text:
The short story is that everything from the FAQ still holds true: I still have cancer, I still take 3 drugs to control it, and I still feel normal.
Now for the longer story, which I'll do in sections.
The $10,000 Meds
When we left off in June, I had just returned from a second opinion in Boston at Dana Farber Cancer Center. Dr. M at Dana Farber's advice was to add a newly FDA approved (2015) drug called iBrance to the letrozole I'd been taking since January. The letrozole had been preventing any estrogen in my body from bonding with my cancer cells. The iBrance works to disrupt cell division just in case the estrogen does get to the cell or if it learns to divide without estrogen. It's called a CDK 4/6 inhibitor, but I don't know what that means.
Within a few days of my return from Boston, Dr. K (local oncologist) had agreed to this change and my insurance had approved it. I picked up a normal looking bottle of meds from the pharmacy at my oncology center. To my disappointment, it's not actually an iDrug, and didn't come in a white case with an apple.
I am taking a $10,000/month drug! And that's with rounding down, because the $340 or $683 don't seem to matter when you're taking a $10,000/month drug!
My insurance approved this within days without any calls, questions, or letters to me. Thank you Excellus BCBS! (Fine print: I read that I have a $500 yearly deductible on meds, and I have asked the pharmacy about this. They said I should receive a bill from my insurance. Then I got my "explanation of benefits" and it said that the $500 will be billed to me by the pharmacy. I went back to the pharmacy, and they don't know who I should speak to. So I owe somebody $500, but nobody wants it.)
This all does make me do some soul searching. What if we didn't have such an insurance plan? What if we were covered at 80%? Could we afford $2000/month to keep me alive? Maybe? Or would we choose to just take the letrozole and hope that those cancer cells don't figure out how to divide without estrogen? What if a future drug isn't covered? Would we diminish our family quality of life to keep me alive a little longer? How are these drug prices set anyhow? What if someday a lifetime maximum is set on my policy?
I just picked up my sixth bottle of iBrance (ahem, Ibrance) the other day and still haven't been asked for money. Paul and I have found humor in the situation when I make my pick-up in the middle of a bunch of errands, then leave the bottle on the passenger seat while running into Wegmans for Brussels sprouts and bagels. Nobody realizes there is $10,000 sitting there in plain view. Is there a street value for iBrance?
There's also math to do here. The drug does a number on my white blood cell counts, so I have to take a week off periodically. The use of the word "periodically" is quite fitting, as it turns out the standard treatment is a 3 weeks on/1 week off schedule. Sound familiar, ladies? So each bottle of iBrance contains 21 pills. Want to see a $476 pill? Here you go:
The Oophorectomy
When we left off in June, I was getting shots to prevent my ovaries from making estrogen, being that my cancer likes estrogen and all. The biopsy that Dr. M at Dana Farber recommended confirmed that the breast cancer in my pelvis still likes estrogen, so the shots were to continue until we could schedule my oophorectomy (ovary removal). I was fine with a casual schedule for that, and planned to wait until the girls were at Camp Kesem (overnight summer camp for children of parents with cancer) to have the surgery.
Then SURPRISE! On July 6, I got my period. Totally normal period, just like the ones I'd had since I was 13, which was really bad news. It meant that despite the shots, my body was still producing estrogen, so the drugs I'd been taking weren't being as effective as they could be, if at all.
After a few stressed out phone calls to oncologist's offices (here and Boston), nobody really answered my question about whether I should take my pills that night or not. It was a medical mystery, but I went with the "it can't hurt" philosophy while getting in touch with my gynecologist to schedule that oophorectomy, stat.
Two weeks later, I was ovary-less and back to knowing my letrozole and iBrance were doing what they were designed to do.
The oophorectomy was done laproscopically, meaning they made 3 little holes in my lower abdomen. One was for a thin camera and the other two were for cutting and pulling out the two ovaries with their connected Fallopian tubes.
|This was three days post-oophorectomy.
Two weeks later, I did a sprint triathlon, which sounds impressive, but really isn't (see below). And in the past 4 months, I haven't had a period, so I guess I have to trust that the ovaries are really not there any more.
The Scans
Wanting to know if these drugs are working is part of the mental deal for cancer lifers. However, scanning my body weekly or monthly would be exposing me to excessive amounts of radiation. So doctors usually do scans every 3 or 4 or 6 months, depending on the doctor's philosophies and on how the patient feels. As I keep saying, I feel fine. I can feel some discomfort in my left pelvis, but it's no more than you would feel if you sat in one position for 30 minutes and wanted to change positions because you're just a little achy.
Additionally, because of all the problems with the estrogen that I described above, we weren't sure if the drugs had been working optimally, so they needed a chance to do their job. I didn't have any scans from April through October.
During my appointments with Dr. K over these past few months, he would order bloodwork to check on the white blood cells, and occasionally he'd throw in a blood draw for CA27.29, a test that looks for cancer antigens in my blood. A normal person's "tumor markers" are supposed to be under 39. Mine have been coming out in the 40's since these breast cancer mets have been around.
At my October appointment, the tumor marker came out around 64. Quite, a jump, huh? As before, Dr. K and the nurses don't really worry about this, as it's not a reliable indicator of cancer growth, just one piece of the puzzle. But since it had been six months since my last scans, they were ordered. ("Finally!" I thought.)
With some driving around town and some rescheduled appointments due to a broken bone scanner, I had an MRI, a CT scan, and a Bone Scan done in late October and early November. The MRI showed the same exact tumors in my pelvis as before. They haven't grown or shrunk. They're still just there. Medium news. The CT scan shows that nothing has spread to my liver, lungs, brain, or other important organs. Good news.
The Bone Scan is the one where they inject me with a radioactive solution. If an area of my body lights up/glows during the scan, it indicates the radioactive solution is being drawn there, thus showing more cell division than in other places. The results showed, "increased activity" in my pelvis but no growth. Bad news? Dr. K decided that we'll keep me on the same treatment and do a wait-and-see.
The Doctors
Dr. K is a really smart guy. He's extremely experienced. If a study has been conducted, he has committed the results to memory. Other doctors turn to him for advice. He has known me since my initial diagnosis in 2012 and we even have connections from before that (he lived in a house on my street while I was away at college/post-college and he knew my parents). I've always felt lucky that I was assigned one of the best.
However, if you'll notice, I didn't mention any personality traits there. Although there aren't awkward silences (he's a chatty guy), I never felt a "click" with him. That was okay when I was on maintenance visits a couple times a year after my 2012 treatment for stage 3 breast cancer. However, now that I'm stage 4, I will be visiting my oncologist every month or two for the rest of my life. Decisions will be made about treatments where the answer is a matter of opinion. Many times, an oncologist will leave decisions up to the patient after presenting options. Shouldn't I have someone who I can work well with?
I'd been noticing this for a while, but I had an appointment last month where the proverbial camel's back was broken. Dr. K was explaining to an intern (or something...maybe a new oncology nurse) about my whole situation. He was basically reading all of my history off a chart, although he could do some from memory. Each time I'd interject with more details or corrections, he would say to the student, "See. She's really smart." I didn't take that as a compliment. In fact, it felt pretty condescending. I mean, of course I know about my cancer! Of course I do research about it! It's my LIFE! He may think about me for 30 minutes every few months. I think about my cancer every day. Every hour.
Now, I do not expect an oncologist who lies awake thinking about me. However, it occurred to me that he shouldn't have to read off his chart every time he sees me. I would like a middle of the road oncologist. One who might remember me each month. Someone who can share a laugh about the iBrance on the passenger seat. One who is willing to work with me with decisions as opposed to calling me smart for knowing my own story.
I tried to find someone else at the same practice, since I'm familiar with the routines in the building. I made a few calls, asking for a "patient navigator" or "patient advocate". I would ask, "Would it be possible for me to explore the option of changing doctors within your practice? I'd just like to meet someone else and see if I like them better." Each call was met with stammering, questions about which doctor I'd like to see (I don't know any of the other doctors yet!), and a promise that someone would call me back.
So I called the other local cancer hospital. I was set up with an appointment with a Dr. D for the following Friday. (Since I went to Boston in June, I may have to pay out of pocket since this is my third opinion this year, but it's something I needed to do for peace of mind.)
Paul and I both went to see Dr. D last Friday. She was fantastic! We could talk. She would skip over parts of her generic "Welcome to Breast Cancer" speech if she could see that I already knew stuff. She asked my opinions about things and could tell from my questions when there were things that made me anxious. She admits that she doesn't know everything and will work with other doctors when questions come up (and will happily work with Dr. M at Dana Farber). When I mentioned the recent bone scan "increased activity", she actually took the phone out of my hand to look at the document I had saved there describing the bone scan.
It looks like I have a new doctor.
Dr. D believes that the bone scan likely shows activity that has been there all along, but my original bone scan was done when I had that fractured pelvis so we couldn't see the cancer activity. She verified that the tumor markers are just indicators and since nothing else is showing growth, we should stick to the letrozole/iBrance treatment.
On the very day I met Dr. D, I finally got a call with a suggestion of a new oncologist at my regular practice. I wondered out loud to Paul whether I should meet that doctor, too, but he responded, "What could this new guy say that Dr. D didn't?" I don't think there's anything.
Now I just have to break up with Dr. K.
The Triathlons
Imagine you were a competitive swimmer through college, doing workouts of up to 10,000 yards a day (on double days). Then 20 years later, with a little practice, you are asked to swim 600 yards. No problem at all. Seriously.
Then imagine you can ride a bike. Given an unlimited amount of time and a flat roadway, you could ride 18 miles, right?
Also, picture all of those people wearing costumes, pushing strollers, or being sprayed with paint during any of the thousands of 5Ks that occur each month.
Put those three things together. It's about 2.5 hours of easy exercise. Triathlons don't stress me out at all. I did two of them this past summer after finding out about stage 4 cancer.
The problem is that I haven't been training. At all. Between November 2012 (the end of chemo and radiation) and April 2016 (the diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer), I trained my butt off. Research has shown that staying in shape can prevent cancer recurrence, so I was going to heed that advice!
But it didn't work. Cancer came back. As much as you all think I'm positive and inspiring and shit, I have lost my motivation to exercise. I know it's still good for me, but I don't wanna. I have cancer. I will die way sooner than you. Why should I exercise? As long as I can shovel the driveway this winter and throw together another triathlon next summer to inspire you all, what's the point?
So here's where all of you, "Let me know if I can help?" friends come in. Who can help motivate me?
You know I'm a rule follower. If someone motivates me, I'll make a checklist of the exercise I have to do each day, and nothing will stop me. But if it's too easy, I'll blow you off, and if it's too hard, I'll fracture my pelvis again. I'm not going to make this easy for you. I think I need an intervention!
Most of you have never seen this insane side of me, have you? Ball's in your court.
The End


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This article is one of the Panasonic microwave reviews that point out the most desirable reasons why consumers considering buying from Panasonic. Panasonic is one of the companies that offer a wide range of microwave ovens that serve both personal and industrial uses.
The sizes can range from compact (0.7 cu ft.) to full size. Most of the models are in full size and there is only one size for the compact while the full size has a range that reaches up to 2.2 cu ft.
The products are also offered in stainless steel, the relatively newer material used and the more preferred for its absence of coat that could flake over time. The stainless steel comes in a simple elegance that can easily go with a modern kitchen and suit the less-is-best style preference.
However, if one wants the more traditional design that often comes in tones such as whites, blacks, etc without necessarily exposing the steel, they could still have one of the non-steel microwave ovens also available from Panasonic.
The price difference is not that much. Price actually comes in when other features come in terms of intelligence or technology.
The most desirable features of Panasonic microwave reviews include the easy-to-clean design, easy installation, turntable on/off feature, removable shelf, single-touch sensor to reheat and cook and a 3-speed ventilation that helps remove odor from food.
The most recent technological introduction from Panasonic is the Inverter Technology. This feature allows for the perfect cooking of food with its multi-lever power settings and uniform distribution of heat or power energy.
Aside from bringing out the full flavor of food, it also comes as more energy efficient in cooking and defrosting as it minimizes the time it takes to process the food.
If there is something that Panasonic microwave reviews such as this could say in negative, that is, they only offer one design and one model for their compact microwave ovens which can be a sad thing if you are looking for a compact size and are not satisfied with the only one they have. However, their over range microwave oven reviews have a large variety of models you can choose from.

subset: commoncrawl


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The Ward
Old boxers have sad faces.
I saw it in their passing eyes as I watched YouTube videos of hunted men in tattered robes. Was there hunger enough in their belly for one more meal? One more steak? To fight for a warm bed. To awake without the blinding headaches they knew would someday come. A concussed fury. The descent into a dementia born by the rage of too many EverLasting fists. The Endswell to their broken brains. The final count in a homeless shelter. The final count in a locked back ward of a city hospital where no other crazy man believes any more. Where their only glory is the fading flurry of punches against bare white walls. This is where they fall. Where the motherless boxer dies. Those forgotten, nameless men who are buried with their half-clenched fists.
...Their hospital robes-- cleaned, pressed, sanitized-- passed from the dead to the dying who box against the shadows of sadness.
Poets United Midweek Motif ~ Climate Change
18 hours ago


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Aloha Golf Hawaii
We start you at the Turtle Bay Golf and Spa Resort for 3 nights and unlimited golf.
Why not start the trip off the right way with 36 holes of championship golf?
Acres of coastline and amazing views will help you lay the foundation for a golf trip of a lifetime.
Next, transfer to NCL's Pride of America and let this fair lady be your floating golf cart for 7 nights.
*Let Golfstream Travel book your tee times in any of the ports you wish, including:
- Maui (Wailea Gold Course),
- Kona (Makalei Golf Club), and
- Kauai (Puakea Golf Course)
Please note that we can make arrangements at any of the Ultra Championship Courses - just ask your concierge for more details
End your golf vacation experience with 2 nights at the world famous Hotel Halekulani, which is the perfect setting for your farewell dinner


text:
Zika Virus: What You Need to Know
As your obstetrician, we want to provide you with knowledge and information to help give you peace of mind. Please review the resources below provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
CDC: Question and Answers Regarding Zika Virus and Pregnant Women


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A Phase II Trial of High-dose 90Y-Ibritumomab Tiuxetan (Anti-CD20) Followed by Fludarabine and Low-dose Total Body Irradiation and HLA-matched Allogeneic Hematopoietic Transplantation for Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Aggressive B-cell Lymphoma
I. To assess the safety and efficacy of 1.5 mCi/kg (max 120 mCi) 90Y-Ibritumomab tiuxetan
(yttrium Y 90 ibritumomab tiuxetan) (anti-CD20) combined with fludarabine (fludarabine
phosphate) (30 mg/m^2 x 3) and 2 Gy total body irradiation followed by human leukocyte
antigens (HLA) matched allogeneic hematopoietic transplantation for patients with relapsed
or refractory aggressive B-cell lymphoma.
Patients receive a dosimetry test dose of indium In 111 ibritumomab tiuxetan intravenously
(IV) within four weeks prior to transplant and then receive a therapy-dose of high-dose
yttrium Y 90 ibritumomab tiuxetan IV on day -14 prior to transplant. Both ibritumomab
tiuxetan infusions may be preceded by rituximab IV, depending on results of blood tests to
determine rituximab concentration. Patients receive fludarabine phosphate IV on days -4 to
-2 and undergo TBI followed by allogeneic PBSCT on day 0. Patients also receive cyclosporine
orally (PO) twice daily (BID) on days -3 to 56 with taper to day 180 (related donor) or -3
to 100 with taper over 11 weeks (unrelated donor) and mycophenolate mofetil PO BID on days
0-27 (related donor) or PO thrice daily (TID) on days 0-40 with taper to day 96 (unrelated
After completion of study treatment and assessments through ~day 100 following transplant,
patients are followed up at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months and then annually thereafter.
Endpoint Classification: Safety/Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Treatment
Progression-free survival (PFS)
Based on a one-sample chi-square test with one-sided significance level of five percent. This study will be deemed successful if the 1 year PFS of this highest-risk group of patients is 54% or greater.
1 year
Ajay Gopal
Principal Investigator
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/University of Washington Cancer Consortium
United States: Food and Drug Administration
November 2011
|Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/University of Washington Cancer Consortium
|Seattle, Washington 98109


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Separate names with a comma.
Discussion in 'iPad Help' started by 55julie55, Feb 13, 2011.
Is there somewhere that the tech talk is explained.
Sticky's are threads that we can lock that do not move down the list. In most cases they are important threads such as rules, forum information etc. Tags are a way of searching for words across all forums. Best way to describe it is like a filter search
Trackbacks is not used very much and frankly I won't give an explanation as it will not make sense I would ignore that one. It is listed as it is part of the forum design. Maybe another admin or moderator can explain it to you.
Oh by the way welcome to our forums from Brisbane Australia


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High Court Refuses Ariz. Abortion Appeal, and More
What's News: U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear Arizona's challenge to 20-week abortion ban. West Virginia begins to lift water ban. GM sweeps top awards at Detroit Auto Show. Ford unveils aluminum bodied F150 truck. Joanne Po reports. Photo: AP
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... any chance I ... refuses to hear Arizona's ... abortion Appeal this is what's news I'm WS J live I'm Thailand Co ... the U S Supreme Court blocks the state of Arizona from enforcing a ban on most abortions after twenty weeks of pregnancy ... justices declining to hear Arizona's appealed a lower court ruling ... that declared that the law violates the woman's constitutionally protected right to terminate pregnancy ... before a fetus is able to survive outside the bow ... Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed advantage line April twenty twelve ... currently nine other states have enacted similar ban starting at twenty weeks or earlier ... and less Virginia begins to lift the water band that has infected three hundred thousand people over the last five days ... officials say that a partial list ... comes after tap shale and coal prices and chemical that we have a storage tank ... and inputs credit the water supply has largely dissipated ... authorities say that the ban would be lifted in Fiji as ... the next phase of the cleanup is a flushing of the water system which is beginning in several areas ... residents have been beating him drinking bottled water at the federal government has been trucking in cars trucks and even more cars are in the spotlight after twenty fourteen to trade on a snow ... fort showing off its new F one fifty pickup truck me out of aluminum ... by replacing steal the use of aluminum for the body will reduce the weight of the vehicle by seven hundred pounds ... enabling the use of smaller engines that can make the truck more fuel efficient ... meantime General Motors suites the top awards at the show ... the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and the Chevrolets ... Silverado pickup truck ... taking the top honors as the North American car and truck of the year ... and if your I had heard that are out of luck Sheehan says they're sold out ... entry Corvette in currently in production ... already has a buyer ... bookie keep us anomaly this is about as rapid and what's news I'm WS J last I'm Joann Co ...


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Robert Latham OWEN, Congress, OK
Senate Years of Service:1907-1925
OWEN, Robert Latham, a Senator from Oklahoma; born in Lynchburg, Campbell County, Va., February 2, 1856; attended private schools in Lynchburg, Va., and Baltimore, Md.; graduated from Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va., 1877; moved to Salina, Indian Territory, and taught school among the Cherokee Indians; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1880 and commenced practice; federal Indian agent for the Five Civilized Tribes 1885-1889; member of the Democratic National Committee 1892-1896; organized the First National Bank of Muskogee in 1890 and was its president for ten years; upon the admission of Oklahoma as a State into the Union in 1907 was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate for the term ending March 3, 1913; reelected in 1912 and 1918 and served from December 11, 1907, to March 3, 1925; declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1924; chairman, Committee on Indian Depredations (Sixty-second Congress), Committee on the Mississippi River and Its Tributaries (Sixty-second Congress), Committee on Pacific Railroads (Sixty-second Congress), Committee on Banking and Currency (Sixty-third through Sixty-fifth Congresses), Committee on the Five Civilized Tribes (Sixty-sixth Congress); resumed the practice of law in Washington, D.C.; organized and served as chairman of the National Popular Government League from 1913 until his death in Washington, D.C., July 19, 1947; interment in Spring Hill Cemetery, Lynchburg, Va.
BibliographyDictionary of American Biography; Brown, Kenny. "A Progressive From Oklahoma: Senator Robert Latham Owen, Jr." Chronicles of Oklahoma 62 (Fall 1984): 232-65; Keso, Edward. The Senatorial Career of Robert Latham Owen. Gardenvale, Canada: Garden City Press, 1938.
Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present


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Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Another Great Buck
12 comments:
- Tasha said...
Looks nice! Good work, hope you enjoyed your little get away.
- October 20, 2009 at 1:19 PM
- Jensen Family said...
Good Job! Awesome! I was so excited for ya when I saw the picture. But this picture is much easier to see. I did shoot one but it is not a show picture worthy deer, just a small 3 by 4. Maybe another year.
- October 20, 2009 at 4:09 PM
- amber said...
Chuck's a little jealous! He and my dad weren't so lucky.
- October 20, 2009 at 8:14 PM
- Chaotic Monarchy said...
You are officially my husbands dream woman!!
- October 21, 2009 at 9:00 AM
- Elise said...
Way too go pregnant and all... I gave up after the 2 point...
- October 21, 2009 at 9:04 AM
- The Bunnell's said...
Woo Hoo! Matt is going to be so jealous and so am I. That is definetly a keeper ;) I can't wait to hear the story!
- October 21, 2009 at 9:25 AM
- The Estes Family said...
Good Job!!! Can't wait to hear about it :)
- October 22, 2009 at 9:06 AM
- Tristie hearts Dax said...
That is a monster, Bridgett! So proud of you. You are a dream wife to any deer hunting man. I hope derrick appreciates that you like this hobby. I will be as nice as you one day. I am excited for all that is going on for you guys. We need to get together and have Dax make everyone dinner and have a nice relaxing evening. Call me if you need a babysitter! Congrats on your fun news! i am thrilled!
- October 29, 2009 at 10:37 PM
- The Mashy Family said...
Had not checked in with you for a while so thought I would say hello! Congratulations on your baby number 4! Hopefully you will get a little boy. Although he may not survive in a world of pink!
- November 4, 2009 at 7:03 AM
- Brandy Anderson said...
Thats awesome. It's huge!! Congrats on the new addition too. That exciting.
- November 6, 2009 at 8:31 AM
- fourballerinas said...
I don't have your email. email me.
- March 19, 2010 at 7:41 PM
- njkilfoyle said...
Great Buck! My husband is jealous!!Nikki Sebring Kilfoyle
- June 26, 2010 at 6:16 PM


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|Susie Evans (VC1)
|Susie Evans
|Birth Date
|c.1916 (Aged 21 by 1937)
|Gallian Militia
|Gallian militiaman (former)
Charity worker
|Unit Class
|Elysse Moore
Knute Jung
|Voice Acting
|Rie Tozuka
|Megan Hollingshead
- "I've had enough of killing... and being killed..."
- —Susie Evans, Valkyria Chronicles 3
Susie Evans (スージー・エヴァンス Sūjī Evansu?) is a nineteen year old Squad 7 scout who appears in the original Valkyria Chronicles videogame.
Susie also plays an expanded role in the Valkyria Chronicles anime as Alicia's childhood friend, fellow member of Bruhl's Town Watch and finally her comrade in Squad 7.
Susie also appears as a hidden character in Valkyria Chronicles 2.
Valkyria Chronicles
As the daughter of a frontier tycoon, she knew precious little of the ways of the world, once naively paying 25dct for a single apple.
Though a pacifist normally incapable of killing a fly, her family's honor forced her to enlist. Fundamentally opposed to war, she finds killing loathsome.
Despite heavy opposition from within her family, she used personal funds to build a shelter for those injured in the war, where she continues to work today.
Expanded Biography
Susie comes from a very wealthy family, and therefore lacks common sense when it comes to the value of money. She tends to spend vast amounts of money without hesitation. Susie joined the militia in order to uphold her family's honor, but she is a very passive person who wouldn't even hurt a fly, so needless to say she despised the war and all the fighting that was involved. After the war, she spent all of her personal assets to found a facility that offered relief to the victims of war, despite the strong opposition she received from the rest of her family. Susie works at this facility to personally aid in their charitable efforts.
Expanded Biography (VC3)
- "A bona fide noble who fights to defend the weak and her family name."
- —VC3 COMPLETE ARTWORKS Description
Susie was born to a rich family in a remote region of Gallia. She is a pacifist at heart and loathes the very idea of war, but she willingly joined the militia in hopes of quickly ending the war with as few casualties as possible, and also to maintain her family's good name.
Susie led a very sheltered life before joining the militia, and it shows. She has a calm and gentle personality, is ignorant of social affairs, and also very generous with her money since she basically thinks it grows on trees. Despite the fact that she chose to join the militia, she still dislikes violence and it pains her to see people getting hurt on the battlefield.
After the Gallian Campaign, Susie ignored her family's opposition and used all of her money to build a support center for war victims. She now spends every day of her life assisting the war relief effort, and prays that the tragedy of war will never be repeated again.
- Base stats
- Accuracy - 14
- Evasion - 20
- Defense - 0
- Max stats
- Accuracy - 32.3
- Evasion - 59
- Defense - 3
- Personal potentials
- Country Bred - Standing on bare dirt leads to a boost in concentration, raising accuracy.
- Good Buddy - Being around good friends makes even the battlefield a little cheerier, boosting their attack power.
- Trooper Hater - For whatever reasons, Shocktroopers aren't their thing. Attack power is lowered against Shocktroopers.
- Humanitarian - Unable to forgive themselves for harming another person, they cannot take any further action after attacking.
- Battle potentials
- Sighting - Accuracy is improved after sighting an enemy.
- First Aid Boost - The healing powers of Ragnaid (S) are occasionally increased.
- Super Evasion - Evasion skills have a chance of being greatly enhanced.
- Full HP Recovery - They have a chance of recovering all of their HP after attacking.
- "I understand."
- "You can depend on me."
- "Ah!"
- "But I'm a pacifist!"
- "Sorry if this hurts!"
Killing a Foe
- "Enemy...neutralized!"
Enemy Sighted
- "I've located an enemy."
- "Enemy spotted!"
Team Attack
- "You're not alone!"
- "Together."
- "I'll stand with you."
- "You're not alone, Elysse." (Elysse)
- "You're not alone, Knute." (Knute)
Personal Potentials
- "Ahh...what a nostalgic aroma." (Country Bred)
- "Lovely to see you all, team." (Good Buddy)
- "I've never been good with brutish sorts." (Trooper Hater)
- "But my hands are stained!" (Humanitarian)
Battle Potentials
- "I've located the enemy." (Sighting)
- "I'll do all I can to help you!" (First Aid Boost)
- "I can't afford to be injured here." (Super Evasion)
- "Phew...I've finally caught my breath." (Full HP Recovery)
Healed by Ragnaid
- "I won't forget this."
Rescuing an Ally
- "Medic!"
After Medic Visit
- "Please Miss! You've got to help!"
- "...War is truly awful."
- "Please Elysse! Look at me!" (Elysse)
- "Knute! You can't give up!" (Knute)
HP Critical
- "I never wanted to fight..."
- "Why am I here?"
- "I can't...no more."
- "This is why I...detest war... Too many have...already killed and...been killed..."
Enter Squad 7
- "My name is Susie Evans, sir. I realize I'm inexperienced, but I'll do all I can."
Exit Squad 7
- "You've been a wonderful leader, sir, but I am a bit relieved to be done with combat."
- Susie's fourth Personal Potential is the worst in the game. Humanitarian's description is misleading; if the Potential triggers when Susie is ordered to attack, she will not attack, instead instantly ending her current movement phase. This wastes a Command Point, and often leaves her dangerously exposed to fire from the enemy she was targeting, requiring another CP to remedy this. Like Herbert Nielsen, a player intending to use Susie extensively should avoid going to Castlefront Street to unlock her final Potential.
- Her Potential, Humanitarian, also makes her a great choice to sacrifice to earn the Splintered Horn medal once unlocked.
- Susie becomes a member of Edy's detachment and stars in both the Edy's Mission: Enter the Edy Detachment and Challenges of the Edy Detachment downloadable content.
- Susie appears in Valkyria Chronicles 2 as a character in the hidden "Edy Detachment" bonus squad. Entering the code CR6BG1A9LYQKB6WJ (NA/EU) or TKBHCNBERHRKJNFG (JP) will recruit the squad to your roster in game.
- Her family company produces a type of candy called "Susie's Drops".
|Squad 7
|Alicia | Eleanor | Isara | Largo | Rosie | Welkin | Zaka
|Aika | Cherry | Freesia | Hermes | Juno | Melville | Montley | Nancy | Noce | Ramona | Susie | Ted | Wavy
|Aisha | Alex | Coby | Dorothy | Edy | Hannes | Jane | Kevin | Mica | Nina | Salinas | Vyse | Wendy
|Elysse | Hector | Jann | Nils | Rosina | Theold | Walter | Yoko
|Claudia | Dallas | Herbert | Homer | Karl | Nadine | Ramsey
|Catherine | Cezary | Marina | Oscar
|Tech Support
|Hans | Kreis | Leon | Medic
|Edelweiss | Shamrock
|Audrey | Emile | Knute | Lynn | Musaad


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The Conventa Crossover conference is a conference like no other. Fresh, creative and most of all bold! This "out of the box" conference will ensure a deepened personal engagement, a more authentic experience and live interaction with the speakers by offering completely different programme formats.
Social event attendance
Coffee breaks


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Hi everyone . Finally i get one project done.
This is my very first time joining blog challenge. It's really fun actually. I get to challenge mysel as well but din't eally do a good job on that
this is a link to crate paper June color challenge http://crate.typepad.com/cratepaper/2011/06/june-crate-color-challenge.html I always late and get it done last minute but this time I get it done 3 days prior than dead line. Just so much work to do lately.
I altered a chalkboard that I bought from Hobby Lobby. They are so adorable it's about 8x11 inch. Perfect for my desk.
I paint it with acrylic color in sunshine yellow.
I gotta admit this this the hardest process for me because since I was a little kid I always paint every kind out color outside the area that I wanted to ( may be that's why I always think outside the box lol ) I taped black part of chalkboard but still got it all over. Luckily it's acrylic color so it's removable.
For decoration I use this lovely Crate Paper Emma's Shoppe 6x6 Paper pad.
I cut them into a small stripe just to fit the edge or chalkboard. and glue them around.
Making my own button using Epiphany button maker size 20
They turn out perfect now I can make buttons that will match all my page perfectly.
Some butterflies that i punch out and put some flatback pearls on.
And the center of attraction is here !! Banner that I make for this chalkboard because then I can write scrap that I have to get done for the challenges.
They turn out really cute and will be useful for me since I'm such a forgetful person :P
I'm not a good writer but I will try to practice more then I can do some tutorial for others to get an idea how I create them.
Material : Crate Paper 6x6 Paper Pad Emmas Shoppe Collection
Trims from hobby lobby.


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This chapter is going to be a bit unusual – David is nowhere to be seen, because this is where we catch up with what Jordan has been doing since the start of the Summer Term. And because this is the all-new Jordan, who has found out how nice it is to do stuff with your friends as equals, there's going to be nothing (with one small exception) going on in this chapter that isn't entirely consensual. Fear not – normal service will be resumed in Chapter Twenty-Two.
Jeremy had been enthusiastic about getting together with Jordan and Charlie again, but getting the idea past Charlie's mother wasn't quite so easy: she wasn't prepared to let Charlie stay out overnight during term time, though she said it would be possible at half term, which was another couple of weeks away. However, she did agree to letting Charlie come to visit Jordan one Sunday afternoon, provided that he was home again no later than seven p.m., so they fixed it up for the afternoon of May 22nd.
Jeremy came round in the morning and stayed for lunch, and as it was Jordan's house he was coming to and not Charlie's he turned up in jeans and a tee-shirt, rather than collar and tie.
"Sorry I couldn't come last weekend," he said. "But, like I told you, it was my birthday on the thirteenth, and my parents wanted to take me out for a meal."
Jordan knew about the birthday, of course, and had given Jeremy a present, a carriage for his train set.
"That's okay. Charlie couldn't have come last week, anyway, and we really need him here – it's not the same without our baby brother."
Jeremy grinned. "Of course, now you're the only one who is still eleven," he pointed out. "Perhaps we should treat you like the baby this week."
"You could try, if you want to be spanked again."
Jeremy thought about that – actually, he liked it when Jordan stripped him and spanked him, though he'd liked it even more when Jordan had fucked him, and he wanted another go at that.
"Spanking's too easy," he said. "You'd have to give me a proper punishment if you wanted me to behave."
Jordan knew what he meant, and he liked that idea, too.
"Just watch it, or I will," he said. "I might even do it with Charlie watching."
Jeremy looked a bit less sure. "Well… I don't know. Aren't you afraid he'd react badly if he saw us doing that?"
"Well, perhaps. But I'd quite like to do it to him as well, and I think if he sees how much you enjoy it he'd be far more likely to let me."
"What, you think I enjoy being punished?" asked Jeremy, grinning.
"No, I'm sure you hate every moment. Look, Charlie says he'll be allowed to sleep over with one of us during half term, so once he gets here we'll have to find a couple of days when we're both free, because I don't want to miss a chance for the three of us to sleep together again. That was fun."
"I'm not doing anything at all at half term at the moment, so any day will be fine with me."
"I've got one or two things I need to do, but I'm sure we can find a couple of days. Now, I might decide to punish you again when Charlie gets here, but I still think you deserve a spanking right now. Unless you'd like to apologise for calling me a baby, of course."
Jeremy made a rude noise at him, so Jordan chased him round the bedroom, caught him, threw him onto the bed and pinned him down.
"So, are you going to apologise, or am I going to have to spank you?" he asked.
"Apologise to you? Certainly not!"
So Jordan began to strip him, and Jeremy resisted as best he could, laughing and trying to hang on to his clothes for as long as possible. But eventually his pants came off, and it was immediately obvious that he was enjoying this.
"Perhaps I should do something about that," said Jordan, taking hold of it and squeezing gently.
Jeremy stopped struggling and looked at him. "Go on, then," he said, softly. "I dare you!"
"What do you think I should do to it?"
"It's up to you. But perhaps you should try to find out if it still makes me feel strange when you rub it."
"Oh, I don't suppose that's changed, so I really don't need to check again."
"You never know. I'm pretty unusual – maybe that sort of thing doesn't always work on me. I think you ought to check, just to make sure."
"Well, you're right about you being strange…so, how does this feel?"
"Nice? But I'm supposed to be punishing you – punishments shouldn't feel nice!"
"You can punish me later. Right now you have to check that I still get interesting feelings when you rub it for me."
So Jordan went on checking, and it turned out that Jeremy did still get interesting feelings. And afterwards Jordan let him get dressed (without spanking him), and they played with Jordan's toy soldiers until lunchtime.
Charlie arrived after lunch, dressed as if he was going to church, in collar and tie, his shorts neatly pressed and his shoes shiny and clean. They waited until his mother had finally left – she seemed unsure that it would really be safe to leave her precious boy away from home all afternoon – and then took him up to Jordan's room and started to look for a change of clothes for him – "After all," Jordan pointed out, "if you go home with dirty clothes you'll never be allowed to come again, and we can't have that. Now, get those nice shiny church clothes off and I'll see what I can find for you."
So Charlie took off everything except his pants and socks and Jeremy folded the discarded clothes up neatly and put them on top of Jordan's bookcase. Jordan found a tee shirt that would probably be a little too big on Charlie, but would do the job well enough, and his school rugby shorts, which he wouldn't need again until September anyway.
"You'll have to keep your own shoes on," he said, "because mine would be too big for you. We'll clean them before your mum comes back to pick you up. But it won't matter if these things of mine get dirty, so we'll be able to go and play in the woods again, like we did at your place. So get them on and then let's go!"
Charlie pulled the borrowed clothes on, and they were a little too big, but the shorts had a draw-string, so it didn't matter too much that they were a size or two larger than his own.
Once he was ready Jordan led them off into the woods. He thought about going to see if Nigel and John were using the clearing, and maybe if it had just been him and Jeremy he might have. But he didn't want to expose Charlie to that sort of thing just yet, so he stayed away from that part of the woods, just keeping going until he found a good area with no undergrowth. And for the next couple of hours they played soldiers, or hide and seek, or climbed trees. And this time Charlie seemed to lose his inhibitions much more quickly, joining in happily, wrestling with them, climbing trees that he wouldn't have dared to try a couple of months previously, and generally enjoying himself.
"I wish I could come and play with you more often," he said when they stopped for a rest. "I'm not usually allowed to do stuff like this."
"Doesn't it bother you?" asked Jordan. "The way your mum keeps you wrapped in cotton wool all the time, I mean."
"Well… a bit, I suppose. But not too much. See, I know it's really because Mummy doesn't want me to grow up too quickly. Something went wrong when I was born, and she couldn't have any more children. That's why I haven't got any brothers or sisters. She likes me being a little boy, and I don't mind, because it makes me feel sort of safe."
"Yes, but… crumbs, Charlie, you'll be thirteen in September. You can't go on with you and your mum both pretending you're about six much longer. After all, you're bound to start growing soon, and you'll get spots, and your voice will break, and then she'll have to admit you're a teenager, not a child."
"I know. But I don't think it'll happen for a while yet – I mean, I'm pretty titchy for twelve, aren't I? Anyway, I don't want spots, or a croaky voice. I like being how I am. And if I suddenly got tall and spotty I couldn't be your little brother any more, and I like playing that game."
"Even when we tease you and make you go to bed before us?"
"Even then… in fact, big brothers are supposed to tease little brothers, so you have to do it if we're going to play the game right. I really liked it when we slept together, because then it felt to me like we really were brothers."
"Good, because we're going to do that again at half term – your mum says she'll let you sleep over with one of us."
"Yippee! Then I can be a proper baby brother, and you'll both have to look after me and show me how much…"
"No, it doesn't matter. So, whose house are we going to stay at?"
"Well, you could both come to mine," said Jeremy. "But my sister will be around, so if we could come here it would be better."
"I expect that would be okay," said Jordan. "But we won't all be able to fit into my bed, and my parents will be using theirs… unless… hey, maybe we could camp in the garden – or even the field behind the garden? Then we could zip a couple of sleeping bags together and share that."
"That'd be fun!" agreed Jeremy.
"Yes, it would, but I'm not sure if I'd be allowed," said Charlie. "So you'd better not say anything about camping when you speak to Mummy – just tell her I'll be sleeping in your bedroom in a sleeping bag, or something."
"Okay. Now, let's see if we can find some more trees to climb…"
By the time Charlie's mum came to pick him up again after tea he had changed back into his nice clothes, and his shoes had been cleaned so that they looked as smart as they had when he arrived. Jordan and Jeremy both put on smart shirts and ties as well, Jeremy borrowing some of Jordan's clothes, so they made a good impression on Mrs Barnett, and so she was happy to confirm that Charlie could come for a couple of days at half-term, and they settled on the Monday and Tuesday. Charlie went away smiling happily.
Jordan had a few other things lined up for half term, as he had said. First he had to go and see how Philip Baxter-Cauldwell was getting on with his revision. He'd been checking up on the sixth-former every couple of weeks, and by now the older boy was more or less resigned to his situation – at least, he didn't shout and swear any longer. Once he was more or less used to the chain Jordan came to an agreement with him: every time he came round he would tie Baxter-Cauldwell's ankles and left wrist to the bed, then remove the chain and allow him to masturbate – on the strict understanding that he would then be allowed to put the chain back on afterwards.
"If you refuse, or try to fight me off, three things will happen," Jordan had warned him. "First, I'm going to whip you as hard as I can to try to get you to change your mind. If that doesn't work, and I can't get the chain back on you, then second, those photos start doing the rounds. And third, I'll get Garrett and a couple of his friends to come and help me – or maybe they'll grab you at school – and the chain will go back on, and we'll seal the lock with superglue and chuck the keys in the river. So it's up to you – play the game and you'll be fine, and I'll agree to come round and let you play with yourself every week. Don't, and you're in deep trouble."
"You know I could kill you while you're here, don't you?" Philip had asked him one day.
"Sure, but you won't, no matter how much you want to, because you'd go to prison for life. And a few more weeks' discomfort isn't worth that, is it? I mean, you're not stupid, or you wouldn't be at KEV in the first place."
And of course Philip knew he was right. So when Jordan went round on the first Saturday of half term he showed the younger boy what he had been working on (it meant very little to Jordan, of course, but he made a note of the subjects so that he could check with Garrett later) and then allowed himself to be tied to the bed, with his right arm left free. Then Jordan removed the chain and sat back to watch.
The first time he had done this Philip had asked him to at least have the decency to look the other way, but Jordan had said that he needed to keep an eye so that he could tell if Philip tried to untie his other wrist or something, and he had refused to change his mind. So every two weeks since he had been able to watch the seventeen-year-old masturbating, which he found most entertaining.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked on this occasion.
"Strangling you," replied Philip, sourly.
"No, seriously, I'd like to know."
"Well, there's a girl lives just up the road. She goes to the Ladies' College, and she is really hot. She thinks she's far too good for me, of course, but if I ever had a chance I'd like to give her one. Or more than one."
"Cool," said Jordan. "Carry on, then."
So Philip carried on.
"You can slow down, if you like," Jordan told him after a few more seconds. "I haven't got to rush off, so you can take as long as you like. Just enjoy it."
"It's hard to enjoy it with a snot-nosed kid gawking at me."
"I suppose so. Look, if you like I'll do it for you: that way if you close your eyes you can pretend it's the CLC girl doing it instead."
"No, thanks. I might be able to fool myself while you're doing it, but afterwards I'd be lying here thinking, 'Fuck, Philip, you just let a twelve-year-old boy toss you off. Are you queer now, or what?'"
"I'm eleven. But it's up to you – if you change your mind, just let me know."
"I won't. Now shut up and let me concentrate."
So Jordan kept his mouth shut and watched the older boy rubbing himself, enjoying the moment when he lost control and spurt after spurt of thick white spunk shot out of his penis and landed on his chest and stomach. When it was over he handed Philip the box of tissues from the bedside table and watched him mopping up, and then he put the chain back on, pocketed the key and turned to go.
"I can come back later in the week if you like," he said. "Thursday or Friday, perhaps? Then you won't have to wait quite so long for your next wank."
"Yes, okay – I'm not going anywhere on Friday."
"See you on Friday, then." And Jordan left him trying to untie his left wrist.
It was fun having Baxter-Cauldwell under his thumb like this, and it looked as if it was going to be pretty lucrative, too, because last time he had spoken to Garrett, the head boy had told him that Baxter-Cauldwell was definitely knuckling down to some serious work. With a bit of luck the end of term exams would show the improvement Philip's mother was looking for, and then he'd be £50 better off – and there was an awful lot of fun he'd be able to have with that sort of money in his pocket.
Jeremy came round on the Sunday afternoon, having managed to talk his parents into giving him an extra night at Jordan's house. That suited both of them perfectly: it would allow them to have some fun together on their own before Charlie came to join them. So when Jeremy suggested that they might go and play in the woods, Jordan said that this would be an excellent idea, provided that Jeremy promised to behave himself and respect his big brother. And, of course, the look on Jeremy's face suggested that this was probably not going to be what actually happened.
He behaved himself properly at first, as they explored the woods and practised advancing slowly from tree to tree, like soldiers on a reconnaissance patrol, but it wasn't too long before he made a joke about Jordan's curly hair, and that led to a wrestling match.
"Okay, so you're on top," admitted Jeremy as he ended up pinned down as usual. "So what are you going to do about it?"
"Well, I could strip you bare and make you play naked for the next hour or so."
Jeremy thought about that and decided that it sounded like fun.
"You wouldn't dare!" he said, provocatively.
Five minutes later he was stark naked and his clothes were stuffed into Jordan's bag, though after he had taken three steps and got a thorn in his foot Jordan gave him his shoes back.
"And you can stay like that until you apologise," said Jordan, hoisting his bag onto his back.
"Sorry, but it's against the law to apologise to four-eyed morons."
"Then you'd better hope it doesn't start raining, or you're going to get cold and wet. Come on."
They patrolled a little further, and then Jeremy made another reference to Jordan's curls, and that led to him being dragged over to a fallen tree trunk, pushed face down over it and getting a spanking which, since Jordan held back sufficiently, Jeremy enjoyed.
They resumed their advance, stopping to climb an inviting-looking tree, and once they were high in the branches Jeremy started getting lippy again.
"You must really enjoy getting spanked," said Jordan. "When we get down I'm going to have to beat you till your bum goes bright red."
"I'm not getting down. I like it up here."
"Okay, but once I'm down I'm heading for home, so unless you want to stay out here in the woods on your own with no clothes on, you'll have to come with me."
"I wouldn't mind staying here. I could pretend to be Tarzan."
"You'd get really cold at night, though."
"I suppose. And it is more fun sharing a bed with you than it would be trying to sleep up a tree. Okay, maybe I will come down, then."
And he did, but as soon as Jordan reached the ground after him Jeremy took off, running away into the woods. Jordan chased him, pursuing him on into the trees until Jeremy's path was blocked by a stream. He turned and ran off upstream, and Jordan caught up with him just as he reached the clearing, because this was the same stream. The clearing was unoccupied, so Jordan grabbed his friend, gave him a very light spanking and then just lay on his back watching the sky. Jeremy lay down beside him.
"It's nice here," he said. "Actually, if the weather was always like this I wouldn't mind being Tarzan. It feels good having nothing on."
"Really?" asked Jordan. "Aren't you cold?"
"No, not at all. Try it, and you'll see what I mean. I dare you."
Okay," said Jordan, and he stood up and took his own clothes off. And Jeremy was right: it did feel nice. He lay down again, and Jeremy rolled over on top of him, so that they were face to face. Jeremy still had an erection, which didn't seem to have gone down since he had been stripped almost half an hour previously, and having his naked friend lying on top of him like that soon made Jordan get one, too.
"This is nice," said Jeremy, nuzzling at his cheek.
"It is, isn't it?" agreed Jordan, putting his arms round him.
For at least five minutes they lay quietly. Then Jeremy asked, "So, are we going to teach Charlie about fucking tomorrow, then?"
"I think so. But I think we should just tell him how nice it feels, and not pretend it's a punishment."
"Who's pretending? It's a horrible thing to do to someone!" said Jeremy, grinning hugely.
"Yeah, of course it is. Seriously, though, I think if we tell him how much fun it is and how nice it feels, he won't mind trying. But maybe you should do it to him first."
"Me? But…I've never done it before! What if I mess it up?"
"You won't. It's just that you're a bit smaller than me, and I don't want to hurt him. If he likes you doing it to him, maybe he'll let me try, too."
"Well… okay, if you're sure. But in that case… well, if I'm going to do it to Charlie tomorrow, maybe I should practise on you first?"
Jordan thought about that. He'd never envisaged being on the receiving end: after all, when he had first been introduced to the concept of fucking, it was always something that dominant boys did to weak, pathetic, submissive boys like Larkin. But somehow doing it with Jeremy felt different: with him it was much more like sharing something nice, rather than having fun at someone else's expense. And Jeremy had really enjoyed being on the receiving end, so maybe it would be okay to try…
"Well, okay, then," he said. "As long as you don't start thinking this makes any difference to which of us is in charge."
"Oh, it won't. I've always known I'm in charge."
They wrestled for a bit, but soon relaxed back into the same position, but this time with Jordan on top. Jordan felt really good like this, naked, with his best friend holding him and idly stroking his back and bum. It was really relaxing, and he was almost on the point of falling asleep when a voice from the edge of the clearing dragged him sharply back into consciousness.
"Is that the one you told me about?" said the voice.
Jordan turned to face it and saw John Baker grinning at him.
He relaxed: for a ghastly moment he had thought they'd been caught by a total stranger.
"Yes. Jeremy, this is my friend John Baker. John, this is Jeremy."
"Hello," said John. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I'm supposed to be meeting Nigel here, and I wasn't sure if you'd want to get dressed before he arrives."
"I don't think we really need to," said Jordan. "After all, he's seen me like this a few times. And I don't suppose Jeremy minds, either – after all, there's nothing wrong with him. In fact, I think he looks good naked."
"Do you really? Thanks, Jordan," said Jeremy. "Still… I don't normally meet new people with nothing on..."
"Perhaps you're right. Let's get dressed, then."
So they got dressed, and they were just doing their laces up when Nigel arrived.
"Oh!" he said, finding a rather larger gathering than he had been expecting. "Hello, Jordan! I didn't know you were coming…"
"We didn't know you were, either," Jordan told him. "We'll have to stick a sign up saying 'Do not disturb', or something. This is my friend Jeremy. We'll go and leave you in peace."
"You don't have to," said John. "We said we wouldn't mind you being here while we… well, you know."
"I know, but… I'm sure you'd prefer a bit of privacy."
"Well… perhaps as there are two of you, it would be better. Still, there is something I'd like you to see first. Go on, Nigel, show him."
Nigel looked a bit reluctant, but after a moment he undid his trousers.
"No, you might as well take everything off," John told him. "After all, you'll need to as soon as they've gone, anyway."
Again Nigel hesitated, but then he nodded and started to strip. And once he was naked Jordan was immediately aware of what was different: all of Nigel's pubic hair had disappeared.
"What do you think?" John asked. "I think he looks nicer like that. It's like you said after you did it to Larkin: now I'm the only one with hair, so I'm the big boy and I do the boy stuff when we're together. And as Nigel prefers it that way anyway, we're both happy."
"It's not going to be so good when the chain goes back on, though," Jordan pointed out. "Now there's no hair to cushion it, it'll be more uncomfortable."
"I hadn't thought of that. Perhaps I'd better let him grow it again, then, because I don't want him to be uncomfortable."
"It's okay, I don't mind," said Nigel. "I know you prefer me like this, so I'll stay like it. I don't suppose the chain will be too much worse like this."
"I might not make you keep it on for long, anyway," said Jordan. "Are you still managing not to play with it?"
Nigel nodded. "It feels so much better when John does it, or when he gets me excited by… well, you know, doing it to me," he said, looking at Jeremy a bit nervously.
"It's okay, Jeremy and I do that, too," Jordan reassured him.
"Oh. Well, that's why I don't do it to myself any more, even without having the chain on."
"Great! In that case, I should think you can certainly have the chain off at the end of term. It wouldn't really be fair to make you keep wearing it right through the summer holidays, anyway. So, when is your last exam?"
"June the thirteenth."
"Okay. Wait for me after school that day and we'll sort the chain out again. And John, if you can come with him… well, I'll tell you then."
"Okay," said John, and he stepped forward and took hold of Nigel's now hairless penis and started to stroke it, and almost at once it stiffened up. Nigel put his arms round him, and Jordan noticed that the hair under his arms had disappeared, too.
"We'll leave you to it," he said, shoving a reluctant Jeremy in the direction of the stream. "Have fun."
They were kissing by now, and broke off long enough to mumble a farewell.
"I'd have liked to stay and watch that," complained Jeremy. "They said they didn't mind."
"I know, but we'd still have put them off. But if they think we've gone, they'll just carry on the way they usually do."
"'If they think we've gone'?" queried Jeremy.
"Yes. Now keep really quiet and don't step on any twigs."
Carefully Jordan circled around, finally approaching the clearing from the opposite side, where he had noticed a fallen tree. They crept up as far as this tree, and found that if they lay flat they could see underneath it into the clearing, while there was virtually no chance of either of the boys in the clearing seeing them.
John was just finishing removing his clothes, and once he was naked Nigel dropped to his knees in front of him and started sucking him.
"Eurghhh! What's he doing?" whispered Jeremy, sounding both disgusted and fascinated.
"He's sucking it for him. It feels really nice having it done, like having it rubbed, but better."
"Yes, but how can he actually do that? I don't think I could ever put another boy's thing in my mouth."
"You could if I made you."
"Oh, no! That's one punishment you're not giving me!"
"You'd better behave, then. Actually, everyone says it tastes okay: Larkin's done it for me loads of times, and he doesn't seem to mind so much now."
"I don't believe you. You're just trying to persuade me to do it to you, so you can pee in my mouth."
"I wouldn't do that."
"Yeah, I bet!"
"Okay, prove it: you let me put mine in your mouth first."
Jordan was silent. He knew he would never do that for anyone else – except maybe Charlie. He would certainly never do it for a boy who was old enough to have spunk come out. But Jeremy didn't have any spunk…
"Okay," he whispered. "I'll do it when we get back home."
"Really. Now shut up and watch."
After a bit Nigel stopped sucking and got down on his hands and knees, and very slowly John started to fuck him. By now Jordan was painfully stiff, so he turned carefully onto his side, undid his jeans and pushed them and his pants down a bit so that he could get hold of himself. He started to squeeze his erection gently, but then his hand was pushed away and Jeremy took over.
"Let me do that," whispered Jeremy. "You can play with mine. It'll be nicer that way."
Jeremy had also lowered his jeans and pants to his knees, so Jordan took hold of him and started to caress it, and they spent the next ten minutes or so fondling each other while watching John fucking Nigel.
Nigel had his climax first, crying out and moving his body, and Jordan saw the older boy ejaculating onto the ground. It took John another minute or so to reach his own orgasm, but it seemed to be a good one. Eventually they separated, cleaned themselves up and then lay down together for a cuddle.
"That's what we were doing," said Jeremy. "Shall we do it again?"
"Well… maybe not here. Let's go back home – I think those two have pretty much finished now, anyway."
So they got dressed and crept away until they were out of earshot, and then they ran back to Jordan's house, went to his bedroom and shut the door.
"Are you really going to put mine in your mouth?" asked Jeremy as they got undressed.
"If you want. I mean, okay, I'm supposed to be the older brother, but that doesn't mean I can't do stuff to make my little brothers feel nice, does it?"
"Great – so what do I have to do?"
"Nothing. You just lie on the bed and I'll do it for you. But if you pee in my mouth I'll kill you, okay? And I'm not joking, either."
So Jeremy reclined on the bed and Jordan lay down between his legs and started to suck, trying to do all the things that Larkin and Nigel had done when he had been on the receiving end. And Jeremy loved it, wriggling about and pushing Jordan's head down against him, and before too long he had a brilliant climax.
"Oh, wow, Jordan, that was amazing," he said. "Thanks. So, swap places and I'll do it to you."
"I thought you'd never let a boy do that to you?"
"I wouldn't – at least, I wouldn't let any other boy do it. But we're brothers, and best friends, so it's different. Now you'll have to tell me how to do it…"
So Jordan did, and it was wonderful.
They spent that night sharing Jordan's bed. Jeremy teased Jordan on and off for most of the evening, and at bedtime Jordan told him that as a punishment he wasn't going to be allowed to wear his pyjamas, but would have to sleep naked.
"Okay," said Jeremy at once. "Actually, I've been sleeping naked at home since that night at Charlie's – I think it feels a lot nicer than getting all tangled up in pyjamas. Why don't you sleep naked, too? Then you'll see how much better it feels."
So Jordan did, and he had to admit that it did feel nice, especially when you had a friend to wrestle with and to do other stuff with. And when they were both finally tired enough to go to sleep they settled down cuddled up together, and that felt nicer still.
"So," said Jordan, when they woke up the following morning, "do you want to try putting it up my bum? Only it seems to be really hard this morning."
"It's really hard most mornings. But… well, if you're really sure about this, I might as well give it a try."
So Jordan got out of bed long enough to find his jar of Vaseline and box of tissues, and then he got back into bed and started applying the Vaseline to both of them in the places where it would do most good. Then he pushed the blankets back and knelt up, spreading his legs.
It took a while, and a few changes of position, but eventually they found that when Jordan knelt on the floor and bent over the bed Jeremy was able to get it in. His penis was a bit shorter than Jordan's, and so he had to be careful not to pull back too much, but in the end he worked out the best way to do it, and they settled into a rhythm.
"So?" Jordan asked, after a couple of minutes of this, "What do you think?"
"It's nice. I'm not sure that it's really a lot better than when you put it in your mouth yesterday, but I still like it. It's not hurting you, is it?"
"No, it's fine… mind you, nobody has ever done this to me before, so I've got nothing to compare it to, but it feels good to me. I wonder if Charlie will agree to us trying this with him?"
"I should think so – I reckon we could talk him into almost anything."
"Maybe not – I don't think we ought to do what we did yesterday with him. After all, he's got this thing about having germs all over his cock, so if we start talking about sucking, I think it'll make him feel sick. But I think we might be able to do this with him… don't stop, Jeremy, that feels nice."
"Just taking a little break – I don't want to get excited too quickly."
"Okay, but we'll have to go down to breakfast before too long."
"Right. We'd better not let your mum come in and catch us like this."
"The door's locked, but still…"
So Jeremy started moving again. Jordan thought it did feel nice, but he didn't actually get excited: Jeremy reached his climax before that ever looked likely. But Jordan still thought he wouldn't mind doing this again if Jeremy wanted to.
Charlie arrived in time for lunch, and once they had eaten they took the tent Jordan's dad had found for them (actually he'd borrowed it from a friend at his office) and got it set up at the bottom of the garden. There was just about enough room in it for a double sleeping bag, but since they didn't need anything else – they would be eating and washing indoors – that was all they cared about.
Today Charlie had brought some old clothes to change into (he'd smuggled them out of his house at the bottom of the bag that held his clean clothes, towel and washing kit), so when they went to chase each other through the woods that afternoon he was able to roll about on the ground and scramble up trees without worrying about getting his clothes dirty. And today he joined in everything enthusiastically: he seemed to have completely escaped from his mother's influence for once.
After they had been in the woods for a couple of hours he told them that he needed to pee.
"Shouldn't have had that third glass of lemonade at lunch time," Jordan told him.
"I know. But… well, now I need to go."
"What would you do if we weren't here?"
"I'd just go behind a tree, pull my shorts and pants down and do it, I suppose. I mean, I can't really sit down to do it out here."
"Yes, you can," said Jordan, looking around. "There's a tree stump over there. Come on."
He led Charlie over to the stump, and Jeremy followed them.
"Now, you can perch on the edge of the stump," Jordan said. "Except it would probably be best if you took your shorts and pants right off, because otherwise you might pee on them."
"What, out here?" asked Charlie, nervously.
"Don't worry, there's nobody about. Yesterday Jeremy was cheeky to me, so I stripped him bare and made him play completely naked for almost an hour."
"Wow! Really? No clothes at all?"
"Just my shoes," Jeremy confirmed. "I shouldn't have been allowed those really, but there were too many brambles about on the path. Actually, it was sort of fun, having nothing on outdoors."
"Well… okay, then," said Charlie, demonstrating that he really had come a long way since the first time Jordan had visited him. Jordan decided to see how far.
"You'd better take off your shoes and socks, too," he said. "There's a bit of a breeze, and it might blow your pee onto your foot, and you don't want to be stuck in wet socks all afternoon."
"I suppose not," agreed Charlie, and he stood on the stump and removed everything except his watch and his tee shirt. Then he perched on the edge of the stump and spread his legs.
"Hold on a moment," said Jeremy. "Yesterday I went bare – let's see if you're brave enough to do the same. I dare you to take your shirt off, too."
"Okay, but if I do, you've both to strip some time before I go home."
"Fair enough," agreed Jeremy, and Jordan nodded, so Charlie pulled the shirt over his head and handed it to Jordan, who was already holding his other clothes.
Charlie spread his legs again and started to pee, and when he had finished Jordan took a tissue from his pocket and dried the tip of Charlie's penis with it.
"I don't know, Jordan," said Jeremy. "Do you think he deserves to get his clothes back? I think we ought to hang on to them for a bit – until he's climbed a tree, say."
"Well… perhaps you're right. Let's keep him bare until we find a good tree for him to try."
A month ago Charlie would have gone berserk at that suggestion, but now he just grinned at them. Jordan gave him his shoes back and they walked a little further into the wood until they came to a suitably climbable tree, and then Charlie scrambled up into it, getting quite a long way up.
"We could just go home now and leave him here, couldn't we?" suggested Jeremy, loudly.
"I suppose we could. Do you think we should?" replied Jordan. But Charlie wouldn't bite: he stayed where he was for a few seconds longer, and then climbed back down, slowly and unconcernedly.
"How did you know we wouldn't?" Jeremy asked him.
"Because you're my friends, and my brothers. I trust you. Don't you know that by now?"
"One day I might just run off with your clothes anyway, just to see your face," said Jeremy. "But not today. You can get dressed again."
"I don't mind staying bare a bit longer. You were right – it is fun. It feels sort of interesting when the breeze blows round my willy…"
"Aren't you afraid we're going to tease you about having a small one?" asked Jeremy.
"Not really. Okay, I got all embarrassed the first couple of times you saw me undressed, but now I don't really mind any more. Brothers are allowed to tease each other, so you can both tease me as much as you like. As long as you don't mind me making jokes about your glasses."
"That depends whether or not you mind getting spanked," Jeremy said, advancing on him. Charlie gave a mock squeal of terror and ran away, but Jeremy caught him fairly quickly, dragged him back as far as the path and spanked him lightly.
They walked on into the wood, and after a bit Charlie did get dressed again, but only because he was being bothered by flies: at least with his clothes on there were less bits of him they could get at. But after a bit longer they decided that it would be better to go back, because the flies were becoming a nuisance to all of them.
"How did it feel, having to pee with no clothes on?" Jordan asked, as they headed back towards his house.
Charlie shrugged. "It was okay," he said. "Actually, it felt sort of interesting. I've never done anything like that before – not outdoors, anyway. Obviously I sometimes pee indoors without any clothes on, like if I'm about to have a bath, or something. But…I don't know, I sort of liked doing it out here in the woods like that."
"You'd never have done anything like that before the Easter holidays."
"I know. But you've changed me a bit. I don't feel quite so shy now – at least, not with you two. I wouldn't want anyone else to see me, though."
After tea they watched TV for a while until it was time for bed, and then they went and got washed, collected their pyjamas and went out to the tent.
"The good news is that Mum's going shopping in the morning," Jordan told them. "That means we don't have to get up until we feel like it. Of course, if we stay here too long we'll have to get our own breakfast, but I don't mind that too much. So: we already know that Jeremy isn't allowed to wear anything in bed, because he's too cheeky. So the question, is, are we going to let Charlie wear his pyjamas, or not?"
"Not," said Jeremy, firmly.
Charlie looked a bit uncertain. "Well…" he said, "okay, I won't wear any, either. But only if Jordan sleeps bare as well. That way it'll be fair for all of us."
"That seems fair," said Jeremy, before Jordan could argue – though in fact Jordan had no intention of arguing: he thought it would be fun if they all slept naked. So they all got undressed and had a three-way wrestle on top of the sleeping bag. Charlie seemed a bit nervous at first, flinching away when either of the other two touched him with their genitals, but Jordan said that they could all have a bath the following morning, and that he really shouldn't worry too much about a few germs when the bath would safely wipe them all out within a few hours.
Once they were sufficiently tired they opened the sleeping bag.
"Charlie's turn in the middle, I think," said Jordan, and Jeremy backed him up, so they installed Charlie in the middle and climbed in on either side of him, pulling the sleeping bag over them and cuddling up to him.
"This feels really cosy," said Charlie. "I bet we could even do this in the winter, because we'd keep each other nice and warm like this."
"I think we might need a thicker sleeping bag. Still, it's certainly warm enough for this time of year," Jordan told him.
"I should have brought my book, so you could read me a bedtime story before we go to sleep," said Charlie.
"I'm sure you'll manage without for once. Or I could tell you a story about a boy who had two cheeky little brothers, and when they wouldn't go to sleep he had to spank them until they were too sore to stay awake."
"And then one day the two younger brothers rebelled and spanked the nasty bullying big brother so hard that he couldn't sleep for a month," said Jeremy.
"Try it and see what happens."
"No, I can't be bothered right now. Maybe tomorrow."
"And maybe not. Let's just go to sleep."
But an hour or so later he was woken up by a terrific thunderstorm: the rain was beating on the canvas and there were occasional flashes of lightning and cracks of thunder. Jordan didn't mind thunderstorms, but he wondered if Charlie would be scared. But Charlie just lay on his back looking completely unconcerned.
"This feels really good," he said. "It's raining really hard out there, but we're cosy and warm and dry. I don't think I'd like it quite so much if I was on my own, but with you two here it feels good."
"What do you think, Jeremy?" asked Jordan, but somehow Jeremy was still asleep: the thunder hadn't woken him up at all.
"That proves how much he trusts us," said Charlie. "If he can relax enough to sleep through all that noise he must be really sure we'll look after him."
"Well, he's right, but he must be deaf, as well as relaxed. I don't see how anyone could sleep thorough all that racket."
They lay together listening to the rain on the canvas. Charlie snuggled up close and put his arm round Jordan's shoulders, and soon he was asleep again. It took Jordan a little longer to drop off, but eventually, with the storm dying away, he too fell asleep.
He was woken up the following morning by Jeremy tickling him, though as soon as Jordan opened his eyes Jeremy immediately stopped and tried to look angelically innocent. Jordan thought about starting a wrestling match, but he decided that it could wait, so instead he rolled over onto his back. The rain had stopped and the sun was shining – at least, it seemed pretty bright outside to judge from the roof of the tent.
"So, what are we going to do today?" Jeremy asked him.
"Apart from beating you up, you mean?
"Apart from you wasting your time trying to catch me, yes."
"Well… I think maybe we should teach Charlie a bit more about sex."
"Goodee!" said Charlie, who was obviously also wide awake. "What am I going to learn?"
"We'll show you once we get indoors. There's a bit more room in my bedroom than there is here."
So once they had eaten breakfast and Jordan's mother had left to go shopping they went up to Jordan's bedroom and got undressed once more.
"So, what are you going to teach me?" Charlie asked again.
"Well, you remember last time, how I told you a bit about fucking? Well, me and Jeremy have tried it a couple of times, and we've found that it doesn't hurt – in fact, it feels really nice. And we thought maybe you'd like to find out what it's like."
"Oh. Well… I'm not sure if I do," said Charlie, doubtfully.
"Obviously you don't have to if you don't want, but… well, we like it, and we thought it would be nice to share what it feels like with you."
"Well… okay, then. But you have to stop if I tell you to. So which of you is going to… you know… do it?"
"We thought perhaps you'd prefer Jeremy first, because he's not quite as big as me, and obviously he's your best friend, so it should be him really."
"Okay, then. What do I have to do?"
"Well, you kneel down over the edge of the bed. We'll need to get you ready first…"
Jordan got out his tissues and his Vaseline, and once Charlie was in position he started running his finger gently round Charlie's hole, then very carefully penetrating it a little, then pushing it as far in as it would go. Charlie didn't mind any of this and in fact he said it felt quite nice, though when Jordan added a second finger it did hurt a bit and he said so. So Jordan withdrew it and kept working with one finger for a bit longer, and only when he was sure Charlie was ready did he try the second finger once more. And this time Charlie said it didn't hurt so much.
Eventually Jordan thought he was ready, so he applied a little more Vaseline and told Jeremy to try doing it for real – and once it was inside Charlie said it didn't hurt at all.
Jeremy fucked him steadily for five or six minutes before reaching his orgasm, and once it was over he withdrew.
"That was okay," said Charlie. "I quite liked it – and it's made me go hard, look. Can you do it for a bit longer?"
"Sorry. I'll need to wait for a bit before I can do it again. But I expect Jordan could take over, if you like."
Charlie looked Jordan's erection a little doubtfully.
"Well... I suppose so, if he's careful," he said.
"Brilliant!" said Jordan, reaching for the Vaseline and starting to rub some onto his penis.
Jeremy took a couple of tissues and wiped himself, and then nipped to the toilet, telling them to wait until he got back, and when he did he found Jordan carefully anointing Charlie's bum with the lubricant.
"Can we try doing this a bit differently?" Jeremy asked. "Suppose I lie on my back, and Charlie lies on top of me facing me, and then Jordan can lie on top of Charlie and do it to him. That way I can hold Charlie and make sure he's okay while it's happening."
"Okay," said Jordan. "We can try it like that if you like."
So Jeremy lay on his back on the bed, and Charlie lay down on top of him, facing him. For a moment he seemed a little nervous about having Jeremy's penis touching his balls, but then he remembered that he would be having a bath straight after this, and after that he was able to relax.
Jordan got him to spread his legs, so that his knees were on either side of Jeremy's thighs, and then he rubbed a little more Vaseline onto Charlie's entrance and got onto the bed himself. It was hard to get into position at first, but after a bit of manoeuvring he managed to get where he needed to be.
"Okay, Charlie, try to push back a bit, as if you were trying to have a shit," he said.
Charlie got the idea, and Jordan pushed, and Charlie let out a sort of muffled squeak.
"Okay?" asked Jordan, pausing.
"Yes – you're just a bit bigger than Jeremy, that's all. Carry on."
So Jordan carried on, and eventually it was all the way in and he was able to start moving.
"Oh, wow!" said Charlie, as Jordan's penis began to massage his prostate. "That feels really nice!"
"What about you, Jeremy – we're not too heavy, are we?"
Jeremy shook his head. "Charlie's pretty light, and anyway, I'm super-strong."
"Yeah, right. That's why I always win our fights."
"Only because I let you."
"Maybe we'll see later on. Charlie, you're not getting too squashed, are you?"
"No, it feels sort of cosy. It's nice having you on both sides of me."
"We're a Charlie sandwich," said Jeremy, which made Jordan laugh so much that his penis slipped out and he had to go through the business of getting it in once more.
He got back into his rhythm, and soon Charlie was wriggling about.
"I'm getting that funny feeling again," he said. "Like last time, when I thought I was going to pee but didn't."
"You'd better not, not while I'm underneath you," said Jeremy.
"You'd better be nice to me, then," said Charlie.
His wriggling about and gasping got more pronounced, and suddenly he gave a cry and stopped moving. Jordan kept thrusting, but slowly, wanting Charlie to get the most out of this, and only when he felt Charlie relax beneath him did he speed up again.
"Is it okay if I keep going?" he asked, pausing. "I mean, if it feels uncomfortable now it's happened to you, I'll stop."
"No, it's okay. It still feels nice."
"Great! Thanks, Charlie." And Jordan started up again, keeping going steadily until he felt the moment approaching. He slowed down a little, wanting to make it last, but soon he couldn't hold it back any longer.
Charlie gave a gasp as Jordan's last couple of thrusts were harder and deeper than most of what had gone before – and then it was over, and Jordan relaxed on top of him, breathing heavily.
"You can do it some more if you want," Charlie told him. "It still feels nice – in fact, I think if you do it a little bit more I'll get that weird feeling again."
"Sorry, Charlie," said Jordan, pushing himself up and out. "I can't do it any more. But maybe Jeremy could rub it for you while I get cleaned up."
Jeremy thought that was a good idea, and so he rolled Charlie off him, pushed him onto his back and started to rub the little penis. Jordan wiped himself down and went to the bathroom for a pee, after which he started running the bath.
He got back just as Charlie was experiencing another orgasm, giving a series of little high cries as it happened to him.
"Okay," he said when it was over, "it's bath time. Youngest first – come on, Charlie."
They followed him into the bathroom. Charlie had a pee first, letting Jeremy wipe his penis afterwards, and then got into the bath and let them wash him thoroughly, making sure that his bottom in particular was clean. Then, while Jordan was drying Charlie off, Jeremy got into the bath and just sat there.
"Come on, big brother," he said. "You're supposed to be washing me, too."
So Jordan washed him, making sure he was suitably rough around Jeremy's sensitive areas, but Jeremy didn't seem to mind at all, continuing to insult Jordan throughout, no matter how sharply Jordan twisted his erection.
Finally Jordan ran a little more hot water and got into the bath himself, and that of course gave Jeremy a chance for revenge, though he did make sure Jordan was thoroughly washed at the same time.
When Jordan's mother got home from the shops she found them all wearing clean clothes and looking sweet and innocent, playing Monopoly round the dining room table. Appearances can be so deceptive…
Okay, so everything in Jordan's world is sweetness and light. But after this side expedition into the world of happy, consensual activity we need to return to the main thread of the narrative, and that means that we'll have to get back to David, who is about to discover that Dhif isn't going to let him off after all. On the contrary...
This is the point at which I give you my mail address and ask you to send me your reactions, so if you have any comments send them to email@example.com – I always enjoy getting feedback!
Copyright 2009: all rights reserved. Please do not reprint, repost or otherwise reproduce this or any part of it anywhere without my written permission.
David Clarke


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Friday, September 02, 2016
Comic Cuts - 2 September 2016
Actually, the week got off to a poor start with a trip to the dentist... I'm now due to have my back molar taken out under anaesthetic next Wednesday, which I'm not really looking forward to. My regular dentist has passed me on to another surgery because it's a deep-rooted tooth and they're planning to drug me up and then shunt me off home in a taxi. Mel has had to take time off work to make sure I get home safely as I gather I'll be in no fit state to look after myself.
I nipped along to a local history show on Saturday to have a chat with the chap who runs the local history society and asked him about Mary Norton, who featured in a column a couple of weeks ago. I knew she had lived in West Street but not where. John, an expert in local history, actually remembered meeting her when he was around 10 or 11, so was able to confirm that she lived at number 27 in the late 1950s and early 1960s before moving to Arlesford, a mile or so down the road, in 1963 or 1964. You can see her West Street house at the head of this post.
Our landlady seemed most impressed with our tomato plants, which are providing us with another reasonable crop of tomatoes. I think the figure from last year was 141 tomatoes in total... but I don't think we're going to get that many this year. We've had 64 tomatoes so far. I just don't think we'll get another eighty, although we can comfort ourselves with the knowledge that we've had four cucumbers compared to last year's three—and very tasty they were, too! The first one was huge, as you can see from the photo. That's a pound coin sitting next to it.
I'm not sure if the yellow tomatoes have a special name, but they're incredibly sweet.
I did warn you that this week was a dull one. I spent Tuesday putting features unused in the magazine up onto the Hotel Business website, so for the next two weeks you'll be able to read a seemingly endless stream of articles about putting together your Christmas menu. (Only "seemingly endless" because it does end after two weeks.) That meant starting on the next issue on Wednesday, attacking a build up of over 200 emails. My delete key is almost worn out!
Next up for me is the ongoing bits of research I'm doing for the next book, interrupted by trying to write some reviews, which you'll be seeing here shortly.
Our random scans this week are five titles from the pen of Patrick Quentin, the pen-name used by Richard Wilson Webb and Hugh Callingham Wheeler in collaboration and later by Wheeler alone.
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default zoom for new windows is 55%, cannot reset back to 100%
This problem just started happening recently, but my default window zoom is now 55%.
Changing the default zoom to 100% under Options. Appearance, User Interface Zoom has no affect on new or old windows and all windows zoom has to be changed by hand.
Any ideas on what is causing this problem and how to resolve it?
Mac OSX 10.12.3 and Vivaldi 1.8.770.54 (Stable channel) (64-bit).
I'd be happy to reset my configuration if that is what it takes to resolve the problem.
Thanks in advance.
This is still a problem for me under:
1.9.818.44 (Stable channel) (64-bit)
Does anyone have any thoughts on how to either
a) debug it?
b) reset it?
c) diagnose it?
It basically makes Vivaldi unusable as my main browser as I have to reset the page zoom by hand for every page I open.
@Ayespy In this case, it was purely something in my Preferences file.
Thanks for the tip!


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On Sunday I finished the painting of Winfrith Heath. The photograph above was taken indoors on an overcast day, and doesn't really do it justice. I will have it photographed properly soon, and get it up on my website.
The light on the heath is particularly spectacular, with some beautiful contrasting golden hues against the shimmery blues of the distance. One great thing about painting on the heath in winter is that the lack of foliage on the trees, and the fact that the long grass has died back, gives you longer, more panoramic views. Vistas that are obscured by heavy growth during the summer and autumn become visible. This is particularly noticeable when you sit on the ground, as I do.
Today, instead of having the whole of the day to paint, I found that I had blown that opportunity by leaving the boot of the car open overnight on my return from yesterday's painting trip. This morning the battery was flat. Then I had to wait for the AA.
Interestingly, having only an hour or so to spend on the heath today focussed me with a feeling of urgent determination. The lower picture shows the start I made on the painting during this short time. I'm pretty pleased with it - although it obviously has a long way to go. I'm very inspired by the view, and can't wait to get out there again. I love the feeling of being 'brought alive' by a view.


text: Here's an opportunity in PGNX folks! Down 4% on some news from a competitor ADLR~ they updated their timeline for a product that treats constipation like PGNX's does~ it's a race to toilet bowl nirvana in stock land. How quickly we forget the good vibe after PGNX's recent earnings. 4Q Results Thursday March 15, NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of drug developer Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc. rose Thursday after the company said it narrowed its fourth-quarter loss on a jump in reimbursement for research and development activities. The stock rose $1.16 cents, or 5.1 percent, to close at $23.76 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The company reported a fourth-quarter loss narrower than Wall Street expected. Revenue jumped to $21.9 million from $2 million from a partnership with Wyeth over oral methylnaltrexone, a treatment for constipation caused by pain medication. Piper Jaffray analyst Caroline Stewart reaffirmed an "Outperform" rating with a $28 price target, citing the company's fourth-quarter revenue and cash position. "The company ended the year with $149 million in cash and equivalents, in our view enough to support operations through the launch of all three planned formulations of lead candidate methylnaltrexone," she wrote in a note to investors. RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Yee reaffirmed a "Outperform" rating with a $35 price target, citing positive expectations for the company. "We continue to believe Progenics is at an important juncture as partner Wyeth reiterated its expectation to file a new drug application for methylnaltrexone this quarter," Yee wrote. "If a Priority Review is granted, approval could come in the third quarter." Citigroup analyst Dr. Yaron Werber reaffirmed a "Buy" rating with a $33 price target, citing a positive outlook for the company's product pipeline. >> I'll shout out to the hedge fund monday to see if they are still in it- was a fave'. & I'll have some info on the other player in this great race- ADLR.


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I kneaded the dough by hand (since I was visiting my mum when I made the recipe and didn't have access to a good mixer) but I would recommend using a KitchenAid. Unless of course you're trying to use the 5 minute knead as your excuse for skipping the gym, then by all means, skip the mixer.
What is your favorite pretzel recipe?
Yeast should foam before being added to the flour…
doubled in size…
Yield: 12 pretzels
4 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 c warm water
5 cups flour
1/2 c white sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 T olive oil
1/4 c baking soda
2 c hot water
kosher salt
1-2 T butter, melted (optional)
In a small bowl, mix yeast and 1 tsp sugar with warm water. Allow to stand for 5-10 minutes until mixture becomes foamy.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Add in oil and mix by hand. Add in yeast mixture and use a mixer to thoroughly mix dough together. Add in an extra 1-2 T water if dough is too dry to work with. Knead for about 5 minutes (7 minutes by hand). Form into a ball and lightly oil ball. Place in large bowl and place a towel over top. Place in a warm area and allow to double in size.
In a medium bowl, mix baking soda and hot water together. Preheat oven to 450F.
Once dough has doubled in size, form into a log shape. Cut into 12 equal pieces, roll out and form each piece into a pretzel. Dip pretzels in the baking soda/water mixture and place on greased baking sheet (6 pretzels per sheet). Sprinkle with kosher salt.
Bake in oven for 8 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter.
*slightly adapted from this recipe
If you enjoyed this pretzel recipe, you may want to check out the Fried Shell Taco Salad recipe…


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It's hard watching your child fail, no matter how hours they spend working their hearts out. Not to mention all the time you invested helping them.
But what if your child did just 5% better on her next test. And another 5% a few short weeks after that. After a while it all starts to add up, you know?
Some experts will tell you it can't be done. They might not tell you that to your face, of course. (Okay, some WILL tell you straight out). Instead they tell you not to get your hopes up, to take things day by day.
I'm here to tell you that it can be done. And there are two things you have got to do in order to make it happen:
- Keep the dream alive, and imagine your child as a success.
- Work on improving the skills behind the 3 R's.
Want to know how to do that? Take a look at the list below, and dig in. And if you finish this list and want to learn more about how to turbo charge your child's learning skills, you can look into one-on-one consulting.
Let's get your kid back on track,
6 Fun Games to Help Improve Your Child's Fine Motor Coordination
Improve Your Preschooler's Thinking Skills
How to Teach Your Kindergartner to Read and Write 3- Letter Words
Teach Your Child the Months of the Year in Less Than a Week
How to Teach Your Child to Tell Time
Teach Your Kindergartner to Spell Simple Words
How to Improve Your Child's Handwriting


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In my Schizophrenic Theory of Lost, I tried to provide a plausible explanation for "how" Dave might have manifested (i.e., Hurley's bicameral mind). In this update, I posit a simple explanation "why" I think Dave appeared to Hurley when he did on the Island.
Recall that Dave manifests shortly after Hurley has destroyed his stash of junk food. Upon doing so, Hurley tells Libby "I feel free!" They then stumble on the food drop, where Sawyer tries to renlist Hurley as food distributor. When Hurley refuses, Dave appears.
I believe the timing of that appearance was no coincidence. Someone (or thing) sensed that Hurley was beginning to break free of the Island's hold over his mind. When this suspicion was confirmed by Hurley's refusal to reassume food duty (Hurley's "job" as Locke once put it) Dave was sent as a probe.
Notice how Dave next appears when Hurley has broken down and is scarfing his deliciously salty Dharma snacks. Dave nods approvingly until Hurley drops the box and denies Dave's reality. When Dave next appears, it's to convince Hurley to kill himself.
I believe that was no coincidence, either. The Island was testing its psychic control over Hurley's mind. When he demonstrated disturbing signs of liberation, the Island decided to give him a scare.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
I Feel Free!
Posted by bigmouth at 2:36 PM
1 comments:
Holy God....I never knew someone was this intelligent about everything in LOST and beyond.
We're not worthy my man.
~Adam "a.k.a Triple J @ Fuselage.com"
P.S Why don't you post this on Fuselage?
- June 6, 2006 at 2:09 PM
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Relax in Paradise. Our Cowpet Bay West Condo has all the comforts of home. Remodeled, fully equipped kitchen, dining area, two bedrooms ( 2 new Kings & 1 new Twin ), 2 full bathrooms, washer & dryer, cable TV, wireless internet, phone, Sony Docking Station, Gas Grill, beach towels, sand toys and more. All within a gated community.
Unwind on the balcony off the living room or Master Bedroom, gaze at Cowpet Bay and views of islands further out in the Caribbean Sea. Head out the front door and your toes are in the warm sand and water within seconds, swim, snorkel or just relax reading a book under a palm trees or tan on the lounge chairs. Book a day sail, para-sailing or water sport rentals are available on the beach. Picturesque pool and hot tub right behind the beach to our left. Two restaurants ( Caribbean Fish Market & Sangria's ), Fitness Center and Day Spa are available right on site. We are right next to the Ritz with additional Restaurants and shops.
Five minute ride to Red Hook, enjoy shopping, dining at 10 to 12 restaurants and bars. Take a Ferry for Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands, Tortolla ( passport required ) or a 20 minute ferry ride to St. John ( no passport required ) for more shopping, dinning, beaches ( Hawksnest, Trunk Bay, Cinnimon Bay ), diving, snorkeling and sailing.
Our condo in St Thomas is truly in Paradise with endless opportunities for the greatest vacation of a lifetime.
Planning a Wedding or Family gathering and need more room, see our other Beach Front Two Bedroom Condo, two doors away ( VRBO # 3533869ha or Homeaway # 3533869 ).


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National Go Skateboarding Day with Larson's!
June 21st was National Go Skateboarding Day! We were able to work alongside the City of Wheat Ridge to help sponsor a super successful day of skateboarding! If you missed out, watch the video above to see the days events!
Want to be apart of our next great event? Head on over to our facebook page to hear the latest news on upcoming events and more!