I judge books by their covers all the time.

I think I started the Chanur series just because of the Michael Whelan covers.

Excellent! What was the topic?

The Mad Gasser of Mattoon! [link]

The Mad Gasser of Mattoon!

Tim is going to love this one!

I mean, right? Is that a great title, or what?

College reunion starts tonight... two friends texted me to ask what I'm wearing. Ha! Old patterns -- neither of them has asked me what I'm wearing to a party since college, I'm pretty sure.

And if I might... please send any spare "you got this" ~ma our way today for DH. He's a little nervous about a possible new opportunity, and it would be swell if everything went well.

You got this, JenP's DH! You will nail it.

Last night we had dinner with Lola (the mother of Matilda's friend Isabella). Lola has widely spread Stage 4 cancer.

The very good news is that Lola's finished her first round of chemo and has had the best possible result. 40% reduction of tumors after one round! The primary pancreatic tumor down by 30%. Tumors which were physically visible under her skin no longer visible. Her pain level is down so that she's only taking Tylenol.

Which is why I always say, you just don't know what's going to happen until you have that first round of chemo.

She's not out of the woods by any means. Pancreatic cancer is notoriously stubborn and resistant and she won't be able to expect it to continue at this pace. However, at the very very least she's bought herself a lot more time when I was afraid she wouldn't last to the end of summer. And there's genuine hope she can push this into remission.

So the other big component of the evening was that Matilda and I went with Hannah (Sacred Circle), her daughter, Norah, and Lola brought her daughter Isabella.

Isabella is one of Matilda's closest friends since kindergarten (literally had lunch together every day in Middle School, often by themselves at the Flagpole) and they have not seen each other since spring of 2020 when the first Pandemic lockdown hit.

So that was a very happy reunion as well. I'll share a picture on FB Buffistas group.

Oh, wow, that's really good news, David. More time, especially when the pain is knocked back is amazing, and will send many, many vibes for eventual and long remission. So happy for Matilda and Isabella's reunion, too. Lovely.

Specials is Unified Arts - art, PE, music, Spanish, and science.

WTH? Science isn't part of the regular curriculum?

Mucho ~ma for Jen's DH.

Hope you and your outfit have a great time, Jen.

Great news, David! Hope she continues trending in the right direction! Loved the reunion photo!

OMG, I had composed most of my message when, without thinking, I clicked on Jen's link. I immediately started kicking myself for losing my post. After I finished the article (very interesting, BTW), I returned to the page and my post reappeared! What is this magic?

Lots of ~ma for Jen’s DH! Is this a business thing?

Wow, David. Thanks for sharing. I’m glad for the reunion and that it looks like she will have more time.

On a personal note, makes me feel better that my mom went through a round of chemo. The way my mom’s doctors handled her treatment was frustrating enough that my father wrote A Strongly Worded Email to the oncology dept. I still think it was deserved, but that info softens things a little.

Not only did I read Zen and the Art… and convinced myself I liked it, I slogged through the sequel as well. There’s a reason Bamford’s Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult was an uncomfortably resonant read.

Moving sale tomorrow. I didn’t manage the thorough prep I had hoped for, so this afternoon I’m going to wander around slapping a neon sticker on anything I’m getting rid of.