Oops, I pressed "publish post" twice!

I skiied as a kid, but now that I'm older, I'm more cautious and that takes the fun out of it. I can't say I miss it. I haven't skiied much in the last few years, but when I did, I preferred being on the nice wide beginner slopes. Then I could go fast and feel good about myself!

Karen, that "small world" thing you mentioned happens a lot in Israel. It's a small country, so you always seem to run into someone who knows someone else you know and things like that. Here in L.A. I don't even know who lives across the street. I know the old lady on one side of us. That's about it.

I've been traveling a lot this year, so I'm almost embarrassed to say I'm going on another trip in 2 weeks. I'm going to meet my son Omer in New Zealand. I was hoping Avi would come, but he can't really get away from the business right now--especially since he's not working with his partner anymore and has to get his own line finished before the shows start. Anyway, I decided to still go by myself. I didn't want to tie my son down, but it seemed like he wanted me to come. Our other son and daughter just got back from visiting him in Australia. My son's girlfriend and daughter's boyfriend also went. They had a great vacation by the beach mostly. But I'll be seeing the lakes and mountains of New Zealand. It will be a mother/son trip--could be interesting! I'll give you my conclusions afterwards! I'll be away Feb. 15-28. If I have time, I'll try to check into the blog while I'm away.

Contrary to popular belief a lot of us Northerns do not like to go out into the snow much! I don't mind going out to play in the snow with kids (if it is not too cold and windy) but do not enjoy skiing which I never did until my 30s with Kindergarteners. One time on the last day of the Kindergarten season (we went every Monday 9:30-5:00 for 8 weeks), it was a beautiful sunny day and the teacher I worked with decided she would take me to the top of the mountain because it was such a georgous day and my last chance that season to enjoy the moment. I really did not want to go to the top but ended there anyway and proceeded down.....until I came to the first very steep part and went into a panic attack...to make a long story short....the instructor came back up the mountain and skied backwards guiding me down. Talk about feel stupid. I just came to the conclusion that I do not like to go fast, even though I have great control with my skies and never really had the fast problem...Probably not fast enough skier! After that I stayed on the little slopes with the ones who were not ready to go to the top....like me! Now that I am in a different Kindergarten, we don't go to Bromley skiing, which is wonderful for me!
My cards I usually sell in the Teachers Room at school and to friends who wish for them...mostly, I give away. I only mass produce when I make Christmas cards or when I need 20 for my class. I like to make something different about all of them. Relaxing to me. Have a great weekend and Happy Thoughts!

Yeah, my kids are about the same age as yours, Patti--26, 25, and 21. And no grandchildren in sight!

I definitely agree with you, Kathi, about wanting to create more than clean. If I can write a poem, who wants to clean a cabinet? Where do you sell your cards?

mornin all! moving a little slowly here but I know I'll kick it into gear in a bit. thought I'd take few minutes to say hi.

Crummy winter weather heading in today and hopefully the sleet and rain will hold off till after the last Biathlon races today. It all culminates a big mardi gras type party at a local restaurant tonight. Fireworks and all!

Kevin, my baby son, my first born, my heir apparent,,,,,,, turned 25 this week. Wow what an earth shattering experience. While I will always be his mommy, it's tougher to picture it at this point. Colin will be 23 in 2 weeks. Boy how the time does fly!

Lori, you asked if I ski. While I own x couontry ski equipment i only went out once last year and not yet this year. I also have snow shoes and haven't used them yet this year either. I'm an indoor stay warm kinda gal. I'd prefer to live where the weather was more summery or even long spring but no such luck. We're as north as we're ever going to go though so it's all "down state" from here. If ever.

Best get going, have a great day folks! I'm glad we're keeping this up!! - Pat

I decided after cleaning out my parents and inlaws houses that I need to hoe out so my children won't say......what did she save this for! I cleaned under my cupboards in the kitchen where the pots and pans go...and plastic rubbermaid....but when others put things away it is too taxing to pick up the smaller pans and put the bigger ones on the bottom....or when towels are put in the linen closet.....or clothes in the closet.........or when kids clean out their rooms and put stuff in the attic to "save" for when they have extra room, which they never do....It would be so nice to have one of those organizing shows come and do my house! I have been making Valentine Cards....I made a bunch to sell and am in the process of making some little ones for the kids in my class. Very simple but cute. Do any of you remember Mrs. Ballard who ran a Kindergarten in town for years, well, she volunteers 3 hours every day in the other Kindergarten at Union St and will be turning 85 next week. She is the tinest, most well put together lady, so sweet. So I will make her a birthday card, too. Personally, I would rather create then clean!!!!! And its good to know that you think its hopeless too! Happy Thoughts................And Happy Groundhog Day...of course, he saw his shadow today, so another six weeks of winter (not that there is ever any question of that here)!

I guess I have that same dream of cleaning out the storage rooms. I did finally go through my kitchen cabinets, which I've been meaning to do for the last few years. Finally got rid of a lot of junk and reorganized things. And now I'm in the middle of cleaning out the closet in our bedroom, which is also full of junk I haven't worn in years. The problem with starting is that it's hard to stop--you clean one thing and then start to see that the whole house is a mess and get more and more frustrated that there's no end in sight....

Patti, do you ski at all? At least that gives the snow some purpose!

Kathi, hate to disappoint you but 50 is NOT warm!!!

I'm very ready to have you send some sunshine! I'm done with the races, and so now I don't care about winter, just want spring to head on in. I'm being very selfish. We need cold and snow for the whole of next week for the rest of the Biathlon and then of course the snowmobiling community would curse me if they heard my thoughts on snow and winter.

Bring on the SUN!!!

Lori, that sounds great to me...its suppose to rain/freezing rain/snow tonight and then again Monday night. It has actually been unseasonably warm, close to 50 again yesterday. I just booked my February vacation to Raleigh to visit my daughter and the grandbabies. I am so excited! Happy Thoughts and enjoy the sunshine!

Or maybe I should just toss you all some warm sunshine from here....

You could always dry ice it!

I'll be waiting for it, Patti, ready to catch it!

Hi folks, tomorrow is the first race of the Jr. Biathlon World Championships. Promises to be a long cold day but an exciting one.

A group of just started an reading club with the book Night by Elie Weisel. I'm looking to it.

Lori shall I try to send you a snowball like the leaves I sent? I don't know what kind of shape it would end in!!

BRRRRR...cold here today. 5 degrees right now. Makes you want to stay in bed!
We could have our own Oprah Book Club....We could pass the book around to each other and all review it.
Well, everybody have a great Friday and weekend. Happy Thoughts............

Snowmen? Hard to imagine that from where I am. We've been having a pretty warm winter. My friend and I have been persistent with our hiking--anywhere between 4 to 6 times a week. It's good to go with someone cuz when one of us gets lazy, the other one pushes.

Karen, you get an "A" on that book review--really thorough. Gives us all something to think about. So basically it all comes down to love, not a perfect body?!!!

The Kindergarten class is going out to make snowmen today. Should be fun............the kind of weather I don't mind being out in...in the 30s with no wind! So, it should be a real easy day!
Have a great Wednesday....work week is half over! Happy Thoughts............

Ha Ha , I'm not sure it's the shape I have or the shape they wish I had!

Thanks for the explanation, Patti! You're lucky you're in such good shape that they call you the tool time girl.

Richard, I heard the same things about Pamela's bigger and better ...well, you know. Evidently the fruits of her labors continued to be larger than life and are her most memorable asset. Not so very memorable are her acting abilities. I'll never forget the sight of them, I mean her, running on the beach in the Bay Watch intro. Lord have mercy!

We did get a bit of fresh snow last night so things are at least prettier here and we continue to preare for the biathlon. I'm not planning on melting anything in the near future.

Pat, I thought Pamela Anderson reduced the size of her bigger and better things. Somehow fame and reputation precede reality - beautiful in your heart is where it all starts, I say. However, I can't help but think that Presque Isle natives (and janitors) may place a special value on ripe fruits and vegetables- not that there is anything wrong with it. If you are the tool time girl, I say show no mercy. You might melt the biathlon tracks up there, but that's okay.

I just got in from shoveling 6 inches of beautiful snow. We have a guy that comes and plows but the ground isn't frozen where he would need to plow it to so I just kept shoveling. Our driveway is pretty big so I didn't do the whole thing! The temperatures were in the high 20s but no wind. It was actually very refreshing and nice to be outside. Everything looks clean and fresh. Of course, it won't last. Pretty nasty driving though. This was a southern storm so I don't know if you benefited by the storm up in Maine. That's the excitement here in Springfield. Happy Thoughts..............

Lori, some years ago there was a strange 1/2 TV show about a guy - Tim the Tool Man- and his family. He worked for a TV handyman show and he supposedly know how to do "everything" but really was pretty inept. A major draw of the show was the buxom ladies who appeared through the TV portion or the show to hand Tim the tools. They were known as the Tool Time Girls. That's what the guys at school call me now. The Tool Time Girl. Pamela Anderson was one of if not the most famous of the Tool Time Girls. She certainly could wear a pair of overalls. Of course she went on to bigger and better things.

That's the story. I have a rather odd life. Dont'cha think?

Glad to see you're persistent, Richard. Good luck with the grant!

Patti, what's this about Pamela Anderson and tools? I must have some gap in my education. Can you fill me in?!

And, Karen, I'm waiting for some more bits of wisdom from you after you finish reading that book you ordered. Anything we need to know?

I'm not sure I've ever noticed anyone dropping to their knees for me. Interesting to think of though. Mostly they like to remember Pamela Anderson the Tool time Girl and make comparison. Not that comparisons can be made other than both of us being blonde and female. You can imagine what "parts" are being compared. Wishful thinking on their side. I'm not wearing overalls and boustiers (spelled wrong I'm sure) but I do have a nice pink toolbelt.

We are making snow from ground up ice and the usual water efforts for the Jr. Biathlon World Championships that begin this weekend. Most of our beautiful snow has been rained off so we'll create it. Watch for us on the Outdoor Living Network. Teams from all over the world are here in town and most do not speak much if any English so comunicating is awkward but fun in an odd sort of way. There will be many thousands of people here for the event. Quite the big deal! I'll be volunteering at the event 2 evenings plus the weekend races. Dave will be out there all week. He's lucky enough to be able to take the time off from work.

Best of luck with your next round of grant proposals Richard. It's great to see you back again.

take care all - pat

We'll all cross our fingers for you Richard. It would be great for awesome wonderful things to happen to all of us this year! Good luck and Happy Thoughts...........

hi, all! hope everyone survived the 13th, avoided black cats, steared clear of ladders, and hmmmmmmmm let's see- oh yeah, the foot. i hope you rubbed your lucky rabbits' foot! i did all of the above but it did not work. i have been in a trance since. i am the original triskaidekaphobic (scared of 13) guy. for some it is spiders, others snakes, and i have even heard of janitors in presque isle maine that drop to their knees when they see spicey little meatballs. yeah, well anyway my trance just might have had something to do with writing a grant proposal over the last few weeks. it is my second attempt at the grant competition that i had you all cross your fingers for last year. so if you have a couple minutes to spare, muster some mojo and cast it at the committee that will review my grant proposal. i am hoping that this is the year that this blind cow finds a blade of grass. no kidding, i really want to win this one. life has been busy and okay for me lately. but i could handle awesome, like awesome challenge, like awesome work, or an awesome wine could also help.

Where is everybody???? If you were here in VT you could be stuck in the mud. Right now it is 51 degrees and sunny. It has been mud season all week...we have not really had winter yet. I am sure it will be coming soon. I will enjoy this while it lasts. We had 2 days of school this week and it felt like forever! haha...nice to have a short week, unfortunately, it doesn't pay well. Hope you are all well. Happy Thoughts..............

Yeah, I guess that's what I do--tolerate and be polite, just not get too close.

6 inches of snow, windy and cold, down to 12 degrees at 11am....it was very nasty driving this morning. I am definitely ready to hibernate today! Patroit fans are not happy this morning at our house...oh well. Have a great rest of your weekend....Happy Thoughts........

The weather is very weird! It was up to 48 degrees earlier this afternoon after a rainy morning. Now it is pouring, the wind is blowing and it is 33 degrees. Suppose to snow tonight and some tomorrow and be down to 3 by tomorrow night. One never knows! There is almost no snow on the ground and the ice is not very deep down on the river where they ice fish. Guess that will change again quickly. I think your storm as reached us, Karen. I have found that just by not responding to the annoying sister-in-law works pretty well....Well, must go and see how the Patroits are doing....hopefully, they will win so life will be pleasant here in our house tomorrow! Happy Thoughts....................

Kathi, if you were a bear in another life, I must have been a mouse cuz I'm terrified of cats. And I love cheese....

I looked at that site, Karen, and read that article about the 7 kinds of friends to avoid. I think I've weeded those types out of my life--but what do you do when it's a sister-in-law, not a friend?!

I'll check it out, too. It is still in the 40s today with melting snow and mud! I am sure it will get colder again soon....Farmers Almanac says big storms in February and March but who knows. Glad that I don't actually...one less thing to worry about! haha. My blood is certainly thinner and I still live here. I actually think I was a bear in another life and hibernated all winter! I certainly get that feeling when it gets dark so early. Luckily, the days are a little longer and it doesn't get dark until 5:00 or so. Neil is on the road tonight so I am meeting some friends for supper. Happy Friday the 13th.....and full moon! Children were very wild today!! I am so glad its Friday. We have Monday off and Tuesday is an inservice day for teachers, so no school until Wednesday!!! Yeah! Happy Thoughts................

I didn't check out the website yet, Karen, but it sounds interesting. Sounds like the "good enough" theory I've heard about where you don't have to be perfect, just a good enough mother, a good enough wife, etc.--which is actually the best we can possibly be cuz no one's perfect. You seem to have guests in and out all the time. We haven't had any this year. I guess the "no vacancy" sign is on.

By the way, did we lose Richard?

Weather here is in the 40s...imagine...January thaw....not much happening here....very mundane. Hope everyone is having a good week. Seems to be very quiet here. Happy Thoughts!

Lets get together for a mini reunion here in the northern woods. We'll dip in the well spring of life. Haven't you ever heard that you're as young as you feel??? Are you caving into the inevitable?? Come on, cheer up have a pedicure!

My little grandson wanted to know why my hands looked different then his.....talk about a reality check! Not to mention the other obvious things! He said...Nana are you old????? I told him I was just a little older then him! hahah....he's only 3 so he doesn't know the real difference!
Happy Thoughts....................

Patti, I think you're going to find us all on your doorstep soon to get some of what you've got. When I read Karen's description of our age, I thought she hit it right on the nail! Not that I feel old, but all those things are definitely there--the bulge, the wrinkles, the gray hair, etc. etc.

Pat, glad that you enjoyed your birthday. Life is strange and you never know who you might meet where. When we took our oldest into NYC to orientation at NYU we were getting off the elevator and there was a guy we knew from Springfield down to a broadway show. Sun is shinning but very cold this morning 8 degrees....but should get warmer! Taking down all the Christmas stuff.....a job we all love to hate! Trying to get organized this year...hahah...like that is really going to happen! Have a great weekend everybody and Happy Thoughts................

Karen you're welcome anytime to come up and dip in the waters yourself! Maybe it's small town living, hard to say for sure.

Tonight Dave and I drove over the border into Canada to a restaurant we enjoy over there. It's about a 30 minute drive. But, we are in a foreign country. We're sittting at our table enjoying a glass of wine and in walks another couple that we know from P.I. It seemed strange in a weird sort of way since we had left the USA but it's just nothing to us to go to Canada for an evening. When we were going back into the states and stopped at the US border Dave recognized the border guard as the husband of someone he works with. It's a small, small world. Although they exchanged pleasantries we still had to give over our ID's and have them scanned at a computer terminal.

Thanks for the Happy Birthday Kathi. I agree we are not old. I'm neither grey nor particularly wrinkled. I still enjoy the occasional sexual harassment from my floor's custodial staff so I guess I'm still a fairly spicy little meatball. Life is good. ' )

Personally, I don't see my life or anybody elses life here mundane. I enjoy reading about the things others feel are important or feel like saying on that particular day. If others find my writing as mundane, they could just skip over!
Friday couldn't have come quick enough....the change in the weather has the kids all wound up and hyper, hopefully, Monday will bring more stability in both behavior and weather!
Karen, I would actually like to make chocolate pudding not diet!
Have a great weekend and Happy Thoughts................

Happy Friday! Happy Birthday! Enjoy the day...do something fun for yourself! Its always better if you don't have to make your own birthday cake! We are not old! We are not old...that should be our new mantra.... Happy Thoughts!

Richard, finally got time to archive and answer your flattering comments from Dec 9 (I think). I had fun @ the conference and Kirk Cameron is really cool too. Very regular, he helped set up chairs etc. Wow, working right beside a movie star!! I am off meeting many people in the misical world along with some preachers. I'm loving it. Mom tried to access the site and couldn't but I guess they changed it again. Love to hear how you are doing and your mundane trials through the blog. God Bless, R

Thanks for the birthday wishes girls. Kathi you can try to catch up as you say but I'll stay ahead of you all the way!! Ha Ha It's true though that like you I don't recognize my age unless I see the number or somehone else who I know is my age and looks it. That didn't sound nice but I think you know what I mean. I think working with kids all days helps keep me feeling younger. Sometimes I forget that I'm a grown up.

I've been to the Glima web site. The shirts are beautiful. Do you think Avi would like to start up his own business once this settles? Or perhaps stay with the dye company.

I don't know about you, but I don't really see myself as getting "older" until you see it written down! I am sincere about you having a great birthday...we're all going to catch up soon!
Lori, I hope that your business will become a little less stressful when the partnership changes. Its hard when things are not going well in "our" partners lives... There is a little snow on the ground this morning....nothing major just annoying. Have a great day and Happy Thoughts..........

Happy Birthday from me, too, Patti! Wow, that does sound old. Sorry!

Kathi, you asked what Avi does--he and his partner have a business called Glima. They make artistic women's shirts. He has another business, a dye-house, where they do the dyeing and printing for Glima, but also for other manufacturers. The partnership is only for Glima, not the dye-house. Right now it looks like Avi's more excited about his freedom than maintaining the partnership. He prefers to sell his part to his partner and then start something else on his own.

Ha Ha Ha right back at you little girl. As a matter of fact, Eleanor Richardson and I share that very honor. The eldest, wise beyond our years. First to drink legally, but probably not last. Thank Kathi !

Karen its so sweet of you to think of all of us. Guess we know where the vacation spot will be! I am having empty house syndrome. Things were so hectic and crazy with the babies and big babies all home and now that everyone has gone back home its so quiet! I know it won't take long to get used to it again! We are suppose to get a little nasty weather for the rest of the week. Nothing major. Hope all is going well with all...Happy Birthday Friday to you Patti....Didn't know your birthday was so close to the beginning of the year. You must be one of the "oldest" ones! haha....have a great day. Enjoy! And Happy Thoughts...

Lori it sounds like Avi's in a tough spot. I don't envy either of you. Difficult decisions all around.

Dave's gone to Sunday River skiing for a few days. He'll be home Friday to help me celebrate my 52nd birthday. My how the time does fly........

My family is planning to leave this evening..snowing...hopefully it won't be as much as thought through CT. We'll see. I will enjoy the grandchildren for the last day here. Lori, I hope that everything works out for the best for your husband. It is hard to go to work with lots of problems. What does he do? Heard on the news about too much rain in parts of CA....stay dry! Happy Thoughts...

We've been having some rainy days. We don't get them often, so it's kind of nice and cozy for a change!

I agree with you, Patti--no resolutions for me either!

We've been occupied for the last month with the problems between Avi and his partner. Still no solution. Avi's gotten to the point where he thinks he'd be better off alone, instead of being subjected to his partner's constant criticism and negativity. His partner is supposedly going to buy Avi's part in the business, but I'll believe it when I see it cuz I don't really believe that's what Itzik (the partner) wants. He's trying to remold Avi the way he wants him, and that never goes over well with Avi...

Happy New Year One and All! Imagine my surprise when Dave said somethng about this being New Years Eve just before supper. I guess I'm sort of out of it. I think my response was "No it isn't." No resolutions from me. I'll just keep tryng to do what I usually keep trying to do.

Two more days till back to school.

Happy New Year to all of you! We're probably going to have a quiet evening at home like we usually do. We're not into crowded noisy places.... Haven't found a New Year's resolution yet.

Hi Everyone...not sure if this will work but...here is a picture of me with my grandchildren...I am having so much fun with them. Like I said before, it is so different being a Nana then a Mother! They will be here until Tuesday evening.
Happy New Year to You...may all your dreams come true in 2006! Happy Thoughts! 

Happy New Year to all. We celebrate it tonight @ church via satellite to the othere side @ 7pm our time so we can all go home and sleep. Looks like a trip to Peru this year and Isreal next. Anyone been there and have any tips? The mission house (pregnancy crisis ctr) finally got up and running two days ago so we can be tax exempt this year. The house looks really great and the funds are rolling to to keep it open. It has been a job remodeling this old hodgepodge house into offices, conference rooms etc. We had an ultrasound machince donated to us too but now will be legally considered a medical facility so I guess I'm now a board member of a medical facility, wow...hmmmm...... just keep our minds on the mission and it'll be ok.

happy new year!! my resolution is to be a cool surfer dude. i don't know if it going to be harder to lose the in-your-face edge or to learn how to surf. at least i've got the dude thing going okay.

I took the little ones out in the snow today. Caleb was here a couple of years ago to play with us in the snow and this was Camille's first time. It was so cute. Our snow is crusty so they could walk on top. Great for pulling around in the sled. It is so nice to be able to appreciate the newness of something! It is certainly different having little ones running around the house again! Right now Caleb is crawling around the rooms playing doggie with his Aunt Su....pretty amusing watching 29 year olds crawl around too. We had our Christmas today, with presents and big dinner.....some of us are ready for bed soon! And I don't mean babies!! Happy Thoughts................and holidays.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah! Did I spell that correctly Lori?

The boys headed home this afternoon. I heard from Kev a few minutes ago and he's home and settling back in. Roads were not so good for the first couple of hours. We have 30 or so inches of heavy snow and it's quite windy out. Another storm expected on TH so we're concerned about whether we'll be able to get over to VT or not. Dave is planning a day at Stowe if we do make it over and we're planning to get together with some friends from our former neighborhood.

Ski and snowmobiling has been waiting and now they're all set. It's great for the area's tourism. The kids; being out of school this week are probably all thrilled .

Christmas day was fun. We all enjoyed each others company. Dave's mom had a good day. We were all pleased for her.

All of my kids and grandbabies will be here tomorrow...around breakfast time...I am so excited. We will have our Christmas on Wednesday morning. It has been unseasonably warm and rainy. We still have snow on the ground. There was so much water running down off the fields into the ditch in front of our house that the town crew was out here at 5:45 am digging ditches. There were 4 town trucks and probably 10 guys out there watching each other....holiday pay! Don't think I've ever seen so many of our town employees together that early in the morning! Neil has decided to take a week vacation to visit with the grandbabies....I think he is just as excited as I am. We are getting a woodstove installed in our basement tomorrow, too....he's been wanting to do backup heat for years and has finally done it. I wish everyone a wonderful New Year with lots of special times with your loved ones. Cherish the moments! Happy Thoughts always.....................