Cool, Tom! As a retired librarian, I feel guilty for not even knowing what Coptic binding is. Thanks for the link.

Had to charge up my poor neglected personal laptop's battery and upgrade the OS before I could install Firefox but I did all that and was able to do a little work. Thinking I will see what lunch I can walk to shortly, I believe I should have a bunch of choices as downtown is just a couple of blocks away

Niece reports the OT is impressed with how well Mom is doing, so I am presuming the Tylenol/ibuprofen regimen is working out ok. Will head down again tomorrow so I'll get the full details then

chemical nonsense driving the bus

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

I wish I'd asked my doctor about HRT the instant I started having perimenopause symptoms. I'm on it now, and it has made a world of difference. When I had to go off it for a bit (breast cancer scare, everything's fine), the changes were noticeable. For one thing, when I'm on HRT, I don't have sobbing meltdowns multiple times a week.

I wish I'd asked my doctor about HRT the instant I started having perimenopause symptoms. I'm on it now, and it has made a world of difference.

Fucking life-changing, and it's been less than 2 weeks. My OB/GYN did a blood test for my testosterone level and based on the results she added topical testosterone to my HRT cocktail. My understanding is full effects don't really kick in for 3 months or more, which feels like taking testosterone's effectiveness on faith for a while.

Progesterone has not made an appreciable effect on my sleep, which makes me sad. Though Dr. Google says "It often takes up to 2 weeks of consistent bedtime dosing to experience steady, full-night sleep improvements." And it hasn't been a full 2 weeks for me yet, so maybe my sleep will start improving in the very near future. Fingers crossed!

I wish I had some sort of tracker to tell me how far along the work on my car was

Poor Skinner is sick again. He has had frequent digestive issues throughout his life so I don't pay attention to that anymore. He threw up last night and didn't want to eat this morning, but that happens so often it was ignored. This changed when I was giving him morning ear rubs, as one does, and he was noticeably warmer than usual. Called the vet and brought him in. Temp of 104.4. When he had a bunch of tests done a couple of months ago, all his blood tests were completely normal. Today, all are screwed up. White cells up, red cells down, liver way the hell out of whack. So injections and a couple different kinds of antibiotics, as well as liver meds. She wouldn't even give him anything for the fever because his liver was so off.

Bottom line, I would be significantly better off if I had chosen veterinary medicine as a career. Just sayin'.

Aw, poor Skinner. Hope the vet can get it sorted out.

I've had dogs all my life, more than I can even remember, and this is the first time I ever gave one a morning hug and they were warm to touch. Poor boo.

Health~ma for Skinner.

It was a one-off class for Coptic binding.

That looks neat! I had a book group meeting at my library last night and asked them about a bookbinding workshop. They gave me a firm maybe. So we’ll see, I guess.

Re: menopause. I was done at 43, and I didn’t even notice. That’s because I spent 18 months before that taking care of my dying dad, and I was on antidepressants and anti anxiety meds for a big chunk of it. As coping methods go, I can’t recommend it. But it is very nice to be done.

Yes, Calli. I am sure that emotional upheaval contributes significantly to the hormonal shift. Of course, I put the whole menstrual process on the list of things that the maker didn't think through very well. See also knees and backs.