I am originally from Detroit--we graduated from college, got married, and moved down here (Houston)in 1981 because of the recession back then...no one was hiring. All the rest of our family and friends are still up there...one by one, getting laid off, things getting tight. Almost everything is tied into the auto industry...for instance, several have been laid off in constriction, employees of one of the Big 3 have lost jobs, my brother works for Sirius/XM Satellite Radio...new car sales down=less customers, even one laid off after 10 years being with an animal hospital--people do not not have the $$ for pet surguries. Many people don't have the $$ to send their kids to college & student loans are of a different time! These kids are the future of our country... I know we have cut back...everyone needs to hope for the best, prepare for the worst. ~MJ I am not a Democrat---but I am praying that our new president (and his crew...) can make the right decisions for the future of our country.

Yes, weird weather here on the East coast too. June, normally warm and dry had many days that were cool (even chilly), nearly EVERY day was overcast--all day long. Then there were the rains (just another millimeter or so would have resulted in a new record for June for precip). I just put my air conditioners in yesterday! (Been unusually wet in much of Florida as well.) Crops are very delayed here and farmers are suffering. Apparently (as far as the East coast is concerned), the Bermuda high has been unusually far south (pushed south by unusually persistent low pressure in southeastern Canada). A new pattern though is about to begin. Strong Bermuda high is about to establish itself in a more normal position. A return to normal, hot, sunny July weather? Heck no! National forecasters are calling for persistent stalled fronts along the coast with daily tropical downpours in the saturated air mass. A normal summer?--I'm thinking it'll start in September!

This is the first house we did NOT have handicapped bars and tall toilets, lol. I will install the squishy seat once I am better. Right now we perch it on top of the old one and are very careful. He is better at handing me tools than using them for such household repairs. While we were in Morgantown, we had about 4 hours between appointments so we went to Barnes & Noble. He got to spend out gift cards and I zoned out at one of the cafe tables. We are both exhausted and will go to bed early but right now I do NOT want to be back in that bedroom!

Love the centerpiece -- and that your network came through to get it all pulled together! I know this was a crazy hectic week for you so it makes it all the more wonderful that it all came together well! I had a similar but different experience with my party yesterday. There was much less pressure since it was primarily family but the way friends and family pulled together to make my dad's day special was incredibly warming. I ran errands in the morning and at every stop, someone knew my dad and sent along well wishes for his birthday. That alone made me feel so good! As the result of busy schedules and some unexpected circumstances, a lot of the prep wasn't completed ahead of time. I just steeled myself and said I'd do as much as I could on my own to make sure that there were cold and hot appetizers and we'd go from there. As it turned out, people started showing up to help. My brother and his girlfriend, one of my sisters, two nephews. I was able to direct everyone to do what needed to be done-- all in my other sister's house. Strange kitchen, unknown recipes, wildly varied levels of cooking experience and still we were able to complete an amazing spread of food and kick off a wonderful party. In the end we had too much food.. but everything was wonderful. My dad and all our friends and family had a wonderful evening!