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Barbara
Fritchman Thompson Diary
Week
of 9 April 2007
Latest Update: Sunday, 15 April 2007 1:00 p.m.
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Monday, 9
April 2007
Happy
Monday. It was a rather uneventful one. Work has slowed back down to a
normal pace again. I am grinding away at projects. It was still cool
when I walked at lunch time. With the partly cloudy skies, temperatures
in the high 40's and slight breeze it was not very pleasant.
I am taking a break from reading mysteries again to read the second
book in the Big Stone Gap series by Adriana Trigiani. In Big Cherry
Holler, eight years have passed since the first book. Ave Maria and
Jack MacChesney had two children shortly after they were married but
lost their second child, a son, at four years of age. As with the first
book, Trigiani paints small town life in a mining town in rural
Virginia. Jack has lost his job after the mine are closed down. Jack
and Ave seem to be drifting apart rather than coming closer together.
The lose of their son, raising their daughter, and dealing with Jack's
loss of this job are taking their toll on Ave.
As I mentioned in talking about the first book, Trigiani is an
excellent writer. Each of her main characters brings something special
to the plot line and development of the story. Her books are definitely
for female readers only but don't be mistaken by that endorsement. They
are neither sappy nor light and fluffy but instead offer a fictionalize
look at everyday life and relationships through Ave's eyes.
Every once in a while I have a bad dream which results in me screaming
in my sleep. Last night I don't what the dream was about but I do
remember screaming just before Bob was telling me everything was okay.
Bob said as soon as I let out me scream Malcolm came flying through the
air and up on the bed to protect me from whatever it was that was
getting me. My folks and my sister are scared of Malcolm because he
growls when Duncan comes to close to them. They don't understand just
how protective he is and that he would put his body in front of anyone,
dog or human, trying to hurt a person. He is a very brave dog.
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Tuesday, 10 April 2007
Each year during the first two weeks in April
The Firm holds staff appreciation lunches. We sign up for the day we
want to attend. It take about four or five different days to everyone.
They seat six to a table and the room holds about 10 or 12 tables.
During this time we also get a small gift of some kind with the Womble
logo. In the past we have received the gift on at a different time but
this year they passed them out to us during the lunch. Steve, Drew, and
I went today. They the food is catered and the attorneys serve as the
wait staff. After we go through the buffet line a waiting attorney
takes our tray to the table. They also serve dessert and coffee. Tea
and water are on the tables as is a vase with six roses or carnations,
one for each person to take when we finish eating.
I mowed the lawn when I got home. Once again, by the time we eat and
walk the dogs it is almost 8 or after by the time I get my mail checked
and my page updated. The same holds true when I go to the gym or the
store or whatever after dinner. Since I try to go to bed by 9 or 9:30
to have some reading and relaxing time it leaves very little of the
evening hours free between dinner and bed time.
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Wednesday, 11 April 2007
It has been a cold and rainy day. My friend
Bonnie came uptown to have lunch. It was pretty nasty out with wind and
rain so we just ate at the restaurant in my building. They have good
food, wraps, sandwiches and salads. They always have a special or two
going each day but otherwise the menu does not vary.
I was lightly drizzling when I left work and had almost stopped by the
time I made it to the gym. We had about .22 or .28 when I got home from
work. When we got back in from walking the dogs after dinner it had
gone up to .32 and coming down pretty steady. We need the rain to wash
the tree pollen out of the air and off every darn surface it can hit.
Everything is or was yellow.
With my lunch times tied up the last few days I have had less reading
time. I hope to finish the Big Stone Gap book tonight but that will
depend on how long I can stay awake.
Malcolm has always been as sneaky thief since he was a puppy. I always
knew when he had stolen a towel out of the basket or something from my
office because he always leaves something in its place. It may be a
ball or one of his other toys like a rope or a chew bone. At the gym,
when I went to take my Muvo from the side pocket of my gym bag I found
a ball in there. When I come home from the gym I take my bag back to
the bedroom to unpack my work clothing and shoes. I think he traded me
the ball for my gym towel on Monday since I could not find anything
missing in the side pocket tonight. When he was little he could unzip
my old gym bag, it had a top zipper with his teeth. He used to steal my
workout gloves all the time. He loves to play with gym towel. If I have
a bandanna in my pocket from working in the yard he will jump up and
steal it from my pocket.
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Thursday, 12 April 2007
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Spring has arrived again, at least for a
couple of days. We had one loud clap of thunder last night which set
off Malcolm's barker but I don't think Duncan even noticed.
It was cool and foggy this morning but by the time I left work at 4 it
had warmed up to 70 degrees. The winds are blowing with 25 to 30 mph
gusts which once again has yellow pollen blowing all over the place
from the trees. Those little oak tree helicopter's are all over the
place. Other than full leave season this is the one time I am very
thankful for our new gutters and gutter tops. Those darn seeds would
fill up the gutters. They rotted very quickly so that by the time Bob
blew them out there was a stinky, gooey mess blown down the sides of
the gutter and on the ground.
I left at 4 for my monthly Friends of the Library meeting. We have a lot going on with our book just two weeks away.
Last night I started a new Janet Evanovich, Plum Lovin'. This is a
between numbers Stephanie Plum book sort of tied in with Valentines
Day. Stephnie's third man in who appears off and on in her life,
Diesel has made another appearance. He has offered to deliver a large
bounty in the name of Annie Hart if he takes over her job of match
making. Diesel and Stephanie take Annie's list of five men and women
who need cupids to help with their love life.
As usual, Evanovich provides lots of slap stick humor with Lula.
Stephanie is dog sitting Joe Morelli's big goofy dog Bob who gets to
play a pretty big role in the storyline. Bob loves to eat
anything including furniture, toilet paper roles, etc. He also slobbers
a lot. Plum Lovin' gives Evanovich readers a short dose, the book is
very short and reads very quickly, of her off the cuff jokes and humor
for some good out loud laughter while reading.
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Friday, 13 April 2007
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Saturday, 14 March 2007
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Last night after work I had to make a
Wal-Mart run. I hate going out there on a Friday night but I did not
want to waste a good portion of my Saturday morning . I saved the
weekly grocery shopping instead of stopping Thursday night after
my Friends meeting.
By the time I got home, ate a sandwich and fed and walked the dogs I
was too tired to even check my mail. I finished reading the Stephanie
Plum and started another J. A. Jance, Joanna Brady.
Bob and the dogs let me sleep in until about 8:30. As soon as I read
the paper and ate breakfast I started painting. The doors, baseboards
and chair rail in both the hall and foyer are finished. The trim around
the doors down the hall will need a second coat. This morning I painted
until about noon then took the dogs out. There were a couple of things
I needed to do in the yard which gave the guys a chance to run around
and get some fun time in. After a quick lunch I started back stopping
about 2:30.
It has warmed up to about 70 this afternoon after a cool start to the
morning. We are supposed to get storms tonight and tomorrow.
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Sunday, 15 April 2007
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I tend to have a Border Collie type
personality. I want to work all the time, doing something. I pretty
hard Monday - Friday then go to the gym at night, do the shopping, run
errands, etc. I have spent almost every weekend since the first of the
year painting plus doing the usual house work and other chores.
And, between dad's eye surgery and the weather there have been very few
Sunday morning golf outings, this morning included. We only got a
little under half an inch of rain during the night
picking up a little more this morning. The skies have now turned very
dark with rumbles of thunder and we are under tornado watch until 8pm
this evening.
This morning I intended to do a quick weekly house cleaning, rehang the
pictures in the hall and foyer and then put second coats of paint on
the trim and door plus do the ones downstairs. As I finished up the
vacuuming and picture hanging I realized how tired I was already. So, I
shall take the afternoon off. I have a few things to do at my desk but
will otherwise be a true couch potato. I may even...gasp...take a nap.
Last night I finished up the J.A. Jance. Not sure what I will start next.
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Copyright
© 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
by
Barbara
Fritchman
Thompson. All Rights Reserved.