Best Of

I meant to mention that those of Irish descent may wish to read a great book about the US response to the Irish Famine. It is titled: Voyage of Mercy by Stephen Puleo. I purchased it on the clearance table at Penn's book store and it was an interesting read. The US was the only country to respond to the need of the starving Irish starting during the famine (in 1847) and this was a tradition that initiated humanitarian efforts by other countries in later years. This government lead humanitarian effort unfortunately died, after 178 years, in 2025 with a political change. If interested, I would check Thrift Books before purchasing it elsewhere.

I decide to treat myself to some used CD's of musicals I love ad most of the original cast ones are not available new. I bought CATS (saw multiple times at the Forest), South Pacific, Les Miserables (saw in Philadelphia and in London multiple times), The Lion King (saw at the Academy of Music), Man of La Mancha (which I saw live when LaSalle University in Philadelphia still had a summer theater season), Evita (saw her grave and the balcony she spoke from when in Argentina; saw this live at the Forest theater) and Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat ( heard Any Dream will Do on my honeymoon at Durty Nelly's pub sung by a local tenor). I saw Andy Gibb perform in this at the Forest theater in Philly shortly before his death and met him in Doc Watson's Pub after the show. The waitress said he was approachable, so I stopped him and he not only agreed to sign my play book, but he pulled up a chair and talked to us for about 10 minutes. I usually embarrass DH when I do this, but I have to say I have yet to be rebuffed when I do this and have met many actors and performers over the years. He'll have to get over it.

I did purchase Les Miserable the book and plan on reading it. It is quite hefty so I am trying to decide if I should save it for a trip and only have to take one book to last for a few weeks or read it now while I am snowed in?

Today is a hazy day with the sun struggling to shine through gray clouds. It is only 22 degrees with a chill factor in the single digits so I am staying indoors except to act as door man for Regan when she needs to go out. Unlike the 2 Dalmatians that preceded her, she is not a snow dog and hates getting her feet cold. She strays about 2 feet from the back step and doesn't linger.

I seem to be coming down with whatever ailed DH in spite of my being diligent. I plan on taking it easy and doing tasks that don't require much effort since I have no get-up and go.

harley07, we use Viatour for local explorations when we are on vacation and have never been disappointed with the caliber of the guides. Many are history teachers and invested in providing a thorough tour. Several times, because we were interested, the guides extended the tour time to provide a more in depth exploration and dialogue. Not sure if it is available in Vietnam and they are not inexpensive, but we enjoyed them and continue to use them when we are on our own.

cindyny, I have upper molar dental implants and love them. Due to major damage done by a dentist, I had to use a dental bridge which I absolutely hated, and it further damaged the teeth it was attached to, so I would never have another. I do use a night guard, to protect them, because I do grind my teeth. Expensive to have done, but well worth it in the long run. I hope yours goes well.

petite1, great news on the results.

As far as the snow cyclone they are predicting for this area for this weekend, we have had them before. In 1993, we got 39 inches of snow (not drifts) from that storm and lost power for 5 days. Food doesn't go bad because we were never able to get the wood burning fireplace in the family room to produce more than 55 degrees of heat in just that room. We had to replenish the wood like every 2-3 hours, had the tropical fish that survived over night swimming in Tupperware containers on the hearth, and we were huddled in the family room under blankets. We did cook in the fireplace and were also able to use the burners on the stove since it is propane fed. We dug a path for the puppy to use. We lived on our layered clothes until the power was restored by kind power guys from the south. Those in this area were overwhelmed and the guy who lives next to us worked for PECO and was gone for days. Ice pulled lines and trees down so it was a nightmare when you looked outdoors. I am hoping we do not get a repeat of this. We have a generator, but it can't last for more than a few days, if we are careful.

Hoping everyone has a great day, is warm and safe, as well. Waving "hi" to everyone.

We had frost on the lawn this morning when I got up about 7 am. It was 29 degrees. The sun is shining and it will warm up but get cold again tonight. I plan to go to the Wednesday senior exercise class at 11:30. It was actually quite pleasant to be outside yesterday during the midday.

Theresa, welcome to our forum. You have had rotten luck. I hope you can beat this most recent bout of bc. We support you.

Begin challenging your assumptions. Your assumptions are the windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in awhile or the light won't come in.

Alan Alda

Welcome Newcomers - I echo Chris that we'll be here for you. Hang tight. It is a little easier after you get a treatment plan.

Great news, Petite and Harley.

Update on the wedding guests. As of Monday, Charlotte guests were home but flights were delayed several hours. Bride and Groom went to Key West so didn't have to worry about getting back to Boston but several of her MIT friends were delayed. The Syracuse folks had driven to Newark and were still stuck in Miami when I talked to my sister on Monday. Given the weather in Syracuse, I don't think they were really unhappy.

Saw my PC today and he says I'm healthy. He's changed practices so the paperwork was a hassle. Now that he's seen me once, he can request my records but he couldn't take them with him. I've followed him from several office locations. Hope this is his last move. This office is significantly closer though.

Stay safe everyone. Weather sounds absolutely awful.