The upside to #1 in my FTS entry above: by my birthday (August 1) I will have managed to replace my smartphone, Kindle, bathroom faucet, kitchen faucet, and dishwasher. And every replacement is a good, solid one, and while the whole thing has cost me some cash I'll have to pay off/pay back to savings, I was able to…

Oh gosh. I'm so sorry, and the health insurance is just harsh insult to injury.

1) I had the kitchen and bathroom faucets replaced; that cost money. I also had the old ancient dishwasher's water supply cut off (it was soldered to the sink's supply lines and not up to code) in anticipation of getting a new one. Now I am finding that I will have to have an electrician in to add a GFCI plug for the…

Aw, the header is a picture of me and Shulkie! (For once, she's not the green one in question.)

The World's Angriest Ginger.

The actress playing Trish is really brave. It seems incredibly hard to walk through all of that aftermath of a assault, whether or not you've actually been through one.

Wow. One of those money pit "it's never just the one project" kind of things that leads into another? The worst.

Oh man, the Laughing Ogre. I used to have a $60 a month pull there. I've never been to the Japanese stores. And of course, the Book Loft is awesome (as is Katzinger's, just a little ways from it).

Was there no What Are You Reading thread this week?

I liked season four. You might like it too.

FOUR GRAND for a patio door? My God. That seems excessive. Are they making it from platinum?

It's just so refreshing to find someone else at the AVC who likes Sherlock and their portrayals.

And I am back! They were fast and friendly too! People, there are GOOD BMVs out there.

Happy birthday! I hope you get your wish.

I did too! We wrote for a couple of years when I was in middle school.

It's been exploding all around my neighborhood all day and night for over a week now, and will continue to for the rest of the week.

Same here. I gave up on it pretty quickly.

Ooh, the Book Loft. You can get lost in there, but it's really gratifying lost.

Really! I had no idea there were other Columbusans. Columbusites. Whatever. I wonder if there are any others too?

Wow, I'm so sorry. :(