Michele, you are in my prayers , praying for a positive outcome. I am also praying for all concerns that you have expressed .
I'll share a little secret with you , Michele, I have been called standoffish, too. The truth is I am not standoffish but I am shy. I try to cover it up but the truth is I am shy, there I've said it.

I will, Michele, I will. You deserve good things to come to you -- and to your family.

What I'm always hoping for you is that you are able to attain peace of mind regarding your daughters -- and their relationship with each other.

And also that your husband gets one of the promotions or new jobs he has occasionally applied for, one that is exactly right for him -- and that includes less travel, so you can see more of each other. Because those observations of his sound as though they're bothering you a little.

I don't see you as a loner, perhaps because you are a gregarious and kindly person in your online posts, and because you interact so much on the job.

I think that, in a way, you often reserve a space for your absent husband in your life's various routines, and that is what he is observing: You alone, bounded by space, because he's not there at the moment.

I am indeed quite familiar with the deliciousness of those sweet little bombs. Are your figs of choice the black Mission figs or the brownish Calmyrnas?

As for Medjool dates, I don't even let myself look at them in the store. I tell myself they're legless water bugs. Decades ago, they were a favorite binge food. (Unfortunately, ingested in binge quantities, they also have a rather purgative effect.)

Yep. There it is. That said, if I announce to someone that I'm shy, suddenly they declare that they are as well and we have a connection and I have someone to talk to. It's happened to me so many times!

I forgot, Michele, I'll think positive things for you today.

Oh, yes, the euphemism for the American cockroach. What else do we call them? Palmetto bugs is one that comes to mind, but you're right, they do have a resemblance! And that's one way to convince oneself not to eat them.

I've been feeling sadly uninspired lately about cooking, but this salad of yours revived my interest. Think I'll roast some veggies and mix them through some quinoa.

Megan, I think we all go through periods such as you've described, when life is more difficult to get through than usual, just due to day-to-day aggravations like heat, humidity and overwork. My goal then is subsistence and to avoid causing further damage by bingeing to relieve the stress and general low-spirited ickiness. If you're doing that, you're doing good.

Thanks, all, for compliments on the desk. That's flame-grain mahogany you're all admiring, cut from the crotch of the tree so that it seems to shimmer in circular patterns, like raindrop ripples. It's one of my favorite things in the world to look at & have around me in home furnishings. It's why I fell for furniture of that period.

Thank you so much for your kind thoughts. Saef-- you brought me to tears! You are so kind and thoughtful.

Allison-- I wish you lived closer too! Someday I think our paths will cross.

Thanks for sharing your "secret" Bargoo.

When I went to Morocco we were offered dates straight from the trees - yum! DH is a fan of both the figs and various types of dates - sugar bombs is a very appropriate moniker for them Bill.

Megan I would never do yoga or weights unless I did them first thing in the morning. I can't imagine you actually going to the gym after work after being outside in the Florida sun and humidity all day. I too am coming home from work sweaty, hot, sandy, and tired these days. I mentally refer to myself as the "hot cross Pinky" :rofl: And you and I are opposite in the food cravings - I want the big hunk of seared protein in the summer and all the carby stuff in winter. I find it harder to diet in winter as I can't seem to stop consuming the carbs then.

Michele I'm not a pray-er but am sending you a bunch of :goodvibes. I too am shy - except at the dog park. I think many of us at 3FC have used food as a source of comfort due to the loneliness of being shy and somewhat isolated as a result of that.

I am going to have a lot of dragons and gargoyles in my yard, should I ever own a home. I just received two more pieces of "yard cheese" - a small gargoyle and a big fat happy cat - bringing my outside figurine total to 6. Good thing DH never looks at the garden. :p

Going to go sear my chunk of protein now and make a salad. I am a very unmotivated salad maker - DH is good at it - but I am going to do something with avocados, romaine, fennel, and possibly cucumber (if it's not wilted yet).

Stay cool everyone!

Dagmar (pretending it's :brr:)

The palmetto bug is a different species from the American cockroach. Its common name is Florida woods cockroach--it's sort of rounder and appears not to have wings, but it actually does have short ones that it can fly with. You don't see them much indoors.

Jay

While that may be true, people around here get "palmetto" bugs and "date palm" bugs in their house from time to time. They aren't that--they are the American cockroach--people just don't want to say cockroach (even though it's the German cockroach that is the infestation problem).

weird cat stuff
 

All the bugs in our house get "petted" to death by Mishi and then eaten :hungry: by Mud. Speaking of Mud she just begged and ate at least 20 kernels of fresh corn from me. She only eats fresh corn from a cob (and I have to take the kernels off the cob) - frozen and canned are regarded with contempt :queen:. And she has to "attack" each kernel and "kill" it. The whole process took about 10 minutes.

She is now happily amusing herself with a frozen blueberry (as a toy, not a food item). Mishi? He's napping :dz:. I periodically check to see if he has a pulse.

Mud weighs just under 10 lbs. Mishi is over 17 - :eek:. There are obvious parallels in activity levels between the pets and the owners in this home, as DH keeps pointing out.

Dagmar :hyper:

Looks like Johnny Depp is available - :drool:

Dagmar :p

You can have him.

I'm doing the happy dance! Today is my last day of official work until August 20!!

I'm already planning my exciting day tomorrow which consists of such stimulating activities as going to the credit union, the pharmacy, getting my blood drawn, etc. But it will be on MY time and I can maybe fit some fun in there too!!

Find time for that FUN michele. :dancer:

I am in the opposite stream - work has gone from famine to feast to possible bingeing orgy :p (but I'm not that greedy anymore). I am going to turn down a cat sit that would push me :yikes: over the edge. It's a former client (whose dog now resides with ex husband and who I still walk) and, although I would like her business in the future, doing the cat sit in July would be :crazy: :faint: :stress: !!!

Dagmar :cool: