Shir and Nilly, I am so grateful that you take the time to check in here and update us. I hope that you can feel all the love headed your way. Adapting to the current situation seems impossible, but also required. Every time I poke my head into the news it seems like there is no resolution on the horizon.

Disappeared for a few days to do a family excursion involving tromping around Saken in the rain and seeing the NE aquarium. The short version is that a good time was had by all and we spent WAY too much money.

Back in Otter Lake dealing with Monday. DH is back in Florida, but is flying back up again for the weekend to finish work more on his list. I hope to drive back the following week after I get my ducks in a row.

Timelies all!

Glad to see your pixels, Nilly and Shir.

Gary and Mr. S are out making a Target run, since the boy has no clean pants. (How he goes through clothes so quickly I don’t know)

Until then, hanging on.

It's a lot. And there's so much to do before you can get to the repair.

Sent a picture of my ravaged visage to my doctor's office and they immediately prescribed Prednisone. Unfortunately I can't take it until morning.

Right now I'm in the Madeline Kahn phase of flames on the side of my face. So burning/itchy unpleasant!

Putting an icepack on only relieves it for the exact time the ice pack is on.

Waiting for Matilda to get home so we can have dinner and watch more Over the Garden Wall.

Chesebro and Powell have both pled guilty in exchange for testimony. Heh.

And the best part is that since Chesebro is the attorney, his admitting that he knew that his actions were unlawful prevents the Orange Menace from claiming attorney-client privilege, since the privilege doesn't apply if the communications were in furtherance of a crime.

He's also turning over a lot of evidence, so that she gets to continue to build her case without revealing a damned thing.

And the best part is that since Chesebro is the attorney, his admitting that he knew that his actions were unlawful prevents the Orange Menace from claiming attorney-client privilege, since the privilege doesn't apply if the communications were in furtherance of a crime.

Oooh, key detail! However, Trump still is the Republican front runner for President and nothing is stopping him from doing so despite the whole "No treasonous fuckers get to hold office" part of the Constitution.

He's also turning over a lot of evidence, so that she gets to continue to build her case without revealing a damned thing.

I'm kind of depending on Georgia to save the entire Democracy now. Can they bar him from the ballot down there if he's convicted?

Yikes David, I hope you were able to get some rest despite the face of fire. May the prednisone do its thing very quickly this morning.

javachik, speaking only for myself, I don't feel like I have neither generosity nor spirit. I do have a constant endless headache and an even more endless constant desire for carbs and chocolate, but that's hardly the same.

(Oh, and, personally, from far away, I think you've made just the right choice, regarding when to travel to SF. If I could, that's what I would have done, as well.)

I have photos of them (so tiny!) in a room full of kids between 6-10, on laptops, playing together. They also played remotely with friends on a private server.

Oh, those photos are probably so lovely!

PiBoy is 12, and I think it took him until last year to really get into Minecraft because that's when his English started to get to the stage in which he could follow all the written stuff on the screen, with only a few sporadic "mom, what is this-and-that?" and "how to spell that-and-this?".

Ha! Kids: you never know what you’re going to get.

Exactly! The only predictable thing is being constantly surprised.

I'm sure y'all have a lot on your plates right now, so thank you for making time for us.

Calli, it's the other way around, for me - B.org is where I can not-worry-about-the-news for a few minutes. It's where the worries are what the world is supposed to have - health and jobs and the like. So I am the one thanking you for making time and place for me.

my nephew used Minecraft to build, I think, a castle in the shape of a heart and used that to woo his future (and utterly delightful) wife. They're now married, with one kid and another on the way. So I'm very fond of this game that I've never played.

That is so wonderful!

People here seemed very pleased to hear that I'm recovered enough to make it to a Con

Epic, *I* am very pleased to read that you've recovered enough to make it to a con! And I hope for good news for you.

I’m not beating myself up

msbelle, that's just what I wanted to write to you when reading the beginning of that line, so I'm grateful that you've already taken are of that. Also, I hope the work woes will sort themselves out as soon ans as well as possible.

The short version is that a good time was had by all and we spent WAY too much money.

Laura, that definitely reads like a "Yay!".

David, I hope the pain is as gone as possible, and that it would be worth it for the long run.

Tonight the local library is having one of their fundraisers, which involves a recitation of The Raven by someone of note here, hors d'oeuvres, raffles, and all that. Part of me feels I should invite my son because he shares a birthday with Poe and is a fan, but another part says the dude can't dress himself without showing the world his tie-dye underwear or brushing his hair. Seriously, he is 31 and although he has come a long way in normalization, he still has a way to go. So yeah, just going with my sister who knows the difference between backyard comfort and festive public wear. Maybe someday. I live in hope.

Xpost with Nilly!! I hate the reason, but it is so wonderful to see you here. My great nephew here is 13 and is a Minecraft devotee. Although my sons were into it I never tried it myself. My sister is a good grandmother and has participated with him.

In the spirit of sharing the good stuff, more on my mini-vaca. First, we got a late start so after arriving at the Airbnb at 10 PM all we did was get settled in and sleep. The whole Airbnb experience was a horror, but not anything to do with the host and location. The place was absolutely adorable with a full kitchen, laundry in the unit, two bedrooms, and a nice size living room. That was a wonderful thing to come back to after the excursions. Saturday we went to Salem and were in full-on tourist mode! It was raining or at least drizzling the whole day and we had to park over a mile away but DH dropped us off and walked back to join us. We did a few shops and bought things. So many people that you had to wait in line to get into shops so they wouldn't be too crowded, but not for long at all. We did a couple of totally dorky inside tours including witches and ghosts. Much laughter ensued.

Sunday we breakfasted, laundered the damp from rain clothes, and packed up. We went next to the aquarium in Boston which has an amazing number of penguins, and many wonderful fish. I am particularly fond of the jellyfish when not swimming with them. Then we had a mediocre meal because the boys needed to have chowda while there. I had the most bizarre avocado toast which involved a whole avocado cut in half plopped on top of hard toast.

We dropped DH off at a hotel near the airport so he could fly back to Florida in the morning and I let my son drive us back to NY. I arrived home around midnight after driving the 45 minutes between his place and mine. In the entire route through the Adirondacks, I encountered 4 deer and 2 cars. I didn't collide with any of them, so I call that a win.

Saving the best news for last! Today we get to celebrate the birthday of Kate P! May this day and the year to come be filled with joy and laughter!