Dear Cyndy

Thank you for your letter with your inquiry about our
snow storm. My estimate is about 10 inches, still coming down, 
albeit not so rapidly as earlier in the day. I probably won't
do any shoveling until tomorrow, when the four grandchildren,
including the older two, Nathaniel and Rebekah home from college
for Christmas, have had the opportunity to demonstrate their
respect - or lack thereof - for their grandparents. There are
no patients in the offing until the week after Christmas, so
I don't have to worry about clearing the walk for them. I
parked the car, - as I usually do when snow is forecast, -
in the driveway adjacent to the street, so that getting out
will not be a big problem.

My sister's cruise ship was to have docked in Fort Lauderdale 
at 7 a.m. on Dec. 19, and she on her way back to her "home"
on Detroit shortly thereafter. She hasn't telephoned us and
a message left on her answering machine hasn't been returned.
She wavers between keeping closely in touch with us and keeping
us anxious. In the past, when we haven't heard from her, it's
sometimes been because she had fallen and broken an arm, or 
was afflicted with some other illness that she didn't want to
report. Maybe her cell phone battery is dead and she lost the
charger, - she no longer subscribes to a "land line"; or maybe
something much worse has happened to her. Is it wicked of me to
stand by my resolve not to worry about matters I can't remedy?

I keep busy continuing to write. Admittedly it doesn't make much
sense for me to spend my time that way, but it keeps me happy;
it's incorrect to write that I have nothing else to do,
here in this sprawling house which demands so many repairs.
It may be that one of the heating pipes which I thought I had
drained still contained enough water to freeze and rupture:
There is a cascade of icicles on the north side of the house
for which I have no other expplanation. Today, however, it's
much to cold to start doing anything about it.

I hope the purpura which you reported has subsided sufficiently
to make it accurate to write: stay well! In any event, please
give my best to Ned. "Merry" Christmas, - or whatever alternative
good wishes you find appropriate.

Jochen