If you ever read or watched Rosemary's Baby, "chocolate mouse" has a whole other meaning. And a chalky undertaste.

Steph, I'm so sorry about your aunt! Your poor dad.

My friend has invited me to Game Night tonight and I don't wanna go. I feel like I should go. I'm really not gonna do anything here but watch tv. But I feel anxious and ugly and kinda fragile and I just don't want to go have fun with people, if that makes any sense. I should probably make myself go. I feel like I need more than six hours warning to get ready for Organized Fun.

Or read Rosemary's Baby. Which I did in the airport limo to Ft. Dix visiting H back in the days we were first married.

I know a lot of you re-read books. Am I the only one who re-reads to reclaim and re-experience not only the plot of the book, but the surroundings in which you first read it? Rosemary's Baby will always belong to that hot summer, airports, and waiting in spartan rooms for H to get off duty.

Woman on the Edge of Time will always be dappled shade and birdsong while the kids splashed in the lake, as will The Stars My Destination. Daybreak 2250 AD will always be a snowy day in military quarters in Nurnberg, steam radiators hissing and clanking.

Anybody else? Just me, then?

Steph, my condolences to you and your family.

sj, just hugs and thoughts of you and TCG.

Am I the only one who re-reads to reclaim and re-experience not only the plot of the book, but the surroundings in which you first read it?

I have a related issue with some books. If I have a book along for reading during a time of deep stress, trying to re-read the book triggers a certain amount of renewed stress. I sat by my mom's bed for a couple of days towards the end of her life when she was pretty much comatose. And I kept an old favorite book with me that I'd read a bit of while holding her hand. Now I can't really read the book again without feeling an echo of what I was feeling then. Except, oddly enough, reading the eBook version doesn't bring up the same feelings.

Emotions, man. How the f--- do they work?

I kind of get that with some books. The Secret Garden make me eight again, and sitting in a tree reading. (There was a great climbing tree in our backyard, and I could stick a book into the back of the waistband of my shorts, climb up to the place where the branch dipped and made a nice seat, and sit there reading for hours. I was so sad a few years ago when the low branch -- the one you need to grab onto to start climbing -- died, and it had to be cut off.)

I'm going to guess this one.

Thanks, Cass. Between Harvey's age and the weight loss, I was surprised this vet wasn't all over the thyroid testing and that I had to insist on it. And then it still didn't get done? I'm feeling a little growly over it yet trying to be understanding of human frailties.

I may drop the idea of mouse or mousse because the recipe is too much effort. Easy is more my plan.

Would Cocoa Ricotta do? [link]

But I feel anxious and ugly and kinda fragile and I just don't want to go have fun with people, if that makes any sense.

You have to figure out if your urge to turtle is counter-productive wallowing or if it is a signal that you need some time to yourself. I support you in doing whatever is going to make you feel the best in the long run. And I support you if you happen to get mixed up about what, precisely, will do that. I'm a firm believer that "I'm sorry, I already made plans" is a perfectly reasonable answer even for those times when the plans in question are plans to vegetate in front of the television by yourself.

I need some new dresses. I got one at Loft last year that I really liked, but they don't have anything similar this year. I'm looking for a sleeveless dress, about knee-length or little shorter, either all cotton or a cotton/linen blend. (A little bit of some other fiber mixed in is OK, but I need a breathable fabric, so at least mostly cotton.) It seems like most of the stuff I'm finding is synthetic. It looks like I'll be in classrooms with no air conditioning and windows that essentially turn them into greenhouses next year, so I need some clothes that I can wear for teaching for the first month or two of classes.

If you ever read or watched Rosemary's Baby

I've certainly seen the movie (when it first came out!!), but never read the book. Must remedy that.

Am I the only one who re-reads to reclaim and re-experience not only the plot of the book, but the surroundings in which you first read it?

Indeed, but because of my stupid memory not usually until well into it. Then surprise!

Would Cocoa Ricotta do?

Perfection! That will do and then some. Yum.

Thanks, WS. The more I thought about going, the worse I felt, so I bowed out, gracefully I hope.

Hi Laura. I have a low carb "desert for the main dish" I use for lunch a lot. Peanut butter pudding. 6 oz plain non-fat greek yogurt. 2 Tablespoons of peanut butter. splenda equal to six teaspoons of sugar (three packets). Mix well. That is it. The sour of yogurt, and the tangy and mild sweetness of the peanut butter and the sweetness of the sweetner make for good flavor. (Yes, because of how sour the yogurt is, you need that much sweetness.) The peanut butter mixed in with the yogurt gives something close to that classic pudding texture. I use only peanut butter that has peanuts and salt as the only ingredients. Nothing with added oils or sweetners. Or as I call it "real peanut butter" .

Depending on the brand of yogurt and (to a much lesser extent) brand of peanut butter) total carbs will be between 10 and 15 carbs. I usually have a small pear or small apple on the side which turns it into a moderate carb meal. But you can use berries or a salad if that is not low carb enough for you. (I'm concentrating on blood sugar control, and avoiding extreme lows as well as extreme highs, so I try to keep glycemic impact between a minimum and a maximum, rather than just as low as possible.)