And we're off- almost

On Tuesday we embark on a road trip to Louisville, Kentucky, where we'll visit Ryan and Vicki and meet our newest grandson, Asher Riley. We'll be driving from San Antonio, leaving Alana and Jake to take care of the house and the pets. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and try to post them. Another reason for this trip is that Eli qualified for Junior Gold- the national youth bowling competition in Indianapolis. He just received his 300 ring a couple of weeks ago, and needless to say, he's pretty thrilled with that. I'm not particularly looking forward to all of those hours in the car, but I'll try to remain positive- after all, it's what's at the destination that's important, and I'm definitely looking forward to that! I was hoping to see Kristinn and family on this trip, too, but they're not going to be able to make it. One of these days, I'll get all of these grandchildren together. I now have as many grandchildren as I do kids! Khalil just had his first birthday- he was especially interested in the icing on the cake. He is a funny little guy- he mumbles, but we all understand what he's saying- "Pick me up," "I want down," "Give me some." He has all these 3 word sentences. And he loves to dance. He starts by just moving his head up and down, and then it's as if the beat moves to his shoulders, then his arms, and eventually his whole body is grooving away. Gabriel, our oldest grandson, is going to be 7 in August and moving on up to second grade! I love reading Kristinn's blog about the funny things Gabe and Sofia say and do. Sofia is the princess of the family as our only little girl- which is the opposite of the generation before her where girls ruled the roost! Aden, who's 4, is ready to start school, but he has to wait one more year, and Abram is a different character every time I go visit. Lately, he's been Peter Parker, and he'll tell me, "Look, Bubbe- there's a spider under here, and he bit me, so now I'm Spiderman, but right now, I'm Peter Parker, and I'll turn into Spiderman when I need to."

I've been retired for an entire year now, and I must say the time has gone by very quickly. I am thinking about going back to work, and have a couple of possibilities. I'll let you know what they are if either should come to fruition. It's different thinking about work at this point in my life because if I decide I don't like it, I don't have to stay. That's good to know!

Recently, I attended the San Antonio Film Festival, where a new friend of mine, Michael Pertnoy, showed his film, The Last Survivor. I will be helping with the curriculum on the film, and I'm very excited about that. The movie won the Audience Award- which is a pretty big deal.

It's been awhile since I've been here. I tend to concentrate more on my writers' group creative blog, and I keep a blog for my synagogue as well. I feel like I'm just as busy as I was when i worked- but I'm enjoying all of it!

The Virginians

Just had a lovely visit with Kristinn, Tim, Gabriel and Sofia. The time always flies, and it seemed like it really zoomed by this time. Kristinn was here for a conference as an exhibitor for the EPA, so while she was downtown doing her thing, I got to play. It was great to have all of my grandchildren together! The two top pictures are all of my daughters, and the bottom one is of my grandchildren with me. (Gabriel, Aden, Sofia, Khalil (on my lap), and Abram)

State of the Union:

I watched the State of the Union Address last night, and though I am still a big fan of President Obama, I felt a real sense of sadness watching. As one side of the room regularly broke into applause, the other side sat with arms crossed, sometimes scoffing- sometimes looking at each other with disdain for our president. It reminded me of a bunch of middle school kids who are angry at each other for no good reason. They want to "win" even if it means the American public "loses." It's not about what the people want- it's about them. I was already depressed over the Supreme Court ruling that corporations can act as individuals where campaign contributions are concerned. We've become an oligarchy- just like that. Big money is completely in charge. So when I watched our president talk about going forward, and I saw the reaction of the Right, it made me sick to my stomach. How can anyone be against health care reform? How can anyone be against green jobs? How is it that all these people are so brazen as to put their own special interests before the interests of the citizens of this nation. The oil lobby wins. The pharmaceutical industry wins. The insurance companies win. And we lose. I'm afraid there's nothing President Obama or the few politicians who walk their walk can do. And it's so very sad to me.