To my knowledge, Dad had never talked about organ donation and frankly none of us had given it the slightest thought. We were all sitting around Mom's house after he died, when the phone rang. It was a gentleman asking if we would be willing to donate any of Dad's organs. I answered the phone, so now I had to ask the question to my grieving mother. It was painful for all of us and at the time, I don't think we were in the best frame of mind to make the decision. Mom said she thought that Dad had told her once that he didn't believe in it and wouldn't want his organs donated, but he had never documented it one way or another. That was all we had to go on, so I had to tell the man on the phone that I was sorry but we did not believe it would be in Dad's wishes to have it done. Personally I would not have had a problem with it, but if Mom was uncomfortable with it, I certainly would abide by her wishes. However, I made a decision right then & there for myself. When I next renewed my driver's license, I indicated that I wanted to be an organ donor. There are so many details that need to be addressed before and immediately after the death of a loved one. They are all difficult and painful to contemplate. Organ donation is an important one to add to the list. Most people probably don't give it much thought or perhaps resist thinking about it. It became very important for me to make sure that my family would know my wishes when it was my time. I've heard so many beautiful stories of those whose lives have been improved and saved because of a donated organ. Thanks Lu for sharing yours. It serves to reinforce my belief that I did the right thing. I encourage all, who haven't made the decision, to talk it over with your family and make your wishes known. If your beliefs won't allow you to do it, I respect that. However if you aren't opposed to it and your organs go to waste because your wishes were not made clear, then your death is a double tragedy.

Yep, Cj, it happens! It may have taken a lot of foot dragging, but it's done. :) Thanks for the kind words, everyone. And, yes, Taggie, that's seriously my hood and cooktops and counter and backsplash and cabinets. :) At the very right of the photo you can see part of the window casing. The pictures really are coming soon. :) It's just that I want to do it once and do it right. I won't wait to polish the hood or get the one light bar adjusted. That's maintenance, not finishedness. :)

I read that it is legal to download as long as I am not selling it, playing the song at any place where you would normally pay someone to play a song- such as a wedding, big party... It is confusing... Nope - your not getting legal downloads. If a song has a copyright (and nearly all do) you cannot download, even for personal use. Tally- I DID buy Limewire- $35 for a year. You paid $35 for the LimeWire Pro SOFTWARE - that does not make any music downloads legal - it is confusing - but you actually got ripped off if you think you are safe from prosecution by downloading from them. Their own site states that - although you really have to search for it. When you sign up with LimeWire - one of the things you agree too (if you actually read EVERYTHING - is that you will not download copyright material. This is from Limewire: "LimeWire Users The program distributed by Lime Wire, "LimeWire BASIC and LimeWire PRO", is legal software, but like many legal things, it is possible to use it in illegal ways. Specifically, it is illegal for you to use LimeWire to share, distribute or download (all of which we call sharing) copyrighted files without permission, or to share unlawful pornographic materials. In addition, it may be unlawful to share certain other files that are protected, proprietary, personal or confidential or contain protected, proprietary, personal or confidential information. The LimeWire program is distributed and licensed for use only in an authorized and lawful manner and not to share files which the copyright owner has not permitted to be shared. Your use of LimeWire BASIC or purchase of LimeWire PRO does not constitute a license in or to share unauthorized or unlawful materials. Your download and use of the LimeWire software from www.limewire.com is per a license granted you by LimeWire. To view the license in its entirety, click here. Your license to use the LimeWire program is expressly conditioned upon your agreement to not knowingly use the LimeWire program to share files that are protected by copyright from sharing over P2P networks. Use of the LimeWire program constitutes your acceptance of and agreement with all of the terms of the license. " LimeWire is a Peer-to-Peer sharing service. If you recorded your own original song - and wanted to share it with others, so that they could download it - that is legal. Downloading of copywritten material - not legal. I also bought a couple iTunes, but now can't download them to the mp3- even the computer tech can't- so maybe iTunes isn't the place to buy songs from?? iTunes works with iPods - Apples to Apples if you have a different type of MP3 player - you need to use somewhere else for your downloads. WalMart.com has lots, and there are many other legal sites. If you choose to use an illegal d/l site - that is your choice, but you should be correctly informed going into it. Don't fool yourself into thinking LimeWire, KaZaa or others like that are legal. Read EVERYTHING when you are getting music from a site. It is a $$ fine when you get caught - several thousand dollars.

Our 40s were the most fun. We were 41 when DD went to university, our alma matter. She was close enough to home for weekend visits and we enjoyed football weekends with her. Our income was stable enough to pay for college out of current earnings and no need to get into college savings. My mother was still in her prime, so no worries there. An empty nest meant we had time to really get into outdoor activities, particularly whitewater kayaking and we still had the physical ability to go all out. We took some wonderful trips -- a kayaking trip to the French Alps, three 8 day wilderness whitewater trips down the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho, kayaking trips to Colorado and lots of long weekends to the Smokies. DH and I both went through the process and training to become certified whitewater kayak instructors and he also was a certified Swiftwater Rescue instructor. We both enjoyed volunteer teaching through our local club. Although we had been skiing for years, when we were 41 we finally bought a ski condo in the resort town where we now live (as of last November) and upgraded to a second home here when we were 49 (and DD had graduated from University and moved here.) We usually made at least two, sometimes three, ski trips a year out here along with summer trips. Our 50s were kind of blah (except for DDs wedding), multiple health issues for DH (knee replacement, back issues, a bout with post concussive syndrome, gastrointestinal issues, etc. ) and I needed to have to take more time taking care of my mother (as well as DH). All this slowed down our outdoor activities almost entirely, except for some skiing and an occasional whitewater trip, but without the constant practice our skills suffered. Our 60s are starting out well. Most significant is the birth of our DGS last year. We've built and just moved into our dream house in our dream location, with DD, DSIL and DGS next door. My Mom still takes a lot of attention, but instead of living alone an hour away, she is thriving in a very nice Senior facility, less than 5 minutes from us. DH still has some back issues but other issues are much improved and he skis at a very high level on his new knee. With a season ski pass our skiing is picking back up both in endurance and skill. I might even be able to get back into kayaking this summer since a fun little whitewater river runs right through town and DSIL is interested in learning. DH can't kayak anymore because of his back problems and a fusion of cervical vertebrae, but has bought a raft and hopefully his back (now lower back problems) will allow him to do some rowing. We still aren't completely retired, but working more part time --2 days a week for him and a couple of hours most days for me. However, full retirement is planned in the next couple of years.