Okay, so no poetry awards today but I haven’t slept much. Dad did get help from Jillmo with his birthday candle (you’ll notice the restaurant opted for one candle rather than the full 68!) but I think he’s still got enough hot air in him to have done it alone. Hopefully his birthday was as good as this trip has been fun for me. Visiting high school friends was a nostalgic blast; being with family and seeing their homes (and of course, meeting their cats) has been great. I am especially honored that Sophie came up from Fort Wayne with Aunt Dude and Uncle Jack. I may not be as glamorous as the “girl in the green dress” that she remembers from Michele and Shaun’s wedding but she still seems to like me okay. I definitely still love being with her. Let’s see … other highlights … the surprise of looking Shelly straight in the eye when I got here … she is as tall as me and she’s only eleven years old! Oh, and of course … snow! It fell in big flakes today and covered the ground nicely. Now that Northwest Airlines has delivered my lost luggage, and I have my “snow clothes”, I’m hoping to play in it tomorrow. At least to make an angel (like me) or two…