Bliss in the office

Yesterday was such a great day for being nothing special. It was the first full day I spent in my new office. It’s so wonderful to have enough room to work!!!!

It rained all day – and you know I love the sound of rain – that soothing pitter patter on the pavement outside the window. The sound is instantly calming to me. It was cloudy and overcast, making it easy for me to control lighting conditions.

I just enjoyed working away all day.

I still don’t have everything put away. That may take some time. I can’t really afford to take several days off to get everything just so as there’s so much going on in the HPS Network. Instead, I take a break every so many minutes – walk into the living room, scoop up a handful of things and then put them away in the study before going back to work.

Looking at the screen for more than a half hour without just a little break, even if only 60 seconds, does a number on my vision.

Lastly, I was so thrilled yesterday to pick up a freelance assignment. It’s a rush job, which couldn’t come at a worse time with all the events this weekend – but it pays enough to pay two month’s rent! I couldn’t turn it down! Thank God it’s light on interviews and heavy on journal research. I can do journal research anytime day or night.

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Ratner's Cheesecake

Here's another recipe from Toby! Thanks Toby......and I'll get the others posted soon! Ratner's Cheesecake and plain cookies Ratner's was a Jewish dairy restaurant in the lower East Side of Manhattan. This recipe, from my disintegrating, no longer in print Ratner's cookbook, is the closest I've ever gotten to reproducing the rich, heavy cheesecake my mother made when I was a kid. It's worth the time it takes to prepare and every last calorie. Dough Can be prepared in advance. Makes enough for two cakes. Can be frozen or used to make cookies – see recipe below. 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup shortening 1 teaspoon lemon extract 1 cup butter 2 eggs 3 cups sifted cake flour ½ teaspoon salt 2 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1. In a bowl, combine all ingredients with hands. Refrigerate 3 -4 hours, or preferably overnight. Filling (for

The next generation with Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome

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Help for one of our newest HPS friends

As many of you know, I have a google alert set up for all sorts of key terms like albinism, pulmonary fibrosis etc. The following was posted on the blog of a friend of Melanie's. Melanie is one of our newest members of the Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome family. Unfortunately, like so many she didn't know she had HPS and the lung disease sort of snuck up on her. Melanie will be 26 years old next week. Perhaps some of us would like to contribute to the fund set up to help her and her family for her birthday. Here's the post: Melanie Hernandez, beloved sister and daughter to Pete, Monique, Cookie, and Bugie, has been diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis, a lung disease occurring in people with Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome, a very rare disease.Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome (“HPS”) is a genetic metabolic disorder. It is characterized by: Albinism, Vision Impairment, Bleeding Disorder, Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Lung Disease – Pulmonary Fibrosis. With the family’s research and the recollect

Living on the frontlines

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