hi, i have done my vermont thing- shoveling all that snow. i wish there was something solid to say about my woodworking adventure. there are good things, like how much other people are willing and able to do. I wrote to the sixteenth player for my team who is the remaining question mark. if he joins then the potentail for a grant is good. if he refuses it would be an emotional let down but not the end. he is the chief curator for the Museum of Art and Design in NYC. He owns one of my suspended lamps from back in the day, 25 years ago. he worked for the smithsoninan at the time and bought a lamp for the museum as well. we'll see!!

Hey all, spoke with Doc Noble last night. She is turning 65 but dosen't want to retire. They put her into the physical planning department and she hates it. She was in research & development and has some patents pending. She probably will retire in another year. She asked me about getting a commercial cook stove and I refered her to Wolfe. She still does hobbies and cooking. Said to say hello to all.

Wow--falling trees, bathroom problems. We just have a lot of rain right now and huge puddles in the streets. People here don't know how to drive in the rain, so there are always a lot of accidents when it rains.

Congratulations, Richard. We're rooting for you!

Actually, this one just sheared off about 8 foot up Roland. But I have since heard the same thing that you said. We have lots of trees on all sides of our house and I love the privacy and shade but this is the second tree to come down. The first one was a Sweet Gum and it just took out a few branches of other trees. Everytime the wind picks up, like today, I am nervous.

My best to everyone. Especially Richard in your new venture and Pat with the bathroom. Oh, I forgot to say that after they finished my bathroom ceiling on Monday, patched the hole and painted ....... the roofers came on Tu and the main guy lost his balance and put his foot through my bathroom ceiling!! Hope you are having better luck Pat.

Karen, forgot to warn you about the pines here. You really don't want any near your house as they will eventually come down on it. They have a very shallow root system and those ice storms and winds just knock them over espically after long rains when the ground is totally saturated. They do look nice though.

Bite your tongue tongue Kathi! If we got that much snow we'll have no school tomorrow which means an extra day on the other end. No thank you very much.

So glad things are looking good for you Richard. Doesn't it feel good when things are working the way you hoped?

Big Snows in Vermont today. No School!!! The storm has moved north so we are only suppose to get 8-10 inches instead of the 12-20 inches that Patti will probably get...sorry!!! We'll see. Sad days in the schools...a 5th grader in Linda Labonte's class was killed skiing at Okemeo on Monday. Send some Happy Thoughts...to his family and all the other children in Springfield.

hi lori, my meetings went really well today. there is synergy going that i hope won't stop. i am exhausted now. i have the best people that i can imagine who are willing to help me and i am having fun. they are having fun too. if i can just win this grant money we will do some awesome work that will surely by in a magazine or two. got a long way to go.

How did your meeting go today, Richard? Good luck! Hope it's going the way you want it to.

Karen, I'd like some of your leftovers, too!

Karen, I would love to come over. I'll bring some friends (a lot of them). Don't worry about the roof, we like fresh air and loud music is good. Kinda like partyin at Fergies pits, I'd say.

I wish you could all come to my house and eat all my leftovers from our Super Bowl party. Some did not show up and I guess I overshot on the food and beverages. I didn't get to see much of the game but I guess I am glad that the Patriots won. We have been having some very pretty days so I am hoping my roofers show up today to repair the hole where the pine tree came down at Christmas time. The squirrels will be disappointed that they are evicted from their new digs. Have a good week ........ wow, Feb. already, and almost Valentines Day!