Hi, Karl. Cass, all best thoughts to you and your family. Congrats, MG.

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Hey, Erika ... this really hot writer chick I know left a story in my inbox ... you know anything about this? ;)

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I might...she's got a talent but I think she'd want feedback on her suicide note. Isn't that awful how some people do that? Not everyone is as confident as we are, though.

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Love you, Erika. And you too, Beverly. More than I'll ever be able to express.

Off to dinner, now.

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mwah.

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{{{{{Cass}}}}}}

MG, that's good news.

Hi, Karl!

hugs intarweb very, very, VERY tightly

I skipped tons. There was threadsucking, but the desire to say hi won out. I am ensconced in my new apartment, completely unpacked, and needing to put things up on the walls and figure out what in the bloody hell to do with all of my books. Not tonight, however. Tonight I'm going to go down to the "aggressively hip" bar that is directly below my apartment and hang out until I can't take the crowding.

*mwah* to all the Bitches.

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My quick little nap ended up being six and a half hours. I haven't slept that long at a stretch in at least a week. I thought I would sleep for maybe an hour, not the whole afternoon.

This morning, at about 3:30 or 4, when my grandma's breathing changed and we knew that the end was coming very soon, I lit three new candles for her. I can't recall the company but I love their candles and they are at least a little wuwu. These were Peace.

After she was gone and we'd spent some time with her saying goodbye, I blew the candles out. I wrapped one to take home, put one to the side for my mom and the last for my sister though I didn't tell them about the candles yet. And I am not sure why.

I just could smell it for a moment, sitting on my nightstand where I wrapped it with a silk cord, even though it isn't burning right now and started to cry again.

I'm glad you were able to be with her at the end. It sounds like you made her passing as peaceful as possible.

I am grateful that I was there too, Laura.

I'm sorry you've lost a beloved member of your family, but glad she was finally able to let go and leave the pain behind. Time to take care of you, now. Sleep well.

I'm very glad that the pain is over too for her. And now there is some time to take care of myself as well, Ellen. It feels wrong to say, but the hard part for me is over now. I will miss her and grieve but she's in a better place now.

Hospice folks rock. They get money from me every year.

They are going to from me as well. They were so kind and helpful and just there when she needed them and when we needed them.

I'm sorry, Cass. There is never an easy death, but it sounds like your grandmother had a death that was as loving and gentle as you could make it. I hope you heal soon.

Betsy, thank you. It's amazingly comforting to hear this.

Peace to all of you. It sounds like every one of you put forth an amazing, heroic effort, even through the suddenness and the pain, to ease your grandma's passing as much as possible, and to support one another through it all.

It was wonderful how many people came together despite their issues. Occasionally people surprise you.

May the release of passage be warmed by remembrance.

Oh, Beej, that is so lovely.

Cass, other folks have said it better than I can. Much love to you.

Thank you. Reading everyone's words after actually sleeping is like having each of you give me a hug and letting me cry on your shoulders without even first checking to see if I am wearing mascara that will ruin your shirts. For the record, I haven't worn mascara in about a month.

I went to shake his hand goodbye at the end and got pulled into a hug and he whispered "thanks" in my ear.

MG, I'm so glad to hear this. It must be very complicated for C, I am sure, but her happiness is important and you are a key part of that.

but the desire to say hi won out.

Hi! Go and be with people until you can't stand them anymore, juliana, and then either find some quiet peace or come be with us for a while.

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Sleep is a good thing.

There is a time and a place for wuwu, and I think that would be the time and place. The candles are a lovely idea.

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Zeta finally broke up on Friday...

[link]

"So, until the 2006 season begins, unless Zeta somehow makes an unlikely miracle comeback, this is the National Hurricane Center signing off for 2005," hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart said in the last advisory on Zeta. "Finally."

The little storm that could...

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Zeta -- which emerged on Dec. 30 -- surpassed Alice No. 2 in 1954 as the longest-lived December cyclone to cross over into a new year. Zeta was also the longest-lived January cyclone.

Zeta put 2005 over the top on another record, surpassing 1950 for its accumulated cyclone energy.

Whew.

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Bless you, Cass. Your strength and warmth and understanding have shone through in all your posts during this difficult time.

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