Hi! I am here, just in a funk and slowly coming out of it. DD moved last week to Lousiana and it hit home that I now officially have an empty nest. At least while she was at school, I knew she could come home any weekend she chose. Lousianna is just so FAR away. But they made it safely (in a U-Haul towing her car!) and I have kept in touch with her almost daily. So the comunication is there, but I miss her. I have been keeping busy reading, scrapbooking and cleaning out DD's empty room. It has been so HOT here, that I have been content to stay inside with the AC on. It is supposed to be nicer tomorrow and I am going with DH to a car show (he will drive his 62 Nova). Besh - I have read so many books this summer that I would have a hard time listing them all. I did read "The Glass Castle" and loved your comment about it being a "real" memoir! LOL I too thought it was an amazing book and marveled that she and her siblings survived at all. I am reading "Thunderstruck" by Erik Larson right now. I love his writing and attention to detail. I also read "Isacc's Storm" and "The Devil in the White City". He must do an incredible amount of research before he starts a book. I just finished listening to "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer. I have to say I cried. Other notable recent reads are, "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen, "Left to Tell" (about the genocide in Rwanda) by Immaculee Ilibagzia, and "The Butterfly House" by Marcia Preston. Next up, "Lean Mean Thirteen" by Janet Evanovich. DeeMarie - I have been doing exercises to strengthn my back and keep the muscles stretched and it seems to be helping. I can't sit for too long at the computer, so I haven't been logging on as often as I used to. I can't even sit and read for too long without needing to get up and stretch and move around. I love getting books on tape at the library and listening to them where ever I am. I am considering getting an MP3 player and using my library's resources to download books. Have you read LM13 yet?? Jen - Poor Erica! One time my DS broke his finger and I didn't take him to the doctor's until the next day. He also needed 2 pins to reset the finger. I felt like the worst mother of the year that day. Glad to hear she is on the mend. Patti - Glad Dave got a good report and you can go forward with your trip to TX. I never did get to see those pictures of your DGD! If you get a chance, email me. NHSuzanne - We had such severe storms the last few days too. Trees down in the neighborhood all around me, but we didn't suffer any damage. I am glad you got the brakes fixed and were able to go to VT. I don't have much of a backyard, but I did get some pictures of our local wildlife last week. Can you tell what this is a picture of? DH's is letting me know he is hungry, so I am off to the kitchen. Later, Marci

DeeMarie - PITTSBURGH!! PIRATES!! That is soooooooo close to me. Maybe one of these days you could tag along and we could meet for lunch. I have yet to meet a fellow SS Daily pal. :Speaking of Luna Bars, I always have a stash of them on hand. A Luna Bar and a piece of fruit make a great lunch/snack on the run. My favorite flavors are Dulce de Leche and Lemon Zest. I ran errands all afternoon and grabbed a Lemon Zest bar when I got home to tide me over until dinner. My third bite tasted like PURE SALT! I almost got sick. Couldn't bring myself to find out if the rest of the bar was as salty as that bite. Had to throw the rest away. I emailed the company and filed a complaint, so it will be interesting to see what they have to say. We conducted an interview tonight for the teaching position. The candidate had great qualifications, but I think her salary expectations were beyond our means. I definitely don't do this job for the money and sometimes I wonder if I am nuts because of that. We are still running the ad for a few more weeks, so we hope to get some more good applicants. I am currently reading Expecting Adam by Martha Beck. I just realized that I have seen her many times on The Oprah Show. She is such a witty writer and took a somber subject (Down's Syndrome) and turned the experience into a humorous and uplifting book. I am also reading Eats, Shoots, and Leaves by Lynne Truss. The forward alone(written by Frank McCourt)is worth the price of the book. I have been carrying that book in my purse and reading in the waiting room at all my doctor's appts. Tikanas - My gyn. doctor just left the practice at the end of June. I took the first available appointment with the other two docs and hoped for the best. I have decided that as long as the polyp isn't hurting me, it will just have to stay there until my schedule allows me to take time off. I still have hopes that I can get the surgery scheduled in August. My head is pounding and it is too late to take Excedrin (the caffeine keeps me up), which is the only OTC drug that touches my headaches. Would a glass of red wine be in order here?? Or does alcohol make a headache worse? Oh well, maybe I'll just tough it out and hope I can get to sleep despite the pounding. Goodnight, Marci

Here I am again. So many things going on everywhere - on the board and in people's lives. NH Suzanne, I think we all know what it feels like to have your life suddenly threaten to turn upside down on you. BJ has some good advice, and has survived pretty much everything and come out ahead. DeeMarie, I read about your brother some days ago, and was glad to see that you came to some resolutions. I don't mention it, but I think about it from time to time. I have had no contact with one of my sons and one of my brothers for two years. My friend that I talked about that I developed a relationship with over the internet is very bitter and unhappy. He hasn't taken that out on me, but I have concerns about his ability to go in a positive direction. It's one of those things where I have to accept that I don't make choices for other people, but sometimes it's painful to see someone whom you admire and care for be destructive and unappreciative with themselves. I'd like to share a site with you that a friend of mine has put together. It's called Eco-Mama. Here is part of the description from her site: Environment: Eco-Mama products are produced in ways that reduce harm to the environment and are reusable and/or recyclable. Many of the products like diapers and cloth pads reduce a familys waste considerably as well as save valuable resources and money. Also, I reuse all boxes and packing materials that I receive and encourage my customers to do the same. I'll put the link below. Back later Amy

Defrost49, it is supposed to cool off here (at least to 90 degrees or so) for the next4-5 days as long as the rain makes it here-fingers crossed even though I only have potatoes, onions, strawberries (none blooming now), and trees (Meyer lemon tree got eaten by worms again, the Ice Cream Banana tree still looks pretty good, and the main trunk of the avocado tree died, but a side branch is still growing into a tree, hopefully) left-pulled most of my sweet potatoes and vines, so my yard looks less like a jungle now