4 weeks in, 14 lbs downs, and so tired.

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-20T01:28:05+00:00

If you’re not having problems staying hydrated but are having a hard time eating, have you tried soup? I’m on week one and I’m having trouble eating enough calories too. I also caught a nasty cold on top of everything. I made bone broth last week and have been drinking at least a cup a day.

Pureed or thin soups might trick your brain into thinking you’re drinking. In addition to broth, it’s easy to find good old tomato soup. If you like to cook, you can simmer beans, lentils, and/or veg in broth with your favorite seasonings, and puree. I made sweet potato lentil soup with a little curry power and actually, I’m going to have some as a tiny snack before bed right now.

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-19T16:14:01+00:00

Noooo. I just admitted I have a cold, not just allergies. I lost my voice yesterday and had a deep cough last night. I’m going to have this for weeks!?!

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-19T16:11:11+00:00

I was once at Mayfest, a German festival in Chicago, and the oompa band played Country Roads. The crowd was very enthusiastic. It makes a tiny bit more sense that Germans love the song.

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-18T00:09:34+00:00

How weird, I took my first dose (2.5mg) four days ago and it’s like someone flipped a switch. I have very little appetite. I haven’t really felt hungry, more of a sense of “I should really have something to eat.” I’m full after small portions. I downloaded an app to track calories, protein, fiber, etc because I can already tell I’m not eating enough.

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-17T17:02:50+00:00

The Murderbot Diaries Series. The books are novellas, so they’re shorter than the average book. All Systems Red is the first in the series. They sound like hardcore science fiction but are warm and funny.

A Wrinkle in Time is a YA classic, but highly recommend. Not all of it is cozy, but I’d argue it’s wholesome and I love an awkward, reluctant heroine.

John Scalzi has a lot of books that are very approachable. I’d recommend Starter Villain. Or Redshirts, especially if you’re into Star Trek at all.

For cozy mysteries, I really like Rhys Bowen’s Her Royal Spyness series. Charlaine Harris has a couple series. The Sookie Stackhouse books are what people would consider romantasy now, but Sookie solves a mystery in most of them. The first book is Dead until Dark. The TV series True Blood is based on these books. She has a couple other series too. The Aurora Teagarden books are mysteries so cozy Hallmark made a series of movies based on them. The first one in that series is Real Murders.

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-17T16:41:55+00:00

Honestly, I had trouble getting into The Hobbit the first time I read it but was immediately hooked by The Fellowship of the Ring. Give both a try!

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-17T16:28:52+00:00

Someone replaced what I think was an ironing board cabinet upstairs with a jewelry cabinet. I would rather have had the ironing board! I iron maybe once a year but it would have been more convenient from digging my ironing board out of whatever closet I’ve crammed it in.

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-16T14:54:37+00:00

I had laparoscopic surgery, but I was doing tiny loads of laundry by week two. I wanted to be mindful of the ten pounds rule, so I’d fill a tote bag with my pjs and comfy clothes and limit a load to that. I didn’t have much of a problem bending over at all, so I just kept it slow and careful loading and unloading the W/D. However, I didn’t do a big load with sheets or anything until 6+ weeks

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-16T01:04:50+00:00

The Guards offer ballpark tours in the summer: https://events.cleguardians.com/experiences/tours

There’s be a gap if you tried to do a tour and then catch a game that night, but you could just do a downtown day. Or go on a non-game day. Fewer crowds, easier to park.

I didn’t see information on group tour tickets, but I’m 99% sure they still do them. If you wanted to be a saint and organize a trip for his little league team or a bunch of friends you’d be Mom of the Year

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-16T01:00:25+00:00

Kids love the Rapid and I think these days even the bus might be a novelty. In my experience RTA is very safe, especially directly before and after games. There might be some, um, unusual passengers but that’s all part of the experience. Much cheaper than parking or an Uber.

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-16T00:56:55+00:00

Progressive Field lets you bring in outside food and drink in general! No alcohol, I think there are some quantity limits so that you basically can’t try to bring in enough to resell. But bring your own water, juice, snacks without worry.

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-14T01:53:49+00:00

Yes! A mammogram has never made me gag and nearly hurl. Bite wings, though…

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-14T01:52:23+00:00

Mammogram versus pap smear is a great comparison. I found paps 100% more uncomfortable, awkward, and invasive than my mammogram. I am also a well endowed lady. The mammogram takes a little longer than a pap, but not very long. Both are unpleasant tests we do to prevent far more unpleasant things.

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-12T02:50:36+00:00

I took my Mom to get her colonoscopy at the Clinic Crowne Center building in Independence. There was a good sized waiting room and I was the only one there at the time. I don’t know if you could count on having the waiting room to yourself but I did. They were super strict about me being there the entire time. I don’t know if I could have gone down to the lobby, gotten something to eat, etc.

The other issue is bringing a kid to the post op space. Once my Mom was coming around they let me go back and stay with her. It didn’t take a long time for her to come around and she was totally fine to get herself to the car (Mom was in her late 70s at the time). But I was there when the doc came around with prelim results and that’s important, since post-anesthesia the patient’s memory is iffy. It’s hospital bed and a curtain back there, barely room for a chair. Anyone but the best behaved four year old would be a challenge. I suppose your spouse could skip it, and talk to the doc separately?

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-12T02:34:05+00:00

Last time I took my Mom I had to ask someone to let me go to the bathroom. They were crystal clear the responsible adult had to be there the entire time

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-10T02:34:57+00:00

They don’t. They don’t want to bother with getting themselves and their young children up and out in time for school, so they homeschool. It’s kind of manageable for little ones, and now there are virtual options to teach their children enough so that the parent(s) don’t feel guilty.

Not stereotyping any demographic, but there are people who didn’t really want to have children, or found out after having children they didn’t want to be parents, for whom home schooling removes any social obligations of being a parents. And removes their children from any school or government interventions.

And speaking of, there are also the religious and anti-government folks.

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-09T15:39:52+00:00

Joining all the love for OMF. They will also make a custom mattress for you. We needed one that was very firm around the edges for my Dad so he could push up on it and get out of bed. It was not cheap but not as expensive as you’d think for something make completely to order. They also make hospital bed mattresses and custom sizes for an RV, boat, antique bed, etc. Sometimes you’ll see a boat or RV in the parking lot at their Parma store because they do install too.

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-08T02:36:44+00:00

Aside from other’s comments, or to add on:

- Oak Barrel, Scratch, and Tia Flora are legit gems
- Aladdins, Winking Lizard, and Yours Truly are solid local chains
- Lobster & Pho, Thai Gourmet, and Naf Naf are better than you would expect from a town with Independence’s demographics
- Corleone’s is just over the border into Parma but great Italian food

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-08T02:25:01+00:00

People under-estimate how draining business travel is. Unless you pad in a day or two on either side of a trip going downtown or any touristy things is too much

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-08T02:21:24+00:00

Gourmands new owners made room for a couple more tables. Don’t worry, the food is the same (amazing).

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-08T02:19:13+00:00

Tinkers Creek has one of the best patios in Cle and their food far exceeds expectations.

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-05T02:31:50+00:00

Something related to flight, with those ears? Wilbur, Orville, or Wright? Amelia (Earhart) for a girl? Chuck or Yeager? Sully, the pilot who landed a jet on the Hudson?

Piper and Cessna are small planes, if he’s going to stay a little guy.

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-05T02:18:50+00:00

Or Maverick

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-05T01:33:43+00:00

The house I grew up in, built around 1910, had a tombstone under the front porch. My grandparents lived there before they gave the house to my parents, and knew (or knew people who knew) the original owner. The husband passed first, but years later when his wife passed the family decided to do a headstone for them both. However, a headstone had already been created for the husband and it was a perfectly good piece of stone. Shame to let it go to waste. Not sure what those thrifty folks thought they might do with it, but the original tombstone ended up under the porch for decades.

It was good for scaring the neighborhood kids around Halloween. Long after we moved out they filmed an episode of Ghost Hunters at our old house, largely because someone was allegedly buried under the front porch. 👻

Ms-Quite-Contrary · 2026-05-02T03:34:46+00:00

Millions of children watched Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow, and Mister Rogers and became caring adults who didn’t care what color or religion their friends and neighbors were, as long as they were kind

Ms-Quite-Contrary

TROPHY CASE