The last of our family members have left for home, the good dishes have been put away, and the left-overs tucked neatly into the freezer. That is everything, but the ham and the ham bone. I will search the web for a good ham casserole to make while also cooking Bob’s favorite navy bean soup with the ham bone. Sounds darn domestic, doesn’t it?

The photos from our Thanksgiving festivities are in the album on the right. Just click on it and then click on the first photo to enlarge it. Comments are at the bottom of each enlarged photo. If you prefer a slide show, click on view slide show in the left column. In the top bar enlarge the photos to 1280 X1280 and click on show more info for the comments.

Here is my Thanksgiving greeting. I love these little chin singers . Such a clever idea and if you have time click on the bloopers. They are hilarious. I send this greeting with love to everyone, and I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

This was a week -end of theater. Early Saturday morning, I left Ridgecrest with a group from Cerro Coso College and headed down Highway 14 , through Los Angeles and on to Orange County for a matinee of Man from La Mancha at the Cerritos Center for Performing Arts.

The theater is relatively new, very comfortable, with great acoustics. The stage is two stories high making for some great illusions and creative stage design. This is the second time that I have seen this play and the second visit to the Civic Center.

It was a wonderful experience and after the play, we headed for Mimi’s restaurant for a delicious meal and good conversation. Then in typical R/C fashion, we scattered in different directions in the mall for a quick shopping frenzie. When living in a town as small as ours, it is near nirvana to find a Trader Joes, Borders Books, and a Bed and Bath all next to each other. We arrived home tired, but happy around 11:15 PM.

Then after a late sleep-in Sunday morning, Bob and I hopped into the PT and headed for the Lancaster Civic Center and my second play of the week-end. It was Camelot which I first saw on Broadway and have since seen many times. . . everywhere from small theaters to high school productions.

Lancaster Civic Center is half the size of the Cerritos Theater, but again, good acoustics, delightfully simple staging, and a very professional and competent cast.

We stayed at the Essex Hotel in Lancaster. Thirty years ago, Bob was the chief engineer for this hotel so it was a trip back in time for him. The Essex shows its age, but still has a comfortable beauty from times gone by. To our dismay, the hotel restaurant no longer exists and our plan to have dinner in the room before walking to the Civic Center dissolved quickly. However, the gourmet gods smiled down upon us. We wandered into a nearby family-style Mexican restaurant with a great chicken dish cooked with onions, tomatoes and peppers. It was delicious and we promised each other we would try lunch there the next time we are in Lancaster.

I loved this week-end of theater and I am still musing over the similarities of the two plays. Each with its theme of idealism both with main characters seeking peace, truth, and justice, Each leaving the audience with a glimmer of hope for a better world…… not to mention a strong desire to hum the music on the way out of the theater.

UPDATE
I want to thank all who have responded to this post with prayers, thoughts and comments. Please keep them coming. It appears there is little change yet in Dee, but she is holding her own. She is on a respirator and still in ICU. She is receiving high-dose immonoglobin therapy treatment. If this is not effective within a few days, they will do a plasma exchange. This is a method by which whole blood is removed from the body and processed so that the red and white blood cells are separated from the plasma, or liquid portion of the blood. The blood cells are then returned to the patient without the plasma, which the body quickly replaces. Please continue with your prayers and good thoughts and again, if you know anything about this disease, share your information with us.

The road of life has some supremely smooth pavement. It also has bumpy spots that make us sit up, take notice, and re-evaluate what is important in our lives. Our family is going through one of those times right now. Bob’s daughter Dee has been diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome and is in intensive care at the University of Southern California Medical Center.

The long-term prognosis is good, but the next few weeks are going to be difficult as the symptoms peak. It is our understanding that she will be in the hospital for at least three weeks and then the symptons will lessen and over time, recovery will be complete. Right now visitors are limited to family and visits are kept to a minimum. Dee’s husband is with her and her sister Michaele visited her today. Bob and I will continue to wait by the phone for updates.

Dee is a talented portrait painter, teacher, and the founder of Artist of America, a non-profit organization which provides art classes to inner city children. Dee has been very dedicated to this cause and has worked diligently to improve the cultural opportunities for Inner City youngsters.

Bob and I have searched the web successfully for information about Gullain-Barre, but it has been my experience that hearing from those who have gone through a similiar experience is most helpful. If you have or you know someone who has and are willing to share your information, please do.

I believe in the healing power of positive thinking and prayer. So please remember Dee in your prayers and thoughts at this time. It will be most appreciated.

All right, I should have been finishing laundry, emptying the dishwasher, making beds etc. Instead I took time to write this poem. It has been running in my head since the night Kristi went into delivery. The photo is mine, too. It is the candle I lit in prayer that night. A prayer that the babies and Kristi would be well and safe. Prayer answered. Poem written. Photo added. What do you think? It has been a long time since I have written a poem and this is the first with rhyming words.