I think everyone I know in Colorado has posted the weeks forecast on the socials.

Trudy, I'm so sorry to hear about your Aunt Carol. Peace to you, your mom, and your family. (I'm glad your mom is still being cautious.)

Teppy, you're doing the right thing with Tim's family gathering.

If we'd just handled this right from the outset, we'd be largely out of the woods now, and outdoor gatherings wouldn't make us blink. I remain completely angry about how the US has handled COVID-19 and how we're handling everything everything everything. It feels like there's no way out.

I didn't want my despair post to taint this.

>I make my stuffed mac & cheese (from scratch, 4 cheeses) with a layer in the pan, add a layer of smoked brisket, a layer of caramelized onions, then top it with more mac & cheese, a layer of cheese, and a layer of bread crumbs, then bake. It is tasty.

Vortex, that's art. My word, that sounds incredible.

Omg. I am so sweaty and tired. I got a recliner off Buy Nothing—she helped me get it into my car but I fought it all by myself to get it out of the car, up a flight of stairs, and then down another flight of stairs! (To be fair, it wasn't that big or heavy, mostly just awkward, but kinda heavy!). Whew. But not I have a recliner for my basement library room!

Ooh, basement library room recliner FTW!

That sounds like a lot of effort, but an excellent result!

Congrats on the home library acquisition and wrangling! There is great satisfaction in being able to accomplish that kinda shit on one's own!

I finished reading _The Starless Sea_ yesterday and am now embarking on an epic re-read. Y'all, it is SO GOOD. If you haven't read it, and you enjoy reading, hie ye to your library or other reading-procurement institution of preference.

I now need, like, 20 bookclub meetings to go over this one novel.

Trudy, I'm so so sorry about your aunt. This disease is so horrible.

Oh, Maria. I'm sorry you're dealing with all this. Diabetes is scary, and I'm amazed that the spinal degeneration isn't bothering you. I hope you can get this under control with lifestyle changes and meds that don't cause you distress.

My sugar was over 400 when I finally got it tested, and my A1C went up to 11. A1C of 7.9 isn't too bad; it's just hard for a diabetic to get their A1C below 7. Metformin helped me a lot, and studies show that it helps diabetics live longer, so I'm all in for that stuff personally. Like, if the meds don't cause me bad side effects and they let me eat bread and pasta? Worth it. I've found the best "life hack" for meals is fat and fiber - they make your stomach empty more slowly, which avoids the blood sugar spike. To help the liver, I recommend taking milk thistle, it really does work.

Cass, I'm sorry, that really sucks.

They wanted mine at 90 fasting but that was for pregnancy.

Holy glucose, Batman, if my BS were 90 I'd probably faint.

It might help if I stop drinking alcohol and eating carbs.

I stopped drinking and cut way back on carbs and it helped a lot. But no-carbs is not a viable lifestyle for me.

Stay well, Mac!

Re peas, I hate them. Almost as much as I hate celery. Tuna noodle casserole is delicious but neither of those green things belong in it.

It's probably fair to say most recipes do benefit from upgrading ingredients from canned/frozen to fresh/homemade. But comfort food from the 1950s just wants to be what it is.

This is true. My BFF once made me an everything-fresh-from-scratch comfort-food meal, and it was so disappointing. Didn't tell her that, of course, I'm not a monster. I told her it was really good and it WAS. It just wasn't comfort food.

Allie Brosh has a new book out! Yay! I preordered it from Barnes and Noble because I had a gift card.

Since I feel like I often complain about how awful getting out of bed every day can be, I should report that this week has been an easier one for me on those terms.

Glad to hear it, -t! Getting out of bed is an awful thing to have to do every single day. My niece who also has ADHD gave me a life hack: I set an alarm for half an hour before I have to get up; I take a Ritalin and lie back down, and when the real alarm goes off, the drug has kicked in and I can actually just get up and get on with my day.

So we mutually agreed to throw the box away, unopened.

I would've been physically incapable of not looking in the box.

Yay for getting better jobs, Tom and Gud!

Yay for demonstration of superior competence, Lisa!

Steph, I wouldn't go either, and I probably wouldn't be nearly so accommodating about my partner going, to be honest.

I never paid much attention before, but I now realize that my "normal" temperature is 97 to 97.5. Does that make me cool?

My normal temperature seems to run 96-97.5. My youngest niece says hers does too. I guess it's okay?

Chilly day in Otter Lake. It was in the 40s last night and won't get out of the 60s today.

So I should move to Otter Lake, is what I'm hearing. Fingers crossed for your son to make the best decisions for his future.

It was 108 degrees F the other day here. I hate it.

I'm considering staying in Colorado for another week, because apparently it's going to SNOW on Tuesday (despite being over 90 on Monday)

Colorado is smoking too much weed, huh

Compared to my old job, the health insurance at this one is not so great. One of my diabetes meds (Jardiance) will be $200/month on this plan, when it was about $30/month on the old one. American health insurance is so fucked up. I don't know that I'm going to continue to take it at that price; I'll have to see what happens to my blood sugar when I stop.

Speaking of diabetes, I have eaten way too much bread and fruit today. Should probably stop. Eating carbs just makes me MORE hungry.

And lo, on the third day of trying I did succeed in fastening the flea collar around Pigpen's neck. At which point he began serenely ignoring it, rather than trying desperately to get it off.

Both his daughter and Jojo tend to rub up against and cuddle him frequently, so I'm hoping it will work for all of them. Though judging from all the scratching this afternoon, all Pigpen's fleas may have jumped ship to Jojo.