Hey, what happened to us? We seem to have disappeared for a couple of days. I was posting a message on here and my computer froze up completely, even the mouse locked up. Apparently this is what happens when you try to do the right thing and put virus protection and so on on your computer.

So what's your excuse?

DD is coming home this weekend, demanding french silk pie. We are having a pizza party at the in-laws (mine, not hers ), and I am givi

I was just about to tell you what she is getting for her birthday. Now, what if she checks here to see what's going on with us? Serve her right, I guess.

Oh, yeah, I wanted to say I'm glad you're better, Peachie. Scary stuff.

And, I went snowshoeing again today with my big bad puppy. I went up a hill through the woods and came down the hill. It was lovely -- someone had made a trail, so it wasn't too difficult going -- and when I got to the top I could see several mountains and a lake! Then I kicked myself for not bring my camera

Go back. Bagz would show us pictures of something that beautiful.

My kitty is in the hospital. I must sleep alone now. Hope he's back soon. Same old thing .. not eating, drinking, etc.

A woman got arrested at my store today. She filled a shopping cart with about $200 in stuff, mostly baby stuff, and walked out right past the most suspicious manager we have. What I can't figure out is how he got her to stay there while he called the cops. I would've walked away and left the car in the parking lot. I know they'd follow her to her car but ... I guess she couldn't walk far enough to evade the cops. Never mind.

I have taken up drinking. It is your influence plus the doc who old the to drink red wine. I found some 6 percent wine. Pretty good. and I really like that mint chocolate Bailey's.

K. Must go. I am watching 3:10 to Yuma tonight.

Hi. My excuse is that I've been busy making lists and then not marking anything off them. Well, I mark a couple things off, but mostly I just transfer things to the next day's list.

The first thing on my list every day is exercise, and I have been doing that. I've walked a half hour every day since I got back from AZ. In the rain. Except weekends. I get weekends off. Supposedly it will help my mental health. I need all the help I can get.

Have a loverly weekend, cowsies.

PS I saw a crocus blooming on my walk today.

Congrats on the walking, Wab! Congrats on the drinking, Peach! Oh, wait a minute... I don't know, Peachie, drinking alone without a cat, sounds like you need supervision. Yeah, that Bailey's is good stuff, but it's not going to do your heart any good!

Sorry to hear about the kitty cat, is it kidneys? Male cats are so prone to kidney problems. My previous cat had kidney problems at a fairly young age, which seemed to clear up with a short time on the chicken and rice diet. He died of kidney failure, but not until years later when he was 15 or so. Or was he 18?

Gotta go do stuff. didn't accomplish much yesterday -- other than my trek up the hill. DH got me looking at old videos to compile something for DD. I got woik to do!

I have another cat to drink with. But if Bailey's won't help, what will? Granted, the doc said red wine but this is close. The "red wine" I bought has cane syrup in it and no fruit juice. Says on the label.

I paid off a credit card. yay yay and more yay. One more (larger) to go. Sigh sigh and more sigh.

I am home tomorrow.

Lush's lists used to overwhelm me. I couldn't imagine doing so much. They seemed to be in big chunks like clean the lr, cover the pool, clean the gutters. My idea of a list would be move books from sofa, make sure pool is ready to be covered, find out where ladder is. So it's probably my fault she left. I'm sure I wasn't nice about the lists. Here is my own list. Feel free to ridicule:

1. Pick up area in front of linen closet so closet door can be closed.
2. Wash and put away all laundry.
3. Clean path from front door to kitchem.

LCP has this blog where she posts how unhappy she is. I have written her and she writes back but now she has stopped. I offered to send her books or whatever but wanted to know what she would like. Why send her something she didn't want at that price? She doesn't answer. Now, I feel that if I pursue this, I will appear to be stalking her. I have a lot of affection for this girl. What to do?

DS is going through the RA application again. He knows they'll ask him the hardest thing he's ever overcome. I suggested the day that he walked from his dorm to the hospital with a collapsed lung, stopping along the way to see what was happening in physics class.

What happens when you pay off a credit card? Will I get a thank you letter?

Have you tried Bertolli's frozen meals? They are so tasty and so simple to heat up. I watch for them to go on sale (buy one get one) as I think they're about $7 each. But they're delish. One bag feeds two people, it says, at about 500 calories.

Did Lush ever post a list then sit and type and sit and type and procrastinate? No. She did not.

The vet doesn't know what wrong with the kitty. Testing would be expensive and she's treating him as though he has what the had last time and he seems to be responding to antibiotics, steroids and an iv to rehydrate him. She said that when he's out of the cage, he just wants someone to hold him. isn't that a terrible thing to say? Guilt inducing. He's a sweet cuddly cat. He's in a cat clinic, no dogs, and in a cage twice as big as others have with a little cat bed, cat box, food, water and about that much floor space to walk on. When I was there he was stuffed in the little area behind the cat box with his head on the box.

I go now. I be back.

OK, that well pretty well.

Now:

1. Clear off dining table.
2. Pick up hallway.
3. Clear off ottoman.

Knit, watch cartoons, look for mail delivery to kill time.

That sounds like a full day to me. You're a wonder. Must be the Bailey's. Please tell me you did not buy wine with cane syrup in it. Wine has grapes in it. Fermented grapes are good for your heart.

I forget where lcp went. Japan? I know nothing. I'm not too surprised she has stopped writing to you. I think it's pretty hard to keep up a relationship like that (ex's mom) unless there are other family connections involved. I haven't talked to my brother's 2nd wife since they divorced. Not because I don't want to talk to her, but you know, awkward, nothing in common, moved on. Sad, but true. Hope that's not the case with lcp, maybe she's just busy and you'll hear from her one of these days.

So DD and bf got home, we went over to his house for dinner last night. She finally set foot in our door about 11 pm, but she's so sweet about it you can't really hold it against her. She's swamped with homework, so she is doing that today while I finish the pies and DH works on her b'day present She and the bf scrapped their previous cellphones plans and got a plan together. All by their little selves. Saving themselves a bundle of money.

Gotta go cook

please explain IMMEDIATELY how ds and bf saved money with a cellphone plan. DS and I have one together and it's just under $80 a month with the discount I get for working where I work.

She's in Korea. She is Korean. She does not like it there and misses chairs.

I am watching Dexter. It's supposed to be so good but I'm so sick of these bloody body parts shows. Everything is tv is the same d*mn*d show over and over in different cities. When will that change? Why isn't there something for everybody instead of just something for the autopsy crowd?

Yes I bought the syrupy wine because I did not the label until I got home and because it was cheap and because the alcohol content was 6 percent and someone had JUST told me about wine from Germany with 5 percent alcohol that was sooooo good and she couldn't find it here.

What is dd getting that requires finishing? Drapes? Handmade chandelier? padded coathangers?

hi girls---i have been remiss this week----i know you missed me----and YES i take my camera everywhere so miss kiwonkers had better get up the mountain and take pics again!!!---i am tired and want to read the Globe and Mail----i buy it every saturday and NEVER get to read it---my ds13 just made low fat fettucine alfredo----he is getting really good at it----i had some----it was lovely!!!!it's called eenie meanie fettucine----well,it still has fat in it,but no cream-----i have nothing exciting to report,but i loved checking in to see youse guys hhs hhs hhs---maybe i will make a list!!! kiss kiss !!happy birthday kiwiette!!! yesterday was bob's birthday and tomorrow i will have a birthday supper for him----mom was suggesting i invite the whole family,but i said NO!!!!---bob doesn't like it and i hate it when sunday dinner takes all day to make and all night to clean up---it's the only lazing about day in the week---for the record,l feel guilty about not wanting to host the family but for once,i am really following through with guilt and all,cause i know i will just feel all put upon if i do all that work---so either way i will feel something negative.you have to be in the mood to do all that slaving!!!

A man absolutely hated his wife's cat and decided to get rid of him one day. He put the cat in his car and drove it 20 blocks from their home, leaving it at the park. But upon arriving home, he found the cat just walking up the driveway.

The next day he decided to drive the cat 40 blocks away. He put the beast out and headed home. Once again, as he drove up his driveway, there was the cat!

At last he decided to drive a few miles away, turn right, then left, past the bridge, then right again and another right until he reached what he thought was a safe distance from his home and left the cat there.

Hours later, the man calls home to his wife: "Hun, is the cat there?"

"Yes," the wife answers. "Why do you ask?"

Frustrated, the man answered, "Put the little ******* on the phone. I'm lost and need directions."

Yes, I know I have been AWOL. Bad, bad Sugar! No mojo. None. My life sucks.

Things that happened (in list form, of course):

• Took ds14 to the eye doctor and found out he needs glasses. No surpise considering the source.
• DH ripped up the terrace and has ordered new wood for it. Very messy.
• Walked 1 1/4 (count 'em) hours with DH today. He says it's good for our relationship. We talked about cabbages.
• (Finally) cleaned the toilets. About time.

I promise I'll come back tomorrow when I'm in a better mood.

DD was paying over $50 a month as her part of a family plan with her aunt and her cousin and his wife. At the same time, the BF was on his family's plan which didn't have enough minutes; he had to wait until 9 to talk to her or end up paying extra. So now they are paying $70 plus tax (lord knows how much that is ) between the two of them and have enough minutes to talk to each other whenever they want, I guess. I don't think you can get a cellphone plan that amounts to much less than 35 or 40 a month, unless you go prepaid like mine. Prepaids are good for people who don't need a lot of minutes.

So I'm still curious -- what is the syrupy wine? Manischevitz? Seriously, when they talk about red wine being good for your heart they mean dry -- like cabernet, shiraz, merlot, burgundy, that stuff, right? I have never researched it because I can't drink red at all (migraines), so I'm not sure.

The present that needed finishing was this DVD that DH made with photos and video of DD's birthdays through the years. I spent a lot of time looking at videos and marking the spots to clip and put on the video sections. Which DH mostly ignored. He is still working on it, revising the damn thing to make another copy (he gave it to her Saturday), new intro blah blah blah. And he ran through it with me and we found a glaring mistake which apparently he's not going to fix. Well, at least not until he makes another new copy. I don't know, he's still editing something, I don't know why he couldn't fix that. I wish he'd go plow the driveway again or something.. LOL

It is 12º out plus this wind that has been whipping around out there since last night, making giant snowdrifts out of the new snow we got yesterday and making it really cold in our bedroom. It's blowing so hard that malf the windows in the house are covered by snow, some of them are completely white.

I was going to correct that so it said Half the windows, but I decided I like Malf.

Kiwi

I forgot to tell you what I did yesterday: we had the Democratic Caucus here in Maine, and I not only went, I volunteered to work at the polls in November. I also...wait for it...drum roll please..... am a delegate to the state convention in May! Why I volunteered for this, I'm not sure, it will probably end up costing me a couple hundred dollars because I'll have to stay overnight one or 2 nights in order to attend all the stuff, but heaven knows I need something worthwhile to do, so I guess it's a good thing! I was in a minority at the local caucus, but at the state level, it will be a majority, so that will be exciting to be on the winning side there (I'll let you figure out which side that is). Hard to say at this point, which will be the winner at the national convention, but as long as we get the freakin' Bushies and their ilk out of Washington, I will be happy!

Oh, I forgot I'm not supposed to get political here. It's on topic though, because I lost another pound, um , oh yeah, when I got up to speak (yes I did!). Speaking in public is worth at least one pound, isn't it?

Ta

In a fit of boredome, I peeled the label off the syrupy wine but Arbor was part of the name. Arbor Mist maybe. There's a lot of their stuff in the store.

I am in a bad bad mood. My cat, the good cat, is home from the vet and I paid dearly to get him. I needed that money for real life things. Depressed over it. I'm not even liking the cat at this moment.

I'm disgusted with politicians, too. Why did Hillary put up with Bill all those years? Why does anyone respect Ted Kennedy? I just hate that he never went to jail. I am just grumpy.

Cow earrings would cheer me up but what's the chance of that???

I heard two astounding things on NPR. First, 3 percent of the babies born in England or London belong to Pakistani Muslims. These people, the report said, marry first cousins and 1/3 of the babies born with hereditary illnesses come from that 3 percent. They health services people are campaigning to get them to stop marrying first cousins.

Secondly, Canadian is a new derogatory slang word for black person. I can't explain it. The world moves too fast for me.