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Barbara Fritchman Thompson Diary Week of 8 December 2003 Latest Update: Sunday, 14 December 2003 16:23 |
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Monday, 8 December 2003 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
| Be sure to visit Brian
and Marcia's pages to
see pictures of the newest addition to their family. What a cutie she is
and a very lucky girl to get adopted into the Bilbrey household.
Bob hopefully just has a very bad cold and not the flu. He started feeling bad yesterday afternoon and by last night was pretty miserable. Unfortunately I had to go to work so he could not stay in bed all day due to the dogs needing to be let out and the furnace guy already scheduled to come this morning for our winter service. This afternoon I had a hair cut appointment and needed to run by Wal-Mart on the way home. I fixed soup for him and a ham and cheese wrap for me for dinner, cleaned up the kitchen, and walked the dogs. With Bob being ill the PC that was to be built this weekend is still lying on the operating table, aka my kitchen table, waiting to be assembled. He can't work without me being home to hold parts so this may take awhile to get completed. Oh well, it could be worse, he could be an automobile mechanic. At least PC parts are clean. [Top] |
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Tuesday, 9 December 2003 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
| Bob is not any worse but still not feeling much better. I
am going out to dinner tonight with Betsy and Nancy at Salem
Tavern. Since I don't need to leave until 5:30 I can fix Bob something
to eat and play with the dogs a little before I leave.
Otherwise, not much in the news. Maybe more tomorrow. [Top] |
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Wednesday, 10 December 2003 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
| I just finished reading another of the Belle Palmer
mysteries by Canadian author Lou Allin, Bush Poodles Are Murder.
This is the third book in her Belle Palmer series. Last year I read and
reviewed Blackflies
Are Murder for Mystery Morgue. When I learned Ms. Allin had a new book
in the series I could not wait to get my hands on it. Between her
wonderful descriptions of her Canadian surroundings and her cast of
characters both human and canine, you will not want to miss reading this
series.
In Bush Poodles, Allen's closest friend and fellow co-worker at Palmer Realty, Miriam MacDonald, suddenly finds herself as the number one suspect in a murder. Miriam's been raving to Belle about how wonderful her new investment broker boyfriend, Melibee Elphinstone, is to her including giving her a wonderful chocolate brown poodle puppy as a companion. But when Mel turns up dead in his own apartment Miriam's fingerprints are the only ones found on the murder weapon. While Belle desperately tries to find the necessary evidence to clear her friend, she is being stalked by a disgruntled client. With Miriam being held for murder Belle gets stuck taking care of the poodle, who torments Belle's own dog Freya mercilessly, along with Miriam's ex-husband who has come to town to try to help solve the mystery. As things seem to continue to get out hand at every turn, Belle, finds herself in a most precarious position when she discovers who the murderer really is at the worst possible moment. When Belle and the poodle are forced to survive on their own during a howling blizzard she learns a few things about herself and poodles instincts for survival. ________________ Bob is feeling a little better but still not at his best. I just got back from the gym. It has poured rain off and on all day but appears to be clearing up.
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Thursday, 11 December 2003 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
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Bob seems to be feeling a little better today. I woke up with a cough, very much like the one I had several years ago. It has SINUS written all over it. This would be the first major sinus trouble I have had in two years. Our dinner the other night at Salem Tavern we wonderful. It took us about and hour and half to eat a very nice leisurely dinner without being rushed. I ate the grouper on a bed of spinach fettuccini noodles with chocolate amaretto pie for dessert. Good thing I went to the gym last night. This afternoon we had our Friends meeting/Christmas party. We just bring light snacks to eat during the meeting. I went straight to the library from work which means The Guys have not had much of a playtime today. [Top] |
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Friday, 12 December 2003 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
| Happy Friday everyone! Bob seems to be feeling better and
so am I. I still have the cough but otherwise feel just fine.
Earlier this week the secretary at the main library called and left me message on the machine inviting me to a retirement party for several of the staff I worked with for many years. This will be followed by the annual Christmas party. Guess I go over for a little while and visit with some of the staff I have not seen in awhile since I only go to Reynolda library. There will be some kind of food, we always did pot luck in the past when I worked there. I may eat at the party or just snack. Bob wants me to pick him up a McDonald's burger on the way home. I don't intend to stay too long. Guess I better walk the dogs before I go. Have a great weekend!
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Saturday, 13 December 2003 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
| I hung around the house this morning doing odd jobs while
waiting to hand model for the book until 10:15 when I left to go over to
my folks house for lunch and visit.
I got back around 12:30 so I could be available this afternoon when Bob needed me. Turns out he had mostly writing so I spent fours hours this afternoon working on an article I need to get off to the editors so I can get this one finished up by Christmas. The weather gods all agree we are getting some kind of frozen precipitation tonight. I varies from how much and how long but the bottom line is an ice storm of some sort. I am reading the first book in a quilting series loaned to me by Marcia when they came down for Thanksgiving. She actually bought one or more of the books in the series back in May when we were up visiting them and she took me to the mystery book store in Baltimore. Not sure in reading the first one in the series why since they are not mysteries although from reading the description of the fifth book in the series is does sound like it could be a mystery. I will let you know when I get that far. The Quilters Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini is the fist title in the series. No I don't quilt like Marcia does but she said the books were good so I decided to read them. I am almost finished with the first one and have enjoyed it. Sarah and Matt McClure moved to the small town of Waterford, PA from State College in order for Matt to start his new job. Just out of college and recently married Sarah was working as an accountant but was having little success in finding a job in her new town. Sylvia Compson, temporarily living on the large family estate Elm Creek Manor to get it ready for sale, has been quilting all her life. When Matt shows up to start the landscaping job she hired his new firm to do Sarah just happens to be with him. Sylvia mistakenly things Sarah is part of the hired help. Crusty and cantankerous, Sylvia learns she does not work with the landscaping firm but wants to hire Sarah temporarily while she looks for a permanent job. Sarah reluctantly takes the job on the condition that Sylvia teaches her to quilt. As fierce battles of will power and pride are waged the two began to come to an understanding about many things in their lives. From the beginning I liked the characters, the setting, and the plot. I always try to treat first books with some leverage as long as I can at least read and enjoy the story. And, like a lot of fiction books I read, I am also learning something about a subject I know very little about. While I have no desire nor skills to become a quilter I am enjoying learning the history and craftsmanship. [Top] |
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| Greetings from the wintry south again. Fortunately we did
not get the ice as bad as predicted over night. The ground was white when
I got up with what appeared to be sleet, perhaps a 1/4 to 1/2 and inch.
The grass tops still showed through but the the roads and sidewalks were
covered. The trees had some icing but nothing major.
After getting the house cleaned this morning I wrapped a few more gifts then fixed lunch. Bob was working on the PC for the book so I needed to be available on a moments notice. Between shots I read, finished up that article and sent it off to the editor, and finished up doing the laundry Bob started. We do have a minor problem related to the icing. The gutters on the house were installed at least ten years ago. We had been keeping them up by periodically adding those gutter nails you can buy at Lowe's. A couple of years ago one place in the back over my office window came loose but was too high for Bob to get to. We had a guy come and nail it back up for us. A couple of weeks ago I noticed when I pulled into the garage it was pouring down right there again which meant the gutter had come loose again. This afternoon I was sitting in my office and heard what I thought sounded like a big branch hitting the roof. Instead, about a ten foot section of the gutter that had worked loose pulled completely out of the eave. I had been wanting to replace the gutters with those leave guard type next year anyway to keep Bob from having to go up and blow the gutters out. Looks like we will get those installed earlier than expected. I will call a couple of gutter companies tomorrow and set up some appraisal times. I finished up the firsts book in the quilting series last night and started the last book in the Laurie King series. She has a new one coming out in April.
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