Suzi, I saw something in the paper that made me think of CJ - it was an employee with the National Park Service ... basically, he's at the Grand Canyon and is responsible for getting people who've suffered from heat/thirst/exhaustion/sunstroke/etc. to medical care. He started off as a teenaged search and rescue volunteer.

*sticks head in the door*

I don't know if this is the right specific product, but I remember a few of you mentioning La Roche Posay skin cream a few days back, so I though there might be interest in this Groupon:

[link]

Hugs and ~ma, as needed.

*goes back to work, but grudgingly*

Neat Toddson. CJ would totally do that. His latest long term goal is to be a "tactical medic". They are the ones who goes into a situation after the SWAT team has already gone through.

Getting all mememe:

New boss, after two months, is awesome. Previous boss was bad - every performance review was about how I failed to meet expectations. When I asked if we could meet to talk about what her expectations were ... crickets. Actually, crickets would have been more responsive (by the way - we're getting a big cicada brood this summer). At my request, the new boss worked with me for almost two weeks before he saw my old performance reviews. He called me in, said he'd read them ... and then sat waving his hand because he had NO WORDS for the reviews. It's such a relief. I don't even mind being run ragged, since he's all positive energy. And reasonableness.

And my family - or at least my sister - has cut me off. I'd stopped calling, except on specific occasions, which because she and my mother both refused to call me (except, sometimes, on my birthday) left a resounding silence. My mother's now 86 and failing; last November my sister called and said mom was in the hospital. Again. It's at least once every winter - she'll get sick and refuse to take care of herself or go to the doctor until she wakes up at 2am unable to breathe and then gets admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. November ... as the saying has it, I had no spoons. So I didn't go up. I sent Christmas cards and presents, never heard anything more. Then, at the end of February, I got a package from my sister. It had a terse note that mom is now in an assisted living facility. And the Christmas package returned unopened.

sigh ... it's kind of a relief, but I'm feeling kind of adrift.

edited to add: But I'm pretty much all right. It's just ... I have to accept I don't really have a family any more. I suppose, IF I were willing to grovel and atone, I might be allowed back in. But I'm not willing to do that.

I'm sorry about your family, Toddson, but what a relief to have a sane boss.

Sanity in the workplace is seriously underrated.

Also some news that turned out to be good - a couple months ago I was afraid I had a bedbug infestation. So I consulted the wise msbelle and got some good advice. However, it turned out that I didn't have bedbugs - the laundry room in my building had fleas. Which is unpleasant, but much less of a headache than my own personal bedbugs. So now, when I do laundry, I wear pants with elastic at the ankles and avoid the bench; it's no fun having to stand up while the laundry runs, but it beats having bites.

My everyday stuff is a set I got at a local consignment shop; it's thin ironstone. The design is called "Empress" (waits for Aims).

I'll be going ahead putting a claim on those, thankyewverymuch.

Is it this? [link]

I never had anything returned, Toddson, but when I stopped sending the cards and letters at birthdays and Christmas, no one seemed to mind. I realized the postal service runs both ways and I couldn't force my blood family to acknowledge me. Christmas became much happier when I stopped watching the mail.