Take good care of yourself, Nora. Forgive yourself for being sad. And thinking of you too, Maria.

smonster, you've made such amazing progress today. woot!

Also, I have a date with a boy tomororw. A born boy. WTF?

Boys are, well, they aren't girls, but they do have their charms too.

Boys are, well, they aren't girls, but they do have their charms too.

What Burrell said.

Barb, I'm glad that mold has not had a chance to set in. I hope the rest of clean-up and restoration is not too huge a PITA.

{{{{{{Nora}}}}}} I wish there were a way to ease this time for you. It's always sudden.

{{{{{{Jilli}}}}}} because even though time heals wounds, all times are now.

May the day come soon, when your backs grow strong under the burdens of your grief, and it no longer bears you to the ground under the weight of it, that you carry it with pride, like a badge of honor.

But pretty soon you'll wake up in New Orleans and you'll say, "I live here!" and that's pretty fucking sweet.

YES I REMEMBER THIS TOO.

Me too!

Barb, I'm glad it's no worse than it is, and I hope it's cleared up and fixed and your house back to normal in no time.

Nora, what everybody said about there being no "right way" to mourn the loss of a loved one. Be kind to yourself.

smonster, so much road-luck, and new-life-luck to you.

Condolences, Maria.

Well, with the big time dryer fans running, it's like we have the world's biggest white noise machines in the house. The fumes from whatever they used as a mold preventative left me waking up with a migraine, but luckily, they seem to have dissipated, as has the headache after a nice long shower and coffee.

While I was never a big fan of the paneling downstairs, nor the carpet, it still makes me want to cry to see it all torn up. Clearly, I'm not one of those people who gets off on remodeling.

Landlady is helping me today. Woot! Mattress and boxspring are at curb for pickup, bedding is being washed, papers sorted and boxed.

smonster's landlady is a rockstar! May the new one be pretty decent, as well.

Barb, I hope that the redecorating you end up doing turns out to be just right, as to make you more comfortable and happy in your lovely house, when all is said and done. And may you have less trouble dredging up the patience to endure until then than you think.

I spotted this and just HAD to share it.

Maria, you and your family are in my thoughts.

I'm freaking exhausted today. The DH got back from El Salvador a little early, so we were actually able to catch the A's in Baltimore for their last game here. But that meant driving to and from Baltimore in nasty traffic and being outside for hours in 100-plus-degree heat and Code Orange air.

However, a nice dinner, an A's game, and a trip to Baltimore make an OK anniversary celebration.