We are enduring a visit from the Barf Fairy at our house. The first person succumbed last Thursday; the second on the following Monday; the third and fourth on Wednesday. Three remain, and one of those is feeling a little queasy. This is what I’m wondering: does drinking alcohol do anything to sterilize the digestive tract? I’m thinking yes. Or at least, I have been drinking since last Thursday and I have not gotten sick yet.

If you’re friends with me on Facebook, there is a change afoot. Here is what happened: long ago, I set up “Swistle Thistle” as a PERSON, by mistake; it should have been set up as a PAGE. Anyway, once I realized I’d done it wrong, it seemed like way too much trouble to fix it. But now, years later, the thing I use to automatically publish links of new posts on that Facebook page won’t work unless I’m posting to a PAGE instead of to a PERSON, so now it is worth fixing. I guess. We’ll see. Anyway, things might be odd, or might not work for awhile, or posts might not show up, or you might find yourself unfriended and have to, like, subscribe or something, who knows. We will find out. One thing I’m hoping for is some sort of progress on the issue where they never notify me if someone comments or does a friend request or sends a message, despite my notification preferences; so I have to go in person to the page to look for those things, but I almost NEVER go to the page.

Speaking of sites that know too much about you. I went on a visit to my parents, and when I am visiting people I like to set aside a certain amount of money for Shopping. I find that if I buy a pair of earrings on a visit, I will FOREVER REMEMBER that visit every time I wear the earrings. So I bought some earrings, and I also bought this cat journal:

(image from Amazon.com)

Which I love. It’s hardcover, with an elastic to hold the covers closed, and I love the colors, and it’s irregularly shiny in a way I love: the details such as eyes and collars and whiskers are shiny, but the cat bodies are matte, and it feels really nice to the touch. I don’t need a journal, because I already have a stack of a dozen journals all set to go, but I am happy to own it in a stack with all the other journals. Here is what made me nervous: about a week after I got home, Amazon recommended THAT EXACT SAME JOURNAL to me in the Recommended For You section. What even. YOU DON’T KNOW MY LIFE, AMAZON.

Apparently I never read Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, even though it is exactly the kind of book I like?

(image from Amazon.com)

Paul brought it home from the library for me, thinking I might like it, so I gave it a try even though I remembered already trying it and not liking it. I think I must have been remembering the MOVIE, though, because I kept picturing Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, and I definitely didn’t read this book. And I’m not even sure I saw the movie; I might have just seen the previews. Anyway I really loved the book, although it was the kind where afterward I kept thinking things like, “Wait, but that wouldn’t work for them in the long run” or “But I don’t think he would have DONE that” or whatever. Plus, there are a lot of characters absolutely struck dumb by instant meant-to-be love, and while I enjoy READING that, I don’t BELIEVE it, not long-haul. I still recommend the book for the way I felt when I was reading it, and I’d say the afterthoughts weren’t a dealbreaker. When I went on Amazon to get the link/image, I found there is apparently a prequel as well, called The Rules of Magic, so I’ve requested that from my library too.

Follow-up: This post has been sitting in my draft folder since Wednesday, because Thursday morning I discovered that no, gin was not a preventative for stomach bugs. And it’s too bad, too, because I was already imagining saying it in my what’s-the-secret-of-your-advanced-age-and-glowing-health interview. “Two gin-and-tonics a night, sonny!,” I’d say, “And don’t forget the lime!” And the journalist would call me “feisty,” or describe my laugh as a “cackle.” It was going to be great.