My handy dandy Watch Duty app shows the fire as "Monitoring-Information Only" and I haven't eard more sirens, so I think this is actually a zero alarm fire and may already be out

That’s a relief. No fires California!

It was some unexpected excitement for February! Driving along peacefully, seeing a column of black smoke and trying to guess where it is, deciding it's way off to the south, actually realizing that is close enough to the road that I can see flames and getting home before the fire trucks even arrive. Very weird. But ultimately fine. I can't even see smoke anymore, although I can smell it. There are still vernal pools in the fields so I doubt it ever had much chance of spreading.

Timelies all!

Haven't had hot flashes, but definitely having weird cycle length/duration, and heavy flow. I'll be 55 in April, and I am tired of all this.

My periods started getting super regular around the time I turned 40. I haven't been using a period tracker but when I was the time between would shorten for a few months , then I'd have like 4 extra days and then they'd shorten again and then be a few days "late" but the time decreasing over all. I think through that whole time I went from over 40 days to right around 26 days before they started getting further apart again.

For awhile I had hot flashes but then I haven't but I'm also hot most of the time anyway so it's hard to figure out. I may give that supplement a try and see if it helps.

This time my body played a horrid trick on me I had 3 very light days and I thought I was done but that was just some weird prologue because I had kinda heavy for another 4 days.

Huh. That's the same hormone that the ovulation test strips look at. Looks like people do use them to test for menopause, although "there is poor correlation with symptoms" which sounds on-brand for uterus-related medicine

and I just had a little mishap getting up from my computer and accidentally snapped the cord on my headset.

2023 is just a bunch of ducks nibbling away. I got a replacement plan so that is fine I just have to actually go to get a new headset. It's the little things...

Mine went from wonky to 28 days consistent as heck.

As you know, us having conversed about this a lot, same same (the age coincided with the removal of the Mirena, though, and it had been a long time since I'd had an actual period at that point). They're now they're less consistent again. No hot flashes, but everything's annoying.

I have no idea where I am--I was immensely, annoyingly regular for a couple of years after decades of my period sort of coming and going whenever it felt like gracing me with its presence. Haven't had one in I think 6 months now? No perimenopausal symptoms, for which thank God because I could not cope. I talked with a friend who's an MD and she commiserated over how hard it must have been to figure out what was going on; I was having what I now know were cancer-related abdominal pains, but they were in exactly the same spot as menstrual cramps, so I'd get them and think, "Oh, you decided to show up again, did you?" and then when no period happened I'd chalk it up to my fickle uterus.

Today is finally done, complete with a new baby added at 4:15. When someone emailed at 4:53 to say that Doctor So and So wanted this patient added, I took great, gloating pleasure in saying "Too late."

Y'all remember when I told you about those Uproot Pro pet hair scrapers that work like magic? Well hold onto your hats, I found a roller-remover that cleans hair out of rugs just as well, is easier on your wrist to use, and doesn't snag the carpet or rug fibers: [link]

It's not super sturdy, so I imagine it will eventually break with repeated use. But at the price point, if it lasts even a few months I think it'll be worth it.