Your mom and my dad went to the same class of How To Drive Your Kid Nuts On The Phone.

My mother was also in that class.

Allyson, that is so sad! Something similar happened to my brother only with a pup.

Hah! My parents are the opposite. I call them (once a week or so) and it's like 'Heyyyy...anything going on? Not much...been in Hawaii/San Francisco/Spokane. Yep. So....how's the weather there? ...how 'bout them Cubs?" And then only later find out that for the last three phone calls they've forgotten to mention how someone has cancer or got married or whatever.

Oh, and I just went to see Burlesque. WOW, is it cheesy as hell and predictable! And yet, lots of fun (even though most of the dancing? Not actually burlesque!) Wish I could dance/look like that!

Your mom and my dad went to the same class of How To Drive Your Kid Nuts On The Phone.

My mother was also in that class.

I think my mother was Class Treasurer.

With me, it's Dave! He's the one standing with his hand on the doorknob talking for a half hour. So I can't open the door myself and just leave, nor can I sit back down and take off my coat.

Around here they refer to that as a Minnesota Goodbye.

I think my mother was Class Treasurer.

My mother? Totally Class Secretary. I have put the phone down, gone to the bathroom, come back to pick it up and she didn't notice I wasn't there.

My M-i-L is so like that. J will be on the phone with her for 45 minutes, saying mm-hmm every minute or so. After he hangs up, I'll ask what she had to say. "Nothing at all." is his answer. And it's true. She likes to tell long medical stories about people you don't know, like someone from her work whose son's wife had gallbladder surgery and then they found cancer and then.....

Oh, Burlesque. You make me feel dirty, but I do want to see you.

My mom does the meara-mom thing. Tells me anything but important stuff; she figures if my sister, who loves with them, knows, then I know.

G'ma is still hanging in but it's obvious that she is in the "transitional" stage and she's in a lot of pain.

askye, I hope she has a peaceful passing and you and your family are in my thoughts.

It turns out I am really picky about stuffing/dressing but I can't articulate it until I realize what I don't like. I love nommy-to-me stuffing but I don't know if I like the whole genre.

Mom is still here and it's almost entirely good. Everyone else leaves in the morning so we're no longer trying to juggle a lot of different people who are passively-passively aggressive at best. We all just try to guess but no one *says* what they want out of habit.

So much wonderful food eaten, wine drunk, fires sitted near and sights seen.

OH! My uncle and uncle in law got me a hostess gift the first night we were here. A set of creme brule ramekins and a mini-torch!

I set dessert on fire tonight. And live to post the tale.

{{{askye}}} I'm sorry. You're all in my thoughts.

Meanwhile, Hollaback Israel is getting TONS of positive feedback. Kinda gobsmacked about it all, really. I'm so used to be in the "nobody understands me" position, that it feels unreal.