I learn how to speak a forgotten language

(In which I draw too many conclusions from etymology.)

Is the world of Ancillary Justice our far future? When people in this setting say human, do they mean Homo sapiens? It only occurred to me to wonder last night after I realized that Radch is cognate with Raj and Reich; before that I would cheerfully have assumed the story was taking place anywhere with comparably hominid sexual dimorphism, in the same way that secondary-world fantasies never worry about parallel evolution. I'm still not sure it's relevant. Nice way of embedding echoes, though.

It seemed to last for days

We have a stove. All four burners work without needing to be lit by hand. The oven works. The broiler works. None of it has been inhabited by small animals or encrusted in years of ignored grease. It was delivered this afternoon by subcontractors from Sears; when they left, they took the old one away. For the first time since we moved here in October, I will be able to bake without using the toaster oven.

(I will probably still make lasagna in the toaster oven, because I want to see if I can. But after that, I don't know, I could make cookies or a pie or something. Or broil a chicken. Or bake noodles and cheese. This is going to be awesome.)