot is also sort of hitched onto a plot about an elderly Republic-turned-Imperial spymaster who's trying to find the agents she lost at the end of the war, and her spy protege who accidentally ends up infiltrating the Star Wars pro-Palpatine alt-right movement, both of which work pretty well as stories about people who find themselves sort of within a system as the system is changing underneath them.
And then there is the Saw plotline. This is my biggest disappointment in the book, is that the Saw plotline is not actually a Saw plotline; it's about a Separatist assassin who ends up temporarily teaming up with Saw for a bit as he tries to figure out who he should be assassinating now that the war is over, and we see Saw through his eyes, mostly pretty judgmentally. I do not object to other characters seeing Saw Gerrera pretty judgmentally, but it feels to me like a bit of a cop-out in a book that's pitched as 'how Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, and Saw Gerrera face growing fascism and start down the paths that will eventually lead to the Rebel Alliance' to once again almost entirely avoid giving Saw a point of view to see his ideology from within. But Star Wars as franchise is consistently determined not to do that. Ah, well; maybe one of the later two books in this trilogy will have a meaty interiority-heavy Saw plotline and I'll eat my words.
(NB: I have not yet seen S2 of Andor and I do plan to do so at some point, please don't tell me anything about it!)
despite all my rage i am still just a rat in a cage
Sep. 12th, 2025 04:56 pmmusesfoolFriday sundries:
= Wow, have I really not posted since Sunday? This week was pretty busy at work and I guess my Elementary rewatch, plus reading a very very long Batfamily time travel story (still in progress *sobs*), and also watching the Mets' downward spiral, left me uninspired.
= I didn't watch them blow a lead last night and lose, because it's so disheartening - there is like no sense that they can hold a lead or come back if they are losing. I'm only planning to watch tonight to see if they get no-hit by Jacob deGrom on his first return to Citi Field as a Texas Ranger. #the existential futility of being a mets fan <- my tag is too long for DW but it is accurate
= I did make it through week one of our family survivor football league - my niece decided on doing a survivor league this year since it is much less work for everyone than a fantasy league. In it, each week, everyone picks one team to win, and either you win and move on, or you lose and are out, though we are doing it with 2 strikes, so you can lose twice before you are out. And you can only pick each team once, so you can't, like, ride the Packers or whoever to victory every week. My strategy is basically to pick whoever is playing the New Orleans Saints, since they are predicted to be the worst team in the league this year. I made it through last week, anyway. *g*
= Usually I have my groceries delivered on Friday afternoon but somehow in my infinite wisdom last night while I was updating the order, I rescheduled it for Sunday afternoon. And then I was in a meeting from 8:30 am - 11 am this morning, so it was too late to move it back to today when I discovered what I'd done. So I left it where it was and will just order pizza for dinner tonight and then have it breakfast and lunch tomorrow as well!
= Anyway, the world is a vampire. Uh, trash fire. But there will be pizza and baseball and probably sleeping in tomorrow. Hopefully it is cool enough to leave the AC off tonight - it was for most of the week, but then last night was not. And since I had to be up an hour earlier than usual (see above re: 8:30 am meeting), I didn't want to spend precious time tossing and turning because I was too hot to sleep.
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= Wow, have I really not posted since Sunday? This week was pretty busy at work and I guess my Elementary rewatch, plus reading a very very long Batfamily time travel story (still in progress *sobs*), and also watching the Mets' downward spiral, left me uninspired.
= I didn't watch them blow a lead last night and lose, because it's so disheartening - there is like no sense that they can hold a lead or come back if they are losing. I'm only planning to watch tonight to see if they get no-hit by Jacob deGrom on his first return to Citi Field as a Texas Ranger. #the existential futility of being a mets fan <- my tag is too long for DW but it is accurate
= I did make it through week one of our family survivor football league - my niece decided on doing a survivor league this year since it is much less work for everyone than a fantasy league. In it, each week, everyone picks one team to win, and either you win and move on, or you lose and are out, though we are doing it with 2 strikes, so you can lose twice before you are out. And you can only pick each team once, so you can't, like, ride the Packers or whoever to victory every week. My strategy is basically to pick whoever is playing the New Orleans Saints, since they are predicted to be the worst team in the league this year. I made it through last week, anyway. *g*
= Usually I have my groceries delivered on Friday afternoon but somehow in my infinite wisdom last night while I was updating the order, I rescheduled it for Sunday afternoon. And then I was in a meeting from 8:30 am - 11 am this morning, so it was too late to move it back to today when I discovered what I'd done. So I left it where it was and will just order pizza for dinner tonight and then have it breakfast and lunch tomorrow as well!
= Anyway, the world is a vampire. Uh, trash fire. But there will be pizza and baseball and probably sleeping in tomorrow. Hopefully it is cool enough to leave the AC off tonight - it was for most of the week, but then last night was not. And since I had to be up an hour earlier than usual (see above re: 8:30 am meeting), I didn't want to spend precious time tossing and turning because I was too hot to sleep.
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The Plumber Appears
Sep. 12th, 2025 08:27 pmcimoreneAnd he came and spray painted on the ground! He says that the digger dude who was never returning his calls in the spring should be less busy right now. Idk, but I hope he's right.
We might not have to have the open septic tanks for another winter!!
We might not have to have the open septic tanks for another winter!!
(no subject)
Sep. 10th, 2025 04:02 pmconuly posting in agonyauntDear Annie: I met my husband three years ago, about eight months after he lost his first wife of 20 years. Their marriage was often toxic, and she was very abusive toward him. After she passed, he was ready to move on.
Right away, I knew something wasn't right with my husband. In his mid-50s, he was having short-term memory issues, falling frequently and struggling with his mental health. After seeing his health care provider and enrolling in the Veterans Affairs health care system, we discovered he had suffered multiple traumatic brain injuries during his time in the Army. That diagnosis led to him becoming a 100% service-connected disabled veteran and allowed him to receive the care he needed for a better quality of life.
His family, however, waged a war against me for helping him, accusing me of manipulating and "brainwashing" him. My husband has distanced himself from them, and we're no longer on speaking terms. My husband has a lot of anger toward them as he suffered for decades without their help or support.
His parents, who live in another state, are elderly and in poor health. I fear that if he doesn't reconcile with them before they pass, he will resent me. I love my husband with all my heart, and this has been a hard road. I just want the very best for him, unconditionally. Any advice? -- Wife on the Defensive
( Read more... )
Right away, I knew something wasn't right with my husband. In his mid-50s, he was having short-term memory issues, falling frequently and struggling with his mental health. After seeing his health care provider and enrolling in the Veterans Affairs health care system, we discovered he had suffered multiple traumatic brain injuries during his time in the Army. That diagnosis led to him becoming a 100% service-connected disabled veteran and allowed him to receive the care he needed for a better quality of life.
His family, however, waged a war against me for helping him, accusing me of manipulating and "brainwashing" him. My husband has distanced himself from them, and we're no longer on speaking terms. My husband has a lot of anger toward them as he suffered for decades without their help or support.
His parents, who live in another state, are elderly and in poor health. I fear that if he doesn't reconcile with them before they pass, he will resent me. I love my husband with all my heart, and this has been a hard road. I just want the very best for him, unconditionally. Any advice? -- Wife on the Defensive
( Read more... )
(no subject)
Sep. 10th, 2025 03:58 pmconuly posting in agonyauntDEAR ABBY: My daughter, "Violet," lives about two hours away. She and her mother (my wife) do not get along. Violet was always a rebellious, independent wild child, as well as the source of a lot of family problems. Violet and I also were estranged until we recently reconciled.
Yesterday, she sent me an email inviting me to lunch to celebrate my birthday. When I told my wife about the invitation, she responded, "Do what you want" in a tone and with a facial expression which said: "Go ahead, but if you do, you'll be sorry."
I have tried to reconcile these two women I love without success. My wife tells me she loves Violet but doesn't like her, although she would like to have a better relationship with her. Violet tells me she blames her mother for her PTSD (her unofficial diagnosis) and wants nothing to do with her.
So do I go to lunch with my daughter and incur the wrath of my wife for what she would consider a betrayal, or do I decline the invitation from my daughter and risk alienating her again? -- IN THE MIDDLE IN NEW JERSEY
( Read more... )
Yesterday, she sent me an email inviting me to lunch to celebrate my birthday. When I told my wife about the invitation, she responded, "Do what you want" in a tone and with a facial expression which said: "Go ahead, but if you do, you'll be sorry."
I have tried to reconcile these two women I love without success. My wife tells me she loves Violet but doesn't like her, although she would like to have a better relationship with her. Violet tells me she blames her mother for her PTSD (her unofficial diagnosis) and wants nothing to do with her.
So do I go to lunch with my daughter and incur the wrath of my wife for what she would consider a betrayal, or do I decline the invitation from my daughter and risk alienating her again? -- IN THE MIDDLE IN NEW JERSEY
( Read more... )
(no subject)
Sep. 10th, 2025 01:34 pmconuly posting in agonyauntDear Eric: My beloved husband of more than 40 years has become something of an embarrassment. He has always been careful with his appearance (almost in the vain category). About six years ago, he had a serious illness with dangerous surgery but made an excellent recovery.
Afterward, his weight loss became a weight gain and now, instead of the athletic physique he has always maintained, he has a large gut. He will wear T-shirts that are too small and when seated, part of his naked middle is exposed for all to see.
I can tolerate this at home, but not when we are around other people. I have tried gentle reminders that these shirts are too small, mentioning how embarrassed I am, but it makes no difference. He also wears ill-fitting pants in his former waist size which exaggerate the problem.
Otherwise, he keeps up his lengthy morning regime of careful grooming as in the past. His doctors have suggested he lose weight, but nothing has changed. Can you offer any advice so we can socialize without me cringing?
ā Loving But Mortified
( Read more... )
Afterward, his weight loss became a weight gain and now, instead of the athletic physique he has always maintained, he has a large gut. He will wear T-shirts that are too small and when seated, part of his naked middle is exposed for all to see.
I can tolerate this at home, but not when we are around other people. I have tried gentle reminders that these shirts are too small, mentioning how embarrassed I am, but it makes no difference. He also wears ill-fitting pants in his former waist size which exaggerate the problem.
Otherwise, he keeps up his lengthy morning regime of careful grooming as in the past. His doctors have suggested he lose weight, but nothing has changed. Can you offer any advice so we can socialize without me cringing?
ā Loving But Mortified
( Read more... )
Updates
Sep. 10th, 2025 10:51 amcimoreneI have been a mess for about a week now, partly just in anxiety about learning to drive and my driving lessons.
After the first few lessons I was having lots of trouble with the clutch and I was really worried about it (I still think it's unnecessarily complicated for regular cars, but... I've mostly got it now). And I can't just add extra easy repetitions to build more motor memory and make it automatic because I can't drive outside the driving school until I have my license. I had to add an extra three lessons (to the original 6) because I just didn't have it yet. I have had one of those now, and the teacher and I agreed I will probably be ready to take the driving test after just a little more practice. So we booked the driving test in two weeks, and my last two driving lessons the day of and the day before. Hopefully that will be enough! Failing is to be avoided: it costs 99 euros to take the test, but if you fail it, the second time costs like three hundred.
I had lessons three days in a row this week, and I absolutely should not drive without taking methylphenidate: taking adhd medication significantly reduces driving accidents for adhd sufferers. But while it makes it easier to concentrate, it also speeds up my heart and... kind of makes me hyperfocus and be in a hurry? Generally, it makes anxiety worse. I have real trouble slowing down and relaxing to the appropriate level for driving, but I can't take a tranquilizer for the anxiety so I just have to try to breathe deeply and stuff. Probably walking a couple miles or something first would be better, if I were in shape, and if I would be able to shower and go to the lesson right away (but it takes 50 minutes on the bus to get there).
I also contacted the licensed Bernina repair shop about the sewing machine that won't go, and he said he has a huge backlog right now and to try again in October-November. I delayed contacting him for a year and a half after the problem appeared, so this is comparatively minor and I can't be mad, but of course now I want it urgently because both pairs of my flannel pajama pants are falling beyond the reach of patching and mending.
One of the triplets finally told us what she wanted in a sweater and we ordered the yarn, but the other two are silent and our attempts to get them to give us their measurements have also failed. I suppose we'll have to propose a date when we will show up and ask if they can hand us their favorite sweatshirts to be measured then or not.
After the first few lessons I was having lots of trouble with the clutch and I was really worried about it (I still think it's unnecessarily complicated for regular cars, but... I've mostly got it now). And I can't just add extra easy repetitions to build more motor memory and make it automatic because I can't drive outside the driving school until I have my license. I had to add an extra three lessons (to the original 6) because I just didn't have it yet. I have had one of those now, and the teacher and I agreed I will probably be ready to take the driving test after just a little more practice. So we booked the driving test in two weeks, and my last two driving lessons the day of and the day before. Hopefully that will be enough! Failing is to be avoided: it costs 99 euros to take the test, but if you fail it, the second time costs like three hundred.
I had lessons three days in a row this week, and I absolutely should not drive without taking methylphenidate: taking adhd medication significantly reduces driving accidents for adhd sufferers. But while it makes it easier to concentrate, it also speeds up my heart and... kind of makes me hyperfocus and be in a hurry? Generally, it makes anxiety worse. I have real trouble slowing down and relaxing to the appropriate level for driving, but I can't take a tranquilizer for the anxiety so I just have to try to breathe deeply and stuff. Probably walking a couple miles or something first would be better, if I were in shape, and if I would be able to shower and go to the lesson right away (but it takes 50 minutes on the bus to get there).
I also contacted the licensed Bernina repair shop about the sewing machine that won't go, and he said he has a huge backlog right now and to try again in October-November. I delayed contacting him for a year and a half after the problem appeared, so this is comparatively minor and I can't be mad, but of course now I want it urgently because both pairs of my flannel pajama pants are falling beyond the reach of patching and mending.
One of the triplets finally told us what she wanted in a sweater and we ordered the yarn, but the other two are silent and our attempts to get them to give us their measurements have also failed. I suppose we'll have to propose a date when we will show up and ask if they can hand us their favorite sweatshirts to be measured then or not.
Books read, May
Sep. 10th, 2025 09:48 amcyphomandraI didnāt read much this month but What Did You Eat Yesterday is just delightful and I will happily wallow in it for days.
Copper script, KJ Charles
What did you eat yesterday, 5-21, Fumi Yoshinaga
Ordeal by innocence, Agatha Christie
The examiner, Janice Hallett
Artificial conditon, Martha Wells
Invisible boys, Holden Sheppard
Copper Script, KJ Charles. Post-WWI London, detective sergeant Aaron Fowler agrees to investigate someone who claims they can read peopleās characters from their handwriting after his rather dodgy cousin is dumped by his fiancĆ©e on this evidence, and becomes hopelessly entangled with the graphologist, Wildsmith, as they fall in love and solve crimes. Itās perfectly competent but didnāt get me any deeper than superficial enjoyment at the progressive ticking off of plot and relationship beats. I wasnāt really in the mood for either a cop hero or graphology as for-real mindreading though.
What did you eat yesterday, 5-21. Fumi Yoshinaga. These have been stacking up on my shelves and I finally caught up with reading them all - I think 5-8 were re-reads and then it was all new. This slice-of-life domestic cooking manga follows closeted lawyer Shiro (who does most of the cooking and is obsessed with frugality with a side of fat-shaming, which didnāt bother me because it feels so internalised but other readers may differ) and his partner Kenji (cheerful gossipy hairdresser, gives great specific compliments on the food) and their social circle through in real time, so the characters start in their early forties and are now in their fifties. I just love the art and the observation and the food and the way Yoshinaga can do so much in just a few panels, and the fact that the time frame means that what conflicts and problems there are (such as Shiroās parents allowing him to bring Kenji to one family New Yearās celebration but then telling him not to do it again) can play out over months or even years. It is definitely a different generation to She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat, in terms of expectations and identity, as well as broader cultural referents like social media, but I love them both. I have made a few recipes from this series and theyāve all turned out well, as well. I keep meaning to track down the TV series but I usually only watch about one TV series per year and unexpectedly this year it seems to be The Pitt, so that will have to wait.
Ordeal by Innocence, Agatha Christie. Iām not sure if Iāve read this one before. A man able to provide the person convicted of murder with an impeccable alibi finally shows up two years after the crime. The convicted suspect is dead, and the family and friends remaining are not at all grateful for this new information - not least because it means that one of them is the killer. The concept is great and as usual it's a well-handled mystery, although does stack up the bodies a bit (my parents used to watch this Scottish police drama called Taggart when I was small, and it usually became easier to work out who'd done it with each episode as more and more suspects turned up dead).
The Examiner, Janice Hallett. Another in her series of found document murder mysteries (a series in terms of format, not recurring characters), this one follows a group of students in their year at a multimedia art masterās program; as they await the approval of the final external examiner, it becomes apparent that one of them may have been murdered. This is very readable and it has some nice moments, plus I enjoyed the art masters concept, but it gets less likely as it progresses, one of the twists felt a little mean-spirited and the final revelations more contrived than inevitable.
Artificial Condition, Martha Wells. Will end up reviewing with the other Murderbots.
Invisible Boys, Holden Sheppard. Gay male teens struggling with their sexuality in small town western Australia; nothing goes particularly well. Itās well done for what it is but the female characters are short-changed and the three male narrators can be hard to distinguish at times. Reinforces my desire to stay in cities.
Copper script, KJ Charles
What did you eat yesterday, 5-21, Fumi Yoshinaga
Ordeal by innocence, Agatha Christie
The examiner, Janice Hallett
Artificial conditon, Martha Wells
Invisible boys, Holden Sheppard
Copper Script, KJ Charles. Post-WWI London, detective sergeant Aaron Fowler agrees to investigate someone who claims they can read peopleās characters from their handwriting after his rather dodgy cousin is dumped by his fiancĆ©e on this evidence, and becomes hopelessly entangled with the graphologist, Wildsmith, as they fall in love and solve crimes. Itās perfectly competent but didnāt get me any deeper than superficial enjoyment at the progressive ticking off of plot and relationship beats. I wasnāt really in the mood for either a cop hero or graphology as for-real mindreading though.
What did you eat yesterday, 5-21. Fumi Yoshinaga. These have been stacking up on my shelves and I finally caught up with reading them all - I think 5-8 were re-reads and then it was all new. This slice-of-life domestic cooking manga follows closeted lawyer Shiro (who does most of the cooking and is obsessed with frugality with a side of fat-shaming, which didnāt bother me because it feels so internalised but other readers may differ) and his partner Kenji (cheerful gossipy hairdresser, gives great specific compliments on the food) and their social circle through in real time, so the characters start in their early forties and are now in their fifties. I just love the art and the observation and the food and the way Yoshinaga can do so much in just a few panels, and the fact that the time frame means that what conflicts and problems there are (such as Shiroās parents allowing him to bring Kenji to one family New Yearās celebration but then telling him not to do it again) can play out over months or even years. It is definitely a different generation to She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat, in terms of expectations and identity, as well as broader cultural referents like social media, but I love them both. I have made a few recipes from this series and theyāve all turned out well, as well. I keep meaning to track down the TV series but I usually only watch about one TV series per year and unexpectedly this year it seems to be The Pitt, so that will have to wait.
Ordeal by Innocence, Agatha Christie. Iām not sure if Iāve read this one before. A man able to provide the person convicted of murder with an impeccable alibi finally shows up two years after the crime. The convicted suspect is dead, and the family and friends remaining are not at all grateful for this new information - not least because it means that one of them is the killer. The concept is great and as usual it's a well-handled mystery, although does stack up the bodies a bit (my parents used to watch this Scottish police drama called Taggart when I was small, and it usually became easier to work out who'd done it with each episode as more and more suspects turned up dead).
The Examiner, Janice Hallett. Another in her series of found document murder mysteries (a series in terms of format, not recurring characters), this one follows a group of students in their year at a multimedia art masterās program; as they await the approval of the final external examiner, it becomes apparent that one of them may have been murdered. This is very readable and it has some nice moments, plus I enjoyed the art masters concept, but it gets less likely as it progresses, one of the twists felt a little mean-spirited and the final revelations more contrived than inevitable.
Artificial Condition, Martha Wells. Will end up reviewing with the other Murderbots.
Invisible Boys, Holden Sheppard. Gay male teens struggling with their sexuality in small town western Australia; nothing goes particularly well. Itās well done for what it is but the female characters are short-changed and the three male narrators can be hard to distinguish at times. Reinforces my desire to stay in cities.
engine running hotter than a boiling kettle
Sep. 7th, 2025 08:28 pmmusesfoolDespite getting a late start all weekend and being distracted by a new matching game on my phone (I can lose hours to these stupid games), I got some good cooking done!
Yesterday, I made garlic & mozzarella milk bread (pics), which turned out quite well even though I forgot the salt due to its weird placement in the recipe (in theory I understand why it is where it is, but in practice it makes no sense to do it that way), but I used salted butter, so I don't think I missed it, and the bread rose just fine.
This afternoon, I finally made this strawberry cheesecake since my cream cheese was well past its use-by date and my heavy cream was getting there! It's still chilling, but when I licked the spatula after pouring the filling into the pie plate, all I really tasted was the five-spice powder. Which I like! But it's not what I would expect given the amount of freeze-dried strawberry powder in it. I guess we'll see how it goes when I cut into it tomorrow. (I also have this issue with nutmeg - even when I try to go easy on it in something, it still is frequently the only thing I taste after using it. I don't know why!)
And then I finally got up and made meatballs with oregano and red wine vinegar to have for lunch during the week. This was a method my grandmother used to use, and it is a great way to eat meatballs (or veggies - she also used to make it with zucchini, and I imagine you could do other types of squash or eggplant this way) - you make and cook the meatballs and set them aside. Then you saute onions in some olive oil (or in the beef fat left if you've fried your meatballs - I do mine in the oven, so I just use oil) and lower the heat and let them caramelize a bit, then you put the meatballs back in, sprinkle about 1/8 cup of dried oregano over them, and then pour in 1/3 - 3/4 cup of red wine vinegar. Be careful as billows of deliciously pungent smoke will rise from your frying pan at that point! Then lower the heat and let it all simmer for 10 or 15 minutes. Good both hot and at room temperature! (I haven't made it with zucchini myself, but for that, you slice and fry or bake your zucchini, and then continue on with the onions/oregano/vinegar as described.)
I have taken the garbage out and started the dishwasher, so now I am prepared for the awfulness of Sunday night. Sigh.
*
Yesterday, I made garlic & mozzarella milk bread (pics), which turned out quite well even though I forgot the salt due to its weird placement in the recipe (in theory I understand why it is where it is, but in practice it makes no sense to do it that way), but I used salted butter, so I don't think I missed it, and the bread rose just fine.
This afternoon, I finally made this strawberry cheesecake since my cream cheese was well past its use-by date and my heavy cream was getting there! It's still chilling, but when I licked the spatula after pouring the filling into the pie plate, all I really tasted was the five-spice powder. Which I like! But it's not what I would expect given the amount of freeze-dried strawberry powder in it. I guess we'll see how it goes when I cut into it tomorrow. (I also have this issue with nutmeg - even when I try to go easy on it in something, it still is frequently the only thing I taste after using it. I don't know why!)
And then I finally got up and made meatballs with oregano and red wine vinegar to have for lunch during the week. This was a method my grandmother used to use, and it is a great way to eat meatballs (or veggies - she also used to make it with zucchini, and I imagine you could do other types of squash or eggplant this way) - you make and cook the meatballs and set them aside. Then you saute onions in some olive oil (or in the beef fat left if you've fried your meatballs - I do mine in the oven, so I just use oil) and lower the heat and let them caramelize a bit, then you put the meatballs back in, sprinkle about 1/8 cup of dried oregano over them, and then pour in 1/3 - 3/4 cup of red wine vinegar. Be careful as billows of deliciously pungent smoke will rise from your frying pan at that point! Then lower the heat and let it all simmer for 10 or 15 minutes. Good both hot and at room temperature! (I haven't made it with zucchini myself, but for that, you slice and fry or bake your zucchini, and then continue on with the onions/oregano/vinegar as described.)
I have taken the garbage out and started the dishwasher, so now I am prepared for the awfulness of Sunday night. Sigh.
*
Farmboys picspam, part 2
Sep. 6th, 2025 05:37 pmsakana17( Thirst trap edition )
(I'm trying to stop posting these but then the guys put more pics up on their Weibos and my resolve weakens.š The funniest thing is that a year ago I was hard-pressed to find any decent pictures of Lu Zhuo because his Weibo pics were terrible. Fortunately for all, he seems to have found a better photographer. And speaking of better photos, I send thanks out to the world to the person who replaced Zhuo Yuan's profile picture on MyDramaList. It is a huge improvement over the hilariously awful old one.š)
(I'm trying to stop posting these but then the guys put more pics up on their Weibos and my resolve weakens.š The funniest thing is that a year ago I was hard-pressed to find any decent pictures of Lu Zhuo because his Weibo pics were terrible. Fortunately for all, he seems to have found a better photographer. And speaking of better photos, I send thanks out to the world to the person who replaced Zhuo Yuan's profile picture on MyDramaList. It is a huge improvement over the hilariously awful old one.š)
Private community for storing drafts, templates and symbols
Sep. 7th, 2025 08:55 amg_uava posting in fictional_fans(cross-posted from newcomers)
Sharing my method for saving unpublished posts on Dreamwidth since I haven't seen it mentioned before:
It's basically just creating a community for yourself with all posts set to private (here's how). That'll serve as a repository for posts only visible to you that you can organise with tags exclusive to the community. I also use my private community to store post templates with code and put in a sticky post a bunch of often used emoji along with other symbols to copy and paste when I'm on my PC.
Does anyone know of any other less known methods for saving drafts on Dreamwidth? āŗļø
(no subject)
Sep. 6th, 2025 12:18 amskygiantsgenarti and I have been working our very slow but delighted way through We Are Lady Parts, the British sitcom about an all-Muslim punk rock band composed of opinionated women with beautiful and compelling faces. I'd been seeing a lot of gifsets of these faces before we watched the show and I am pleased to report that they are even more beautiful and compelling at full length. For those of you who have missed the gifsets, please enjoy Lady Parts performing "Villain Era":The two most protagonist-y protagonists are Saira, the band's lead singer/guitarist, who is at all times extremely punk rock, and Amina, a stressed-out trad-Muslim scientist with terrible stage fright, who really has to work to access her inner punk rock. The cast is rounded out with Ayesha, the angry lesbian drummer; Bisma, who plays the role of maternal peacemaker until she starts to chafe at it; and Momtaz, the band's go-getter manager. The first season focuses mostly on the question of whether Amina can conquer her own inhibitions enough to contribute her excellent guitar skills and huge Disney eyes to the band after Saira press-gangs her into joining them. The second season brings the whole band up against the music industry more generally, and the various ways that the public pressure of moderate fame starts to push each of them into re-examining their self-image and relationships to their music and identity. It's a good show! I liked it very much!
Also, like everyone else in the world, we have recently watched KPop Demon Hunters. Also a very good time featuring banger music tracks -- I'd seen it described as 'a series of really good music videos' and broadly I agree with this assessment -- plus twenty pounds of fun kdrama tropes stuffed into a five-pound bag. Probably would not have felt compelled to write anything about it except for the fact that by an accident of timing, we ended up watching the season finale of Lady Parts the day after we watched KPop Demon Hunters which made for a very funny accidental wine pairing. Both funny and telling to go from ( high-level spoilers for both KPop Demon Hunters and Lady Parts )
Nora Roberts/JD Robb
Sep. 5th, 2025 08:36 pmlightreadsIdentity
3/5. One of her standalone romantic suspense titles, this one about a woman whose life is wrecked and best friend murdered by an identity thief, so she goes back to her hometown and rebuilds. Classic Roberts ā homemaking in the literal sense, rebuilding from the ruins, deep family connections, a romance that does not take top billing. I liked this one. The hero is actually interesting, which is not the case with many of hers, and the set dressing about the trade of bartending and hospitality in general is a welcome departure.
Framed in Death
3/5. A pretty standard procedural about an artist turning to murder to get famous or whatever. I was not feeling this one ā too formula, but what do I expect after 60 something books of formula, honestly. But then this was my audiobook during 90+ minutes of extensive and painful dental work, to which I also brought my simmering case of PTSD from that time I woke out of anesthesia in the middle of eye surgery and that is triggered by having people with instruments right there in my face, which makes dental work, you know. Not great. Aaaanyway, this book basically held my hand for 90 minutes, so you know what, long live the formula.
Sidebar: I am utterly boggled by the system of legalized prostitution she has half-imagined here. Not the legalized part, with mandatory STD testing for licensure and all that. No, Iām boggled by a throwaway reference to a āstreet LC,ā who basically bangs people for cash in alleys, getting ready to . . . apply to move up? ā¦ Wait. Apply to whom? There is a government licensing body that decides who is eligible for street solicitation versus . . . what exactly? Nora. I have so many questions. You have no answers.
3/5. One of her standalone romantic suspense titles, this one about a woman whose life is wrecked and best friend murdered by an identity thief, so she goes back to her hometown and rebuilds. Classic Roberts ā homemaking in the literal sense, rebuilding from the ruins, deep family connections, a romance that does not take top billing. I liked this one. The hero is actually interesting, which is not the case with many of hers, and the set dressing about the trade of bartending and hospitality in general is a welcome departure.
Framed in Death
3/5. A pretty standard procedural about an artist turning to murder to get famous or whatever. I was not feeling this one ā too formula, but what do I expect after 60 something books of formula, honestly. But then this was my audiobook during 90+ minutes of extensive and painful dental work, to which I also brought my simmering case of PTSD from that time I woke out of anesthesia in the middle of eye surgery and that is triggered by having people with instruments right there in my face, which makes dental work, you know. Not great. Aaaanyway, this book basically held my hand for 90 minutes, so you know what, long live the formula.
Sidebar: I am utterly boggled by the system of legalized prostitution she has half-imagined here. Not the legalized part, with mandatory STD testing for licensure and all that. No, Iām boggled by a throwaway reference to a āstreet LC,ā who basically bangs people for cash in alleys, getting ready to . . . apply to move up? ā¦ Wait. Apply to whom? There is a government licensing body that decides who is eligible for street solicitation versus . . . what exactly? Nora. I have so many questions. You have no answers.