February Things

1. The Sullivan County Imagination Library board of directors surprised me with a "thank you" plaque for my two-year service as president.  I am continuing to work very hard with them as Vice-President this year--mostly doing grant writing.
2. Alan and I both  read and recommend a wonderful book that was on the New York Times and Newsweek's best books of 2012:  Behind the Beautiful Forevers --  Life, death, and hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo.  It took me a while to get up the nerve  to read it, knowing that it would be sad, but it was absolutely riveting.  Ms. Boo did an incredible job researching and describing the lives of a group of people in a specific Mumbai, India slum.  
3. Alan's dad had a heart valve replacement procedure at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.  Alan was there for a week to be with Bill and Anna, and to help with transportation back and forth from Kingsport to Atlanta. Alan's sisters were there, also, so Bill had a lot of good support. The procedure went well, which we are very happy to report.  He has his 86th birthday March 13.  
4. I used the time while Alan was gone to plan out and get reservations for our long vacation in Florida, March 11 - 31.  We will be camping about half the time at various locations, going to Epcot, snorkeling with manatees, and spending time with my brother and his wife in Port Charlotte.  We are really looking forward to seeing them and escaping the cold here in Tennessee.  (Snow is predicted for tonight.) Thank you to all of you who sent recommendations on things to see at Epcot.