Running out of Berg

I'm down to my last two Elizabeth Berg novels. Her new one isn't due out till Spring of next year. "Durable Goods" is the first of three novels about Katie, a young girl on the cusp of womanhood. I've read and reviewed the other two and finally found the first one. It was good to have the information held within this first novel and now the puzzle pieces all fit together. Katie is an Army brat and her Mother has died of cancer leaving her with her 18 year old sister and her abusive Army Father. Time frame is the early 60's in Texas. It's hard to make friends when you move as often as they do. She's been waiting for the events her body needs to go through to make her a woman and she finally wakes to the big day. It's almost the end of the school year when her father announces another move and this time to Missouri. Her older sister refuses to leave and disappears in the night with her boy friend. Now she's alone with just her father and headed for a new life in a new state. I'm sad to have to say goodbye to Katie's life. Having grown up in that time frame so much of what she experienced were things that I did too.

Another year without trick or treaters. This makes about 22 years. It's kind of sad to not see those little faces in their scary little costumes. We live rather remote and there aren't any little ones in the area. I was going to wear my witch's hat to work today but couldn't find it. I'd like to have the power to put a curse on at least one member of management. She smacked me across the back the other night to get my attention instead of using my name and calling to me. Something like that is totally unacceptable and I could have probably gotten her fired. Of course I would have had to have the witnesses admit that they saw it happen but they are other employees that probably don't want to rock the boat. When I told Hubby about it he was so furious I thought he was going to burst a vessel. He was demanding I quit but that wouldn't be smart right now. I'll just stay as far away from her as possible and hope that we don't have another incident.

James Patterson strikes again

This was a different kind of novel for James Patterson. It was co-written by Hal Friedman who is the father of the main character. "Against Medical Advice" is a novel about a young boy that develops Tourrets Syndrome and OCD. Just before he turns 5 his life is thrown into turmoil with uncontrollable tics and involuntary utterances. Shuttled from one Doctor to another and put on medications that would knock a horse out this true story is so moving you can't help but feel all the pain this young man goes through. It gave me a whole different insight into this dreadful syndrome.

Another novel

Kathy Reichs is what she writes. She has the degrees and the talent. What she does in real life shows in her writing. Sometimes the technical lingo makes my eyes glaze over but it's real. Her latest novel is "Devil Bones." It covers what is believed to be some witchcraft or devil worship. Throw in a headless body and the death of a well liked detective. The main character is Temperance Brennan and she's a forensic anthropologist and a chief medical examiner. She's always working the case from the lab to the streets. An excellent read!

Hours cut

I've noticed a considerable drop in my hours at the new job. Apparently between the economy and the season it is the time they cut way back on part timers. Unfortunately it's not a good time for me to have my hours cut. I was thrilled today when the night girl came in and announced that she couldn't take her Thursday night hours. I raced to the coordinator and begged her for those precious 4 1/2 hours. Just hope I remember to tape ER which I'm going to miss because of this night time work schedule. Oh well! Got's to do what I got's to do! I was warned that the cut backs will get worse. It is very slow. The night girl was complaining about the job and how she's tempted to walk out. Says she doesn't need the hassle! You go girl!!!! More for me!

We're up and running with the new coffee pot. Happy birthday, Hubby! Nice gift for him.

Coffee fix

We discovered yesterday that our year old coffee pot had bit the dust. Disposable electronics! We had three old ones that I have no idea why we had kept but they all went out to the garbage pickup this morning. We had a French press that we used for yesterday's and today's consumption but we headed off to the local (25 miles) Sam's Club. Of course while you're there to buy a coffee pot you have to get coffee, some meat, some pens, a couple of books, a shirt and then there was the $40 annual fee that we needed to renew. We decided on a one cup at a time Cuisinart. A little more than we wanted to spend but then maybe it would last a little longer than a year. Got home and put all the goodies away and got the coffee maker out of the box. I decided to read the instructions which I never do and followed them to the tee. After a call to their service number we were told to reset it by unplugging it and waiting an hour. If it didn't work then; take it back to the store. Well, it's back in the box and tomorrow hubby will make the 50 mile round trip to return it to Sam's. The dilemma is whether to try another just like it or just go somewhere else and get another kind. Decisions, decisions! I'm so tired of having to replace everything so quickly. I think we've had 10 microwaves over the years. Crockpots? I've lost track! Electric shavers? Every year! Televisions? Too numerous to mention. Cell phones? Oh my! I must say...I've had the same alarm clock for about 25 years. Guess I just jinxed that one. Suggestions for a coffee maker are welcome.

A different read

This novel by Andre Dubus III is "The Garden of Last Days." The setting is Florida in September of 2001. The characters are April, her 3 year old daughter Fanny, her landlady and babysitter Jean, AJ, a regular at the strip club where April works and Bassam, her last customer on a fateful night. Jean suffers what she thinks is a heart attack leaving April without a sitter for Fanny. She calls the strip club and is told that the manager would keep an eye on her and let her stay in the office and watch Disney videos and sleep until April gets off work. AJ is a man newly separated from his wife and child and hanging in the strip club making time with one of the strippers. He's thrown out for holding her hand. He's drunk, angry, and lonely. Bassam is a Mideasterner on a mission in a few days time and deciding to enjoy himself at the "gentleman's club." He pays for April to attend him in a private room. He's throwing money around and she grabbing it up. These elements lead to a page-turning narrative. It's set in the seamy underside of American life at the moment before the world changed. If you loved "House of Sand and Fog," you'll love this one.

Another Author comment

Got a response from the author on my review of Geoffrey S. Edwards' novel, "Fire Bell in the Night." Pretty cool that they take the time to search for reviews (or pay someone to do it). Makes me want to search for other books by him. Guess that's the plan.

"The Dark River"

A novel by John Twelve Hawks. This is his second novel that I've read and even though I'm not into fantasy fiction (other than Harry Potter) it has been an interesting read. It was a little difficult to remember the first book but after a few pages it didn't really matter since everything was pretty much explained again. I know there will be another since the ending left me totally hanging along with two of the main characters. It is a dangerous world inspired by the modern technology that monitors our lives. Under constant surveillance by the "Vast Machine," a computer network run by a group known as the Brethren, society is mostly unaware of its own imprisonment. Gabriel and Michael Corrigan, brothers who were raised "off the Grid," have recently learned they are Travelers like their missing father. They are part of a centuries old line of prophets able to journey to different realms of consciousness and enlighten the world to resist being controlled. Michael joins the enemy and Gabriel takes on the responsibility. The Travelers are protected by Harlequins who remain emotionally detached from their Traveler but defend them to their death. It was a good read and something different to enjoy.

Making myself known in the real estate world today. Taking my office duty and listening to the sound of silence from the phones that in a perfect world would be ringing off the hook. So far I've had one computer generated call which I got to hang up on. I finished my book too early and now I have to find something to occupy my time for another hour and a half before I can close everything down and head for home. Maybe I can find an online game to play to keep me occupied.

A wonderful day in the neighborhood

Well the Christmas decorations have hit the store. All the little elves are busy putting up the phony trees and the inflatable yard decorations. I'm humming along to the tunes now but by next week I'll be prying the batteries out of the boxes to shut them up. I'm looking at one of those phony trees to buy for our house. Learned my lesson last year and unless I get a live tree that isn't more than two feet high then it's artificial for me. I'll put a bowl of pinesol under the tree and no one will be the wiser.

I was all alone the whole afternoon yesterday. The early shift girl went to a meeting and the backup went home sick. I was to have my lunch break between 2 and 3 and when my partner returned at 2:30, I mentioned that I was late taking my lunch. She was leaving at 3 so I was informed I would have to take a half hour. Ohhhhhhhhhhh! the Nazi management don't like that! They question each and every minute that you have different then what they assign you. To top it off, the scheduler had me leaving at 6 and the night girl coming in at 6:30. I had to stay an extra half hour. Ohhhhhhhhhhhh! more trouble in Nazi land! I'll be brought before the tribunal and tortured. Torture was handed out to me in droves when I had to try to deal with customers and no one was around to back up what I was doing and whether I was doing it right. Guess I should have paid more attention during my hour and forty five minute training session the other day. So what if I'm still missing 12 hours and 15 minutes. Sink or swim! So there I was, singing Christmas caroles to entertain the customers so that they wouldn't think I was totally inefficient. Finaly out of boredom they wandered away. It's terrible to stand there praying for no one to come up and bother you until the end of my shift. I can handle most things but they're still a few that get me panicked. Maybe I'll take up tap dancing and then I can really WOW them to cover my ignorance.

I'm working my way through a fantasy fiction book. I don't often read them but I read the first one a few years ago and enjoyed it and this is a sequel. Hopefully I'll finish by this weekend.

On the money

I zipped through Elizabeth Berg's "The Pull of the Moon" in a matter of hours. Now this is my favorite! She explains exactly what I feel yet so eloquently. The character, Nan, leaves home. Just packs a bag and gets in her car and heads west. Leaves her husband (she loves him dearly) and her home and heads on her adventure. Her first purchase is a journal. The book is what she writes in the journal and the letters she sends home to her husband. She's driving off the beaten track. I love that.....I hate interstates and my hubby thinks that's insane. I want to experience every curve in the road and what there is to see. "When you take the small roads you see the life that goes on there, and this makes your own life larger." The fact that Nan has long hair at 50 and even though at that age it looked sort of silly, but she always had long hair, and didn't feel herself without it. Or someone asking your age and you say 64 so you'll look young for your age. That's me! Nan stops in a trailer park and meets a woman there and they chat and have lunch. Totally different personalities but they find a common thread. One stop is at a farmhouse where an 86 year old woman is shelling peas and Nan asks if she can just sit on the porch step and listen to the peas drop in the bowl. Their conversation leads to the woman disclosing the beautiful poems her husband had written to her over the years but never showed her. She found them after he passed away. Or the conversations she used to have on that porch with all her friends as they shelled peas or husked corn. She was the last of them to still live in her own home. The rest were gone or in nursing homes. The last stop was a lemonade stand with a young girl manning the stand. She sold her lemonade for 50 cents. She also sold her poems for 50 cents. She was fresh out of poems but said she would go write her one if she would watch the stand for her. The poem had a bridge over a river full of monsters with a land of purple fields and yellow clouds. She became Empress Nana Exsanna Popana. With that she turned and headed home ready to face what was yet to come.

ER

The show; not me in one! I love that show! I've been a devoted fan for all time. This is the 15th and final season. So far this season, they've killed off one of our favorites. The left us hanging last season to see who was really in the ambulance that blew up and this season started with everyone surviving but injured. Poor Greg didn't survive his injuries. Last week we said goodbye to Abby. She was first a nurse; then became an intern; then a nurse again when money was tight; then a doctor again. Anyway, she got the hunky doctor to marry her and Dr. Luka left the show last year with just a drop by once in a while. To save her marriage she's off to a new hospital with Dr. "Hunk." The ending of the show was superb! She didn't tell many that she was leaving until the end of her shift and when she danced with Frank around the receiving area I had my hanky out. When she walked out the door and her friends were gathered the waterworks were heavier. Then she walks to her car and Dr. Luka gets out (rare and final appearance) and gives her a kiss and loads her in the car for their goodbye. (I saw Dr. Luka live and in person several years ago when I had a layover with my daughter, grandkids, and her mother-in-law in Chicago. Even better looking in person.) They are bringing back Carter who left quite a while ago. I don't know why, there won't be anyone but a few nurses there that remember him. The three that would have; just left! There's even talk of somehow incorporating Mark back into a show and he was killed off ages ago. You can be sure that every Thursday night I can be found on my sofa watching ER from 10:00 to 11:00. Whatever they have in store for the rest of this final season will probably cause me to cry. If only George Clooney would drop by!!!!!!!!!! That would make me smile! I don't think I ever want to get hooked on a show again that I'm so addicted to.

A little southern history

"Fire Bell in the Night" written by Geoffrey S. Edwards explores tension between North and South, black and white, that gripped Charleston, South Carolina in the summer of 1850. John Sharp is sent by the New York Tribune to cover the trial of Darcy Calhoun, a farmer accused of harboring a fugitive slave. As the trial begins, John quickly realizes that not everything is as it appears in the genteel city of Charleston. A series of mysterious fires in white establishments brings the state militia, a curfew for the black population, and rising tension at the courthouse. The story was gripping and the similarities between slavery in the south and the abuses in the industrial New York City slums are brought to light. Very good read and a definite page turner.

"The Secret Life of Bees"

I read this book sometime ago and they've just released it as a movie. The author was Sue Monk Kidd. I kidnapped my granddaughter and we went to see it this afternoon. Exceptional! I had forgotten enough from the book that I wasn't ready for everything that was happening so it made it even better. The actresses were superb. Young Dakota Fanning did a wonderful job as usual. She's the main character who is living in the south in 1964. Her mother is dead and she's surviving under a roof with a less than loving father. Civil rights is the topic everywhere. I can't say more or it would ruin it. This is a must see movie and bring your hankies! Great to have a girl's day with the granddaughter. Don't get many of those chances anymore.

Foot stuff

The year started with my neck problems and I've worked my way down to my feet. The foot thing happened in January but was minor compared to what was going on with the herniated disk in my neck. Now that I spend so much time on my feet, I definitely needed to do something to alleviate the issue. It is definitely plantar fasciitis (heel spur) that is causing the problem. I got a good explanation from the doctor on what causes it and what cures it. No cortizone shot which was a relief to me. I had to get a night splint which holds the foot in the walking position while I sleep or sit for long periods of time. I also had to come home and dig out my orthodic inserts that the foot doctor made for me 17 years ago. Apparently being flat footed is a major cause of this problem. God knows, I'm as flat footed as a person can be. I also bought a pair of Crocs since they're recommended to help, too. I love this foot doctor! He did bunionectomies on both of my feet back in 1991 and made walking possible again until this recent heel spur thing. He's confident that I'll be good as new soon.

Ha ha Oprah

I was checking out "O at Home" magazine on a break today. She shows her library in her California home. All her first editions and such. Actually has a guy who works full time at getting her first editions or signed copies. I wasn't impressed! There was mention that she had another bookshelf in the hallway and more in the powder room. (Hadn't thought of expanding in there but I'm sure my extra bath would not be big enough for bookshelves.) No softcover books on her shelves. All of her Oprah Book Club picks are softcover. When she weeds out her books she sends them to women shelters or prisons. Weed out books! How can you get rid of books. That's like amputation of a limb. She said that she was going to throw them out but found she couldn't do that and dug them out of the garbage and donated them. Anyway, couldn't she just put them in one of her many other houses? Her artwork limited her shelf space. Gee, I have that same problem! I would love to have a library and be surrounded by my treasures but it would have to be one like they have in those castles in Europe. Two storied with ladders that roll around to reach the uppermost shelves. I used to like Oprah but that was in her Baltimore days when she was one of the masses. What is the attraction! No, I'm not jealous of her billions......well, maybe at little!

Berg Lover

I picked up another Elizabeth Berg and I think this is one of my favorites so far. I'll say it again.....she's the best! "Never Change" was written in early 2000 and the character (Myra) is a well trained nurse who used to work in the ER and is now in her 50's doing home visitations. Never married and never dated much. She never had close friends but classmates would go to her for advise. She always remained aloof because she didn't think she was wanted. Her clientele vary from drug users to the elite in the community. She gets a call to add another patient to her clientele list and its a former high school classmate. He is dying of a brain tumor and refuses all treatment. He knows time is limited and that there is no hope for a cure just an extension of time through chemicals and suffering and he's not having that. He's thrilled to have Myra as his nurse and through his struggles she is changed. Couldn't put the book down! Even read it on our road trip to a special aunt's 75 birthday party. I think there are a few Berg novels I haven't tracked down yet but I'm on a quest. Of course, what will I do when I've read them all. She was threatening retirement!

I can't believe that it's time to be planning the holidays already. I think we're having a small gathering at Thanksgiving. We know the Hawaii gang won't be here and I haven't heard from some of the Maryland gang. Might just be a dining room group around one table.

Good read

I finished the Harlan Coben novel "Fade Away." The main character is a sports agents who used to be a basketball star in his high school and college days. When he got to his professional debute he was taken out by another player and his knee was gone along with his career in basketball. Suddenly he's called to play.......he's 32 and other than games with friends he hasn't played in years. The knee is still an issue. The "Dragons" want him to fill in for a missing player. He'll be a bench warmer basically but he will just be using being on the team as a means to find the missing player. He's not only is a sports agent, he's been a former FBI undercover agent who still dabbles in solving mysteries. His best friend was also an agent and is now head of a reknowned security firm. Together they unstoppable. Like I mentioned in the previous blog, this writer is very funny. I totally enjoy reading him and trying to figure out the ending.

Just get me through the day

The foot pain is getting so much worse and I'm counting the minutes until the foot doctor appointment next week. I limp off the job every day and rush home to soak my feet in ice water. Yesterday I sprained my wrist so I'm down to one functioning limb. What a joke my life is! I managed to pick up quite a few more hours of work this week since one of the other workers is off due to a death in the family. Glad for the work but wish I was tougher. Maybe with time!

Trying to get finished with my latest book. I've had the 6 am shift most of the week and it's difficult to find the time to read. My latest is a Harlen Coben novel. He writes an on going series once in a while about a sports agent who was a former basketball star. He's also a lawyer and former FBI undercover operative. Busy guy! I enjoy his books though because he has a really great sense of humor and I find myself chuckling through the pages. Maybe by the weekend I can get a chance to finish up.

Sometimes.......

When you're a woman, you just have to read a good romantic novel. Can't be helped! And if you're going to do it then the one to read is Nicholas Sparks. Yes, a male romantic novelist. Of course, on his bookcover it says story teller but we women know that he's more than that. Come on, he wrote "The Notebook", "Message in a Bottle", and the new movie out, "Night in Rodanthe." Well, he's done it again with his latest, "The Lucky One." The male character (you need one of them) is a college graduate and signs up with the Marines (just like Dad). He ends up in Iraq at the start of the war. While jogging around the camp early one morning he finds a picture half buried in the sand. The background is of a country fair and the rest is of a beautiful blonde woman wearing "Lucky Girl" on her t-shirt. He tries to find the owner but is unsuccessful so he keeps it in his pocket. It becomes his lucky charm. Friends are falling around him but he seems to be able to walk away from all the encounters with the enemy. His best friend is sure that it's the picture and tells him that he owes it to the woman to find her and thank her. The journey takes him cross country, on foot with his dog, to a small town in the south. Now, how does he repay this woman with a small child and an ailing grandmother? Got to read this one, ladies! You won't put it down.

Poor Queen Mary

After I got used to the new style of writing by Philippa Gregory, I thoroughly loved the latest novel. Written through the eyes of three characters; Mary, Queen of Scots, George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and his wife, Bess of Hardwick. Alternating chapters gave us their story. Queen Mary flees to England from Scotland with Queen Elizabeth's promise of sanctuary and finds herself imprisoned as the "guest" of George and Bess. They are a newly married (though it is her 4th and his 2nd) and think that by serving Elizabeth in this capacity it will give them even more fame and riches. Instead it throws them into bankruptcy in their attempt to keep the imprisoned queen in her extravagant lifestyle. She is weaving a web of treachery and treason which is uncovered by the countries spymaster, William Cecil who is Elizabeth's right hand man. The treason causes the deaths of many great and powerful men. The strongest woman eventually won! I have to say, I did enjoy Bess the most. She went from poverty to being a very rich wife in a time when a woman's husband owned everything. All of her husbands increased her wealth and her fame and ended up leaving her with their entire fortunes instead of the typical sytle of passing it all to the oldest son. She learned the things necessary to run the farms, coal mines, etc. efficently and increased her lands and fortune only to see it squandered by her new husband on the care and keeping of Queen Mary. She managed to get part of her lands away from him in a legal agreement and they parted leaving him to take care of the Queen on his own. In the end she restored her loses while he went down in ruin. If you're a history buff, then this is the book to read.

Adventures for the weekend include a little real estate and then topped off with a big family reunion to be held at my daughter's home on Sunday. Lots of shopping to do for that. Our family is known to pack in the food. It will be great to see everyone. These are the cousins from my mother's side of the family and all of us are within 10 years of age. We are lucky to have some of our off spring coming, in addition to our last surviving Uncle and his wife, and the widow of another Uncle.