So I had a birthday, thanks, and it was good, thanks.

Shockingly, I seem to have acquired a small car, a laptop computer, and the means to achieve most every goal on my list for the next 3 months.

We had a good time at Ritter Christmas, which reminds me to finish making sure my Secret Santa present finally reaches its intended recipient instead of her Junk Mail folder.

We just finished the Super Awesome Community HoeDown Benefit for Ernie Wisner, yesterday night, and that was good too. Probably a hundred people attended, with plenty more sending regrets and good wishes. There were some funny moments, with a friend (who was standing in for the auctioneer) bidding himself up another $20 on an item he wanted and nobody else did... and bidding wars going silly in increments of $0.25.
Kiko Denzer spoke with lovely slides, and brought Ernie a bag of home-made and home-grown produce...
the folk-dance band with Caroline Oakley was awesome. Everybody was dancing, including the sound, lighting, and cleanup crews.

The upshot was a good time, and a good return. Ernie's living expenses for the next ... approx. 4 months? ... are covered, although we're still waiting to hear about the medical bills.

Please send good thoughts for Ernie's leg to stop hurting and finish healing, and for the results of our volunteer lawyer Cary to bear good fruit as he negotiates with the hospital billing offices and insurance agents.

We have a lot of good books and a few lovely pieces of art left, and enough time to actually make ourselves dinner instead of monster batches of chocolate truffles ;-)

We'll be sending the remaining truffles down to the Ernie Truffle Eating Fan Club in Coquille, OR on Monday, so those who want some had better get in touch before then. They do seem to be mailable by ordinary post, so it's not much trouble to send a few your way.

Grandma seems to be doing well; Kacy, Emily, Lynn, Phil, and others have been helping her get things sorted at the house. At her last doctor visit, she was up to 119lbs (from 102 at one point), and Dr. Mooney commented on her increase in vitality. We also rediscovered her long-lost slide projector, so I anticipate some more reminiscing between doctor visits over the next few weeks. :-)

She wants to write up her story about Hunk-a-Spunk Po-Dunk, a neighborhood kid without any upbringing who did right by her in a snowstorm. I've typed up a couple of versions of this already; and I'm also encouraging her to ask her sisters for good memories of their mother.

Happy February; I hope yours has been as good as mine, and/or less busy!

Love,
Erica