Thanks Richard. You're right about feelings. I keep falling apart over stupid things. I'm tired of crying, it doesn't last but little break downs. now I'm just hanging out watching TV.

As next of kin am I allowed to wear jeans? I left home in such a hurry that's all I brought with me.

Lori I'm sorry to hear about the terrible loss in your family. That must have been so frightening for everyone.

Pat, I am so sorry. My thoughts and prayers are with you. You can't know how you will feel from moment to moment. Maybe that is one of the hardest things to understand, especially amidst everything else right now. You have my heartfelt sympathy and you have my deep respect for being the great daughter that your dad always deserved to have.

Wll we lost Daddy early this morning. Pretty much as I was walking through the hospital to his room. He was being pronounced when I walked into the room. I won't try to describe what that was like. Anyway, his obit. will be in the Burlington Free Press and the Spfld. paper. Unfortunatley everything will happen over 3 days. visiting hours monday eve. funeral tuesday at 10 and burial in duxbury on Wed. at 12.

I can't wait for TH.

hi lori, i have not been to the store (and i was not too high to remember if i had been there). it sounds more california than what i had imagined and that is sooooo great. what i was impressed by was the land and the nature. the drive from up in the canyon down to the beaches of malibu is magical in the best possible way. it definitly got through to me. i can't think of a natural place in your immediate area that i have liked more.

Maybe I'm wrong about that, Richard. I'll have to check out that place again and see if they are okay with noise. Have you been in their store? They have all this New Age stuff--music, candles, incense, books, etc. With all that relaxing love/peace stuff, I somehow couldn't imagine loud noise there--though maybe the naked hippies who live out there wouldn't care.

By the way, Roland, you gave me the credit, but it was Karen who came up with the ADHD diagnosis!

is nothing sacred? you are telling me that loud music in topanga canyon may not be okay? loud music in topanga used to be as natural as wasted freaks running around half naked (or entirely so) through the woods there. loud mediterranean music- all the better!! has orange county had an effect on malibu and (pray not) topanga canyon?? is oc a disease that is no longer behind the orange curtain?? wow, if this wedding place serves diet dental floss after the meal you know something very bad has happened. are the words, "zombie attack" occurring to anyone else but me. call the cdc in atlanta! are the rocky mountains high enough and the great plains and mighty mississippi wide enough to contain this? shit, before long i will be standing behind some guy in williston vermont who will be ordering a double latte with skim milk and a straw (lo-cal w/ no teeth staining). talk about losing your religion- not topanga . . . . wow!!

Thanks for the suggestion, Richard. I know that place and have always liked it--though somehow it didn't seem the kind of place for loud Middle Eastern music (which a lot of the music will be). It's such a quiet, peaceful place....

Lori, ADHD, yes, I was the original. really can't complain my energy levels just keep going like that battery commercial, ha ha. Kathi, would probably drive 30 miles to Augusta area but then I hope to be in my ministerial vocation in a few years anyway. I do more and more teaching and mission work and love it. Yeah, that love Shak thing is how it goes in the burbs guys. course ya'll know this is the midst of the Bible belt anyway. got mom a new digital tv for Christmas as she spend lots of time in bed and knits. she love it but still says I spent too much. I felt thats the least I could do. Richard, sounds like you keep yourself busy both mind wise and physical too with projects etc. More power to you!

hmmmm, yeah i am going to need a new name for these made-for-the-whole-family accessory buildings. of course, making something that is commercially viable is the first problem. that could make it a non-issue. maybe they should be called new shelters or something like that.

hi lori, check out this place as a wedding location. disc jockey or bands look like no problem and if you were thinking about malibu, it is just up the hill . . . http://www.innoftheseventhray.com/home.htm . i checked out this area on the web because my friend norman lives there and he is a cool guy who loves playing his electric guitar and his son is even better than he is. i took some time looking at the website and i was impressed with the electronic view of the place. a real landopoid visit would be in order, no doubt. the thing i love about this place is that it is sooooooooooo california. love you too, richard

I wish you the best, too, Patti, in dealing with this situation. Doesn't sound easy. That's a long drive by yourself, but at least you don't have to rush right back to Maine.

Kathi, you remind us all of the other side of the spectrum--sounds fun having grandchildren!

Richard, I think we're all going to show up one day at your love shak to check it out. It seems like everyone is picturing something else!

I had fun when we went out for New Year's, but most people were complaining cuz something was wrong with the sound system. When the main singer came on around midnight, it sounded like her voice was coming through water or something. It was really hard to hear her. That part of the night wasn't so great, but the warm-up band before that was good (the sound worked okay for them, for some reason), and the food was good. So I'm not complaining. It was better than sitting home this year.

My daughter and her boyfriend are postponing their wedding to sometime closer to the summer. We've had so many complications with this wedding. First the religious issue, then a new law in that area of Malibu which means they wouldn't be able to have a DJ at the restaurant, only soft background music. That's not what my daughter had in mind for her wedding, so we're cancelling that location. And to top it off, her boyfriend had a tragedy in his family. His sister was married to a creep who didn't let her see her family for the last 10 years, and on Christmas eve, he killed her. Strangled her. It was terrible. The funeral was today in Colorado. Anyway, they didn't feel right about having a wedding 2 months after the funeral, so we'll have to figure out a new date and a new place.....

Thanks for the good thoughts kathi. I got a call just after work from another Dr. telling me not to wait till tomorrow. I ran home, Colin and Dave helped me pack up and I landed in Bangor around 7:30. I'm going to try to get a few hours of sleep and then get back on the road. If needed the hospital will call me here to tell to start out sooner than in the moring. I have 6 ours to go.

Pat, Taking a leave of absence from work to take care of a parent is a very tough thing to do. I have been in your shoes and know that I made the right decision in doing that. Hopefully, you will have help (Hospice is wonderful both to the patient and to the family...make sure you take advantage of it). Remember that you have to take care of you too...because nobody else is going to! Keep in touch. You can always call me at home if you need anything (like mental health...or just to talk. Hopefully your family will rally around each other and give support to one another.
Happy Thoughts.

Things are moving way too fast for me. We arrived home in just under 1o hours monday night. However, I spoke with 3 of Dad's Drs. yesterday, 2 of whom actually called me at home. Wow, that was unusual. Under there recommendation I have asked for a leave of absece from work and am headed back tomorow morning. I'm registered for a month (so far) at the Residence Inn in Williston. A month might be optimistic or maybe not..........No one can say for sure of course.

So I'm going to be a Vermonter again for awhile.

Richard I hope you luv shack will include a hammock swinging from squeaky chains on the front porch.

I've been using the old blog...my opinion if it isn't broke don't fix it, and I am more comfortable with what I do know then what I don't.......roads around here were icy yesterday and this morning. Back to school tomorrow. Had today home alone which was nice to rejuvinate before heading back to the little darlings. Roland, what would you do for a job if you moved 143 miles...commute? Pat, I hope that you made it back to Maine safely. Sorry to hear about your Dad. Its hard. Richard, keep us posted on the Love Shak progress. Embarrass those KIDS..Happy Thoughts.

Question: should we all update our accounts as per Blogger instructions or do we just use the same?

Happy New Year Ya'll!!!!!! Looks like everyone is settling in well and are all safe. It was quiet here too. Lots of rain and in the low 70's most of the week. Helped my friends move to their new farm down in Louisville (pronounced here in Ga like its spelled). They have 100 acres, three ponds, (one with catfish) a huge shop, nice brick house and varoiur outbuildings in good shape. Out in the middle of nowhere but only 30 miles from Augusta. They want me to move down there. I might think about it. Its 143 mies from here. Land is fenced and cross fenced too!

happy new year to you all! lori, there are no stories about typically quiet chicks at the la hyatt gone wild in today's papers on the east coast. maybe it will be in a later edition. i hope you all got the kiss you deserved at midnight- which brings me to the luv shak. luv shak is kind of a working title for the accessory building that i an working on and it may be misleading. my older son says that it has too many windows to have this title. so here is the deal. i would call it the loveless shak, but that is way too depressing. so for now i just call it the luv shak. my older son also says that luv shak reminds him of the b52's song and he isn't crazy about that either. all i can say is that if doing this kind of thing was easy, then everyone would do it (or maybe not?). anyway, i am having a great time freezing my ass off in the basement for the last 10 days making my model. what can i say? it floats my boat.

Happy NewYear Everyone! We're heading home shortly and expect horrible conditions for the next 9 hours. Should be quite an adventure.

I expect to be coming back here shortly. Dad is in pretty bad shape and I don't know if he will be able to survive his radiation treatments. I've never seen him so weak. He's just doing whatever people tell him to do and sleeping. I hold out hope for the treatments but I'm afraid it's wishful thinking.

Happy New Year Everybody!
Lori, good for you! Enjoy!! Neil and I are enjoying a very quiet household. All my company left today. There have been up to 10 people in the house at any given time, including 2 little ones. We really had a great time, but are exhausted and ready for the quiet. Our grandchildren are so precious. Its really hard to let them leave.....Caleb (the 4 year old) told me he'd take care of Nana when she gets old because he loves her. It was really cute. Camille went around all week with all her "princess" jewels on (she's 2) either laughing or pouting...such a dramatic little girl.
We had about 4 inches of snow yesterday, so today, we spent most of the day playing outside with the kids. We pulled them around and around on the plastic sleds and found a place up by the garden to slide down. It got up into the 30s and was sunny, so it was nice to be outside. Then again this afternoon, Caleb and I went out again. He wanted to make snowangels and decided that Nana should make 2 and he could make 3. I must admit, I haven't made snowangels in many years....he told me he'd help me up out of the snow....(didn't really need the help..but let him think he was doing great things!)...I wouldn't change those moments for anything. Again, may you all enjoy love, PEACE, and Happy Thoughts for 2007!

Happy New Year to all of you! We usually stay home, away from all the noise and crowds, but this year I felt like a change so we'll give the noise a chance this year. We're going with Avi's sister and her husband for dinner, music, and dancing at the Hyatt--where most of the Israelis in L.A. are probably going (the singer is Israeli). So I'm starting the new year with a bang.... Okay, don't laugh, I know I'm not the type to do things with a bang!