night guard for teeth

The ENT recommended an over-the-counter night guard to protect me from clenching my teeth/jaw in my sleep. I got one a few days ago, tried following the instructions on how to shape it, and found that it was uncomfortable enough that I couldn't fall asleep.

So, yesterday I tried reforming it, and seem to have gotten a better fit. It's still distracting, but less so:; I fell asleep with it on, woke in the middle of the night, took it out, and went back to sleep. I hope that even wearing it for part of the night will do some good, although so far it's not preventing the odd feeling in my ear that was the symptom that got me to the ENT in the first place.

The instructions say to put it in an hour before going to sleep. Whoever wrote that presumably sleeps alone, because having the thing in interferes with talking. My tentative plan is to put it on a few minutes before turning the light out, and see how it goes.

tofu with squash and ginger

I cooked the Smitten Kitchen tofu and squash with ginger for supper tonight.cattitude and I both liked it, and also noted things we could do differently--this is a thing he does with new recipes, especially when he did the cooking.

I liked this dish when adrian_turtle cooked it, but she did most of the work that time, so I wasn't sure of timing. Also, the squash we had was about half the size the recipe calls for, and I reduced the tofu accordingly. In retrospect, I should have used more tofu (say, 3/4 of the package instead of half) and/or made less of the marinade. Also, the recipe calls for a one-inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated*; I think I grated about half an inch, and this wasn't enough.

I didn't toast the sesame seeds, because I didn't want things to feel rushed. I should probably either toast them, or leave them out altogether.

I'm thinking of buying a package of peeled and seeded butternut squash next time, if I'm sure I'll cook this within a few days.

*I didn't bother peeling it, just grabbed the bag of frozen ginger, cut off an end, and started grating.