I miss being able to enjoy food. I feel awful tonight.

askye, I'm glad you went back to the doctor and that Will was able to accompany you through it. I hope the new cough medicine helps.

Connie and Maria, my thoughts are with you. Connie, I know it hurts to remember and there's nothing that can really help that. I keep turning back to the Stuart Scott quote from his speech:

"When you die, that does not mean you lose to cancer," Scott said in the July speech at the ESPY Awards. "You beat cancer by how you live, why you live and the manner in which you live."

By that measure, your husband beat it. Probably cold comfort, I know. But your viking fought all the way.

****

Katerina Bee, thank you for the bird stories, they are charming. And billytea, thank you for the sci fi (but not Syfy) twist.

Okay, one more question on this dress [link]

As shown, those are cap sleeves, which are not flattering on my own personal arms, because they hit at exactly the wrong spot. But you can customize the sleeves, so my question is: standard short sleeves (longer than the cap sleeves pictured, but not massively so), or sleeveless?

I'm actually leaning towards sleeveless, though my first instinct was short sleeves. As you can see, I can be swayed either way.

Please show your work.

(Not really.)

Steph, I blame you for the fact that I literally just put about 30 eShakti dresses on my Amazon wishlist (to keep track of them without actually purchasing them).

The one thing I don't quite understand is why, for the plain dresses (with no embroidery/patterns) they don't just offer different colors too. Some they only have in one color or two colors, and others they have in five...it's weird.

And I want to order ALL OF THEM. But want to not be the size I am, in a few months.

...I suppose what I need to do is try on the ones that are already in my closet, and make sure those are not what's on the wishlist (one I like, but was too small recently, and one I like but really the skirt is too full, it just gets ridiculous)

Tep, I LOVE that dress! I vote for the longer short sleeves.

askye, I emailed you back.

Connie, I'm keeping you in my thoughts; it may not mean much, but I think about you quite a bit, love.

(If I forgot to mention anyone, so sorry -- I'm in pain from fallind hard TWICE down the stairs today (slippery shoes and answering the door in a hurry, and socks on wood stairs when I was also hurrying. Brain is stupid right now.)

Ouch, Strix! Be gentle with yourself.

I took all the right precautions last night -- ice, lots of anti-inflammatories, then heat.

But I am in more agony this morning, and Dan is taking me to the doc at 11. Please, don't let it be more than a bad sprain, and please have her give me some Flexeril and painkillers more potent than ibuprofen.

Strix, I wish you nothing more than a sprain, and some good painkillers!

Steph, I think sleeveless would be the way to go with that dress.

Bummer, Strix. I hope the doctor can help you get healing and pain-free quickly.

I'm sorry, Strix. Good luck at the doctor's office.