Holiday to the Baird's: "ChangeinPlans.net"

Happy Birthday India! I did try to call on your birthday but I must've had the wrong number again (upgraded the blackberry to curve, not storm). I love you lots and cannot wait to read posts. I have quit writing on mine because my patience and good humor have eroded. (dialysis is still taking 5-8 hours per day) My dear old friends Angie and Emily (married David T an authentic NYorker) are visiting which is lots of fun and keeps me very busy. I was thrilled to learn that Angie follows your blog as well and she is also delighted by your writing.

We've had many out of town visiters with game nights and pot luck dinners and lots of laughter. Tom and Rob came from San Fran -- Tom with an excel spread sheet of all the Meat and Threes in Nashville with hours open, whether they served catfish or homemade biscuits and other critical info. If i suggested a place that wasn't "on the grid" it started a whole flurry of research and phone calls, even a drive-by on off hours to see if we could peak at the menu. You can imagine that in between the long hours of dialysis, I was eating stuff that I never eat. On the first day that theywere to arrive, I drove home at 4:30pm in the complete dark. I believe it was the shortest day in the year). Tom & Rob's plane was to land and I was to pick up the first installment of food at Sylvan pak, specific orders of course. I panicked when I drove home and all the lights were out in Green Hills and on West End! What if the electricity was out at Sylvan Park? No food or cold food for Tommy! so i rushed over to Sylvan park (1 mile away) and was pleased to see the lights on, the only ones on the whole street. Tom Wofford came as well and it just feels more complete with him here. I feed off of his IQ - I cannot get enough of him. We laughed for 3 days but my mind was calculating the entire time.

I'm trying to get all 3 to move here. Rob & Tom are thinking of Savannah for retirement- Rob says it gets too cold here. I took them to Radnor which I think really impressed Rob. He took a dozen pictures and made one his screen saver. It was smoggy and cold and goregous. Evidence of beavers everywhere. Took them on a tour of the "star's" homes. Gene taught us how to make up the owner's of the houses as we drove past the giant estates. "That is Donna Summer's house" or "That is Michael McDonald's house" That is Dolly Parton's and so on... we did know where Donna and Dolly lived, but we didn't necessarily drive down to that neighborhood.. We played games with the Baker Family (in from all over) and Johnna even came to dinner one night. Instead of our usual party, we've had a dinner party or two with friends bringing food. I'm afraid Johnna left too early with the real "dish" going on after 10 while I sat on the couch doing dialysis. Seems like every dinner party now finishes with me doing another exchange while someone else cleans the kitchen. I am so blessed. Someone else has helped with the cooking. Kim And Bruce have become more than family to me. and my family are saints, including John.

So it has been a beautiful busymonth of lots of visitors. I am sending Rob weather reports of freezes in Savannah and lots of gay-interest art and events here in Nashville. Tom H and Tom W are both pulling to move here. One night we played Balderdash and got so tickled when David (big Italian, old downtowner from NYC) used the definition "a beautiful flower that grows above the treeline and is a harbinger of spring" Tom said, "I don't think the dictionary is so romantic" and we laughed about how each player thought differently but consistantly. The next day he wrote a thank you that said "I want to live in a place where people talk about the NYTimes OpEd piece and laugh at things like the 'harbinger of spring'" It made me feel so good! I think I may get them here in the end.

The other big change this holiday is all the dinners & parties I had to miss. John and I have been getting away with 2 parties a night during this season for year- Nashville is so small and since we are sober, we can go from place to place easily. This year we've had to stay home, which has been mostly fine. I still have a lot of calls to make about why I said I was attending their party and then didn't. But the visitors to my home have been nice.. oh, and John had a last minute Holiday Open house and Art Show. Sold 5 paintings!Also cousins came and other friends to the Musci City Bowl and today Christine from Hawaii arrives. I am on my 2nd hour of my first exchange today(i do four) and you'd think I could accomplish alot here on the couch. but i am feeling stuck and fighting the anger and tired of waiting. Tara Brach has some quote about pain being multiplied by resistance and I do understand that. I just have to keep occupied! Anyhoo, thanks for reading my long notes and rambling. Let me know what the plans are. Don't forget more pictures...you are an amazing photographer India. I'm so glad you were born and that you are my friend. LOVE PEACE