From my brother to my relatives

We need help, prayers, money, ideas, work.

. The good news is first. I have completed a piece for symphony orchestra which will be performed in Spokane this spring. It is named "Tatoosh" and evokes memories of hikes up Pinnacle Peak at Mt. Rainier. It is dedicated to the menmory of Fawnia, Thelma, and Phil Carson.

The rest of the news is mixed. As many of you know, I have multiple sclerosis and use a wheel chair most of the time. In the last year I have been hospitalized three times, t wice for a urinary tract infection, and once for an ulcer. The cure of these problems has been enteirely successful. I have been getting physical therapy and am now using a walker, and I expect to start using crutches agsain. I dream of actually walking again.

n Why do we need help? Like many Americans, we have fallen behind on our mortgage payments, and our home will be auctioned in foreclosure on my birthday, February 20, unless we get caught up.

I have been trying to sell my grand piano, but I have had no reasonable offers. If anyone is in a position to loan us money secured by a second on our home, please call me .

East is East, West is West

http://briansibleysblog.blogspot.com/

Brian Sibley's blog is well worth looking at, especially this particular post. I found his blog by doing a search on Pauline Baynes (illustrator for CS Lewis and Tolkein's books) when I found out that she had died this last summer (which I found out on another favorite blog "Collecting Children's Books" which I think I put up a link to (convoluted sentence, but it's late... 11:11 to be exact.)

WTF?

http://bookshopblog.com/2009/01/04/book-burning-on-feb-10th-2009-due-to-cpsia/

I sell on Amazon, but I didn't get any letter. Sure hope nobody 13 and under tries to buy The Lost Adams Diggings: Myth, Mystery, and Madness or Hell Bent for Santa Fe: the Texan-Santa Fe Expedition of 1841.

Work in progress

A bit lop-sided, I don't know if I can fix that yet. Two days left to work on it before I go back to the school.

Probably a repeat

I've probably posted this picture before, but I was trying out my new camera and this is the result. I'm quite pleased that it does such a good job without flash.

I just made another batch of Dutch almond pastries, which I'll be mailing to a friend to test how well they hold up going through the mail. My daughter made a simple suggestion that cuts the assembling time into a fraction of what it was, so I'll be looking into taking orders from other people and possibly mailing them.

I have no idea why I can't post pictures in order. I put the Boddhisatwa up first, and wanted the pastry picture under it.