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.

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............................