Hi Everyone!
Hi Linda!
What a great, long, newsy post - great to hear from you! It sounds like you are very busy, getting ready to work on the upstairs rooms in your home! But please try to take it a bit easy (even though I know that that's not "easy" for you to do!) and don't put unneccessary strain on yourself, trying to move the furniture on your own or helping out the work people too much. I know that you want to be involved and want to ensure that everything is done as thoroughly as if you had done it yourself, but please take care of yourself and don't put too much pressure on yourself to do too much, too!
Thanks so much for thinking of us and watching "Joseph" on Christmas Eve!
It sounds like between Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, you and your family saw a bunch of great, classic movies! I love to watch old movies, too - particularly the old musicals - we also have "The Sound of Music" on DVD, along with many others! (Speaking of movie musicals, we saw the new version of "The Producers" and it was just adorable - definitely worth seeing, if you haven't, already!)
I think it's great that you have a nice, friendly relationship with Tom's former wife. I'm sorry to hear about her DH, though. It's nice that you were able to spend some time with her and offer your support and comfort.
I think it's FANTASTIC that you lost 10 pounds, last year! "Only" 10 pounds??!! I think that is WONDERFUL! I didn't lose a single "new pound" last year - stayed the same - for the past 2 years, I've been "playing with" the same 3 pesky pounds - I just keep gaining and losing them. Maybe this year, I will finally commit myself to losing them for good, and a few more "on top of them", too! I'm going to try out the "Biggest Loser" workout DVD, led by one of the trainers from the TV show - just for something different to add to my usual routines.
It's actually a coincidence that my uncle's apartment and Gary's happen to be so close together. My uncle has had that apartment since 1967. It was his primary residence up until about a year or 2 ago, when his Parkinson's symptoms started getting so severe that he felt less sure of himself and wanted to be closer (in proximity) to my father. Now, most of the time, he lives in my grandparents' former house (which is about 3 miles away from my father's house and 3 miles away from our house), which is his house. He used to just come to NJ on the weekends and stay there, but now he lives there most of the time. He really missed NYC, though, but had let his apartment kind of fall into disarray, through years of not living there all the time. So my father went in there, 6 months ago, and just started doing everything - throwing out old furniture, hiring painters (though my father did help with the painting, himself), refinishing and cleaning shelves, helping my uncle pick out all new furniture, overseeing the refurbishment of the floor and bathroom, etc. So he mostly oversaw the cleaning and renovating processes, but there were a lot of things that he did, himself. And he also did things like pack and unpack my uncle's belongings during the various phases of work, etc. Anyway, my uncle would love to stay in the City more, but he doesn't have the confidence to do so (in case there is an emergency, or in case he needs medical assistance). My father hopes that just knowing that the apartment is all "brand new" and ready for him lifts his spirits........even though he hasn't spent a single full night there, in years. My father and uncle do go and visit the apartment at least once a week, though - either to do more work there, just spend time there, or just to pick up my uncle's mail, etc. It's an amazing apartment, too, in a pre-WW II building, and it's HUGE by NYC apartment standards. AND it's rent-controlled (since my uncle has been living there for so long), so my uncle pays WAY LESS than most people would pay for an NYC apartment of that size, in that neighborhood. (Usually, people would probably pay $2,000 - $3,000 per month to RENT a one bedroom apartment of that size, there - I don't even think that my uncle pays $1,000 per month for it!)
Gary just liked the neighborhood, so it's purely coincidence that his building happens to be right around the corner from my uncle's. Gary had actually rented an apartment in the building where he now owns one, years ago. After living in 2 other parts of NYC, he eventually chose to move back there and buy a place there, since he likes that neighborhood so much.
And he is absolutely NOT the domestic type, at all! I believe that he either goes out or orders in every single one of his meals - his refrigerator usually just contains bottles of Diet Coke! That's why I was so amazed that he tried his hand at baking - and that he did such a great job! And he loves the arts but doesn't trust his instinct with decorating, at all (fortunately for him, his partner is a Creative Director for Villeroy and Boch, so Stephen handles all of his decorating, for him!). He expresses himself through his musical talents and loves performing with his band, at the Bitter End, every few months! Gary and Stephen don't live together in the City (after 5 1/2 years together, this is very frustrating to Gary, but Stephen takes things very slowly, and is reluctant to make that sort of "commitment" and to give up his "alone time". This year was only the second Christmas at which Stephen invited Gary to be with his family - he takes things VERY SLOWLY!). But - believe it or not - they just bought an 11 bedroom farmhouse in the Catskill Mountains (slightly North West of NYC, in upstate NY), which they are planning to renovate themselves and use as a vacation home! It's really Stephen's "project", but Gary has a financial interest in it, too. I haven't seen the house "live", yet, but I've seen pictures and it looks beautiful...........and like it's going to be a ton of work (and money) to renovate..........more power to them!
The family drama at the holidays was just the "usual stuff" - SIL being a bitter, nasty jerk (nothing new), my father having a "mini-nervous-breakdown" when we got home (probably the manifestation of a lot of adjustments that he's going through, that I took for granted while focusing on all of the positive progress that he's been making, over the past few months), which was troubling to me, but I think that he's "coming out of it". Now we have some new "drama" to contend with - Frank's (92 year old) grandmother fell and broke her hip, yesterday. From what I understand, she's all right - she's in the hospital and they're running tests to see if she can withstand any surgery that she might have to have. It looks like we're going back down to my MIL's house, this weekend, and it's just "too soon" for me to go back there, since we were just there 2 weeks ago. I find it to be very confining, there, and since I didn't leave on such great terms with my SIL - and will be forced to deal with her all weekend, again - I'm not thrilled about going. But of course I will go, to support DH and because of course I care about his grandmother. I may sound like a selfish, horrible fool, but I'm not looking forward to it..........
Anyway............that's about all the news from around here! So glad to hear that you will be making (at least!) 2 more trips to WDW, this year, Linda! And can't wait to read your trip report(s), when ever you have a chance to post them! I think it's wonderful that your BIL may join you on one of your future trips - I'm sure that he would have a great time and that you would make a new WDW fan out of him, immediately!
Hope that all is well with all of you, out there, and hope that you all have a wonderful weekend! Talk to you all, soon!
Anyway, it was neat to read your mini-trip report, here! So glad to hear that you met some great people, and that you may stay in touch with some of them, too! We can't wait to try Boma for the first time, in May - we already have our PS! And it's so neat that you went to the food court at POR - that's where we've had our first meal on each of our past 2 trips - we like to take the food outside and eat while overlooking the mighty Sassagoula River! 
