Some firsts and some other stuff

Greetings. It is Thursday morning here, Emily is home, she did not go to school because she felt unwell; Charlie is on the bed again; it is cloudy (yesterday was very fine - clear, blue sky all day). We had our first frost yesterday - had to scrape the windows of the cars we typically leave parked in the driveway rather than in the garage - so may change our parking spot to inside soon. The North Island had its first snow - a light dusting - in a few places - enough to get a picture of it in the newspaper. We have been following the political race between Obama and Clinton with some interest - will vote (truly far away) absentee this year. I start a cooking class in Japanese cuisine next week - first night is fried pork with cabbage, onions and beans, according to the ingredient list they sent to me. Joseph left yesterday for a two and a half day retreat with his JEEP cohorts - JEEP does not mean a car but is an acronym for Junior Enrichment and Extension Programme - I believe it collects the brighter kids into a group and offers them some special activities - Joseph hasn't said much about it. I ran across a fairly powerfully written book - "The Master Butchers SInging Club" by Louise Erdrich - if you find it I think you will at least find it interesting. I had my consult with my neurologist on Tuesday - he said I seemed a little better than at the previous visit and wants me to try one additional med that seems to cause people to be cheerier and move a little better. Then I recused myself from physical therapy because I felt I had received maximum benefit for my right arm - it still is somewhat sore in certain positions but time will take care of that, I think. This past Saturday I had a session with a practioner of the Alexander method - invented by an Australian doctor it felt like energy healing in some ways - the therapist works on reducing tightnesses in various locations with light touch - I will learn more about it as time goes by - I sure felt better after the session. Emily has been reading with her mom each evening - they are doing the Chronicles of Narnia now. The local busiinesses sure are heavily advertising Mother's Day - they are hurting for business, I read, and the economy has been hurt somewhat by rising prices for staples like milk (over four dollars for a two liter bottle at our neighborhood food store), and gasoline (near two dollars a liter). I am thinking about interviewing myself at some point in the future and posting it here - we will see if I can do it well enough to want to share - will ask about my impressions of, and experiences with, New Zealanders and about overall impressions of our lives and activities - if you have any questions you think I should be asking myself feel free to send them to me at manford_barber@hotmail.com. I hope all who read this are having a good year. Thank You, Manford