Commitments

So there's this thing about agreeing to do something for someone you love and then reneging on it that's very unsettling.  Well, it's not as unsettling for the reneger as it is for the renegee.  I agreed to be somewhere for my dear brother and just as dear sister-in-law and find myself unable to fulfill that obligation.  It leaves me feeling helpless and guilty.  It leaves them feeling annoyed and in the lurch--at least.  

Here's the deal.  All the good intentions in the world don't make it so.  And were there a magic wand that could make it all happen the way we want it to, we'd all use it.  But there isn't.  And sometimes things just don't work out the way they're supposed to.  Regrettably, all this justification does not change the basic feeling that the magic wand would be mighty handy. You know?  

I think, though, that basically we all try to do what we can to make the lives of those we love better.  And that's a good thing.  Good on many levels.  So we should probably be thankful for the good feelings that come from what we do and we should try to appreciate that effort.  And for those we let down?  We'll always be sorry.  But we'll always keep trying.

The Book Has Arrived

Finally!  We have finished the book.  We spent the day working through the complications--despite such titles as "Five Easy Steps" or "Follow these simple directions."  Such idle threats. . .  We finally figured it all out and it is now available as an e-book at Amazon.  Pretty exciting venture for me and my co-author, Dimity.  But worth every minute.  And by the end of the week, we will hopefully have made the book available in paper copy--also on Amazon.  We've learned a lot along the way, which might make the technical details a little simpler for us in the future.  And we've already begun the next Cape Cod adventure.  So look out, world.  Here we come!  Water logged and crime infested.  The best Cape Cod has to offer.  

Here's a link to the book:  http://www.amazon.com/Divas-Demise-Crime-Mystery-ebook/dp/B005N0MQ36/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1316067177&sr=8-2.  Hope you enjoy it.

Calm after the Storm

Monday was quiet and calm after a weekend of sons and their ladies, extra dogs, yummy food, fun games in the yard.  Seth, the oldest, arrived on Saturday morning with his girlfriend, Rachel, and his two dogs, Jack and Winston.  Milo was in heaven with two new playmates.  They hardly stopped playing the entire time.  I had Seth and Rachel to myself for a lot of the afternoon until others arrived, which any loving mother enjoys when visits are few and far between.  After Patrick and Christine (son two and girlfriend) and the Sams (youngest son, Sam, and fiancee, Samantha) showed up, we enjoyed dinner--my Faux Bouillabaise.  Since I had broken my ribs on Monday, it was a challenge to cook dinner; but post-dinner clean-up was left to someone else.  We sat and talked late into the evening enjoying each other's company. 

On Saturday, breakfast lasted the entire morning, given a variety of sleeping and eating habits, starting with me and ending with Pat and Christine.  Dinner on Sunday was prepared by Pat and Christine--a delicious chicken tetrazzini and lovely salad with tomatoes, carrots and lemon cucumbers from the garden.  They enjoy their food and know how to make it enjoyable to others.

Seth and Rachel gathered up the dogs and left for San Francisco late Sunday evening when weekend traffic returning from Lake Tahoe had already subsided.  It was, plain and simple, a wonderful weekend.