urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:elfundeb Elfin observations bound to obey and serve 2038-01-19T03:14:07Z urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:elfundeb:5983 2038-01-19T03:14:07Z 2038-01-19T03:14:07Z This is not a real update, but thanks to those of you who sent cards. I'll be sending individual thanks as soon as I can, but they brightened a much too busy holiday season. My last card didn't go out until the 24th, but I did manage to finish everything.<br /><br />I haven't caught up yet partly because my office won't leave me alone, but mostly because I keep getting sidetracked every time I log on to the internet by the terribly depressing tsunami coverage (my homepage is CNN). This morning the death toll was 10,000 higher than reported in the newspaper I had just picked up from my doorstep. Last night I spent my internet time reading profiles of aid agencies to decide where to send a donation. This morning's coverage compels me to send another one. And to pray. Prayers for the living as well as the dead, and especially for the aid to reach them in time.<br /><br />I also learned yesterday that my 96 year old great uncle died, the last of his generation. I feel that I've lost a link to my past. He was the last of the immigrants, the only remaining relative to speak with a foreign accent. Though not related to her, he came to America on the same boat as my grandmother. She died thirty years ago, but my great-uncle told us about it.