The onset of my mother's dementia was definitely associated with a series of TIAs, so we weren't expecting the final diagnosis to be Alzheimer's, but that's what the autopsy showed. So I'm now mulling on this fungal infection thing and wondering how all those pieces fit together. Not being a doctor or a neurologist, I am trying not to jump to obvious conclusions but the pieces do seem to fit.

Hive mind, I need your help. For the past 24 hours (and without any clear reason), my hands and scalp have been incredibly itchy. I don't have a visible rash, though there seem to be some bumps. I took Claritan yesterday and two Benedryl before bed last night, but I woke up just as itchy as when I went to bed. I even googled itchy scalp remedies and tried lemon juice and jojoba oil on it last night, which helped for a little bit and then nsm. Has anyone heard of this? What on earth is going on?

That sounds like a trip to urgent care, Pix.

I don't think so. It's just annoying more than anything. I'm wondering if I accidentally took a double dose of my meds yesterday and this is a reaction to that. I think I'm just going to take more Benedryl and give it another day to see if it goes away. I'll make an appointment with my doctor if not. It's just so annoying!

Meds side-effect sounds like a reasonable explanation. Scalp and hands does sound systemic but if it isn't spreading or intensifying waiting to see if it just goes away seems like an okay plan. If it does spread or get worse, please do go to urgent care or an ER, ok?

I learned recently that chronic idiopathic itching is a thing that exists and I am SO GRATEFUL that I am not afflicted with that and hope that your random unexplained itching passes swiftly and without further incident.

I haven't read the paper, but my first thought on the fungal infection theory is that I don't feel like we are really good at getting rid of those. I mean, we have some tools to fight them but it's not like, oh, if it's a fungal infection we totally know how to beat it, is it? I would be glad to be wrong about that.

Last night I dreamt that I was out of laundry detergent (not even that I was trying to do laundry and didn't have any, I just knew I was out and needed to get more. A dream shopping list. Which might be handy if it was accurate, I suppose, but I am not, in fact, out of laundry soap here in eh waking world) and that work was now on a train. Everything else about it exactly the same, but the offices and cubicles were on a train instead of in a building. Made no practical difference to my day. Oh, and I was telling my department head about Sox's book and she told me she couldn't buy it because she had a subscription service that only got her books from one publisher and that wasn't Sox's (I actually did tell her about Sox's book a while back because she thought she might get a copy for her brother, no nonsense about publishing houses in that conversation, though).

I need better dreams.

I always get annoyed at my unconscious when it feeds me mundane dreams. I feel like I'm getting ripped off.

I have switched my clothes around for fall, just in time for it to warm back up again later this week.... What I really need to do is get rid of things, but today is not that day.

Also laundry in progress and squash bread made. The most exciting brainwave was adding cranberries to the chutney I made yesterday. It's green tomato and apple, and I'm pretty sure my apples were sweeter than the recipe meant for them to be, because the whole thing came out way too sweet. I think the cranberries will help! And then the whole thing will be delicious on a pork roast or similar. Maybe a turkey breast?

Oh, yes, that chutney sounds great for turkey!

I am just not getting the hang of these creamy scrambled eggs. I think I might need someone who knows how to make them to demonstrate so I can see how they are supposed to come out. That just took 40 minutes and are they cooked all the way through? I don't know! They're kind of keeping their shape but still so very orange, it doesn't seem right.

Timelies all!

Suddenly it got cold and windy. I know it's mid-October, but still...