Big big hugs, JZ. Sorry S and I missed you yesterday, or we would have given you the hugs in person. It was very good for both of us to see David and Emmett for the twenty minutes or so we were there. And afterwards, we discovered the deliciocity of the River Ganges, the little indian place down the street from you.

Oooh, yes, I forgot about the Ganges! Totally veggie and vegan friendly -- it used to be incredibly mediocre, but it reopened under new management a couple of years ago and is vastly improved. Plus, kids get free mango lassis.

I was very sorry to miss both of you, but Hec said there was plenty of quality hugging, and that S. reported feeling much, much better, so I'm very glad of that.

She's feeling better than she has in a long time. It has become retroactively apparent that this was something that has been building up for several months, and it was just happening so slowly that we didn't notice until she started bleeding out and needed to be rushed to the ER.

She's basically had a stent put in to bypass her liver and relieve the pressures that were causing her various bleeding problems. Of course, no she has no filter for her blood, and that will probably cause other problems as we go on, but hopefully those problems can be controlled with drugs. And ultimately, if it becomes too much of a problem, the stent is undo-able. They can take it out and put her liver back into the equation (though her bleeding problems may well return).

Still, right now she's feeling better than she has in a very, very long time.

{{{JZ}}}

Glad S is feeling better - and just in time for Christmas!

GF had to work today but is off at noon. I am waiting for FedEx to redeliver so I have her big gift (a nice leather iPhone case that I hope she likes). I need to shower and go to the grocery but not in the mood to do either. GF needs to be here cause she motivates me to get my ass in gear. I'd be content to sit here in my jammies and play online all day.

Sean, that is good news--and I hope you guys are able to relax and enjoy Christmas. Give S my best, please.

I took our snowblower in to get fixed. Hopefully they will be able to do that sooner, rather than later. Christopher managed to get half of our driveway shoveled out and we did make it out to go sledding.

OMG--the sledding park here is AWESOME! We bundled the kids up and took them down the hill a couple of times. Liv was no sonofabitch for it. I suspect she takes after her dad with her lack of outdoorsiness. Owen had a blast but became obsessed with a little girl's pink, Disney Princess crash helmet and begged for one. I don't know if Santa will be able to fill such a late request.

hey Cash, one trick I learned from my father before I left NY for the warm climate of So Cal. Pam (or some non-stick cooking spray) can be your friend in the snow path sections of the blower. It helps the snow fall off the blades so it can be shot out easier, thus putting less strain on the motor, and less time unclogging the snow from the blades. dunno if that helps now, but thought I'd put it out there.

So, gift of huh #2 was the 8 oz of this: [link] Now, my family has never done the summer sausage thing. So that is just part of the curiosity of why now? But the funny thing was, as I was unwrapping it, before I saw what it was, I was thinking "god I hope its not a wooden pickle with blood on it". This is what you get for watching "Bad Santa" as you wrap gifts.

o_a, we just bought it less than a month ago and the motor seized up on us for some freak reason. It had only been used twice. At least it's under warranty, thank goodness. But we just got 10 inches of snow last night so it made clearing the driveway more interesting than it had to be. But I'll keep that advice in mind when we get it back.

ya, if it was a seized thing, that could be heavy/sticky/slushy snow bogging down the blades. The anti-stick spray could help with that. Snow blowers work best with light fluffy snow that only happens in fairy tales, or when you don't need to clear the driveway.

I don't know if Santa will be able to fill such a late request.

Dude, Owen! Santa is, like, fueling up the sleigh, and feeding, prepping and harnessing reindeer, and loading enough gifts for all the children of the world (which, if you've never seen the inside of a package delivery operation, what with you being, you know, a kid and all, is a logisitical nightmare, let me tell you), and all kinds of stuff like that, right now. The elves running the present request hotline got drafted into package loading duty yesterday, so, if you really really really want a pink Disney Princess crash helmet from Santa, I think it's gonna have to wait until next year. There's a whole 'nother Christmas just twelve months from now, and those helmets will still be available then. And you won't forget about wanting one at all in that time, either. Promise.

Besides, if you wait until next year, your very fervent and sincere request for a pink Disney Princess crash helmet will be at the very top of Santa's pile. Yours will be the first toy request Santa reads. Just you wait and see.

Sean, I'm telling him this, verbatim. Thank you!