And a link from my friend Kristen.

Well, eventually. First the knitting news: I have used up all but maybe a yard of the first ball of yarn on the first sleeve. At this writing it is 18.25” long, with 4.75” to go before the armscye, but I have switched over to the other sleeve. I was just not in the mood to spit-splice at 4:00a.m. Half of the increases are already done on the second sleeve, and I may get those done before bedtime.

There will not be much knitting at lunch today, because we are having our Thanksgiving feast. I did not bake another gooey cake like Saturday’s, opting instead for a single batch of brownies, split in half and baked in two of Beloved’s disposable grilling pans, which add up to approximately 11” x 7”. I drizzled a little caramel sauce over the batter, so these are (more or less) turtle brownies without the nuts. We have enough nuts at work, Ms. Ravelled included.

Beloved had another MRI yesterday, this one of the base of his skull. And more blood work. He will get the results tomorrow. And his new chemo pills will come to the house today. Ten thousand dollars’ worth of carefully calibrated poison, four months of the new protocol, which we hope will beat the cancer in his liver into submission with few or minimal side effects. Our co-payment? $65. My HMO has paid out over half a million dollars on Beloved’s behalf since we married in January. And he is worth every blessed penny, and more.

I came home last night to the best beef stew I have eaten in my life. Better than my mother’s, and that is saying something. I told Beloved that I have never been disappointed in any meal he has served me, but that this was the best one yet. I’m a little sad to be eating traditional holiday food at lunch today, instead of leftovers.

Yeah. That good.

After dinner we went over numbers so I could make an informed election for our health benefits next year. The big question was, how much to increase the medical expense reimbursement feature? Our premiums are going up, but not ridiculously. And our out of pocket this year has been over $200 a month so far. But neither of us felt good about dedicating the maximum reimbursement amount of $2,500 for next year. So we talked it over, and we found a number that doesn’t make us twitch (much), and that’s the number I will plug into the system when I get to work this morning. It’s a delicate balance between the very sensible idea of getting reimbursed for all or most of our out of pocket, and making sure we have enough to live on. And also making sure that, if there is a miraculous cure and no more medical bills, or the golden chariot sweeps down and carries Beloved off in a whirlwind like Elijah, I/we do not have to watch money we could have been living on, go swirling down the drain every two weeks for the rest of the year.

It is so nice not to have to make that decision all by myself. I was somewhat frustrated last year, because I had no idea what our expenses would be once we married, so I just dedicated enough to cover a new pair of glasses for me and said oh well to the rest of it. We blew through that before the end of January, and I have yet to get my glasses (but I did remember to reschedule my appointment, and I will either have new ones by the end of the year, or know that I don’t need them yet).

I promised you Kristen’s link. You’re welcome.