aome

So I obviously fell off the DW wagon almost immediately. I really need to get better at turning to DW rather than obsessively checking IG or FB for memes, responses, etc. :-P

Since I last wrote, I started my new job as the leave-replacement librarian at our elementary school. I officially started on Jan 20 (Tues), with two days of overlap with the outgoing librarian, and then I was officially "on" by Thursday. ( Brief overview )

( The Monday Blues )

In the rest of my life: I've only been getting an average of 1 TKD lesson per week; it's been hard to find days that work with my schedule, my exhaustion level, their availability to do live streaming, etc. This past week I missed it entirely, although that's partly because I attended the NJ School Librarian Assn/NJ Library Assn conference in Atlantic City on Wed, necessitating my driving there on Tuesday night and back on Wed night, so no TKD class on either night. And in general I'm still working on doing more constructive things with my free time other than games or doomscrolling on my phone. I HAVE managed to watch all of Heated Rivalry (SO GOOD), and am midway through Bridgerton S4 (not done yet with the half that was already released). I have not gotten to see ANY of the Winter Olympics, because I'm usually doing something else when I DO get to sit down, and don't have time to just sit and WATCH something. *sadface* (The only way I watched Heated Rivalry and Bridgerton was when I was on the exercise bike/treadmill.)

It's the Chinese Year of the Horse! Both MiniPlu and Will are horses; in fact, Will is a fire horse, like this year. (Nina's a water horse.) ( In sadder news: an orphan is re-orphaned )

And speaking of death - this Thursday will be the one-year mark for my dad. Still doesn't feel real sometimes.

It's been a year since we left for NZ as well, and I wish so much I could go back. We're going to Europe over spring break this year, so it's not like we don't have something to look forward to, but still - NZ! *more sadface*

I think that's about it from here? Will do a separate post for books.

I've been trying very hard to work on those resolutions I made, although I can tell my ability to limit social media time is already slipping a little. But I *am* trying to be more aware of how much time I'm spending, and when I'm starting to mindlessly scroll, I'm getting off. ( As for other resolutions )

So, anyway, most of those are still just tiny steps in the grand scheme of things, but I'm pleased with my conscious commitment to them. Two weeks down (well, nearly), only fifty left to go! :-P

In other news: I have a job!. Sort of. ( Yet another leave-of-absence position )

I had one final sub gig this morning at the K-2 school I was at two years ago, where I've stayed friends with the other specialists and have subbed for them on a regular basis since leaving my last leave-of-absence post (the grade 3-5 school) in June 2024. They kindly got me a cake to celebrate getting an actual job again. I'll miss them, though, and the school.

Next time: New Avatar movie, and the first books I finished.

In other news: Two turns 22 on Saturday. What.

And, of course, I couldn't miss out on the annual year-end meme!

1. What did you do in 2025 that you’d never done before?
I had a lot of “firsts” this year, many of them negative, so I’ll focus on a positive one: I went to New Zealand.

2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Ha ha, no. Will try again this year. (My TKD grandmaster requires us to come up with at least 5 every year.)

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
I don’t think so? I was going to say that I discovered at the annual family Christmas Eve gathering that one of my cousins had a new baby boy I’d never met, but IIRC, he’d *just* turned one, so that means he was born in Dec 2024, not this past year.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
I realize my posting game this year has absolutely SUCKED but I’m pretty sure I mentioned that both of my parents died this year.

5. What countries did you visit?
New Zealand <3 <3 <3

6. What would you like to have in 2026 that you lacked in 2025?
A different President.

7. What date from 2025 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Feb 26 (Dad) and May 11 (Mom).

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Survival. :-P But, ok, I also earned my 3rd degree black belt in taekwondo in Sept.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Finishing the quilt I started over the summer. Chasing after documents to file my dad’s back taxes. I’d also say, “Landing a permanent job” but given everything else that happened, it’s honestly just as well that I had flexible part-time sub work this year.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Tiny tear in my left shoulder rotator cuff that I’ll fix ... someday. Both knees chronically hate me now, but that seems to just be age.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Boat tour tickets to see the NaPali Coast on Kauai.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration this year?
Two finally seems to be getting the hang of driving. Hopefully he’ll pass his test in 2026.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
The President and his MAGA toadies. What else is new? :-P

14. Where did most of your money go?
Travel: NZ, HI (although airfare to/from the islands was mostly covered through points), and Disney. Plus – and I kid you not – SEVEN other trips to the west coast (one to Oregon, six to CA).

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Not to keep harping on it but: New Zealand. I was soooo excited, and it did not disappoint.

16. What song will always remind you of 2025?
I’m drawing a blank. Maybe something from The Great Gatsby musical? Saw it twice with Two this year.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?
Blank-er. I feel like I really shut down emotionally this year.
ii. thinner or fatter?
The scale says I’m about the same or slightly lighter, but I’ve also lost a lot of muscle mass in the last year or two, so I’d say that the net effect is probably “slightly fatter”.
iii. richer or poorer?
Thanks to my parents, richer. Yay?

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Sleeping, reading, and crafting. And going through my parents’ stuff. Most of it is still in boxes.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Doomscrolling social media. Being appalled by the government. (I mean, I SHOULD be appalled, but I wish I hadn’t HAD to be.)

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
We spent Christmas in CA. The day itself was low-key but cozy and we were happy how it turned out. My extended family’s annual Christmas Eve gathering was really nice.

21. How will you be spending New Year’s?
The usual – hanging out at home, maybe watching a movie, then watching the ball drop on TV.

22. Did you fall in love in 2025?
Stayed in love for the 29th year.

23. How many one-night stands?
Zero.

24. What was your favorite TV program(s)?
I don’t watch much TV these days. My husband made me watch the series “Renegade Nell” and it was cute. I’ve seen about 40 mins of “Heated Rivalry.”

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Copying last year’s answer: Nope, I think I hate MAGA nation, anti-trans politicians, and abortion-blocking politicians as much as last year.

26. What was the best book you read?
When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelly
Salt by Mark Kurlansky
Where You See Yourself by Claire Forrest
In Gad We Trust by Josh Gad
The Ragpicker King by Cassie Clare
The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch
Twenty-Four Seconds From Now by Jason Reynolds

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Well, a friend literally JUST sent me the link to a song about a miniature T-rex, sung to the tune of “Modern Major General,” and it’s AWESOME.

28. What did you want and get?
Travel. Stuff on my wishlist.

29. What did you want and not get?
For someone else to deal with all my parents’ red tape. :-P

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Both halves of Wicked. Zootopia 2.

31. What did you do on your birthday?
I ... honestly don’t remember anymore. Dinner out, probably. But I do remember that MiniPlu TOTALLY surprised me by driving down the night before, so she could spend my birthday with me. <3

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Literally almost anyone else as President. Also, if I could have sold my parents’ homes to a family that intended to live there, and not been essentially forced to accept a house-flipper in both cases.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2025?
Same as always: Comfortable.

34. What kept you sane?
Husband.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Not a big celeb watcher.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Same as the past two years: Anti-trans bills, especially those targeting children. Book banning attempts. Anything involving any mention of The Cheeto or his bootlickers. Genocide of Palestinians.

37. Who did you miss?
I miss sharing things with my mom that I know she would have liked. Many times, she’s the only other person I know who would have appreciated something.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Can’t think of anyone.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2025:
1) Put all your worldly goods (house, bank accounts, etc) in a trust. Makes it SO much easier for the executor to have access to what they need once you’re gone.
2) Most of us have way too much junk in our homes.
3) If you can afford to pre-pay for your casket/burial plot or cremation, do it. Again, it will make life much easier for your survivors, especially if they don’t live near you.
4) Share the stories. Good ones. Bad ones. Big moments in your life. Funny little moments. Don’t let family history disappear if you think someone down the line might want to know.

And now for the books:
2024 books
2023 books
2022 books
2021 books
2020 books
2019 books
2018 books
2017 books
2016 books
2015 books
2014 books
2013 books
2012 books
2011 books
2010 books
2009 books
2008 books
2007 books
2006 books
2005 books

( 2025 books )

I don't feel like it's as many books as I've managed the past couple of years, but it isn't terrible, either. I really need to read more books in print/Kindle form, and not doomscrolling's so much. :-P

Since I didn't do reviews of any books this year, feel free to ask about anything on the list.

Dear Yuletide Author:

Thank you for writing for me! Here are my requests:

( Requests under here )

If you have any questions, feel free to pass them along to the mods. And thank you again for writing for me!

Tomorrow (Sun) is our last full day in NZ. I’ve really loved almost everything we’ve seen and done here and am not ready to go home where’s I have to deal with the bureaucracy surrounding my dad’s death, go through his stuff (and hopefully not contact norovirus - my SIL and Jackson’s bf, who collected his things, both got it, even though they were masked in the facility), go back to the usual grind of errands, cooking, work, etc, get back to exercising, deal with my emotionally fragile mother, teach Two to drive (again). blah blah blah. Oh and be in the same country as the Orange menace and his a-hole puppet master,

On this trip we’ve seen, visited or done:
Sky Tower (Auckland)
Harbor dinner sail (Auckland)
Hobbiton
Waitomo glow worm caves
Geothermal pools/vents (Rotorua)
Geothermal mud soak (Rotorua)
Very simple Māori wood carving (Rotorua)
Maori cultural experience (Rotorua)
Gondola ride 1000+ feet up a mountain (Queenstown)
Steamship lake trip and working farm tour (Queenstown)
Milford Sound (fjords, not an actual sound)
Helicopter ride over and onto glaciers (Franz Josef)
Nature hike through temperate rainforest (Franz Josef)
TranzAlpine train ride across Southern Alps
Six the Musical (Auckland) for Two
Waiheke Island food and wine tour (ferry ride from Auckland)
Pasifika cultural festival (Auckland) - we planned entire trip around this festival.

While on South Island we had three long rides (multi-hour), which included multiple scenic stops and sometimes short walks along the way, so we actually got to see more than what is listed here but I don’t know the names of all those places. Except one - Hokatika Gorge.

Have also had some great food, from giant juicy burgers, comforting tonkatsu ramen, pad se ew, and other Asian food, filling salads, to-die-for desserts, and a lot of haute cuisine normally way above my pay grade. And there’s a lot more awareness of gluten and other sensitivities/allergies so it wasn’t hard to eat mostly gluten free here.

Also loved the kiwi commitment to the environment, recycling, limited plastics, etc. I’m sure they have their flaws and their assholes like everywhere else, but the vast majority of our experiences here have been amazing.

Typed on my phone so apologies for typos.

tl;dr : Disney, work, interview, knee, Christmas, mom, lube reports, New Year's Eve.

So, Will and I got back from CA in the wee hours of Wed, Dec 3. I worked (subbing) on Dec 4, and then, super-early (I'm still mad at Will for HOW early it was - a 6:00a flight) on Friday, we left for Disney World.

( Visiting the House of Mouse )

( While we were at Disney: mom goes to rehab and I have a job interview )

Two, Will and I came back on Friday, Dec 13. R&K stayed at Harvey's house and visited him at the hospital for another two days (they'd always intended to stay at his house after Disney - just not that he'd be at the hospital at the time) and came back on Sunday, Dec 15.

( The last week of school was bonkers )

( Oh, did I forget to mention my knee? )

So because of all the travel and then the solid week of work, prepping for the interview, and the stuff for my knee, and TKD, etc etc, I was way behind on getting my holiday cards out. I also had to bypass some people, in the name of getting out even SOME of my cards, so if you didn't get a card from me this year, I apologize. I also only barely finished wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve. :-P

The high school I'd interviewed for let me know the last day of school that I did NOT get the job. Alas. But at least I felt like I'd presented myself to the best of my ability. And at least I didn't have to keep waiting and wondering.

On the other hand, we got word that someone had put in a bid on my dad's house. We made a counter offer, and it SOUNDED like it was accepted and we were excited to close on the house in mid-January - but we later found out the counter offer had been rejected. (In fact, it sounds like the couple is struggling to find something they like at all.) Darn it.

MiniPlu came home the Monday before Christmas (she'd had a dentist appointment on Monday morning she had to stay for). Unfortunately, she got into a ( fender bender )

( Christmas )

We did learn the next day that my dad's former neighbor succumbed to his stomach cancer on Christmas morning. While this sucks for his family, because they were/are such devoted Christians, it seemed oddly fitting for him that he should pass on Christmas Day. I'm glad his suffering is over but he will be greatly missed - he was truly a wonderful, kind man.

The day after Christmas, Will and I flew BACK to CA to visit my mom again. ( Smooth visit )

One hilarious thing: On our flight out to CA, we had the window/middle seats on the bulkhead. On the aisle seat, next two Will, was a man in his 30s-ish, who spent a lot of the flight working on what appeared to be a marketing presentation on Google Slides. No big deal, right? But the presentation was about lube. Yes, that lube. Performance evaluations, sales projections, etc - the whole nine yards. Perfectly professional marketing report. But about lube. And I think a few dildo-type toys were on there, too. I had to take a surreptitious photo just to prove it to the family.

We came back the evening of Sunday, Dec 29th. MiniPlu's Christmas gift to me and Will was to give us a couple's massage - one that was just a seated back massage and a leg/foot massage, not the sort where you have to strip down and lie on a table (she didn't think Will was ready for that, and she was right). We got that yesterday, and it was very nice.

Celebrated NYE our usual way - we hung out at home, finished watching Red One (cute and funny - I liked it!), I did the finishing work on a pair of fingerless gloves I'd knit for a friend, and we watched the ball drop. MiniPlu was in NYC with one of her friends (not at Times Square), and Two was with his bf's family, so it was just the "adultier adults" at home last night.

And here we are: Jan 1. I still owe some book reviews and the last few months of questions-a-day, and to catch up on others' posts, and I still haven't done a winter trim of the roses, or seen my dad in over a week, but ... one thing at a time.

As usual, I'm horribly behind on both posting and reading and maybe I should make keeping current one of my New Year's Resolutions? :-P Anyway, will try to do a proper update sooner rather than later. But for now: The year-end-memes.

1. What did you do in 2024 that you’d never done before?
Took four trips (all requiring air travel) in the space of five weeks. I also got Covid for the first time. Used "you can look at the sun safely" glasses for the first time.

( The rest of the meme )


And now for the books!
2023 books
2022 books
2021 books
2020 books
2019 books
2018 books
2017 books
2016 books
2015 books
2014 books
2013 books
2012 books
2011 books
2010 books
2009 books
2008 books
2007 books
2006 books
2005 books

I still need to properly review Books 81 onward, but at least here's the list.
( 2024 books )

Ten fewer books than last year, alas. But still respectable.

I am SUPER close to finishing "Somewhere Beyond the Sea" by TJ Klune but I don't think I'll manage it before midnight.

So, I never did officially test positive for Covid. We could only assume I probably had it because I had the same symptoms Will did, and HE had tested positive. I masked at home until the family declared that i probably wasn't contagious since I hadn't tested positive. I was allowed to sub since I hadn't had any fever, as long as I came masked - which I didn't mind. In fact, it was just as well I wore a mask as about 25% of the 8th graders (whom I was mostly with for three days in a row) went down with some random illness. So, at least I didn't catch that!

At the end of September, Will and I celebrated 26 years of marriage, and 27 years together. We both took the day off and went out to lunch, then had a quiet celebration at home with a regular dinner, but my chocolate cake. Because Dame Maggie Smith had just died, we decided to watch Sister Act in tribute, especially since Two had never seen it and I thought he might like it, since it's sort of a musical.

A week later, on Oct 4th, Will and I flew out to OR to do one more round of intensive work in my dad's yard. ( House and yard stuff )

The house is officially on the market, so if anyone wants to live in rural SE Oregon, on a quiet 1/3-acre property full of fruit trees, let me know.

While we were gone, our family friend Harvey came to stay with us - he lives just north of Daytona and is oxygen dependent. My SIL was concerned his health would be at serious risk if Hurricane Milton cut his power out for more than a few hours. It was definitely a good idea to bring him up here for awhile. He just went home today.

After spending all summer trying to find a job, Two finally landed one, working for BJs (think: Costco, but not as cool) in their produce department. It's part-time, but at least it's a job. He started while we were gone.

He also ... drumroll please ... ( got his first boyfriend )

MiniPlu is doing a lot of travel for her job right now. In the past 10 days she's been to NYC, Raleigh/Durham NC, and Philadelphia. This last one was during the past couple of days, so instead of flying back to Boston with her team today, she got permission to fly home on Sunday, instead, and is spending the weekend here with us. ♥ One of our cats decided to pee on her bed after I'd changed the sheets on MiniPlu's bed, and it went through two comforters, the sheets, and the pillowtop mattress pad - which ripped in the washer, spewing fluff everywhere. :-P Welcome home, MiniPlu!

We're all working on getting our annual Covid/flu shots - Two and I were both supposed to get ours yesterday but his insurance info wouldn't go through for some reason ("It says it expired in 2020." "Well, uh - he's USED it since 2020, so I'm not sure why the system is claiming that!") so only I got the shots. We'll reschedule him once we get this straightened out. MiniPlu got hers today, and Will goes tomorrow.

And now for the latest reads:

72. The Unlikely Pair by Jax Calder (read aloud)
I absolutely adored The Unlikely Heir (wherein the British prime minister - Oliver - and the American-born, newly-crowned Prince of Wales - Calum - fall in love) so I was eager to read the next installment, featuring Oliver’s best friend and former chief of staff, Toby, and the leader of the opposition in Parliament, Harry. ( When a plane crashes in the Scandinavian woods, political enemies are forced to cooperate and trust each other. )

While I liked The Unlikely Heir better, this was still an entertaining book and I enjoyed seeing each man reveal their histories and their mindsets. I’m looking forward to The Unlikely Spare next year - the story of Callum’s half-brother, who will apparently fall in love with his new bodyguard (whom we briefly see both at the end of Unlikely Pair, as well as in the free novella that follows it: A Royal Supper - where Oliver and Harry learn to play nice for Toby’s sake).

73. Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis (audio)
Ha ha - I found this at the bookstore after my birthday and bought it as part of a BOGO deal, then forgot I had bought it, and bought it again when it was a super-cheap Audible deal of the day two months later. Result: I listened to the audio book and will now give the paper copy to a friend. ( If an evil wizard doesn’t remember his past, does that still make him evil? )

74. Salt Magic, Skin Magic by Lee Welch (audio)
( Regency m/m romance featuring a young lord trapped by magic, not knowing magic exists, and the magician who shows up for an entirely different reason )

75. The Pairing by Casey McQuiston
In one word: Sumptuous. There’s really no other word for it. ( A food and wine tour through western Europe, reuniting childhood best friends-turned-lovers-turned-exes )

It was so markedly different from their other writing, it felt like a whole different author. Not in a bad way - just different. Like their other books, there were still plenty of laughs inserted along the way, and heartfelt emotion, but, yeah, the sumptuousness of everything gave it a totally different feel. Red, White & Royal Blue is still my favorite of McQuiston’s books, but I did enjoy this one, too.

76. Earl’s Trip by Jenny Holiday (audio)
I think this was an Audible deal of the day, so I gave it a shot. A fun combination of post-Regency England (1821: early in George IV’s reign) and modern "boys’ night". ( Another case of childhood best-friends reuniting and might be more! m/f ) If you want something light and fun, a buddy story as well as a historical romance, I do recommend this!

77. An Assassination on the Agenda by TE Kinney (Lady Hardcastle #11)
( Bringing the Edwardian/George V-ish mystery solving to London )

I have to say, while it was fun to see them do the things they’d only previously alluded to, I kind of missed the more provincial settings and familiar characters of the other books.

78. The Trouble With Heroes by Kate Messner (Middle grade, ARC)
( A struggling 7th/8th grader is 'sentenced' to climbing all 46 Adirondack High Peaks in atonement. ) I honestly would recommend this book to anyone over the age of 10, even adults. US Pub date: April 29, 2025.

79. Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy (ARC, audio)
I was strongly reminded of Harry and Draco as this book began: two rivals at magic school, one with very light hair, one dark. They constantly rile each other up despite everyone telling them to keep apart. Sound familiar? But that’s kind of where the comparison ends. ( Tropes: bound by a curse, forced proximity, rivals to (eventual) lovers. Also, an interesting magic system and world. ) This book was just published on Oct 15 - I do recommend it! (The audio version was great, too.)

80. The Theory of Everything Else by Dan Schreiber (audio)
A collection of batshit theories about the world, through the years: alien theories, fortune-telling theories, hollow-earth theories, people who claimed that a magician’s ability to bend metal influenced her IUD and got her pregnant, whether pubic lice is an endangered species, and so much more. Some was more interesting than others, but overall it was an amusing listen.

On a totally different note: yesterday marked 35 years since the Loma Prieta earthquake - the one that broke the Bay Bridge and flattened highways. I can't believe it's been that long!

I forgot to mention in my previous post that on Sept 1, Two and I went to see the Broadway musical "Water for Elephants". Grant Gustin - who played The Flash on TV and also was one of the Warblers on Glee, had been in the lead role since its inception, but Sept 1 was his last day. ( The show )

( The train ride home, oof )

Now, on to my recent reads:
67: Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer (audio)
I stumbled upon “Apprentice to the Villain” at Target a month or so ago and it sounded cute - but then I realized it was a sequel. So, off I went to request the original book from the library. Evie is the sole breadwinner in her home; her mother has been missing since Evie was about 12 (10 years ago), leaving her to raise her baby sister and take care of their ailing father. The book opens on Evie in need of a new job - we don’t find out why until later - and she comes across a super-handsome man to then turns out to be The Villain (as he is literally known by the realm). Still, a job is a job, and Evie finds she rather likes being The Villain’s personal assistant. This is a cute set-up story wherein we find out The Villain’s real name, whether or not he’s truly villainous, and more about Evie’s family. It’s frothy and fun, but also depicts recovery from trauma. There is a very VERY slow-burn romance between Evie and The Villain. Warning: cliffhanger-ish ending.

68. Paramour Promise by Chelsey Blue Spicer (read aloud)
( Long, drawn-out drama between a bi teacher and nonbinary teacher who each have a lot of baggage to deal with )

69. You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian (audio)
Companion to We Could Be So Good, featuring Mark, the queer book-critic reporter who showed up in a couple of short scenes in the first book. ( Grieving the loss of his previous lover, Mark is stunned to find himself returning to life because of, and falling for, the baseball player he's been assigned to write about. )

70: Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer (audio)
Sequel to “Assistant to the Villain”. First, Evie must help the captured Villain. Then the Villain’s household must work together to figure out how to stop the king from his nefarious plans (which I won’t go into because those are spoilers from the first book). You learn more about Evie’s family, Becky’s family, The Villain’s family - lots of twists. I’m getting a little tired of the Slow Burn, though. It’s one of those Cassie Clare things where you want to shake people for not communicating properly. The Villain is convinced that being with Evie would ruin her life. But he doesn’t SAY that, he just acts like he doesn’t really care. So then Evie decides she doesn’t care, either. :P I hope they resolve this in the next book, whenever that is.

71. Ravenfall by Kalyn Josephson (audio) (MG/YA)
( Young teen girl from a magical household befriends the boy who shows up on her family's doorstep. He's just witnessed his parents' murder and has no idea they were part of the magical community, too. )

I'm definitely sicker today - more congested, sniffly, sinus pain, etc. But still testing negative for Covid. *bangs head* Go figure. :P

August went *poof*, seriously. Many of my fellow Americans with kids in school or who work in education are already back, whereas we don't start until next week. But it's coming!

Things that happened in August:

* Two got his wisdom teeth out. They were all impacted below the surface. He drooled blood all over his white tshirt those first couple of hours when he couldn't feel his face at all, and I had to throw the shirt out. Thankfully it was cheap. MiniPlu demanded I take many pictures of Chipmunk Cheeks and send them to her, the way any good, loving sister would, lol. It took him about a week before he was back to mostly eating semi-normally - about the same time it took MiniPlu two years ago.

* Two had his semi-annual CHOP checkup; we're looking to transition him out to adult doctors to manage his trans care within the year. He's been going to CHOP to be evaluated for, then provided, gender-affirming care since he was 10 years old - half his life!

* Two and I had eye checkups. He's fine, and my prescription didn't change. I needed lenses replaced on an old pair - the anti-glare coating had cracked in the heat of my car, oops - but otherwise all was well.

(If you hadn't noticed, Two had a lot of appointments, essentially one per week for three weeks.)

* MiniPlu spent 9 days at home with us. She had a full week of "don't have to go into the office at all" and decided she might as well work from NJ as from her apartment, so she toted down her gear and her laundry, lol, and although of course she was working during the day, it was really nice to see her on the evenings and weekend.

* I drove back up with her when she returned to MA, ( and visited a friend )

*I took Amtrak back to NJ at the end of my stay, which went smoothly except for some very prickly co-passengers. ( The first rule of Quiet Car is don't talk about Quiet Car )

* I finished my summer scrap quilt! ( Pics under here )

* One of my cousins died very suddenly. (My mother's first cousin, whatever that makes her to me. First cousin once removed?) She was only about 67, and JUST about to celebrate her 45th wedding anniversary. J had been the flower girl in my parents' wedding when she was about 8, and then I was the flower girl in J's wedding (also when I was 8), wearing the exact same dress. They had an autopsy done because she was found dead at home after her husband had been away on a quick business trip and nobody knew what had happened. Turns out she'd had a brain aneurysm. :-( She did at least get to meet her first grandchild, who was born in May, but, damn, it's awful.

* One of my dear online friends lost her husband after a 7 month battle with cancer, and less than a week after they'd declared him terminal. Fuck. Cancer.

* On a more positive note: I think I forgot to mention this in the July post, but - remember how we lost one of our cats very suddenly in June? She'd been a medium-hair fluff that we'd nicknamed "fluffypants" and my SIL missed having another fluffy kitty around (most of the others are DSH). While Will and I were in OR in mid-July, my BIL/SIL (well, really just my SIL) adopted a pair of shy medium-hair sisters, that sort of buff color that isn't quite orange and isn't really tan (although they do blend in with our tan carpet quite well, lol). They just turned a year old in August and, after a few weeks, are reliably letting us pet them. We can only pick one of them up at the moment (Shira), the other (Aliza) is too skittish still, but they're very sweet and hopefully they'll continue to settle in and become more comfortable.

( Pics under here )

Oh, one final thing: Remember the library job I didn't get? On August 13th, they relisted the job. O_o I debated reapplying, then decided a) I still had some dignity, b) given that I had never gotten a response to my previous emails, nor did I get one to the email I sent to the secretary saying, "What happened? I thought you had someone!" I figured I really didn't need to get myself embroiled in a school where shit seemed so disorganized and discourteous. Given that was only about 3 weeks ahead of the first day of school, however, I sure hope they found someone in time to get them cleared, approved, etc etc in time. But - not my circus, not my monkeys.