A Cold Day for Murder is only $0.99 on kindle with $1.99 to add audible. 🙂 Thanks @Robin M

Yes, the therapist, while recommended by the hospital/provider was independent and not part of any program or clinic.

I am glad you are seeing improvements!

I could have written that better. A psychotherapist that specializes in gender identity is not going to sway one way or the other, but will be knowledgable in the process and what goes along with it for both the person and the family/significant other. I went to the same therapist, without my child, in order to process my own feelings. I guess we have differing views on the topic, and that's okay.

Seeing someone for general therapy and someone to deal with gender identity can be very different things. We were given a list of providers that the hospital worked with. A six month minimum of therapy was required before hormones could be initiated, and the therapist had to sign off on that. I would encourage your daughter to find someone experienced in the community to help them through this transition.

Depending on the physician, realize that therapy may already have been required. There was a lengthy therapy process required for my chid to begin to transition, and it would have included separate individual and group therapy for a significant other or spouse. Therapy was then ongoing for the first 1-2 years of hormone replacement to help with the changes. Fertility is a lengthy discussion as well that would have required a spouse to sign forms before therapy would have started.

For those interested this was the company statement today. I'm very happy for you Kelly.

We can’t change much with my immune status. I just replaced many of our masks. As it warms I don’t see the need for masking outdoors provided the positivity rates get and stay low, similar to last year when cases were low.

We have had gas cards since we got married back when Clark stations were around and DH was in the service. It was a specific credit card back then, just for gas, with rewards that we paid off each month. The newest version is a loyalty card that allows a specific gas station to debit my checking account to pay for gas. We earn loyalty points and discounts so we never pay full price for gas. It's alway $0.10 off the marked price, but then certain days are more, like today, and we fill everything on those days. We tend to save our points for when we pump diesel because those can be up to $2 off a gallon. Most gas stations offer some version of this, as do many grocery stores that have gas stations (we don't have any of those locally). They save the credit card fees and we get discounts that keep the prices lower than Sam's and Costco without more driving.

This morning gas was $4.26.

We use a gas card. The advertised price is $4.26 a gallon, we paid $3.85 a gallon today. We'll fill both vehicles and condense trips when possible. Otherwise we are more impacted by food prices and an upcoming job change for DH. .

No one shut down the Keystone pipeline. They closed down construction of an expansion. At the same time the government allowed an increase of 29% in the flow through the existing pipeline. We still export oil we can’t refine, particularly light crude.

It powers 1/3 of Ukraine. They want to shut it down.

If we are talking Florida I went years wearing Birkenstocks vs orthotics. For years podiatrists used to sell them here in Michigan. They even sell a cork insert for closed shoes that I have when I can go without my braces.

Have you had a consult with a orthotist? I would not get them from a podiatrist. 6/7 of us wear various kinds. The simple custom ones start at $250 cash pay from the local medical supply that does orthotics/prosthesis. I think it’s worth the investment. Two of the family wear those, so there are varying degrees of more support and obviously those cost more.

I hope the neurology appointment is coming up soon so you can get clarification. My guess is that if he has a decline in kidney function it is causing cognition impairment and/or dementia.

It can't be said that it causes MS, but that it's associated with MS. They don't know what mechanism causes it. All but one person in the longitudinal study who went on to develop MS had EBV in the past, which something like 95% of the population is exposed to.

Keep an eye on the deals. I just upgraded two of my older phones, that I have for the kids, to the new iPhone 12 for $5/ month for 36 months because of the 3G changeover. It was cheapest to upgrade to the 12s. 🤷‍♀️ The iPhone 12 mini was $1 month, but I'm spoiled after having my 12 for a year now and don't want to go back to a smaller screen. Have you held the 12? It's smaller than I thought and my DH still carries his in his pocket. We went from iPhone 5s to 12 thought, so it was a huge difference in the screen. ETA: these are billing credits so you own the phone and they include many of the android phones too!

I am very sorry for your loss. Be kind to yourself and give yourself time.

I'm still making final decisions for my DS that will be 9th next year. He's dyslexic and that has some impact. English- LA3 w/CLRC, Dr. B has been very good for him this year and the reading is where it needs to be without being overwhelming Writing- EW2 w/WTMA because he needs to learn to write a little quicker than the LA and he did fine with EW1 in 7th with adaptive tech second guessing just because of finances, we may just have to do WWS2 at home Math-Algebra 1 w/Dolciani, continuing from the prealgebra Science-something online if I can find a class that will work with a dyslexic student History- some combination of home grown without a lot of extra output for the same reason as science, we usually use Reading Ally to read history to him Elective- grammar will continue with the GFWTM and MCT combination that is working well, we'll still be reviewing some more advanced spelling so I'm not sure about an elective, maybe something over the summer

iPads have their own talk to text, like a MacBook, that can be activated to use with any type material. That was our whole draw to apple with my dyslexic son.

This is good to know. I'm sure it landed in my audible library. I've honestly been avoiding many of my normal authors. I guess I'm not up for any disappointments right now. I even put the final Leviathan book aside. I'm on a kick with Glynn Stewart series lately and that is continuing with the first in the Castle Federation series. So far I'm not as sold on this one, but it's still early in the book.

My understanding is that the protest here in Michigan is in support of truckers in Canada, who are protesting vaccine mandates at the border. It's a mess with the Ambassador Bridge closed to Canada because all truck traffic is being routed to the Blue Water Bridge. The whole surrounding county is at a standstill with the trucks lines up for miles and miles. US truckers are now planning a protest similar to Ottawa for DC because of the upcoming US mandate at the border that goes into effect in March.

I am keeping her in my thoughts. I hope they are able to get her into surgery quickly and that things will stabilize for her recovery.

We have to maintain our sidewalks. The city, who owns it, has been made aware of the issues with drainage. We are not allowed sand. We've been told that it's Michigan and winter, so we need to make sure we are attempting the best we can, and that we continue to notify the city annually, but there is a line where prudence on the part of the walker comes into play with winter weather (appropriate footwear, was the ice obvious). We carry an umbrella policy in addition to our homeowners just in case. The other party would have to contact a lawyer who can then contact your insurance. I would never just give that information out.