Day off with Hubby

Even though I wasn't anxious to read another Carol Higgins Clark, I ended up reading her latest. "Cursed" was another of her "okay" novels but nothing gripping. They are fast reads because they have short chapters. Once again the main character is Regan Reilly and she's in pursuit of another bad guy as a private investigator. I'm not even going to post a link. I'm happy that I have the new Elizabeth Berg novel on the way to me and also the latest James Patterson and Harlan Corbin so I'm hoping they get here today.

I'm so ready for a change of shifts. Every night this week has been a nightmare at work. My coverage for dinner last night was a woman who was taken off my job when I was hired because she couldn't do the job. Immediately upon getting there she screws up a return and I was up to my eyeballs with other problems and had to juggle three problems at once. It would have been better if they would have just kept her away and I would have gotten through things smoother. At least I get a break today but then it's another week and a half of closings. I dread seeing what the next schedule has in store for me.

Tough week

With the towing of my hubby's car at the beginning of the week and the same day finding my cell phone in the washer after it had been through the wash and spin cycle I knew I should just stay in bed. Costly week! Also a long week. I took all the advice I've heard about drying out a cell phone. Taking it a part and letting it dry for at least over night. After three days it was still wet inside the screen. That's when I stuck it in a bowl of rice. It's been a week and last night it actually turned on and looked promsing. It looked good for taking a charge. This morning it went in my pocket and off to work I went. When I got there I pulled it out to call for the door to be opened and I could hear them but they couldn't hear me. I think I have to admit that it's a lost cause especially since it won't hold a charge now. Was dead till I got home. I checked out AT&T and I'm not due for a discounted upgrade until July of 2010 so I went to Amazon.com and found a cheaper version and am hoping it will work until I can do something better in a year or so.



Finished reading Mary Higgins Clark's "Just Take My Heart." I must admit that this was one of her better novels. I've read them all. It's become a habit after all these years. This one was about an assistant district attorney who gets to prosecute a man who is thought to have killed his famous wife two and a half years ago. She was a well known stage actress and was killed in her home. A small time criminal pointed a finger at the husband when he got caught breaking into a home and stealing jewelry. He made a deal by saying the husband did it. Throw in a serial killer and it was quite a nice fast read. I'm waiting for the delivery of the latest Elizabeth Berg and the latest James Patterson. I think I have time to read another Carol Higgins Clark which I found when I picked up her Mother's book last week. Fortunately there are a few other books coming, too, that should keep me busy for a week or two.

ahhhhhhhhhhh...........

I hate titles................




Just finished "Crossroads" by Belva Plain. Once again, a very good story teller only this time from good old USA. Her subjects were the very rich but drab Gwen and the very gorgeous but poor Jewel. Both suffer from jealousy and spend years hating each other for what they don't have and they other does. Gwen marries for love but poor and Jewel eventually gets her rich man only to discover that he's in love with her hated nemesis, Gwen. Oh, what a tangled web! Too bad they wasted so many years on such pettiness as they would end up learning in a very bad way. Quick and interesting read.

day off

I finally have a day off and was all set to enjoy it when I got a call from "Hubby" at 6:44 am telling me his car had broken down about 3 miles from home and he needed me to come and get him and take him to work. I threw on some clothes and was out the door in minutes. I wrapped my good winter scarf around his mirror (red) and loaded him in the Jeep and off we went to his job. Dropped him off and back I went to call AAA and wait for the tow truck to come. Finally at 9:05 he shows up to take it away. Now I'm back home and exhausted! So much for a relaxing day off before I have to go back to the grind. I ended this week with 40 hours and I'm scheduled for 40 this coming week. I wish I could keep those hours coming. Sure helps when the pay check comes out.




Finished a Carol Higgins Clark novel called "Laced." It's her typical Regan Reilly Mystery Series and this one was set in Ireland. I found the book in a bargain bin or I probably wouldn't have gotten it. It was a fun, quick read...much like her Mother's style book. I'm looking for something to read now with a little more substance. I have a stack of books as long as my arm but nothing is jumping out at me. Maybe it's my lack of time to invest in reading lately.

A wonderful Irish storyteller

I finished the latest Maeve Binchy novel, "Heart and Soul." She's a marvelous writer and has many such books to her credit. This one tells a story of family, friends, patients and staff who are part of a heart clinic in a community caught between the old and new Dublin. Dr. Clara Casey is offered a job establishing the underfunded clinic and agrees to take it on for a year. The staff she pulls together create a saga of their own. My only difficulty was remembering the names of all the characters and their roles. Her books are the kind that you are sad when they end.

Easter was very nice. We had a great dinner at my daughter's house and it included her in-laws and my son and his wife and mother-in-law. Lots of good food and too much of it. Our stomachs are bursting. Great to be home though so we can put on comfy clothes and sneak a nap.

A new job

I received a couple of ego boosting events this week. I got a second award for Customer Service on Monday and then on Wednesday my Manager called me in to give me an Operations Associate of the Month Award. This all came just as I found out that I will be moving into a bookkeeping position. With the addition of the HR assistant coordinator position that I'm doing and now this move I will be brain fried. I'm, at least, temporarily out of Customer Service once I head to the training for the new position. It's been keeping me busy with lots of hours but now that I'm back in the real estate game it's not giving me anytime to do what I need to do there. Sure hope that I can get this latest listing on the market and sold quickly. That would be heaven. The bennies for this latest job are that it's close to the restroom and I can sit more often.

Excellent read

I just finished the new novel by Jeffrey Archer called "Paths of Glory." This was an excellent read. The characters were real and unfortunately we don't know the ending so a little liberty was taken there. The novel was about George Mallory who grew up dreaming of climbing in a time when the equipment to make that endeavor easy had not been invented. He scaled the outside of walls and buildings in his youth and soon found himself on the expedition to conquer Mt. Everest. The first attempt in the early 1920's was not a success and he thought he would never get the chance again but in 1924 at the age of 37 he was back on the mountain one more time. He was last seen 600 feet from the top. His body was found in 1999 and it still remains a mystery whether he ever reached the summit. By the end of the book you'll be a believer.

"Sashenka"

This novel by Simon Montefiore takes place starting in 1916 Russia as it sits on the brink of revolution. Saskenka Zeitlin is just 16 but already she's playing a dangerous game of conspiracy. Twenty years later she's married to a powerful, rising Red leader with whom she has two children. All around her people are disappearing. She thinks she's safe because of her long time service to Stalin until she allows herself 11 days of passion outside her marriage and that's where her life and the lives of everyone she loves changes. Fifty years later her story is uncovered by a young historian who goes deep into Stalin's private archives and uncovers her heartbreaking tale of betrayal and cruelty. A great read which is similar to that of "Sophie's Choice."

I hate the expression "between a rock and hard place" but today I find myself there. I've been friend with a former client that I sold a farm to about 15 years ago. She and her husband started a vineyard (with everyone's help they could find; mine included) and every year until last year, we harvested the grapes. The marriage ended a few years ago and she bought him out and continued running the vineyard and her own successful business. A new love in her life and her busy schedule has now convinced her to sell off the vineyard and she's called me to help her out. I've been giving her real estate guidance for many years so I got the call today. Just when I was feeling comfortable about my decision to escrow my license I'm faced with having to pull it back out and find a company that will let me work part time at it. Of course I could turn her over to another agent and kiss that huge commission goodbye. Oh my! I swear I could have continued to pay my fees and dues for the rest of the year and not gotten one call and since I've cancelled my license this is my second one in two weeks. Murphy's Law! I had hoped she'd find someone to run the vineyard for her and rent the property out until she was sure of her future.

Things have picked up at my job. I got extra hours working for the scheduling coordinator who is so busy she hasn't had a vacation since she took the job. She thinks that my record of dependability speaks well for me so she wants me to fill in for her while she takes that long awaited vacation. That means learning a whole different job on top of what I already do. The extra hours are great and I do get to sit down a little at a desk but it's a little overwhelming. Hopefully I have three Mondays of working with her to get it down "pat" before she heads off. And I was silly enough to think that when I got to be this age I could start thinking about retirement.