Got my hair cut. Pretty much the same cut I've been getting, but it's as supercute as always. I think I'm gonna skip swimming in the morning so it'll still be pretty and styled for work.

Came home to a package from Amazon UK that must be Skullduggery Pleasant, so I'll be tucked away reading for a while (first I need to finish the book I am currently reading which is thankfully the last in its series, and then it's all Skullduggery until I have to put the book in the freezer)

Came home to a package from Amazon UK that must be Skullduggery Pleasant

UNFAIR. SO SO UNFAIR.

...maybe I should check the shrubbery for an errant package.

then it's all Skullduggery until I have to put the book in the freezer

I seriously, 100% don't know how to brace myself for this one. I don't even know what I want to happen. (Except I desperately want Fergus to use magic in some badass way. The scene where he clicked his fingers and made a flame is still one of my absolute favorites.)

So, as I semi-predicted, my family is not coming to visit. My grandmother has apparently been sick all week. My mother's guess, which sounds right, is that she works herself up into it with anxiety and etc. Well, at least the house is clean!

I can't answer about the effects of knitting but don't use a grinder for ~ 8 hrs, followed by scrubbing for a couple, followed by drilling 5 1/4" holes in 1" of iron and then a sawzall on 5 bolts at 30 degree angle. Hands keep cramping in weird shapes.

OH! I used my sawzall!

I seriously, 100% don't know how to brace myself for this one. I don't even know what I want to happen.

I know! It's kind of awesome, this void of any expectation except I'm pretty sure it will be great. In what way, I have no idea.

I expect pain. And to laugh my ass off.

Those are both very likely, yes.

BTW, have you seen today's Dinosaur Comics? You must see it (it's not Skullduggery related but it's Tep relevant)

The punctuation marks? I did! And I need to make everything an ice-cream comparison now so I can get more ice cream.

A medical question that has puzzled me for years: I've started loom knitting, and the arthritis that lurks in my hands occasionally makes it difficult. I know I can take various things for this as long as I don't overdo it, but if I take painkillers and keep knitting, am I causing damage to my hands?

It's my understanding that arthritis is going to get worse no matter what you do. However, not using your hands is going to make them stiffen up. Knitting should keep them moving. I'd say, make sure you do stretches and strengthening exercises, to counter the repetitive motion. My experience with it is from my mother, who had arthritis in her hands but refused to let it stop her from hand-quilting. Another point of anecdata is me. I have arthritis in my hands and my spine, but I barely notice it, and I put that down to the glucosamine/MSM/hyaluronic acid supplement I've been taking for over ten years. It sure isn't because of exercise.

I had glucosamine, specifically Osteo Biflex, recommended to me by the orthopedic surgeon who worked on Hubby's joints, and I've been taking it for years. It keeps my knees going. Of course, the assistant to my PCP sneered at the idea of glucosamine doing any good. Thanks, kid, I'll take the specialist's advice.