I did it.... I finished my tomb!

I started this book June 28, 2008 and finished it tonight. WHEW!! What do you think of that?

I blogged about this book back in early June before I started to read it for the second time. I told you all then, that I had read it years ago, 20 or so years, that is, and so I wanted to read it again. I enjoyed it so much the first time but realized that I am a different person now in my 60's than I was in my 40's.

What a difference a few years make, my friends. This time I absorbed every nuance of growth in the main characters as revealed by our author, Helen Hooven Santmyer. The book begins in the mid 1800's right after the Civil War. It takes us through those horse and buggy days when people died for lack of antibiotics and a knowledge of keeping things sterile while delivering a baby.

I was aware of how busy those ladies were. They didn't have a TV to watch, but when they sat down in the evening after dinner, they had their basket of mending on their laps. If they had their knitting it was to make socks for their family rather than the way that I do it and make decorative throws etc. for my home as a craft project. What different times those were.

I read about gas lights coming onto the scene and then electricity. Soon people were driving those contraptions called automobiles that spooked the horses of those who drove by.

Yes, those were simpler times in a way, but also very rigid and market by customs that dictated what everyone should do. It was wonderful to visit that time in history through this novel, but I'm glad I live in the 2000's.

It took Ms. Santmyer 50 years to write that book. She wrote a few others as well which I have also read. Ladies of the Club is by far her best work. By the time it was published she was a very old lady.

I highly recommend that you consider this book for your "after the holidays" or your summer reading. It's an amazing journey you won't be sorry that you took.

I just love candles

Really! I love candles. I don't know what it is about them. I love the soft light they emit and the scented ones are wonderful for setting a mood.

Quickcandles.com has an amazing selection of wonderful candles of all kinds. They offer scented as well as unscented candles. They have pillar candles, votive candles and floating candles. I'm personally very partial to the tealight candles. You can get the candles as well as the holders at quickcandles.com.

Really, if you love candles as much as I do, you owe it to yourself to check out this site. I bought some for my daughters. They love them too.

Promoting your blog

Most of us bloggers spend a lot of time promoting our blogs by visiting other blogs, commenting on them, joining blogging communities etc.etc.

There is another idea I'd like to suggest to you. iPromo.com sells promotional product. You can buy a wide variety of products with your blog url printed on it. There is a long list of products available at a variety of prices. I'm sure that you will find a product at a price that fits your budget on which to advertise your blog or other business. I found some great tote bags that are just what I'm looking for.

Do check out iPromo.com and see what you can find for your advertising needs.

What do you think?

I have been asked to review a youtube video for Buy.com staring Howie Mandel and friend. (you can see the video here .

While watching it my 10 year old granddaughter was sitting here with me, so I asked her what she thought this commercial was about. She said, "it's about how you can get anything you need at buy.com". (I'd bet you could get most things on sale at this time of year too)

I felt that Howie's presentation was a bit over the top, however, he captured my attention, and Sierra's, and got his message across. That is what a commercial is suppose to do, after all. I would give him and buy.com an excellent rating on this video.

Christmas Memories

I live in South East Texas. Here in the South, warm weather is what we expect and usually get. Our summer temperatures are in the mid 90's, and it's not uncommon to have an entire winter pass without a freeze. This year we're having some pretty cold days, but you don't hear many of us complaining. It's a nice break.

Many Christmas' have come and gone. All are a little hectic, some have been full of joy, some a little lonely. I'm sure most of you could say the same. Most are enjoyable, though.

As for Christmas memories, though, the one year that will always stand out when I think of Christmas is the year that it snowed here on Christmas Eve. Imagine!! Snow in South Texas on Christmas Eve. Not the day before or the day after Christmas, but Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This Minnesota native stayed up until the wee hours of the morning watching this miracle of God taking place before my eyes. I saw that snow as a love gift to all of us it fell on. I felt unworthy, I felt surrounded by His love and a gratitude in my heart that returns and fills me whenever I remember that Christmas Eve snowfall.

After nearly 69 years of Christmas', that one Christmas memory will always remain as my favorite.

Do you have a special Christmas story you want to share with us? Do leave a comment. Share your story with us too.

Need a great idea for a Christmas gift?

For those of us who have a person on our Christmas list who is disabled or who just likes unusual gifts, well I have just the perfect gift idea for you. Consider talking watches as a gift idea. They not only will say the time, their time is automatically updated by National Institute of Standards and Technology`s (NIST) radio signal.

At www.activeandable.com not only do they have watches that speak the time, they also have a long list of other items that will make life a lot easier for anyone who needs a bit of special help. Do check them out. You'll just maybe find that unique gift for someone hard to buy for.

Christmas Spirit

How are you all doing with Christmas spirit this year? Finding it hard to grab hold of that holiday joy with such uncertainty all around us?

I'm struggling a bit with this myself. However, I have decided that the biblical principle of giving out of one's need is tried and true. Therefore, in order to get a bit of that spirit, I know that I must give some.

This principle works in everything and anything. If you are feeling tired, nothing will perk you up more than going for a brisk walk. Try it. It's amazing. Are you feeling blue? Get out around people, smile and be friendly to someone who looks like they could use a friend right now. This has always worked for me and continues to amaze me when it does.

So, what are we going to do to get into the spirit of Christmas? Get involved in sharing your Christmas with others. In our town there is a lady who has a group of kids that she looks after and makes sure they have presents under their tree. I plan to be "Santa" for one of her kids this year. Toys for Tots will have some gifts from me as well, and I am going to make some special decorations for my wonderful neighbors too.

In giving we get 10 fold back. This is true not only at Christmas time, but year round. Merry Christmas to you all.

Our Alex is driviing!

It's so hard to believe that our grandson Alex is driving now. We are pleased with the amount of common sense this youngster has shown and have rewarded him by making our vehicles available to him to drive at times.

With him driving we decided that it would be a good idea to get some updated auto insurance quotes as well. At www.2insure4less.com, we found that the coverage we had already was competitive. It was good to know that we weren't under or over insured and that we were getting the best price available.

In this financial market, none of us want to pay any more than we have to for anything. Don't you agree?