General Thoughts

Though Thanksgiving has come and gone, I'm suffering from Holiday Brain. I guess this is where I'm tricked into thinking there's more relevance to the subsequent days than there really is, and it makes me unfocused. And so it's a struggle to get back into blogging.

But! I have an easy one for today.

We spent yesterday decorating our tree and all, but also moving furniture in from the garage and finally starting the process of making our house feel like a home. [Though there's still some finish work yet to be done. *sigh*] You'll not be surprised to hear I spent a lot of time getting my "reading and writing nook" just.right. Though there's more to this space that I'll show you another time, for today I have two pictures.

Here's my desk! At first glance, it just looks like an old table. But the story behind it is that this was my mother-in-law's college desk. She passed away in 2003, and that I can use it as my own is a special thing... Just picture me sitting here, putting that BIC (butt-in-chair) writing technique to use. So exciting! (You may notice the cap on the balcony wall and the beam to the left are still light - they'll be stained to match the redwood.)

And... drum roll please... my reading chair! Remember I told you misterwrites wasn't too fond of the chair? Last night I found him sitting in it. He said, "I like this nice, cozy place you've made here." He'd better not get too comfortable...

Oh! And I did tell a couple of buddies I'd show the living room with its new carpet. So here's a bonus picture of our tree.

Hope you have a great weekend! Our family's going to attempt ice skating tonight. Wish me no broken bones or injured parts. :)

Panic

It was horrible.

My fingers began to shake. My heart began to thunder. I couldn't breathe. I panicked.

My internet wasn't working.

I was gone the majority of yesterday* and, upon returning home in the evening, discovered our internet service was down. I tried the whole rigamarole: Resetting the modem. Shutting down and restarting the computer. Launching a sharp pen at the monitor. Nothing worked. NOTHING WORKED.

I was frustrated, as I always am when I can't get online the instant I want to. But I took it as a sign that I didn't need to be occupying myself in such a way, and moved on to other things. And I figured my computer-genius husband could make it all better when he got home.

Not quite. So much for his genius.

The same happened this morning, and it took a call to our internet service provider (which I really, really dislike) to sort it out. After confirming my phone number eight times (Yes! That's my number!) and being told our access password was "Q... U... A...--" (Yes. That's my name, and I do know how to spell it. Thankyouverymuch.), the problem was targeted.

I followed their directions, and now we're back up! Whew. I couldn't have gone all day without internet.

Well, maybe if I chose to do so. Really. I could have.

But it wasn't my choice today.

***

I hope everyone has a warm and blessed Thanksgiving. May you feel the love of your family and friends, even if you're far from home, and be aware of all for which you can give thanks.



*Some friends lost their son last week, and yesterday was the funeral. I will remain steadfast in my prayers for his family as they continue on after this tragedy. In his honor...

precious FLETCHER

born 8-9-2008 ... entered into rest 11-20-2008

Chris and Laura, we love you.

Loot!

If you remember from my post last week, I won MommaSaid's Housewife Award. I'd not bring it up again, except that my goodies came in the mail yesterday!

Seriously, it's probably one of the only certificates I've gotten as an adult, and who can go wrong with a FREE paperback? The book is Murder Takes the Cake, a cozy mystery by Gayle Trent. And as coincidence would have it, my bloggy buddy Joanne interviewed Gayle about the book a few weeks ago for Women on Writing. Check it out!

Thanks to Jen Singer and MommaSaid. And kudos to Joanne, as well, for such a stellar author interview. Can't wait to read the book!