We had snow flurries the other morning. Today, it's REAL snow. And it's supposed to hang around most of the weekend too. We were supposed to go to Columbus today, but given the inclement weather, we decided to turn our visit into a conference call instead.

[Probably just as well, what with the Columbus sniper and all.]

We had a great time on Tuesday evening. All of the *important* people were there: George, Ed, John K, Diane, Doug, Susan, Sean, Ted, Velda, Neil, Jeff, David L, Ellen, Andrew, Colleen and Jon. We were sorry that David D couldn't make it, but he hurt his back. And let's see, Eva, Jennifer and Nicole were not able to make it . . . was there anyone else? I guess not. It was nice to catch up with everyone, even for a little while.

Here's a little story for Sarah, given her love of primates:

Orangutans Get Aromatherapy Treatments

DENVER - The Denver Zoo's four orangutans are smelling pretty good these days — they're getting daily aromatherapy treatments.

That means the 20-year-old ape Mias gets chamomile on his right ear, basil and angelica on his nose, and fennel, eucalyptus and frankincense on his forehead. Keepers says the treatment has helped alleviate symptoms from allergies and an upset stomach.

In Allie's case, the 8-year-old primate became depressed when her mother died two years ago. She stopped acting like the silly adolescent she was before her mother's death, but that changed when she started receiving daily aromatherapy.

"When you see how goofy they are, this is how it should be," keeper Rhonda Pietsch said as Allie played in her cage after an oil treatment.

Practitioners of aromatherapy say their oils extracted from plants promote physical, spiritual and emotional health.

[I can assure you, anything smells better than "Eau d'Orangutan."]

Quote du jour:

"Behave so the aroma of your actions may enhance the general sweetness of the atmosphere."

-- Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862) US essayist, poet, naturalist

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