Sounds fun (Palm Springs). I'm in New Jersey. Flew here today for my grandmother's funeral. She passed away last week, at 105 y/o. Her life was very full and long, her last year had been in a sort of gently fading twilight, and her death was, it seems, pretty peaceful and painless, at home with no tubes or machines. So her passing was as gentle as it should have been. Life was kind to her, and at the end no less. Laying on the couch, lights off, thinking about this house and the things left over from fifty years of being my grandparents' home. There are photographs, my grandfather's calligraphy scrolls, my grandmother's needlepoint art. Those will be taken, I suppose many have already been over the past couple of years. Then there is the random daily stuff that has no value, but that I recognize from fifty years of visiting and sometimes living here. Old toys and books, dishes, things like that. I suppose it will all be disposed of, except for a few bits that people might take for sentimental reasons. Then the house will be sold, as a fixer because it needs a total remodel, although in a nice neighborhood with a good sized lot. And that may, I think, be it for New Jersey, for me. My aunt and uncle and one first cousin live here, but without my grandparents, my connection to this place, a place I never liked much, will be done. I think I'm going to cook dinner tomorrow at my aunt's. She has a nice Bluestar range and that is where most of the family will be. Her daughter, my other first cousin, is flying in tomorrow. She lives in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where her husband works for the United Nations. I don't think they like it as much as Switzerland, where they lived for the last several years. But the UN HCR (High Commission For Refugees) moves its senior staff around every several years. They don't get permanent cushy posts in comfortable cities; they have to go where the refugees are, so Ethiopia was, I think, better than some places they might have ended up. There isn't much scope for home cooking as an expat in Addis Ababa, I'm told. Especially with young kids who are adapting from their previous Franco-Swiss diet (and life). So I figure she might like a dinner at home, at her mom's home anyway. Menu undecided but I'm thinking about chicken marbela. I also have a hankering for ceviche. They may not go together, but tough. Otherwise, no interesting cooking recently. I have spent the last month on back to back to back business trips. So I've been eating like crap - airport food, hotel food, restaurant food. Occasionally a good ramen or other street food in New York, but mostly crap. As the weeks of this have dragged on, and I've gotten fatter and flabbier, I've started skipping restaurants altogether and going to grocery stores and delis to get "healthy" things to eat. So my diet has mostly dwindled to Greek yoghurt, canned sardines and tuna, bread and cheese, fruit, takeout sushi, and coffee. It's not a bad diet but there isn't much cooking or variety involved. Although I have discovered that canned tuna plus Greek yoghurt plus a little salt or soy sauce makes a creditable and oh-so-healthy tuna salad. And that chopped raw salmon, Greek yoghurt, and one of those super-miniature bottles of hot sauce that you can filch from restaurants makes a reasonable spicy salmon filling. When I get home on Monday, I don't have another trip on the calendar for months. I'm going to cook up a storm, enjoy being home on weekends, re-acquaint myself with bicycling everywhere, lose this travel flab, and appreciate springtime in Portland.

TGIF indeed, I'm clinking with a cup of peppermint tea. Johnliu, I really like turkey, although I'm not a fan of stuffing. In fact, we had smoked turkey for supper and will have turkey again next week. Are you having visitors, or only the family? I say make whatever they like best and they'll be thankful! Rob, that IS exciting, mostly the visitor, I'll be watching to see who it is. I had to smile at the thought of The Boy, dropping parachutes off the deck. Ashley climbed up onto the roof and dropped eggs, her project was to make something that would protect the egg from breaking when dropped from varying heights. Yeah. Bubble wrap worked really well when I sent that dozen farm eggs to dishesdone in New York, and it worked pretty well for the project, but she eventually made a foam rubber "nerf" type container. What will that contribute to her knowledge as an adult? Darned if I know, LOL. Dedtired, good luck on those walks. Of course, walking in snow up to your armpits does burn a lot more calories. (grin) Lars, I'd definitely go for the free fish. I thought my herbs were finished here, we've had snow a couple of times. I knew the sage would grow through the snow and I'll have rosemary for some time, but parsley and thyme are both green and growing too, I didn't realize they were that cold tolerant. Diane, the second week of deer camp is the most wonderful time of year. (With a big nod to Da Yoopers, LOL) It's cold here and we're supposed to get anything from an inch to 9 inches of snow this weekend. A woodstove would feel good. Alexa is probably partying right now, I live a boring life... Today we raked the yard and cleaned the house well, we have our first potential buyer looking at the house tomorrow. I have all my fingers and pretty much everything else crossed. So, we're going to the farm to check on the calves in the barn that are being weaned and we'll insulate the pump house before it gets too cold. I'm hoping to negate the problem of the pump freezing if it gets more than 20 below zero without running a drop light out there. I don't know if it will work, but if nothing else the insulation will help the light keep it a bit warmer. It's completely underground, it'd make an awesome root cellar if I didn't have a well in there. Tomorrow we are projected to have a high of 24 and a low of 18, plus snow. I guess it's time to break out the hats and gloves... Annie

TGIF everyone. I've been too busy to get into the holiday spirit this year. Bagged putting up a tree, and didn't bother with the usual lights. Work is decorated and that's where I spend most of my time. We'll go to The Kid's for Christmas and she's all into being a Martha (Stewart), so I don't feel too deprived. It's a long weekend for me, with a rare Saturday off. It's been an odd week, including bunch of deadlines, contentious meetings and being the victim of a random act of kindness (detailed on the Conversations side). I started out my weekend Thursday night with a deep tissue massage... came home, had a glass of wine and fell soundly asleep in my chair. Ahhhhh....... Today was a trip to town for a doctor appt. during our first real snow. People got complacent, I think...wrecks and ambulances everywhere. So we grabbed some groceries and ran for home. I got my sis's package mailed.... main mission accomplished. Tomorrow I'll wrap the kids' presents, put together goodie baskets for work. Maybe bake something using the wonderful crystallized ginger one of my girls brought me from Australia. Sunday DH made an appointment for a hearing test. At noon. At Costco. On the Sunday before Christmas. argh. Clinking with a cup of eggnog laced w/ rum. Be healthy and travel safely everyone.

I am ready for a nap just reading of all your plans. My weekend so far has been quite glamorous. I dropped Mom at the hairdresser. Today was Perm Day so I had a couple extra hours. I went through the car wash, got gas and returned a pan to BB&B. Then I came home and continued the ultra-glam job of scrubbing the kitchen floor. The grout was filthy. God, I hate that floor with a red hot passion.Then back to retrieve Mom. She smelled like ammonia. I swear I am going to start a blog about that hairdresser and all the riotous elderly patrons. Since the Californians are coming to visit soon, (bro and DS #1), I am trying to get the place straightened up. Never ends. Jakabedy, sounds like we are having the same sort of day. I also bought some tickets on a whim, to hear Mika Brzezinski and her mother, who is a noted sculptor, speak. I have to give the plants a good soak. My grass is now crunchy, it has been so dry. I even watered a young tree the other day. It's a Redbud and I don't want to lose it. And the rest of the weekend is pretty much the same. My two closest friends are away so I have no playmates. Earlier this week I made the drive from Philadelphia, to Portsmoth NH for the night, then Boothbay Harbor Maine. The return trip was Boothbay to Andover MA for the night, then home. My eyes felt like two burned cigarette holes when I pulled in my driveway. Saw one bad accident that put the fear of God in me, although there are still the idiots out there. Lots of backups along the way, too. I could not believe the traffic trying to get on the Tappan Zee going the opposite way from me. I'd have turned around and gone home.