Even worse when you cry at commercials! Kids were reading their little Love books outloud yesterday and one little girl read...I love Nana...well, her Nana was there and you could hear her awe and surprise. The moms all loved the I Love Mom page....and there was even a I love Mrs. Stern page...lol. Touching moments always make me tear up!

I cry at weddings, too, Karen. Love makes me cry as much as pain does. And I'm always crying in movies....

We were in Cheesecake Factory, too, Karen--not on Valentine's day, but the day before. I like their French country salad. Just discovered it. Congratulations on how well your son is doing!

This has been the year of the wedding plans for us. Still no date. It was supposed to be March 3, and then it was supposed to be May 20, but that won't work out either (the rabbi they want isn't available that day), so now we're looking into Sept. or Oct. I'm beginning to wonder if it will ever happen. In the meantime, I think I mentioned they already had a small civil ceremony at the Town Hall, but that's not the "real thing."

i just lost my boss at work. he got a new job. another sales director left and then anna nicole smith all in the same week.

No school here again today. It is sunny but people are digging out from almost 2 feet of snow.
Neil is on the road out by Rochester NY and he says the roads are all passable that way. Waiting for the plow guy to come and finish then I'll go out to clean up the walkways and path to the bird feeders. Have a good day everybody........Happy Thoughts!

Karen, congratulations to Kellan and to you and Rich. It's wonderful news! Yes, we are being bombarded with little white things and it's windy too! Wonder if there will be school tomorrow? Whatcha readin Richard?

karen, how totally great for kellan and you! that must make him feel like he is appreciated and wanted and that is really big for kids from 8 to 80. my son got an unexpected and nice 4 year scholarship and it has made him so much more confident and content. the rest is a money problem and that is a happy problem in relative terms. i have to tell you that saying, "your mother is an english teacher!" just doesn't have the bite that i remember from the "yo momma" insults that i have taken in the past. "your momma had a great kid!" take that!

I am so lucky this Valentine's Day...not only is there no school ( a blessing in itself) but Neil is off today so we can shovel together! What excitement! We have almost 8 inches already and the heaviest isn't set to come until this afternoon, evening....Maybe no school tomorrow either....
Have a great Valentine's everybody!

well the valentines day snowstorm is underway. i am awake cuz my body clock hasn't reset. it is too early to shovel. i guess i will read a book. i am into one where the bad guy is so bad that i don't want to hear what comes next, unless he gets his due- in which case i do want to hear what comes next.

Yes, you definitely bring Switzerland alive for us. You're really observant. I felt like having one of those pastries, too.....

Richard...I don't have to travel at all..I can live it through reading your blog! And I think driving to West Leb is a stretch! Just think you are home in time for the "blizzard of Valentine's Day".

Wow

snowboarding in the alps was very nice. a highlight was snowboarding on the lauberhorn race course. it is the most famous swiss ski race course. i have to say that gravity is stronger there. it starts at 8,000 feet and decends for about two miles. parts are very, very steep. racers go straight. along the way, there is a little tunnel that you have to pop into and through which seems like it is tempting fate for each racer. there is the possibility of ski racer pizza if you see what i mean. so i had three sweet days in one of the most magnificent places on earth. then i traveled 19 hours beginning at 5 am sunday morning from up in the alps. i started out by walking for about 20 minutes thru the dark streets of the sleeping village. the mountains are in the foreground, not the background. their size in the dark is bigger than in the day. the three local giants black out the sky up to about halfway to looking straight up. there were stars visible above and a little snow under foot from the night before. i walked past a church that is beautiful, day or night. there was a wedding there saturday, with people who were very dressy mixing in the streets with people carrying snowboards and skis. just beyond the church i was overwhelmed by the smells of early morning baking at a shop that makes fresh breads and pasteries. it was so quiet and the air was so still. the lack of movement of any kind had really let the warm smells escaping from the building to cool and settle. i crashed into this incredible accumulation of delicious smells and it directly twisted my head toward the source. i looked to see if their lights were on in the front where customers can come in, cuz i wanted to go there and spend every last swiss franc in my pocket- hmmmmmmmmm yummmm. as it turned out- no lights and no pasteries for me. i got to the train with time to spare. from there, i took one train out of the mountains and then one that went all the way to the airport. i am glad that i only had to change trains once with my suitcase and gear. i had my snowboard and all the fixins. as you leave the mountains through the ravine that lets you escape, you ride the perimeter of two lakes. this was just after 6 am. they are not on daylight savings time so it is quite dark with dawn breaking slowly. there was a glow of pink resting between two major peaks at the opposite end of the lake. a cloud had formed right on the surface of the lake and it extended up about 100 feet into the sky. this happens when the water is warmer than the air, i guess. the sunrise was visible above it. black lake waters in front of the cloud came up close to the train. the towns along the lakeshore are gem-like with the facets of church steeples visible in every town center. the train circled past a town where my older son had just decided to walk off about 6 years ago. he found a castle where he patiently waited until we found him. the castle is still there, but thankfully he is not. from there i slipped into getting through a long day of travel. it was almost four hours by train, 9-1/2 hours on the first flight, 2 hours on the second flight, waiting in between and going through customs and immigration in washington dc. that is a line dance that is not very fun. after that, i was ready for a cold one. i sat with a guy from belgium who was on his way to montreal and had a beer. i flew about 20k miles in the last 17 days. that is a personal record. on the next to last flight, they were looking for a cardiologist, found one, and apparently were able to deal with one more exciting moment in flight without losing the passenger. karen, i thought of rich immediately.

Sympathies go out to Susan Dunham who lost her Dad last week and to Jerry Bolio whos mom died last Thursday. Remember, Stars are the forget-me-nots of Angels.
We are suppose to get our first blizzard of the season on Valentine's Day! They are predicting at least 18 inches.....so Richard, there will be snow when you get home to snowboard. So, all you procrastinators who haven't gotten your Valentine gift yet better not wait! Happy Thoughts.....