It's been freezing here lately. This isn't supposed to happen in L.A. I'm supposed to be sitting here in warm, sunny weather listening to all of you talk about how cold it is where you are--but now I'm feeling it too...

Wonder if any of us could afford to win the HGTV 2.5 million dollar house! We'd probably have to sell it to pay the taxes..but we can all dream. At least this year there would be snow for any who liked to be outside in the cold..or nice fireplaces for those of us to hibernate. If one of us did win, we could have a "class reunion" there...lol. Karen, good luck packing up Evan. I'm sure he'll call you for goodie boxes! He'll be fine. Richard, good luck with your traveling and snowboarding...hearing we might get snow on Monday, we'll see. Pat, I hope that you arrived home safely and that you took the rest of the week to regroup. Have a great weekend everybody...I am glad that its Friday! Happy Thoughts..........

i guess that means i did not win the place in ashville- rats, i really was starting to feel at home there with the virtual tour on their website (i never saw anyone else there, i just assumed it was mine for the taking). i will definitely check colorado house out- i am sure it is very amazing. my trip to switzerland will be pretty interesting this time. last time i was just getting coffee for people. this time i will be asked my opinion on a couple of things. also, more than half my time will be in the mountains. i will snowboard- i haven't gone skiing in about a dozen years. i love any and all of that stuff- that is just the way it has gone. i may need a snowtube to protect myself over thin cover. good thing i love 'em. i can't believe how soon i will go. not sure why, just can't. well, be good, take chances, y'all.

hi karen, the suitcase cannot weigh more than 50 pounds, but he can take two 50 pound suitcases and his carry-on in economy class, right?? i am going through this for a trip in three weeks to switzerland and i am pretty sure my suitcase under 50 pounds and my snowboard bag with gear under 50 pounds are all together no extra charge for me. now if it would just snow. the place i am going is having world cup races this weekend and they are not allowing practice runs to try to preserve what little snow they have. right now there is only about a ten inch base and this is a mix of not much snow, some ice, and a lot of grass. i was at this same place (grindelwald) last summer for the beauty and got all the pics i need. now what i want is snow, snow, snow. if i put razor sharp edges on my board to hold an edge on ice, it will shred my bag before i arrive. maybe i can do sharp edges and tape them for the trip. so many details to figure out, man!

Karen, we also just entered the modern age and got skype. It was nice being able to see my family in Israel while I talked to them--though for us, it was more an experience than a conversation. Maybe that's just my family, though. None of us feels very comfortable in front of a camera, so we spent most of the time laughing. Also, there was a slight delay in sound, so it took a few seconds for our words to get to them, which was a little annoying. It was really good seeing my sister Katie's kids (ages 5 and 7), but for a normal conversation with my sisters and parents, I'll stick to the telephone--and just use skype for a group thing. Don't let me discourage you, though. Avi really liked it. He doesn't like talking on the telephone, but he did like this cuz he feels better talking to someone when he can see them. Is this more info than you wanted?!!!

Karen, I use Skype with my boys. It's quite helpful. It's free and we can talk all of us at once. A conference call. I recommend it.
Heading home in the morning. Thanks everyone for all the good thoughts. I'll be hapy to be home.

Patti, I was also sorry to hear about your father's death and wish you the strength to deal with this new situation in your life. I agree with the others--let yourself feel whatever comes up.

Pat,
My sympathies to you and yours, too. Just let whatever feelings take over...its okay to feel anyway you do...go with it. There is no rhyme or reason to feeling grief. Be glad that you were there. You always carry those special moments in your heart. Find peace, he has.
Happy Thoughts,
Kathi