New life and a New year

At 9:30 am yesterday we were notified of the birth of our first (my step) great grandson. Cute little dude! Checked him out today at the hospital where he and his mother are stuck for New Year's Eve. In my day we loved having those extra days in the hospital to rest especially when it was a second child. Only rest you were going to get for many years so you took advantage of it. Now they usually throw you out of there before you have time to be sure the placenta is out. Apparently the food wasn't to her liking and she was out of her room in search of something more than what they called "lasagna" at lunch. We saved her with a big bag of goodies like milano cookies. If we had known we'd have taken a run through at the local fast food restaurant and really made her happy. While she chatted on the phone and nibble we (my daughter, granddaughter and me) took turns counting toes and fingers. Seems just like yesterday that I was doing that with the mother. The concensus is that he's a very acceptable new member to our rather crazy family. We were a little short on males so that makes it extra special.

I was to have an end of the year settlement late this afternoon. When I called the Buyers (my clients) I found out that the wife had decided to leave yesterday and go to Michigan to visit her Uncle. She was under a warped illusion that she could fax signatures back and forth. I informed the husband that she needed to get her fanny back to PA by Wednesday since getting her back by 5:00 was out of the question. I told him we needed to get this deal done. The Sellers have been very patient waiting for all the Buyers needs. I then called the mortgage rep and informed him of our missing client. He laughed until he realized that this wasn't an end of year joke. He then called the husband making the same threats I had made. Unbelievable that after all this time and effort that it came to this. Each settlement seems to get stranger and stranger.

No big plans tonight for the celebration of the end of 2007. A couple snacks and watching the ball drop in New York (on tv, of course). Happy New Year all!

Out of the fog

I'm recovered from the flu but it gave me time to finish "The Alexandria Link" by Steve Berry. He's a cross between Robert Ludlum and Dan Brown in his writing style. There's treason by a couple of high ranking US officials and a mysterious society in Europe. Also, the spin on delving into history to determine what we know is really not true. Berry uses the same characters throughout his novels so it's probably best to start with his first book and work your way through but it isn't necessary to the story. A few comments are made about previous events the characters have been through together. The main character is Cotton Malone who retired as a member of an elite US government agency to become a bookseller in Denmark. He finds himself continually pulled back into his former line of work. This time by his son's kidnapping. He searches for the missing Library of Alexandria which is supposed to hold ancient books and scrolls of the earliest civilizations and the "truth." Neither Israel or Palestine want him to find the library and are on his tail to end his mission. I might take a break from him but I have a couple more of his early books to read.

A boring night on television has helped the reading time, also. Nothing but football or reruns. The Penn State game would have been nice but that's only on cable and we don't have that. Supposedly a big historical game between the Patriots and the Giants. 16 wins hasn't happened since 1972, so go Patriots!

The tree is still up. No one showed up to help take it out of here and with the flu running through the household there was no one able to do it. The oldest son offered but he was struck down by the sickly three year old along with the rest of us.

All I wanted for Christmas!

My three year old step great granddaughter was with us on Christmas and the little darling was complaining of a sore belly. After emptying that belly on my kitchen/dining room floor she apparently felt much better. Grammy jumped in there to clean up the mess and now I have the flu. Hit me full force about 1:30 last night and didn't stop. Finally managed some sleep around 7:00 till 11:00 this morning. Those kind of presents I can do without. Wonder how many others will fall from "Typhoid Gabby's" exposure. Hopefully it will be just me. Her mother was in the line of fire and that's a concern since she's almost 9 months pregnant. Believe me, after a night like I had she'll be having the new little fellow in a hurry.

I had many plans for today. Several returns and a trip to the post office. Don't think that will be happening. Can't stray far from home. There was going to be a settlement this morning but that was put on hold yesterday and I'm still waiting to see if it will happen tomorrow or Monday. That settlement will wrap up my work for my former real estate company.

Still reading Steve Berry's "The Alexandria Link."

It's Over!

After a very long day we wrapped Christmas up about 11:30 last night. The family left by 9:00 and the rest of the time was used to clean up a bit and put away or through away the leftover food. Two loads in the dishwaster and several garbage bags of trash took care of the the worst of it. All that is needed now is some vacuuming and wiping up the floor. With every muscle and bone in our bodies feeling the effects of a day of festivities it might be a while till that task is done. Lots of goodies were received and much appreciated. I need to be an electronics wizard to figure out how to operate some of the items. There's the digital picture frame that holds 2000 pictures, the new GPS system, and the wireless weather forecaster. How did we survive before? A couple of gift cards to Borders and Amazon.com will feed the addiction!

I'm reading another Steve Berry book but still have a little bit to go. Some good authors have books coming out soon so I need to read some of the ones I have to get ready for those. So little time; so many books!

It was the night before the night before Christmas

I hit the grocery store one more time today. Surprisingly it was not as hectic as I thought it would be. The aisles were crowded but the check out lines were small. I took a list and still managed to forget a couple of key items so those things have fallen off the Christmas menu. The tally at the check out counter was mind boggling especially since I'd already bought a lot of stuff. If the prices keep going up it will be gifts or food for the holiday but not both. Once again it's warmed up outside and I can't use the "cold" garage for food storage. I'm going to have to get a used refrigerator to keep in the basement for holidays. Can't count on Mother Nature anymore.

It's a time to reflect on past holidays and those of the family that aren't with us any longer. Even though the crowd seems to be the same size there are new additions that have replaced the lost loved ones. Sixteen years since Mom is gone and this will be the 2nd Christmas without Dad. Even though they could drive you crazy they'll be missed. The missing family members are a disappointment for us, also. My brother sitting alone in Florida and the two children and daughter-in-law that won't be here. They leave holes in our hearts!

Have a glorious Christmas and treasure those memories!

I finished the Steve Berry book "The Venetial Betrayal" tonight. A bout of insomnia has kept me from getting to sleep so what better way to spend those restless hours than by reading. I've read a few of his books and to me they are similar to the style of Dan Brown ("DiVinci Code") only Berry keeps the same characters running through his novels. You get intrigue, murder, history, and suspense enough to keep you interested. I've got another of his books waiting so I think I'll start that tonight until sleep finally takes over.

Oh Boy!

To an avid reader like myself; I have a few pet peeves. One I encountered when I started reading Adriana Trigiani's "Home to Big Stone Gap." I was 40 some pages into the book when I became pretty convinced that there seemed to be gaps in the story. Things that the author assumed I knew and didn't. What happened to the 4 years son that died. Why their daughter married right out of high school. The mention of Italy and many trips there. Apparently this is a sequel book. I picked it up because it looked interesting. No where in the description on the book did it mention previous books or that it was the 3rd in a trilogy. I had to go on-line to Amazon and check out her other books to discover the truth. Now my dilema! Do I just get rid of this book; read it out of sequence and see if I like the author; order the other two books so that I can read them in series. I've placed them in my "cart" at Amazon but haven't decided yet. Maybe she'll write others and I'll have to wait 12 years like I had to with the Jean M. Auel's series (Clan of the Cave Bear). Who remembers everything about a book when years go by between publishing? It's like Harry Potter! I'm not 10 so I have trouble remembering everything that happened in book one when I'm reading book seven. Sure my 11 year old grandson can do that but he doesn't devour books the way I do. Plus his brain is fresh and relatively new! Mine's cluttered with years of useless facts and information. Not to mention the movies thrown in there that fall somewhere in the middle of the series so that if you've read book seven and the movie is about book five then you supposedly remember exactly what's going to happen.

Anyway, I've put aside the Trigiani book for now and have started Steve Berry's "The Venetian Betrayal." He's one of the authors that popped up after "Divinci Code." This one, so far, is jumping around from 350 BCE (remember when it was just BC?) and Alexander the Great to modern day events in Asia, Denmark, and Venice. Hope I can keep all the characters and time lines in place. I have that "old brain" problem.

From now on, I need to check the list of books written by a new author that I find. They're usually listed in the front of the book and if the titles are similar then it's a pretty good indicator that it's a sequel. (Bourne Identity, etc.)

So it's a buffet for Christmas! No time pressure to have the taties on the table at exactly a set time. No taties! I'm buying what I need for apple-tizers and horse's ovaries (appetizers and hors d'oeuvres) cause they like the munchies! The gang can come when they want and they'll be food for whenever.

Cowboys and Indians

Throw in an illegal Mexican and a couple of bad guys from California and you've got Robert James Waller's ("Bridges of Madison County" fame) latest book, "The Long Night of Winchell Dear." It's a classic tale of greed, corruption and long-lost dreams. A master poker player in his day, Winchell Dear is settling into his ranch house for a long, sleepless night. Over the ridge, a lonely American Indian lives in a cave, dreaming of things as they once were, before law and progress changed the land. In an adobe house behind Winchell's cabin, a Mexican woman harbors an illegal visitor as she dreams of a future far away from the Texas ranch. All three lives will be interrupted when a man and his partner, after a long trek across the desert highway, show up on the ranch just before dawn, expecting to find everyone asleep. I wasn't sure if I'd like the book since I've read other's of his that weren't as good as the original. This turned out to be a very good read.

My long trek was yesterday when I drove from home through town to the otherside where our Border's bookstore is located. What a nightmare trip! Bumper to bumper and then the search for a parking spot just to find my last purchases for the big holiday. Shopping carts are needed in that store so your arms don't stretch to ape like proportions while you're shopping and holding all your potential purchases. That's bad enough, but then you have to stand in a very long checkout line and even though it moves pretty quick, it's still seems like forever when your arms are being pulled from their sockets. I knew I wouldn't get out of there without finding a couple of "must haves" for myself. My shopping is officially done except for some food items that are still needed. I did get some with a not so quick jaunt over to the local Sam's Club. At least the lines there weren't so long and they provide the shopping cart that I so needed for my last endeavor. Then it was home again through even worse traffic since it was now rush hour. I even managed to wrap a few items and with a little luck will finish that chore today (if the US Post Office and UPS manage to get everything else delivered).

Christmas Countdown

I finished "Fox's Earth" by Anne Rivers Siddons late last night. She is a wonderful author. The centerpiece of the novel was a mansion named "Fox's Earth" and was founded by the Fox family in the 1800's. A beautiful Southern mansion in a university town. A small girl from the "mill town" nearby was paraded by this mansion in the early 1900's by her crazed preacher father who beat his wife and family on a regular basis. He preached about the excesses of the wealthy and unknowingly instilled in his daughter the desire to become a resident of that very mansion he preached against. The current resident of the Fox mansion was a benevolent woman having but one son and wanting to fulfill two missions. Have another child and help someone in need. She took the wayward daughter into her home and unknowingly put a monster into their quiet environment. The quest of this character was to remain in Fox's Earth forever and to keep it in the ownership of her daughter, granddaughter, and great granddaughter. She married the Fox's son and plotted her rise from a cotton mill daughter to local fame. Her servant from early on was the only one who was aware of the total insanity that lay beneath her mistress' cool exterior. The truth wasn't discovered until almost 80 years later.

A week till Christmas! The guest room is filled with things to be wrapped and packages are arriving daily by UPS and regular mail. A trip to Borders should wrap things up. Of course, a trip to Borders will be dangerous. Like releasing an alcoholic in a liquor store. I'm deciding on whether to do a buffet or sit down meal. I'm leaning toward a buffet since I never know when everyone will wander in. A plate of cheese and crackers will keep them busy!

We have, for some weird reason, a tradition of a wrapping paper fight after the packages are all opened. It seems to be fun for all except me, who ends up having to retrieve and find all these rolled up balls for sometimes months after the holiday. I could fool everyone this year by putting all the gifts in gift bags which might stop them or at least limit them. Of course there's that tissue paper that you have to stuff in the bags to make them beautiful. There's no solution! I guess I should be grateful that there aren't more family members.

Search for a better nights sleep

Shopping for a new mattress is not an exciting event by a long shot. I think I've found saleman that are worses than used car salesmen. Our mattress isn't really old but it is dented in two very pronounced areas and after watching Oprah's show some time ago about getting a new one every 8-10 years because of the creepy crawly things that lie in wait for you every night we figured it was time to check out new ones. One of the better known mattress stores has been advertising "buy one, get one free" for a week or more now so since my daughter and her family are in need of some new mattresses for the new house we decided to go together and reap the benefits of the savings. Well, of course, they only mattresses available for the "deal" were the ones that were low on the list of desirables. The higher end mattresses were discounted but not half price. There was Serta and Sealy and they felt good but you're lured to try the new Tempur-pedic because they're the only way your going to get the rest you need for your old achy body, plus they have a 90 day "try us out" offer so that if you don't like it you can return it with a restocking fee of $250. (Wonder who gets the used mattresses that people return????) We loaded into the van and drove to the next strip mall a few blocks away and checked out the Tempur-pedics and yes, they are wonderful. You sink in and it fills in all the places that a larger body doesn't conform to anymore. Then you look at the price and you're shell shocked! Our dream mattress would be the split king sized that has dual controls for sitting up or raising the legs. That was priced at $6500! No discounts on Tempur-pedic. The regular king sized (without the split) run over $4000. I'm liking my sagging mattress with bed bugs more and more. Heck with Oprah and her scare tactics. We came home and snuggled into our worn out bed and off to sleep we went. About 3:00 am I was awakened with hip pain and remembered why we wanted a new mattress. Sleep was over for the night so I went online to discover in my email an offer from Brookstone for last minute gifts. In the corner of the ad was a Tempur-pedic ad and I clicked on it to discover (with free shipping) all of the mattresses we had tried out last night at prices far below the store large markup. The split mattress was $4200 and the king size regular was as low as $2100. That's just slightly over the deal that was offered on the Sealy Posterpedic. I emailed the information to my daughter so she could see how we'd been lied to and now she has options when she goes back to see them. We'll think about it a while longer since Christmas probably isn't the best time to be shopping for something that expensive. There are so many other things on our list that it's hard to decide which to get. Paved driveway, insulated garage doors, new front door, storms doors, finished basement, etc.

Mind Candy

Once in a while I have to read a "mind candy" book. Not often, but now and then. Kathleen E. Woodiwiss is one of the best at writing them. From long ago and her "Wolf and the Dove" or "Ashes in the Wind" it was great. This time it's "Everlasting" and she did it again. Set in the 1100's (had me from there cause the longer ago, the better) in northern England the main character is the beautiful Abrielle and, of course, the love interest is the dashing Scot, Raven. I need say nothing more. History, mystery and romance. I was saddened to learn that Kathleen passed away this year. She was a best selling historical romance writing and on the New York Times Bestsellers list 12 times. She was only 68. She definitely knew how to write about helpless heroines and the heroes who rescued them. These aren't my usual reads but just happen to see her new one and picked it up.

I had dreams of a white Christmas. We had a lovely coating of snow from last week's storm but now it's gone with days of rain. The snow came before the leaves were off the trees so I hadn't done any leaf raking and on top the beautiful white I had a layer of dead leaves. Now we're getting ice, lots of ice! So buried under the ice is a thick layer of leaves that at this rate will be there next spring. Ever tried raking wet leaves. Bad enough doing it under dry conditions. Isn't going to happen. This is definitely a stay at home, in your jamies, kind of day.

The search for a Christmas tree ended two days ago when we found a blue spruce (with ball) at a nursery in a local town. My husband was looking at a larger tree and I was looking at a smaller tree. Seems I remember how hard it is to get a balled tree in the car, out of the car, into the house and into the tub. We settled on a mid sized tree even though I was worried. We had to purchase a new galvanized tub this year since our others had developed a leak and with hardwood floors that's something you don't want. We struggled to get the tree out of the van and onto the dolly for transport to the front door. What a video that would have made. We were muddy and sweating in the winter weather. Finally with help of a board for leverage we got the dolly up the three steps into our living room. Furniture was moved aside and needles were dropped all over. We got it to the corner where we decided to put it and then we had to figure out how to get it into the tub. We rolled it off the dolly and it ended up laying sideways in the tub. Till we maneuvered the tree upright our shiny new tub looked liked the one we through out last year. It's mangled! I'm just hoping it didn't develop a leak. A tree skirt will cover the damage. Once again I wished for a video to remind us that we're too old to keep trying to put up the "live" tree every year. Now we have to hope that it survives to be planted in our yard. I'm definitely looking at artificial trees at some point to avoid this back breaking process every year. The decorations were put on yesterday and it's just lovely and the pain of child birth (tree installation) is fading. HELP, please, when it's time to take the tree down and out!!! Not to mention digging the hole to plant it in after the holidays.

The UPS man asked me yesterday if my shopping was done and I responded that I would be as long as he kept showing up at my door! A few more deliveries and a trip to Borders will wrap it up. A night of wrapping and it will be just right. I've got my list and I've checked it more than twice. I got a really great gift for my daughter and if she doesn't like it, I'm keeping it. We've named it "Bubba." It was sad to have to send gifts to our son in Hawaii. We'll miss his face!

"Playing for Pizza"

Okay, I'm not a lover of sports like golf or football. Stupid games and make no sense to me. I'm a big fan of John Grisham and he wrote his latest novel based on an out of luck football player who ends up playing on a league in Italy where football American style is catching on. The story is great but if you aren't fond of the sport than you kind of need to grit your teeth and barrel through the actual descriptions of the games that are played on their way for the big prize. The story just re-inforces what I feel about the stupidity of the sport but the story was fun. A different kind of book than the usual Grisham novel.

Met with my cousins from Mom's side of the family today. Still have an Uncle surviving (well, really two, but we don't have anything to do with the one in Denver)so he joined us with his wife. The widow of another uncle was there, too. There are 10 first cousins that range in age from 53 to 63 and 7 of them were there today. One is in Texas, one in Florida, and one in Texas and they didn't make it. The one from Germany and the one from Kentucky came and joined the ones that are within a three county area of central PA. It was a combination of 4 generations. Several of our children and their children came and it made for a wonderful day. Unfortunately a restaurant isn't the greatest place to have a reunion but that's what we had to deal with. We'll see if it's best to continue this route or go back to meeting at each other's homes on a rotational basis. It was funny that when we did that we didn't have a big turnout but when we went to a restaurant more people came but the younger ones (that didn't come before) thought it would be good to have it at someone's home so it would be easier to visit. Can't please everyone! Just glad that we had such a good turn out.

Still haven't gotten the tree! Wishing I didn't have to but with everyone coming here for the big day, I need to do it. Hubby insists on having a live (ball) tree instead of a cut tree but it's gotten so difficult to get it in and out of the house because of the weight. It's such a struggle. I have a little 18 inch live tree already in a cute little pot but my oldest granddaughter says that's not big enough. Where is she when I'm trying to get the bigger tree in here and decorating it.

Good news is that I get to start a new book tonight. Still haven't decided which one.

Dean Koontz

I finished Dean Koontz's "The Darkest Evening of the Year." I have read every one of his novels and this is the first one that didn't keep me spellbound from page one. It did get better as the book went on but it was difficult to keep all the different story lines in place and remember all the characters. Koontz's love of Golden Retrievers was quite evident in this novel. He's done it before but this book was filled with them. They always seem to have special abilities. Maybe that's why they smile the way they do. If I didn't have some experience being around a Golden, I might fall for his way of thinking. I find all retrievers, spaniels and setters to be very highly strung. The book is really scary and full of murder and torture. It was hard to put the book down by the time I had reached the midway point.

The weathermen called for 1-3 inches of snow yesterday and I'm looking at well over six inches on my deck. It started early morning yesterday and didn't stop until last night. Where else can you earn a salary for being wrong 90 percent of the time? I was out at the new real estate office yesterday for a sales meeting and the trip home was terrible. I drive a Jeep Liberty and have always had trouble with it with wet roads. I changed to better tires but I had to put it in 4 wheel drive yesterday several times to make it home. Just missed colliding with a sign and was all over the road on several occasions. I'm positive, now, that it is the vehicle that is the problem. Won't have another Liberty! I had better luck driving my old 1970 Maverick in snow storms than with this SUV. I used to throw a couple of cement blocks in the trunk of the Maverick and go anywhere. Maybe I should throw a couple of cement blocks in the Liberty and push it over a cliff.

Wore my fingers to the bone yesterday doing Christmas shopping. Didn't leave the sofa all afternoon. Thank God for the internet! Made a nice dent in the process and I might do a little more today. Sounds like Malls are a really bad place to be if you have a crazed gunman on the loose. I avoid them just for the crowds! I will have to go out for a fews things, unfortunately! If the roads were clear I might go get Christmas cards and a tree but I don't think that's such a good idea for now. Not worth the effort.

New office

I finished up at my old real estate office today and other than coming back for a settlement later in the month, I won't be back. Turned the necessary paperwork into the new office and will be set for the market to change.

I've been reading Dean Koontz "The Darkest Evening of the Year" and am almost done. It's way scary!!!

The big cousin reunion is this Sunday. I've got 30 coming and I'm glad we're having it at a restaurant this year. The only bad thing is that it will be ackward visiting when you sitting in a crowded place with all the background noise. This reunion is my Mother's side of the family. So far this year I've attended about four reunions for family and one for high school graduation. Can there be more?

A fun read!

Clive Cussler has always been one of my favorite "fun" authors. He writes adventure books that usually involve such characters as "Dirk Pitt." He has three different series that always entail underwater challenges. They center around a government agency called NUMA (that is in fact not government but Cussler's own underwater research company with which he has discovered over 60 different historic sunken ships and subs). "The Chase" was totally different than his usual book. It involved a murderous bank robber from the early 1900's that is causing mayheim across the west. The "star" of the book was Isaac Bell who is a Van Dorn Detective in pursuit of the robber. The books starts in 1950 with an underwater search and ends with an underwater search but that's the only talk of water in the novel. It flashes back to the events of 1905 and stays there until the last chapter. Cussler usually has me waterlogged through his novels. This was a wonderful, fun read. Wouldn't mind him bringing this character back. Cussler hasn't let me down yet!

Started Dean Koontz's "The Darkest Evening of the Year" last night. Only got a chapter done before I had to "outen the lights" and hit the hay. Up early to get ready for a follow up interview with my former real estate company. I'm to get the formal proposal this morning. I've narrowed the field down to two companies. This one and the new company that is very small. Must make a decision this weekend so I know where I'm going to hang my hat and get things rolling. After the interview I'm headed south to Maryland with my granddaughter to spend the afternoon at a "craft party" at my daughter-in-law's. I've made some ornaments to sell and there are several other people bringing jewelry, and such, that they're selling. Nice to have the granddaughter to keep me company and then stay the night. Should be a fun day!