From Winnie

Our house is childless. It is an eerie feeling. Plus, I am having a hard time adjusting to how much food to buy.

Quick update on the kids:

Ben and Mika can speak for themselves. Still in Boston.

Kit is looking for some adventure, maybe a change in venue. He is studying for GRE's, also car-less after a rear-ending incident. He is doing extremely well on the bike. Only time will tell as the weather changes to more moisture. We get to see each other with Costco runs. He needs his protein.

Nate just returned from Alaska where he was helping a friend build a house in a remote section of Southeast Alaska. He does not put roofing on the top of his list of activities. He left this weekend to return to Oregon, possibly working on an organic farm for a while. He is taking time off school for the year because he needs jaw surgery.

Lisa is finishing up her summer in Alaska, working on the train from Anchorage to Fairbanks. She usually would work one or two runs (14 hours each day), then have several days off. Well, the work crew is skeleton as the season winds down, so she had 5 runs, one day off, and now had 7 runs. She is exhausted and looking forward to returning stateside to have a vacation. She will return to Denver and perhaps work in the mountains, skiing during her free time.

Alemitu returned from Ethiopia this last week, spending 3 days in NYC as a guest of Charlie and Christine. Thanks for having her. She isn't all that driven to spend money after her time in Ethiopia and meeting with her birth siblings. It was SO emotional to see her family in rather dire circumstances. She describes her brothers as "bags of bones." She has been applying for jobs, trying to finish school a quarter earlier than anticipated so she can return to Ethiopia and work. Before she left for Ethiopia, she and 2 friends planned a trip to Mazatlan, so she is there for the next week. Of course, she isn't too good about keeping in touch, so we have heard nothing and probably won't until her return.

Woguyo got her GED and is almost finished with her high school diploma. She has decied she wants to be a CNA, so will start that training in about 6 weeks. She has a very positive attitude.

Carter and I are returning to Ashland, OR for the weekend to catch a few plays that we missed on the last trip. There was a bomb scare one afternoon, so we missed a play we truly wanted to see.