11/30/22
Filed under:
General
Posted by:
Ann @ 10:50 pm
Tis the season… a reminder IF any of you have not read my Christmas novel, Pressure Cooker Christmas, this might be the year to read it. It will give your holiday spirit a boost, a few laughs and help your get back to the true meaning of the season which is sometimes lost in the hustle of the season preparations.
We’ve had another super busy month. (Our tech problems have continued. More about that later.) We’ve enjoyed the comings and goings of family and friends in and out of our home. Thanksgiving was special this year; we hosted 17 around our dining room table for Thanksgiving dinner this year, six of those were great grandchildren between the ages of 4 and 12. So much energy and fun! Our youngest son came with his family of five more after dinner for desserts - and even brought dessert with them. Can’t beat that! We are blessed.
The family hunters have had a productive year, there will plenty of venison for any of us who want it. We’ve completed our Christmas decorating inside and out. Whew, what a marathon that always is. Most of our shopping is done, I shop for bargains all year since we have such a large family. And of course, I save each week in a Christmas Club at the bank, the interest is pathetic but it is still nice to get a check for extra shopping each November. However, most of the wrapping is NOT done, that will be my next project. I covered all my rhododendron plants with burlap this year to try to save them from the deer during the winter. Last year they nearly destroyed them. In fact, I planted four new bushes last summer.
My Facebook page was hacked early in November. It was a terrible shock to see my photo and the Facebook banner of my books being misrepresented as me trying to scam some of my readers to sign up for a fake grant. I’m so appreciative of the young woman who contacted me to see if I was writing those out- of-character messages… she contacted Facebook, and I did too. Within a couple days the fake page was closed.
Our house alarm malfunctioned big time the weekend before Thanksgiving.To make a long story short, our very loud alarm started to blast the neighborhood for hours in the middle of the night, the police made a midnight visit - shining flashlights in our windows. (One of our neighbors called the police, worried that something must be very wrong at our house.) After the police finally quieted the monster, they told me if it started again to call 911 to let them know it was a malfunctioning alarm. At 6:30 in the morning it started again. I called 911, and they asked, “Is this Ann?” (Small towns, you gotta love them!) I called the alarm company several times during the fiasco and finally several hours later with the help of a skilled technician, we got it stopped. We owe some mighty big apologies to the neighbors, it was so embarrassing.
I’ve read only three novels this month:
The Music Box by Mary Bryan Stafford. Historical Fiction. 2022. High River Publishing. This is an unusual Civil War story about two women who are married to brothers. They struggle to keep their Texas farm going while both their husbands fight in the Civil War. One fights for the north and the other for the south. Neither woman has a real sister, and they’re opposites in personalities, dispositions and backgrounds. Their relationship with each other evolves to one of true sisterhood and mutual respect as the plot unfolds in many surprising paths. It was an unforgettable story. StoryCircle.org sent me this novel to review. You can read the review by clicking: https://www.storycircle.org/book_review/the-music-box/
The Messy Lives of Book People by Phaedra Patrick. Fiction. 2022. Park Row Books - Canada. I enjoyed reading this novel, though it was not at all what I expected; it was much better. The plot twists and great character development kept me turning the pages. From the back cover: “The house cleaner of a famous author must carry out her employer’s shocking last wish…” if you are a book lover, this one might be just your cup of tea.
A New York Christmas by Anne Perry. Historical Fiction. 2014. Ballantine Books. I can’t help it, I always have to read a Christmas novel or two each holiday season. I read this novel in one evening and enjoyed it immensely. It is set in 1904, a well planned wedding between two of the wealthiest families in the world is to take place in New York City’s high society. A beautiful young British bride-to-be is enthralled with her fiance, as she travels across the Atlantic with her chaperone; she expects to live happily ever after with her beloved. This story is a great example of life happening while we’re busy making other plans. This prolific author has written dozens of crime and mystery novels; 24 of them happen to be Christmas mysteries. I definitely plan to read more of her work.
We’ve watched a few okay but not worth mentioning movies. We finished watching the Madam Secretary series, loved the charters and the story line.
Till next time. Stay safe, enjoy the holiday season, and keep reading my friends
Later, Ann
Leave a Reply