Good Morning. Besh - sorry about your friend. I had an immediate member of my family attempt suicide and it was a very traumatic experience. I can relate to your friend and his family. Very deep issues. Suzanne - Your night out to the theatre and dinner sounds like my kind of night. Where is BJ, I haven't read a post from her. I pretty much caught up from my mia months. QOD: We will have a low key Thanksgiving. My DH's mother and sister are visiting us now since Wednesday and they leave the day prior to Thanksgiving, so we have been having special dinners and going out to eat quite a bit. So I may just make soup and salad for Thanksgiving dinner -- hahahahhahaha. I made a turkey breast yesterday and it was YUMMERS. I hear them in the kitchen now making a italian cookie/biscuit my MIL used to make my husband when he was younger. Oh such happiness -- brings a tear to my eye. GMWAS (Gag me with a spoon). (wink wink) I know my DH is enjoying every minute of it. We drove to he east coast of Florida on thursday and went to a Bloomingdales. I love it. We do not have any here on the west coast(at least that I know of). So my husband bought me a Dooney and Burke purse (which he did a year ago this time when they came down for a visit) So you can bet your bottom dollar that I am hoping this is a yearly thing. Patti - my parents also celebrated their 50th anniversary last month. My husband and I threw them a party at a party center in Ohio (where I am from)and had 130 people there with a band. It was quite a challenge organizing it from Florida. Plus my mom gave her input too.....so... I took a lot of deep breaths and went forward the entire time. I had a blast. A good time was had by all and it was worth all the effort and aggravation just to see how happy it made my parents. We even had my cousin who is an Catholic Deacon renew their vows. Not a dry eye in the joint at that point. Man this is a long post. I better save some for tomorrow. Take care everyone..... Lynn

I don't see where anyone has said they were against a Battered Woman's Shelter and most of the replies seem to be very Pro Shelters being available. Only the objection of putting such a large complex in a residential area. More so such a large complex. Yes unfortunately there is a need for shelters to be available. The group I have been working with for years has smaller houses for emergency shelter of battered women and their children in neighborhoods the home owners are private and have the room to shelter for short periods of time families in transition. First Rule: DO NOT TELL ANYONE WHERE YOU ARE!!!!! Second Rule: File a restraining order to give the police power to take away a violent abusive husband if he does find you! The locations are kept very secret and rightly so for the protection of the owners and the families sheltering. The women are informed they are not to give the location to any one at all but In many cases the locations leaked out because a woman staying felt the need to contact another person (some just absolutely know their momma or best friend isn't going to tell anyone) and break that major rule. One young girl let her abusive husband's mother know the address so Grandma could "Send the kids birthday cards" 2 days later the husband showed up and sweet talked her into "trying again" "he'll get help" yadda yadda yadda blah blah blah. Smart devious non violent tactics. Nothing to call the police over. When she came to us her arm was broken, she was black and blue all over and both eyes were blacked one swollen shut. Twin boys 4 yrs old and a 6 yr old daughter (he would never hurt), cringed at a wave of the hand or a shout. OMG. but they weren't HURT! She loved him, she missed him, it was her fault he beat her. She took her children and left with him. Just knowing "Everything would be alright now". All 3 kids were crying and one actually peed his pants to have to get into the truck. Few months later the abusive hubby beat her into a coma for back talking him. This was called a DOMESTIC DISPUTE by the police! Seems more like attempted murder to me. I have not followed the case so I do not know what happened to the woman or the kids. I can only help so much and it breaks my heart I couldn't do more but her choice to go stopped the help she could have received. The house location compromised and can not be used again even in emergency, The couple who own the home had threats made against them and their home for a few months. Luckily nothing ever happened except an occasional unfamiliar vehicle drove by slowly. This is in a remote location so strange vehicles are noticed. No one really wants to have a large group shelter in their neighbor hood but you wouldn't believe where some shelters are when they are small, discrete, kept in strict privacy and in a network of loving trusted good people. Yes Yes We care. Yes we want to help. YES the fact is there nothing anyone can do to help a woman who is not going to believe abuse doesn't go away because the abuser says he is sorry. I'm trying to help in many ways but I do not want a large complex shelter in my residential neighborhood.

The most important thing to say is that the Camp fire is a terrible thing of unprecedented damage and suffering. You've paid no more attention to your own words than to mine. Wish as you might, your imagining what's going on in areas far from you is off the mark. There have been no news reports of spikes of elderly and children seeking medical care. Does it happen because you say so? Your past comments suggest you live in a forested area in the far north of California or in mountain foothills, because you've said it's very hot in the summer and snowy in the winter. A lightly populated area, in any event. Anyone who lives in or near a Western US forest has to expect fires and poor air quality. As Governor Brown said last week, massive fires are the new normal. Personally, if I were living somewhere where the air was predictably unhealthy, as it can be near forests or even in much of the Central Valley, I'd move. If you stay, you accept the risk and the resulting problems. Regularly smoky conditions for anything more than the few days we've had here would cross the line for me. The conversation continues to go sideways with misunderstandings and emoting. I hope the fires are soon out and that the human and animal sufferings can be limited and come to an end.

Thank you everyone! I started my exercise dance routine again 3 days ago. Starting out slowly as I stopped when my husband passed away. Just had no ambition then. I first stretch and have 3 songs I dance to for legs and hips. Rock Your Baby, The Hustle and More, More, More. Working my way up to Earth, Wind & Fire