have been really busy getting ready for Gina's fortieth birthday party on Saturday night. We had an assembly line making meatballs last night and that was a lot of fun. Tom Bullock stopped by and helped empty a few bottles of wine along with Tom Bags, Catherine, Jo and Lynne. I enjoyed it. Today Lynne came by and I made a vat of gravy. It's simmering right now and it smellls outrageously good.

My aunt Rita died on Saturday night and tomorrow is her funeral. I feel like all I do lately is attend funerals. It's spooky.

I had a great lunch with one of my favorite Munich people, Lisa Bartmann, who has relocated back to South Jersey with her husband and family. She's a lot of fun, easy to talk to and we spent a few hours just catching up and laughing. I am hoping to see a lot more of her. We would love to see them move to Haddonfield, but I'm not so sure they are leaning in that direction! In any case, it's nice to have folks around who shared the Munich experience.

Chris has been in D.C. all week and I really miss him. How we survived that first year when we were having a long distance relationship is beyond me. Now I miss him after a day or two. I'll be happy to see him tomorrow and I am fairly sure his traveling schedule will be lighter next week.

News Flash: Chris is now a fully licensed New Jersey driver! Wahey!