A history lesson

My latest read was Vanora Bennett's "Portrait of an Unknown Woman." The setting was the early 1500's in London. The family was Sir Thomas More's many children and adopted children. Sir Thomas was at one point the Chancellor to Henry VIII. His mission in life was to rid the country of heretics until King Henry rid himself of his first wife and denounced Catholism to marry Anne Boleyn. The story centered mainly on More's adopted daughter, Meg Giggs and her marriage to John Clement. Liberties were taken with John's character. There was always a rumor that King Richard III's children survived the Tudor's and lived on. John Clement was the youngest of those children. Sir Thomas was John's friend and benefactor. The story except for a time or two of what I felt was rambling on the author's part was very interesting and thought provoking. It ended just prior to the arrest and beheading of Sir Thomas by King Henry VIII. I always enjoy this time period and the history lessons. I take the time to research the characters to see what is real and what isn't.

Off to dinner tonight with my daughter's family. It will be nice to get out and about!

A catchy title

I picked up "The Friday Night Knitting Club" by Kate Jacobs when I was last in the book store. It looked interesting and I've been knitting lately with a friend who goes to two different knitting groups. The main character is a strong woman who was forced to make a life for herself and her new baby and what she did best was knit. It lead to her opening her own yarn shop and she did specialty knits on the side. Somewhere along the way, Friday night became the night when her regulars would show up and knit and chat. You got to know them all and a few others beside. A couple of old acquaintances came back into the picture and life changed. The strength of these women was great to read about and enjoy. I haven't cried at the ending of a book in a long time. The is a first book by Kate Jacobs and I think I'll keep an eye out for any future books she may write.

Power off......

We lost power late last night and it didn't come back on until 1:00 in the morning. I played Abraham Lincoln and read by oil lamp to finish my book. I've read all kinds of murder and mayhem books before, but this one really freaked me out. The fact that someone could rape and murder someone and then put the blame on an innocent person just by planting evidence in his car or property. This same murderer could access computers at a "data mine" and take "your" information and do whatever he wanted to destroy your life. Take your money, your car, your home, and your family. I'm not phobic about the government watching me but when you get someone who's six eggs short of a dozen then you've got a real problem. Who's watching the watcher! This is one everyone should read.

Crappy Clients....

I called the clients that I had out on Saturday to let them know that their favorite house from the showings on Saturday was up for a "short sale." That means a real bargain if the bank accepts the offer. At that point the client told me that they left me on Saturday and went to a new development and decided to buy a brand new home through the builder. They were coming up this way tonight to sign the paperwork. I'm sure if I hadn't called them they would have never let me know. Once again I was fooled by the young fun couple. It took 7 months back with this company to get this client. Wonder how long till the next one.

The Jeffrey Deaver book is scaring me to death! Identity theft with rape, torture and murder thrown in. This is most frightening book yet because it can happen with today's technology. Makes me want to destroy credit cards, cell phones, and anything else that "big brother" can track me with.

Hmmmmmmmmm.......

I hate having to come up with Titles! You just want to write something but don't want to necessarily put a title on it. When you write in a diary or journal you don't have to title the page. You feel the pressure to be creative and funny but it comes up lacking.

I finished "Silent in the Sanctuary" by Deanna Raybourn. It was a sequel to "Silent in the Grave", but once again, I don't remember since it's been a while. Fortunately it didn't hinder the reading of this book too much. The setting is England in the 1800's. Main character is Lady Jane Grey who teams up with Nicholas Brisbane in both books to solve murders. The murder took place right under their noses in Jane's ancestorial home (a former Abbey). Not only a murderer in the house but there's a jewel thief, too, which makes it an even better read.

The showing of properties to the new clients went well yesterday. They are a very nice young couple and should be fun to work with. We only saw 5 out of the 7 that they originally wanted to see. One was sold and the other had an owner who just wasn't into letting their house be seen yesterday morning. Crazy people to think that way in this market. We saw two houses built around 1990 and the young guy thought they were too dated. WOW! He's the cook in the house so if the kitchen wasn't to his liking it wasn't up for consideration. Guess I'd be okay with that! It was interesting to see how many of these new homes are built without yards. They either fall off a cliff in the back or go up hill. That was the problem with the first house. You would have had to build a very large deck to have any levelness at all in the backyard. They left me to go home and think about two of the properties and check out the score cards that they brought along to rate the properties. How funny!

Clive Cussler......

This is one of my favorite authors. Very adventure oriented! He writes several different series with well loved characters. This one is his Oregon Files series. "Plague Ship" was an exceptional read. There was a cult like faction wanting to end over population by means of voluntary sterilization. Unbeknownst to the world they had taken it to the extreme with the discovery of a virus that could infect a person's reproductive organs and leave half the world's population sterile. The main characters are a band of mercenary types who work for the good of the world at a high price and they roam the world on what looks to be an old tanker. The tanker is just a cover for a modern electronic state of art command center that sails the seas and does what is necessary to help mankind. This time their mission was voluntary when they happened across a Cruise ship that had all it's passengers killed by a virus. With their research they discovered the truth about the cult and the necessity of ending their quest. Lots of close calls that keep you glued to the page.

A former client and now a client again gave me tons of classic books today. She's getting ready to move from her beautiful Victorian home to a small townhouse in Eastern PA. Lucky for me she didn't want to take the books with her. I kept some but have a box for my son and one for my daughter. It should be a nice addition to all our libraries.

Customers.........

I actually have customers for Saturday morning. I haven't been on showings in ages and now I get to show 7 houses to a guy who called in while I was on duty recently. Sure hope I remember how to do it. Feels like I'm back to being a new agent with a bad set of nerves. I don't think they're in rush to buy anything and they're looking at new homes, also, so it will probably be a waste of my time. Keeping my fingers crossed!

The grandkids are still here. I can't believe how long they can spend playing video games. They only come out for food and to check their emails on MySpace. We had dinner out with my son and his wife last night at a new restaurant in a local town. It's international cuisine and I feel sorry for the owners since the economy is so bad that hardly anyone is stopping by to eat there. PA people have this thing about eating out only when there's a menu full of fried food. This place makes some very good meals but the service is rather slow and the staff is inexperienced. Hope they make it! Good to catch up on what's happening with my son. He's got two months off from teaching and has a list of things he wants to do the length of his arm. We'd all like to be traveling but a single flight to Europe now is what we used to spend on our whole trip for two including lodging. Guess our European travel days are over!

I heard some very sad news recently. A classmate of mine has developed Alzeheimer's. He's just recently turned 59 and it apparently is very aggressive. It's just so hard to believe that at the next class reunion he won't be in attendance. It was just last October when we had our 40th and he seemed fine. His twin brother had survived cancer recently and was doing well and here's he is with this darkness waiting to drop on him and steal away his life. I used to have alternating crushes on both brothers during elementary and junior high school. Genuine nice guys! It's very hard to shake the thoughts of what they must be going through and here we sit with absolutely nothing we can do to help other than offer up our prayers.

Still trying to find time to finish my Clive Cussler book. It's very good! Just taking me longer than usual.

Playing Grandma

I've got the grandchildren for a few days. Wow, what a change in them since they were little and stayed with me before. They still do movies, computer things, and video games but now there's a lot of verbal attacks on each other that I wasn't used to before. It sounds more like when my brother and I were young and at each other's throats. We were more physical, though. I started growing long nails back then to defend myself and both brothers probably carry the scars to this day. I've got to find something fun to get them out and about. A day trip somewhere! A tiring day trip! Got my granddaughter in the office with me now and she's eating up the attention. Nobody has seen her in about 3 years so they're seeing a teenager instead of a young girl. She's a beauty!

Haven't gotten very far with my latest book. Been a little busy with other things but they're nice distractions. Might be just a one book week!

Reunion

Had a wonderful visit with family today. A large gathering for a change. Unfortunately we got bad news about my Canadian Aunt who is rapidly going down hill health wise. It's the last sister on my Dad's side and she's only 84. Much to young to be no longer able to care for one's self. It's hard to realize that we've become our parents' ages and taken on their responsibilities at these gatherings. Typically the dessert part of the meal was twice the size of the rest of the food display. And we wonder why the family is overweight and plagued with diabetis.

I'm setting aside the novel I've been reading and starting the latest Clive Cussler novel. Just found out yesterday that there was a new one and had to take a side trip today to pick it up.

Sad news.......

We were out late last night at an early Father's Day celebration dinner. First we went to our grandson's baseball game. A nail biter at the end and a big win. Dinner followed at a local seafood restaurant which had us dragging ourselves home about 10:30 last night. That was when we turned on the television and saw the tribute to Tim Russert. I watched for several minutes before I realized that he had passed away. I couldn't or didn't want to accept it. What a loss! I might not have agreed with his obvious politics but I did like his reporting and his directness when interviewing anyone he had on his show. His family values were always forefront. I know how he was looking forward to this election and it won't be the same without his little "white" board to explain what the heck was going on as far as elector votes, etc. I have to give credit to NBC. A tribute last night and the whole two hours this morning on the TODAY show with the big guns pulled in for the weekend version. Tomorrow Tom Brokaw will host the "Meet the Press Show" with another tribute. Like losing a friend!

Off to two big events today! Lot of travel to get there. A birthday bash and a family reunion!

Another James Patterson

So a month's gone by and it's time for another James Patterson book. This one is "Sail." I got it in the mail yesterday afternoon but didn't really start reading it until bedtime. Needless to say I didn't sleep much. I kept getting back up and reading and finally it was just done. A 45 year old mother of 3 has taken her kids on a sailing adventure. She's a busy heart surgeon but realizes that her family is falling apart and she needs to try to connect with the kids. She's newly married after being widowed for 4 years. She was left very wealthy after her first husband died. The new husband is a famous defense attorney who is too busy to go on the sail with her. Okay, so I figured out what was going to happen next but it was a great read and, as usual with a Patterson book, a fast read. I think I might have to wait two months for his next one. The next one due in is a Jeffrey Deaver book. Maybe it will come today!

A big weekend coming up! A 60th birthday party for a friend (he doesn't read this so it's safe) and a family reunion for my Dad's side of the family. Unfortunately they overlap so I'll have to hit the party for an hour or so and then head further west to the reunion. I might skip the food part since it's one of those bring a hot and cold dish which seems silly since it's just me going. If I don't eat then I can avoid the bringing food and trying to keep the hot dish hot and the cold dish cold for so many hours and such a long distance. My cousins from Canada will be there and I'm really looking forward to that. Then, of course, it's Father's Day on Sunday and since I no longer have a Father to celebrate with I do have a husband who is one and once he gets off work, I'll try to make his day a little special.

Hot, Hot, Hot.......

We were trying to conserve and not turn the air conditioning on yet, but I broke down this morning and pushed the switch. Now we'll hope that all works as it should.

I finished Dan Simmons' "Summer of Night." That is one scary book! A bunch of 11 year old boys that are looking forward to a summer vacation from school in 1960 and one of their school mates goes missing the last day. They've decided to find out where and why he's gone. Strange things are happening around the old school house and research leads them to discover it centers around the old bell that was brought from Europe in the late 1800's to hang in the school. The closer they get to answers the more they are threatened. Another friend is killed so desperate measures must be taken to keep the rest of them and their small town safe. Can't help but read this book quickly. It was like reading an early Stephen King novel. Sure hope my James Patterson book comes today.

Foot tapping

I spent last evening listening to my son play and sing in his new band. It was a very enjoyable. It's wonderful to sit back and take all the credit for your child's successes. I'm selfish that way. After all, my family was filled with singers and there were some talented musicians along the way, so why not take credit. Their good looks and intelligent............MINE! If they do something less than perfect than I give credit to their "biological mistake." Needless to say, he gets no credit!

I finished a wonderful novel by Elizabeth Berg. "True to Form" is so charming. The life a 13 year old girl in the early 1960's. Friendships, mistakes, and parental influences. Just a lovely story by one of my favorite authors.

A morning of tennis..........the French Open finals are this weekend. I'm not familiar with the women who are playing this morning but tomorrow is the Federer/Nadal match. Here's hoping that Federer can finally break Nadal's winning streak on clay. Nadal just creeps me out! I love tennis! Don't play it; just like to watch it. I've tried it but it involves exercise and that's like signing up for the plague. Doing something outside in the heat (unless it's fishing) is just not my cup of tea. It wouldn't be so bad if I had what the professionals have.....someone to chase the balls that go all over the place. I'm much better at watching!

I read her again.........

I know I said I wouldn't read Patricia Cornwell again but I did say that if it was rated higher I'd give it a try. "The Front" is a sequel to "At Risk" which I have to admit I don't remember. If you're going to do a sequel there shouldn't be a two year wait between books. I guess she's vain enough to think that she's the only author out there and that we're waiting anxiously for her new publications. I even dug out the book jacket for "At Risk" and couldn't get enough from it to remember the characters. That was one of the problems with "The Front." I couldn't place the people involved and it was such a short book that Patricia didn't spend anytime refreshing our memories. That would have helped considerably. Once I got into the book a little it was a bit more interesting but it was difficult to pull some of the segments together. She has a good premise for a new set of characters but she needs to take time to make the story longer and more interesting. Also, don't wait so long between books.

I'm anxiously awaiting James Patterson and Jeffrey Deaver's new books. They're due out in days. I ordered them from Amazon so it will take a little longer to get them. I'm trying to be patient!

I'm missing the grandkids! I used to see them regularly but now they're busy with sports and friends, etc. They don't need a babysitter so the over night stays are gone. I dreaded this but knew it was coming. Doesn't make it any easier though when they were such a big part of your life for the last 13 years. I don't even think that cable and high speed internet will help at this point.

Spring is beautiful in the neighborhood

Couldn't ask for better weather. After a record setting rainfall for May the last week has been beautiful. Just wish the weather would continue the way it is.

I finished John Connolly's "The Reaper." His novels are usually about a former cop turned PI named Charlie that is always fighting his way out of unusual situations with the help of his side kicks named Louis and Angel. This novel focused on Louis and Angel with very little about Charlie. Gave the reader a lot of insight into why those two are the way they are and in addition gave us a great novel. Louis is a killer and Angel is superb at lock picking. They have helped Charlie many times with "bad" guys in previous novels and this time Charlie gets to return the favor.

Odd Hours

I finished a new book by Dean Koontz titled "Odd Hours." It's the fourth in a series about a character named Odd Thomas (parents screwed up the birth certificate). He has an ability to see dead people and tries to help them cross over and leave this earth. He also has the ability to be a hero and save us all from doom. In this book he does it again. Single handedly he takes down a plot to "nuke" the US. All four books take place within a year and a half so this guy is really busy with his "saving the world." They are great quick reads and very enjoyable. Very appropriate for a younger reader, also.

The big house warming party was yesterday at my daughter's new home. Lots of people and food! It rained all day leading up to the start of the party and then at the exact moment it was to start the sun came out and quickly dried out the decks and yard. From there on it was a fun day! I don't envy her the clean up after all those feet came tramping through without wiping their feet.