I am here Lori. I have been "listening" in to all the conversation wondering what more I could add. We all get in a few comments at my exercise class but nobody has the boobjob stories....School starts in Springfield the last week of August but I would love to get together. One more week and we have winter break...I am so looking forward! It is snowing really hard here right now (at 6:24)..personall, I am tired of the snow. Luckily, we missed most of the big ice/snow storm on Wednesday of last week getting only about 6 inches but it has snow flurried most of the week. I certainly don't miss getting all that wonderful paperwork done for college..where do your kids go to school, Richard? Travel safely...

I will certainly plan to be available Lori! I don't know where I'll be. Here in P.I. or moved more south. But regardless I'll certainly try to be there. Hopefully if I'm up here the start of school won't interfere. I sure don't want to make it happen! -Patti

hey babe, keep it civil. just so you know, civil unions are just cu on the vt state tax form. it is kind of like- the doctor will cu now, some states may cu later, and then there is good 'ol dixie which will cu never. the chubfest and fartfest doooo sound pretty excellent. i guess i will have to see what serendipity delivers. if nothing else, i will at least go to see a fortune teller. i won't be telling her that i am whacked. i will c if she can c that for herself. okay, maybe i will give her a couple of clues, like telling her that i a member of the shs class of '72- last year of the sixties. i am feeling pretty darn something. i think i just need more beer to know what that might be. i have finished my taxes- kid's taxes too, i have my fafsa forms done for #1 and #2, and i am gonna chill for a couple of weeks before i tackle the rest of the story that vermont student assistance corp thrusts upon me annually. i feel like i can go commune with elvis with a clear head. then there is the whole paul simon angle where he has a hole ripped into his heart and feels blown apart. that may be the elvis messiah syndrome. hope i don't get that. i will be eating some pulled pork in the #1 bbq spot in usa. i will tell you just how good i think it is. the rest remains to be seen. i am gonna see one of my spfld childhood friends in dallas on thursday. then i am off to cheerful detroit friday. thankfully, i get to go to switz on my next trip. peace. richard

While you're looking for fests, watch out for tornadoes.

Now, on a more serious note before you guys go completely whacky: would anyone be able to meet sometime during the last 2 weeks in August either in Burlington or Springfield or somewhere in between? I'll be in Vermont at that time. Part of the time I'll be busy with family stuff cuz it's my brother's daughter's Bat Mitzvah. My parents will be coming from Israel and maybe my sister Amy and her husband. I'll be there with Avi and hopefully all the kids, but they won't stay for 2 weeks, and I think I will. I'm not planning to go to Israel this summer cuz we have my daughter's wedding in July and the Bat Mitzvah in August. I'm hoping my other sister, Katie, and her family will come to the wedding, so then I'll see them all, either in L.A. or Vermont. Anyway, anyone interested in a mini-reunion? By the way, where are you, Kathi?

Patti, did your son get his picture taken with Clinton?

karen, i will be in memphis on tuesday and wednesday. do you know if there will be any festivals there? i have enjoyed your recounting of lesbianfests and sausage fests in the past. seems like your on top of these things. if you know of anything happening north of you, let me know. i would like to be at a parchuting elvis fest or maybe a pb and fried banana fest.

Well, you've got me going again. I'm laughing out loud! This is truly excellant therapy.

Lesbienfest was unexpected and frankly I hadn't gone there earlier. I sure am now. Zowie....I'll admit there have been cleavage conversations here and there. At school you have to be careful what's available to the eye of the student standing above you looking down or when you are scooched down next to a desk. It's funny how differently we dress when we chaperone a dance or have a function at school that's social. The girls definitely come out to play. Did you get that Richard? I'll be you did. You don't miss much.

Dave and I are going out to a terrific restaurant tonight. He'll be home by 7ish weather permitting. Once again the snow is falling all along the path of Bangor to P.I. Down in Portland too, Colin was telling me this afternoon.

He was working at the restaurant last night and Bill Clinton was in town campaigning for you know who. Bill goes into the kitchen to glad hand with the staff. Colin is holding on to a bucket of raw hamburger with his left hand and his right hand is covered in burger. Bill's all 'hi there" and sticks out his hand to shake. Colin grins at him and says he doesn't think Bill will want to shake with him and shows him his meaty paw. So Bill's all smiles and says that's ok and pats him on the shoulder. I think it's a much better story than your basic handshake and movin on. Colin did too.

Wow, this site is turning out to be really educational. I'm learning so much!!! It's beginning to seem pretty boring out here in L.A. I need some of you Springfield people out here to spice things up.
Maybe some boobs and lightning rods.

i can. that's why it is called an imagination!

Oh Lord, I wish you could all hear me laughing! Richard has really nailed it. He only missed one thing. I cannot imagine any of my educator girl friends at a weight watchers meeting or down in the gym comparing our boobs!

lori, you obviously have never been stunned. let me help out here. when a person is stunned, they are unable to communicate for a little while and then when they do recover, they are lucky if they can remember their name, much less what zapped them. i am pretty sure my guesses would not help on what was most stunning to pat, but i will try. here is one possibility. taken literally, "putting my lightning rod in better burger" could be a stunner. or possibly, pat has always found karen to be so stunning that it is now coming as a shock to find out that she is not a 42 D. i actually had to think twice about that one. karen is stunning. guess i never broke it down to exactly why. the only other thing i can think of is that your analysis of pain vs. gain for augmenting bumps and diminishing lumps may have had some galvanizing effect (the word comes from luigi galvani who discovered that the muscles of dead frogs twitched when struck by a spark) . that is all i can figure. maybe we just need to wait for pat to recover and hope that lightning does not strike in the same place twice.

Patti, did I miss something? Who did what? What are you stunned at?

Well now you've gone and done it. I'm stunned.

Richard, you deserve a medal for being strong enough to survive this den of women you're in. We seem to have lost the other men who were here for a while.

Karen, are you sure that's a gym you go to?! Nothing like that going on at Curves. The pain of surgery scares me more than the fat bothers me.

you tell me that first you check the purse and then you tell me that you worship the real thing. i feel so used. maybe not.

I don't know about whacked, but you guys are funny. That's all I have to say right now. I tune into the blog for my entertainment of the day.

okay, karen, we are whacked. and your point is? i got the- first i check the purse. i got the- he likes to talk, sigh. i got the- better put my lightning rod into better burger. so, i'm good here. i will find a rich, deep, yummy (would not have to be a) mail person. i will not tell her i am whacked. i know she would just look at me and say, "and your point is?"

Well folks let me tell about Tim. My mailman. He has long brown hair he ties back in a ponytale. He has a mustache and is probably in his 40's. He is the only person left alive who doesn't own a computer. He buys stuff at my yard sale that he says his wife is going to yell at him about. Old stereo speakers and the like. He just loves to hang out and chit chat on a fine summers day. So yes, there are in fact some hottie mail delivery types out there. Heavy sigh..................................

If your natural appeal is not a "lightning rod" to that mailwoman, then she's the wrong one. You deserve better. Don't waste any time eating bronto burgers with her.

if it was as easy as just bedding every hottie mail person, ya' know that everyone would do it. no, that is not the way it is anymore. these days you need to have skills. if your natural appeal is not a lightning rod for a little rural free delivery, then you will need something special that gets the flag on your mailfox up. that is where my help ends. i have tried everything to no avail. we know that old ben franklin, as the original postmaster general, gave overnight service to every wink he received. however, every word i mumble to my mail woman ends up as so many dead letters- return to sender, address unknown.

So now do you know what to do, Patti? Our mailman didn't show up yesterday. I checked the box twice, and there was nothing in it--though we saw the mail truck go by. He must have gotten scared off just imagining what was going to happen to him here.

it is true that you can wait and just pull them in by their hair, but there is quite a bit more wisdom in grabbing your spear and heading into the jungle. the point is that techniques have developed over time- that is, up until the time when hair grabbing techniques were being regularly applied to mail person hotties. this blatant and relatively primitive grab and grope approach was replaced a loooooooooooong time ago by a more elegant game of hide and seek. still, bring your spear and use it when enough is enough.

First off Pat, you have to have a mailman who delivers right to your door....then hope hes not on missed on his route. ....and then think Happy Thoughts.....

Well it's 2 O'clock on a Saturday, how long do I have to wait???

I don't know. Richard's the expert on the mailmen/women strategy. He pulls them in by the hair.

I like your idea Lori! Where is my mailman when I need him?

Sorry, don't take me too seriously. I'm just being silly.

I think we all need a good balance of space and "together" time. The problem is that our particular balance doesn't always match our partner's-- one is ready to be together while the other one still needs space. Then what do you do? Run off with the mailman/mailwoman and eat burgers with your hands?

OK, well, I used to own that book. Read it, through it out. Did not buy any of the follow ups. What a dinglebery that guy is.

However, call it what you want; I need my own space. My "cave", my den, my workroom. I go in there and do my thing. computer, sewing, knitting, TV, reading, whatever. It turns out in fact to be a place I can make my mess in and leave it where it lays. It's right there when I go back. It doesn't mean no one can come in too but it doesn't happen very often. I enjoy it.

Dave and I are both reading a book on communication between men and women. It's written by a women who is a linquist. Pretty interesting and seems to be fairly accurate from what I can see so far. It's doesn't say we're different kinds of people so much as we say and hear things differently. so it's important to be clear with your message; say what you mean and mean what you say. Oh I just wrote a best seller!!

i left out the best part. she grew up in springfield.

empathy, love each other, and drink lots of water. that is the secret. i did not tell you what the scientifically measurable 2% difference in communication between women and men is. it would be when you toy with me, tossing caveman characterizations out there for me to pound my chest and stomp on them. i want you to know that i just dragged the mailwoman, by her hair, upstairs to my computer to read our blog and she agrees that portrayals of male communication as being on the evolutionary path that led to troglodytes is way overstated. if she doesn't know about communication, then who would? we both took a break and ate raw bronto burgers with our hands, so there. it is not just a guy thing. she actually told me that the grunting noises that i make when i chew make her hot.

Richard, somehow I had a feeling the cave thing would get you going! Okay, so there are no caves and we're both from earth and just need to be empathic and love each other?!! Can you write the next chapter? In the meantime, I'm going to Kathi's cave.

Obviously I did not read the book so thank you for the condensed version! Wherever I was, I was iced in for the day which was great. I ended up making bread and valentines. Don't you love how the days are getting longer, makes it so you know that winter will go away! Have a great day everyone...Happy Thoughts.............

lori is right, kathi. today, you are in what is called an igloo. you cannot be a women or talk with women when you are in a man-cave and you have to have a penis that has no obvious use when you are in there. if you are in a fishing shanty and you have a penis that is different because then you do not have to talk to women and you still get to pee all those good canadian beers away. the man-cave is special. it is when a guy gets to live in his head and gets to tell chicks he is really just in his "cave." hmmmmmm, that would be the cave behind his eyes. the guy who wrote that book is so full of it. women are not from venus. do you know any women who claim to be linked to the monthly effects of moon activity on your planet, venus. no. there are no natural satellites orbiting venus. none. the only bodies orbiting it are the ones we have placed there, such as nasa's magellan radar satellite. our radar signals have penetrated the atmosphere of venus and reveal a very complex and tortured terrain. would you call that a babe magnet? i would not. are men from mars? that would be the place that it takes 17 months to reach by modern transport. does your cave-dude want to be in his isolation chamber for 17 frickin monthes to get back to his special cave-place? if he does, you will have plenty of time to pack, move out, get a new life, find a new idiot, and start your new path toward bliss. we are from earth. women are from earth and men are from earth. our scientifically measurable needs from communication differ from each other by 2%. we must be one sensitive type of animal to have launched this hero up the pop charts for a 2% difference. figure out how to really love and understand your man and expect nothing less from him. we are all sooooo worth it.

Kathi, the cave is supposed to be where the men hang out when they need some space from us, so maybe you're in something else, not a cave! And, Richard, you are not in your cave when you're being so communicative!

I get to be here in my cave all day....snow day...actually, ice day. So No school! Sometimes even the thought of making up the day at the end of June doesn't change the fact that I love SNOW DAYS. I subbed most of last week and Monday, so feeling the need to destress and today will be perfect! What to do, what to do......I'm sure I'll come up with something. Have a great day.....I am empathic to you who don't get a snowday!
Happy Thoughts...............

hi, i am in my cave. hope you are all doing okay with your waves. i think the funniest thing that was based on the book is when marge simpson tells homer that she is from venus and he is from mars- homer complains, "oh sure, give me the one with all the monsters on it." i mentioned having seen the actor who does the voice of homer in a broadway play recently. he sure didn't sound like homer in that and his character was definitely from the planet with all of the monsters on it (earth). by the way, i think communication is an effect, not a cause. i think empathy is the place you start.

I read that book, Karen, and I agree, it was pretty accurate--especially the part about men going into their caves.

Patti, I think she recommended a male therapist cuz of the transference thing, which means that if I have any issues with my father, they'll get transferred onto the therapist and then they can be dealt with. I went yesterday for the first time. I liked him--he's smart and sensitive and catches on fast (to say nothing of being good-looking!).

Lori why did your friend recommend a male therapist? Must have had a reason. I'm curious. I know what you mean about developing a relationship with your therapist. I've been talking with a female psychologist for over a year now and she is ending her practice the last of Feb. She is ill though she doesn't say in what way and I will miss her very much. I think of her as a friend and confidant and it will change my life when she is no longer available to me.

Did you notice that blogger is now available in Hebrew?

Patti, thanks for trusting us enough to be open with us about how the counseling is going. I was going to ask about it, but I'm never quite sure when it's okay to ask and when the other person will think I'm pushing my nose into his/her business. Anyway, it sounds like you have a good therapist and that it's going well. We're still going to couples therapy. We've gotten so attached to her that sometimes, when I think of stopping, I can't imagine not having her in our lives anymore. She's like a good friend who also tells us about her sons, grandchildren, etc.--when it's relevant. Now I'm thinking of going for individual therapy, too, to deal with some of my old insecurities that never seem to go away. A therapist friend of mine in Israel said I should go to a MALE therapist for this, so I'm thinking about it....

I got tired of eating every meal out of the microwave to be honest Lori. It was a good experience though to et started and I appreciated the help I received from my counselor. Weight Watchers was starting up at school and 5 of us decided to do it as a team. That was 2 weeks ago. I've lost just over 2 pounds and that's eating food food not boxed. So I'm pleased and it's fun having the support of each other right there every day. I know absolutely that exercise is the answer to more progress. But I'm taking so many meds that I barely make it through the school day before i crash. I think what I'd like to try doing is getup in the a.m. go straight to the tread mill and not take any of my meds until after that. Then maybe I'll be able to do regular exercise because I won't be using the too pooped to pop excuse i have now. I have a new physician that I'll be seeing in early Feb. who is very familiar with fibromyalgia and I'm optimistic that she'll be able to help me get back to myself more readily. I must find a way to take fewer pills every day.

any way, my god it's cold. -31 degrees is beyond acceptable. Dave and I are heading out to a couple of errands in a few minutes and I'll be wearing the BIG coat, with the BIG hood. We have 3 stops so it'll be park close and run in. He's just finishing up another layer of spackle in the bathroom. We're re-doing our first floor bath. It's been in need of update for a long time and the time seems to come forth.

Counseling has been interesting. I've been very open with my peers and friends here at home and it seems Dave hasn't said a word to one single soul. Georgette (our councelor) says that's actually pretty normal. Dave was dumbstruck when he realized that many people know we are struggling but working on our marriage. Men don't talk about this sort of thing typically, they're more apt to talk about the super bowl. Last night we went out for a lovely dinner afterwards and had a terrific time. Instead of beer at the pub we went to a new restaurant some people we know (just a bit) have opened. It was so nice, friendly, pretty, delicious. Clif, one of the owners kept coming over with fresh glasses and bottles of this and that for us to try from the bar in spite of the fact that we had a bottle of Shiraz already. it really was such fun.

Georgette says she has great hope for us as a couple. She says often you can see right away that there is so much animosity and pain that things have gone too far. She doesn't see that with us. But Dave is still finding it more difficult than he imagined as he has never faced his truth. Having been in private counseling for a year I feel ahead of things from that perspective. It is still terribly hard having to say things to clarify my position and feelings that I know will be hurtful for Dave to hear. She told Dave last night that this is all going to be very hard for him because she can see that he is not ready to know these things. I'd describe it head buried in the sand syndrome. He always looks sort of shell shocked the whole time.

So there, that's an update from the frigid north. If I don't get to the grocery store soon, my chicken cordon bleu will be served pretty late tonight so I guess I'll say bye all for now. i wonder if we know just how lucky we are to have one another? hmmmmmmmmmmm

Kathi, did you see any of our former classmates at 56 Main Street?

Now our Curves gym is becoming computerized. That means we'll be able to work out on a machine and see if we're working as hard as we should be. Last time they weighed and measured me, I had gained a pound and inches! Doing great as you can see. Maybe the computers will help. I think the problem is the trainer stands in the middle and talks so much I can't concentrate on exercising. By the way, Patti, how is Jenny Craig going?

Guess things are pretty slow with us all this week, except for Richard who is off to Washington.
I did a lot of subbing this week and am most happy that it is the weekend!!! Funny how a 4 day week and a full moon can make for strange happenings with children.................
I went out for dinner with a teacher friend last night, down to 56 Main Street. Meal was pretty good....didn't know it was such a "hot" spot on Friday nights. Lots of locals eating dinner there.
Enjoy your weekend everybody....stay warm and cozy. Happy Thoughts....

I'm guessing that it's chilly down in DC now Richard. Dave and I are going in late April and I'm hoping for warm sunny walk around weather. I've seen the ruby slippers, it's a treat and the story behind them is interesting. We're planning several planned tours that our local Senator is getting us tickets for. I'm particularly interested in going to the Library of Congress. Just to be surrounded by all the books, yum.
Lori I'm so glad the wedding ceremony went well. A little odd perhaps though from the sound of things. But a happy occasion I'm sure.
Frigid temperatures again coming in tonight and again tomorrow. I'm tired of it for sure.
By the way Richard where is the oldest saloon in D.C.?

No, no complaining allowed if you're going to be doing all that fun stuff! (while we're plowing snow, working out at the gym....)

in twelve hours i will be having breakfast at the oldest saloon in washington, dc. then i will go see 3-D imax movies, planetarium shows, dorothy's red ruby shoes, edison's light bulb, ansel adams photos, and God knows what else. there will be a pretty women on each arm and a smile on my face. can i complain about what time i have to get up? yeah, that is probably pushing it.

Beautiful picture, Karen! It's sunny in L.A., but my sister said they've been having unusually cold weather in Israel. The frost killed the tomatoes on the kibbutz.

Yesterday we were at the Town Hall for my son's wedding. It was short but sweet. The judge turned out to be a friendly, funny Jewish lady who started asking them questions about Israel and then read them an American Indian song about marriage and love (that made me cry). She also told them about a couple she married on Valentine's day last year who came back a few days later to annul their marriage. A few days together was enough for them. Not sure that story was appropriate, but it did make us laugh!

By the way, Patti, thanks for promoting my book by talking to people about it.

okay. now, will someone please shoot me. there is a woman that i went to college with. she was (and still is) very smart, pretty, and humble. it was a small school and she lived on the same dormitory floor as my girlfriend. if you met her today, you could ask her what she does and she would tell you that she works in childcare. you would picture that she takes care of some kids at her house. yeah, right. she just got an offer of 1.3 billion to buy her childcare business (that is with a "b"). wow. i am done.

Wow,when you step aside for a couple of days it can be exhausting and just a little confusing to try and catch up.

For the most part the only thing we don't recycle here is "some plastics". So I break down boxes and sort glossy paper from white; newspapers from magazines, rinse jars throw out the lids. That sort of thing. There are marked bins at the transfer station (the dump) so you just keep everything in different containers at home and it's kid of easy. I guess we're lucky. The fellows up there are very helpful to me when I show up with tons of stuff and have to do it all myself. It costs $5. to leave a TV set.

Our first meeting at counseling is tomorrow afternoon. Hope Dave can get here, more crummy weather headed this way. I've been advised by several people to make contact with a particular local lawyer in order to protect my potential use of his services in case things do not work out. That seems like giving up precipitously to me. He's leaving here early Sunday to go visit his dad and then go skiing with some friends of his on Monday. Guess if he wasn't coming back for the meeting he wouldn't need to come home at all.

I'll be happily painting my bathroom this weekend. Maybe go out on my snow shoes. I've discovered Lyrica and it's been wonderfully helpful.

So much going on for everyone, sure hope you and your daughter are feeling better Karen. Weddings for you Lori are such good news. I'm glad that's all coming together. A blessing for sure. I was talking to a couple of my students today about my book of poetry and the beautiful way it is written and printed in both Hebrew and English. They were pretty impressed and intrigued.

kathi, i know that you did not mean any offense and i did not take any. she scared everyone there. i just think it is interesting that she is also a very special and wonderful person and probably no one ever figured that part out from recylcing with her. it would take more than a mind reader.

Richard, I didn't say she wasn't a nice person, just that she scared me at recycling. Didn't mean any offense.
Have a good day....Happy Thoughts....

karen said that she would only compromise herself so much in a relationship and i said that it is different when there are kids- really different.

I'm eating chicken soup for you today, too, Karen, so you should be doing well with all of us (or at least Kathi and me) eating soup for you. By the way, I liked that middle-aged song you forwarded to me!

Richard, you definitely have a way of putting things. I'm glad there's still hope for me even without the box-cutting skills. What did you mean about your kids? You don't compromise yourself for them? Are they still at home?

i can only say a few random things. karen, you know that you let go of a whole lot more than ALL of yourself for your kid's sake, as shakespearian tragedy as that may be and i can say that i am happily on the other side of that. lori, guys like a chick with skills. if you haven't got it with a box cutter, you thankfully have it with lots of other stuff. kathi, the woman who used to take care of recycling in spfld is a really amazing person. she absolutely was the recycling nazi, but she is really special- one of my favorite people.

It is getting colder here...by the end of the weekend it will be below zero....and windchills...brrrrr...my friend, who is on vacation in Hawaii with her husband and sons, called me to tell me how beautiful it was and how she wished her friends were there, too. I tried to get her to let me go in her suitcase but that didn't work out. She was apologizing that it was too loud standing by the waterfall and that they were going to the beach....she said it was so beautiful there...I felt real sorry for her and for me because I had to shovel...and was freezing.
Life is full of choices...sometimes we make good ones sometimes not. Feeling good about those choices is the bottom line, I would say.
Lori, I hope that your son and future will find much love and happiness. Enjoy the moment.
Karen, glad that you are feeling somewhat better....I had two bowls of chicken soup....one for you.
Richard, can't picture you as a clutter guy. I think recycling in Springfield is made a lot harder then it needs to be. The lady that used to run it scared me...I was afraid she would have you arrested if you didn't sort your stuff right....
Keep warm and snuggly everybody....Happy Thoughts..............

All I know is that recycling seems to be much harder in Vermont than in L.A. A lot more rules about how to put things in the can and what to put in the can. I feel like I need a doctorate in recycling when I'm there, like they might return my trash if it's in the wrong place. Guess that's why Vermont is such a clean state--especially with people like Richard picking up trash in the parking lot. I pick it up when it's in my driveway, but I think I'd be too grossed out to pick it up in a public parking lot. Good for you, Richard! And Karen part of the time!

whether you are in an action city or in a non-action city, my point is only this. you get to do the things that you choose to do because you can. you can choose to be the person that you are. i see a recycling truck come by my house and i can do the math. if i leave every box in an unbroken down state like my former squeeze, like her shoes in front of the stairs where we all walk, like every other damn thing that covers every horizontal surface- my calculator tells me that life itself is log jammed. this is a good thing if you would like life to stop and notice you. why is it okay for minimum wage people to live a log jammed life and it is okay for me as the former beholden to have lived the same minimum wage life in spite of my salary, but it is not okay for the queen bee or for real people with real lives? people with class do not have class because they have money. they have class cuz they know that it is a choice that they alone have the power to make. happy and classy thoughts. love, me

Good luck with the marriage counseling, Patti. It has definitely helped us. If there's good chemistry between you (both of you) and the therapist, it can really help bridge the differences. It's like having a good translator cuz men and women don't seem to speak the same language sometimes! Or maybe it's just an individual thing, not a gender thing.

Not much action here, Kathi. We'll be going to the Town Hall on Friday to witness the marriage ceremony for my son and his girlfriend. Her mother and stepfather will be coming from Maryland and also 1 of her sisters. She also has a sister here in L.A. who will be coming. Then my son is taking off to Las Vegas with her and her family. A different kind of action city. They like it there.

We finally had a chance last Sunday to go see my other son's apartment. He moved from Santa Monica to Venice recently and wanted us to come see the apartment. He lives with 2 friends. He really knows how to pick places. This one is one minute from the beach, perfect for him since he loves surfing. Right now he's still limping around after spraining his ankle, but he's not planning on being limited for too long. Anyway, it was good to see the sea. Here in the Valley where we live, it's just houses and houses..... Well, we do have some nice trees on our street.

Weather wise the world has turned upside down. Whereas the County used to get huge storms we often have the warning and not the reality. Southern Maine got hit hard again yesterday. Colin called last evening and said they are digging out from another foot and Dave had to close the SS Office early yesterday. We got a few inches but not big deal. the warning now is that the weekend will be hard hit up here again will may impact Dave coming home or going back. That's happened several times now.

The city of NY is banning planning bags, or at least they're trying to. Its mandatory in some cities here in the us to recycle the bags. They do not break down in the land fill. I have loads of fabric bags that I keep in the truck so I can take them in with me and use them instead of "grocery bags" Our family recyclables are taken by us each weekend to the transfer station where we have to manually sort them into particular bins. Not lids, rinsed out, separate cardboard from other papers etc. Its a pain quite frankly but I can't imagine not doing it.

Dave and I officially begin marriage counseling this Friday at 4PM. No matter how this ends up at least we will have given it our best instead of just going on. Too much pretense for me to give up my life here for the likelihood/possibilities of ending up alone in another town.

Since we have neither a snow delay or a stay home day, I guess I better get up off the couch. By for now...........Pat

Talk about excitement, Richard!
Action town of Springfield was all but shut down yesterday by the "big" snowstorm. We only ended up with about 6 inches. No school, which was great. Gave me that extra time to finally lug all the Christmas stuff up to the attic, do laundry, shovel, make baked beans, read a book, make a few cards (not to early to start those Valentine's), play on the computer....Way too much excitement! This snow is really snowman ready so today at school we will probably have to go out (as a class) and "play" in the snow....so I must remember my snowpants....
How much snow did you get Pat?? Seems the storm was going your way.....So far we have only used 2 snowdays (which we make up at the end of the year)...I like the delayed opening days the best!
Come on Lori, there must be something exciting happening in LA! You too, Karen, now that you are feeling better!
Have a good day everybody and Happy Thoughts............................................................

okay, not getting many comments on life in an action city. here is life in a non-action city. i woke up at about 4:30. it could have been the wine. it does that. i walked around the house to see if my cat wanted to try some improvised stanley cup activities downstairs. no cat. went back to bed. got up in time to put the recyclables out. my box is always trim with the paper and boxes broken down and packed tightly. my neighbors recyclables looked like shit. brushed my teeth, showered, and shaved. i have a new haircut that looks pretty good. i went to work and found some litter in the parking lot that i picked up and disposed of. i know that at least fifty people walked past the same filth and did nothing about it. my guess is that their recyclables look like shit, too. work was an email battle that raged until 6:00. it is all good.