Year in review

All in all this was not the greatest of years. I won't be sorry to see the end of 2009. Losing a family member usually does throw a monkey wrench into the mix. I've got to hope that brighter days are ahead. My deceased brother's widow has already moved on to a new relationship and the kids don't seem to be overly traumatized so I should get on with it, too, I guess. Even if he wasn't a shining star in the universe he was still part of the family and is missed by me.

We were invited to my daughter's house for a New Year's party this year. I think we're going but don't know how late we'll stay. Guess I should come up with something to take along. Hmmmmmmmmm!

Patterson's latest

This is a little different twist for James Patterson. He took the Pharaoh Tut and tried to determine who killed him. He threw us back to the 1300's BC to Tut's reign, to the early 1900's for the time of Howard Carter who discovered and unearthed Tut's tomb, and to the Present Day when Patterson was writing the novel. Interesting way of writing this novel. Of course, it's speculation but it made for good read.

Well, Christmas is over and it was very nice. Nine for dinner which makes it nice since we can all sit around the table together. The gifts were exchanged and I was given a Dyson vacuum by my kids. I had hinted that my current vacuum was on it's last suck and now I'm the proud owner of a powerful monster that is sucking the dirt from the basement right up through the first floor. I still have gifts under the tree for the great grandkids but I haven't heard from them. They were to have come for Christmas night and I didn't get a call to let me know what happened. I don't think I want to keep the gifts for too long or the kids will outgrow them and they will be useless. I think everyone had a pretty good time but it was sad we didn't have the whole family together for the day.

Fun new series of books

James Patterson has written the first of probably many for the young. I enjoy his Maximum Ride series so I thought I would check out "Witch & Wizard." It's an interesting concept. A young brother and sister are part of a society that has been taken over by a New Order and they are suspected of being a witch and wizard. Until pressed into action they did not realize that they had these powers. Suddenly they are taken prisoners by the New Order and are to be executed. With their new powers manage to escape and suddenly are in charge of rescuing all the children that have been taken captive. Fun read and we'll see how Patterson and his co-author handle this new series.

Snow fell yesterday and covered us with about 15-16 inches of the white stuff. I missed a full day of work and waited nervously for hubby to make it home. I was due in to work today at 10 and our road wasn't plowed and our driveway was a mess. Hubby didn't want me to go but I felt I needed to try. I got stuck in a snow drift up to my fenders and after struggling for about 10 minutes with my 4 wheel drive, I finally managed to get it lose and backed about a 1/4 of a mile back to the house. At the entrance to the drive I found a young guy with a plow and I asked him if he'd plow our drive for $50 and he seemed thrilled. About that time a plow from the township went through and opened the road that I had just been stuck in. I made it to work and was only 8 minutes late. Now I'm sitting here well after closing time waiting for an electrican to come and fix a light fixture in the vault which could be a potential fire hazard. Due to company policy, we can't have an unequal amount of people of the opposite sex in the store so being the only parttimer with hours available, I was chosen to wait with the two department heads for the electrician whose arrival time is after 9. Of course, then he has to fix the light and it being a Sunday and probably double time, he could take all night to do the repair. In the meantime the roads are probably refreezing and I'll be crawling home. Hopefully I'll make up for some of the hours I lost yesterday.

Time is getting short and I've still got gifts to buy and food to get before Christmas. Well, really I need the food before Tuesday when my stepson and daughter-in-law show up. First of the big meals will be cooked that evening and then again on Friday. At least I have Tuesday and Wednesday off to prepare for Friday.

Geez Louise!

I'm the first one to want a ton of snow but this could be more than even I asked for. It was to start later today but when I got up this morning there is already 5 inches on the ground. Hubby is at work doing an early shift and I was scheduled for the closing shift. Doomed! Six more hours of this and I'll never get out and he'll not get back. The possibility of more than a foot of snow. Maryland may get two! Normally I would be doing back flips but not when a loved one is out there in it.

Our new chairs came yesterday and I was suspicious right from the start when I realized that one of the boxes was open. Sure enough; magic marker on both arms of one chair. My son-in-law picked them up for me to save the delivery charge and now I have to deal with the store to get another one in and pick it up. I'm not sure that I like sitting in them. They're pretty but I think we settled. My hubby knows that it's his fault we're getting these new chairs so I'm waiting for him to say that he's sorry he got them. I know it's coming!




I finished Lauren Willig's "The Temptation of the Night Jasmine." It's another sequel. Eloise is doing research for her thesis and has picked the Victorian Age spy, The Pink Carnation. Her now boyfriend is the owner of tons of diaries and letters from that era and his ancestors were spies. Through her research she provides an ongoing story of the current spy. Two stories in one. Eloise and Colin's relationship and in this one Duchess and Duke Dovedale. It's a fun historical novel.

Two more books

I need to finish two more books to make 60 for this year. I feel I've fallen behind a bit but after all there is this crazy job I'm working that keeps getting in the way of my addiction.

I went to a Holiday buffet today at my friend/former client's vineyard. She's the one who I sold the house to and then helped plant the grapes vines and harvest the grapes for many years. In fact, it's about 16 years now. She called me ages ago and asked me to get ready to list her house and then when I showed up with the numbers she decided to sell it herself. Well, just as I was once again ready to hang up my real estate license she has dangled the carrot and told me that she's having no luck selling it herself and that she will be listing with me soon. I really hate to pay out that fortune in dues that needs to be paid by the end of this year on a promise. I only stayed a couple of hours at the party since I had to come to work tonight. Hubby was working the early shift so he didn't get to go at all. Her buffet was a little disappointing. She usually puts out a nicer spread but I guess it was her ex-husband who did the majority of the cooking when they were still together. If I wouldn't have showed up with a cheese cake she wouldn't have had a dessert. I make more for Hubby and I for a regular meal then she had for about 20 people. Hope no more showed up after I left or they will be sadly disappointed.

The tree is up but not decorated. Can't seem to get to it. Boxes of decorations are sitting all over the floor but they need some magic to make it to the tree. I did get some shopping done but the gift cards I bought were supposed to down load to my computer for printing and they didn't do it. Now I guess I have to cancel them and re-purchase so I can have them sent to the house instead. What a bunch of hooey! Still have quite a few on my list to buy for. I think I'm off tomorrow so maybe I can get some more of it done.

Still

Still haven't finished my shopping; the tree is not up; the house isn't cleaned and I'm ready to tear my hair out. I hate this!




I read the latest Dean Koontz and I thought it was going to tie together at the end of the book but I feel like something is missing. There were so many character lines running that I think I missed the wrap up of a few. He spent a whole book building us up and then tried to wrap it up in a few pages and it didn't come together for me. Even woke up this morning trying to still figure it out.

A much needed day off

After a full week last week I'm grateful for a day off. Hubby has a doctor appointment early today and then we have a rare day together. We should hit the stores and try to make a dent in the Christmas shopping. I've asked for suggestions for gifts and gotten only one reply that was reasonable. I haven't even put up the tree yet and have, once again, no desire to do it. I'm sure I will but there's no rush since no one is expected until my stepson and his wife arrive on the 22nd. I'm not sure what they are expecting from us. We have our Christmas celebration on Christmas afternoon/evening and their arrival before Christmas is throwing a monkey wrench into the plans. I can't imagine having two get togethers. I guess he will have a "thing" at his mother's house where his siblings will be invited but then to see his step siblings he will have to make other arrangements. I can invite my daughter over since she lives nearby but to have everyone here would take away from the actual day. Oh the complications that have arisen. We were so spoiled by having all our chickens close by and now that's ruined. The stepson will be leaving on a plane at 6 am on Christmas morning to get to the airport to make the journey to his in-laws where they will spend Christmas this year. They are alternating the holidays between the families and that is so hard to do. My stepdaughter has informed us that she and her family will be in Florida at her in-laws this year. The older stepdaughther will be working and the remaining stepson is not being very social. Looks like our family meal will fit around one table this year.

Trying to work my way through the latest Dean Koontz novel. Very good but haven't gotten to the point where it all comes together to make sense. Like 20 different stories waiting in the wings.

Had a lovely snow fall a few days ago. Dropped an unexpected 7 inches on us but fortunately not on the roads. Didn't stick there until later in the day and by then we were pretty much home. Just a little slussy. Next morning it was a little slippy driving to work. Hearing we might get another snow later tonight. Snow usually helps put me in the spirit of the holiday but not so much yet.

Oh if only I could win the lottery!

Oh to be one of the lucky ones that wins the lottery and lives wealthy ever after! To be able to tell my current employers to "stuff it." I can't believe the changes we're again forced to endure. I just want to leave but in this crazy economy I'm stuck!




I finished Clive Cussler's latest novel, "The Wrecker." It's a new series and this was his second novel. A different concept from his normal NUMA based stories. This is about a detective with the Van Dorn detective agency and a railroad tycoon who is being plagued by a man known as "The Wrecker" who is trying to destroy the railroad's progress and divert the wealth to foreign factions. Excellent story and not a book to be put down.