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.

hi. i am in the action city- new york. i have been here for the last two days. i just got back from a broadway play- the farnsworth invention. it was really good and i liked it a lot. i have to think about it for a while because there were some really troubling characterizations of what happened under david sarnoff and the modern age of tv. perfect that you walk out having to think about it more. last night was a great night in the clubs. yahoo! i had a front row table for a great jazz guitarist and his quartet. so that's the run down on the action. my feet are killing me. they feel like over inflated footballs. by the way, bithday check-ups are okay pat. my great dentist (from springfield who i go to in b'ton) has a very close friend and wife who exchanged that procedure and they are damn glad that they did, so maybe the check-up and something that is fun could work. time to collapse.

I go along with Karen and Lori that you need to find a more exciting way to celebrate your birthday! Hope that your tests all came back fine.
Karen, remember all that snow that we had....well, you should see bare patches now! It is going to get colder here with maybe freezing rain tonight and tomorrow. I'm hoping for a school delay! Bad, huh!....Neil is on the road tonight....yesterday, someone...another truck from Florida...rammed into the back of his trailer on I95 in CT...They were in traffic and construction, Neil stopped and the other guy didn't....Luckily, no one was hurt, just the back of the trailer and the front of this other guys truck. The guy also got a ticket for following too close, so there is a lesson!
I am still trying to get my decorations down and put away. I have everything off the tree except the lights, which I hope to do tonight, we'll see how ambitious I get.....
I did get together on Tuesday night with Karen V...she was in town visiting her family for the holidays. We had a nice chat....unfortunately, the only place open to have coffee in town was Friendlys....Hope you had a safe trip back, Karen, good luck with school this semester. Thanks for getting together....
Have a good night, everybody....happy thoughts.......................

A mammogram or endoscopy for your birthday?! Karen's idea sounds better. Happy birthday!

thanks Karen, good thoughts

I used to give myself a mammogram each year for my birthday but somehow got out of sync with that.

My friends at school gave me an hour of massage for a birthday gift. I'm really looking forward to taking advantage of it.

endoscopy was loads o fun.

I broke my fast with birthday cake. Yum.........

I'm so hungry. I have an endoscopy this afternoon at 1 so I wasn't to eat or drink after midnight. My Lyrica is madking me very blurry headed today. I'm glad I'm not at school but I wish I wasn't home alone.

Garage sale season is probably more April here especially since we have set record highs for amounts of snow so far this winter. Strangely though it is almost 40 degrees out today so the levels of snow are dropping dramatically today. Which leads me into my next story! The warmer weather has melted the snow around the edges of our house.

This allows the sewer guy to bring his pipes and roto rootery things from the driveway to the back yard to come into the basement/family room. Our neighbors tree roots have grown into our sewer pipes which is blocking the "flow". We're not able to run water basically at this point or it will come back into the house. right this minute they are running a camera through the pipe out to 97 feet where they found the worst blockage yesterday. They will be able to see if they cleared the roots out. If not, Worst case scenario comes into play. Dig up the yard to pull out and clear the pipes. This will effect both our yard and our neighbors. Not a good thing. I have my fingers crossed.

I have a big kitchen aide mixer and use it all the time. It's terrific. Last Christmas Kevin gave me a pretty red hand held kitchen aid mixer for small jobs. Like whipped cream, or if I want to mash potatoes in the pot I cooked them in instead of pouring them into a bowl for the big mixer.
Please accept my apologies Kathi. I did receive your pretty card at Christmas. I had a tough time though this season and wasn't doing a good Christmas spirit thing. Dave and I are glad 2007 is behind us.

hi. action cities for me are new york, london, and rome but i know that there are many more (berlin, prague, paris, springfield, and perkinsville). the main point is to always have someone great traveling with you. then everywhere that you go can be really fantastic. i am losing my italian travel partner. she is going to take over her father's firm back home. oh well, i guess that all of the many, many memorable adventures will have to suffice. there are many more great places to be and i know that being open to wonderful lets it happen. that is my advice. wonderful was dinner with karen and rich, dinner with lori, lunch with karen v., alumni parades, road trips with brian to get there, dancing with margaret, breakfast at the old whitcomb farm- yeah, i think you get the picture. there is no glamour, action, or excitement that is better than being with friends.

Is it your birthday too, Patti? I know you said January but I don't remember when. If it happens to be then, Happy Birthday to you too...if not....keep the sentiment until then. Did you get my Christmas card??? I think Eleanor lives in Oregon.
Hope you had a good day lounging around Richard. Always nice when that happens.
More wedding excitement for you Lori.
The kids gave me a new Kitchen Aid mixer for Christmas....I was looking for recipes to make something....like do I need to try bread or pie crust.....such a dilemma. I'll let you know how whatever comes out.
Happy Thoughts.................

Dave and I have 4 days planned for DC this coming April vacation. We sent a day and a half there 3 years ago and wished for much more time to look at everything. The Holocaust Museum was something I wanted to do and it was closed at the time. We're hoping to be able to go this trip though. It was quite a whirl wind trip last time trying to see everything we possibly could. this time though we won't be able to run all over, we'll have to use some public transportation. I'm disappointed by that part but I'll do the best I can to be more mobile by then.

Eleanor Richardson, if you're out there or anyone sees her; Happy Birthday!

Patti, about the cities, I guess Tel Aviv came to mind cuz it's often compared to N.Y. as a city that never sleeps. Even really late at night you can see lots of people walking around. I'm sure Boston and D.C. are also action cities; they just weren't the first ones to come to my mind cuz I've barely been to D.C. and haven't been to Boston in years. In L.A. most restaurants close their kitchens at 10 p.m. Richard can tell us his favorite action city.

good morning. i am having a quiet day at home and just wanted you all to know that. hmmmmmm, very nice. hope your's is really nice, too.

Hi all,

Lori your's is such an interesting perspective. The statement you made about action cities, NY or Tel Aviv; was striking to me. I would have said perhaps NY or Boston, or DC. I'm sure the others would have cities in the US they'd think of. You my friend are our globe trotter. Amongst the ladies anyway. Richard certainly hits all the international hot spots.

To answer your question Karen about my chronic pain. I do have osteoarthritis head to toe but it's not extreme in any one area and the rhumatologist says that it is not what's causing my pain. Fibromyalgia was his diagnosis. I've been doing a lot of reading on the subject. Fascinating and frustrating. I started taking Lyrica two nights ago. I have to say I've had an immediate and positive reaction the pain. There's a lot less of it. I'm not sure it's helping much with reaching REM sleep which is a problem with fibromyalgia patients. But I need to give it time. There's a lot for me to learn about living with this condition and changing my behaviors to manage it. Frankly, I think there may be a little too much change for me right now. Stress is a big factor in causing "flare-ups" in folks with Fibromyalgia.

Anyhoo, it was wonderful having Kevin and Colin home for several day at Christmas. We probably won't see them again until Feb. We're going down to Portland to a Toby Keith Concert Valentine's Day.

There's much to be done to prepare the house for sale, the hardest part aside from actually making that decision is the clean up. I am a hoarder it seems. I discovered two bags of bags in a closet. When I go into a store that gives a nice bag with handles I fold it neatly and keep it. I don't ever use them again but I certainly have them Just In Case. This is going to be like the sell this house show where everything is all fixed up and re-arranged to sell and suddenly the owners are standing in a beautiful home they didn't realize they already had. They just needed someone like Karen to come in and "stage" it. Feel like taking a drive Karen?

Your grandchildren are so cute, Kathi. I guess red hair is a dominant gene. We're kind of spoiled--our kids live close by, so I don't know what's it's like not to see them so often. I can't say I mind the empty nest, though. It's nice to have privacy, but still have them close by. Our privacy will be ending for a while next week cuz my sister's son will be coming to stay with us, probably for about 2 months. He's coming to get his American citizenship. Amy's older 2 kids were here a few years ago to take care of that, and now it's the third one's turn. He just finished the army in Israel. Her youngest got the citizenship in Israel. Some change in the law made it possible for her to get it there because she's under a certain age. Hopefully, Eli (her son) will be able to do some work for Avi while he's here. Otherwise, it will be pretty boring for him, in my opinion anyway. It's not an action city like N.Y. or Tel Aviv.

Happy New Year Everybody. I wrote something a couple days ago...went to put a picture on and somehow lost everything again. I guess I forgot to click on the publish button, very annoying....anyways, hope I am not boring you with my little one stories. Yesterday I was home all alone for the first time in 10 days...I was actually lonely! I moved all the "kid stuff" upstairs and sat and read a book for the day. Neil was and still is on the road again tonight so I didn't even have to make dinner. Karen, it was 8 below this morning when I left for school. I am so glad that the really cold stuff waited until after my son-in-law went home. He might never move closer if he felt that cold! I am so hoping that they move to CT...I would much rather drive 3 hours then 13 to see them. Then, my other daughter can come to CT from NYC and I can see her more often too...so...guess it doesn't take much to make me happy! My son who had been growing his hair out for a long time (big, bushy, wavy kind) got his hair cut for my Christmas present. I was very surprised and pleased!

That's good that you'll be able to get to Vermont faster to meet us, Patti. Another bonus to moving to Bangor! I hope you'll be happy with the change, though it must be hard to move after being in one place for so long.

Yes Lori I have. As much as I prefer life here in the county I feel I need to make the move. There is better medical care there and as time goes by I need that. Living alone is very difficult when chronic pain is part of the process. Married life is difficult at best and living apart for the majority of the week makes it all the more difficult. Nearly 30 years into a marriage is probably not a good time to start living apart. It works for some people; it's not working for us.

My cleaning lady is being taken to court for stealing from one of her families and so I don't feel comfortable continuing with her. That means I'm back to doing all my own housework. I don'tlike having Dave have to do the heavy work on the weekends. Strangely there aren't a lot of people looking for that type of work.

No way to know yet when we will make the move. As soon as we find the right house though I'd say. We aren't going to wait until the end of the school year unless it just works out that way or we get really close.

minus 20 to 30 below with the wind chill factor tonight. Jeez that's cold! Going out to school tomorrow the winds will still be high. Bundle up............................

It'll be easily and faster for me to get to VT when you are there next time Lori, so maybe we'll be able to do some get togethers Kathy and Karen, Janice and whomever else may be "listening" in.

Beautiful picture, Karen!

So it sounds like you HAVE decided to make the move to Bangor at some point, Patti, right? Are you okay with it now?

That's a lovely photo Karen. Very wintry and how nice for you that you got to leave it behind. I woke up to the alarm this a.m. at 5:30. Ready to head to head back to school to start the new year. Oops! another snow snow day. Crazy amounts of snow and blowing all over the place. Wicked cold and I'm glad to be tucked safely here in the house. but, it means we're going long on the spring end. Well we gotta deal sometime. All the skiing and snowmobiling folks are very happy.

Dave and I looked at 9 houses over Christmas and over 20 more on the internet when we finally got home Sunday night. We got stuck for over an hour in the driveway of the first house we went to. Should have had the truck I guess but this continuing snow fall is throwing everybody off. it's not supposed to keep happening. Impossible to see what the yards look like of course. For me that's a problem as I feel the yard and potential gardens are very important. Everything is very expensive too. Housing here in the county is far behind price wise. I think we'll sell easily and at a higher price when the gardens are growing. We'll see, I guess it depends on when we find what we want on the other end.

I'm glad to finally have seen the rhumatologist down in Bangor. It's great to have someone take all the information and tie it up in a big bow. No more competing Dr. info. I even get copies of all the reports generated from the appointment and tests run. That's a first.

Off to get some breakfast. Enjoy your day everyone.

Your grandchildren sound so cute, Kathi! I can almost see them and hear them the way you describe them.

Happy New Year everyone! May all your hopes and dreams comes true in 2008...or at least something really nice in your life!

Things have been hectic here with a housefull of little and big ones. We have gone on a sleigh ride....Camille (who is 3) had this petrified look on her face as we started the ride...when asked what was wrong...she wanted to know when we were going to fly! (The only sleigh she knew of was Santa's...and what does his do????) When she realized we were not going to fly, she relax and had fun. It was the perfect day....lots of snow and mild temperatures. We have been lucky so far with having the fluffy beautiful snow. Good enough to make snowforts and snowmen and snowballs. The little ones have had a great time outside. The big ones got into it yesterday after my girls found their "old" snowpants up in the attic. Pretty amusing seeing them in their pink snowpants! They couldn't believe that I actually had them.....
Christmas was fun, with Camille again...coming into the house saying "Nana, nana, we got you a new mixer"....they big kids had chipped together back in July and had kept it a secret until the last second! At least I didn't know what color......blue! lol....
Chloe is sitting up reaching for things and getting onto her belly getting ready to crawl....Papa is helping her learn much to her mothers chergrin! I am keeping my fingers crossed that they might be moving to CT for a job opportunity for my son-in-law...we'll see! I would be happy to have them much closer! At least I could drive there in a weekend!
Caleb was my shoveling helper....he took his job very seriously....for a few minutes!
All in all it has been a great visit that will end when everyone leaves sometime today......then I'll need the maid big time! Luckily, I don't have school until Wednesday!
Congratulations Lori! Karen, It was great seeing you and hope you arrived home safely!
Happy Thoughts to all............................

I forgot to mention that we have another wedding coming up! My son Rafi and his girlfriend, Kristine, are back to normal after their break-up and have decided to do what my daughter did--have a civil ceremony at the Town Hall! They set a date for Jan. 18. I'm not sure what the point is cuz they are planning to have a regular wedding, too, but they just "feel like doing this." Guess that's a good enough reason. I don't know when their other wedding will be, but my daughter's will be on July 13. They might end up doing theirs this summer, too. Who knows?

Happy New Year to all you bloggers! Hope you're having fun. We haven't decided yet what we're doing. We'll probably either stay home for a quiet, romantic evening or spend it with Avi's family. No noise and crowds for us this year! I wish you all the best of everything for the coming year.

ya' know, i found a 2005 cd release that had slipped by me until now. i really, really like it. it is called- the very best of rosanne cash. she and i have been pretty tight since about 1980. (that is one of my secrets that i haven't told her yet). i found it for $12 at best buy. she has some great, great songs.

I like that tiger idea. Sounds much more exciting than making resolutions. Richard, you have to do something with your writing. You have so much imagination!

santa's sleigh and posse made their usual stop at my place. everything seemed a-ok with the reindeer and all claimed to have plenty of gas in the tank. i used to think that sushi is strange, i have wondered if our universe really needs to be so big, and what is up with anteaters anyway? i realized this year that santa's crew have always been cool with me. i have never found the whole thing to be strange or questionable. next year, i will be looking forward to their return. i have time off from work this week. that is sweet. i just finished making a coffee table. i needed one and it gave me a chance to try out the details in construction that i hope to use on the luv shak. i set it up in my living room and headed out to the lumber yard to get more wood for my next project. i have a new boss and a new assignment at work when i go back next week. that was sort of sprung on me. it eliminates lots that i did not prefer and lets me focus on more of what i like. i haven't met my new boss yet, but it could all be good. hope so. by the way, don't make any resolutions. it has been shown scientifically that there is no evidence that resolutions work. the truth is we all have a tiger inside of us, who is us and whom we are riding upon. we all have pretty good tigers, so just enjoy the ride.

The guys are clearing the dinner table and washing the dishes. I'm having a quiet moment in my study to say hello to all of you. It's been wonderful having the boys home. They leave sometime on TH. As do Dave I . We're heading down the Bangor, TH morning.

So I'll say Happy Holidays whatever they may be and save my Happy New Year thoughts for later on in the week!

Thank you, Richard. We need you here on the blog to remind us to feel good about ourselves. Love you, too. Did Santa come down your chimney?

lori, i have always known that you are a party girl. you have just had a little trouble figuring it out for yourself. there are so many things that are pagan, like santa, that a goy boy like me celebrate. it really is okay to party like it's 1972. it is odd that paganism is the modern way to say plolytheistic and polytheism (it is code for believing in goddesses, too) is pushed in the direction of- maybe she doesn't believe in anything at all, and she sure does love to party. hey, i believe in a lot. i work my ass off for my beliefs and for this reason alone i want santa shooting down cashmere chimneys, i want goats smiling in the back yard, and i want smiles on all the beautiful people's faces. by the way, you are a 10. love ya, richard

When I hear you all talk about Christmas, it makes me wish we celebrated it! It sounds so fun!

On a less upbeat note, we found out yesterday that Omer, our youngest, sprained his ankle while snowboarding at Mammoth. He's in pain and really disappointed that he won't be able to snowboard and surf for a while--besides being worried about how he'll manage at work, etc. He has crutches now and can't put any weight on his foot. We haven't seen him yet. His friends will be bringing him back today.

You all are great! We had our family Christmas today and we head to FL in the morning. My lesson this year, that I managed to pull off so far (not sure how the morning will go) is that if you just "don't sweat the small stuff" (that I see, that no one else sees) then you can really have a good time and appreciate the great family that you have. It was a great day, not a perfect day, but a really fun, calm day with grown kids and a husband who pitched in, appreciated everything, talked, laughed and fell asleep in various places. I have to go pack but I wish you all a really great time with those you love. Be sure to come back in the New Year!

Heres a special Holiday wish to all .....that Santa doesn't get stuck in too many chimneys....embers burn hot and that you find peace and love in your hearts, not just now but in all 2008!

My little ones are on their way to Nana's house! I am so excited that I finally started cleaning the house...why I'm not sure...no one will know after they arrive! But guess its the holiday spirit kicking in. Some little darlings from school gave me a plate of decorated cookies...been munching those inbetween scrubbing...really yummy. I had waited for the maid but guess she ran off with an elf or something.

Please enjoy your families and friends....keep spreading that cheer, Richard! Travel safely Karen. Hope to catch you in Springfield! Peep when you drive by. Wonderful things are around the corner!

Happy Thoughts....................................

http://www.thecompassgroup.biz/merryxmas.swf

Good morning to all! My Uncle Woody (Oliver Woodruff) mom's brother sent me this link today and I wish you'd all use the link and enjoy it as much as I did. It's the perfect Christmas card message. Cheered me right up!!

Merry Christmas one and all, celebrating the holiday or not, I' bet you get a smile on with this.

My Love to you - Pat

hot 'lanta karen, you got it right. i had been missing you. i was at a point where i could have used some of your fun perspective. i have been running into too many scrooges out there this year. i have actually offered to give away some of my positive energy to a few of them. i got one who took some and smiled and another who was on the fence. maybe the second one didn't know what kind of mojo she would be messing with. i am worried that this might be a year when santa gets stuck in a lot of chimneys. when embers in a fireplace don't burn hot enough, too much soot builds up. when embers in your heart are still just barely lit, there is plenty left to hope for. here is to hearths on fire and hearts that are smokin'.

Having read your book Lori, If I didn't already have a copy, I'd buy one in a heart beat!

I proud of you for considering going to work after the holiday Karen. If it's something you enjoy doing, then you'll surely enjoy it. Good it for you.

Good luck with your New Year's JOB resolution, Karen. I'm impressed! It sounds like you're good at what you do, and you're lucky you have a skill like that that can get you a job. The closest I've come to a job is selling some copies of the poetry book I published in Israel to the women in my writing group. I was embarrassed to take money. I was going to just give it to them, but they insisted on paying. I also went to an Israeli store here that sells Israeli books, music, and decorations, and the owner took 6 books on consignment, 3 for each of his 2 stores. That means he only pays if he sells them. Most of the books are in bookstores in Israel, which I'm excited about--though I'll be very surprised if anyone actually buys one.

You may be talking to Karen V and not me but hell, I am taking this one! Afterall, how often do you have a male (that you are not married to) tell you that he loves you?? So Richard, thanks and back at you with the love!

And I am definitely glad that you feel that life is heading in the right direction, whether possibilities or realities. We all deserve that or at least have learned that we shouldn't hesitate to make it happen. I toast to that for sure!

I have been thinking about New Year's resolutions ... losing weight and getting in shape is always there, but I have added a JOB this year! The other day a woman that I met while I was doing the painting job in the fall (she was building a deck on the house) called me and wants to meet about a business she wants to start. Its called G.O.T. (Get Organized Today). It would involve staging houses for sale, rearranging rooms with things people already own, doing cosmetic makeovers (which is what I did on that job), and organizing clutter. I told her I would talk to her after the holidays. I guess I misspoke 18 years ago when I said that I would go to work when my youngest went to school ...... must have meant COLLEGE!

On a sad note, I took my dog to the vet today and she has an enlarged heart (congestive heart failure) which came on rapidly as her August xray was very normal. $225 later, she has a heart med and lasix and hopefully they can stall it for awhile. She will be 12 in March.

I am off to buy a couple of last gifts and hit the grocery store for our Christmas dinner, which will be Saturday for us. Then Sunday we are off to FL to do the Stover side and from there to VT for my side. I have not really found the spirit(maybe I should say that I never got into the chaotic "have to" do a million things) this year but am feeling good about remaining calm with hopefully a "whatever" attitude when things don't go perfectly. Also I thought of some personal, more sentimental gifts, like cookbook binders of family recipes and a framed panorama of Acadia, which made me happy. My middle son is coming home tonight and my oldest son will be home Fri night. I am getting out my tubs of 30 years of pictures and hoping to get the kids to help me put them in albums ... or at least they can look through them together and get some good laughs.

Happy Holidays to all and best wishes for 2008! Thanks for listening and sharing these past years.

karen, love you, miss you, mean it, richard

Glad to hear you got home safely, Kathi, and it sounds like it was really fun surprising the grandchildren like that!

I can't remember (am I getting senile?) if I already told you all that my daughter's wedding plans are finally taking shape. They signed the contract at the Skirball Cultural Center and will be getting married on July 13--about a year and a half after they officially got married at the Town Hall. I guess they'll have 2 anniversaries. And my son and his girlfriend are re-engaged. I'm still not really sure why they broke up, but it seems like the break-up period did them good. Nothing like the fear of losing someone as far as appreciating each other goes.

I am toasting tonight getting home from NC. Our flight was cancelled yesterday, luckily before we were on our layover in Washington. We left here Friday morning at 2am in the snow. It was very nasty traveling to Manchester, NH airport. They changed our flight but it worked out that we got in sooner. My daughter came to Raleigh to pick us up. Camille was in the backseat thinking...her idea...that she was going to the airport to pick up a princess package. Imagine her surprise when it was Nana and Papa...and not a princess box....she was so excited. It really was a precious thing....unfortunately, it took the baby a little while to connect the crazy lady voice with the person...she finally did! Caleb got off the bus and it took him a minute to figure out that we were standing there. All in all the surprise was so worth it! My son-in-laws graduation went well and we (with his side) went out to dinner to celebrate. Afterwards, my sister-in-law who lives in Durham came down and picked us up. She thought she had us overnight and was taking us to the airport but ended up having company for an extra day and getting up at 5 to drive to the airport. We had a great time....coming back to shovel out the car and scrape off a inch of ice off the windshield.....and to come home to shovel the walkway into the house...I am so not a world traveler.
I'll toast to the friendships that we have all made and that peace and love may find you all! Thank you for all of you being YOU! Happy Thoughts...................................

Okay, I'm pouring the champagne. You always say it the best, Richard.

lori, yes, please, let's toast ourselves. i feel like i have had enough of a chance to get to know each other again over the last few years and a toast is appropriate. life remains hard and seemingly more complex than ever, but i see my fellow bloggers in the light that shines on you all best. that is your own light, shining on you and the ones you love that are around you.

That sounds good to me, Patti--a toast to possibilities!

I'm all for toasting, just haven't figured out who I am or who I want to be. Is it alright if I have a toast to possibilities? To figuring things out? Sounds good to me.

Another huge storm on its way so "my beloved" to borrow Richard's term if I may; is heading to Bangor mid morning this time. he's staying down there next weekend since his sister is flying in from CA to visit their Dad in Wayne, ME (near Augusta).

So by Christmas Eve I'll have my guys back home with me. It definitely is #1 on my gift list. The boys are taking two days following the 25th off too so we'll have an extended visit this time.
Happiness to you all, my friends --Patti

So are we making a toast to ourselves, Richard? Are we finally, at age 53, starting to get who we are and be okay with it?

karen, consider this. if for no other reason, get yourself jacked up for Christmas on the fact that the people that you are talking to on this blog have finally started to knock themselves out to have the lives that they want to have. too many of us could not be the man or woman that our beloved wanted and still be the man or woman that we are. sometimes our beloved gets that and sometimes not, but it is plenty to celebrate in this season of light. lots of love, richard

Pat, glad that everything turned out okay! Was it determined that anyone was in the house??? with the door closing? Smart to get out of the house and call 911! It is a scary thought being home alone so much...I think of that when Neil is on the road....but we do what we have to do.

We are suppose to fly this weekend..now I hear of a Northeastern coming in on Sunday....to go or not to go...to loose airline $$...that is kind of why I don't like to travel in winter!! I don't really want to get stuck in the airport in DC... keep your fingers crossed ..maybe the track will go different!!!

I took a picture of my tree...not sure if I can get it here...very simple decorating this year.

I think you're really brave, Patti. I don't think I could have slept there by myself after all that fear and commotion. That's good that you found the culprit!

Good morning everyone. I want to tell you what happen to me last here last night. A terrifying experience. I had only been home for about 45 minutes and was on the phone with Dave. I heard distinctly the sound of a door closing. Really just like the sound the door makes that opens into the house from the garage. Since everything had been locked up all day, I was completely startled of course and for some reason started hello-ing like that was a good idea. Dave kept saying whats happening who's there and I told him what I'd head and he kept telling me to get out of the house but I was standing at that point in the living room and frozen in place. to get to the door would have meant going through the area where the sound had come from. I finally did run out the front door having hung up on Dave so I could dial 911. What I didn't know then was that he was parked in a grocery parking lot on his cell phone couldn't call 911 from his cell so he'd driven home to use the phone 3 directly to the PI police who told them police were already on their way here. So I'm standing out in the snow in my stocking feet, no coat hysterically talking to the 91 operator. I suddenly realized that the police wouldn't be able to get into the house because all the doors were locked so I started sobbing again. I didn't go over to any of my immediate neighbors house because I felt like such an idiot. I called my friend Elaine who lives nearby and she couldn't understand my babbbling but she came right over and made me get out of her car. Unbelievably I had unlocked the front door and I gone out of it and the office was inside; I could see his flashlight moving around. I heard him say if anyone is here you better come forward right now or I'll shoot when I find you. That scared me even further. this is all before Elaine had arrived. the officer came out finally and told me that he was sure there was no one there but he took me inside (elaine came too) and we went everywhere. He'd gone through all the closets and the shower stalls. It was creepy. Finally he left saying i did the right thing to leave the house and call them. I felt like a fool though. Elaine tried to get me to stay at her home or stay over with me but I felt like I had to tough it out. Tough it was too. But I did it. This morning I found a picture that had fallen off the wall and had to have hit the heating thing along the all when it fell. The sound would have been exactly from the right place. I'm so relieved but still really shaken up.

Luckily these holidays are only once a year!
No snowday....which is actually a good thing!
Neil and I are flying to NC on Friday for the weekend. My son-in-law is graduating from Nursing school...and this way I get to surprise my babies! The two little ones will come to the airport to get us and we'll be there by the time Caleb gets off the bus....can't wait to see their faces! The are driving up for Christmas and staying almost 2 weeks!
Remember to smile................Happy Thoughts.......................

Thanks, Kathi. We've been lighting the candles and trying not to eat TOO many "soofganiot" (like jelly donuts)--500 calories each!

Sitting on ones butt sounds like an excellent way to energize oneself. Sometimes thats what you have to do.
I spent the afternoon wrapping gifts..Neil said he would help as long as football was on...so I let him watch the game...such choices we have to make. Made dinner and then sat and vegetated....
Lori, glad that you had a wonderful trip. Happy Hanukkah to you and yours.
Hoping for a snowday tomorrow! Happy Thoughts to all.....

mule's ass finds ground- doesn't move. that should be the headline for my last few days. if traveling was all about being on the go, i can tell you that everyday since getting home has been about doin' nuthin. i did do laundry and ran the dishwasher. i burned up a $100 gift certificate i got at the company holiday party last year. it was to a great restaurant, but i do not think it is the venison ravioli, calamari, salmon that looked like a volcano, or the two jack daniels manhattans that have brought this boy's bottom to a halt. don't know when i am likely to move again. don't care, much. i hope you are all taking this sitting down, cuz i think it has benefits. i do not wish to fly like an eagle for a while.