I guess the concept of the bowl is lost on me as my galley of a kitchen is always arms reach from the trash bin, so why make another dish to clean when you can drop stuff in the bin. I guess I could see it in a larger kitchen. Maybe some day I'll have one of those. :: sigh ::

Andi, does your mom fall, age-wise, into the "senior" bracket? The Cincy community centers have a lot of activities for seniors -- fitness, coffee hour, book groups, tax preparation, shopping trips, lunches, etc. -- and it looks to me like the Cleveland community centers do, too: [link] (scroll down to "Seniors Fifty and Fit*;" it's not all fitness-related -- it looks like there's various social activities, etc., too).

She's a bit further out from any of those locations, but I'd bet if I don't come up with a better search, I could call them and ask for referrals closer to her home. Plus if there is some kind of phone buddies system set up in the area, they would surely be able to put me in touch. Thanks for your help with the links, Teppy.

OMG, my body hates me. Full sneak communist attack. Blarg.

K-Bug and I went to Color-Me-Mine while the boys went to see I am Legend. I haven't painted pottery in over a year and forgot how relaxing it can be. I just have to remember not to go on a Saturday afternoon next time. Too many little kids. Get offa my lawn.

Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cooooold out there today.

I have it on right now! And if my primary computer hadn't just commited suicide...see tech if you have any experience with eMac death...it would be FG!

Thanks Sparky. Walking with Sassy on the Mall sounds fun. More fun than hiding from the snow. I think that the cold wouldn't have been so bad if I had thought of taking asthma meds earlier. Oh, well. It's all a learning experience, right?! A learning experience made much easier by all the help here.

I have broken down the boxes in my second bedroom. Now I just need to empty the boxes that are still full.

And I went to the grocery store (and spent too much money). And made cupcakes. And chex mix. And played Scrabble (a friend came over). Later we will go out to dinner, and dancing. Yay.

Tomorrow people will come over for the Superbowl, and I can continue to work my denial muscles up until late on Sunday night when I go "huh...I guess I *don't* have to get up in the morning..."

Whaddaya mean 'coming soon'?

You're already hotter than 1000 burning suns!

...

...

....ah. Unless you mean coming soon, in which case - jolly good show, carry on.

I found the most perfect poem for GF's dad's service. He was an avid collector of fossils - why I mention this will become apparent.

Nothing is Lost
Author Unknown

Nothing is lost - not a hair, not a breath!
The lilac that blooms today is made of
last year's crumbled leaves and this morning's dew.
It has in it perhaps the breath of a tiger and
minerals that were part of an ancient dinosaur.
The raw materials of that lilac have perhaps spent time in
a seashell, a wagon wheel, a butterfly and a hawk.

How old is this morning's lilac? - And how old are you?
You are as young as the morning, as old as the world,
You are as new as a raindrop, as old as the mountains.
You are forever a part of the world.

That's beautiful, GC.

hah! Y'know, Fay, I'd forgotten that was my tag--I changed it when I had started working out with a trainer, and been dumped! I DID get pretty damn hot there, but now I've gained back most of the weight and lost the fitness. But working at getting back there.

Meanwhile, I am hoping the firefighters who just came did not miss anything...the building alarm went off, and we looked around, but there didn't seem to be any smoke. The firefighters pulled up (and were all super hot!!) and didn't see anything. But they couldn't find out how to turn the fire alarm OFF! There's a code, and they didn't have it. Eep! Eventually it stopped on it's own, I think. They left. I'm hoping I don't come home after going out to dinner and dancing, and find no more apartment--I really don't need that!