I'm freezing, so I made a whole vat of tea. I have a collection of teapots, some of which don't get used, and thus should be tossed, but--pretty! Then there are ones that are pretty and get used, and some I use but The Menfolk wouldn't be caught dead using. All I do is make the tea in the pot anyway, and then decant it into the pump pot. Yesterday I used the white English Pristine pot, today I used a gorgeous potbellied fucshia-colored perfect pot--except for the fact that the spout is ferschimmlt, and the first third of the pot wound up on the counter and not in the pump pot. Or my mug.

So I surrendered to destiny and climbed up to the top shelf and got down the Brown Bettys. One isn't really a Betty, it's a Japan-made spiffied-up version, with dark brown glaze that lightens in stria toward a pale buff color at the bottom. Still, brown. Manly. And utilitarian. The other is a real Betty, plain, brown, self-effacing, homely, with "ENG" and a lighthouse scratched in the glaze on the bottom. It has a makeshift lid, since the inch-deep one was lost before I got the pot, but the makeshift works well enough, as long as you remember to keep a finger on it while you pour. The best thing about it, though? The spout points down, so there's none of this ooOOps! Splash! Gotcha! mess. Homely, utilitarian, completely civilized.

Too bad about the pretty pots.

It's great that Suzi's headache and Deena's pain have eased up. I vote for more of that. Sumi's knee and Hil's joints, I'm looking at you.

Thanks, Nora. It's just rough, and I think I may be PMSing too, and it's all very "let's crawl in a hole and die, ta ever so."

But I come and read the Buffistas, and you all make me happy, and I had a pretty poinsettia on my desk this morning, so not all is lost!

Heavens, Ailleann, however did you wind up starting a diet mere weeks before Christmas? Brave woman! Best luck with it, stick to your guns.

Several ounces of rootbeer later and I still cannot locate the beeping. It seems to have stopped completely. Must have been my onboard, "caffeine levels dangerously low" alarm.

however did you wind up starting a diet mere weeks before Christmas?

Because I have no brain in my head. At my last weigh-in, which was depressing, the gym manager was all "Let's do the diet!" and I was all "Whee!" And then after we started I thought, "six weeks?! but that's Christmas... damn!"

I have to read more about the plan (we need a new law to put six more hours in every day), but I think by Christmas time I won't be so restricted. I always eat too much at Christmas anyway, so maybe this will be a good way to keep from packing on more weight.

Aillean, good luck with the diet. I have been trying to eat healthier the last couple of days in the hopes of losing a little weight and getting some energy, and it is hard.

Maybe the coffee maker is trying to summon you.

Yay Aillean for the efforts.

Tough stuff this dieting. I'm in extreme diet mode. As in cleaning type fasting. Only consuming my mixture of water, maple syrup, lemon, and cayenne pepper. Yum. Fortunately I find it tasty. Day 5 now so I am not hungry at all. Lost 8.5 pounds already so that's cool.

I followed SIL's lead and did the fast because I have been having little health annoyances like never ending cough, ear infections, etc. 21 days of cleanse and my body should be happier with me. Of course, in the short run it is unpleasant, as in coughing up most of my lungs, but it has to be done. It has been easier than I expected. I will probably start to break fast the 22nd. It takes a few days so I should be able to actually chew food on Christmas. Whee!

Wow, my complaints have totally fizzled, because I am SO not that hardcore. I will think of you when I need strength, Laura!

I am very impressed with your willpower, Laura.