What's New Tuesday

Hello Nan......I continue to keep Morgan in my prayers...bless her heart!! Watching these children suffer is the hardest thing we as adults will ever have to go through. I wi**** would end!! Nic is doing okay. They found cancer in his other thigh while in New York. We are waiting for the Bone Marrow Aspirate results to come in. We too are holding our breathes!! He will have to have more Chemo and Radiation and then it will be decided if he has to go back to New York for the other treatments or not. One long day at a time!! Thank you for asking....I know you have more then a plate full too. Love and hugs, connie d

Good Morning Annette and Friends,

This will be a quick drive by from Kennewick, WA. I will be home about 7 days before heading back to Seattle. Nathan got me tickets (2) to see Cabaret on April 2 in Seattle. If Erin is still in Seattle with babies or babies are still "incarcerated" anywhere I hope she will be able to attend with me. It's at a lovely old renovated theatre called the Fifth Avenue in Seattle. We saw "Annie" there when she was 4. We have neither one been there since. I think it's time!

This week will be filled will trying to get rid of all the "extras" in this cramped house. We've managed to overstuff every nook and cranny. The realtor is sending a home stager to spend an hour with us on Monday. I"m sure she will have lots of suggestions of what needs to be cleared out. Not ready to toss yet so I'm getting a 9x10 storage shed for the present. 

Puppies are starting to walk, still falling over on their backs, but getting so dang cute. I'll get more pics soon. 

Grands are growing daily. Mom and girls were working on learning the art of breastfeeding yesterday. Can't wait to hear how it went. I keep reminding Erin that this learning time while they are in the hospital should help them be so much more prepared when they get to go home. She agrees and seems to be adjusting. She's just 2 miles from the hospital staying with my nephew and his family.  Really do have to run. THinking of you all, Karen C

Aloha Off sisters and brother!

Wow...so much meaty stuff to read this morning......I almost don't have time to write something!!

I was up early yet again, and oh I wish you could see the sunrise I'm seeing! There is a layer of sugar cane burning smoke just above the mountain, and the rising sun is shining THROUGH that and it is glorious.........orange and gold on the ocean!! These are the scenes that take my breath away and make me grateful to be alive.

I have laundry working early (it's 6:45 a.m.) and after that is done, I am going to do a major collection of more BIG clothes and other doo-dads to take to Savers this morning. The skinnier I get the LESS I want to have STUFF around....is that bizarre or just me?? I think hearing about KarenC "decluttering" her home for showing makes me realize how much I LOVE it when I see a sparsely appointed home with just a few lovely things here and there rather than every nook and cranny filled with things like I have. I'm going to work on that today.

Yesterday was a stay at home day, and I loved it. I had several friends stop by to "talk story" and that was lovely because I'd finished my chores and was just settling down with a good book and was glad to hear the tap on my door. A couple of my neighbors and I are reading Oprah's current book (I don't usually get on that bandwagon, but my friend convinced me to get this one), and it's made for some great conversations about deep and revealing things. It's very satisfying to me to go beneath the superficial with friends and family.....always has been. I guess that's why I became a psychologist. I'm fine with chit chat, but sometimes deeply personal conversations just fill my soul with food of a different and very satisfying kind.

At 6:45 in the morning it's already almost 80 degrees outside. I just slipped on a long, slinky Hawaiian dress that is deep dark blue with light blue leafy sprays coming up from the bottom to about the top of my legs. This little dress did NOT fit me a couple of months ago...it was snug on my buh-tocks. Today is slid right down and does not cling.....hoooooo-raaaaaay! I guess my body must be shifting around because I haven't lost pounds lately.

It has been lovely spending time with you all this morning...reading and savoring your shares. Now it's time to get something done. Hope you all have a lovely day....and bring us good news!!

Aloha nui loa,

Maui Karen

 I agree with you Karen- sometimes I love to get into those deep conversations that are soul-searching and the most intimate. I have a psychologist in me too. Today is the second day of my vacation. I have a trip to the bank and Target planned. Then it's back to reorganizing bathroom cupboards. I am tossing so much that has been lurking in the back of those "black holes"! I'm sure you can relate today Karen in WA! We aren't moving, but the renovations in our house are causing the "moving" process of clearing out and minimizing clutter. I'm reading the book "Does this Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?" and I have to say, it DOES! We are getting ready to paint and the more crap there is the harder the painting process is!  Also, concerning clothes- I'm enjoying carting off loads of clothes that don't fit anymore. My shoes still fit- 11Wide- maybe they will shrink, but not so far. My boobs are becoming more uneven- the cancer boob is noticibly smaller in some tops. I have resorted to using socks to boost the poor little one.  I'm off to do my thing.... Julia

I am here, wait for me. I know I am running late but running is what I am doing. Jeez! I am tired of all this running.   I am always running late and today is no different.  I was busy at the office this morning. I got the programs done for the memorial service we are having this week. Pastor sent the sunday bulletin in on the computer and I got to work on that too. I got some of it done and will fini**** later on this week. I had some problems with the copier and had to call for a service call. I was surprised that they called and came out this morning. The company is about an hour away from us but they were in the area and sent him to us. There was a couple of sensors that went bad and they are going to order them. I was ready to kick it for the past couple of days.  The weather is nice today. The sun is out and it is in the low 50's but the wind is very strong. It at least isn't a cold wind since it is southern wind. They said on the weather last night that starting tomorrow it is going to be cold again. I have had more than enough of this cold stuff. I want warm and I want it now!! I have been reading how so many of you like shoes. I have never been much on them but now it is another thing with purses!!!! Ella calls me the Emelda Marcos of purses. It sounds like some of you could have shown old Emelda a thing or two on who is the queen of shoes. I am just nuts over purses. Don't know why but I am. It drives Bill nuts but that is his problem and I don't say anything about all the coats he has. To my way of thinking coats take up more room than purses. At least in my book they do.  I have to go to Walgreens and get some scripts for me. I hate going there because it ends up I always spend more money there for some reason. I find things that I think that I need but don't really and then I end up buying them and have to bring them home and find something to do with them or find a spot to keep them. I wish that I could get out of being a pack rat and just start tossing things out. I am a pack rat and Bill tosses everything. I guess opposites do attract.  I have to go to Bill's cousins house this evening to do her taxes and a couple of others too. They usually don't file them since they are on Social Security but they have to do it this year to get the rebate and so I volunteerd to do it for them. They are 1040EZ forms so it isn't going to take much time.  I better get my buh-tocks moving now. I have several things yet to do before going to Trudy's and I have to be there in an hour and a half. I will check in later on. Hope that everyone has  a great evening. Take care and I send love and hugs to you all.

purses??? did you say purses??????? oh wow--those i will not even attempt to count--i would have to find them all first!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HEY CAN WE MATCH UP YOU PURSES ( HERE IN NEW ENGLAND SWAMP YANKEES THAT WE ARE THE ARE POCKETBOOKS) WITH MY SHOES? POCLETBOOKS ARE A ONE SIZE FITS ALL MY SHOES ARE 4 1/2  TO A 5  CAN WE SHARE? IF YOU LIKE PURSES I HAVE LOADS TO SEND YOU  IF YOU DO NOT WANT THEM SEND THEM ON  BOO 

Hi Annette and everybody: Bet you didn't think you'd hear from me for awhile. Had to get out of mom's house, I was going stir-crazy. We were supposed to go out yesterday and see a movie, but I had a bad headache; today, we were supposed to go out and see Aunt Bernice (my 90-year-old aunt) and bring her lunch, but mom thought it was too cold out (it's really not). So I had to go out because I'm bored. I was also supposed to have dinner with a friend and his kids (Mike, whose wife, Gloria, died a couple of years ago, we all went to college together); but Mike has some matters to take care of with the kids, so that was cancelled. So it's me and mom for dinner at home. I stopped at the library to use the computers and check up on everyone. Checked my e-mail, etc. Now checking on the board briefly. So it hasn't been very eventful these past few days. Met with Brenda R. in Portage for lunch on Saturday and had a very nice time; she's a lovely lady. Had dinner with the family on Easter; my grandnephews are getting so big; Ben is up to my niece's shoulders (and she's as tall as I am; Ben turns 8 at the end of April); Sammie is very talkative and extremely active and very cute; he turns 4 April 12. There's only a couple days now before we leave for Houston, then drive to Galveston for a couple of days. Hope the weather there is warm and there's no rain. I'm sick of winter.  Well, I'm paying for this computer time, so I shouldn't spend too much time here. Talk to you in a couple of weeks. Or if I see any of you Texans, sooner. Eileen