Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

After roe, women are no longer free.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

John Fetterman: Too Manly for Pennsylvania.  Paid for by the Oz for Senator campaign.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

Bark louder, little dog.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Battle won, war still ongoing.

This fight is for everything.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Good News Thread

Good News Thread

by | 200 Comments

This post is in: 

 

Humdog requested this, and I’m always up for good news.

Can we please get a thread where all can share good news. I don’t have any myself, but I know Helen in Eire has a job offer and efgoldman is home from hospital. Hearing people I “know” are still experiencing positive things would surely cheer me up, and a clean thread for it may be helpful when all else seems to be a shit tsunami.

A friend wanted me to pick up four bottles of brandy from a local distillery and send them to her, with the payment of one bottle to me. Which was pretty nice. I have the bottles and will send three out tomorrow.

The photo is from my trip last month to White Sands National Monument.

I’ve had a minor cold this week but seem to be improving today. I got a bunch of things done. Also, for those in the area, I’ll be giving a talk on North Korea on Monday. Got part of that prepared. And the kittehs have been unusually delightful the past two days.

What good is happening in your life?

Reader Interactions

200Comments

  5. 5.

    O. Felix Culpa

    Oh, and the semester is nearly over and I won’t have to deal with students trying to game the system for a month. That’s really great news!

  11. 11.

    TenguPhule

    A friend wanted me to pick up four bottles of brandy from a local distillery and send them to her, with the payment of one bottle to me.

    What kind of brandy?

  13. 13.

    WaterGirl

    My christmas cactus are blooming like crazy.
    My finger is improving after my altercation with the potato peeler two weeks ago.
    Baud hasn’t left on his trip yet, so we still have his wit and humor to sustain us.
    Helen just got a job she likes that just fell out of the sky, I think.
    Now that Helen has her job, she won’t be able to swoop in and steal Baud away.
    It’s Thursday so Preet has a new podcast, which makes me happy.
    Looks like he’ll be interviewing the Pod Save America folks.
    That’s it for me.

  19. 19.

    Brynlyn Lehmann

    I’m going to a birthday party in Long Beach for the weekend. It’s the first beach trip that I’ve taken without my dogs and I’m looking forward to the experience.

  20. 20.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    I can’t think of any news item to report, except the complete lack of bad news. We just hosted Thanksgiving and it was awesome, 20+ people who are related yet like each other. The younger generation is bringing significant others in now and they fit in seamlessly.

    The chorus I sing in did Mendelssohn’s Elijah just before Turkey Day, and it was amazing! Capacity audience, standing O. Nice way to start the holiday season.

    That’s all I got.

  22. 22.

    TenguPhule

    Republicans may have just given us an unexpected opening on the Tax Abomination.

    We might be able to leverage this into some actual defections.

    The bill has to include an actual tax INCREASE in it in order to satisfy the Bryd rule.

    So if they vote for it, Republican Senators are clearly and without a doubt voting to raise people’s taxes.

    http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/11/30/senate_floor_showdown_over_tax_bill_between_corker_republican_leaders.html

  23. 23.

    Josie

    I am doing my regular two week stint as nanny to my two year old grand daughter, and we are going for the weekend to Dickens on the Strand in Galveston. It’s a big deal around here, and I have never been, so it will be fun to see all the costuming and hear the pretty music. Also, we will show little Josie the beach and the ocean for the first time.

  24. 24.

    imonlylurking

    Decided to job hunt and found two or three things that could have been written for me. So that’s pretty cool. Acing my class in my Project management MS program, so that’s cool too.

    Currently trying to help somebody rehome a cat on an emergency basis. Any chance of a pet rescue bleg? It’s not good news, but it’s urgent. Well, if we can help the kitty it will be good news.

  25. 25.

    Humdog

    Thank you, Cheryl.

    I do have a good thing. I got a used dog last month and I have really fallen hard for her. Two years old, headstrong and goofy. She’s my eighth dog as an adult and I’ve fallen harder and faster for her than any of my dear former critters. Yeah and yikes at the same time.

  26. 26.

    WaterGirl

    @Major Major Major Major: Okay, a belated chuckle at your impression, it was a pretty good one. (My positive addition in this comment.) Guessing that you still don’t have enough assigned work? If so, that has to be unsettling.

  28. 28.

    Mike in DC

    I got a nice doc review gig that will last me through January, and my next insurance will cost me half as much because the cost subsidies are still there.

  29. 29.

    CAinCA

    The US government decided to renew our green cards! It took almost a year and we were getting a bit worried…

  31. 31.

    No Drought No More

    “Step on the gas
    And wipe that tear away
    One sweet dream
    Came true today”.

    For no special reason, that lyric from Abbey Road has always put me in mind of a baby being welcomed into the world by people whose dream has been to do just that..

  32. 32.

    MomSense

    Brought some local honey to a friend. Just finished a great parent teacher conference. One of the teachers brought his dog. Australian shepherds are gorgeous. This one was mostly white with splashes of black.

  33. 33.

    WaterGirl

    @Mike J: That’s an uplifting reading list. Maybe that’s not the right word, but it’s definitely not a “we’re doomed, nothing we can do” list. Resistance.

  34. 34.

    trollhattan

    Having my first beer after bilateral (boff sides!) carpel tunnel surgery yesterday. Even more betterer, my fingers no longer tingle and ache for the first time in a year. Progress.

  36. 36.

    Viva BrisVegas

    In Queensland we had a state election last Saturday and the Labor Party won. Keeping out a motley coalition of right wingers, especially a nasty group of Trumpian racists that calls itself One Nation.

    I was so motivated that I even went down to the local polling booth and handed out how to vote cards for Labor.

    Gay marriage legislation is proceeding through Federal parliament and should be passed sometime next week.

    The conservative government in Canberra is tearing itself apart, with senior figures calling for the PM to resign. They are trailing badly in the polls and have been since they scrapped through at the last election.

    The bad news is that it’s still a year or more until the next election.

  37. 37.

    J R in WV

    We ate lunch at a newly opened Thai restaurant between errands today. It was great, and we got to listen to the front desk person yelling at the back kitchen folks in Thai, wildly amusing. We have restaurants that claim to sell Thai dishes, but not really.

    The last folks who ran a real Thai restaurant went back to Thailand, according to the lady who appears to run this place. Inexpensive, and one extra spice addition is really good. I did 3 extra earlier, and it was WAY hot, which I enjoyed, but probably isn’t really great for my digestive tubing.

    Wife’s medication was $5 less this month, so also good. Cats doing well, dogs found a new deer bone, all pink and meaty looking. Deer season started Monday before Thanksgiving and traditionally, hunters leave a large portion of their deer in the woods. So our dogs are so, so happy to find a pile of Bambi Bits in the deep woods. After a few more days, these centers of nutrition will begin to smell really really good, to a dog. We won’t let them in.

    Some years ago we woke up to find an eye-less head staring in the back slider at us. Thanks, Dogs! The current bone isn’t gross, but looks tasty to the dogs, and they’re taking turns hiding it from each other and growling a little. Typical Deer Hunting activity. The dogs are SO happy.

    Much less shooting than usual – I think more people are going to the mountains to hunt, instead of going out into the back yard here locally. We’re afflicted with an excess number of deer, which are going to do well this fall because we have a big mast crop or acorns, nuts, etc. So there will be a bumper crop of fawns in the spring.

  38. 38.

    NotMax

    Managed to get six hours of uninterrupted sleep. First time in months for that much in one stretch. 6 a.m. to noon, but any port in a storm and all that.

  40. 40.

    Lyrebird

    I kept my students usefully busy today.

    Another week of commuting with no deer in sight.
    (I can work from home tomorrow.)

    My kid is starting to read!

  41. 41.

    WaterGirl

    @Major Major Major Major: I’m excited about your new work projects. I asked myself today whether I might be depressed, or whether I’m just discouraged and feeling overwhelmed by the awful current events. Probably the latter for me, but still not fun. Anything I can do?

    I so admire you – you’re always doing interesting things, art, projects, Against Stupidity, those fun BJ analyses, traveling. I think you’re awesome for what it’s worth. Hopefully you will start to feel better soon.

  42. 42.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    @B.B.A.: I had a sandwich for breakfast, and I really enjoyed it.

    I’m doing a young coworker a favor by proofreading his big report and it’s actually quite well-written! It’s nice to have a work product to read that isn’t a painful struggle to get through. I feel hopeful for the future of my department.

  47. 47.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @J R in WV: Something I’m seeing more and more around us is multi-ethnic Asian restaurants. For instance the little Chinese restaurant near us is apparently under new management and offering a full Chinese, Japanese and Thai menu. My last Thai green curry was from them and it was pretty good.

    I’m not sure of the explanation.

  48. 48.

    wmd

    I was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharnyx in April. Imaging in late October and again in November (MRI, then PET/CT) both show no evidence of disease. So diagnosis of cancer to cure in under 6 months.

  49. 49.

    debbie

    I was off work today and had lunch with two friends who I never see much of anymore because of life. We’ve known each other since birth, so it was nice to catch up. I also have tomorrow off, but it will be an errand-filled day, so less fun.

  50. 50.

    Origuy

    I’m moving all my banking to a credit union. I haven’t closed my Wells Fargo accounts yet, and I’ll probably leave them open through the end of the year. Getting all of the online payments moved over has been a pain, and I still don’t have checks for the new account yet. I only write one or two a month, though. I’ve been meaning to leave Wells Fargo for a long time, but their latest scandals pushed me to do it.

  51. 51.

    geg6

    I got through my VA audit with no discrepancies yesterday. So we’ll be able to continue enrolling veterans, dependents, guardsmen and reservists. And because I had zero discrepancies, it is likely I won’t have to undergo another one for three years. Hopefully, that will be my last one as I plan to retire in five years.

  52. 52.

    Tom DeVries

    A young person in our family is marrying, and the intended is — ta, da! — a licensed physical therapist. A PT in the family! How’s that for great news?

  53. 53.

    Felony Govt (formerly Old Broad in California)

    My local Democratic club had a good meeting last night, and our great State Assemblyman spoke. I’ve decided I will work on his re-election campaign next year- He will have a tough battle next against a Trump style Republican.

  55. 55.

    NotMax

    @Origuy

    Should you require some now, go in person and ask for counter checks. Usually a limit (my bank will hand over only a maximum of three at a time), but a handy stopgap until the printed ones arrive.

  57. 57.

    beth

    Hubby got a clean bill of health today, a year after gamma knife radiation treatment for multiple brain tumors. Cake and champagne will be served tonight.

  58. 58.

    Greg in PDX

    I have been under the gun to find a new place to live since my lease runs out mid-Jan and the landlord is tearing this property down. But I just found a much better place to live and there will be a week and a half gap in between the two so I am going to use the rent I am not paying to fly to Las Vegas and stay with a good friend i haven’t seen in years!

  59. 59.

    chris

    My cats, Steve (on top) and Pumpkin (not amused). Steve is always trying to play but she just marches off in a huff. The good news is that she’s going to the groomer for the first time because I can’t stay ahead of her freaking matts. Yes, winter is here but she only goes out when it’s +20 and sunny. Except for feeding time and skritches she spends her time around the wood stove, adjusting her position by inches as the temperature changes.

    Pics when it happens if she’s not too embarrassed to show herself.

  62. 62.

    satby

    I got a lease at the Farmer’s market that lasts until May, wasn’t supposed to be able to get one until after New Years. And it was cheaper, because it was prorated. Now I have to hire someone for the next two Saturdays, because I have bazaars and a market booth to man. I’m suddenly a (part time) job creator!

  66. 66.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    The chorus I sing in did Mendelssohn’s Elijah just before Turkey Day, and it was amazing! Capacity audience, standing O. Nice way to start the holiday season.

    Love Elijah and always tear up at the trio “Lift thine eyes” and chorus “He, watching over Israel.” So beautiful, says this sentimental atheist.

  68. 68.

    JPL

    Betty from Dominica was able to post while on a visit to the states, and she was okay. The island is still suffering massive power outages, but at least she made it through the storm. That was good news.

  70. 70.

    schrodingers_cat

    I discovered a great farm stand in my neighborhood. They also make great ice-cream. Unfortunately, they will be closing after Christmas for the season. Four of my lols made the front page on ICHC/lolcats. I have begun writing again, some blog posts are in the pipeline and I also wrote an essay about my citizenship ceremony. I am using Pinterest and gathering inspiration for both my wardrobe and home. Its nice to spend time looking at pretty things.

  71. 71.

    NotMax

    Excellent health outcomes above from several above. Best news of the thread.

    @satby

    In time for the holidays, too. Feast beats famine every time.

  74. 74.

    ceece

    good news: tomorrow morning, I am meeting with my tenure review committee, and it looks like I passed. Didn’t get this full-time gig until I was 46, but now I have actually landed my dream job. whoo!

  76. 76.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @John Cole: In Beautiful Downtown Burbank there are a set of streets named after colleges, one of them is Bethany Road.

    (I went on a short hike over the area above there to see how bad the damage from the fire a few months ago was, the old trail is pretty much burnt out.)

  80. 80.

    hitchhiker

    Three weeks ago I randomly asked our bldg mgr how it would work to move within our building, which we love. Original apt was good until we realized we DID want to have company … mgr said, “Oh, we have a place that might work right now.”

    I hadn’t been thinking of right now, but omg — new apt is 400 sq ft bigger, quieter, and easier to keep warm. AND, b/c it had been empty for awhile, it was significantly cheaper than the one we were in.

    So, boom! We moved, just like that. (We’d been in the same house for 24 yrs before downsizing in 2015, and I’m here to say it’s freaking thrilling to be able to just pick up and shift.)

    Also, this Sat will be 6 months clean and sober for me. So, yay!

  83. 83.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    Good news is so welcome… new dogs, clean bills of health, job offers, sandwiches… huzzah!

  84. 84.

    jharp

    I’m treating my brother and his wife to the Big Ten Championship game. I live pretty close to the stadium and they stay with us.

    Pretty sweet deal. Really looking forward to the game.

    We’re Ohio fans.

    And I’d sure like TCU to knock off Oklahoma in the early game.

  85. 85.

    NotMax

    Cheryl, this is not the place for it and I don’t expect any sort of forthcoming response here. However if you’re around later on when a more appropriate thread opens up, any informed impressions you might offer to this would be appreciated.

  86. 86.

    Ruviana

    @hitchhiker: Great on the clean and sober (I’m a bit over 4 years now), and enjoy the new digs. And to Cheryl and any other Front Pager, this is a great thread and should be a recurring thing.

  89. 89.

    wmd

    @trollhattan: thanks everyone. 70 Gy of radiation was hard work, but it was worth it. That’s 3.5 million chest xrays to my neck over 33 weekdays or 6 and a half weeks.

    I never had any issues with swallowing or speech. The adjuvant therapy did cause some skin issues, but the clinic’s dermatologists were very good.

  91. 91.

    Mnemosyne

    I’ve finished a really rough draft of my novel. (REALLY rough.) I’m going to write a few last words of it tonight to close out NaNoWriMo, and then I’m going to declare it done. I will spend December reading craft books and then take it to a workshop in January to plan the revisions. Phew!

  92. 92.

    FlyingToaster

    I was able to find all 24 items that fit the pockets to refill the Advent Calendar that [redacted] failed to sell the tschotchke package for. 5 years they sell the “24 things for your refillable advent calendar”; year six, bupkis.

    The shops I visited, in order:

    Party City
    Michaels
    Museum of Science
    Newbury Comics
    Claires

    And I have enough items that didn’t fit into the Calendar pockets to fill her stocking. And Hanukkah bags (yes, it’s a complicated household). All that’s left is to buy gift cards for the daughter and nephews.

    And WarriorGirl nailed her recital piece two days running. So we’re ready, at a week early.

  95. 95.

    Mnemosyne

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Dude, you finished your novel! You should still be basking in that despite that inevitable “Christmas afternoon after opening all the presents feeling” that I have named Kringleschmertz (trademark pending).

  96. 96.

    WaterGirl

    @Mnemosyne: I’m pretty sure that’s not how things work. “Should” has nothing to do with it. Amazing, though, to finish a novel. Congrats to both of you. I always feel a letdown after finishing something big.

  101. 101.

    schrodingers_cat

    @NotMax: Its a meaningless discussion who is a real Hindu or not. Hinduism has no central authority like the Pope. Rahul Gandhi, Indira Gandhi’s grandson is 1/4 Hindu ( his mother is Italian and Indira Gandhi’s husband was Zoroastrian), so some BJP busybody called out his Hindu credentials. This was the response from the Congress.

    ETA: Fuck BJP and RSS, no one died and gave them the authority to determine who is a real Hindu or not.

  102. 102.

    O. Felix Culpa

    Alongside good news, any recommendations for good books? Reasonably well written, captivating, and NOT depressing are my criteria.

  107. 107.

    Fair Economist

    My mom has a host of medical conditions but she has improved considerably from two months ago and is back home, out of hospitals and nursing homes. She is in remarkably good spirits as well.

  109. 109.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    @wmd: Terrific news!

    @hitchhiker: Yay for you. Moving to a space in the same building that’s bigger and cheaper, plus easier to keep warm – unusual combination to be sure.

    @beth: Wow for you both. That is amazing news.

  111. 111.

    BellyCat

    My 21 month old son, BellyKitteh, encountered a classmate crying. Went and got a tissue and then started dabbing the upset child’s tears.

    Blew the daycare provider’s minds (and ours!) and this gives me hope for the future — empathy has not yet been bred out of all the newcomers to this crazy planet.

  112. 112.

    Josie

    @Mnemosyne: Congratulations! I am jealous and impressed all at the same time. I am still struggling with the three chapters that are driving me to drink (figure of speech).

  114. 114.

    jacy

    I have managed not to kill anyone in my immediate vicinity. Does that count as good news? (I also haven’t killed anyone out of my immediate vicinity, if that was in question — but not for lack of attempting to project a death ray with my mind. Maybe the prototype needs work.)

  115. 115.

    SFBayAreaGal

    My brother-in-law who suffered a massive stroke in February was with us at Thanksgiving. He is working at getting stronger every day. He has so many people that love him and what him to fully recover.

  116. 116.

    Kelly

    Just got back from a fine afternoon looking for chanterelle mushrooms. Found three. Just a snack but the mossy, green fir woods is magical place on a drizzly day. If you have good raingear.

  117. 117.

    donnah

    I started a new hooked rug in the spring but have been too busy with teaching and life to make much progress. But now I’m rolling right along and I am so excited. It’s a rug featuring Christopher Robin and Pooh and the actual stuffed animals Christopher Robin played with that became characters in the stories. I had to pay a royalty to the NYC public library to use the images, but it’s worth it.

    When it’s finished, I’m going to donate it to our downtown library in my dad’s name. He was the one who took us kids to the big library when we were little, starting our love affair with books. I expect it will go to the children’s section. They just finished rebuilding the entire library and it would be wonderful to have my work there.

    I’m afraid I don’t know how to post a photo. I have some on imgur but don’t know how to post.

    The point is, in spite of everything going on around me, I have this, my artwork, to keep me sane. I hope we all survive the Trumpocalypse, and we all have something we can do to keep our sanity.

  118. 118.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    @ceece: Wow – that’s great to hear.

    I also have a new job as development/outreach director at a nonprofit offering both employment and life skills training to people with brain injuries and neurological conditions. I was a close second to an individual who was “a perfect fit with extensive and directly related experience.” Until she flamed out an hour and a half into her first day. Tearfully announcing that she just felt so badly for the folks who worked there that “[she] can’t work with these people.” So the employer told her to just go. I was surprised to get the email asking if I’d still consider the position.

    Today I got an invitation to interview for a staff discovery job that’s mostly remote, and can be combined with the nonprofit job which is a) primarily off site and b) not nearly full time. So I’m hoping that interview is a good one.

  119. 119.

    imonlylurking

    @O. Felix Culpa: If you’re into horror ‘Rolling in the Deep’ is all kinds of awesome. Her zombie books and stories are fabulous, if you’re into that sort of thing. Also, if you’re into fantasy/sorta YA stuff, Patricia Wrede has a series about magic in the American West. The first book is ‘The Thirteenth Child’ and I basically did nothing but read until I had finished all three books in the series.

  120. 120.

    jharp

    @Kelly:

    Love being in the woods on a drizzly day.

    Most days I’ve seen a coyote are calm and drizzly. I’m told they move around more on those days because without wind it is much easier to smell their way around.

  122. 122.

    Mnemosyne

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Thank you! I can’t find the Famous Author Quote that’s been getting me through, but it’s something like You can’t fix a story you haven’t written. There’s a lot that needs to be fixed, but I can only fix it once it’s on the page.

  123. 123.

    Ladyraxterinok

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Felix Mendelsohn was the grandson of Moses Mendelsohn, a famous Jewish philosopher in Berlin in the 18th cent. His friendship with Lessing, among others, helped to make Jews acceptable in Germany.

    Lessing wrote the drama Nathan der Weise. In it is the ‘Parable of the 3 Rings,’ told by the Jewish protagonist to Saladin, leader of the Muslims in the Holy Land. in answer to his question ‘Which of the 3 religions -Islam, Judaism, or Christianity-is the true religion?’ The story makes clear that the only way to tell is to watch what the religion’s practitioners do.

  124. 124.

    Mary G

    My dumb cat disappeared for a day and a half and I was afraid she had gotten out and eaten by a coyote, but she was just asleep behind the monitor, so I am happy about that.

  128. 128.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @imonlylurking: Thanks for the Wrede suggestion! I read her dragon books when my kids were young and really enjoyed them. Will go check out The Thirteenth Child on Kindle right away. Alas, horror scares me. I haven’t had anything to do with that genre since The Shining.

  129. 129.

    debbie

    @imonlylurking: @imonlylurking:

    Along the same line, Glenn Duncan wrote a werewolf/vampire trilogy. The first book is The Last Werewolf. I wasn’t big on this genre, but I heard a great author interview on NPR and thought I’d try it. He writes well enough to get a non-fan really, really interested.

    PS. They aren’t scary.

  130. 130.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Ladyraxterinok: German literature major here. I loved Lessing. Nathan der Weise was one of the first full literary pieces I read. Quite an upgrade from “Ute übt Geige” and “Wir gehen ins Kino. Kommst du mit?”

  134. 134.

    Mnemosyne

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Yes, but I’m being lazy about email while I do this last push to feel like I’m done with my novel. Today is the last day of NaNoWriMo, so I want to get at least a little bit written on it tonight so I can declare myself done!

  138. 138.

    Raoul

    @Mike J: Yeah, I thought of the sea of empty chairs at the tree lighting as a bit of good news. Rump is really unpopular, even if his rabid core adores him. That core is small and not even willing to get in a car and drive to D.C. for something nice. Sheesh.

  141. 141.

    JAFD

    Was at a friends’ home over Thanksgiving. Their back yard adjoins a ‘preservation area’, so saw some deer and a possum. Was 60 degrees on Saturday, so went down to their vacation home, helped pack up some things to move back. Pictures to come !

  142. 142.

    Ian G.

    I will be a new father on or around January 12th. Wife and I just finished an infant CPR class. I am both incredibly excited and incredibly terrified at the same time.

  143. 143.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @NotMax: I was thinking today about writing a post on that. It is a very strange story, and I think the newspapers so far have missed most of it. I have more questions than answers and am talking to colleagues about it. I think there will be more about it in the news.

  144. 144.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Ian G.: Congratulations. I am more into uncling myself, but I understand that combined excitement and terror is the normal response.

  145. 145.

    tobie

    Don’t know if this thread is alive but I did report a few weeks back that I had to go in for bilateral lumpectomies. Was cleared on one side but not on the other, so the day before Thanksgiving I had to go in for a reexcision. Long story short, I received the wonderful news this week that I’m cleared on the other side too and don’t have cancer. I’ve been waiting since August for the all-clear-sign and am so relieved to have finally gotten it. Now I need to put my energies to fighting this horrendous tax bill.

  148. 148.

    Gravenstone

    Even though we’re running into significant problems with our current project at work, the customer didn’t yell at us today. I’ll take that as a small good thing. Might change tomorrow, but this is today and I’ll take my small wins where I can.

    Also, just unpacked my new Instant Pot and am running it through a test cycle. And my new TV gets delivered tomorrow (old one decided I didn’t need to actually see anything starting yesterday).

  149. 149.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    As I noted in my comment to our bloghost, I went hiking up in the area that burned in September. Even though it’s been a dry fall, I noticed that a good number of the plants that burned are sprouting new growth from the roots. When it does rain the grasses will return.

  150. 150.

    imonlylurking

    @O. Felix Culpa: Stay away from Rolling in the Deep, then. I made the mistake of reading it right before bedtime. *shivers* Awesome idea, but holy fucking shit.
    The zombie books I mentioned are more political thrillers with some zombies thrown in. I didn’t find them scary but I have a pretty high threshold for that sort of thing. (I used to read Stephen King short stories before bed.)

  153. 153.

    imonlylurking

    @debbie: I’ll look for that. I’m trying to keep my pleasure reading down until I finish this class, but in two weeks I am free! Binge time!

  154. 154.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @imonlylurking: I’ll leave the scary stuff to you then. The Wrede is loaded on my Kindle and ready to go!

    (Not a new book at all, but one of my favorites is The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper. Also regularly reread Robin McKinley’s The Blue Sword.)

  155. 155.

    Omnes Omnibus

    BTW I have been coping by watching blind auditions from the international versions of the Voice. I find that I like the French version best* but YMMV. Example 1. Example 2.

    *Go figure.

  156. 156.

    randy khan

    I went to visit the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery at lunch today and saw an awesome exhibit: “Murder Is Her Hobby: Frances Glessner Lee and the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death.” The most amazing dioramas you’ll ever see – made to help police learn how to interpret crime scenes in the 1940s – and the attention to detail is unbelievable. Seriously, it’s fantastic. They even have flashlights you can use to look for clues.

    It’s thought that Lee was the model for Jessica Fletcher in Murder She Wrote, and Erle Stanley Gardner was so impressed by her that he dedicated a book to her.

    There’s a gallery, a good video and (if you’re on mobile), some VR on the site for the show.

    Murder? Or not?

  158. 158.

    cain

    I have yet to see anyone that said “I got laid”. I’m disappointed.. Cuz it’s been awhile for me. :P :D

  159. 159.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @cain: For some it is a commonplace, nearly daily (if not more event), for others, a distant memory. Best not to got there.

  160. 160.

    imonlylurking

    @O. Felix Culpa: Robin McKinley is one of my favorite authors. Spindle’s End and Dragonhaven are my favorites right now, but I reread the Damar books on a regular basis. Have you read Sherri Tepper? The Family Tree is wonderful.

  161. 161.

    Sister Golden Bear

    Two bits of good news…

    First, I had another epidural steroid injection for pain from a pinched nerve yesterday, and it appears to be kicking in. (This is the fourth one now, since I’ve got permanent cervical disk problems. I supposed the related good news is that I’ve developed an impressively high pain tolerance — although I’m not sure it’s entirely a good thing when your doctor tells you that normally people with my level of impingement are in agony….)

    On a different note, my brother and his teenage kids for Thanksgiving, the first time I’d seen them in eight years. I wasn’t sure he’d gotten around to telling them that almost a year ago I’d transitioned to living full-time as a woman, but teens being teens, they were utterly blasé about it (and never once deadnamed or misgendered me). The kids are alright.

    Bonus goodness: Next week will be first anniversary of my transition. I’m both extremely privileged and extremely lucky that it went about as smoothly as possible, with my biological family, chosen family, friends, co-workers and employer all being extremely supportive. Few of my trans sisters, brothers and siblings are so fortunate. 2017 has been a trying year for other reasons, but no longer having the constant gender dysphoria static in the attic is a such a relief. Still some major changes on deck for 2018, but I’m glad to see the end of the journey is in sight.

  162. 162.

    Denali

    My cold is almost gone. We had a great Thanksgiving with my grandson and his two step sisters!

    Good book I have just finished – The Names by Don DeLillo, written all the way back in 1982 and it seemed very timely.

  163. 163.

    opiejeanne

    In November I wrote more than 50,000 words of the novel I’ve been chewing on for more than 10 years, It’s not finished, but the NaNoWriMo month has helped me focus and my writing has improved immensely. There are at least 20,000 words left to write, but I have momentum now.
    The rewrite will be hard but I’m pleased with my progress and astonished that I actually did this.

    (Thanks Mnemosyne)

  167. 167.

    Mnemosyne

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    Congratulations!

    Also, I saw your note about Pilates and my knee after yesterday’s thread was already dead. I do know a good Pilates place near my office, and I may ask the official PT folks if they have any recommendations once I get done with the repairs. IIRC, Pilates was originally developed to help soldiers returning from WWI with their physical therapy, so it makes sense that it would help.

  171. 171.

    Lymie

    Got a new puppy, trying to find a good name. Retired in July and going to the gym 4 times a week since September. Trying to put my brain and body back together.

  172. 172.

    laura

    I love this post! So much goodness and health.
    Also,season 2 of The Crown starts Saturday and today my Satby soaps arrived.

  175. 175.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @lurker dean: There has been so much anger and negativity in the world and thus here recently. We need threads like this as a reminder that that there are good things in the world.

    ETA: This thread seems remarkably free of the purity people and trolls (but I repeat myself).

  177. 177.

    StringOnAStick

    We are 16 days into having a pair of kittens, and they are gracing us with extended moments of cuddling before the crazy play ramps up again.

  178. 178.

    Gretchen

    @Lymie: I had three great dogs, Clancy, Wolfgang, and Bosley. Also Ivy(known to some as Poison Ivy), and the current resident, Seamus.

  179. 179.

    opiejeanne

    @Mnemosyne: I’ve done so much reading, mostly online sources of Civil War battles, medicine, food, clothing, slang words used in the 1860s that I might not have such easy access to if Net Neutrality goes away. And doing that kind of research in such depth I can see the place where my characters live (it helps that I’ve been to the area where it’s set), I can feel the constant cold rain at Chickasaw Bayou, and I can smell the food and the barnyard and the stench of the carnage of war, and hear the battlefield screams as well as the birdsong. It’s like living a strange parallel life.

  180. 180.

    opiejeanne

    @Mnemosyne: I heard Annie Proulx read from The Shipping News in the Oakland Barnes & Noble (which is a gorgeous temple full of books).
    I bought a book called Hard Tack and Coffee, and I’m eyeing another written by an army surgeon. I will undoubtedly buy more and haunt the libraries and send for copies of documents.
    I’ve been watching Ken Burns’ Civil War and cheer every time something is quoted that I’ve just read there or on the various government documents online. Letters to wives by officers, The Ballou letter, Officers’ reports.

  181. 181.

    Barbara

    My cat died unexpectedly this summer while I was getting ready to move. But once I had settled in, I went to the local shelter and I took the cat who had been there the longest. Everyone stood up and cheered. She has been here for about a month now and has already reached the stage of bossing me around, so I guess she’s feeling at home.

  182. 182.

    cain

    @NotMax:

    No wish to harsh the thread, but what the heck is going on with the ‘Modi is a bad Hindu’ thing? Wedge politics or something more?

    His party and possibily he is an asshole.

  183. 183.

    Mnemosyne

    @opiejeanne:

    Don’t forget to check Google Books and other online resources. I’m a little amazed at how many primary sources are now available with the click of a mouse thanks to libraries that have scanned some of their older books. I’ve been able to read the published diaries of an American who traveled to England and Scotland about 10 years before my book takes place.

  184. 184.

    cain

    @NotMax:
    This looks like opposition ratfucking. By definition, once a hindu always a hindu. Basically, the argumen tis that if you aren’t going regularly to temple, you’re not a hindu. It’s a bunch of crap.

  185. 185.

    KS in MA

    I finally heard from my brother on Vieques, for the first time since the hurricanes. I figured he would be all right–his house is fairly hurricane-proof–but it’s mighty good to have confirmation!

  186. 186.

    cain

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    @cain: For some it is a commonplace, nearly daily (if not more event), for others, a distant memory. Best not to got there.

    No doubt. Oh well. I was hoping for simple pleasures. :) But I will bask everyone’s personal triumphs.

  187. 187.

    cain

    @schrodingers_cat:

    @Omnes Omnibus: And one either sounds like they are bragging or sounds pathetic. We are not exactly polite company but we do has some standards unlike the goat in the WH.

    I hope I just sound lonely. :-) It’s been a shitty 20 months. :)

  189. 189.

    Pete Downunder

    @Viva BrisVegas: I was working a Brisbane booth for Labor too. My electorate is still undecided nearly a week later – Greens and Labor are 4 votes apart with 16,000 counted and I guess about 3-4000 more to go (late arriving postal votes). We need a Brisvegas meetup.

  190. 190.

    SectionH

    It’s apparent how many of us needed something positive to focus on for a bit. People with good health news, good job news, good family things… I just want to say “Good on You” to everyone. If that sounds too wimpy, tough. Special shout outs to Mn and M4 and you all with writerly accomplishments. And to Satby for getting her FM slot.

    So my good things: excellent late Thanksgiving with our “kids” and granddaughter last Saturday at our place. Which may have kickstarted me out of the Slough of Despond. And I discovered the nearly extinct embers of my my travel fire maybe getting a bit of oxygen.

  191. 191.

    PaulB

    I had a Honeybaked ham for Thanksgiving and it was delicious. I’ll be turning the leftover bone and meat into a marvelous Ham and Navy Bean soup this weekend.

  192. 192.

    Miss Bianca

    @Mnemosyne: congrats! That;s great news.

    Lot of uplifting news on this thread, this is awesome. I guess my good news is a great trip to Santa Fe area last weekend. Our computer problems at work are getting better, too!

  193. 193.

    Gemina13

    Ever since I moved to WA in 2011, I’ve had temporary/contract work. In September I was hired permanently by a good company; I love the work and my co-workers. My SO and I will be able to move into our own place by April 2018. My health is shaky (uncontrolled diabetes due to stress/finances, with essential hypertension, hypothyroidism due to no thyroid, and some heart trouble), but I think I can improve that once our living situation changes. I’m also writing again, something I haven’t really been able to do much of since 2009. Now to make Trump and his lackeys disappear, and I’ll be a happy camper.

  195. 195.

    Mustang Bobby

    My play “Can’t Live Without You” took third place in The Playgroup LLC 2017 playwriting contest. The prize is $50 and a chance that it will be produced at the Willow Theatre in Boca Raton in the next year or two.

  196. 196.

    opiejeanne

    @Mnemosyne: Yes, thanks. I stumbled on that in my searches for things. Even Wikipedia has had some really good pages on the things I was researching, with good sources for their info.

  197. 197.

    opiejeanne

    @Mnemosyne: About those diaries. I was in the Ozarks about 12 years ago and I picked up a local newspaper which had an article about some goings on right after the civil war and one particular incident that was drawn from old diaries, and I recognized a couple of names as those of my relatives, including my great grandfather as a boy of about 10. It’s a bit of a rip-snorter of a story with gangs shooting people, raiding and rampaging through the area, and how one of these events played out. That story is at the final climax of the book and I will change it only a squidge.

  198. 198.

    PlaneCrazy

    @wmd I’ve been there, got the ribbon. My settled in my tonsil. Radiation only, thank FSM, and six years free and clear. This is a particularly pernicious and increasingly common form of cancer, but fortunately has a good prognosis once treated. Best of luck!

    For me, the positive news is that I’ve found a way to share my astoundingly obscure interest with the half-dozen or so people in the world who share it. (See my website) But the research has put me in touch with some incredibly nice and generous local historians, archivists and curators ranging from The Smithsonian and Montecello, to small-town historians and librarians. It’s always wonderful to encounter people who have such passion about their areas of historical interest. It’s the best when I can help them learn something new while they share their amazing breadth of knowledge, even if it is “just” the history of a small town in western Massachusetts, or the history of the pen Lincoln used to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. Passion for knowledge always makes me feel more positive.

  199. 199.

    Tata

    In the enjoy every sandwich vein, for breakfast, I had leftover pasta carbonara. Common wisdom says carbonara is dead ten minutes after service, but it’s not true. If you put away extra carbonara immediately after dinner, it retains moisture. In the morning, add a little water, microwave for 20 seconds, stir, repeat until warm and creamy. It’s a tiny pleasure, but glorious.

    If you have AcornTV and you love British comedies hinging on use of language, color and sudden surprises, please check out Ladies of Letters. You have to really watch and listen, but it is amazing.

  200. 200.

    Avery Greynold

    Best of luck “sending” alcoholic beverages. Last time I looked to send it the way most people mean it, by paying a commercial deliverer, they were all illegal for the sender or the transporter. In almost all cases, they would arrive OK, but if an employee figured out there was a sloshing holiday cheer bottle inside, they would be almost free to take it, since you couldn’t complain. Still legal with restrictions are packing them in your checked airline baggage or you are delivering them by person across certain state lines.

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