Much to be Thankful For

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone, which means the frantic pace will pick up as we head towards Christmas. In light of everything going on in the world around us, I find we have much to be thankful for in our lives. Both of our children are happy and healthy, as are Jim and I, and the businesses are doing well. My long term goal of writing a book was accomplished this year, we took a fantastic trip with Andy and Megan, and we will all be together for Christmas. So this year I give thanks for all the blessings we are surrounded by.

Stocking Up For Christmas

One of the bonus items of going to see my in-laws last weekend is that it forced us into getting our Christmas shopping done - at least for them. It feels really good to say I have that side of the family finished. I've been picking up a few things here and there, and the kids have been sending ideas our way. It shouldn't be too hard to finish things up. What has been time-consuming is the stocking I am making for Megan. I hand made felt stockings for the four of us years ago - the kind with all the beads and sequins on them. Andy had requested that I make one for Megan to go with his.

Her stocking is called "The Procession", so it has Mary on the donkey holding Jesus, with Joseph and the three wise men walking along with her. Oh, and an angel and star for good measure. In the years since I made our stockings, Bucilla (the manufacturer) has added a lot more pieces to the kits. Or perhaps I picked the one with the most pieces. All those little faces and hands to be embroidered and stuffed. Thank God for cheater readers! I've been working on it here and there, and finally realized I had better kick it into gear if I have hopes of her getting it for Christmas in 2009. I worked on it for about 5 hours yesterday and will try to do the same today. Needless to say, I won't be working on any new quilts for the time being!

...to Grandmother's House We Go

We are heading up to see the in-laws for a few days. This is an off year, so we won't see them for the holidays. Since they haven't been here since Katie's graduation, we are overdue for a visit. I have my homemade pickles and peach butter packed to take along, which puts me in position of being the favorite daughter-in-law. Wait...I'm the only daughter-in-law...but no matter, they truly appreciate my canning efforts so I enjoy sharing with them.

Kirby just had a bath this morning, with the bonus that he gave me a shower. He'll smell nice and fresh in the car now. He is a bit of an anxious car rider, so I think I'll give him a small dose of Benydryl to help calm him. He's not bad, he sits on the passenger's lap, but he's squirmy and pants heavily which gets annoying after the first hour. He always acts like we are going to drop him off somewhere.

I have sold a couple more books this week, and my printer has pretty much fired me after I dared to complain about 44 of the newly printed books having streaks of black across the pages. Now I'll have to scurry to find a new printer so that I have an adequate supply of books for my December book signings. It's always something...

Goodnight, Moon

I took this picture of the full moon last week, and I feel like sitting here howling at it. My books are still at the printer. "Supposedly" I can pick them up tomorrow morning. If you want to know the whole, sordid tale check out my other blog writeformation.blogspot.com. I may be going back to the local bookstore and taking their copies back to have on hand Sunday. I think I'll put a section for printing companies on my peopleareshit.com website.

In the good news category, aforementioned bookstore has sold several copies of the book, I have my business cards printed, the Webster-Kirkwood Times mentioned my book signing in the Calendar section and my book was discussed on the examiner.com website located at http://tinyurl.com/yjtzn6k so positive things happened this week as well.

As I was driving down to the printers for the third time this week I was struck by the irony that as I passed the Johnny Brock's Halloween billboard on I-44 the radio was playing "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". Remember when the Christmas carols and decorations became pronounced after Thanksgiving?

It's Tuesday and I Know Where My Books Are

Yesterday I picked up my books at the printer. As the boxes were too heavy to carry in, I brought an armful in with me to admire. As I set them on the kitchen counter, I noticed an unnatural wave in the sides of each of the books. It looked as though the books had been exposed to humidity. When my husband came home, he confirmed that the books did not look right. Of course that ruined my sleep last night. I kept worrying about the books. If they all had to go back, how in the world am I supposed to do a book signing on Sunday? At 4:30 this morning I gave up and read my new Nora Roberts book. Nothing like some good sex scenes to take your mind off your troubles!

I called my production manager at the printers at 8:30 this morning and broke the news that we have a problem. He asked me to bring all the books back, which I did. They will try to use a dehumidifier on the books, and if that doesn't work they will reprint all of them. I reminded him of my book signing, and he said he will have all the books ready by Friday at the latest.

For a followup on the silver lining to this big, black cloud, see my new blog about writing and publishing my first book at writeformation.blogspot.com.