new lyrics

Now my body is sad
And the wind blows through me
Like the soil on your head
I am compost and leaves
And my life was gone, darling
And now I am free
And my life is gone darling like words made of sand
Like the shivering tree
And my life was a flower
And love was the leaves
But nobody saw
Any beauty in me
And my life is gone darling
And now I am free
And my life was gone darling like words made of sand
Like a shivering tree
When your life was gone darling
And when you were free
When your life was gone darling your words made of sand
So be nothing with me
Words made of sand
Just words made of sand

-Brett Anderson

new lyrics

Now my body is sad
And the wind blows through me
Like the soil on your head
I am compost and leaves
And my life has gone, darling
And now i am free
And my life is gone darling like words made of sand
Like the shivering tree
And my life was a flower
And love was the leaves
But nobody's young
And if you see in me
And my life is gone darling
And now i am free
And my life was gone darling like words made of sand
Like a shivering tree
When your life was gone darling
And when you were free
When your life was gone darling your words made of sand
So be nothing with me
Words made of sand
Just words made of sand

-Brett Anderson

Flu shots

We all had our flu shots- Aga had hers at the hospital, she brought me one home and administered it to me, and N&J had theirs last night. I took them- they were ok, N. was kinda scared and cried, but she brightened up as soon as we were walking back to the car!

We all have been playing lots of "go fish" cards game and a fishing game with mini fish and magnets lately. The girls beat us usually. Also, I started teaching them how to play monopoly, the board game, which they seem to like.

Aga is interested in learning how to play backgammon so I might need to get that game too.

We prefer playing games to watching too much television.

Oh, and I have been reading a collection of science fiction stories by Philip K. Dick(blade runner, minority report, etc.), they are interesting though quite bleak!

Thankful

I realize it is a no-brainer but I am most thankful for my family. Especially the blessing of having two sweet beautiful kind loving daughters.

Side note- I also am thankful that God let me finish the Chicago Marathon for a second time, only I wish it did not have to hurt so much for a full week afterwards. I thought my right knee was never going to be the same again!

Holiday Plans

My Dad arrives in about an hour for Thanksgiving, we have turkey, corn, potatoes, apple pie, stuffing, cranberry, green beans, gravy, ice cream, cool whip, it should be good.

Hopefully I will be able to sit with Dad and show him "Father's Day', a Who episode I think he will get a kick out of, and also take a nice long walk as well.

The Doctor Who convention begins tomorrow night at a local hotel, I may pop in Friday but not sure because Dad leaves then. Saturday with N&J is definitely happening and Sunday is a possibility. Mainly it depends on money, as per usual, because I KNOW that N&J and of course me really want to spend as much time a the convenion as possible.

Nicki is really so cute, in the morning I was geting ready to leave for work and I asked her if she was excited that her Grandpa was visiting today she said yes then paused then she looked at me and asked, "Dad, are you excited too?" SO cute, but sadly she is sick! So the current Ward family medical report is that me and Julia are ok and Aga and Nicki are sick! Nicki basicallyhas a high fever, a cough, and feels very very weak, so she stayed home from school today.

I started Xmas shopping this week, got Aga a few things.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

On the Mend

Nicki came home from school because she got sick on the bus, I got sick at night so did not go to work, then proceeded to sleep from about 1130 am until 330pm. It is funny because last week the main family member who was so sick was Julia and now she is fine, but the rest of us all felt so sick yesterday. Aga called the girls doctor and was told there is a bug going around right now, hopefully it is gone, I do feel better today but still have not eaten so we will see.

In the evening I had to take N&J to their school for "family reading night", I read to them, they bought books, they won books in a contest, and we all made bookmarks, it was fun.

I have been reading Philip K Dick's "Minority Report and other short stories" lately during my lunch breaks, it is odd but good.

The Red Sox won the rights to bid for Matsuzaka, the Japanese pitcher phenom, hopefully they can sign him.

Irony

Yesterday was filled with irony. Aga had an argument with a friend of hers who is a Christian and it might be a while before they speak to one another again, and then in the afternoon, we got in the mail a thank you card from her and her son for the presents for his birthday a few weeks ago.

There was another irony but it is personal so I decided not to share it here.

Happy Birthday to my little sister Liz.

All for now.

Anne Frank's Tree

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - The ancient chestnut tree that comforted Anne Frank while she was in hiding during the Nazi occupation of Holland must be cut down, the Amsterdam city council said Tuesday.

The diseased tree in the courtyard behind the canal-side warehouse where the Frank family took refuge for more than two years has been attacked by an aggressive fungus and a moth, called the horse chestnut leaf miner. Experts estimate the tree's age at 150-170 years.

The chestnut is familiar to some 25 million readers of "The Diary of Anne Frank." Anne often looked at it longingly from the attic, the only window that was not blacked out to prevent anyone seeing movement inside the apartment in the rear of the warehouse on Prinsengracht street where the Frank family hid.

The Jewish teenager made several references to it in the diary that she kept during the 25 months she remained indoors until the family was arrested in August 1944.

The tree's condition has rapidly deteriorated in recent years, the city said. The inner wood is rotten and the dying roots and bark are not regenerating.

"It's very sad, but the decision has been taken," said Patricia Bosboom, spokeswoman of the Anne Frank House museum. "It's one of the oldest chestnut trees in Amsterdam."

It will take several weeks before the city issues the required license to fell the tree.

The museum, where the tiny apartment has been preserved, said grafts already have been taken and a sapling from the original chestnut will replace the once-towering tree.

"Nearly every morning I go to the attic to blow the stuffy air out of my lungs," Anne wrote on Feb. 23, 1944. "From my favorite spot on the floor I look up at the blue sky and the bare chestnut tree, on whose branches little raindrops shine, appearing like silver, and at the seagulls and other birds as they glide on the wind. ...

"As long as this exists, I thought, and I may live to see it, this sunshine, the cloudless skies, while this lasts I cannot be unhappy."

Anne Frank died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in March 1945.

Daisy Scouts

N&J are Daisy scouts officially and they have their first troop meeting this afternoon. Nicki is feeling a lot better now too, so it looks like the whole family is voer the flu finally.

I am planning on doing a nice run today after work since all of the girls will be at the meeting, Aga is one of the troop leaders, and evidently they meet once a month.

Resignation

Rumsfeld just resigned, hooray!

Asics

I had the rare chance to do an afternoon run because Aga took the girls to school for a party/reward for their selling stuff for fundraising for the school. I wore the new white asics for the second time and so far they are just perfect, I really like them. The cold weather really limits the running, I had planned to do a bit more but ended up running for about half an hour, then went back home. The knee hurt a bit and so I used the heating pad and today so far it feels great, perhaps I am ok now, time will tell.

Nicki still has a bad cough but it looks like Julia and me are finally "flu free".