I didn't mention this last night: Dad said his hallucinations have decreased dramatically, although they're not 100% gone. So that's a very good trend. (Although the willfully ignorant bigotry and misogyny is a very bad trend. [Is it a "trend" if it's lasted 78 years?])

That's good news. [And no. That's a personality.]

[And no. That's a personality.]

[I figured. Dang it.]

A trend is something that comes and goes (like his hallucinations? his heart attacks?); what he has is, well, him.

Laura, I was expecting a little hole at the front of the oven - that's what we had in the oven at my parents' house when I was growing up. Not in what I have. I've emailed the company asking ... there's the remains of a sticker on the edge of the oven door, but it's been mostly washed off. I tried opening the broiler door, thinking maybe there'd be some information, but nothing. Well, at least I can have tea, coffee or soup, so that's something.

I contacted the movers - I was VERY unhappy - and they did refund about half of what the move cost me plus the stolen clock (a Le Coultre Atmos clock ... that had never worked) and a broken piece of good glassware. The other stuff ... I only found well after the move. (And, as a final note, when I went back to the old place to clean up, I found a bunch of stuff that the movers had just ... left. A folding table, a box of antique china, etc.) I gave them a bad review on Yelp.

Oof, Steph. I'm sorry you have to deal with that.

I spent last night figuring out my ballot. Because Ohio is ridiculous, there are 28 things for me to vote on. Fifteen of them are judges, and judges aren't allowed to list their party affiliation on the ballot. The local Democratic party left a door hanger on my door a couple weeks ago that listed everyone they endorsed, which was helpful as at least a starting point for my research.

I'm trying to figure out driving to NJ in a few weeks. I think I'm going to attempt to do it in one day, but I'm also making a plan for if I need to stop along the way. It looks like the two most logical places to stop would be Breezewood and Harrisburg, so I'm researching some hotels near the highway there. (Luckily, this route doesn't include driving through the famous "miles full of gas stations and fast food chains" part of Breezewood -- that's part of the interchange between the interstate and the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and if I don't stop in Breezewood, then I'm just staying on the interstate.)

I've been checking this site for science news. It seems to be real science, nothing overblown, so it seems reliable.

And, as an example of people's attitude to science, I saw a brief video clip (from a while ago, I assume) - a bunch of young woman in a large elevator, music going, jumping around and dancing. The elevator stops, the door opens ... and Bill Nye gets on. The women stop dancing, stand up straight and one says "wow".

Lily Bean will be going to the vet for her 1 year vaccinations today. She's officially a grown up cat! I expect she will grow and mature some more during the next six months. I think it's hilarious that she is so much taller and bigger than my senior girls. Thank goodness she is gentle while she's persistent about chasing and playing.

This morning she managed to steal an omega-3 capsule off DH's breakfast plate. We can't find it anywhere, so that might be more exciting than we like.

Fish oil?

For a moment I thought Lily Bean was your daughter's nickname and tried to figure out why you'd take her to the vet. Then I realized ...

Btw, Toddson, PG&E out here in San Francisco will send somebody out to check your gaslines, and turn on your pilots and certify everything is okay. You should check to see if your utility will just send somebody out and show you how to light that pilot. You shouldn't have to live off cold cuts.

Also, I expect the maintenance man in your building would light your fire. [no innuendo!]

[I figured. Dang it.]

The men in my father's family were all Republicans, but Dad began to grow to grow disillusioned with the GOP, in 1980. For days after that election, every once in a while, he and my mother would say to each other, "Can you believe Ronald Reagan is President?" I suspect he voted for Carter in 1980 (but Ford in '76), but he'd never admit it. Everyone comes out at their own pace. I know he voted for Bill Clinton in 1992 and '96, and Al Gore in 2000. Dad thought W was a tool.

Dad would have loathed every single thing about Donald Trump, and I don't *think* my grandfather would have liked him either, but I suspect Dad's the only one of them who would have voted for HRC in 2016.

Dad's twin died in 1986. My grandfather died in 1990. Dad died in 2003. His oldest brother died 2010. Their youngest brother died in 2017 (and voted for Trump in 2016).

On my desk, I have a picture of them all standing together in front of that youngest brother's shed. I was there, when it was taken on Father's Day, 1985.

Every once in a while, it gets knocked over. As of late, I've taken to shouting, "THE REPUBLICANS HAVE FALLEN!" before picking it back up.

It's the little things, you know?

Maybe get a picture of your father, put it by your work space, and flick his nose or something, when the need arises. You'll feel better.