Final Letter of 2015

Dear Fabulous Few,

It has been a week ... Funny how quickly the time has moved since we got Christmas out of the way! 

Monday DH took Jack and Jill in for their annual drain on the budget. To hear him tell it, things got a little hairy. Neither dog was impressed by their visit. Jill got terrified and escaped her halter, spreading her stool sample all over the office. Meanwhile Jack was off in a different direction. Guess they have some new vaccine(?) that goes in their nose - Jack growled at the woman and Jill wasn't wanting any part of it. At least the ride report was a good one!

Since all the wind and rain has slacked off, the birds are back. It's mostly cardinals right now. It's nice to see that red flashing out there in the ruins of Sparrow Hall and my window sill.

Father and Son went to see the new Star Wars movie yesterday, in Huntsville. Senior discount was a whole 50 cents! Wow, how generous is that? I guess they had a good time and went out to eat as well. They played with the wii some more before son went home. (Glad to see it being used for a change)

DH is shopping - finding the Christmas things he missed before. Stollen, three kinds. Wonder what else he will find? Nothing quite as good as a thick slice of stollen, toasted and smothered with real butter, and then chased by some good hot chocolate.

No real plans for tonight, maybe a glass (small) of wine before we turn in early. There will be no reflecting on the past year - I can't remember half of it anyway. 

Wishing you and yours a healthy and happy year to come. I'm sure we will have more of the same ... Stay warm, stay safe!
 

Wrapping up Christmas

Typical Tennessee winter weather patterns - warm is wet and cold is clear. It's showing up pretty clear in our future, time to throw another dog on the bed for the New Year! (Actually, she climbs up by herself and snuggles under the top blanket.)

 

 

 

 

DH found the part for his drone yesterday. He will have to bundle up next week to fly it. Today, he's busy with a free preview of some (old westerns) channel. Son picked up Tiger Woods 10 for the wii yesterday, and he's into that too. Do these boys ever grow up?

We still have a table full of cookies, cakes and candies. Hard to believe I am almost sick of that stuff. LOL. I will say, I had about the best Christmas that I've had in years. Good visits with great company. The dogs had a blast - they even came out of hiding when J and his family came and didn't mind the weather. DH grilled twice and our youngest stayed from Christmas Eve until yesterday. By last night, I was shot, but it was a good shot.

Have a great week!

First Flight Glitch

 Picking up the pieces ...

There's a piece ...

Said it went faster than he thought it would. He just had to try it out. It landed in a tree and needed help to get down.

Little boys and their toys!

Have a Merry Christmas!

Hungry Visitors

A few days ago, I was telling a friend that I thought we might need to mow the yard. Some of the grass is growing. I guess somebody noticed and they came to chow down.

Very Interesting!

5 Girls came to partake!

 

Can't tell a book ...

Disclaimer: The opinions on this post are just the ramblings of an old lady, not to be taken seriously, not really.

You know by now that I have been making good use of my Kindle Unlimited. Have not kept track of the titles - too many. Some of them are novellas and some are longer and some are continuing books. 

When I was writing, I was informed that you must have a great cover, well ... That is not always true, as my selections have proved. Some great covers are just that, and content is mediocre. The same can be said for the other way around.

Most of what I have been reading this past week or two have been about mail-order-brides of the west. I never did any research on how much time it took to get from cities on the east coast to various points west, but by some of the stories, neither did the authors. The timelines were so widely varied - somebody was way off. I tried not to think about it.

Some books touted a bride story, and then they were short with an added story - not related, not even the same time frame, and not even something I was interested in. I felt cheated, somehow. I know that I shouldn't feel that way because it was free, but was time I wouldn't get back, you know?

I always worried that I had my punctuation wrong, maybe too many commas. Try reading a book with no commas. Long, run together sentences, which could be read differently. The small writer in me was proofing the whole read and guessing what she had to say.

Spelling. OMG, a proofreader would have made the world of difference to some of the books I read. What was their hurry? The glaring homophones - wow, it was the comedic relief in some rather boring reading. I will take back saying that anyone can write a book.

I did read a lot of good stories that put a person right in the middle of the smoke-filled sod dugout or log cabin. Their lives felt real.

O ~ O ~ O ~ O ~

Jack and Jill both need batteries for their collars. The radio controls are blinking like Rudolph. DH will (hopefully) bring home new batteries after work. Jill seems oblivious, but Jack acts like its a bomb and is acting worried.

We are having a beautiful day, the sun is shining and yesterday's gloom and rain are a thing of the past (for now). Rain is forecast for Christmas, but that can always change, this is Tennessee after all.

Have a great day!

 

 

My Only Hurrah

The humbug is back - ended up having to call for addresses. Poo.

Well, it's over, no one can tell me online shopping is easy, nope. Each website has its own little rules and idiosyncrasies. It wouldn't be bad if they told you the rules to start with, you know? Even a bleep arrow on the page.

What to do first, second, third etc. would have been really nice. I was up until 2:00 a.m. last night, ready to tear my hair out. Then another three hours this evening. Let me tell you - I'm not finished, but I am so DONE. 

I spent so much more than I planned. When DH sees the bills, he's gonna go, "Whoa!" I am just happy that I managed to find the little clicky things to get the free shipping. I knew this would go against the grain (mine). The thing that didn't help was dragging it out too long to get the cheaper (ROFLMAO) gifts. Well, that's as far as I'm going with this HoHoHo thing. (I will, however, enjoy the raspberry jelly filled chocolates on Christmas Eve.)

Christmas, Technology, & Telephones

I sat here today, ready to get this Christmas thing done. Catalogs on hand with a slight notion of what I was going to order. I had the computer warmed up, primed to do my worst. First, I would need to get everyone's address, right? 

Seems everyone has moved, changed their phone number, or did what we ourselves did - disconnected from those troublesome land lines. The landlines that had people's addresses attached to their phone numbers. The white pages are totally useless to me now. I could not find a single address that I didn't already have.

I didn't want to have to call and ask for addresses, they would know what the Grinch was up to. That would totally blow the whole thing and take all the fun out of it. So now I am at a complete standstill. I absolutely can't send to the ones I have the addresses for and ignore the ones I don't - that's just not done.

I feel the Grinch moving back in - the fun is leaving quickly. Somehow, I knew this computer thing was going to nip me in the butt sooner or later and I can't really say anything because I am not in the phone book either. If anyone is looking for MY address they are going to find bupkiss. Not that I want anything - I have more stuff than I know what to do with.

I think I am bleeped until they come up with a phone book for cell phones or something. If anyone has an idea how to get accurate addresses without my calling and asking ... Please let me know before it's too late!

It seems Grandma can't get information, but Fannie May and everyone else can. Nothing like getting old and out of the loop.

"Whatcha doin'?"

Okay, I am always a day late and a dollar short - I was going to take pictures yesterday for wordless Wednesday, but it was raining. Sue me. I have taken to feeding my birds on the window sill. Most pictures (as usual) don't pan out, but I thought these little friends were post worthy. It's kinda nice to look up from my reading to see somebody watching me.

Rabbit Hole Reading

I am enjoying the Kindle unlimited so far. I believe it's worth it. This past week I read the 4 books(sections) of Mabel Crowley By E. H. Nolan. Set just before WW1 until near the end of WW2. A Young woman's story of life in Great Britain to middle age and how things can get screwed up. I am no reviewer, but I did enjoy reading this to it's satisfying ending. 4-5* Needs Kleenex. Well Written.

I also read the Montana Sky Series - basic six books - written by Debra Holland. Set in later 1800s, about the various lives of families settling in a small Montana town over decade or so. They read as separate novellas, but start at the beginning as some of the characters are mentioned as you read along in the other stories. I found this under romance, western, historical - fiction. All nice clean stories. 4-5* Well Written.

Also, counted but time I can't get back - Wool, and a couple of mail-order-groom pap - unrated.

I try to read nice clean fiction. If I see 'bulging' or such - I don't finish reading. I figure that I have a good enough imagination and I don't have a need to read the sordid details. I read for the story, not for structure, although if anything is too bad, it's a waste of time. I find other folk's flaws before I can spot mine. LOL.

Have a good week!