I'm going to Pittsburgh on Monday to take my beautiful Italian accordion to get fixed. The lovely old Italian man who is going to fix it is going to do it for very little money (relatively speaking). A different accordion repair person had previously pronounced a death sentence upon it, so this is a wonderful development.

My son is a fine human being for whom I have not only great love, but also deep friendship and respect. And he is a happy and healthy young man.

I have a warm and dry place to live. I have indoor plumbing and electricity, and a computer with internet access. These are things that a lot of people probably take for granted, but I have, at one time or another, lived without each of them. So I am thankful for all of them.

I've made friends with some of the wonderful people of the Mudcat. To me, this is a great gift.

I've learned how to play Kate Martyn's Waltz on my box. It's taken me a couple of months to figure out how to play this piece, so it feels like a great accomplishment to me. Everything's relative, I guess.

Carol