Nov 19Control/No ControlWhen I was a kid, my family used to go to visit relatives in Campton and Beattyville, Kentucky. It was always a good time. There were barns to play in and fishing, berrying, eggs to gather, and so forth. To get there, we took what was then a toll road…Anxiety3 min readAnxiety3 min read
Nov 19Buying the PastNo, you read that right. It’s buying the past, not burying the past. (Unless you read it wrong, of course. But it’s still buying the past, not burying the past. But I digress.) Dan and I went on a brief vacay to Gatlinburg this week, and commerce was committed. A…Antique3 min readAntique3 min read
Nov 12Pill-ShamingWhen I first started taking Prozac, when it was just becoming ubiquitous, my mother said, “I hear it’s a ticking time bomb!” “Oh, dear!” I thought. “Mom’s been listening to Phil Donahue again.” (She had been, but that’s not the point.) Back in the day, Prozac was hailed as a…Mental Health3 min readMental Health3 min read
Nov 12It’s a Bargain!It was the gorilla mask that did it. Sure, it was after Halloween and, sure, I’m sure he got it for a very good price. But I ask myself, as my husband obviously didn’t, Why do we need a gorilla mask? The easy answer is, we don’t. We don’t go…Shopping4 min readShopping4 min read
Nov 5I’m SorryThe other day, my husband was putting together a magnifying lamp that I had bought to help me repair some jewelry. I was trying to adjust the lamp to a height where it would be usable and comfortable. The lamp was a cheap piece of shit and it broke. Instantly…Mental Health4 min readMental Health4 min read
Nov 5Cat SongsMy husband and I have some silly traditions, some of which I’ve mentioned in the blog. There was naked cooking with Julia Child impressions, for instance. And we make up little nonsense songs. Well, Dan makes up most of them, mostly about me. (My nickname, which no one else may…Cats3 min readCats3 min read
Oct 29Am I Neurodivergent?Last week I wrote about language that has been lost from technical meaning to become popular usage. This week I want to explore a term that may or may not apply to me — neurodivergent. The dictionary definition I looked up said that neurodivergent means “differing in mental or neurological…Neurodiversity3 min readNeurodiversity3 min read
Oct 29The Mystic Rules of LifeI don’t have a corner on wisdom. Indeed, I barely have a corner on learning, around the corner and down the dusty path from wisdom. I have, however, lived mumble-murfle years, and in that time, I have learned a thing or two. Maybe three, tops. Nonetheless, I have formulated what…Rules Of Life4 min readRules Of Life4 min read
Oct 22Language LostThere are many words that are specific to psychology, including diagnoses, symptoms, and therapeutic techniques. Many of those terms, however, have worked their way into general conversation. Some think this is a good thing as it makes society more aware of the language we as psychiatric patients use. Others object…Language4 min readLanguage4 min read
Oct 22The Latest Book Trends(I shall begin with a digression. Actually, I can’t guarantee that these are actually the very latest book trends. I buy a lot of my ebooks based on newsletters from FreeBooksy and BookBub because they promote heavily discounted books, not all of which are, technically speaking, new. …Books4 min readBooks4 min read
