Askye, I am loving reading all your good news. Thanks for being here to share it. I'd lean toward calling out, too, if I were you.

sj, I did get the video and it's adorable. Thanks for sending it. Insent in return.

I need to go make dinner. I don't want to cook. Yuck, I say.

ltc has the Gashlycrumb Tinies memorized. So, we're either very good parents or very terrible parents.

Very good parents, obviously.

I have received a certain amount of vindication at work. Back in early October we suddenly started receiving HUNDREDS of "undeliverable" bounce-backs. All were ED, sexual type things and all came from/to some email addresses that no one else uses - they're ones we use for our mass emails (NOT about ED, mind you) and I monitor them for (1) legitimate bounce-backs and (2) people who hit reply.

After almost two months of my having to change my password every day, work with tech support - having them take over my computer to check on the messages - and back and forth, they FINALLY found out how the actual sender managed to get in. Turns out that when we got a new database, the department that uses it most kept the old database alive ... for reference? ... but that it has a feature that allows users to use it to send emails ... which the non-legitimate sender had done (it was someone in China, I think they said). So ... not only am I cleared of having done something to allow them in, it was someone else entirely.

The fact that it took them the better part of two months, the constant hassles for me (having tech support take over my computer and, at one point, taking it away for a few days AND having to delete hundreds of these messages, making sure not to delete the legitimate ones) annoys me ... but at least we know it WASN'T MY FAULT.

Yay vindication for Toddson! Ltc has awesome parents.

Thanks Deena. I'm staying home. The road I live on from where people park in bad weather to the road isn't cleared. Evidently my brother did that and now he doesn't live here so there isn't a plan. Or there wasn't. It's about 40 yards to the main road and the snow was mid calf to knee deep so I'm not shoveling..

Next time it snows I'm parking by the cemetery, which is about a half mile from the house. It may snow on Thursday and Friday so I'll be able to try that. If it snows it will be another weekend before I can see Matthew or maybe even Christmas depending on weather and schedules.

Local people are getting testy. Some people have been without power since Sat and don't know when it will be restored. Some roads were just cleared today and a few aren't cleared . Snow is melting so that is good but it will be in the 20s tonight so ice in the morning. People are acting as if the utility company is neglecting them on purpose but they aren't.

Someone reported that Sat or Sun EMTs were trying to gst to someone and they got stuck then fire truck came and got stuck and DOT came to try and clear the road and they got stuck. There were lots of trees down and people have had to cut trees with chain saws and move them so DOT trucks can get by to scrape the road so the utility truck can follow

Some places got 20" of snow. We got 16". Hopefully most of this will melt tomorrow. Mom can't get out until she can drive down our dirt road because she can't walk down to the main road so her car is here.

Vindication for Toddson!!

Now give her a bonus and an early retirement package.

That is awesome, Todd!

I've been watching the reports, askye. What a mess. I'm sorry you are stuck, but grateful you at least have power.

Ads for weighted blankets keep following me around Facebook doggedly, and I'm thinking about backing this Kickstarter for one: [link] I know that Tim would love it (when he was a kid, he used to get between his mattress and box spring). (It's really really helpful to be married to someone who's non-neurotypical.)

Nice! I love how they way more than met their fundraising goal.

Shit. My friend T wasn't responding to texts or calls lately. So, I knew something was wrong. I finally got in touch with her and her husband is in the hospital on a respirator because of fluid on his lungs. I'm actually just as worried about T as her DH. She already had a stroke young and has high blood pressure. She doesn't handle this kind of stress well. Any ~ma you can spare for them please.