I'm Back

I took a few days off from blogging. We had a very nice few days off. Of course, I wish it were more. Another week would be nice. I have been reading a lot. Great books by Steig Larsson translated from the Swedish. A teacher at school told me about them. They are in the murder mystery genre, something I usually read in the summer. They are real page turners. They have been translated to over 30 countries and apparently are a sensation. Larsson was Swedish. He died in 2004 of a heart attack at 52. Yikes! That's young. I think he was planning to write 10 books in the series, but he completed only three.

Anyhoo... we made it through the holidays in not too bad a shape. We're back on the trail this week, the trail of health, that is. I have done my workouts. Weights yesterday for the first time in 2 weeks and I'm sore. You loose it so fast it's pathetic. I did some baking, but all the cookies are gone, given away to the neighbors. We had a little party inviting the neighbors over this week. We are so lucky as we have some fantastic neighbors that we really like. It was a soup and salad party. Very nice. I did the planning and preparation up front, and was able to just enjoy the folks. Kids came too. Bob got a taste of my days - hee, hee!

Sorry I haven't been blogging. I've saved up some good health tips that I'll be passing along.

Happy New Year!
Sue

Coming Down

Nice evening, warm fire in the fireplace, decent movie, martinis, pasta with tomato sauce, Essi next to me with the afgan, Bob napping nearby on the sofa. My head was still ringing with kid energy, noise, and Nutcracker music. Feeling more peace and looking forward to a nice few days of vacation and rest. Cards are out, gifts sent, just a little baking to do.

Warm thoughts to you,
Sue

Good Show

Well, when the snow plows went by scraping the street at 4 am I thought, ok here goes the delay and no show. But the call for delay didn't come. School started on time and we had our show. It went ok. Kind of frenetic, but successful. We had Penderesky for recorders and carols sung by the entire student body. Rudolph with body movements, very cool. There was extra worry due to the weather, but it all turned out. Teachers stopped me all day with good words. One of the school's harshest critics thought it was a good show. The gym teacher said, "Well, Saari, you pulled it off." Ha, good one.

One more day and it's time off for good behavior, for 10 anyway. Bob fixed me a nice hamburger with vegies. We watched "It's a Wonderful Life." Good classic.

Sue

Two More Days

until the big break. I am ready. Tomorrow we may have an ice storm. If we have a two hour delay, then our show is probably off. The kids could care less. They're ready for the break too I guess.

Until tomorrow then,
Sue

Checking in

So now we have another sick dog, Essi. She is strong though and will fight off whatever this is. Same thing as Otto, only he was too weak to fight it off.

Snow/freezing rain due for Tuesday. My show is scheduled for 9:30 in the morning. It just might have to be called off afterall. It was fun preparing for it anyway.

Doing some baking. Plan to give them all away. I haven't baked for maybe 4 years. I really enjoy it. Played the piano a bit today too, some Christmas carols.

And now, some sleep,
Sue

Snow Day

We had another snow day today. We got about 6 inches I'd say. It makes it kind of tough preparing for our show when I can't rehearse some of them enough. I am going to cut a few things.

We had a pleasant day. I worked on the annual Christmas letter. It's kind of different, but we're both happy with it. We also both had appointments at the foot doctor. Tomorrow we sell all the homemade ornaments for our little Music Room Community Service project. The kids have been making them and putting them on the Music room tree. We're going to give the proceeds to the Warrior Backpack program (kids that need food, take a backpack of food home for the weekends - good program). I think it's good to think about others sometimes, the people who don't have as much as you do. The kids get this too.

Sue

Otto

We lost our beloved Otto today. All his systems shut down, and he died peacefully at our vet, Dave's, office this morning. He was a wonderful companion for 19 and a half years. Essi, B, and I are sad, but spent some time this evening fondly remembering all the neat things he did. I have just recently blogged about him in his older days, but in his younger days he walked as "lead dog." He occasionally enjoyed rotten tomatoes and chipmunk heads. He enjoyed planking (lying prone) in front of the heating vent, getting his head to 100 degrees. He was very athletic, jumping from the back of the sofa when he felt like it. We think we had him so long partially due to the fact that he lost his sight. He was blind for almost 7 years. It saved his back. He especially loved napping with us by our sides. He was a good little guy. We'll really miss him. However, tonight Essi went immediately to the "primo spot" beside me on the chair where Otto always sat in the evening. We think she knows not only that he is gone, but that he won't come back. Otto, RIP, you sweet curmudgeon.

Sue