reedickulously quiet out there. so, i went to see the king. loved it. we should all be so lucky to live and love life the way that elvis did. after memphis, my trip was very business oriented with good outcomes. now i am back home in oz.

Happy Valentines Day to all ....
Everything is in a deep freeze here. Icy driveways, icy roads...made worse by the salt shortage in town. Union Street is barely wide enough for two lane traffic..filled with potholes everywhere. Hopefully, warm temperatures and sunshine will come out way soon!
Happy Thoughts.............

Snow day, snow day, gotta have a snow day! I'll have to take pictures later of my "flower garden"....This is snow day #4 that we have to make up....hopefully, not through the entire summer! Happy Thoughts............

first i land and go through the typical (all too), always annoying (how could it be different?), never interesting (then, why am i telling you?) logistics of being just another piece of airport pottery on his way to the next tourist shelf. shuttle this, closing time that, check-in and sleep. well, did i mention to anyone that memphis is the intergalactic hub for fedex. right, i forgot to. so i get a hotel room right on the main runway (not beside it or near it, i swear those babies were taking off right out of my nostrils as i slept). every two minutes from three am until five thirty (every two minutes), those jumbo flying express delivery vehicles were taking off roaring like elephants with explosive diarrhea. at five am, i started surfing the web desparate for a different hotel for tonight. i find one and call, thinking it was six am (cuz that is what my computer sez, but this is central time here). the guy sez, "yes i have a room, but it is five in the morning. could you call back at eight." well, i apologizes profusely and called back. on my way over to my new digs, i swing by graceland. turns out elvis has a day off, no one is being let in the house today, and could i kindly come back tomorrow. the answer is yes. so, i get into the heart of the memphis blues beast. i am one block off of beale. i am in a boutique hotel that is loaded with primitive folk styles art of everything from alligators to lightning hopkins tea trays. i am given a studio apartment that david gest (estranged husband of liza minnelli) had once stayed in for an extended period of time- extended- meaning long enough to redecorate. so that is not a happy part to the story. however, down the hall is a studio apartment that has bobby whitlock's piano in it. i brought four cds with me and one of them is clapton's "derek and the dominoes" cd which has bobby whitlock all over it. then i go to lunch at a cafe that has so much character- great place full of soul. food was creole and fantastic. i know the bbq is still out there. it ain't over till it's over. that's it from po' richard's heart attack almanac.

Kathi, at this rate you'll be going to school all summer. Better not wish for too many snow days! Just kidding. Enjoy them.

Patti, let us know how things go. Good luck.

Lets rub it in Karen! Coldest night of the season tonight...minus 5 or so coming up...more snow (6-10 in) predicted for tomorrow night into Wednesday....sigh....another snowday???? We'll see! Send the sunshine!!!
Wishing your family the best Pat!
Happy Thoughts............

Good morning all. As seems the norm for us here in P.I. The shit has hit the fan once again. At 5 this morning Dave heard his cell phone ringing downstairs. all I heard was the sound of him running through the house. His dad who had quadruple by-pass surgery just a year ago is in the hospital down in Lewiston. At least 5 hours, in decent weather. Neighbors calls dual ambulances. One for him and one for his companion who in her 90's had hip replacement surgery a couple of years ago and fell helping Jack sometime in the morning. she has broken the other hip. Avis is quite frail in mind and body already so this is not good. the state is storming all the way down and I'm trying to convince Dave to let me go with him. I'd plan to come back here on a bus in a couple of days. He won't take the truck because I'm supposed to be meeting him in Bangor later this week and he wants me to have it because it's supposed to be bad weather then too. We are not prepared for this, dammit.

What ever Deity you look to, please ask help for all of us.

hi kathi, my older son is a sophomore at champlain college and my younger one is a freshman at univ. of hartford. the older took two years off after high school and has yet to buy into what he is doing as much as he should. he is studying interactive game design. the younger is studying civil engineering (keeping it civil, karen) and is doing really well. one is able to see that life is a journey that you can commit to and experience each thing in its time. the other can barely see past the nose on his face. both are wonderful and they are really supportive of each other. both communicate pretty openly with me and their mom. i think that there is a place for us all in this world and i am going on the belief that they will both find theirs.