I haz nail polish! They are all so beautiful that I don't know which one to try first, except of course I do because I've been CRAVING olive green nails.

I think I love the flakies--or whatever they are called--but I have a wee pang of guilt because one is a bit close in color to an OPI color I have. Oops. Either I keep both or one will wind up in the polish exchange.

Hivemind question: If you are sending mail to a married couple who both have PhD's should it go to Dr. FirstName LastName and Dr. FirstName LastName on the envelope?

IorelatedN, if anyone who hasn't asked for one wants a wedding announcement from us in the mail, speak now or forever hold your peace.

Thanks, Plei. I've done 23andMe and have results for some of the MC1R SNPs but I don't know enough to see whether I've got the redhead ones or other ones. I didn't see anything there for PMOC at all.

I haven't had a pain-free day since 1995. Having a pain condition means I've gotten so that some types of pain are background noise and I've had to develop a high tolerance for them. The usual OTC stuff recommended for RSI - ibuprofen, naproxen, etc. don't work very well for me. But those aren't painkillers per se. When I got oxycodone after my ulnar nerve surgery, it worked *just fine*.

Meara'ing: thank you all for the friendship talk. That's why it took me so long to reappear here, actually: I got sucked into it. bonny, I can do nothing but echoing back Buffistas, and re-notify you that you're an excellent human being.

Eye contact: count me in for "it's embarrassing if it's more than a few seconds" club.

Kindda skimmed the dog talk, though. Steph, I'm sorry you have to go thought this with Chloe: you're on my thoughts. Also, glad to hear that Taz is alright.

I do miss my Lou, very much. Some days, it's easier to forget I ever had a dog. It might sound harsh and cold, but I prefer it than the pain it causes me sometimes, to remember him.

And as usual, much ~ma and hugs to those who need it. And Happy belated birthday, Jilli!

And God, Ginger. It almost feels as if ~ma won't cover it, but your family is in my thoughts.

Also, On The List: neighbors who are moving furniture on Saturdays, at 8:00am.

And now I'm down the red hair genetics rabbit hole:

How red hair can skip a generation [link]

One of the problems I've encountered so far is that 23andMe doesn't use exactly the same terminology as genetic researchers. So it's hard for the lay person to independently compare their genome to some of the research going on.

Edit: Also MC1R stuff [link]

If you are sending mail to a married couple who both have PhD's should it go to Dr. FirstName LastName and Dr. FirstName LastName on the envelope?

I do believe that is the proper form, but personally I find it a bit overly formal when I get a social invitation addressed to me as Dr LastName, so I tend to default to Mr and Mrs LastName or Mr HisLastName and Ms HerLastName. But I am undoubtedly breaking Emily Post rules there.

I am mainly appalled at the burden that's ended up on this one grandchild. At this point, it's not really my family, except that she and I have actually become pretty good friends through this. I never really knew her before, because my cousin's wife (her grandmother) is such an unpleasant person that I avoided large family gatherings here. I don't feel as if I've done enough, except talk to her for hours on the phone, since I was about the only person she could vent to who knew all of the dramatis personae.

And in Annals of Cancer Does Not Make You a Better Person, yesterday said grandmother was screaming on the phone at her grandson about how no one was paying attention to her on the day after his father died.

The ginger thing is very weird, and saddening. My sister had all manner of crap in the playground. So much so that she was hoping she wouldn't have red-headed children. She has two. Who are as beautiful as she is! I get angry at people being anti-ginger, and tell them that it's nasty and to stop. Doesn't get taken too seriously, alas.

Thanks for the info on the redhead gene and pain, P.M. Marcontell. Pain research is really interesting. I respond very oddly to painkillers as a result of EDS. You learn how to be persistent with doctors.

Ginger, many thoughts for you and for your cousin's wife. [Edit: have realised that this grandchild is not your cousin's wife. Sorry - the relationship is a bit confusing. Wishing the grandchild well, at any rate.]

Hivemind question: If you are sending mail to a married couple who both have PhD's should it go to Dr. FirstName LastName and Dr. FirstName LastName on the envelope?

If they have the same last name, you can address it to "The Doctors LastName". If they have different last names, then you would address it to Dr. FirstName LastName and Dr. FirstName LastName.

I know it's confusing, Seska. I feel like I need a diagram and a pointer. My family tree is all warped by a cousin raised as a brother, fratricide, divorce, and people we don't speak to.