After watching the nasty, snowy weather hitting the northeast, it’s hard not to revel in the wonderfully warm and sunny weather here in So. Cal.–especially after experiencing a bit of winter in Ohio last week. I suppose if you’re going to have a snow storm, it might as well be a big one. At least […]

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How good it was to step off that plane in Burbank and feel the warmth of the sun heating the air around us. The snow began falling on Saturday in Ohio and the temps dropped into the 20’s while the blowing winds made it feel like single digits. Reminded me of why we decided to […]

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God looked around His Garden and found an empty place. He then looked down upon His earth and saw your loving face. He put his arms around you and lifted you to rest. His Garden must be beautiful, He always takes the best. He knew that you were suffering, He knew you were in pain. […]

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Patrick and I are heading back to Ohio on Monday for Jean’s funeral. While she’s still with us, she is now under hospice care and all indications are that it won’t be much longer. She’s in very bad shape, so I hope it happens soon. (For very selfish reasons, I just hope it isn’t tomorrow…on […]

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My sister, Jean, has finally received the word that her life is ending. While we’ve all known for some time that her cancer would eventually cause her demise, it’s still hard to believe. It may happen at any time…within days or weeks. Sisters aren’t supposed to die until all of us are old–which we certainly […]

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I decided to clean out the pool skimmer yesterday when I noticed it was filled with about 25 dead bees. I reached down into the water to grab the skimmer bucket…BIG MISTAKE. I was able to catch all but one bee in the bucket, and that one caught it’s stinger on the index finger of […]

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Last Sunday morning Patrick called me to say he was on his way to the San Gabriel Animal Shelter to adopt a cat that he and Veronica saw there on Saturday. Later he called to say he had a cute little grey long-haired tabby running around his car! He was on his way home with […]

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Kevin called on Saturday afternoon and encouraged me to sign up for an online game called “Puzzle Pirates.” For all who have gotten hooked on games such as Bejeweled and Tetris–and for all of us Animal Crossing addicts–this game is made to order. It completely destroyed any plans I had for the weekend, forcing me […]

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Back to work. And the craziness has already set in. I’ve had at least 20 people wanting to talk with me today about everything and anything. And still all my regular work has to be done. Aaarrrggghhh!!! At home still have most of the Christmas decorations still up. Took down the tree and packed all […]

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…or at least it hasn’t rained on the Rose Parade for over 50 years. Until this year. And it didn’t just rain, it poured! And what a mess it was. Flowers, seeds, powder, etc washed off the floats leaving wires, frames and foam with nothing coating them. It was really a shame. While some of […]

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OMG, Patrick is 26 years old today! How can this be? It wasn’t but a few years ago that he was just this little kid running around underfoot. And now he’s out on his own. How did that happen so quickly? I do very much miss that little guy, but I very much love the […]

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I’m ready for 2005 to be over. One of the few good things that happened was Kevin and Chrysoula’s wedding. That was wonderful and great fun for all. And I am so happy to have a daughter-in-law. The year began with unending rain that I thought would wash away So.Cal. So far at the end […]

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And so Christmas has come…and is about half done. Still have dinner to look forward to with a turkey baking in the oven and all the yummy side dishes soon to be prepared. Had fresh baked Cinnabon rolls for breakfast prior to opening all the wonderful gifts–a Home Depot card, sofa blanket, picture frame, robe, […]

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Hit the stores at about 10 am this morning and, after visiting about 10 different places, I headed for home at about 3:30 pm. And I’m finished! The worst part of the day was the battle for parking. Along about 1 pm parking was at a premium everywhere. I went to some specialty stores along […]

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I finally started Christmas shopping. I should have done it sooner, but just couldn’t get motivated…and still am not really into it. I’m convinced we should do away with the shopping part of Christmas. I just hate battling the crowds. I went to Target today, got one gift and couldn’t stand it any longer, so […]

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We do the Secret Santa thing at work where you draw a name and then give that person a small gift every day for a week. At the office party this coming Monday we give a large gift and reveal who has who. My Secret Santa is absolutely the best! On Monday I received a […]

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Once again Loki is providing the vet with her annual Christmas bonus. I took him in this afternoon and he will have surgery in the morning for an abcess. Fortunately I caught it early enough that it hadn’t grown too large yet. This is the third year in a row that he has had surgery […]

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Jean got the results from her scan…the cancer has been reduced 23%!!! I haven’t spoken with her yet, but I’m sure this is the best early Christmas gift she has ever received. My understanding is that she continues with the medication in the clinical trial and goes every 8 weeks for another scan. Hopefully the […]

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That’s what we call the party at work to honor all the volunteers that put in countless hours helping out with church activities. It’s the shrimp party ’cause we bring in about 50 lbs of shrimp and serve them with cocktail sauce along with lots of other goodies–fresh fruit, cheeses, crackers, cakes and cookies. There’s […]

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I dug out all the Christmas decorations on Saturday and began the decorating process. I love how the house looks when it’s finished, but getting there is craziness! Have packed up about 75% of my carnival glass and other collectibles from the living room, dining room and family room. That’s the hardest part. But I […]

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