Charmion - Excellent choice - I hope you have some pads to put under it, or cushions you can move to a warm spot should the need arise. In reviewing the possible need for a future small warm sleeping place, the craft room/studio closet is the longest, but is stuffed full of my daughter's bedroom stuff and the length of it is along an exterior wall. I could give myself more sleeping room if I cleared out my office closet (not gonna happen) or work out some kind of insulating situation in the front room (a blanket fort or tent?).

Pro tip: Never run aluminum through the dishwasher, not even the coated pieces (that look kind of chrome-like). I learned that the hard way. Same with pewter-style pieces.

I started the alternate day fasting yesterday, I'm going to weigh myself every day, and I just have to not go crazy on the "feed" days. If you treat it all like a diet you hit plateaus. Normal (not crazy with the carbs) then the lower calorie (500-600/day) fasting works.

Now why do calorie and cookie get the "ie" and not spell as calory and cooky?

As a realization during COVID for months with so little human contact for so long, I've finally this summer formally started making a point of pampering myself by doing things ahead. It helps with my state of mind and forward movement on projects. Not that I didn't know this, I just didn't bother. But clearing the kitchen counter and having the tea things ready for morning, not leaving the sink piled with dishes, giving myself room on the kitchen dining table to eat and not just perch on the edge of a cluttered horizontal surface, keeping the house less dusty, improves my mood. Gifts for my future self. Yesterday I read for at least 20 minutes while I soaked my feet and gave them a good scrub then used the pumice and trimmed nails - no pedicure as with nail polish, but just a chance to pamper them. After all of the standing and walking of canning, these feet needed some love! I also spent a considerable amount of time walking around DSW until I found a really comfortable pair of sandals that have the arch in the right place and enough cushion to feel great standing or walking in. I settled on a pair by Teva - from the clearance section they still cost more than a lot of other more decorative styles, but the way the straps are set up they're easy to adjust all the way from the toes to the ankles.

It's the same with the bursitis PT stretches. I've put it off for ages, if the hip didn't hurt, I didn't fool with the stretches. But if I do the stretches as a regular thing, I might be able to get back to the dance classes I enjoy. Pamper myself by doing the stretches. (It is possible to get steroid injections, or have the bursa removed arthroscopically, but I suspect that can lead to other issues.)

The bread is rising - I made a one loaf batch in two smaller pans. There aren't enough people here to eat it all while it's fresh, so freezing half and having smaller sandwiches has been routine for a while.