Two more

I've had lots of time to read since I'm basically bed bound. I will be venturing out this morning to see the dreaded neurosurgeon again. I guess this time he won't be giving me encouragement because I'm doing so much better. Oh Boy! I had to beg for an appointment.

I read a Maeve Binchy book called "Star Sullivan." Very short book and once again a wonderful story by the Irish author. Star just wanted everyone to be happy - wanted her father to stop gambling, her mother not to work so hard, her brother to stay out of trouble, her sister to stop worrying about her weight. This was life for her until Laddy moved in next door and everything began to change. She was no longer the sweet, thoughtful girl everyone loved and no one worried about.

I also read James Patterson's "7th Heaven." Talk about a short read! My husband brought it home to me about 4:00 and I finished it by midnight with several naps in between. Patterson could save paper if he wrote longer chapters. This one was about the Women's Murder Club (four women who join forces to solve the crimes) and there were two story lines going at the same time. A serial arsonist/murderer and the disappearance of a former governor's son. A typical Patterson page turner.

We got a dusting of snow this morning. Just enough to make it miserable to drive and not enough to keep me home.

Berg Again

Since I'm back to being immobile (sans medication) I got to read Elizabeth Berg's "Talk Before Sleep." It's a book of friendship through the best and worst that life can dish out. Just 210 pages!

I still haven't been out to get the Patterson book so I'll have to resort to the stack I've got in reserve.

Well worth the read

I finished Stephen King early this morning. The pain in the "neck/shoulder" got me awake very early and I had to resort to more than Tylenol to ease it. I must admit that until about 3/4 of the way through the book it wasn't too bizarre. The last part was really freaky and so typical of his writing. Definitely brought back the days of his novels of the 80's and early 90's. The character is Edgar and he's suffered a horrible accident on a job site of his construction company. His truck is crushed by a crane and he's trapped inside with severe head injuries, broken ribs, crushed arm and hip. He loses the arm but survives with much therapy. He's thinking and memory are affected, also he has trouble controlling his anger, but it's hoped in time that all this will improve. His business is very successful and there's plenty of money to take the time off he needs. Unfortunately his wife is afraid of the new him and she divorces him. It's recommended by his psychiatrist that he take a year and go off to a different location and life and try something he might enjoy. He dabbled in cartooning as a kid and thought he'd give sketching and painting a try. He rents a house on the Gulf in the Keys in Florida and that's where his new life begins. Rehabilitation is difficult but he struggles through. His art work is a "hit." Is the island the reason? Is there something there that is taking control? Does his elderly neighbor have something to do with it? Definitely worth reading this one!

Might have to hold off on getting my James Patterson for a few days until I'm feeling better. I do have other books to read. I'll just need to pick something that won't take too long so I can be ready when I get the new one.

Pain again!

I was sleeping soundly when I must have turned wrong and then there was this horrible pain shooting down my arm. Whatever happened, I awakened the sleeping herniated disk and it's back with a vengence. I should have knocked on wood yesterday when I was telling someone how much better I felt recently. That'll teach me! Getting awake in the middle of the night and resorting to reading is usually a good thing. Reading Stephen King in the middle of the night is not! Scary! I'm on page 471 of the over 600 pages and it's getting to the point when you don't want to continue but you have to. Don't think night time reading is a good thing till I've finished this book.

I got my first real estate inquiry tonight at the office. I've done about 10 duties so far since I've returned to this agency and nothing. This will probably be nothing but at least the phone rang. I listed my daughter's house last night and there's a showing set up for it already. That's a good sign! Maybe Spring will improve the market even though that's not what my gut is telling me.

Getting ready to close the office and head home but a little side trip to the Chinese restaurant is in order. Happy New Year to my Chinese friends! It's the year of the Rat and that's my sign so I must celebrate.

Winter blahs!

It's so depressing when you look outside and see nothing green. Just brown and gray. I just want a wonderful blizzard of about 3 feet to cover everything and make it fresh. My friend in Michigan writes that they've had 60 inches of snow already and it's almost a daily event. I'll take it! Of course, it would be tough to shovel with the neck and shoulder thing but hopefully I'd be prepared and willing to sit around till it melted. Not like the career I've chosen is something that causes me to have to be out and about in bad weather.

I'm about midway through the Stephen King novel "Duma Key" and it's great! He's definitely back in the saddle. Unless it ends badly, that is. It's a page turner for sure. Taking a little while to read because it's a rather big book. I have to finish it since there's a James Patterson coming out tomorrow and I always like to get it and read it right away. Might be a few days this time before I can get to it.

A day out

I took an afternoon trip to a couple of local yarn shops yesterday. A former client and now friend asked me to go to a new shop that opened recently not far from where I live and off we went. The shop is rather small and was very expensive. A small selection of yarn was available but I was assured that the owner could get whatever we wanted quickly. After leaving there we went to a more established shop a little further away. This one was huge! The offered weaving lessons and looms to use during the training. I'd always thought I'd like to give it a try but after checking out the prices on the looms and seeing tags with amounts close to $5000 I decided that it might not be something I should fall in love with. My great great great grandfather was a rather famous weaver in Pennsylvania. There's even a book published with his patterns. The selection of yarns and threads at this shop was mind boggling. I wanted to bring tons of it home. It's been a little while since I've knitted or crochetted and I was itching to make something. Too many choices! The friend with me is an avid knitter and quilter (which is something that I never had a desire to try). I do enjoy knitting and decided on trying out some of the new yarns on some new patterns of scarves.

I finished Maeve Binchy's "Light a Penny Candle." I've read her quite often and always enjoy her books. A wonderful Irish author! This book was written in 1982 and somehow I'd missed it. Once again the story started with WWII and the setting was London. A child was being evacuated to Ireland to live with Irish friends to keep her safe from the war. At the age of 10 she went from living with her rather remote parents to a family full of children in a strange country. She and the Irish daughter became best of friends. After 5 years in Ireland she returns to London to try to live with her parents. It wasn't long till her mother left them and sought a new life with a new man. The daughter stayed with the father and at 15 became the housekeeper. She finished school and then college. Her friend in Ireland barely finished school and went on to secretarial school. Over the years there were few chances for visits between the two girls but through trials and mistakes they made in their lives they were brought back to the closeness they had shared for those early years. A great story of friendship even with differences in background and religion.

Wonderful Story

I quickly finished Elizabeth Berg's "Dream When You're Feeling Blue." A story of a large family set in Chicago during WWII. It was about their lives while the war was going on and what they did while their loved ones were away in Europe or the Pacific. About their sacrifices for the war effort and the job the oldest daughter took in the factory to feel she was doing her part in some way. How the sisters spent their evenings at the servicemen's club helping keep up the morale of the soldiers passing through or simply writing to many of them while they did their duty for their country. Also, what those years did to change their lives and make them so very different. Hated to see the book end. Beautifully written as all Elizabeth Berg's novels are.

I haven't read Stephen King novels in quite a few years. He was hurt in an accident back in 1999 and after that I just couldn't enjoy his books any longer. His writing seemed to suffer just like he did. I started two of the books he wrote back then and just couldn't finish them. I saw an interview this morning on the TODAY Show and I understand his latest one is getting rave reviews. Compared it to his novel, "It", from 20 years ago, which I loved. I might have to give Stephen another chance. He promised to scare the reader especially if it's read late at night. I'm not rushing out to buy it but if I see it along the way I'll give it a try. I have plenty of books stockpiled now to see me through a few months. Not to mention the ones that are coming out soon that I'll just have to have.