I really like Liz’s statement. For myself though I am less cavalier. I would like to be remembered by the images I have taken that have touched their lives and the art that I have created. There are days that I want to be more like Liz and say what the hell, who needs more stuff. It is a mixed bag feeling like I want to be remembered and not wanting to add to the planets problems. Leave nothing but footprints is a interesting problem. Maybe I should just take up ice sculpture.

I would like to have met your mom!

Yes to every one on my “E” mail list. I subscribe to a wonderful artist who’s work I enjoy sending to people. So of course I will send an e card to everyone.

Sock Monkey??? ick! Sounds like Oprahs favorite things party - last year a talking refrigerator, this year a book and a piece of pie.

Belinda I agree with your generalizations. I do find women can over analyze their decisions. Men seem to me to think in layers of who is above or below on the food chain. When women, who play well together, make great team players. I do enjoy working with both for different reasons. And I believe it is difficult to lump us all together. I think for now, I prefer the Meyers/Briggs type testing to see personality types than letting gender determine the whole.

The beginning of December showed the art world is not necessarily losing in this market. At a Sotheby’s sale a painting that was estimated at $200 to $300 thousand pounds, but it sold for over three millions pounds. In my small market of the arts, higher priced items are selling while the average person has cut back.

Brilliantly stated Phyllis. I too have never understood the need to put people up on pedestals. I enjoy team work and although there are many that may have great knowledge, they too can always learn. Atleast you understand, I really do not understand the lemming way of thinking.

Phyllis, I have watched Oprah from the beginning of her in Chicago. Having been involved in five shows, the last one was this last holiday show she had the day before Thanksgiving. In my perception, she was very unhappy at taping and the three friends I took with me saw the same thing. In the past she has been able to share wonderful ideas to get to the true spirit of life. When she featured the spirit segments I was one of those segments - the show was about 100 years in photography. Now she seems to have lost the sharing of ideas and does more lecturing on what she knows. I loved the interaction of minds. Recently she did an add that talks about the brown elephant in the room. She said how can she tell people how to live if she cannot do it herself. Okay, that was a light bulb moment. No one can give all of us the answers but the pressure on her (self induced?) to help many people who put her on a pedestal is strong. I disagree with some of the things said here in that it is a subject that should be talked about. Not just her weight but our nation of growing citizens. Our children will have more health issues than kids did in the past. So using Oprah as a springboard to help people understand why we are gaining weight is important. I appreciate that she is stepping up and talking about it even though it is again. It is a struggle for many and I hope she learns ways to help. It might be difficult for me to explain to you since you do not watch her show, but it reminds me of the old adage “if mama ain’ t happy ain’t nobody happy”. She was unhappy at the “Favorite Things” taping and it showed. I just hope she gets happy again and brings back some inspirational shows.

Sad thing is now that she is older, the weight loss is even more difficult. Yes, I feel her pain and she shows it more in how she relates to her guests.

Now that food has replaced sex in my life, I can’t even get into my own pants!

A bear walks into a bar in Billings , Montana and sits down. He bangs on the bar with his paw and demands a beer. The bartender approaches and says, “We don’t serve beer to bears in bars in Billings .” The bear, becoming angry, demands again that he be served a beer. The bartender tells him again, more forcefully, “We don’t serve beer to belligerent bears in bars in Billings .” The bear, very angry now, says, “If you don’t serve me a beer, I’m going to eat that lady sitting at the end of the bar.” The bartender says, “Sorry, we don’t serve beer to belligerent, bully bears in bars in Billings ” The bear goes to the end of the bar, and, as promised, eats the woman. He comes back to his seat and again demands a beer. The bartender states, “Sorry, we don’t serve beer to belligerent, bully bears in bars in Billings who are on drugs.” The bear says,”I’m NOT on drugs.” The bartender says, “You are now. That was a barbitchyouate.

BG, absolutely right, funny no matter how old!

John the farmer was in the fertilized egg business. He had several hundred young layers (hens), called “pullets”, and ten roosters, whose job it was to fertilize the eggs (for you city folks). The farmer kept records and any rooster that didn’t perform went into the soup pot and was replaced. That record keepin’ took an awful lot of his time, so he bought a set of tiny bells and attached them to his roosters. Each bell had a different tone so John could tell from a distance which rooster was performing. Now he could sit on the porch and fill out an efficiency report simply by listening to the bells. The farmer’s favorite rooster was old Butch, and a very fine specimen he was, too. But on this particular morning John noticed old Butch’s bell hadn’t rung at all! John went to investigate. The other roosters were chasing pullets, bells-a-ringing. The pullets, hearing the roosters coming, would run for cover. But to Farmer John’s amazement, old Butch had his bell in his beak, so it couldn’t ring. He would sneak up on a pullet, do his job and, walk on to the next one. John was so proud of old Butch, he entered him in the Renfrew County Fair and Butch became an overnight sensation among the judges. The result…The judges not only awarded old Butch the No Bell Piece Prize but they also awarded him the Pulletsurprise as well.

Truly give me a Lewis Black stand up routine anytime. Yes, we really could use a chuckle. A very heavy lady went to the clinic to lose weight. The Doctor told her to eat what she normally ate for three days, then skip a day. Come back in four weeks and you will have lost at least 4 pounds. She came back four weeks later, 30 pounds lighter! The Doctor looked at her surprised and said “How do you feel now”? I’m so sore and tired. My muscles ache all over! Doctor: From not eating? No from skipping!

Josie, I cannot help but grin every time I see your avatar. Happy reading!