sending out the health and strenght ma~~~ tiggy. So sorry to hear the news.

Back in Seattle. I think you could tell the returning residents on our plane from the visitors by whether they said "Ahhh!" or "Brrrr!" in response to the 62-degree air on the jetway. (While we were in Alabama, I'm not sure it dropped below 75 at night, was in the mid 90's every day, and was so muggy my glasses fogged up every time I stepped outside.)

There is an obviously sick cat in our front yard. We don't know who it belongs to, but we recognize it as one of the neighborhood pets. As soon as it's a bit past 8:00, I'm going to go to our next-door neighbor and see if she knows, since she's a bit more social on the block than we are. Poor kitty.

I think we picked the right time to come home, though I do wish there was more I could do for Mom long-distance. But my ability to let things ride and not pick fights over the usual political issues was starting to wear off, so it's as well I got away when I did. And, well, it's good to be home, and I'm looking forward to settling back in to my usual routine.

Welcome home, Susan. Glad you feel like it was good timing.

The cat is gone now. I hope its owner found it and took it away, because it didn't look to be in good shape at all.

Tep, I see the insomnia fairy was in MD and OH last night. She was raging hardcore. I finally fell asleep at 5:30 and the frelling alarm went off at 6:30. There is not enough caffeine in the world for this morning.

I didn't fall asleep until sometime after 4:00. When the alarm went off, I just picked up the phone and called in to work. No way in hell could I function on 3 hours of sleep. (Though now I feel like a slacker now that I know you got only 1 hour.)

Ugh, Steph. Calling in seems wise.

Tiggy and GC [eta: and Susan] -- all the strength to your families.

Then I recant. My "voices" are now dependent on what they are talking about

See, Plei's dad just got so much hotter to me.

Thanks for the well-wishes. Also said it already in Natter but it deserves repeating, quick recovery wishes to your aunt and cousin, tiggy.

I'm at the Burbank airport AGAIN. I swear, I should just move on in.

So this morning, we have over $2000 in our checking account, thanks to the deposit of the (most likely) fraudulent check.

How badly do I want to just go and take it all out??

Word for word, this is the latest email from MoH:

Honestly, I think with each person ordering their own food and covering their own food costs, anywhere should be fine. This is a combination bachelorette/bridal shower and yes, there are expenses, but each person can manage them--they can choose to not have drinks with dinner, to have an appetizer for their entree, they don't have to stay for dinner, etc (We left the invites open so people can each manage their own experience.)And if all else fails,this is why God invented credit cards. :)