I love polydactyl cats! I hope they choose one of those Allison!

I found out a few minutes ago that the one with the most toes is already adopted, but there is a chance one of the other two are still available.

I had one of my irritable days, because I didn't get to the gym first thing in the morning. Instead, I was folding laundry, washing dishes and vacuuming from 6 AM to 7:30 AM, when I sat down to work. Consequently I felt slightly behind all day, as if I always struggling to catch up.

Yesterday's snow has melted and temperatures are supposed to rise into the 60s again. I feel as if all I do is read weather reports these days.

We have snow in the Sierras, not too far from me. Fortunately I do not have to shovel it ! We are glad to see it, though as last year we didn't have much rain or snow and we do need it as we do need water to survive. of course we , and you , prefer that it doesn't come all at one time.

Thank for all the birthday wishes and yes, the wedding biz is fascinating and rewarding (as long as I don't eat at all the receptions) Saef, I know just how you feel missing exercise. It's a healthy addiction for me too and what good luck that we get grumpy when we miss out on it!

Tonight's my birthday party. I come in at 181 pounds, which is the low end of my maintenance goal range of 180-185 (at 6'4" that's a nice low weight). So no weigh-in necessary tomorrow, tonight I just enjoy an Italian feast and a very chocolate cake (with five whole zucchinis in it, moist and yummy). Maintenance does offer some opportunities for foodie enjoyments that dieting did not! I can do this I can do this I can do this...

Chris , have a great birthday feast ! The cake sounds yummy, care to share the recipe ?

What do you all think of this?

Am I over reacting because my Dad doesn't want the hassle of flying down here for a vacation (I was thinking 2 weeks or so) for Thanksgiving BUT he's willing to go through the same hassle of flying to go see his "girlfriend"? Apparently she is graduating from college and her parents are throwing her a graduation party and she "invited" him (or at least mentioned it to him). He asked my sister to look into flights to South Dakota--preferably flying in in the morning and flying out that same night.

He told me about this on our regular Sunday phone call. My sister called the other day to discuss it. She thinks he's gone bonkers and doesn't realize how weird it looks for a 91 year old to be going after a 22 year old. She thinks that if he does go, he'll embarrass himself. I tend to agree.

Granted he's lonely. But he does have regular outings with friends and groups of people. I just don't get it.

alinnell, he is certainly a grown man and can decide what he wants to do. Who cares if he embarrasses himself? Is there no age at which we can stop worrying about what other people think?

However, if he does decide to go to her graduation party, I'd suggest that he ask a friend go with him, just so he's not traveling alone.

What you and your siblings think of his behavior is beside the point. I take it he is not officially senile or judged incompetent, so your main concern should be with his safety while traveling, not with whether you like his plans.

Allison., it is not your Dad's behaviour that would concern me. Why is a 22 year old associating with a 91 year old ? What kind of a relationship does she think this is ?
PS.........Anna Nicole Smith

And if I were that girl's parents, I would be like, wtf?

My thoughts exactly.

Meanwhile, my in-laws just called. They're adopting TWO polydactyl brother kittens!

Well, Allison, some seniors can act approriately .Congratulations to them on the adoption.

Ditto and Amen. So sorry about your dad's situation. That is ridiculous. He obviously isn't acting rationally so your getting upset about it one way or the other is just a waste of your time. Happy for your inlaws though! My kitties are brother and sister and best of friends.

Allison, I must admit to being deeply curious about this relationship between the nonagenarian and the new college grad. Did they know each other in real life, and she moved away to go to college? Or did they encounter each other over the Internet, and have been communicating online but perhaps have never met?

It reminds me of stories told to me by a friend of mine who went to Ukraine on a Fulbright. She lived in a neighborhood with a lot of expatriates in it. Several times she met bewildered unhappy older American men who needed her help to contact their families & go back home to the U.S. The story was always very similar: The man had been corresponding with a young woman in the Ukraine for a time, had fallen in love with her, and had flown to the Ukraine to meet her. He was even prepared to offer marriage. He brought gifts and after they met at the airport, he bought her lots of stuff. But after just a few days, she'd split, and left him stranded, and he had no money left (or very little), no way of contacting her, because she was now ignoring his emails, calls & texts. He was deeply unhappy now. He saw clearly what had happened. His dream was over. He just wanted to get back home.

I know it's not the same thing, exactly, as it's certainly lacking that cross-cultural element, and I have no idea how the relationship started. But I always found it sad & touching. People just need & want love. Offer them even as little as a few crumbs, and their imagination often eagerly seizes upon those few crumbs & will use them to create a wonderful woman, whom they will continue to "see" before them for a surprisingly long time, even after they've met the actual human being in question & discovered she's not quite so wonderful.

She is from South Dakota and was in Salt Lake for an internship for the summer. She was hoping to be hired after the internship, but that didn't happen. She attended the church my Dad goes to (Zion Lutheran). One Sunday, it was recommended to the parishioners that they quit sitting in "their" pews--move somewhere else, sit by someone you haven't met, and introduce yourself. So Dad sat elsewhere and introduced himself to her and that's how it all started. Since she didn't get hired, she needed to go back and finish her degree and that's where they are now. Dad does say that he has no intention of marrying her, but that if he were younger he'd consider it.