Another classic

I finished "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde. That makes 25 of the "1001 Books to Read Before You Die" that I have read. I own 32 more of them but I think I'll take a break. As most people know, Dorian Gray had a portrait done by an artist that was enamored of him because of his beauty. Upon seeing the portrait the young Dorian proclaimed that he could not bare the portrait staying young while he would age and that it would be better if he stayed young and the portrait aged. Of course that was what happened. The life that Dorian lived showed on the painting in horrible ways. The portrait did not age well. I had always known of the gist of the story but now I have the book under my belt and can move on to something a little more to my liking. I took the time to read the background of Oscar Wilde while I was reading this book and can understand the undertones of sexuality that are obvious in the book. Wilde was quite the character!

I got a little of the snow that I was hoping for but it came with a coating of ice which I didn't want. Since I took my latest tumble at work, I wasn't able to join the grandchildren in their sledding adventures last night. I would have loved to go racing down that hill! My Mother went sledding with us until she broke her collar bone when she was about 38 and hit a dry patch of road that threw the sled over. We don't have good hills here but fortunately for the grandkids their yard is on a great slope. The woods at the bottom are a little tricky though. Maybe by the next snow my knee will be in good shape and I can hit the slope with them.

I'm enjoying two days off after working the last eight. It's back to the grind tomorrow. As for today, it's a jammie day!

Finally

I finally finished "The Fountain Overflows" by Rebecca West. I've been working a lot of hours so I blamed that as the reason it took so long but I think the real reason is that it was a slow read. Written in the 1950's but set at the turn of the 20th century (I think). The characters are the Aubrey family as told by the daughter, Rose. The father is a writer but is rather unstable and always changing jobs and gambling away the money on stock market schemes. The mother is a former concert pianist who struggles to keep the family afloat. She, too, is rather eccentric and high strung. The four children are very different. The oldest daughter thinks she's a talented violinist, the twin girls are both very talented pianist and the youngest son has no particular talent but is everyone's favorite. Unusual people wander through their lives even a murderess. I found the book to be entertaining but difficult to read. There were points that I almost threw it down in despair and frustration.

Ho hum!

I was having a sleep in. Both hubby and I were off today and then the phone rang. A co-worker from another department called to see if I could cover two hours of his shift today. I thought that just two hours was a waste of time but it was a chance to get out on the floor and spend a little time exploring the other places that surround my world. Nice person that I am (after all I got an award for being nice) I said that I'd cover his shift. He said there wouldn't be a problem since his supervisor was there if I needed him. I showed up to find my supervisor in a tizzy because I was called in to work another department. She was not pleased! I checked with HR and they said it was okay but the other worker hadn't followed procedure to get me to work for him. I went to the department and was there 15 minutes or so before the supervisor showed up. He immediately got called into a consult with two customers and I wandered around becoming familiar with the area. Oh boy, the inevitable happened. A customer wanted something done that I was not trained to do. Panic! I interrupted the supervisor and he said that he was busy and find someone else. The only other option was another supervisor in another department but I passed her with blood dripping down her hand. Suddenly the phone on my hip is ringing and the hated assistant manager was calling me to help the customers that I was trying to find help for. He went in search of the supervisor to ask his assistance but of course he couldn't leave the customers that he had. I was ready to get out my tap shoes and black hat when the blood dripping worker showed up to help me and show me what to do. God bless her bleeding body! That will teach me to be a nice person and volunteer to drive 30 miles to help out for two hours. I was watching to clock praying to get out of there before any more problems showed up. Sure enough, here comes the customer who wants to place an order. I told her that the gentleman in the next section could help her when he was done with his current customers and I raced to the time clock and rushed out the door. Wouldn't be a bad area to work in if someone would have been available to give me some tips on what to do. I should have just wandered the area avoiding anyone that was there. At least I know where some more things are that I can now tell people how to find. I volunteered to help another co-worker for Friday but I should be okay with that area. I've got a little expertise in that department.

Tiny bit of snow! Still hoping for a blizzard!

Time?

I was planning on heading to Maryland today to celebrate my step-son's birthday. We were taking him to lunch until my phone rang at 7:00 am requesting me to work from 12:30 to 9:30. The need for more hours made me say "yes" so hubby headed to the lunch without me. When I got to work I discovered that do to a firing of another employee I would be needed for two full shifts both Saturday and Sunday. Once again, glad for the work but would have enjoyed some time to get things done at home. Would like a little reading time, also. I'm stuck reading the same book for quite a while now.

Really bummed about the death of Andrew Wyeth. Gone at the young age of 91. We met his granddaughter this summer at the Brandywine Museum. He painted two paintings a year. Hope he was finished with his latest. Loved his work! RIP!

"The Charlemagne Pursuit"

A novel by Steve Berry. I'm almost finished with this book and am really enjoying it. Full of adventure and intrigue. Like reading a Robert Ludlum novel about Jason Bourne. Berry's character is Cotton Malone and I've read some of his other novels about him and enjoyed them. Of course, there is murder and mayhem. Lots of suspense. This one is a search for a lost civilization that was far superior to anything we can imagine having lived thousands of years ago. Cotton's father was a naval officer that died in a submarine disaster in 1971. The real story was never released and Cotton has just now learned of the cover up. He's a former intelligence agent and with his contacts he's in search of the truth. He lives in Europe and this adventure will take him to Antarctica. Not only the place of the missing civilization but the site of the lost submarine. He will determine the connection between his dead father and the lost civilization. I need to read the few novels of Berry's that I'm missing.

Horrible inclement weather! We were promised snow and as usual the weathermen were wrong. Just freezing rain! Wish I could be wrong all the time and still get paid for my job.

"Comfort Food"

I have a day off and just finished reading another Kate Jacobs novel called "Comfort Food." It was a wonderfully charming story about a kind of Martha Stewart type woman named Gus Simpson who has had a successful career as a cooking show host on the food network. After being told her show's ratings were dropping and that she needed to spice it up, life changed drastically. She's turning fifty with two grown daughters whose lives she likes to control. Now she's faced with having a show which will have a new co-host who is rather obnoxious and wants all the attention for herself. Throw in stories about her reclusive neighbor, financial pitfalls, crazy romances and it becomes a fun read. I'm thinking there might be another sequel!

It's definitely a day for staying in pajamas. The weather's inclement and I'm lucky enough to have the day off. Hurray! I'm sure there's another book to be read in the stack.