u/mildly_spicy_potato

A few months ago I noticed two things: I was refilling the water fountain more often, and the crystal cat litter was getting soaked instead of absorbing pee. I didn't know anything about diabetes, and so I blamed both on the summer heat.

Then a couple weeks ago I noticed my 9 year old cat Pookie was losing weight. Fast. She felt lighter every time I picked her up, and went from a soft chonk to super boney. I booked her an appointment. The first pic is her in June, and the second is from this August.

I initially thought she might have hyperthyroidism. She was eating and drinking a lot, still active, and had no behavior changes. I got her to the vet and did blood and urine tests. The vet called me a few days later and Pookie's blood sugar was in the high 400s, and she had glucose in her urine as well. She asked me to bring Pookie in right away to start insulin.

The vet tech spent about an hour with me teaching me how to give Pookie her injections and where to prick her ear for testing. As a black cat, it's nearly impossible to see and avoid the veins, but she told me if I do hit it to just put a tissue on it and hold pressure until it stops. I was able to pay for the vet appointments, needles, sharps bin, and insulin (Lantus) this month, but have to wait until next month to be able to buy the Alphatrak glucometer. I have PCOS and struggle with hypoglycemia, so I already had a Freestyle Freedom Lite glucometer that I can use for now, keeping in mind that super high or super low readings might be off. I'm already home all day watching my young son, so I declined a CGM and plan to manually check her every couple hours until her next appointment. Then based on her record and what the vet thinks, I'll probably switch to checking every 6 hours.

Pookie has been on insulin for 5 days now. At first she was still having really high peaks, so I switched her from her senior blend dry food to high protein grain free wet food. She's still acting like herself, and now only has the occasional spike in her levels. The third pic is her over the past 48 hours. She's still behaving super normal: active and silly, snuggly and affectionate. I'm glad I took her to the vet when I did and she didn't have a DKA crisis.

I've enjoyed reading the posts on this sub over the past few days. It's been such a learning curve, but I feel like it will all be okay.

TL:DR Pookie lost a ton of weight but was acting fine. Took her to the vet and she was diagnosed with diabetes. Started insulin and tracking glucose. Pookie is acting like nothing happened.

It's a Kenmore 790 series but the model number was removed so I included pics of the valve and ignitor model numbers since they were the only ones I could find. Probably liquidation from Sears. I got it used about 6 months and the heat has been pretty inconsistent.

Took the bottom cover and heat shield off to check the igniter. From click to flame it was 41 seconds. No big woosh when it lit.

My MIL gave me her bread maker since she hadn't used it in years. Decided to try a loaf with some sourdough starter discard now that it's a couple weeks old. Came out with fantastic taste and texture!

I have a pretty basic Kenmore gas range that I got used. Couldn't find the model number, but I think it's a 790

The issue is with the oven burner. The flame is bright orange no matter what temperature I set it at. And it's burning whatever I cook on the ends while leaving the middle underdone. The included pic has the floor panel removed so you can see it better. It's not missing.

I put an oven thermometer inside, and if I place it in the middle, it's lower than when I set the oven to. If I place it to the left or right, it's way higher.

Like, check out these crackers I made, they came out burnt AND mushy. 😭

I described all this to a repair tech over the phone and he said it was probably a valve issue and would be more expensive to repair (parts and labor) than replace.

The cooktop works fine, even blue flames, responsive ignition, literally no issues and I've made some great dishes that needed precise heat control. So it's just the oven burner that's an issue.

Any thoughts? Is the repair tech right?

Day 9 of my very first starter. Began with 60g whole wheat and 60g water. Been feeding AP flour: discard half then 1:1:1. I had a good amount of rise day 3&4 then it calmed down. Until now.

This is 12 hours after feeding and it way more than doubled. Smells like beer and the lid is stuck (canning ring and folded cheesecloth).

Immediate regret

This was a two day project, because the mini baguettes take 6 hours with all the rising and cooling time.

I used heirloom tomatoes for the bruschetta, and it's so savory!

I've only ever made pizza crust before, never full on bread. This took all day and tastes amazing. Also my house smells so good now.

This human can definitely live on bread alone.

These mini baguettes are already 4 hours in the making. As I'm about to pop them into the oven I'm so grateful for the extra time in my life for my hobbies.

P.s. We need a flair for like, post-mormon/ex-mormon testimonys

Baby is almost 8 months now. We started bed sharing during the 4m sleep regression. He will shove his face either into my underboob or my armpit, and always has a hand on me somewhere. He has a glow in the dark binky he uses all night. In addition to being a single mom, I was unable to breastfeed. While we aren't attached at the nip, he still needs constant contact to fall asleep. (I exclusively pump so he still gets all the goods.)

Blueberry Tart!

The heatwave broke a bit and I finally felt able to stand over a stove for the afternoon.

I ended up using a spring form pan since I didn't have a fancy tart pan (and neither did Walmart) but it still came out great!