Apparently, tapering off Prednisone is not the doctrinal thing it used to be, Stilly, at least not for problems like my wheezy lungs. The course I’m on now is 50 mg per day for a week, followed by 25 mg per day for another week. Then done, and shift to an inhaled steroid — fluticasone, in my case.

I like my kitchen counters clear of everything but the toaster oven, the cats’ water fountain, and a pump bottle of hand soap beside the faucet. No “décor” or abandoned mail, no dirty dishes or food sculling about. It’s a small galley, so clutter makes it non-functional as a work space. I don’t do much complex cooking these days, but I like to believe that I could launch a four-course meal without experiencing a crisis.