I am sorry for your loss and pain Jo ~ we are not perfect people ~ we all fail to do our very best in any relationship with people ~ but we can learn and grow from those relationships lost and do better in our next ones.

Losing someone is never easy...in time...as you know....you will get through it. Peace to you.

Hey!

How are folks today?

pamatga, I'm so sorry for all that you're going through! But glad that you and your mom did come to some kind of resolution.

CountingDown, I'm fortunate that I live in a warm climate where I don't have to fight the cold. I used to live in Mass., and my Y membership tended not to get used so much in winter.

Right now I'm using our community's free fitness center, which is a block down the road--so I have no excuse! But, the machines are old and don't really give me the workout I'd like. I'm going to join a gym soon--if I can get a few bucks ahead.

Jay

Hi gang . . .

Sun is shining for the second day in a row -- wow -- and it is at least 10C (18F) warmer than it was yesterday -- double wow. Of course, they are predicting another 3 to 4 inches of snow starting later this afternoon. Anyway . . . it was so nice to see the sun again, I exercised my little heart out dancing around the house this morning. If I can just hold it together in the eating department, we'll be able to call it a good day.

Hope everybody else has a pretty good one on the go, too . . . See you later . . .

Well I suppose that what happens when one is hungover, and sleep-deprived at the same time, it results in a different kind of nasty feeling that can provide a distraction, sort of, in a weird kind of way, from the other nasty feelings of heartbreak and despair.

Thanks to everyone for your kind words.

Hey maybe there should be a despair genre of music. Let's take the blues beyond the blues. Although, there are blues festivals. I don't imagine there would be despair festivals. Or if there were, what would they include?

Good day for me as far as the plan goes. I "pumped rubber" this morning and WATP tonight after work. I was consulting in another school district today and lunch choices included a wonderful cashew, dried cherry, feta and iceberg lettuce salad - AND the dressing even came on the side This from the school cafeteria no less! It was delightful.

The thermometer went up to 12 degrees here today, but we are supposed to get another 5 inches tonight with temps down to -12 degrees. The hard part is that 2 weeks ago it was 54 out and we had no snow. Gotta love January weather

Oh, and DH just read me part of a continuing education module he is doing which included results from a 20 year Danish study. People who exercise and drink moderately have a much lower risk for heart disease and live longer I'm raising a glass of red wine in agreement

Well . . . we got a few more inches of the white fluffy stuff overnight . . . but the good news is that there is no more precipitation in the forecast from now through the weekend. The current conditions -- sporadically sunny and relatively mild (a little below freezing) -- are forecast to continue until at least Monday. Wow . . . I hope they've got it right.

Okay . . . guess I'd better get myself moving and shaking, gang. It's almost noon and I've accomplished next to nothing so far today. Need to get a few things done. Hope you all have a great day and I'll see you later.

Hey meowee, we got lots of rain here--must be our version of the snowstorm that passed through.

Spiny, are you recovering yet? By "unwise" I guess I meant drinking too much out of grief--why have a hangover on top of things?

I don't think a "Despair Festival" would have many takers... Plus the title is an oxymoron...

Counting, that's so good that you could find such a meal at a school cafeteria! It gives one hope...

Going for a walk now!

Jay

Hi all - hope you are doing well!

Jo, you feeling better? You are in my thoughts and prayers!

Jay - hope that rain is gone and your walk went well. I really miss walking outside. We open our JH/HS complex to walkers after school and there were a lot of them today. I used to walk the school years ago, but I guess I would rather use my DVDs these days. I'm antsy for spring already!

I had another POP day - I really think the BL and the January 50+ challenges are helping me. It is silly, but I guess every little motivation adds up and helps me stay OP. It isn't the eating I struggle with, it is getting up early to work out.

Hi Pals
Stopping in here but it is still really hard to think of anything ELSE besides this loss.
Jay - yes, drinking too much is not wise but it is a better alternative to that which you would call Even Worse, if you know what I mean. Yeah, it feels that bad.
I just apologize that I am not able to muster up the positive stuff and reports of interesting subjects and activities. Again, I really appreciate everyone's encouragement. I'm kind of hard to budge, I'm sorry. This one has taken me down lower than snake spit in a prairie dog hole.

stay there as long as you need to...I have faith you will come up for air when you need to....hug

Yes JO -- EZ said it all -- we will be here for you when you need us, Chickie

And a great, big for everybody else, too. Try to keep things moving and shaking today, gang. I've already done a few minutes on the Gazelle, but my major exercise today will come from the normal Thursday They've modified the long-range forecast a little -- still saying partly sunny, partly cloudy through the weekend (and beyond) but now they are calling for a return to the nasty -30C (-20F) temperature ranges we were enjoying () at the beginning of this week. Oh well, could be worse, I'm sure.

Have a great one, buddies and I'll see you all later . . .

Jo, Gary and Linda are right. But, one other thought. Grieving takes time, and you need to let yourself experience it. Try - really try to reach outside yourself as soon as you can. And, walking or other forms of exercise can help you too.
We are here for you, and are keeping you in our thoughts and prayers!

Good morning!

How are things? I still haven't been able to join the gym--still waiting for my cash flow to catch up. But, I'm keeping up with my walking and trying to get to the community fitness center.

In a couple of weeks, a friend and I are going to see the opera singer Dame Kiri te Kanawa on her farewell tour. I'm not an opera fan, but I have always liked her voice--and I think it will be so great to see her!

Anyone else into classical music?

Jay

You are in for some die-for sopano arias. Wish I could go with you.

We enjoy attending performances by the Boston Lyric Opera - always dramatic, always memorable. It is so easy to love opera. Hope you have a wonderful evening, and that you tell us about it.

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Hi gang . . .

I'm definitely a fan of classical music -- mostly symphony; not too big on opera -- have a great time.

Spent most of the day wandering around with LouLou again today. Went many places; did many things. Another very cold but beautiful and sunny day . . . more of the same, but even colder predicted for tomorrow.

Have a great evening folks. Keep things moving and shaking.