Weather

Well, I'm glad I'm not living in DC like my son and daughter-in-law. I am too old for all that snow -- having been a former midwesterner I've "been there done that". But I told my son that he will be able to tell his grandchildren about this storm. My daughter in law Jennifer has taken some beautiful photos of the snow and I have posted a few here. The government has been shut down again today -- but Alan has still been going to work.

Travels

Well, since I last wrote, I've been to Starkville MS and Auburn Alabama for two UGA women's basketball games. Unfortunately we lost both of them, but after returning late last night from one of the games, I don't want to talk about it! We will definitely have better days!

When I went to Auburn, we went on a bus trip with other booster club members. This is usually fun and I won't say it wasn't fun -- i just didn't enjoy it as much and not because we lost. My intention was to get there early enough to get in the front or the back of the bus because of the noise. I knew that if I was sitting in the middle that I would be bombarded by noise coming at me from all angles. Well, my best laid plans as they say didn't work out. I was right in the middle. I did have my earplugs which were a godsend, but I was still not comfortable and was only hoping the bus driver would go faster and faster to get there. We stopped for lunch and I chose not to eat in the restaurant because it was too noisy so I got a little break from it. Coming back wasn't as bad, because we were coming back late and because the crowd was a little more subdued because we lost. I'm not sure if I'll be doing that trip again.

Next Monday -- we are off to the capitol in Atlanta for Alzheimer's Awareness Day. Hopefully we will have a good turnout.

I know I haven't written in a long time. Sorry about that -- couldn't think of much to say. The Public Policy Forum is coming up soon in Washington -- you can get more information at www.alz.org. I guess they are callingit Action Summit this year -- anyway -- I have some conflicting things going on and I'm trying to make it work. Please let me know if any of you that read this are going so if I decide to go we can meet up.

I'm off to Starkville Mississippi in an hour or so to see our UGA Women's basketball team play a game there. I promise I will write more tomorrow when I return.

Thousand Mile Stare

I know I wrote about this book back in December -- but it is now in book stores and I want you to read this book! Gary Reiswig writes about Alzheimer's in his family and it is not only heartbreaking, it is real and from the heart. Everyone needs to read this -- we have to find a cure for everyone -- and especially for families like Gary's. Gary's research reveals a lot and you get a chance to read some things about Alzheimer's that you normally don't have access to. He has done all the work -- please take some time to read this book. If you can't find Thousand Mile Stare at your bookstore, go to the website and order it -- you won't be sorry. www.thethousandmilestare.com

CBS Alzheimer's Piece

In case you missed the segment on CBS News last night here it is http://www.alz.org/news_and_events_18498.asp -- worth watching.

Someone asked if the February 8th day at the Capitol was Awareness Day -- and it is for Georgia but not nationwide -- the nationwide event is usually in November if I remember correctly -- and that's saying a lot!

Happy New Year

I know I haven't posted in awhile -- hope everyone made it through the holidays o.k.

Wanted to bring your attention to a few Alzheimer's related things coming up -- On Tuesday, January 12th the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric will air a 6 minute segment on Alzheimer's entitled "Where American Stands on Alzheimer's". A three generation family will be interviewed with two the generations diagnosed with the disease. I hope you will tune in to watch and let CBS know how much we appreciate them airing it!

February 8th is Alzheimer's Awareness Day at the Capitol in Atlanta. We need everyone there -- here is a link to the Georgia Chapter's site for more information. Please make plans now to attend. www.alz.org/georgia/in_my_community_events.asp

Memories

I worry about memories -- I know they are going to become more distant to me. I was thinking about this over the weekend -- we were telling Alan and Jennifer what we used to do before they were born -- i.e. make pizza dough from scratch, not use shortcuts while preparing dinner, etc. But, today, I was cleaning out some things from Alan's bedroom and I ran across something Alan did in the 6th grade -- it is his "autobiography". You can just imagine if he did it in the sixth grade how interesting it is!!! I had to take time out of cleaning and sit down and read it. I laughed....I cried.....I realized how much I didn't remember......I understood how important some little things we used to do were to Alan.....and I actually saw a glimpse of the man he is today. I'll keep this forever -- what a treat to find.

A few more photos

My brother gave me new skates for Christmas so I had to try them out. Alan and I went skating in Atlanta today and then visited with Jennifer's family. I'm posting a few photos from our outing, some at Jen's house and a final photo of Alan, Ralph and I before he left for DC. Alan gave me a nice gift certificate to a spa for Christmas so I'll be able to enjoy that soon -- but I promise no photos of that!

Holiday Aftermath

In this photo, Katie Felton, Chris Felton, Alan, me, Josh Darnell and Melissa Darnell.

This Christmas has really been good. Not too much overload this year as in year's past -- that has helped me a lot this year. I didn't do much decorating so there isn't that much clutter around the house. I didn't have to cook a large meal which reduced my stress. And, we didn't plan much so that made it pretty low key. It was nice to have Alan home for a few days -- it was pretty quiet and we all had a good time. Alan leaves in the morning for DC. We are going to Atlanta ice skating today (my brother sent me new skates!) and to meet up with Jennifer's parents and sister for a meal. I hate to see him go -- it is always nice to have him home even for a short time.

The photo above is from a lunch Alan and I had yesterday with my friends Chris and Josh and their wives. If you have been following my blog for long you will know that Chris and Josh used to work for me. Chris now lives in Ft. Lauderdale and is in med school. Josh is in the army and was deployed to Afghanistan last year where he suffered some major injuries last February. He has had a long and rough ride with many surgeries and a long stint in the hospital but we are glad to say that he is recuperating very well and will be getting a medical discharge this spring from the military. We all worried about him so much -- I'm glad to see him doing so well. The three of us don't get together very often but when we do we find a lot to laugh about. I'm fortunate these guys still keep me in their lives.

Hope everyone had a great holiday. I'm looking forward to the rest of the week as I'm going to try to devote much of it to getting rid of a lot of clutter around the house and getting a little more organized.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Christmas

I'll post some more photos soon but wanted to get this one up. We had dinner with some friends yesterday and this photo was snapped by their tree. Unfortunately, our beautiful daughter-in-law was in transit from Washington DC to Atlanta at the time this photo was taken. Hope everyone had a great holiday!