Sniders are Coming!

Bill and Jan got here around 11:30 a.m., and it was great to see them. We were very laid back and just enjoyed reminiscing and gossiping for hours. For dinner, Dick grilled steaks and baked potatoes outside even though the weather is bone-chilling.

They are expecting one new grandbaby in March (Eric and Tammy). Her name will be Emily Grace. Another new grandbaby will arrive sometime in July (Reiko and Bob). That will give them a grandbaby total of SIX !!

We watched Heroes, but we missed Ugly Betty :)

Convergence

Dick went over to the Convergence site around 10 or 11 a.m. - I stayed home by the fire! When the chili was hot, and the food was set out, he came home to get me (it's only 5 miles away). There must have been 50 people there when I came - there was a long line for French fries! Dick roasted hot dogs for us, and it was a hoot. We were dressed so warmly that the day didn't even seem cold (especially near the roaring fire!)

It was great seeing everybody and catching up on their latest adventures. Watching Heather and Kimberly roast marshmallows was the best part, though. Those girls are experts!

In Good Hands

It snowed and snowed and snowed - about 6 new inches of snow on the ground this morning. Dick got outside really early and used the snowblower on the driveway so that we could get an early start because I was due at therapy at 7:30 a.m.

After therapy we were off to Bortz to "supervise" mother's trip to the dentist. I wanted to be there to calm her down a bit because she was a little agitated about leaving the building and traveling around in the snow. While we were waiting to go, Betsy from Concord dropped in to see how Mom is doing.

Bortz provides a driver and a van; the driver, Kathy, is also in charge of transferring Mother from van to wheelchair, pushing the wheelchair, etc. Wanda, one of the aides, went over to Concord and brought back Mom's boots and some more clothes from her closet over there. Wanda is very thoughtful, cheerful, willing, helpful, and respectful. Mother likes her a lot and appreciates her help.

The trip went well - it was uneventful, really, and effortless on our part. The dentist made 5 or 6 adjustments to Mom's partial - I felt vindicated - no wonder I couldn't get it to fit in her mouth! We stopped on the way home to get some batteries for her remote control.

When she was back in her room, 3 different staff members stopped by to see how she was doing. That is very reassuring to me. The remote worked fine with new batteries, so now she's back in business.

I realized afterwards that the Bortz staff really is capable of transporting her to where ever she might need to go in the future. It's a wonderful feeling to know that she's in such good hands should we happen to be out of town in an emergency.

We ran a couple of errands and then had a delightful lunch at Amical. We sat right by the fireplace - so warm and cozy.

Talked to Laurie this afternoon - they're coming for the weekend to talk to their builder, Sean McCardel, whose project is called Verndale of East Bay. Could this mean that they're really, really going to move here? Stay tuned!

Bragging

Dick went to the Agency this morning, and did an exhausting amount of work. The major part of it was helping a lady with a medicaid application - it took them 2 hours!

I had a 9:30 appointment with Dr. Burke - just a routine 3 month checkup. Holy cow! Dr. Burke said he was thrilled with my progress! Now, that's a first. My blood test numbers were so good that he cut my medication again. It's a very good feeling, and it's a novelty to feel optimistic about the future.

After the appointment I went to Tom's 14th, walked around the entire store, and was not exhausted at the end of it. Pardon me for bragging.

Dick began downloading World of Warcraft on his computer so that he can join us in the family fun.

Very Relaxing

NFL playoff games, reading the Sunday paper, playing computer games, visiting Mother, KFC for dinner - an ordinary day.

WoW

The family had a date for noontime to play together on our new computer game that Tom got us all for Christmas (World of Warcraft). It was a ton of fun. We teamed up, and it enabled me to complete several quests that I would never have been able to complete by myself. Jana was very solicitous, staying by my side the whole time and looking out for me.

I'm not sure how long they played - I lasted for 2 1/2 hours, and they were still going strong. It's wonderful to have TeamSpeak - it's much more efficient to be able to just talk to each other rather than typing back and forth.

The funniest event was Laurie saying "OK, I'm going for a walk around the neighborhood, so you guys are babysitting Dylan." It was fun being the babysitter, even from 2,000 miles away!

J & E

I had to make a quick visit to the Clinic to get a blood test, so we made an outing of it. Afterwards, we went to the Omelette Shoppe for breakfast. Then we did some minor cache maintenance, and went home.

Jim and Emilie drove up from Saginaw today to visit Mother in her new location. They came out to the river afterwards for debriefing, coffee, and cookies. They were pleased with her situation, and reported that they had a good visit.

Outsurgents

It appears that W plans to send 20,000+ more soldiers to Iraq. He's not calling it an escalation though - he's calling it a surge. Anbar Province and Baghdad are the most dangerous places in the whole country, so that's where the surging new troops will most likely be going. Those places are teeming with insurgents, and so I'm calling the new troops the outsurgents.

Here's an excerpt from an interesting article by Nicholas von Hoffman in The Nation, entitled Tax the Rich, End the War:

The Democrats can tax our way out of the war. This would be a Victory Over Terror tax to be levied on incomes of $5 million a year or more. It should be a surcharge of 20 percent over and above what people in that rarified income bracket are already paying. It should be levied on all income, regardless of what form it takes, so it would include stock options, jet plane rides, company-paid-for health and life insurance, retirement programs, golden parachutes, the use of apartments in Paris, cars and drivers.

The people in this stratospheric income category have enjoyed the big tax cuts that have gone into effect while the nation has been attacked and been at war. Individuals making $1.25 million a year have gotten tax cuts of almost 20 percent, but many of these would be spared paying the Victory Over Terror tax, which only cuts in at the $5 million level.

Needless to say, those paying this tax do not represent the Democrats' voter base. As these things go, this is politically pain-free. The tax is aimed at war profiteers, overpaid CEOs and grossly fat cats in general, most of whom carry a lot of weight at the White House. If there is any group of people in the world whom George Bush listens to, it is this bunch of billionaires. Call this a backdoor use of the power of the purse. And since the surcharge expires when the war on terror is won or declared over, those taxed will have a powerful incentive to tell the President it is time to get a move on.

Therapy was at 7:30 this morning - there were lots of people there - I was surprised. Kari says that next week we'll be adding weights. Oh dear.

Today I became durable power of attorney for Mother. We waited and waited for the lawyer to turn up - she was half an hour late. All was forgiven when she arrived though because she's very young and fresh-faced and due in April. The procedure was short and sweet and Mother was able to sign the document with no problem. So now I keep doing what I've been doing for years, except now it's legal.

Dick went to the VC to help Kathee fold 750 pizza boxes for the chili cook-off. Each box contains a napkin, a spoon, and 8 cups for chili samples. If we want to go, we get in free. Except that Dick reminded me that I have an appointment to help Dylan storm the castle with Tom and Jana at noon, so we might not be able to make the chili cook-off.

More Historic Photos!

Here is my mother, Marian Geib Kanitz - taken in Grand Rapids.

Mother and friends at Lincoln Lake - Mother is on the far right. She was always tall for her generation - around 5'8" - now at age 98 she's 5'3".

Valentine and Ellen Bowman Geib, Christmas, 1905
Jennifer called this picture "two bundles of uncontainable joy"! I love the picture - it's so ... I dunno .... historic looking!

Rick sent me a link to a blog (http://jenny.standland.org/) that contained these great pictures of Mom, plus pictures of Valentine and Ellen Geib, my great grandparents. The blog belongs to Jennifer Ruth Geib, my first cousin once removed - daughter of Rick and Mary (and Fritzie).

It's really a thrill for me to get these pictures. Mother never liked having her picture taken, so we don't have many good photos of her. In the ones we have she's either making a face or waving her hands as if to push away the camera! So this is a real treat for me. It will be interesting to see her reaction when I show them to her!

Historic Photo

Rick sent me this great picure of our great grandfather and great grandmother, Valentine and Ellen Geib (the couple on the right). They are the parents of our grandfather, Fred Peter Geib. The notations on the margins are so valuable in identifying everyone. I'm thrilled to have the picture to add to my collection. Rick promises to send more! Hooray!

Therapy was scheduled for 8:15 this morning, but when I got outside to the car it was completely snow and ice covered and I couldn't even get the door open. Eventually things got warmed up and cleared off, but I was 15 minutes late for my appointment. Kari is very understanding and she wasn't the least bit upset - we did everything we usually do, just faster than usual. Thursday I'm scheduled for 7:30 a.m., so I promised her that I would go out and warm up the car before breakfast. Therapy went well - I can tell my leg is getting stronger even though it's still very weak.

I dropped some books off at the Library, drove through downtown, and then went shopping at Tom's 14th St. I haven't been there for ages - we've been shopping at the new Oleson's mostly. Got a pot roast for dinner.

Walked into the nursing home, but Mom was not in her room - they said she was in therapy. So I dropped in on her downstairs just to say hi. Her therapist is very nice - her name is Pam. She had Mom bundled in microwave heated pads on her right shoulder and her hands. I was glad to see that Mother is very cooperative with Pam.

Yesterday Dick went to Dr. Tim to have a troublesome spot removed from his nose. He didn't spend much time at the Agency - just came home and rested a bit. I know he was feeling better later though, because he went out to find some new geocaches that have appeared in our area. I took the day off yesterday.

More geocaching for Dick today. He went down to the Manton area and found 3, and he placed a special coin in one of Koda's caches. It was cold, windy and snowy - so he came home to stoke up the fire.

A Benzie Day

This was a good day for a drive to Benzie County. Dick had a list of caching fun, repair, and coin placement - so off we went.

The first stop was a nature preserve, with a trail that was mucky underfoot. The area was so swampy/waterlogged that the roots of the trees were above ground level, with big spaces between the bottom of the trees and ground level. It was otherworldly looking - it reminded me of a fairy tale setting - Little Red Riding Hood maybe, or Hansel and Gretel. It was a spooky place.

Dick found everything he was looking for, and finished the tasks he had set for himself. At the Art Park near Crystal Mt., he walked up a huge hill - it was quite an effort, but he was successful. I walked part way up the hill just to see if I could! It was interesting driving around Crystal - they've made snow, and one slope was open and very crowded! We were surprised because we're not skiers and we had no idea that slopes could be kept open when we've had high temperatures and no snow for weeks.

On the way home we stopped at Hofbrau in Interlochen for lunch, and walked into a very nice brunch totally unaware. We went on towards Traverse and went to visit Mother. She's not feeling well. She's not very happy with Bortz - in fact she said she was happier in the hospital. Jana has said several times that Mother may be depressed - I'll mention that to the Bortz Doctor - who knows?

This evening, Tom (Oxbow), Jana (Moonlytte), Dylan (Zoroan) and I (Nanzia) played World of Warcraft (the internet sensation - inside joke) together. It was very much fun. Dylan enjoyed escorting me around and clearing the area of monsters for me. We didn't find the right harpies, though. At the same time, Dick was trying to download his new maps and it was overwhelmingly frustrating. I heard phrases that I haven't heard for a while.

One time this evening I went downstairs for something and I found myself walking like an actual human! It felt very natural, with no limping. It was a ray of sunshine and hope for the future! It only lasted a few seconds, but it's been such a long time and it felt so good! I've had weeks of therapy, and I've been doing the exercises at home, and it seems to be working.

Torcher

We met Tim and Susie for breakfast at the Wild Onion in Alden. (That's the place where one of the omelets is named The Torcher - cracks us up every time). We had fun chatting - comparing caching experiences and Holiday stories. They told us they logged the Fountain of Youth cache on the way 5 minutes after we did! We compared notes and tried to figure out the damage that has been done to the little park where the Fountain of Youth cache is located. Someone drove onto the grassy area and churned up a lot of loose, wet, black soil. There are deep tire tracks all around. The picnic table has been torn apart - we think whoever drove in there backed into it and smashed it. Probably somebody imbibed a bit much and used poor judgement.

After breakfast, they wanted to do the Alden Historical multi-cache, and we were interested because we never were able to locate stage 2 of that cache, even though we did find the final stage. We decided to stick around and see if they could find it. Susie has naturally built in cache radar! They struck out too on stage 2, and Dick and I felt gratified that we aren't the only ones who couldn't find it!

Visited Mother on the way home - she claims that nobody is paying any attention to her. She wanted a specific pair of shoes, so Dick went over to Concord to get them, and brought back the shoes and the white pointsettia from church. She is not happy. Somehow her golden years have been tarnished.

Mother at Bortz Health Care

After a week in the hospital, it was determined that she was ready to be discharged yesterday (Wed.) to the nursing home. We decided to make the transfer by ambulance for the general ease of everybody involved. The transfer was made in a timely manner, and she was ensconced in her new room by 1:45 p.m.

It should be explained that Bortz Health Care is not the silk stocking nursing home of Traverse City. It is definitely down-at-heel, and could use some redecorating. But it has a good reputation, and many prominent Traverse Citizens have made it their home. It is well staffed with well trained personnel. They all seem to be very friendly, smiling and helpful. Everybody has been very nice to Mother, and I think that is the most important thing - even better than a new paint job!

I was relieved to see that Mother is in a private room with all the amenities. It has a sliding door to the outdoor courtyard, a private bathroom, a closet, nice chair, and a comfortable bed. She seemed glad to be out of the hospital at last and into a homier environment. If you visit, though, don't expect the Taj Mahal !

We spent the afternoon going through stacks of paper with the head nurse - signing the contract and several other things, and then initialing another couple of reams of paper. She is most definitely and certifiably registered!

Today when I visited, I watched her eat lunch - and her appetite seems to have returned - she ate almost everything. So it's evident that she is feeling better. She reported that this morning they took her downstairs to physical therapy, and that it was no fun. They had her doing some strengthening exercises which she tolerated well, but she said that she was very short of breath. While I was there, she was practicing some of her leg exercises - could have knocked me over with a feather.

So the report for today is very optimistic, and I'm confident that while she is still very weak and frail, she is improving by leaps and bounds over last week at this time.

We have no idea how long she will be in the nursing home. It could be for two weeks or two months. We are keeping her room at Concord Place so that she will be able to return to familiar territory.

New Year's Day in the Morning

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!
As you know, Mother has been in the hospital since Thursday. She's showing some slight improvement. For instance her voice on the phone seems stronger compared to the very weak voice we were hearing before.

She still doesn't feel like herself, and she's not eating much, but she is showing an interest in what to order for breakfast, supper, etc. However, when the food arrives she's really not very hungry. She's sitting in a chair for much of the day now, and she's cold most of the time. The nurses wrap her in blankets, including those wonderful warm blankets that are heated.

Mother is continuing to miscall words - they just don't come out right. She is also beginning to be very repetitive in her thoughts and comments.

She is mentioning more and more how sore her shoulder is, and she's taking Tylenol for that.

Most of the time Mother is examined by a team of Hospitalist doctors. There are two who take turns checking her every day, although any member of the team can substitute. Yesterday while I was there, Dr. Auer, her personal physician, stopped by to check things out. He's ordering an X-ray of her shoulder - he feels it may be dislocated. The shoulder needs to be stronger for her to be able to use a walker.

Dr. Auer noticed her repetitive comments and he said something about a "memory pill" - I'm not sure if he's intending to prescribe something or not.

He recommends that when Mother is discharged that she go to the nursing home side of Bortz Health Care. He feels that she is so weakened by her "near death experience" that she will need more skilled nursing attention in the future. We still don't know when that transfer will happen - we're playing it by ear and complying with all medical advice.

Mom is not at all happy. She feels unlike herself, sick, and bored. "The days are so long here." She refuses all suggestions for relief of boredom, such as TV, magazines, newspapers, etc. She needs some diversion, but I can't figure out anything that appeals to her.

She also feels slightly neglected because she has it in her head that the woman in the next bed is getting more attention than she is. Along those lines, she was really thrilled by Dr. Auer's visit!

We're naturally hoping for the best, and we're wishing that Mom will soon be more comfortable and contented.

Happy New Year!

A Geocaching Eve

Last week we planned a geocaching outing for today, and we followed through on it despite the weather. It was a foggy, dreary, drippy, windy, chilly day - just the opposite of what you want for an enjoyable geocaching experience!

We did manage to have some fun in spite of conditions - Dick found five caches, and logged one DNF (Did Not Find). He found all of them; I seem to be losing my touch! One of them I could have found - I noticed the hole - but I didn't want to kneel down to investigate - I regret it now because I was skunked!

I visited Mother in the hospital while Dick made pea soup with our Christmas ham. The soup turned out to be delicious. We tried to stay awake to welcome in the New Year, but it was a lost cause. We went to bed around 10:30.

Happy New Year !

Best Laid Plans

This day was all planned out. First, I was going to P.T. at 10:45. Dick and I were going to drop Jana at the airport at 12:30 and wave bye bye. Then Dick and I were going to go out to lunch.

Well, remember what Burns said about best laid plans? ("The best laid plans o'mice and men gang aft agley." [To a Mouse by Robert Burns, on ploughing up her nest, November, 1785])

Around 9:30 a.m. I got a panicky phone call from Betsy at Concord. She felt that Mother was worse and needed to see her doctor. I cancelled out of the P.T and headed for Concord Place. After various phone calls to Thirlby Clinic, it was decided to take Mother to Munson Emergency. Ann and Betsy helped me load Mom into the car, and the greeter at the Hospital put her in a wheelchair while I parked. Dick and Jana were left on their own to go to the airport.

We arrived at the E.R. around ll a.m., and it turned out to be a long, long afternoon. There were blood tests, X-rays, and various other tests. The final diagnosis is dehydration caused by flu-like symptoms. We talked to two doctors (an E.R. Doc and a Hospitalist), two nurses, two cleaning ladies, and one very accomodating volunteer.

In a prime example of polar opposites, the woman in the next bed was in the E.R. because of a drug overdose - actually drugs plus a mere pint of whiskey. And I was really glad that Mom is hard of hearing, because the language from the other side of the curtain was not exactly pristine.

Mom was finally put into her room at 5 p.m. The nurses on West 4 were just delightful and charming. Mom felt like Queen Victoria with all of the attention they lavished on her. It was paradise after the long, dull, uncomfortable hours in the E.R.

In the meantime, as more evidence of well laid plans ganging agley, as of 4 p.m., Jana was still in T.C. Her 1:30 takeoff never happened, and we still haven't heard the end of that story.

The moral of this day's story is Stay Flexible.

Descending Pool Table

Catherine's was having a post Christmas sale, so Jana and I dropped Dick off at the mall and went on a mad shopping spree for an hour and a half. Such fun!

Then we all took a drive out to the Leelanau in search of the perfect spot to place Jana's new cache. She's doing one centered on the early 20th century murder of a nun at the Holy Rosary Church in Isadore.

We were hungry, so we went to Art's Tavern first for lunch. Art's was jammed packed full of people - it was more crowded than it is in the summertime. There was a line waiting to get in. The party in front of us was a huge family group of at least 14 people. While we were standing there in the cold entrance, shivering and cramped, we were trying to figure out where they were going to put everyone.

There was a pool table in the center of the eating area, and right there, before our very eyes, a couple of employees began pulling up sections of floorboards from under the pool table and putting them on top of it. It took them quite a while, and while we were watching I was thinking "I wonder if they're somehow going to lower that pool table and put tables on top of it." And lo and behold - the pool table began to slowly move downwards until the floorboards on top were flush with the floor of the restaurant! And then they set up tables and chairs and seated the whole family group in one swell foop! It was worth the wait - just think - a pool table elevator! How many of those have you seen!?! As usual, the food was delicious and plentiful, the service was friendly and prompt, but the hit of the day was the descending pool table. I don't expect I'll ever see anything like that again.

Christmas Day 2006

Some Christmases are unforgettable:

When I was a sophomore in high school I got a beautiful wool dress with a turtle neck, and a new pair of ice skates;

The Christmas that I was expecting, Mother Gen gave us an entire layette for the new baby Laurie;

When Laurie was two, she asked Santa for a book, a truck and a talking doll, and that was all she wanted.

This Christmas was the most unforgettable of all the unforgettables:

************************
This is the Christmas that our children gave us a Caribbean cruise for our 50th wedding anniversary.

And the best part is that WE'RE ALL GOING !!!

Tom, Jana, Laurie&Chip and Dylan will be there too !!

And Dick and I will be in a grand suite!
****************************

This is the whole reason that we had to have a webcam in place in time for Christmas, because the family in Florida wanted to see us open the box with all of the clues! I was in shock for at least an hour afterwards, and I was tingling all over. Dick and I were both very emotional about this gift. Getting ready to go is going to be such a treat - we are so looking forward to this trip!

We had already had a wonderful Christmas. We love the treasure hunter book, and especially the tote with the original artwork by Mr. Dylan. There were so many wonderful gifts, we were already very mellow and satisfied after opening everything. Then Jana said it was time to call Florida, and she brought up the box from downstairs and turned on the webcam. WOW!

Dick, Jana and I visited Mother for about 2 hours this afternoon. We took her some food and three small gifts. She had a chance to call Fritz and wish him a Merry Christmas, and Jim called her earlier in the day, so she touched base with everyone this holiday.

But the big news of the day is our Anniversary Cruise on April 22, 2007! Stay tuned!

Dick thinks that this picture looks too much like deer in the headlights, so

This is the Official We'll Be Cruising Soon picture!

Where Would YOU Go?

"Hopefully this holiday finds you well and that the New Year dawns with bright new promise. May prosperity and light fill your life with joy." A quote found on another blog, and it's really my wish for everybody.

Next summer the Annual National Governor's Conference will be held here in Traverse City - well actually, at the Resort.

Our friend Kathee from the Visitor Center is heavily involved in preparation for the big event, and she'll be going to D.C sometime in February with a committee to attend a prep meeting for next year's Conference. They'll be taking 50 cherry pies, one for each delegation. She knows that Jana lives in D.C., so she asked if Jana had suggestions of things that Kathee and the committee could do for breakfast and dinner. Where would I go? Definitely back to Mei-wah and Mimi's! Don't know if I'm ready for the drag queen brunch...hmm...let me think that over...
Here is Jana's reply:

Hi Kathee -- I'm Dick's daughter Jana, and he asked me to pull together some recommendations for your upcoming visit to DC. Hope you find these useful, please let me know if you have any more questions or need a tourguide on your stay!

Old Ebbitt Grill is a wonderfully atmospheric & historic restaurant with a great bar, too. It's very near your hotel -- on 15th St between F and G (your hotel is on 14th St between H and I): Old Ebbitt Grill

Two options right on H St. -- for dinner, Cosi is a chain coffee/sandwich shop with wonderful salads -- I recommend the Cobb. They also have smores at your table, but my Dad says there's a bar in TC that does that too, so maybe it's not that special: Cosi

For dinner and/or a drink -- Cafe Mozart is a german expat experience, with $2.50 draft beers Mon-Fri 4-7, and all the brats you can eat: Cafe Mozart

Other highly recommended dinner & Drink spots a quick cab ride away:

Mei-wah -- best Chinese experience in DC! Mei Wah

Mimi's -- featuring live showtunes sung by the waitstaff, and a great bar too!
Mimi's

The Brickskellar -- a wonderful grubby cellar of a beer joint featuring more than a thousand beers, and mighty fine pierogies:
The Brickskellar

DC experiences further from your hotel -- You may or may not have time for these, but they sure are fun.

Dine at the Longworth House Office Building Cafeteria!
The press corps agrees this is the best cafeteria on Capitol Hill. The House buildings are open to everyone -- you do need to go through security and show ID. In the cafeteria, it's fun to eavesdrop on movers and shakers (or just pretend they are). Then for fun you can explore, go from one building to the next via the underground tunnels, enjoy the lovely courtyard in the Rayburn building, and visit your congressman if you want to at 137 Cannon: Capitol Hill Map

Ben's Chili Bowl!
My personal favorite comfort food, and a bona-fide DC experience. It's on U St, between 12th & 13th, across the street from the U St. Cardozo metro stop.
Ben's Chili Bowl

Johnny Rockets!
This was my mom & dad's favorite, it's a 50's style hamburger chain, the one I took them to was on M St in Georgetown. There's no metro in Georgetown so you would have to hop in a cab: Johnny Rockets

Drag Queen Brunch at Perry's!
Sunday Brunch is a DC obsession that has spilled over into Saturday. The article below lists lots of options, but my personal recommendation is the drag queen brunch at Perry's, on Columbia Road near 18th St (which is the Adams Morgan strip ... as an aside, if you want the Adams Morgan experience, go to 18th between California and Columbia any night of the week, it's hoppin' with bars, international restaurants and general nightlife). During the week, Perry's is a sushi place with a rooftop deck, but on Sunday, it is the liveliest brunch in town, with live drag queen entertainment: Washington Post Brunch Review

Another lunch or brunch option is the Mansion on O St -- there are just no words to describe this, you will have to read the review below. Call to make reservations because they don't serve unless people are coming. Just being in the mansion is a jaw-dropping experience that overwhelms the senses and can inspire giggle-fits: Mansion on O St.

It Works!

Hey hey hey! The LogiTech webcam works great with Skype on the Dell. This morning we talked with Laurie, Tom and Dylan, and it was great. I don't know where Chip was, but he is home now through Christmas, thank goodness. We were afraid that he would get held up by all of the delays caused by the big storm in Denver.

Spoke to Mother this morning - she is not well at all. She even agreed to see the doctor after the holidays. This is monumental, because she always pooh-poohs going to the doctor.

We took a drive this afternoon - it's another dreary, rainy day. We went to the store to get oysters for the Christmas Eve oyster stew. Then we did the TC cruise: the bay was very gray, but calm. The shoppers were dodging raindrops on Front Street. We visited both cemeteries, and drove past some condos that Jana is considering for some date in the future.

This evening we're planning to go to Mongolian Barbecue for dinner, and then cruise town to see the Christmas lights.