I have another giant bruise on the other leg. And new claw marks from Erzabet using me as a climbing toy.

Black

Hollygrove rice? How long and what proportion of water?

It's a 2 parts water to 1 part rice, bring to boil, drop to simmer, simmer 25 minutes, take off heat and rest for another 10 minutes.

YUM, red beans! You using Camellia or Blue Runner beans?

Camellia. And thanks!

Tom got word today that his mother's liquid assets are pretty much all gone. The government will keep providing care, but they'll probably put a hold (or whatever it's called) on her half of the house. The non-crappy news is that it looks like Tom's dad's finances won't be drained as well.

My mom was telling me that my dad's disorientation and confusion is getting worse and not responding to drug treatment (an Alzheimer's drug, maybe?) and his knee is still bleeding- he's getting a couple pints a day replenished.

ISTG, IDEK.

Holy shit, Nora! That is Not Good, all around. And a couple of pints a day? Eeesh. I'm sorry so many things are crappy at the moment. Um. Want some red beans and rice?

In petty mememe, I am vacillating between massive insecurity and vicious crankiness, and fiending for cigarettes like a mofo. I have no chocolate in the house, alcohol but no mixers, and I haven't bought cigarettes since July 4th but if I don't buy some tonight, it will be entirely thanks to laziness.

I finished my first day of teaching. Then responded to a bunch of emails about online course stuff that didn't work right. Now I'm tired and achy. I need to find a way to teach without standing so much.

My friend Kimmie says that we're in the tail end of Mercury in retrograde. So that's why everything sucks.

We have some pesto pasta we're putting on, but thanks for the offer!

No cigarettes! Go Team Entropy!

Yeah, it supposedly fucks with communication and technology. I've been having more AT&T issues, you?

Mmm, pesto pasta.

Maybe I'll just walk to La Divinia and get some gelato.

Maybe I'll just walk to La Divinia and get some gelato.

YES. Much, much, much better than cigarettes. Yum. Maybe we will too!

As my mother keeps saying, "It's hell to get old." When was the surgery, Nora?

I've been dealing with plantar fasciitis in my right foot for several months now. It took a while to get various appointments. I had a cortisone shot last week which didn't do much and saw a podiatrist today. She says supportive shoe inserts, wear shoes with inserts all the time (I hate shoes), ice three times a day, stretching and nsaids. I've been doing the stretching and some ice, although not as often she prescribes, and taking the nsaids.

I normally go to the Y five mornings a week and do weights MWF and a half hour of treadmill or elliptical every day. I've skipped some because my foot was bothering me, but generally have kept to that. The podiatrist says no weight-bearing exercise until I'm better, but weights are all right except for things like leg presses and squats. I go to the Y with my neighbor and we reinforce each other.

The other piece of the equation is that the book festival is labor day weekend, and I'll be on my feet for two days. I don't want to cancel that, because they don't have enough experienced captains.

Do I stop going to the Y altogether until after labor day and concentrate on treating my foot? Do I go MWF and just do weights? Do I retire to my bed with the vapors?