Painting

I was feeling a little confidence with my oil painting ability until two days ago. I had done a stained glass rooster for a friend of mine in Michigan a few years ago and she had it framed in barn siding and hung in her kitchen window. I thought I'd do a painting of a rooster and send it to her. Her birthday was two weeks ago and I had sent it off with another small gift. The painting was framed in barn siding. I wouldn't have sent it but my hubby said it was great so off it went. I waited and waited for some comment from her and finally it came in an email. She thanked me for "remembering" her birthday. No comment about the painting at all. WOW! Not even a lie! Talk about having the rug pulled out from under you. Now I'm upset that I sent it and wasted it on her. She did comment by asking me if I was going to take other classes. A double stab in the back! Well, it's cookies and candy for her from now on.

A holiday weekend again! Thank God there's tennis on television to entertain me. I'm reading Sharyn McCrumb's "Once Around the Track" which is okay but since I'm not a NASCAR fan it's rather slow and boring for me. I know being from south central PA that I should be a fan but I can't get into it. I'll struggle through the book and consider it an "okay" story. At least hubby is off tomorrow which gives us some time over the holiday together. I guess from now on we'll both have our weekends tied up and it won't matter that the world is busy around us.

Our new neighbors just knocked on our door! I'm stunned! They just moved in. The former neighbor never came by until last year when he wanted free wood off of our lot. These people moved here from Pittsburgh and it looks like they're retired. He wants to hunt on our property which I don't think we'll be too excited about. They did invite us over and gave us their phone number. I was in my jammies so I didn't even allow them in the door. I felt bad but I'm not used to someone coming by like that. I could run into my other neighbors in the grocery store and not even know who they are. We all keep to ourselves around here. I did meet one neighbor years ago when she lost her little boy and needed help finding him. He'd strayed into the woods with his dog and I found him wandering not far from here. He was only three. They moved away about 4 years ago and now there's a new house on that lot and those people moved in a year or so ago. Haven't met them.

Family........

Last Sunday was a reunion of my Mom's side of the family. It was not as big as last year but still not bad. People hung around and chatted which years ago never happened. Today I met with some cousins from my Dad's side. Just the one I do family ancestry with and two that are my second cousins. We started with lunch and ended up going to a local museum. Nothing there to help with the family search. Now I've got the bug to work on ancestry again and I just don't have the time.

Heard about my new job. I get to go on orientation Saturday of next week and then more training the following weekend. Sure are spreading this thing out. At this rate I'll be lucky to be on payroll by Christmas.

Zapped

"Zapped" is Carol Higgins Clark's latest novel. She's the daughter of Mary Higgins Clark. She doesn't write as many books as her Mother but she does pretty well. Can't really tell the difference between the authors. I haven't read all her books like I have her Mother but there are a few on my shelves. This one was one of her sequel books about a private detective named Regan Reilly (who just happens to be the daughter of a famous novelist) and her "now" husband, Jack, the police detective. This adventure took place in NYC during a blackout. All happened in one night and I read it in one sitting. Quick read and not bad for what I'd label a beach novel. Always a happy ending!

"Child of God"

I've read some Cormac McCarthy books that I've loved and some I wasn't too wild about. This one was probably the strangest. It definitely took degradation to it's lowest. The character, Lester Ballard, roams the countryside of East Tennessee preying on the locals with his strange desires. The novel promised some humor but I sure didn't find any. I felt like I was watching a bizarre episode of Twilight Zone gone mad. I definitely don't understand the title.

Found out that the new job is still waiting for the results of my drug test. I doubt that. I think it's a convenient excuse to cover someone's incompetence.

Can't finish this one

I got through a little over half of "The Fox in the Attic" by Richard Hughes and I'm throwing in the towel. I just can't for the life of me figure this one out. It starts with finding a little girl dead in the countryside of England in the 1920's and suddenly you're in Germany. Nothing seems to tie together and if it does it will do it without me knowing. The worst of it is that I have a second book by him which is a sequel to this one. I really hate giving up on it but I have too many other books to read that can't be as boring as this one. I liked his "High Winds in Jamaica."

Still haven't heard anything about my new job! I'm not clearing my calendar further until I know something so life goes on.

What can I say....

Elizabeth Berg just writes the best books. I breezed through "Open House." Samantha is living the perfect life. Husband, son and home. Suddenly her husband leaves her and she's got to make it on her own. She doesn't want to lose her house so she takes in boarders. One in the basement and one upstairs. First is an elderly woman. The moving man that helps her carry in the furniture becomes a friend to Samatha. He's not always a moving man. Somedays he walks dogs, some times he's a telemarketer, etc. A graduate of MIT and an astrophysist that just happens to enjoy a simple life. The elderly woman stays a couple months and then marries her gentleman friend. The tenant in the basement is a weird girl named Lavender Blue. Bad attitude about life. The next tenant for upstairs is a gay man who owns a beauty shop. Samantha goes through all the emotions that are expected of a 42 year old woman who's husband leaves. How she handles it is well worth the read.

"The Night Villa"

This novel by Carol Goodman was a spur of the moment choice when I was buying my birthday books. It ended up being a good choice. My history lesson in the novel is about the eruption of Italy's Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79 which buried a city and its people. Current day setting started with a shooting at the University of Texas campus and the main character, Sophie Chase. She's a professor of classics. After her recovery she heads for the Isle of Capri to immerse herself in her latest scholarly project alongside her colleagues, her star pupil, and their benefactor. Under layers of volcanic ash lies the Villa della Notte (the night villa) which is home to first-century nobles, as well as to the captivating slave girl at the heart of an ancient controversy. In the subterranean areas are some antique documents believed lost to the ages. New technology allows these scrolls to be read even with their age and damage. A story within a story. I pretty much figured out "the who dunit" part but it was still a good read.

Already started another Elizabeth Berg. I'm running out of her novels and I'll be so sad when I do.

Job update

I called around 1:00 today to find out if I'm doing orientation tomorrow. The woman that is supposed to be setting this up wasn't available so I asked for the assistant manager who had interviewed me. I explained to him that I was supposed to be at orientation Saturday and hadn't heard anything. He said he'd check it out and call me right back. Needless to say there wasn't another phone call and I'm assuming I won't be going to orientation for a while. I think the writing is on the wall to continue looking for a job. I know they could use my Human Resource abilities since this woman has none.

New Job

Well, I think I have the job. I was told that I did and I went for a drug test immediately after the second interview. There was a big rush to get me there so things could work out for orientation on Saturday. That was Wednesday and here I sit with no word since then. I know they have a rather incompetent woman working there. She proved that when she didn't bother calling me back to confirm my interview. Unfortunately she's in charge of getting everything together to get me on board. If I don't get orientation this week I think it will be two more weeks until I can go through it. Maybe there's a reason! Might be a better offer out there I don't know about yet. I'm waiting patiently!

Late night again watching the Olympics. This time the men's beach volley ball GOLD MEDAL. The night before it was the women winning. Terrible to get so hyped up before trying to sleep. It's almost over! Poor hubby couldn't tear himself away from the television to go to sleep and now he's going to be dragging at work today.

Slowed down on the reading for a bit. Halfway through "The Night Villa" by Carol Goodman. So far so good. There's a mystery/thriller coming; I just know it. So far it's just building up to it.

2nd Interview

Oh boy! Tomorrow is the 2nd interview. Waiting for a definite time. Hope my poor heel spur can take all the standing and walking I'll be subjected to.

Blah day....

Finished another wonderful novel by Elizabeth Berg. This one was "Joy School." It was a prequel to another of her novels and I wasn't aware of it until I recognized the main character. Katie is a newly turned 13 year old whose mother has died and she's an Army brat and dragged to a new school by her father. They've left Texas and her friends there. Now she has to find new friends. Not an easy thing for her. There's Cynthia who is intimidated by a domineering mother and Taylor who is a model and also a shop lifter. She's befriended by a Catholic priest even though she isn't Catholic and a 23 year old gas station attendant. The time frame is the early 60's. I can so relate to the events of the day since that is my time frame, too. Such a wonderful author and a wonderful story.

Still waiting on that second interview! Feel like I'm swimming in a fog.

Blue Smoke and Murder....

Elizabeth Lowell's latest novel is "Blue Smoke and Murder." Jill Breck is a river guide who saved the life of the son of two of St. Kilda's Consulting's premier operators. Not realizing that she would soon need their services to save her life. She suspects that the death of her great aunt from a fire was a murder. Now her life is in danger for the same reason. 12 unsigned paintings that are by a famous Western artist. These paintings can do great damage in an upcoming auction if they are proved to be authentic. She makes the call to St. Kilda's when she finds a death threat on her gutted vehicle. Doesn't hurt that the operative that they send her is not only an art expert, a former CIA operative, but not bad on the eyes. Couldn't put this down! It was fast moving and very interesting.

What a great Olympics! Go Michael Phelps! Eight gold. Unstoppable! We've been glued to the television for over a week watching the events. Our favorites are over now so there won't be the same draw now. Maybe we'll be able to throw in a movie or two.

Still waiting for the call for a second interview. Maybe they just told me that to get rid of me. We would sneak away for another staycation if it weren't for the waiting for the phone to ring.

Insomnia again...........

It's 2:00 a.m. and I'm wide awake. Haven't been to sleep yet. Just can't get there. Finished "Faces of Fear" by John Saul. For the first hundred pages I thought I was reading Danielle Steel. Kept waiting for the typical Saul terror to set in. This was a different kind of novel for him but it was frightening. Something that could happen which makes it scarier. When you get past all the set up of marriages ending and new ones starting you get into the real meat of the book. I figured out the ending pretty early on but it didn't take away from my desire to keep reading. A nasty serial killer in this one. Don't want to say more which would ruin it for anyone who's a Saul fan. If you're a parent of a young girl it will make you re-think letting them have a My Space page. Now the dilemna; what to pick next.

"The Story of Edgar Sawtelle"

A novel by David Wroblewski. This is a wonderful story about three generations of dog breeders. Not pedigrees. Just well thought out breeding, record keeping and endless training. The last of the Sawtelle line is a young Edgar who was born mute. He had hearing but no voice. Not even a grunt. He lead an idyllic life with his parents on their farm in remote northern Wisconsin. Life changes when Edgar's Uncle Claude shows up. Suddenly there is turmoil between Claude and Edgar's Father. Old arguments are fought anew. When Edgar's Father dies suddenly, Claude insinuates himself into the family and the grief stricken Edgar leaves after he fails to prove that his Uncle was responsible for the Father's death. He can't stay away forever and returns after several months to try to once again find the proof he needs to destroy his Uncle. This caused me a sleepless night. Kept trying to put it down and couldn't. David Wroblewski is a master storyteller. I'm moving this author to my list of Authors to continue to read.

One interview down and one to go. Made it through the first round and now I have to meet the manager. Might have a shot at a little higher level job then originally thought.

New job?

I'm interviewing tomorrow afternoon for a part time job at a local establishment. Nothing fancy! Just something to help pay the bills that my current job hasn't managed to do in a long time. Feel like I've worked for nothing for a year. I went on a listing appointment two days ago and it confirmed my need to seek something new for my career. The gentleman spent two hours telling me his woes. Oh please! Lost loves, poor health, and inflated ego. Get over yourself! I barely managed to get 5 minutes of real estate information stated. There were three of us up for the listing and according to the call I got from his daughter (an agent in another state), he liked me and the other woman who came after me. Well, good luck to her because I'm not sure I want to deal with this. Right off the top I have to pay the daughter a referral commission and then she wants me to give him a discount if I manage to bring in the Buyer. Once again I would be working for nothing. Apparently what I do has no value!

Feeling a little overwhelmed with stuff!

Song of Kali

The "Song of Kali" is a fightening novel written by Dan Simmons. It's set in the 1970's. The main character is a published poet, Robert, who is offered a job by Harper's to go to Calcutta to find a renowned poet that has suddenly had a manuscript surface after 8 years. Robert's wife is from there and he takes her as his interpreter along with his infant daughter. Calcutta is the foulest and most crime ridden city in the world. Filthy, stench-ridden, crawling, with vermin both human and otherwise. It is possessed of evils. Little did they know what danger they were entering into when their plane touched down. This was a truly frightening novel. Kept me turning pages till the end.

We've been staying up late and watching the Olympics every night. Since I don't exercise, I guess I have a need to watch others do it in abundance. I really enjoy the swimming and gymnastics portion. Go Michael Phelps! Even got into basketball yesterday with the US playing against the Chinese.

The Other

"The Other" is a novel by David Guterson. I've enjoyed several of his novels in the past and was anxious to read this one. Tough going at first with paragraphs two pages long. I kept going and ended up enjoying the book. Neil Countryman is blue-collar Irish and John William Barry has pedigree and wealth. They met in Seattle as teenagers at a track meet. A friendship ensued. Neil wants college and a career as a teacher. John William wants to hide away in the forest. They spent many weekends hiking through northern Washington. Little by little John William checks out of society and becomes a hermit. Neil never abandons John William even when he's living in a cave. Little did he know what his reward would be for that friendship.

Enjoyed the DVD "The Other Bolelyn" which I originally read by Philippa Gregory. The book was much better but the movie was well done. Hard to compact so much history into a two hour movie.

Had a nice evening with my daughter and the grandkids last night. They came for dinner and stayed through the first hour of the opening of the Olympics on television. Spectacular! Unfortunately we stayed awake for the whole thing and our behinds were dragging this morning when we had to get up for work.

Risen from the dead

Richard Bachman is really Stephen King and he disappeared ages ago when it was discovered. A new/old book was released by King under the Bachman name. He wrote it back in the 70's and didn't publish it. Apparently it got put in a box and was pulled out from time to time without success. Recently he decided to update it and let it be published. Titled "Blaze" this book is about a character nicknamed Blaze who when he was young he was a very good student who was always reading and excelled in school. His drunken father regularly beat him and one night he decided to throw him down the apartment stairs three times. After the kid suffered permanent brain damage (including a permanent dent in his forehead) the father was shipped off to prison. The kid went to the state and suffered through several attempts of unsuccessful fostering. He was taken under the wing of a shady character named George and the two started a partnership in crime. George was killed in a poker game gone bad and his scheme to kidnap a baby of a local wealthy couple was left to Blaze. When you're considered to be mentally challenged and you attempt a kidnapping then it's a roadmap to disaster. I really enjoyed this book and was glad to see the old Stephen King in it. Not a scary book!

Spent my birthday gift from hubby with a trip to Borders where I got to stock up on a few new books. I had a birthday coupon from Borders, a 40 percent coupon, and a $5.00 reward coupon. I ended up with over $40+ in discounts. One again I went without my list of books that I've read and ended up buying two that I already had. I'll be making a return trip in a week or so to buy the new John Saul book and taking those others back. Unfortunately my list is so large that it's difficult to haul it around. It keeps changing every few days, also. It's like trying to remember the reusable shopping bags when I go to the grocery store. I remember them when I'm in the checkout counter. The list is always in the car when I'm in the bookstore.

Missing

Hubby and I went missing last Friday! It's now Sunday and no one knew we were gone. It's our 30th anniversary today and hubby took me on another staycation. Since he loves Corning, New York, that's where we went. We tossed around several other possibilities but he wouldn't go for Hawaii or Europe. I've been to Corning with him but it's been many years. Everytime we went fishing in New York state he would take his youngest son and go off for a day to visit the glass museum that they have there while the rest of us fished. This time we stayed right in Corning at the Radisson Hotel. Just walked in off the street and hoped for a room. We were in luck even though there was a Nascar event coming to Watkin's Glen in a few days that would have ruined our chances if we'd have been a day or two later. A lovely young lady booked us in and proceeded to comp a free breakfast for us both and free desserts at their restaurant if we had dinner there. With our AAA membership we scored a fairly good rate. Great room except for the lingering odor of smoke. Can't ever get rid of that smell. When booking us the young lady told us not to miss walking Market Street in the evening which we proceeded to do. Too late to hit the shops but the restaurants were great. Had a great meal at an Irish Pub. Saturday was all about the museum and the glass market at Corning. A couple of demonstrations on glass blowing gave me a chance to get off my heel spur for a short time. Every nationality under the sun was there. Wouldn't figure it as a tourist trap for so many. Checked out this morning and headed home. The only negative was the Sleep Number beds that the hotel is so fond of. We couldn't get ours to hold the setting so we'd try one number and wake in the middle of the night with mine at 5(way too soft) and hubby's at 90 (way too hard). Just couldn't get it regulated. Definitely won't be ordering one of those. It was a gorgeous drive down route 15 through PA. Lot of it was following the Susquehanna River. Good to be home though!

Finished "City of Shadows" by Ariana Franklin. It's a wonderfully written book about a terrible time. The 1920's through 1933 Germany. A young Jewish woman (Esther) who gets tangled into the life of Anna Anderson who claimed to be Anastasia Romanov. Throw in some murders and bring in a policeman and the story becomes more intriguing. The ending was quite a surprise. Of course liberties were taken as with most historic fiction but it was "edge of your seat" good.

Since it was a long drive north and back, I also finished "Tail Spin" by Catherine Coulter. I usually enjoy her FBI series but this one left me dissatisfied. Not up to her usual with the main characters. Can't recommend this one.

Here's hoping I have many more anniversaries with Hubby!