"As the purse is emptied, the heart is filled." (Hugo)

.....It seems that Ruth Grimsley and RH+ somehow managed to e-mail each other so that they could gossip and chat as women are born to do.  I thought that the letter I'm posting today relieves me of having to describe all that is going on here.  I would love to post Ruth's letter to RH+, but I would not do that without her permission.  So here it is--enjoy it.  At least any comments would be about this new relationship and not about anything that I write.  But incidentally I wrote a letter to the editor of the Sun-Sentinel and was printed in today's paper.  All seven of the letters I wrote were printed and all three lengthy articles as well. 


On 21 January 2011 23:17, Rhoda Ross wrote:

Dear Cuz Ruth,

I so enjoyed receiving your answer to my letter.  Now we know a little about each other and we are penpals.   I am busy with one of my many projects to re-do the apartment that we live in.  Norman hates when I start a project, because it is not just one project, it grows and grows.  Several months ago, I decided to re-do the den.  New flooring, painting, window treatments, etc.  Our living room became a furniture warehouse and we had no where to go except to the bedroom or kitchen.  When the den was finished, we were very happy people and just love the way the room looks.  Very comfortable and a good hideaway for me, when Norman is not on his computer.  A quiet place for me to just relax and read(one of my favorite things to do). Well, I decided to clean up the deck.  This is a screened in area off the living room where we can sit, read, etc and it overlooks a lake, very comforting.  Don't know if I told you, we live on the 4th floor of an apartment building, in a gated community of people 55+. We have a wonderful "jack of all trades" man who is doing our work.  Anyway, he put down a tile floor, built a storage closet, painted and now I can start putting things back in place.  He will also install a light with a fan to keep the area cool when it gets warmer here.  Once again, the living room looks like a storage closet.  Anyway, hopefully by the end of the weekend everything will be back in its place and I'll have another place to relax.  I love these projects, but I don't like living with a mess.  It is also very noisy, when the worker, Tom , is using his various electrical machines to cut wood, etc.  As you can see, I do like my private time.  A time to "recharge" my batteries.

What else keeps me busy....Well, for the past 4 years I have been President of an organization called City of Hope.  This is a charitable organization with many chapters around the country.  The main office is in Duarte, California, where the Doctors, scientist and researchers are developing cures and treatments for Cancer, Diabetes, HIV/AIDS and stem cell research.  We raise funds for this research by holding various functions (card parties, theatre parties, trips, etc.).  We are an organization of approx 300 women & men and we meet monthly for a lite lunch, discussion and entertainment.  This coming Monday, we have our annual paid-up membership luncheon.   This is held in our clubhouse, we serve a full lunch and have a local high school theatre group come to entertain.  Always a successful meeting and pleasant way to spend an afternoon. I have even gotten Norman involved.  We publish a bi-monthly newsletter and can you guess who is responsible for proofreading the copy before it goes to the printer.  He has to earn his keep some way.  I also bowl once a week, keep up with friends via e-mail and phone and cook, every now and then. I use to love to cook, but now I really don't have the time.  No more elaborate meals, just simple meals.   Things have changed.

I do miss my granddaughters.  The girls, Ilana 17 and graduating high school in June, and Allyson, 13, and in 7th grade are great kids.  They usually come down to visit in February, but I don't think they will be down this year.  What with Allyson's Bat Mitzvah and Ilana getting ready to go onto to college, money is tight.  Maybe, I'll try to come up with the airfare to bring the girls down, without the parents.  Now that would be fun.  I'll have to speak to my daughter about that.  We shall see.

Anyway, just wanted to touch base with you.  I do think about you often.  Take care of yourself and try to do something fun everyday.