The arthritis in my hands is getting worse, to the point that my handwriting, even with a ballpoint, is pretty sloppy. I'm probably going to be reducing my fountain pen collection down to the inherited pieces, and aution off my inks. It's sad to see them collecting dust and knowing I'll never use them again.

I'm sorry to hear your hands are so painful, Bev.

Thanks, Windsparrow. It's only partly pain, that's pretty manageable. It's mainly the stiffness that prevents the pretty handwriting. But I can still type, and so, communicate, so that's a good thing.

The arthritis in my hands is getting worse, to the point that my handwriting, even with a ballpoint, is pretty sloppy. I'm probably going to be reducing my fountain pen collection down to the inherited pieces, and aution off my inks. It's sad to see them collecting dust and knowing I'll never use them again.

Oh, no! I would love right of first refusal on any pens that you are putting on ebay or whatever. I had that gorgeous yellow one that you gave me for years, until I somehow bent the body of it so that it would not screw together anymore. Actually, I still have it, I just can't use it.

Laura, I'm not even on the John H Natter diet, but I've skipped & skimmed enough to understand.

I am sorry to learn of the death of your mother. I'm also sorry to learn of the "drama" (not from you) that you have had to deal with.

May God rest your mother and give your family peace. Please don't worry about people who can't have compassion for you. I am sorry for your loss. May you find peace and strength.

Hi Cindy.

Blah. Still awake. Still hurting. At least I don't need to be up early tomorrow. I do need to go to campus tomorrow, though, and driving is going to hurt. Maybe I'll take an Uber or something.

Hey Hil R. I hope you feel better.

Laura, I've been through much of what your family's going through, and you have my support and love, always. I hope you can find some comfort and peace, and can lean a little on others for strength.

Hil, wishing you ease and good rest.

Vortex, is your profile addy good? I can email you pictures. When I get things sorted. And I'm so sorry about the pen! If you want to mail it to us, H can take a look at it and see if it can be mended. He's become the go-to guy for mending things. He rebuilt a neighbor's deck over the end of the summer. This evening he mended a charging connection cord for another neighbor's wheelchair. And over the weekend he took electrician's tape and a couple of binder clips and cobbled a hinge for my laptop screen--it won't close, but I can use it just fine. Plus he has a shop full of tools, from Tim Taylor "more power! Ha! Ha! Ha!" tools to tiny jeweler's and eyeglass mender's tools. No promises, but maybe something in there will work.

And Cindy, it's always good to see you.

Hey Cindy! Good to see you here.

I am awake far too early. Even if I am on the east coast. Someone was supposed to come at 730 to fix the broken hot water heater. They're now coming at 815 but it is too late for me to go back to sleep. Boo. It's cold in here. But at least the electric blanket kept me fabulously warm last night.

Okay, appointment made with Awesome Doctor for tomorrow to get back on antidepressants. I hate this.

But he's the doctor who first recognized my depression back in the day in my 20s, so he's familiar with me, my medical history (including depression), and what antidepressants I've been on and how they worked. So I at least feel good about the fact that he takes me seriously and knows his shit (for all values of "his shit" that include both internal medicine AND my medical history). And also odds are good that he'll make me laugh even if I'm crying, and that's worth its weight in gold.