It is only -13 this morning at 8:09....but, The SUN is shinning....Looks very peaceful. Of course, I am snuggled still in my fleece...

Does the word Hibernate have any meaning here???? That is exactly what I wanted to do today....but no, I bundled up (no late school for us)...it was only -20...subbed for the day...17 darling 5/6 year olds in the lovely trailer until 3:20..and then took them out to get on the bus for a delicious 3 day weekend. Needless to say, I thought the day would never end...I think we should all go to Lori's house!!! I am off to hibernate under my down comforter....only another 2 1/2 months...we can do it!

Global warming is here in L.A. Temperatures in the 80's! I'm back to hiking with my friend Levana (she was in Israel for 7 months, but got back in November), and by the end of the hike--or even after the first uphill--we're sweating even in shirt-sleeve shirts. You probably all want to kill me now!

37 would mean dancing in the streets in shorts and tank tops! It's 28 below in Bangor though our house thermometer says -18. School buses wouldn't start so school is delayed -38 in Presque Isle. that's the temperature not including wind chill.
Our new house is not properly heated on one end. the kitchen living room end. so we don't heat up quickly and efficiently. We haven't had the work done yet to fix it and now we're sorry. I'm hanging out down by the bedroom end for now.

We are in the middle of the coldest weather in years....tomorrow suppose to be the coldest yet....another inside day with 17 Kindergarteners.....think about it!!!
Amazing about the US Airways flight landing safely in the water and all surviving...
Thank God...scary.

hi karen, what a sweetie. the first name that came to my mind is "bijou." it means a small jewel and is a word with interesting roots. "mon petit bijou" is an affectionate expression. here is a link that tells lots about bijou- http://www.answers.com/topic/bijou . it is fun to think about names and research what is known. good luck. i am sure you will find a name that is just right. i am also sure that this is one lucky dog. by the way, i do tricks and i am house broken. i was not kidding when i said that i would be happy to move in with you and rich.

hi. my dining club has about ten of us and has been going monthly for almost twenty years. we pick a different country and house to meet at each time. last night was brazil, although we stretched the country border far enough to allow for some delicious cuban mojitos. the food was very meat-centric as you might imagine. the host does the entree, so that was me. i made a chicken, shrimp and peanut stew. all of the food was good, conversation was fun, and i had the dishwasher started before midnight. i can tell you that after 20 years we know each other pretty well and our relationships with each other are all very much respected and valued. next month is indonesian. any suggestions for an appetizer, soup, side, or dessert? it is still early enough for me to grab any one of them.

Little kids can't reach high things but all their "stuff" is on their level so it amounts to the same thing...how about if your son cleans? Do you wear your apron when cleaning...I would have to clean before the cleaning lady came...What is on your menu tonight? Have fun!
We have at least 8 inches of fresh new fluffy snow. It didn't start until after 8 here last night. I like it when it falls during the night and stops by morning!
The temperatures are suppose to get brutal by the end of the week...in the minus' for Wednesday on....send some warmth this way!!

i learned from one of my friends emails that the female yak is called a nak. i will ask his wife at dinner tonight about his yak tastings. i think that heat, oxygen, and good food are all in short supply when you are hanging out in villages at 14,000 feet elevation in nepal (or anywhere for that matter). i also fear that nepal may become a choice for my international dining club. coincidentally, my int'l dining group will be here tonight. of course, it will be taking place without our international ice climber. he will be missed. he has brought food back from other trips, including caribou sausage from out west and dove meat balls from nicauragua. i have been cleaning my house to get ready for two days, cuz of my youngest being home. the thing i like about small kids is that they can't reach anything. college kids on the other hand? woochie mama!!

Lori, you can do facebook, too. Its just another avenue...you can also "talk" to another friend...like instant messaging...its fun. I do this blog also..not just one.
My kids will "talk" to me on facebook...so its just another way of branching out.
Don't be afraid!! Its really easy!
I have been wondering about your family also...I don't understand people and talking and peace either...
Happy Thoughts to all............

If all of you end up switching to facebook, I'll have to switch, too, but I'm kind of set in my ways and like the blog. I tried facebook after the reunion and couldn't really get used to it--maybe because I'm too attached to this thing we have going on the blog. I still think it's amazing that we've kept it going for so long. It's my morning routine--before I drink my coffee, I check my emails and the blog. It's like an addiction. Well, maybe that's going a little too far....

Karen, my friends in Israel all live in the central area, so none of them are in danger right now, but I'll keep you all informed.

I've been talking with 3 or 4 different people in facebook . The 2 people who were recently invited to join the blog have not done so for whatever reasons. I like that when we are here we are talking with each other en masse. In my facebook pages it's very individualized. I think that's have folks want it. More personal perhaps? I like "thinking" we are all hanging out here together.

Lori, I think AARP eligibility begins at age 50.

I didn't even realize AARP was for our age. Every time something comes in the mail, I get mad that they think I'm that old and throw it in the garbage. Guess I'm not too well informed. What age does it start at?

Karen, the Israeli/Gaza situation is really complex. On the one hand, most Israelis felt Israel had to do something to protect its citizens from the constant threat of those missiles being fired from Gaza, especially after Hamas started firing way more missiles after the 6-month ceasefire ended. On the other hand, war never seems to help, in my opinion at least. It just makes the other side more fanatic and more determined to do something back that's worse than what they were doing before. I think there are moderates on both sides who have been trying to work out a political solution, but the fanatics on both sides ruin it for everyone. I do think we have to have a 2-state solution and that both sides have to make compromises--but how do you compromise when they don't even recognize Israel's existence and when they have such a culture of death (sending their young people on suicide missions and believing they'll go to heaven and get their 72 virgins up there). I don't have an answer. I just can't comprehend why it's SO hard for people to talk to each other and compromise. As for my family, my parents and Amy and her family live on a kibbutz in the southern part of the country. The kibbutz is just outside the range of the missiles, so they're not in any danger there. But Amy's youngest daughter goes to high school in Beer Sheva, and her oldest son goes to university there--and Beer Sheva IS in the range of the missiles. School there is cancelled now, and no one knows how long that will go on. Of course, kids never have a problem with school being cancelled--until summer comes and they have to make up the time they missed. My father works in Beer Sheva twice a week and said the number of patients coming in to see him has gone down a lot. Amy's other son got called for reserve duty, but only in February, so hopefully things will be better by then. It's a mess. I hope they'll figure out some way of coming to a compromise and ceasefire. Sometimes I have this grandiose notion that if I were the prime minister, I'd know how to make peace! (because one thing I know I'm good at is listening to the other person's point of view). But I'm not the prime minister and don't want to be!

Karen, it can be hard to recognize someone who has the distraction of being well hung like that skier- but, it ain't me. Being on the gondola at Whisler 72 hours before it collapsed is as close as I hope to come to this problem.

Speaking of mountains, I have a friend who is ice climbing in Nepal right now. Here is what he says. Please compare your world to the 98 pound sherpani chicks and the evening meals that he describes.

"People are quite friendly here in the Kumbo but certainly lead a hard life. I have seen 90lb. Sherpani women carrying loads of over 100 lbs. on their backs on only a tumpline across their foreheads! It is time to head up to the dining room for dinner, it is the only heated room with a wood / yak dung stove. We have been eating rice, noodles, eggs, lentils, potatoes, and chappatti (a bread like Indian Naan). Yak is on the menu but I haven't tried it yet."

On the points about healthcare, I can only say that I see it as a three fold issue that begins with the type of care that can be accessed, your ability to sue for malpractice and negligence, and it also includes the preferred treatment methods that you will be led to where the doctors make the most money (ie. get a colonoscopy during your 30 minutes spent on GI health, not, get a lecture on the benefits of eating kale, cuz the former nets a whole lot more money). Peace, Richard

I don't know anything about the group you mentioned Karen, but I know that the AARP folks are in favor of universal health care and that is a very good thing. I also think they have made some serious mistakes along the way but as a whole, I'm in favor of their organization.

The AARP is in favor of universal health care for seniors so I think they're trying to do something positive in that regard.

I wish you a very happy birthday, Patti! Sounds like you'll have to celebrate it another day, when Dave's not sick! Let us know how it goes at the women's clinic. If you learn anything that can help the rest of us, please pass it on! Karen, I agree with what you said--that it's how we handle things that counts, not what actually happens. Avi's always quoting one of those self-help books that says, "Attitude is more important than fact." He had it on our computer screen at one time until one of my son's friends changed it to "Attitude is more important than fart."

Thanks for the well wishes everyone and Happy double nickels to Eleanor Richardson as well. I am already a member of AARP aren't you? You get good discounts here and there but a lot of junk mail advertising.

I spent several hours at the library working on our up coming book sale, will have a chiropractic adjustment around 2 and other than that I don't have much planned. Dave is home sick today poor dear and I am avoiding him like the plague. He gave me the entire set that's 7 years of DVD of the West Wing. I may never come out of my room again. Bring on the cold of winter I'll be just fine.

Happy Birthday to Patti!
The first of us to reach
the magic 55!
Congratulations on your
special Day!!

I am going to have a wonderful (I hope) experience next Tuesday. Years ago I was watching MPBN and the program was a Dr. Christiane Northrup on the topic of WOMEN. She was wonderfully informative but quite funny as well. She has written several books; "Mother-Daughter Wisdom"," Women's Bodies", "Women's Wisdom", "The Wisdom of Menopause". Among others. I highly recommend them to all of you. Even you guys, you would be surprised at what you might learn! so anyway, she was a Dr. in a clinic in Yarmouth ME that she had started with a friend. the Women to Women Clinic. I thought boy, it would be great to have such a place available. Well, having moved south; I've decided that 2.5 hours is close enough and I have an appointment there this coming Tues. Dr. Northrup is no longer there as she has so many speaking engagements but her former partner still is and I am really looking forward to this. the initial visit is at least 2 hours. Delicious, some to talk to who will really listen and I have no doubt will have advice and recommendations that will be very beneficial.

Regarding Facebook, I was there last night with my updating moments. I still am trying to get my new email up and running so I can receive or be logging into sites I did before the move. anyway. ...there was a current message from Kathi, and I asked her how she had been in contact with Jane. So I invited Jane to be on my friends list. Then today when I was checking out Janes' section I saw that she was friends with Gayle Oberg. So I asked her to join me too. It was easy to do but I haven't heard back from them yet. I just don't understand why it's been so hard to get into the blog site. But it seems to be.

I don't know which I prefer but certainly I like this. Maybe best. But I want us to have as many peole as we can get together! It's a great way to break up a clique....yes?

I sent an invite to Joanne Gordan thanks to an email from Debi too. Maybe we'll start seeing some new "voices" here. Wouldn't that be nice.

Don't worry too much Lori I'm not really scared. Actually I don't have the chutzpah to look at the egg myself...........

I found where you send invites, so I sent an invite to Jane.

I think you are much more adventurous then some of us!
I have been "talking" to Jane Haseltine on facebook...how do we get her invited to the blog? Pat???
I love putting up Christmas decorations but hate taking them down. I just took my tree down and now have to lug all the stuff back up to the attic. I changed beds from all my family company and now have to make all the beds...but it is much more fun getting in touch with my old friends then cleaning!!
Hope everyone is recovered from the exciting New Years celebrations! Karen are you back from Florida yet??

I scare you?! Why? Did you think I'm seriously trying to read my future in an egg? Don't worry, I haven't gone over the edge....

Lori the egg thing; sometimes you scare me.

This morning I read your poem, Choices. Once again, I smile.

Happy New Year's to all of you! Here's a toast to another year of good blogging! On New Year's eve, I tried something my cleaning lady from El Salvador said they do there on the New Year. You break an egg into a glass of water and wait a few minutes. Then you look at the shapes that appear and that tells you about your future (like reading coffee grounds). At first all I saw was a piece of white coming out of the yellow. But after it sat for a few minutes, it looked like people (women) holding hands and dancing, wearing long dresses like wedding gowns. Don't know what that means. Another wedding coming up? I just did it out of curiosity--and because I know she's going to ask me next Thursday what I saw in the glass.

Happy New Year to all my friends! May 2009 bring wonderful things for all of us!
Happy Thoughts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sounds like great adult fun, Karen! Today, we have: played playdough, played in the snow...the sliding was pretty good down the top of the garden down the field...played with matchbox cars (80 something of them), princess castle...and gone to McDonalds (one time treat)...now I am letting them watch cartoon because I am tired, too! You should hear the bartering for snacks...lol...Neil is on the road tonight so it'll be Chinese (he won't eat it)...so treat for Me!
Sunshine, sitting in...doing nothing....sounds like Heaven!

Thanks for the explanations! I don't remember being limited to one yard or the other. There was never much traffic anyway.

The backyard is the yard out back of the house; if you play there your ball is less likely to go in the road

The dooryard is the yard out front, by the front door. Unless mom said go play in traffic I wasn't usually found out in the dooryard.

On Wall Street we had little or no back yard, it was lawn on both sides of the house. Was my porch by the front door the door yard? Jeez..........

I always heard play in the backyard!

Sounds like you're all having a nice holiday. We have a lot of "together" times, but not at Christmas. Right now Omer and Rafi (my sons) are in Panama with a friend. Omer is surfing, and Rafi is probably relaxing on the beach. He's still sort of recovering from his separation with Kristine. Danit and Darren were supposed to go to visit his parents in Denver for Christmas, but they postponed the trip. Things are a little tight financially for them right now, so they'd rather go another time. Besides, they're having extra cold weather in Colorado right now, and neither of them likes the cold. Actually, it's been really cold in L.A., too, but I guess it doesn't compare to the snow and ice kind of cold.

Karen, I guess I managed to grow up in Vermont without knowing what a dooryard is. What is it?!

For my family supper has always been the end of day meal. Dinner is something that we might eat Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, or Sunday "dinner" . It's fancier or just plain more food. Oh well.
I was happy to have the boys arrive; as always I fell for the "We'll be really late." story. They know I'm anxious for them to come home and they tell me something like we got started really late, they blame each other; the roads are really icy and we had to go super slow on the highway, had to work late; you get the idea. Then when they know I'm upset and worked up they pull in. Sometimes they are actually telling me these stories while parked in the driveway. I'm just such a weak vessel and they have such fun at my expense. so of course they pull this Christmas eve and then waltz through the door. Jeez. So we had our usual Christmas eve events but we did it quite a bit later than usual.

Maybe it's a Vermont thing, Kathi. Like Jesum Cro.

So did Santa come and bring you all nice presents? Did you hear about the crazy guy here who dressed up as Santa and went to the house where his ex-wife and her family and others were having a party and then started shooting at people? He killed 8 people. Why are there so many sick, crazy people in this world? Sorry, I shouldn't have even mentioned this. Not exactly what you all need to hear right now.

I say supper too, Lori! Must be a "Springfield" thing!!
All of my kids will be home on Friday. Tomorrow Neil and I are going to my
niece and her husbands for Christmas dinner. It'll be a nice "adult" time...before all the kids arrive. I just went to church for Midnight mass (which is actually 8:00...in the middle of the mass, all the lights went off...luckily, they had lots of candles going. It was really pretty...and the lights came on after about 10 minutes.
It is raining here now...making the piles of snow go down. I am sure it won't all disappear and that Santa will find his way, he'll have to pretend that its snow!
May you all have a joyous Holiday, filled with love and joy!
Happy Thoughts.............

It's nice to see someone else says "supper" besides me. My kids laugh at me cuz no one in L.A. seems to say supper; they all say "dinner." Anyway, Merry Christmas to all of you! Enjoy the holiday and your families!

It's Christmas Eve. Dave, Jack and I just finished supper and tracking Santa via Norad. He's in France. I'm waiting impatiently for the boys to arrive. For me, Christmas will start then.

God bless all of you wherever he finds you this evening.
- Pat

Thanks, Karen! I like the feeling of holidays and vacation, but I can't say I'm caught up in the holiday spirit. We've been lighting the Hannukah candles and eating "soofganiot" (the Hannukah donuts), but that's about all--but that's okay, I'm just taking it easy, not complaining....

karen, the words to the kenny loggins Christmas song you posted and the idea of knowing the spirit of the holiday reminds me of a fav poem of mine that was written by emily dickinson.

hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul,
and sings the tune without the words,
and never stops at all,

and sweetest in the gale is heard;
and sore must be the storm
that could abash the little bird
that kept so many warm.

i ’ve heard it in the chillest land,
and on the strangest sea;
yet, never, in extremity,
it asked a crumb of me.

Yes, we have at least 15 inches of snow plus the winds are brutal. Windchills are way below zero...I went and got the mail, enough of being outside!
I spent the day with 3 of my teacher friends doing lunch and our little Christmas.
It was fun...instead of us cooking, we ordered Chinese...from the little trailer on Clinton Street. Pretty tasty and easy! Plus we ate at my house, so even better!
Stay warm...happy thoughts!

We are enjoying 15 inches of fresh snow. If the wind would die down this would be much less of a big deal.

Yes, yes, yes, it is snowing. We have had a foot of snow since Friday and it is snowing heavily now. Personally, the White Christmas thing is getting to be very overrated! I am tired of shoveling already....luckily, Neil is home today, so its his turn with that fun tool. We have had 2 snow days...1 late start and 1 early release...we are now on vacation until Jan. 2, when they scheduled a inservice day.
How crazy...a Friday...heat up a school for one day then a weekend...after vacation.
What were they thinking?
Drive carefully...I am hibernating today!

The concept of a white Christmas is no longer up for discussion, we are about to get smacked with a foot or more of snow and it has just started. Yikes! Guess we better hit the grocery store today.

watch out Kathi, if I'm getting it then I think you either already did or you will, right? How many snow days have you already had?

Karen when your family be home?

2 days 19 hours to go..................

3 days and 8 hours according to Norad; Santa is gearing up

Kathi try it again. She has reposted the opportunity because so many people missed it first time around and wrote in. It's under Oprah's gift to you (left side of screen about 1/4 of the way down)

I just checked the site and it seems to be available. It's good music! No versions of Grandma got run over by a Reindeer.

We sang those songs all week in Kindergarten...not quite like the mall...but I know what you mean, Lori! Talking about music, I guess I missed the Oprah music deadline because I couldn't get the songs to download...but thanks for mentioning it Pat!
Still snowing here.............

Avi's sister couldn't stop humming "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" when we were at their house the other day. When you go to the mall, you hear that song over and over, and it gets stuck in your head. I do love those Christmas songs, though.

Did you get your free download of Christmas music from Oprah? It's good stuff

Forecast for today: SNOW....SNOW.....SNOW until 3 am tomorrow morning....how much? We will wait and see. Another storm coming on Sunday with even more snow then todays...so stay tuned for the snow bulletin! Let's see if we end up with a early release!

Pretty scary about the broken gondola tower. You're lucky you missed that experience. It's been really cold here, too, and we can see the snow on the mountains in the distance, so I can pretend I'm in Vermont.

It's snowing here but starting to lighten up a bit just now. We have 4-5 inches of fresh on the ground. It's pretty in the trees out back. The delivery guys had to shovel a little to bring in my living room furniture . We ordered it a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving and it arrived today. Now we having more than one chair each to sit down.

We spent an overnight in Portsmouth early this week. Stayed at the Wentworth Inn. It was beautiful. We had a fabulous view of the ocean and the grounds. I spent the morning at their spa. Very very nice. I fell sound asleep during a facial. Yummy.

We visited with Kevin and Colin both nights, on the way down and back. They'll be home for Christmas next week and then we probably won't lay eyes on them for months. Colin has a new job cooking at a pub a couple of blocks from home so he walks. Kev is still doing his massage therapy classes and will finish up in early April.

We're going to the Bangor Auditorium tomorrow to enjoy A Leahy Celtic Christmas. We're looking forward to some holiday entertainment. It should be a good show. Like a Christmasy River Dance.

hi kathi, you are right. in the last three days i found snow all the way from whistler to vancouver to seattle to madison to champagne illinois and then all the way here to burlington and it keeps on coming. i can't tell you how many SUVs i saw doing dog tricks like- roll over and play dead. seeing SUV wheels raised in worship to the skies is a different look. i was fortunate to arrive here without more than a couple hour delay and i had no car issues across about 1000 miles of driving in the snow. my checked bag was not so lucky. i hope it will show up later this morning. i was also fortunate to be safely away from whistler. yesterday, a gondola tower broke on a gondola that i rode on four times- just two days before. i saw pictures with gondola cars hung like over ripe fruit. the good news is that it is not their new peak2peak gondola. on that one it is the highest you can be suspended from a cable in north america (i am pretty sure). so now i have to regroup and head back to the office. dum, dee, dum, dum

SNOW DAY....SNOW DAY.....SNOW DAY.....We are suppose to get 3-6 inches of white snow today...school is cancelled...I have mixed up bread and that is rising..got lots to do....and I suppose I'll have to shovel too...Another storm coming on Friday..bigger then this one...so....when to do shopping????? I have to make my granddaughter a birthday card...so that will be my first priority this morning (her birthday is Saturday and she will be 4)...
Richard you will find lots of snow when you get home!

well it was pretty cold on the mountains today at whistler and blackcomb. it was -20 C and with wind too. the snow was thin and terrain was limited. in spite of it all (including 20 minutes on a chairlift that stopped), it has been really fun. i found powder on some off piste trails and along the edges of the open trails. there are friendly people here and a real party spirit. i haven't been around the whole apres ski thing for a while. people from all of the former english colonies seem to have come here for the weekend. i guess we, in vermont, were an english colony too. wow, i guess i was with kindred spirits and the party following rebellion and liberation continues here. i think i will go back to the bar and buy a round for my new found mates and we will raise a glass to our liberation from victorian oppression, tea, and scones. i hit the road early in the morning and will drive five hours to seattle. then i start my three day journey home. it has been a long time out on the road, but it has had some very good moments. the high desert in new mexico was special. i see why georgia o'keefe dug it there. be good, have fun.

My God Richard, that all sounds exhausting. I like to travel but not like that for sure. How do you stand it.

We are iced in here also. The trees are beautiful but there are many branches down. Power outages like in VT but it's slushy on the roads as the temp. is rising it's "just" raining now. I think I won't go out though I have a water exercise class at 11:30. I have a little wrapping I could do like you Kathi and there's always the ongoing UNPACKING. Dave keeps reminding me that we haven't been moved as long I think and it's OK that we aren't able to find anything. It's driving me crazy.

You are lucky to be away from the Snow and ICE, ICE, ICE. Everywhere is closed today because of the weather. Trees down...luckily we have power here. It took Neil a hour and 20 minutes to drive to Brattleboro...now he is driving in MA where it is mostly raining.
So what to do on a snow day...hummmm....baking, wrap presents....I think it will be a good day!
Travel safely Richard....be careful snowboarding....got to watch out for those "old" Vermont bones.

hi. i am on a bit of a walkabout. over the last couple of weeks i have been in huntington beach, tempe, oakland, san jose, albuquerque, santa fe, portland, seattle, vancouver, and victoria. the funny thing is that my flight from santa fe to portland also stopped in san diego and reno. hey, that is nuts. the outcomes have been good. the prospects of remaining employed are always a concern and i am doing some high stepping these days to be walkin' fo' da' cake. saturday will be cool running at whistler. i will be snowboarding and the jamaican bobsled team will also be arriving in whistler this weekend for training in preparation for the next winter olympic games. sunday, i am off to chicago, madison, champagne, and home for a day. then i go to providence, boston and i am back to burlington for the holidays. i find it all a little odd that a person would travel as much as i am traveling. when is someone going to figure out that "beam me up, scottie" thing?