Happy New Year!!

Here it is, almost 2009. The years are flying by so fast it is almost hard to keep up with them. I remember when we moved in 2000 and now it seems just like yesterday and is going into the 9th year. We just passed our 8th Christmas in our new place. Three grandchildren have gotten married in that time. Four of them have had new babies added to their family. Two of our children became Grandparents for the first time this year.

It seems like a lot has happened this year and yet it is had to remember everything. Some family members were lost in death in those 8 years, others went to nursing homes, many moved to different cities and states. There were many many changes in 8 years. What will the next 8 years bring? Will we be here to see what happens over the next 8 years? Sometimes it is good not to know the future.

Jay Leno to Prime Time on NBC

Not only is Jay Leno staying at NBC, but he is moving to prime time. The network announced That Leno will host a show five nights a week at 9 p.m. Central time, after he leaves the "Tonight" show next year. He is moving into a time slot where I watch a number of great programs and I was afraid I was going to lose them. But they say the will move Law & Order and ER to other time slots. I hope so because I like them both.

NBC didn't want Leno moving to another network and competing with Conan O'Brien who is taking over the "Tonight" show. Also, it has the potential to be a big cost savings for NBC. A talk show is considerably cheaper to produce than the dramas that usually air at 9 p.m. Central time. I always liked his monologues but I didn't want to stay up that late. Now I can watch them earlier if I wish.

In addition, they say with the advent of DVR's that dramas have been fading in recent years. That is because people are watching more shows that they taped earlier. Leno's last "Tonight" show would be on Friday, May 29, 2009 and O'Brien will take over the following Monday, June 1, 2009. Jimmy Fallon is taking over the 11:30 p.m. Central slot that O'Brien is vacating.

Europe is Set for Slower Growth

The European Commission says that economic growth across the EU will slow in 2008 due to the weaker US economy and problems in global financial markets. Brussels is now forecasting a 2.4% growth among the 27 in both 2008 and 2009 compared to 2.7% this year. In the 13 member eurozone it is expected to slow to 2.2 next year compared to the 2.6% they projected for this year.