Best Of

No, taco. With my right hand relatively pain-free, I can do those things with less than half the pain I had before. It is tolerable. Knitting uses the right hand much more than the left. Doable, but not pain-free.

The higher dose of Zepbound (7.5) wasn't what made me sick—it did make me start losing weight again which my doc didn't want me to do. What made me sick was spacing it out to 10 days rather than 7—causing my levels of it to diminish low enough in the interim to make that dose feel as if I'd just de novo "jumped into the pool" of GLP-1s at a dose higher than the 2.5 starter.

Ironically, I managed to get down to goal minus 5lbs on 2.5mg, and maintained for several months before cravings kicked in necessitating titrating up, first to 5mg and then 7.5. The standard protocol is to do 2.5 for only the first month, then titrating up to the next dose every month or two till maxing out at 15mg, That standard protocol is what they used for the clinical trials—it never occurred to them to see what happens if one doesn't titrate up beyonfd 2.5mg. Only in retrospect are they finding that some folks are "super responders" who rarely if ever need to titrate up.

What did me in as I recovered from the dose delay was the miso soup—not the miso or tofu but the seaweed, I always used wakame, which "blooms" instantly in hot water. But this time all Whole Foods had was nori (sushi wrapper sheets) and kombu. The latter turned out to be very tough & chewy, I didn't know it's just meant to be steeped and discarded after making broth with it, rather than eating it. It expands to >2X its size. Only once I got crampy & bloated (and consulted Dr. Google) did I learn that you're not supposed to actually eat it. That was my fault, not Zep's.

Tonight was open dress rehearsal (the whole 9 yards) in front of a paying audience, We were astonished to find we'd sold over half the house! It was a great opportunity to see what did & didn't work—precious little of the latter—and gauge where the laughs are so we could time our delivery. (Something impossible to do in a conference room with only people totally familiar with—and a bit jaded by—the script). We warned the audience we might have to stop & fix things, but that never happened, (There were some missed cues, late video starts, and sound issues but we barreled through them). The cast members out with the flu yesterday were out again tonight, so I got to understudy those parts again, this time with an audience who ate it up. We're off Thursday, and all indications are that the absent cast members will return by Friday, It'll be a little awkward, because I played one of the characters much more effectivelly than the person assigned to it; but I will be a good sport about handing the reins back if necessary. (Besides, I do miss singing with her in another number in which we're part of a tenor, 2 sopranos and mezzo quartet). It was disconcerting to have to barrel solo through an entire verse which was written to divvy-up, but I reahearsed my butt off in the car as I drove down Lake Shore Drive and pulled it off without a hitch, . Still, it felt awkward to not hear her voice next to my ear on what are normally the harmony & unison lines.

In years past, there were no understudies—lines were cut, choreo rearranged, and even entire musicsl numbers cut if the leads were out sick (or one year, due to a brutal snowstorm, when said leads were stuck on their commuter trains. The bandleader didn't even make it, so the choral director had to step in).

The performances were videotaped starting tonight, and will be available online (likely YouTube) after the run of the show. That includes the paying dress rehearsal—-hope my numbers are included,

Our run of unseasonably mild & dry weather is coming to an end: soaking rains on the way (on our day off), followed by nasty weather Fri. night (after closing curtain) and then the "weather-wheels" falling off Saturday: rain into mix into wind-driven snow by final curtain-up. Could be worse: last year and the year before were subzero Sat. temps. Of course, the Bears play at evening curtain time. At least we get to do it indoors.

The Lord gave us two ends - one to sit on and the other to think with. Success depends on which one we use the most.

Ann Landers

Carole - thanks for the info on the New Year's traditions. I knew people made black eyed peas but never heard of the cabbage.

Moving to AZ where almost everyone in our senior community is from somewhere else has really made me aware of small regional variations. My Indiana friends make a pie I never heard of and now can't remember the name and the Michigan and Minn. folks play Ochre which we never did in Illinois. They tried to teach me but I was a miserable failure at it because I play so much bridge and couldn't make the transition.

We never did luminaries in the snow but many here light them Christmas Eve. Especially when we first moved here, one of the service clubs made a lot of money selling bags of sand and a small candle. For years, my DD talked about assembling the kits. Now they are frequently electric.

Chris - sorry that sewing is irritating your other hand. I would think the knitting would too. I had to give up doing needlepoint because of my carpet tunnel. I can't imagine Mutz enjoying the snow. He hates the rain.

Petite - sounds like your plate is still overflowing. Take care of yourself.

January seems to contain a lot of "things delayed." We both have doctors and dentists appointments and my car goes in next week, hopefully only for an oil change but it's passed the 40,000 mile mark so who knows.

Book club read "My Friends" by Frederick Backman. I highly recommend it. I seldom find a book that both makes me laugh and cry.

Weather is above 32 today, so I biked downtown. First stop was the library, where I printed directions for felted mittens. Then the pharmacy, where I gave them my insurance cards for updating. Then the beauty shop for a bang trim (I will grow it out to brushing the shoulders). Then the bank for some cash. I took Tippy out for a walk before I left. I got back, and he was telling me "snow. walk. potty. snow. snow" He likes to play in the snow. Even "cold" means something good. Rolling eyes. I am getting ready to knit some mittens which I will then felt down to my size. Hopefully I will get them done by Feb 22.

I was sure you wouldn't make it back until after the barshow, Sandy. Hopefuly the cast will be well enough to be able to do it well. Sounds like that too much Zeppy made you pretty sick.

Petite, hopefully when all is done you will be able to get used to the changes around your property in Florida. Otherwise you can sell it for a good price and live at your NC retreat.