Yesterday was the 11th anniversary of my brain surgery. I celebrated, appropriately enough, by waking up at 4:30 a.m. with a mild but persistent headache that faded in and out but never completely went away for the rest of the day. (I’m pretty sure it was due more to the approaching storm than to the anniversary, though. Over the last few years I’ve been finding that the headaches coincide more and more frequently with big changes in atmospheric pressure.)

When I got up, I took a hot bath. I’m not really sure if that actually does much good or if it just gives me somewhere pleasant and relaxing to lie down while I wait for the headache to pass. Three or four drops of lavender or rosemary in the bath water sometimes seems to help, though.