sol, Frances appears to be doing pretty well, she's worried about her hair and makeup and that's always a good sign. They are only allowing Elery's Dad to visit once a day, it's going to be a slow recovery since she's 80. Since Elery's Mom passed away a couple of years ago and his Dad married Frances, a childhood sweetheart, about a year after that, I just keep praying that the poor guy doesn't have to lose another spouse so soon. She's 80 and he's 84, they got married on Valentine's Day, 2006. Annie

The vivienne files has a lovely aqua and black capsule wardrobe, Maire cate! I am decidedly not a size zero, so you may well be Impressed at the number of garments in the bag :-) I am not a roller, I tried that method once or twice and it was a hot mess to get things out--- any time you want an item you have to completely unpack and repack. If I am staying in a hotel longer than one night I unpack almost completely, hanging everything and putting other things in drawers. But I usually use the packing cube thingies from Eagle Creek and ebags. I will use a medium or large zippered packing bag for all my slacks, another for all the tops, a small cylindrical one for undies and socks, another for scarves, etc. that way when I want a shirt I can just take that cube out and not disturb everything else. I put these cubes in drawers as is unless something would benefit for being hung up. Alternatively, if we are going on a trip requiring a lot of dressing up, I will pack complete outfits individually in those space bag thingies. That way I have not only the clothes, but the stockings, shoes, jewelry, any special underwear, etc. in one package. Those are the bags you ziplock and then roll it up to,squeeze all the air out, then unroll it to lie very flat. It's amazing how unwrinkled clothes are when packed in those space bags!

DH says: I am totally overwhelmed with the huge response! I so appreciate all your thoughts and well wishes. Love the mug and the cake, even with a piece missing. All I know is Annie spends a lot of time on the computer and I never know what she's doing. It drives me nuts. It's such a wonderful surprise to find out that she is interacting with such terrific and considerate people. Thank you again for all of the kind wishes. Here's to the next 75! P.S. to all of you who think she's wonderful to live with...not so much ;)

We did a fly into/out of Anchorage and rented a car for ten days about ten years ago when the kids were teens. We drove to Denali for a super guided horseback ride into the north part of the park then drove the Denali Highway, so remote, to Paxon, then down to Copper Center. We stayed in a hotel there that was part of one of the cuise lines stops. Lots of cruise people and they stopped there to watch the salmon run. But the highlight of out trip was the trip to Kennecott Copper Mine and the little town of McCarthy. You cannot easily drive there and can't take rental cars because of the road so we opted to charter a flight for the day. We flew out of a Copper River sandbar- Fabulous pilot! Beautiful scenery and not at all expensive for the four of us for the great experience. Hiked the Glacier and spent the day touring the area. So Cool! Kids loved it. If you do one thing- do that. The scenery of the mountains in that range makes Denali pale in comparison. IMO. We then drove down to Valdez and caught a ferry to Whttier (MUST SEE but if you are doing a cruise you will see all the water sights - but you have to book the ferry for a car, weeks in advance in summer) and then drove to Seward ( not much there and a snooze compared to what we had seen earlier) again IMO. Back to Anchorage and flew home. Kids kept asking when were going back. They are in their late 20's now and I think they would still go with us again...;) Happy anniversary! Our 30th is this summer and we decided to buy a convertible and drive through Maine. We've never been. I'll have to start a Maine thread...