So relieved to hear you and Nilly are okay, Shir. I'm so horrified by the news and thinking about the whole region.

Happy Birthday, Jen!

So glad to hear that Shir and Nilly are OK and sending all my hopes out into the universe for that to remain the case.

Shir, thank you so much for checking in and confirming you and Nilly are safe. Please stay that way.

JenP, happy birthday!

I'm so glad Shir and Nilly are okay. It's just horrific.

Today, I rummaged through the digital pix I had of JZ and tried to find pretty ones to print and put on her altar, and then we kept bumping up against low-rez versions that didn't seem like they would work.

However, they did work when we sent them to Walgreens to print. Perfectly fine and crisp.

I waltzed down to my framing shop where I love the owners (a younger married couple), and their two dogs (a tiny teacup Maltese and a big, easygoing lab mix), and they put everything in a frame immediately.

I did make Andrea (frame shape owner) well up with tears a couple times because she knew Jacqueline.

So that was a major thing to cross-off on my Funeral Service To-Do list, and I really just need to nail down the headcount and get the catering in order.

Quick update on my two homeless teenagers: They spent today at a college prep course, then asked if they could wash some clothes. Then came up together to knock meekly at the door and say that their grandmother had cut all ties with them and said they should turn themselves over to CPS.

Expecting me to make a call to Child Protective Service and kick them out. Which, of course, I did not do.

Then the elder admitted she was hungry.

Ooof. I gave them a salad kit and told them they could stay here in the next week until we could find a better solution with their school counselor and their social worker. But I'm not sure there are a lot of options.

Also, people are coming for JZ's funeral and I'll need the garden apartment to put them up. But I could stash them with Emmett for a night and give them a little more time at our place.

Ugh, they're such good girls and they're trying so hard and they have so little support. I mean, the eldest asked for some three-hole binder paper so she could catch up with her APush notes.

Separately: Happy Birthday, Jen!

However, they did work when we sent them to Walgreens to print. Perfectly fine and crisp.

That is good to know. I have pictures in that category I would like framed.

I do hope some kind of good solution is found for these girls. My heart breaks for them, and too many others in that situation.

War on top of all the other scary stuff going on. I can't help but wonder if Russia has a part here to distract from their Ukraine invasion.

Timelies all!

Thank you for checking in, Shir, and for letting us know Nilly and family are ok.

Yesterday we went to visit Mr. S. Took him to a place called Hyperkids to run around the indoor playground for a while. (It was raining all morning, so outdoor activities were a no go) Then lunch and a trip to a nearby arboretum to walk around a bit.

We didn’t have him do an overnight visit because we had tickets to the Billy Joel/ Stevie Nicks concert in Baltimore. Good concert, if a little cold. (It was held in the football stadium)

Tomorrow Mr. S gets discharged from the center. Let the adventure begin.

Oh Shir, I'm so glad you let us know you and Nilly are okay. I'm hoping we hear from our team over there today. We have an office in Tel Aviv, and I work directly with some of the people in it and have been worrying about them (and you, and Nilly) since the news broke.

Tomorrow Mr. S gets discharged from the center. Let the adventure begin.

I do hope some progress has been made in his ability to control his emotions. Hoping for the best for your family.

The news is very bleak. Trying to distract myself with work. Which I have plenty of, so there is that.

Checking in to say that Nilly and I are still OK. Also, I apologize for logging in just for this and not reading other posts. I love you all, but the war takes a serious time and attention toll.

Work told us that they're not really expecting us to work today, so I went to donate blood. There were thousands with me there, so a 30 minute long process took just over 9 hours (I knew there would be long queues - I only expected them to last 4-5 hours).

The news is unfathomable. I'm limiting myself to only several stories and updates per day and it is still too much. There is an entire political and military level that needs to resign, effective yesterday. So many were left to our own devices. I very much doubt if this will be over before we'll reach 1,800 dead (we're now at 700 confirmed).

And with every jet I hear above my head I wish for a malfunction in the bomb releasing mechanism so that no more innocent lives will be lost in Gaza, and for every solider I see outside I wish a quick and safe return.

I'll try to understand what else can I do tomorrow. It's almost 1:00am, so I better get some sleep.

Buffistas, thank you for listening.