Sherri

I wish my wife would let me have a hot date. Lucky you!

Sometimes the worse part of an illness or set of symptoms is feeling like you are totally in the dark about what is going on with your own body...let alone how to begin to heal it. Now that you know what it is, you can kick it's ass! We're pulling for you, Muffy!

So, I didn't get any presents, but I DID get some $$. I used it to buy myself a waterproof MP3 player that I can wear while swimming laps. The cool part(aside from finally being able to listen to music to pass the boring time in the pool), is that it uses bone conduction for sound transmission--no earphones. The reviews on it have been pretty good; I can't wait til it arrives! Sexy, huh?

John, Welcome to the board. You and your wife were instrumental in helping my partner, Kelly, and I to become competent, safe climbers a few short years ago, and the degree of professionalism with which you provided that service was flawless. This whole LMS debate means little to me on a personal level(I haven't bought gear there), but I am still glad that you chimed in. I think your input is valuable, and I hope you stick around.

duck tape

I don't know if it has to do with one's palate(or lack thereof), but there are definitely some alcohols that you either love or want to put in the cleaning closet. I feel that way about gin. Might as well have a glass of Pine-sol as far as my taste for it goes. Blech.

Not meaning to poke fun at another's financial plight, but is there any other kind of rock climber? Seriously, though, that does sound like a cool way to get some mileage and knowledge under your belt. Keep us posted if anything comes of it for you. Internships opened doors for me to all sorts of adventures around the world(working at youth camps, etc), experiences and places I could have never afforded otherwise. It's definitely a route worth investigating if you aren't tied down with family and pets and an affinity for paychecks. Good luck, V!

the joy of giving

That's a lot of corn to wrap. Hope it doesn't give you a mi-grain.

Who are they for?

my boyfriend is Italian and from Ohio. he makes the best sauce i have ever ever ever had ever period. I love a man who will cook for me Glad he found his way to the west coast. (we all do, eventually, it seems) Sounds like you've got a keeper there, Muffy! Has he made those neat buckeye candies for you yet? Peanut butter and chocolate. Mmmmmmm....

That's awesome, Muffy. We used to have rigatoni for special celebrations back when I lived in Pennsylvania. Way to keep it real! We had our "white elephant" gift exchange with our dearest friends for Solstice. We came home with a poodle trivet. But we got rid of a wool macrame owl towel rack(I AM NOT kidding. The thing was butt-ugly scary. Even had real feathers stuck to it. ) Peace and love to all!

We used to leave Santa a six pack of beer instead of milk and cookies. It seemed to help his wrapping.

That shirt's going to look gooooooood!

Having everyone found safely would be the ultimate gift to all concerned, I'm sure. That's what I'm wishing for.

Thanks for the chuckle, Sobo. And, for the record, if ever the seat IS up, I don't even want to know why.... Thanks, M! Hugs to you too! Hope you left "Santa" some CHOCOLATE cookies. I hear those are her, er, his favorite.

Yep, you pretty much nailed it Sobo. Doesn't everyone know that "no presents" means "you should know me well enough to know that I want something without having to tell you I want something and you should know what that something is and have it nicely wrapped under the tree so I can be suprised that you got me a present.?" It's like that REI commercial where the girlie tells her B/F "oh, just make me a card...AND PUT IT IN A KAYAK." This isn't rocket science here people, for Pete's sake. Girls have needs, material needs, that cannot be fully met in just one gift-giving occasion per year. That's why we have birthdays AND Christmas. It's a system you don't mess with just because somebody mentions something in passing about "no presents this year, right? Yeah, yeah, blah blah, whatever you want honey, blah blah." Of course, to complicate matters, I DID get her something. Something very special, in fact. Not a "present" in the technical sense--it can't be wrapped up or bought, so I was abiding by the "no presents" contract in theory--but it was something I did for her from the heart. Now my Christmas heart is going to have a big ol'crack in it the size of a #5 Camalot, which happened to be one of the presents I didn't want to not get.

I just found out I'm not getting anything for Christmas. Just because we agreed to no presents? NOW she chooses to listen to me???

You should be fine with the roads. Bremerton traffic and weather provide plenty of practice for toughening up one's driving skillset. Us Sequimsters are a softer set. I'll be flying. Safe travels!

Dibs on your hats.

I love the concept of the "What Do To" chart! Excellent planning tool you got there, Wayne.

Cheer up. You'll always be a scornful tease to me.

You are correct on the spelling of that user name, M. (He's on page 11 or 12 of the "S"s in the User List.)

Great to hear that your buddy is open to trying out the sport and that you are supporting him in his endeavours. Your question is a good one and a scenario I have often wondered about, as well. I have climbed with a deaf partner before and it is interesting to discover how the loss of a sense changes everything(for both partners). If nothing else, as long as all possible safety precautions are taken, it can be a fantastic growth opportunity, a means for experiencing deeper dimensions of the climbing process(such as intuition and adaptive communication techniques), and, of course, a way to have fun together. Your buddy will no doubt experience the climbs in a different way than a sighted person, but this doesn't imply he will be at a disadvantage. Perhaps his learning process will take a different route(relying on cues other than sight), but in the end he may develop more refined movement than those of us who go about it the old-fashioned way. The "Self-Coached Climber" book includes a drill for climbing blindfolded to enhance our ability to "find center." Here is how it explains the advantage of this drill: "Climbers tend to rely a great deal on visual input. Eliminating that input will make it easier for you to pay attention to what's happening inside your body, perceive the movement of your joints and muscles, and be aware of the position of your center in space...." Good luck with your efforts and let us know how it goes.

That's what it's made from.