Andie, I thought his income came from his family's pencil-making...in fact I'd read Thoreau came up with improvements. As to Emerson, I think he admired and encouraged Thoreau's writings, but aside from acting as tutor for Emerson's children, didn't know Thoreau otherwise accepted funds. Thoreau called his 2-year stay at Walden "an experiment", condensed into one year for his book...don't think he ever meant to stay permanently.. I first read Thoreau's writing on civil disobedience in high school about 1950 in civics classes and probably read Walden Pond in Eng.Lit. Ghandi in the thirties based his nonviolent movement to free India on Thoreau's writings and later Martin Luther King adopted his views for use in our own Civil Rights movement. Although there was still much blood shed in both instances, can we imagine what it would have been like without Thoreau's influence on those leaders and most of their followers? Thoreau is a favorite writer and hero of mine...can you tell~~ smile. josh

Two years ago, DH insisted that I retire (I had worked 32 years) to take care of my health. It took me one year to get off of my heart meds. Then, it took me this past year to go from mammos every 6 months to now back to 1 per year. I'm finally making progress on getting rid of the crazy weight that I gained on the meds and from feeling bad, working without any energy to do enough exercise, work stress, et. I've now lost 15 lbs since January 9th and feeling great. I've found that I can lose weight only about 7-10 days a month. I have plateaus that last 3+ weeks at a time, then the weight falls off, then back to the plateau...hormones! Now that I've kept my daily diary of food, exercise, aches and pains, etc. I can understand, rather than get discouraged, during those plateaus. It takes perseverance. DH told me again yesterday how good my hair and skin is looking and we think it's because we've stopped eating foods with preservatives as much as possible. He's eating the same foods, losing weight and looking and feeling better, too. My mom died at 51 and my dad at 65 of preventable illnesses, so I understand the importance of taking care of myself. We also look at early retirement as being retired from the long careers, but doing something different after we feel like we've got our health and fitness under control. We prepared for this. Over the years that we've been together, we've analyzed our expenses, retirement funds and savings to fully understand our financial situation. I'm excited about DH's retirement and will give him my full support. Cameron

Nhbabs , what a glorious picture !! I love the sunset pushing thru the trees . Just beautiful . Kathi , please do post some pictures ! It sounds like you got some great ones . It amazes me how one moment the sky can be one color and then in no time at all shift to another . It's just incredible ! I really wish I could find my charger to my digital camera . Last night was incredible with the sky lit up by the moon and the shadows reflecting off the lake . Perfect for Halloween ! Here is the sunrise one morning . It was very pretty !

TK and FW, sorry to hear about your family memebers. I know all about emotional eating, I think I am your Queen :) I am a worry wart~~~it is my resolution to put a stop to it, I can not control things so why worry about it:( It is very hard for me:( DLily congrats on your weight loss!! My DD and her family go to the Y all of the time she does yoga there and one class that is yoplaties (may have spelled it wrong. She loves it! TK I agree with you on focusing on a few things at a time. Breaking it down into small goals makes it easier for me too. YAHOO!!! I have lost 2lbs so far this week:) Just cutting out junk and salt gives me a quick 2 pound loss everytime~~~so why do I eat that junk??? Now I need to melt off 3-4 more pounds before the end of the month so when I do my January WI I will be within two pounds of my goal weight if I am lucky maybe even at goal and not have to pay! I also have an appt at CURVES tomorrow to learn the advanced workout and see if it is for me. I love CURVES but I need to step it up~~I would rather step it up there than have to go find another form of exercise to add to it. Garden Veggie Soup 2/3 cup sliced carrots 1/2 cup diced onion 2 garlic cloves minced 3 cups fat-free broth (beef chicken or veggie) 1/2 cup green beans 1 tbl tomato paste 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 cup diced zucchini 1 1/2 cups cabbage diced 1. In lg saucepan spray with nonstick cooking spray, saute the carrots, onion, and garlic over low heat until softened, about 5 min. 2. Add broth, cabbage, beans, tomato paste, basil, oregano and salt~bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer covered, about 15 min until beans are tender. 3. Stir in zucchini and heat 3-4 mins. Makes 4 1 cup servings per serving~42 calories 0 gr fat 2 gr fiber 0 points per serving I was a little hit and miss with it since I forgot to bring the recipe to the grocery with me~~but it is simple just add what veggies you want. I am having it again tonight with chicken and I added canned tomatoes. I had it last night too with grd turkey meat.