Quote by HeraTeleia
Hi all! It's been a minute. Things are so great in the world (/s, if you needed it)!

Not working quite as much. Well, not 60 hour weeks as much. The oldest is back up in Vancouver, having lived through quarantine on campus. I am not even kidding, there were three kids--all dual citizens, all in studies where they had to be on campus--on an entire dormitory floor. He was told not to leave his room (he had a private bathroom and shower, obviously) and that a bag of food would be dropped off at 3p each day.

Did I mention the multiple handouts advising him that should he break quarantine, he would be subject to up to a $1M fine and/or 3 years in prison? Yah. That's a thing. I don't think anyone has actually been charged, but the fine is definitely a thing--and it's like a parking ticket, you can't exactly argue that you were someplace when you weren't.

Anyway! So he gets settled in Saturday. He's asleep Sunday morning when a knock comes on the door. It was--not even kidding--a BC Public Health Officer checking to be sure that he was at the address he'd given to the CBP.

The thing that kills me is, at least in Vancouver, masking and social distancing isn't even up for debate. I think it's the mentality--you're not whatever-Canadian, you're just Canadian. You do what is good for the guy next to you because he's the guy next to you. The oldest also thinks that Sophie Trudeau falling ill early and the Prime Minister openly working from home following that probably helped.

Not that the U.S. and Canadian cultures are remotely alike. Still, some things--like early, enthusiastic or mandated mask wearing by leaders; ample and repeated testing; and making social distancing a norm--would have made a huge difference down here. Canada isn't as good as Iceland or New Zealand in numbers, but it's pretty damn close, and the shared border didn't help.

Other things: RIP RBG. The chickens are good--one very special chick, who was the lone survivor of a number of tragedies that took out the eight other eggs in her clutch, hatched last night. She's a Dutch Barnevelder. Her name is Ruth...figured she had to be tough, like her namesake, to have hatched at all.

And thank you to those who remembered my birthday...I legit forgot until two days later.

Love you all.

Quote by HeraTeleia
You fuck. You bloody fuck. You left a beautiful 7 lb. 8 oz. girl motherless and her father adrift in grief. Why her? Why fucking her? Beautiful labour, beautiful delivery, she nursed her little girl, and then...what, You had to test us? Had to remind us that You hold absolute power over life and death? Fucker.

As You know, I've spent all day going over every single thing that I did or didn't do, that my team did or didn't do, and this is the kind of self-doubt that isn't going away for a while--but then, You already know that, don't You?

Quote by HeraTeleia
Give me a good Gewurtztraminer over a red, any day.

Quote by HeraTeleia
First, a HUGE thank you to the five Good Samaritan men who literally ran to my aid this morning. Thank you so much. Without you, I would be a bloody mess, or dead, or both.

Second, a HUGE "(swear word) you" to the police dispatcher who told the drugstore manager who called for aid that since I wasn't asking for an aid car, it wasn't an emergency. Pardon? At least five witnesses and no, I wasn't physically hurt, but it wasn't for lack of this doped up drunk's effort.

Third, a HUGE thank you to my colleagues for understanding why I was damn near clinging to the ceiling when I got to work, and a huge thank you also to the officer who followed up on the case and was wonderful.

Quote by HeraTeleia
... if I saw some random trying to look up my dress? I'd cross my legs and give him a look that would make his testicles retract to right about the level of his belly button.

Quote by HeraTeleia
Valkri designs awesome concealed carry purses. This is the Juno. I have it and the Hera--because of course I do.

Out of curiosity, doesn't "carrying" a purse - with that that particular brand's name so prominently displayed on the exterior - inherently signal or at least suggest that you're "carrying"? I can imagine various implications to that. It seems like it could be advertising you're armed. Maybe that's a good thing as it would ward off an attempted purse snatching (or worse), and the would be thief/thieves would move on to another victim or have second thoughts altogether? Or maybe she/he/they would escalate her/his/their plan and realize there is an opportunity to score a firearm, not just cash in your purse? Maybe even a nice, expensive firearm, consistent with the presumptive/presumably discerning owner of a designer purse? I can speculate as to all sorts of repercussions, permutations and combinations of possible outcomes. Obviously this assumes the would be thief knows her/his brands, which may be a stretch. Just ruminating here...vs isn't the point of conceal carry being to not signal that one is armed?

And being new here, but having seen the kind of responses that the most innocent comments here seem to sometimes evoke, let me add that this is a sincere question - I'm just curious and wondering. In part, I wasn't familiar with these purses and wonder if I should recommend them to any ladies I know who conceal carry, if they weren't already familiar with them.

Quote by HeraTeleia


Look up my skirt and find the Glock 26 in a garter holster. Run away quickly.

Quote by HeraTeleia
This is even a question?

Quote by LangeRouge
I’ve been to several clothing optional beaches in France and never had a problem blending in with the locals

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HUH?

Quote by Liz


I went to a really expensive Italian restaurant once and they served a Grappa which was like £100 per bottle. Quite tasty.

(P.s. I moved your thread from the Think Tank to our Gourmet forum section.)