It sounds nicer in "English"

What I'm reading: Born to Run, by James Grippando

With widespread family, I do a lot of shopping on line. Much easier than going out, buying, wrapping, packing, standing in line at the Post Office, and paying extra for shipping. (I believe I mentioned it cost over $15 to send a $2.50 bag of stuffing mix to my daughter in Northern Ireland.

And, since that daughter lives in Northern Ireland, I shopped at Amazon's UK "store" for gifts for her and her husband. Today I got the notice that my order had been shipped. Only over there, they don't say that. Instead, it was dispatched, and by Royal Mail, no less. OK, I know their postal system is the Royal Mail (and I had the pleasure of chatting with one of the Royal Mail carriers when I visited England), but the Amazon email conjured up images of the Queen handing my purchases to a gallant messenger who lea onto his royal steed and gallops away to deliver the goods.


Today's Gratitude List:
1. Nice drugs for pulled back muscles
2. Thermal-Care heat wraps
3. On-line shopping

Nearest Book Experiment - Just for Fun

My daughter posted this on her Facebook page, and I thought it might be fun to do it over here. It's very simple:

1. Find the nearest book (right now, wherever you are-not a favorite book, the nearest book!).
2. Turn to page 56
3. Find the 5th sentence.
4. Copy it and add it to the comments.

I'll share some family favorite holiday recipes with one commenter. Let's play for a couple of days to give everyone a chance to share.

Mine: "Seconds later that promise was fulfilled by ten-foot iron gates." (Bones, by Jonathan Kellerman)


Today's Gratitude List:
1. The new veggie garden

2. The nice clerk at Michael's framing department, who trimmed my picture so I could fit it into a stock 16x20 frame and save the cost of custom framing -- and waived the usual fee. Maybe the cute factor of the photo helped.

3. Google Alerts for When Danger Calls. People are checking it out. Maybe they're pre-ordering. But I'm grateful just that they're looking. Honest.

Sunday's List

What I'm reading: Rules of Prey, by John Sandford

Today's Gratitude List:

1. Cool, less humid weather for "not bad" hair days
2. Hubby, my IT specialist and paddle fan light installation expert
3. Sandra's tomato-spinach soup recipe

In Memory of Mars

Life comes with tough decisions. Accepting the responsibility for the life of a pet is one of them. I've been in that situation more than once. Yesterday, our daughter and her husband were faced with the challenge of deciding whether the quality of life for one of their dogs was worth prolonging it. After many months, his condition deteriorated to the point where the decision became critical.

They put him down yesterday, at home, with his family around him. He'll be missed.

Puppy Mars, affectionately known as "Big Giant Head"


Mars and Juno - we thought she was a 'big' dog until they got Mars, who's just a puppy here.


Mars' Last Day


Today's Gratitude List
1. Pets, for the joy they can bring.
2. Susan, my massage therapist for the 'most pleasure a person can have without moving a muscle'
3. A solid night's sleep

Author Talks

What I'm reading: Tripwire, by Lee Child

First: There were some comments about the yummy chocolate cake from the restaurant: Here it is:

And, now, back to your regularly scheduled blog post:

I volunteered to give my, "How I got started writing by mistake" program for the Lake County Library System. Yesterday the coordinator emailed me to tell me they've moved the presentation to PJ's Coffee and Wine Bar. I'm very curious about the reception an unknown author will get. It's not for a couple of weeks yet, so maybe they'll be doing some heavy promotion. And, worst case scenario, the "wine bar" part of the venue offers some great options if nobody shows up, or wants to listen.

It will be interesting to compare it to tonight's program at a local indie bookstore that also serves food and beverages. Of course, Michael Connelly is a slightly bigger draw than I am. I'm really looking forward to it—to the extent that I actually went up to the bookstore last week to pre-buy the book. AND pay full hard cover retail. I've met Mr. Connelly at a conference, and he's a gracious man as well as a favorite author. He has a way of doing the dreaded "tell" in such a way that it comes across totally naturally. If I stop and think about it, all the information he presents (things that come across as info dumps when done poorly) seem totally natural. If you stop to take things apart, there's no real reason Harry Bosch would stop to think about some of the basics, but it works and never feels like it's Michael Connelly on the page. Plus, he comes from my home town, and reading his books is a trip down memory lane. Hubby's even discovered him, and is going back for more.

I realized I forgot yesterday's Gratitude Project List. Blame it on jet-lag?

Nov. 19:
1. Cold enough to make white chili
2. The budget still permits my house cleaning service.
3. An empty checkout line at Publix

Nov. 20:
1. That hubby will give up spinning to go see Michael Connelly with me.
2. Mary Jo and Bob at the Y who always have friendly smiles and make me glad I showed up.
3. Extra time to read

The dreaded homecoming

What I'm reading: Kiss and Tell, by Suzanne Brockmann

First: the picture I couldn't upload last Friday. We woke up to fluffy white stuff coming down from the sky.



Home again. Where to start? I never know what to do first. Unpack, which fills the laundry hamper. Catch up on email? Could take half a day (because I did have chances to clean out inboxes while I was away). Format photos? My son the photographer takes great ones, but he gives them to me in a HUGE format. Yes, if I want to have prints made, it's nice to have the hi-res, large dimension shots, but they're hard to share via email, web, etc. So, I put on a pot of coffee and bounce from one task to the next, never feeling like I've accomplished much.

The return trip was relatively uneventful. Hubby's learning curve is still very steep--his name was called for an upgrade on the Colorado to Atlanta leg of the flight. He comes back feeling very pleased with himself. "Did you ask where I was on the list?" I said. "No," he replied. He did go over and ask, then, and reported that there were no upgrades left. Now, it's not like he was really getting all that much: our regular seats were in an exit row, which meant sufficient legroom. We'd arrived at the airport in plenty of time, so we had lunch, so getting airline food wasn't a boon. Yes, there's free booze. Not to mention, the man falls asleep almost as soon as the plane levels off, and he can sleep in any seat on a plane. But, traveling with me, apparently, wasn't as cool as a free glass or two of wine, I guess.

His regular seat was empty, which was nice for spreading out. My row-mate was a large man. He wasn't pleased that the armrests in the exit row didn't move up--he fit, but barely. And when he asked for a seat-belt extender, he learned that the FAA will not allow their use in the exit rows. He managed to click his belt shut, but barely. Lucky he wasn't on the trip FROM Atlanta, where the air was so rough the seatbelt sign never went off. At any rate, when I explained why we had the empty seat between us, he said, "Oh, someone's in big trouble."

On the next leg, being a few people too low on the upgrade list, I took my coach seat. Not an exit row this time, but it's a 1 hour flight. Shortly before they closed the boarding door, a flight attendant came and handed me another boarding pass with a first-class seat. I grabbed my stuff and moved. I was settling in when I heard my name and turned. The man in the seat behind me was a good friend, a colleague of my husband's, and our regular Sunday at Panera buddy. Small world. (So, coincidences DO happen--don't discount all of them when you're reading a book!). Hubby was on the other side of the plane, but when we disembarked at the end of the flight, he told me he'd told the airline that unless I was upgraded along with him, he would sit in coach. Why he didn't mention this while we were waiting to board is beyond me, but that's probably hooked into the XY thing along with not comprehending why it's just fine to leave your traveling companion in coach while you imbibe up front.

Now it's back to catching up on routines.

Today's Gratitude List:
1. Safe travel
2. Elissa's chicken artichoke recipe
3. Cool weather at home

Homeward bound

We'll be off to the airport shortly.  Delta is teasing us with 'standby' status for an upgrade.  It's one of those last-minute things, so we won't know until we're ready to check in.  We'll have to see what hubby does this time if he's bumped up without me.  Used to be people who booked flights together were kept together, but no more, and his frequent flyer status is a level above mine.

Having family so far away, especially with a new grandson is a challenge, but we certainly made the most of our short visit.  

Last night, we had fun with raclette.  I don't know if one says, 'eating raclette' or 'making raclette' or 'doing raclette', but it was yummy.  

It was a short trip, but a busy one. Let's hope I can post some happy airline experiences on my gratitude list tomorrow.  And once I'm back on my computer, I'll be able to do things like post pictures and change font colors.  Blogger and Safari seem to have issues.  

Today's Gratitude List:

1.  Seeing a deer in the parking lot of the deli while we were having breakfast.

2. That hubby had fun on the range on his birthday.

3. Time spent with Joey, seeing how much he's changed in the last 5 months.