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To all who are celebrating, I wish you the merriest Christmas filled with love, peace and joy. May the spirit of the season remain in your lives long after the extra calories are shed.
I’ll be back in the New Year and if my jeans are snug, I will blame the dryer.
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Merry Christmas to you, too!
Cat´s last blog ..Dragon Age: Alistair
Merry Christmas Ella!
Keep the good thoughts,
and give your friends the cookies…
Tess´s last blog ..Hausskaa Joulua!
Ella! Best of holidays to you as well.
I have one of those dryers, too. You’d think they’d find a way to make them non-shrinking, because even my pre-shrunk, and non-shrink clothes get smaller in there!
My jeans ARE snug, and I’m blaming your recipes – there’s hardly a one I’ve passed by recently, but I think I’m going to have to be a little more careful in the next couple of months!
I hope your Christmas was merry, and that your New Year will be filled with creativity and love!
shoreacres´s last blog ..Keeping Christmas: The Light
Hi Ella,
just thought I’d stop by and leave a comment here, too. I’ve emailed you some weeks ago and I hope everything is ok with you.
All the best!
Cat´s last blog ..Mass Effect 2 – “Oh no, here comes disc 2″
ella, my friend! Like cat did, I dropped by to see if you’d been on your blog. Have also emailed you. Since you didn’t write a “goodbye” post, I’m concerned. You are in my thoughts.
MusEditions´s last blog ..Many Celebrations; One Heart
Hope you’re doing well, Ella. All the best to you.
Donna,
Hope you’re feeling OK. Update us when you have a chance.
Folks, I’ve known “Ella” for 33 years and I can tell you 2 things:
1. She would never leave her blog unattended this long if she had the capacity to make entries, and
2. She’s had recent serious health issues.
I’ve been unable to determine her fate, but I have very bad vibes about this. I just wonder who is paying to keep this site going.
Thank you, Jim for posting this. Several of ella’s blog friends and I have emailed each other, expressing the same sentiments as you have. I had come to be very fond of her, as I’ve expressed above. Perhaps she paid a year or two in advance, and the site wouldn’t be shut down until the next payment is due.
ella, if you can read this; know we still think about you and care!!!
MusEditions´s last blog ..Look(ed) up Cinco de Mayo…
Thanks, MusEditions.
Given your good reasoning that this site could be shut down at any time when the payments run out, I’ll tell you who Ella really is:
Donna Penyak, who grew up in Cleveland and was a broadcast journalist. Her resume’ included newscaster stints at WFMD, Frederick, MD…WRC All News 98, Washington, DC…WKYS-FM, Washington DC, as newscaster/sidekick with Donnie Simpson…and CBS Radio News, New York. She had suffered at least one stroke in recent years.
Donna is/was a very sweet, talented lady. If you google Donna Penyak, the first listing you get is WRC the Great 98, which has her picture.
Jim, once again, many thanks. I fervently hope that ella/Donna will recover and come back here, and be thoroughly embarrassed that you have “outed” her, and at all the mushy comments. But, if not, I want her friends to know that I valued our three-year-long relationship tremendously. We shared blog comments, and many lovely emails. She was always so supportive of my writing, and knowing now that she was in media (which I sort of knew, but not exactly how) makes that all the more wonderful. We knew she had some health issues, but she didn’t want to emphasize them here. This post: http://foodpluspolitics.com/2009/08/25/blog-housekeeping-please-read/ and the comments on it come back to me poignantly now. We were so pleased for her that she had recently relocated back to the DC area. I am reminded how precious is friendship, whether online, or in any other way. I’ve emailed some of our friends in common. Thank you for your kindness and care of ella’s online community.
MusEditions´s last blog ..The Bakery
Jim,
I’m not good at this, but if you have a chance to talk to Ella, please let her know that she’s in our thoughts and we wish her a prompt recovery. She’s indeed a great friend and she’s missed.
Thank you.
It’s was last December I last heard from her. I had replied to an email she sent me but did not hear back and then life got in the way for me and I kept forgetting to contact her again.
I too wish for the best. Although we never met in person, I consider her a very good friend.
Richard´s last blog ..Pele dancing
Yes, definitely very concerned and I hope she is indeed well, even though this extended absence is worrying. I stop by here every other day hoping for some news.
I hope she is well.
Cat´s last blog ..Lost again. Still?
Her emails to me have gone unanswered as well.
Sorry–I mean my emails to her have gone unanswered.
I emailed her as well, but no answer. At least the weren’t bounced back as undeliverable.
Richard´s last blog ..Pele dancing
I came by because Ella was on my heart. It’s been a long while, and I had no idea her health was failing! I’d so love to send a snail mail card, because she’s been such an amazing online comfort. If anyone knows how to do this, please e-mail me: titus2fam(at)yahoo(dot)com. Prayers going up on your behalf, sweet Ella! That you took any interest in little ‘ole me is such a blessing! MISS YOU! (((((HUGS))))) sandi
I’ve checked the Washington Post, Washington Times, and Cleveland Plain Dealer obits with no results. I think her full name is Donna Marie Penyak, and that her mother is/was Sophie Marie Penyak of Cleveland, but she’d be in her 90’s. If Donna is, for example, hospitalized in a coma, there are a great many of them in metro DC, and I don’t even know to which area she moved down here. Before she left to go to New York, Donna lived in the Gaithersburg, MD, area. In any event, if this site shuts down, and if somebody finally finds out, my email is jimbotalks@yahoo.com
Jim, I did the same thing searching the obits and didn’t see anything either.
I did use one of the personal search engines and came up with a Donna M. Penyak in DC, but did not pay the money to get the address. I don’t know what I would do with the address anyway other than send a letter or card to her to see if I could get any information.
You know, she is probably going to get all of us for “outing” her.
Richard´s last blog ..The spirits of the Island had a surprise
Oh I hope so, Richard! Nothing would make me happier than for Donna to suddenly reappear and get all over my big mouth!
By the way, if anybody wonders how “Ella” came to be, I asked her once and she never answered me. I have no idea where she got “Ella”. or ellaella@aol.com for an email address.
The domain for this blog will expire 14/08/10.
The name used on the Who.is [which I've looked at some time in March to see if there was any contact info there] is different from the one you mentioned, Jim though I had no luck with a Google search.
Cat´s last blog ..Achievement unlocked: Got passport!
I’m sorry, Cat. I don’t know what 14/08/10 means. Does that mean August 14th? Or is it a typo?
14th of August.
Cat´s last blog ..Achievement unlocked: Got passport!
Hi Rich, good idea you had doing the people search. I wonder if it would not be worthwhile anyway if nothing else turns up. If a family member is now receiving Donna’s mail, they might respond to someone like Jim who has known her for so long.
Hey Cat…never thought to look on whois! You are good at that stuff. I saw the different name there, too, and I wonder if a friend registered this originally or she used a pseudonymous name? She was very protective of her privacy here. I think she wanted to be just another blogger after having been in media.
I reread this post, which highlights Jim and Donna’s friendship. Made me laugh out loud all over again: http://foodpluspolitics.com/2009/01/26/humor-interviewing-chris-matthews/
JIM: Maybe you can check out the name on whois . com and see if it rings a bell?
MusEditions´s last blog ..This is How I Lived, then.
@muse, thanks. I have the search bookmarked and if we don’t hear something within 30 days, I’ll go ahead and pay for it and then at least (hopefully) we will have an address.
If she is ill, perhaps we could at least take care of getting her domain renewed, and if necessary taking care of the domain hosting till she is back on her feet. Or perhaps we could walk someone through doing that for her.
Richard´s last blog ..Changes coming
The way I see it we have two months to go until her domain goes. I’m assuming she’s got a hosting package where she pays once a year so it’ll probably be up for renewal at the same time.
I guess we could wait one more month and see what happens and then we have two options I suppose. Either we make more of an effort finding her and/or keeping her site going.
I support both.
Cat´s last blog ..Achievement unlocked: Got passport!
You folks are the best! I would be willing to chip in for both the people-finding and the web hosting, if we don’t find out something definitive before August.
MusEditions´s last blog ..This is How I Lived, then.
I don’t have a lot to share, but I would willingly give what I can as well. (((((HUGS))))) sandi
I’d also share in costs of determining Donna’s fate.
Richard passed along the street address for Donna M. Penyak in DC. It’s 2710 Cortland Place, NW, Washington, DC 20008. That’s just across Connecticut Avenue from the National Zoo, and right on my way from work to home. So I dropped by Monday 7/12. I got no answer when I knocked at the door, but a neighbor answered his door and said he knows the neighbor, it’s not Donna, and he’s never heard of Donna Penyak. Guess this is a dead end. Sorry. Next, maybe hospitals or nursing homes.
It’s August and this site expires in less than 2 weeks. Several of us have looked into death notices, hospital stays, and address searches, all for naught. I’m afraid the fate of our Ella, Donna Penyak, may forever elude us. In any event, I’ll be at jimbotalks@yahoo.com if an answer is ever found.
I’m still holding out hope, but it’s been almost eight months now.
Cat´s last blog ..More personal stuff
Today is the day that this domain name is set to expire…unless it automatically renews. Crossing fingers and sending good thoughts!
MusEditions´s last blog ..My home state rocks…today!
Not knowing what time the registrar is running on, we have no idea when it will go down, if it does. A whois search just now did not show it has been renewed yet, but they might run a little behind on the published info.
If it doesn’t renew, I might purchase it just in case and save it for her.
Richard´s last blog ..Where did you go my friend
That would be kind of you Rich! Hadn’t thought of it, but yes, if it does go into the public domain again, you could.
She can read that here and know to contact you if she is able to come back!
MusEditions´s last blog ..My home state rocks…today!
Muse, the problem is, I would not be able to link it back to her web host. What I would do is to set it up on my web hosting account with a single page telling her to get in touch with me if and when she finds it.
I talked to her host, and there wasn’t much they could do for me regarding the account (privacy and all). I’ll keep an eye on it though and if it isn’t renewed, I’ll try to snap it up right away to prevent anyone else from getting it.
Richard´s last blog ..Where did you go my friend
Well, as everyone can see, the site is back up and running. I’ll check with her hosting company and see if the account needs to be paid as well.
Richard´s last blog ..Where did you go my friend
That’s pretty amazing, Richard. Now if only we could locate our beloved Ella! (((((HUGS))))) sandi
Thanks to Richard for getting this up and running again. All good wishes to our dear ellaella wherever she may be!
MusEditions´s last blog ..So- that was summer- then…
I wonder why my last comment is being held in moderation? Perhaps it is because it was a reply to a comment instead of a top-level comment? I guess I’ll see after I hit the submit button here.
Richard´s last blog ..Where did you go my friend