Valerie:

It was a hard week in upstate NY but with good results. My father made it successfully through brain surgery. The got almost all of the tumor and out and determined it was benign. With the exception of some possible temporary damage to his optic nerve he is recovering exceptionally well. Big sigh of relief.

I've been back from NY for two weeks and we've finally had an update from the planning department concerning our conditional use and variance. While isn't wasn't the best of news I'm relieved to just to have any response after 6 weeks of waiting. I can't believe how long it took them to answer our lawyer! Our last attempt on our own ended in a nasty confrontation. The hardest thing in life it waiting for answers, whether it's 6 weeks for an update that could affect your future business or 8 hours in a waiting room for news on your dad.

The update wasn't anything I didn't expect. There's more obstacles and story changing to try to prevent us from the next board meeting. Everything they have told us at the beginning is different from what is now being said. We are given a week to figure out and correct the misinformation in order to make the next board meeting. I've reread the email update over and over again. There must be a catch in there because our lawyer wrote that she felt like she had punched in the stomach when she first read it. I guess we'll find out more tomorrow...

Will it ever end?

Valerie:

Everything has changed for me, I see things through different eyes. I had to rush back to New York state. My father goes into surgery tomorrow to remove a brain tumor. The shock of this has affected me more than the politics of our bar can.

This emergency hasn't changed my reslove to get through all the muck and have the place Clayton and I want. It's only made me realise how petty everything becomes when a family member is facing a serious surgery. I know the stress will become no less real and there is a lot of work that still needs to be done to get to where we want to be. In my heart I know we can make it through all this but right now I'm too scared about tomorrow to focus on the neverending battle with the city. I've got to get through the battle up here in New York first with my family.

Valerie:

Still no word from the planning department...And we have noticed that we're not on the upcoming board meeting. The treatment of us from them is getting old. We continue to claw our way to the finish.