Thanks. I guess it's a good thing I took this time off - although being sick isn't how I thought I'd be spending my vacation.

bonny, I'm so glad that Niki is doing so well! Much joy in that.

sumi, that is totally unfair for you to have to be sick while on vaca. I hope you feel better soon.

I wish ease for both sickness of the heart and the body to all those who are ailing.

I'm sorry you're having such a concentration of badness, Teppy. There does seem to be a number vortices of evil going on. Remember Tammy, the granddaughter who has done so much for my late cousin and his wife? Her mother, the one whose husband died five days after my cousin's funeral, needs a hysterectomy and may have cancer, but the mother doesn't have insurance and keeps putting things off, despite her daughter's pleadings. Also, Tammy now has shingles. Tammy has aspects of being one of us. The card she put in my Christmas present has a woman looking at a cookbook and saying, "And the blood of a newborn...a newborn what? Satan, why are your recipes so difficult?"

In good news, the dentist was able to clean out a little decay and then glue back in the gold onlay that fell out yesterday. When that happened about this time last year, I had to have the tooth pulled.

Tammy's shingles are probably caused/exacerbated by the stress she's been going through. She needs to take a break.

The card she put in my Christmas present has a woman looking at a cookbook and saying, "And the blood of a newborn...a newborn what? Satan, why are your recipes so difficult?"

Heh, awesome. I like her already.

Welcome Aeryn!

Bonny, I'm glad things are working out well for Niki.

Steph, I'm sorry you've lost someone close to you.

The card she put in my Christmas present has a woman looking at a cookbook and saying, "And the blood of a newborn...a newborn what? Satan, why are your recipes so difficult?"

Oh my. That's pretty awesome.

Bonny, I meant to say that it's so great that Nikki is doing so well.

Thanks for the good thoughts. It really has started my year off right to know that, more than being cared for well, she is well and truly happy. She says that her daughter is organized and kind and she loves her SiL's sense of humor. Plus, she is half a block from the ocean and goes there to watch the sun set. "There is so much more 'sky' around here."

I just love it.

In other stuff, does anybody but me drink Trader Joe's Blueberry Green Tea? I can't seem to find it at my locals and I'm wondering if it has been discontinued. Wouldn't be the first time one of my favorites disappeared. (soy poppers, I'm still pining for you!) But, if it is still out there, I'd like some more.

Congrats, Alters!

Tep, I'm sorry about your co-worker. (And your bumbling boss.)

I just met an old Salon TableTalk regular for lunch. He started living in a Mercedes Benz van last year, traipsing around the country. It seems to be going well for him. We had a great chat. It was fun to see someone and feel confident that I hadn't bored them or made some social faux pas. Whether it's paranoia or not, I so often leave an event feeling that I messed up somehow.

I so often leave an event feeling that I messed up somehow.

What a terrible way to feel. I know everyone who met you at K&D's Thanksgiving thought you were very nice.