I found that a lot of online reviewers give away books! I didn't know this till now.
WOOHOO
I must direct you over to Chery's Book Nook, she is having an AWESOME Contest that ends in March for 5 books in one Giveaway!! Find this Contest Giveaway HERE.

Also check out Book Blogs. There are Forums and Groups to join which get a little confusing but there are GiveAways there.

A couple examples that are currently going: Worducopia for "Rich Like Them"
Wendi Barker's Blog at the Book Corner
Carey's Blog for Among The Mad

As I come across more I'll post them :)

Enjoy!

As I come across a new link I would like to go back to over and over when I get the chance to, I have been putting it in the left column under Link List and if it is a Blog that relates in some way to the Historical Fiction/British History category I have been listing it in the Recommended Blogs list.
The link I found today will do damage to my bank account, but will cause happiness at the same time. Of course this is in regards to books.. The Book Depository is a growing online UK store that Ships FOR FREE FREE FREE to most countries (including the USA). And when that elusive book comes out that I don't want to wait 6 months for it to come out in the USA, order it here!! And when I am looking for that special book that was only printed in the UK, order it here!!
I am excited for the possibilites.. they are endless!
This LINK brings you to the "Historical Fiction" category. In the top right hand corner, change the drop down box to $ American Dollars so you can easily convert to the USA price. FREE SHIPPING FROM THE UK! I spent close to $23.00 in shipping alone when I ordered some of the 1972 era Jean Plaidy paperbacks elsewhere (mumble grumble)...

And since I'm here gushing about random book things, may I just add that at the BookReporter.com there is a newsletter that Carol Fitzgerald puts out weekly with lots of fun information about all sorts of books. She writes a nice commentary along with the goings-on in her massive book world. I requested some more focus on the Historical Fiction category (yes, I'm a glutton) and to appease me she sent me a FREE (love that word) advance copy of "Palace Circle" by Rebecca Dean, due out in USA March 2009, which is 4 days from now. Imagine butterflies, hearts and sparkles swimming around my head, that's how happy that made me! It takes place around WWII and blends fiction and events to create "masterful storytelling." I look forward to beginning that as time permits and seeing what this debut author has to offer.

I read this awesome little snippet of news from the Seattle Times:
"BELLEVUE, Wash. – A man in Washington state made sure a pair of burglars didn't get away with his three flat-screen televisions — he moved their getaway car.Patrick Rosario was in the basement of his Bellevue home on Tuesday when he heard the burglars upstairs.The Seattle Times says the 32-year-old Rosario, who had been laid off from his job as a Washington Mutual manager, called 911 while he sneaked out of the house.He saw a white van sitting in front of his house with the motor running and the keys in the ignition, and he got in and drove it to a friend's house.Police say the burglars left the televisions, a laptop computer and a jewelry box by the door and took off on foot.The sheriff's office said no arrests had been made. "

WOW I love it when the good guys win. But something stuck out. The phrase "while he sneaked out of the house". I really would have thought it was snuck. He snuck out of the house. That sounded right. So I googled sneaked vs. snuck and found another great little snippet that someone more intelligent has already delved into this conundrum.
His article is Here and don't forget your thinking cap. Did we ever do past present and future participles in school in New York? Because if we did I wasn't paying attention.

Long story short, I guess I'll have to strike snuck from my vocabulary and insert sneaked. Yuck.

I am off to find out hanged vs. hung. I am guessing it is hanged because all of my British Historical books are speaking of the hanged people, which again grates on my nerves. But I am sure I am to be corrected that it is indeed hanged. So how come I have hung in my vocabulary too? Was New York schooling so backwards? I wonder what my Texas daughter will be taught. I am going to quiz her tonight and see what her instincts are.

I found this portrait on All Posters.com. It is an interpretation of Mary Queen of Scots, and her son, James VI/I.
This depicts the beauty that has always been described of her. Obviously Mary and James were not together for very long so this scene is just from someones' imagination. Also in my 'Images of Mary' endeavor, I found this collection which was quite interesting at the National Portrait Gallery. I definitely could get lost on that site and have a grand time doing so. I can't put pics here from the NPG unless I pay them. But AllPosters does the custom framing for you and I would love to have a library of my own with wonderful portraits of the people I love to read about! What fun!

"THE OTHER QUEEN" -Another novel on Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. It opens up with Bess of Hardwick (LOVE HER!) narrating and Mary is just being 'sheltered' in England. The first impression when beginning this book is I do not enjoy the switching back and forth between narrators. The author had done this before and I did an internal sigh when I realized it was happening again. Sometimes it works, sometimes it gets aggravating. It is narrated by Bess, her husband George Talbot, the Earl of Shrewsbury, and Mary. Once you are trying to get absorbed in the story, the chapter is finished and it's time for another narrator to catch up.
I disliked this version of the character of Mary, Queen of Scots right away with her sanctimonious attitude and how near her station is to God that she believes herself to be due to the bloodline of royalty in her veins. Which is how the royalty see themselves and how they are expected to be treated, which is fine. But the way she speaks of it is simply bragging and grates on your nerves. In previous novels Mary is portrayed as being more passionate or sensitive. Here we only get a glimpse of Mary believing she should rule both England and Scotland, and that she is eager to participate in plots of her escape. She disguises herself as a sweet and tender woman but narrates the story as a shrewd woman very willing to promote violence in order for her release.

The novel is opening to where Mary is brought from Bolton Castle to Tutbury in 1568. The positive side of the three narrators is of course you get all three point of views, but it just makes for annoying reading at times. It is rare to contemplate George Talbot's true feelings, most books I have read did not really consider his thoughts on the keeping of Mary, other than I always remember him wanting to be paid more for his expenses. Here we see George becoming enamored with Mary, becoming so much so as to be in love with her. He begins as simply believing that she is a Queen and should be restored to her crown in Scotland. But that is not what the Secretary of State, William Cecil, would like. Mary will always be his thorn since he believes Scotland should be under English command. He will stop at nothing to see her ruined, dead, beheaded, etc.

In this version of George, he has fallen in love with Mary. He does not seem to care for the expenses as much as Bess does. Bess realizes that George is besotted with the Queen, but tells us that her property, her estates, her legacy to her children are more important than any man. She is very upset that George could jeopardize their well-being with their own Queen Elizabeth I due to his quiet admiration of Mary. Let the plotting begin.. one after the other...George and his fellow Protestant lords are eager to marry the Catholic Mary to the Duke of Norfolk, and get sons off of her that can rule both Scotland and England. Poor Elizabeth will not choose a man, will not marry, and this is causing an unsettling feeling with the Englishmen, questioning the succession of the crown. The nobles also despise Elizabeth's adviser, Cecil, being that he is a nobody and not with a heritage of nobility behind him such as George Talbot and his friends.

Bess's narration is perhaps the only thing that seems close to reality in this book. She is a headstrong woman who is adamant to preserve her fortune that she has collected due to her wonderful mathematical ability and the fact the three husbands before her have left her something to add to her estates. She seems to have feelings for George, as they have not been married for long when the story opens up. She soon realizes that perhaps he is not as worthy as he could be once he begins to show his puppy love for Mary. He is to go before Queen Elizabeth to see what part he played in letting treasonous letters and plots be brought to Mary. Bess is outraged that everything that she has worked for her whole life and the prosperity of her future is put at risk all because of George. She falls out of love quickly.

As I read this I have had thoughts that most of the events would not be true. The Earl's love for Mary, Mary meeting Anthony Babington when he is 8 years old, the hatred Mary feels for Bess because Bess is jealous.. The letters to Bothwell while he is in a Denmark prison and pretty much everything else that happens in the last half of the book. This becomes annoying so much so that I have to keep telling me this is fiction, please stop worrying about it. I fight the desire to stop reading it. I do not have much left to read, the chapters always begin with the Season and and Year, and I am still on 1571 which is odd since there are another 16 years left to her captivity. So I looked ahead and the rest of the chapters are 1572 with it finally jumping to 1587 and ending there. Imagine I had to read for the full 16+ years of this yuck?! I don't know how the book will end, we can obviously make an educated guess but I will read it to see how it does end just out of morbid curiosity, since whatever it does end with will be such a farce getting there.

For the average person who just wants a good story, perhaps this is the book for them. If you are interested in Mary Queen of Scots and the events truly surrounding her life, then do not even read the book. It would not be worth the time. I was definitely not as eager to continue the story as I was with the fictional Mary Stuart books by Jean Plaidy. Therefore if you are in the mood for the fictionalized historical account Mary Stuart, I would recommend Jean Plaidy's books from the previous posts, and not Phillippa Gregory. This book just seemed like one character's whine to the next.

I now understand the furor caused by Tudor Historians when Gregory's book "The Other Boleyn Girl" was made into a movie. Many were incensed that this movie would be the cause of such a fascination with British History. I must humbly admit that her book is what drew me to my own interest in this era, but at least I knew better to start reading non-fiction so I could get the facts straight. That was a good book for those wanting an introduction to the Henry VIII period. One must then read a few more books to get a true sense of the era. Phillipa's next book is "The White Queen" and I have dutifully deleted that from my wishlist at Amazon.

Back to this review though: DO NOT READ 'THE OTHER QUEEN'! 0 of 5 stars

(note to self: never never pre-order a book without reading reviews!)

A little meandering away from the ordinary review:
I was jumping around Tudor websites today and found a report on a recent Alison Weir event where she discussed Elizabeth I and Henry VIII at the Smithsonian. Alison is a British author of several non-fiction and fiction books. She is not always taken as credible historian and receives a lot of criticism for writing in her non-fiction books phrases such as "maybe" could have" "possibly" and words of that nature that can get aggravating.

However, I will read anything and everything I can get my hands on regarding the Tudors. For Alison Weir's non-fiction I have read "The Wars of the Roses" and "The Princes in the Tower". I have read her fictional "Innocent Traitor" and I will read them all again. I own her (non-fiction) "The Life of Elizabeth I", and (fiction) "The Lady Elizabeth" and plan on reading them soon. Lots of books on my TBR shelf.

I looked on Alison's website and it states for her upcoming book:
Alison's next non-fiction book, "The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn", will be published in the UK on 1st October 2009, and in the USA in December. Alison has just signed contracts with her UK and US publishers for three new novels, one of which will be a sequel to "The Lady Elizabeth"

Fiction: Alison has begun work on her next novel, about Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, which is scheduled for publication in the spring of 2010.

(MORE HENRY II!!!! YAY!!!)

Look on Alison's website for more Events she is attending and the full UK and US Book list.

The Murder in The Tower by Jean Plaidy (pseudonym used by Eleanor Hibbert, aka Victoria Holt)
(It's been listed as the first book in the Stuart Saga series, but it seems to stand alone as a James I novel; 1964)
Also reprinted and available as a reissue.
Personal copy
Burton Book Review Rating:

"The drama is played out against the background of the Court of James I."
The dashing Robert Carr is a well-known favorite of King James I. After attracting his attention by falling from a horse in the tiltyard, Robert rises quickly through the ranks. But when the cunning and beautiful Frances Howard comes to court, a very dangerous liaison changes everything. Married against her will while still a child, Frances emerges from that experience a headstrong force of nature—determined to have her own way, no matter what the consequences. Her attempts to rid herself of an unwanted husband, and later to ensnare a lukewarm lover, have led her deep into the world of spell-makers and poisoners. This is a woman to underestimate at great peril. But not until Robert finds himself ensnared in one of Frances’s plots—imprisoned in the Tower of London and accused of murder—does he learn at last what she is truly capable of.

After finishing this first installment of Plaidy's Stuart Saga by Jean Plaidy, I would still love to delve more into the characters that Plaidy described. When you think of a Tudor or Stuart novel, with this title of Murder, one tends to think of Anne Boleyn, or maybe Mary Queen of Scots. This novel is actually concerning the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury, who is not the main protagonist of this intriguing novel.
The book is based on the life of Frances Howard, and her loves and wicked ways that she uses to attain all that she desires. She starts out as a passionate young woman and we think we like her, but as she grows and becomes more and more of a selfish evil woman, there is no sympathy for her. I did find sympathy for Robert Carr, the man she fell in love with when she was a married woman.

Robert Carr caught King James' eye when he fell from his horse as a young man, and quickly shot up in the ranks with titles and favoritism from James. He is portrayed as a pretty boy who really didn't deserve the posts he had since he had to have another man, Thomas Overbury, secretly do most of the work for Robert Carr. They called Thomas a scribe. One thing led to another and once Thomas realizes that Robert wants to marry Frances Howard, he is incensed. He has no respect for Frances and happens to know she had visits with unworthy people who dealt with witchcraft. Since Thomas would not back down, Frances and her witchcraft friends decided to take matters into their own hands. Supposedly Robert Carr has no idea what is going on.

Even though this book has James I in it, it was only set within the time period of James I and his family. There was a small story line with Frances and the King's son, Henry, and a bit on the royal family and the royal children but not an incredible amount.

This was a quick read, and I definitely loved the deliciously entertaining Frances Howard and her intense need to fulfill her every whim. Although not an influential person by herself in the era, she caused quite a scandal and led a very interesting life which was a joy to read about. Plaidy fans do not want to miss this one, this was a quick read that stays with you.

If this is the first time coming to read the Mary Stuart Reviews then I would suggest starting a few posts down with the Fotheringay post and then upwards to the recent Captive Queen Post so that you get the chronological order of my musings. It is pretty tough to keep up with me even that way, but it's worth a shot.

MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS.. Found this photo of 'her' at the Reader's Advisor. One can never tell what is factual but this has got to be the most flattering portrait I have seen of her. The books go on and on about how beautiful she was, and perhaps it was also due to her supposed charismatic nature, so this one does her justice more so than others.

I am about halfway through with Jean Plaidy's "The Captive Queen of Scots".. again, I am enjoying it very much as expected. Jean Plaidy must have been a wonderful woman to know; she has written so many books in the Historical Fiction genre, I wonder if she ever set a book down (or wasn't writing one). Jean Plaidy is a pseudonym for Eleanor Hibbert; her other well-known pseudonym is Victoria Holt which dealt more on the romance side. Born in 1906, Eleanor wrote around 200 novels! I own about 52 of those. My project is to own all of the Historical Series. It will not be easy, as many of these are now only found in the UK and of course these are older titles. As I mentioned in my last post on Fotheringay, that book was slowly disintegrating in my hands. We are fortunate that some are being reprinted in both the UK and USA as the English History Buzz has hit the USA since "The Other Boleyn Girl" movie and "The Tudors" television series.
I have read this author's "My Enemy, The Queen" written under Victoria Holt, and enjoyed it very much as well. It is told in first person by Lettice Knollys, Elizabeth's cousin once-removed. I bring this up because I am now at the part in "The Captive Queen of Scots" where Mary is brought to England's Carlisle and Bolton Castle and is cared for by Sir Francis Knollys (May 1568). Francis is Lettice's father. And Lettice was a wonderful character to read about in "My Enemy the Queen" which dealt with her and Elizabeth's relationship and their mutual love for Robert Dudley, Earl of Leceister. Through Lettice, we enjoy a unique view on Elizabeth I. (Lettice is also in The Virgin's Lover by Phillipa Gregory.) Lettice's fate is entwined with Elizabeth as much as Mary's was.. the Queen of England rules all.
Back to the book "The Captive Queen".. Mary will leave the care of Francis Knollys and go to Tutbury, despite horrible weather. It is at Tutbury that we meet the Earl of Shrewsbury. And guess who he is? He is married to Bess of Hardwick, who I wrote of in earlier posts. Such a fine web I'm weaving and loving every minute of it!!

http://plantagenetdynasty.blogspot.com/2008/01/mothers-lament-alienor-of-aquitaine.html

Above is the link to another blog post by someone far more educated than I. But the post itself is a transcript from Eleanor of Aquitaine's Letter to Pope Celestine III in 1193.

This is in relation to the book "Devil's Brood" of which I have begun to read and reviewed earlier.
I am about 3/4 through, and I am not overly enthusiastic with it, as can be expected when reading two wonderful books it is hard to continue the same rhythm sometimes. But I do still recommend it of course. There are a lot more names/titles of liege men in the book which begin to become a blur, and unfortunately though the tragedy of the uproars the sons pertook are indeed troublesome, it does seem to go on and on with one brother against the other. However, the knowledge that this is History propels me forward, needing to know the outcome from one battle to the next. Henry II is not as formidable as one would think, and Richard of Aquitaine is simply portrayed as a bloodthirsty maniac. Henry/Hal, the young king, is portrayed as dimwit at times who is only interested in popularity or sports. We enjoy more of a look at an illegitimate son of Henry II, Geoff, though do no confuse him with the younger son of Henry and Eleanor, Geoffrey.

It is amazing sometimes to trail along the Family Tree's of any of the English Families. First off, there are always marriages between cousins, and secondly, there are always a pattern of the same names. Historians must get turned around in circles when trying to decipher who was who, especially when one writer or scribe spells a name one way, and another spells the same name a completely different way. And of course there was the inevitable death of their babies, so that an immediate family would have the same names in order to honor the lost baby. Eleanor of Aquitaine was lucky enough to have had lost only one.. is that lucky?? But in those times, it does seem she was spared that grief more than others as she did give birth ten times. Yet, then it came back to haunt her as her brood eventually turned on each other and her sons fought each other and caused Eleanor's imprisonment and estrangement from her husband.

In honor of Dad's memory today being a devastating mark of 2 months since he's been gone..

When he visited us from NY to meet his first grandson in May 2007, Morgan was really enjoying the dazzling of the Grandpa who doted on her of course. They were both enjoying the one on one attention they got from each other. Right away there was an amazing bond between the long-distance relations, and I just watched from the sidelines caring for the 2 month old.

I wish I still had the pictures from my old cell phone of the two laughing together, splashing at the Rockwall Harbor. Driving the unexpected horrendous Friday evening traffic for two hours to see cousin Dee Dee, Morgan decided to do her Karaoke version of Kelly Clarkson's Since U been Gone.. at the top of her lungs.. Nothing like the 5 year-old's shrill voice to make you cringe and smile at the same time. And he smiled all the way through the song, through Morgan's input. He sat through that a few times that wonderful weekend. Weeks later, he mentions it fondly, with that feeling of pain of having witnessed it, mixed with pride. He decided to make a CD of all sorts of songs that Morgan can enjoy and sing to and it is cherished along with the awesome Jukebox style radio that he gave her. He also made one for the little one so he wouldn't feel left out.

Thank you for the memories, ma pere!

I just got an automated phone call on my cell phone, telling me to enter my 16 Digit number from my Debit Card so they can verify my information.
!!!
!!!
I wonder how many unsuspecting victims fall for this!

I googled his phone number and lookie lookie:
What a creep!

Sridhar Balaji
16365 Park Ten Pl Dr 325 Houston, TX 77084
(281) 201-0910
Add to Address Book Map

I have finished Arbella's story, and could have cried at what her life turned out to be for her. Hers is not overly romantic or overly exciting, but just a life that was supposed to mean much more. In the end, years later, Arbella's name is linked to words such as 'freedom', liberty and democracy.. a ship was named for her sailing to the 'New World'..

I feel Arbella was cheated out of a life by Elizabeth I, then by her cousin the next ruler, James I of England aka James VI of Scotland.. I feel that Arbella should have been named as successor by Elizabeth. But obviously that did not happen. Then James continued Elizabeth's horrible control over Arbella's fate by also neglecting to at least allow Arbella to marry. He also wanted to use her as a pawn.. a bargaining piece. Ironically, when Arbella finally did marry as she had always wished, that was the end of Arbella's freedom. The biggest mistake of that was marrying a Seymour.. who also had a line towards the throne. A wonderful story it all is, but tragic that it had to be true and I am just not going to give it all away. You really must read the book.

I have since started Devil's Brood by Sharon Kay Penman. This author is AWESOME and is one of my newer favorites. Devil's Brood is part three in a trilogy ending Henry and Eleanor of Aquitaine. "When Christ and His Saints Slept" (1994) is the first one of novels of the Middle Ages in this Trilogy, next was "Time and Chance". Many of her fans had to wait a long long time for The Devil's Brood to come out and I am glad I had just read the other two last year and I didn't need to wait long for the release here. The first novel begins in 1120 and details the war between Empress Maud and King Stephen who usurped the throne after the untimely death of the one legitimate successor in the White Ship. Henry I names his daughter, Maude, at successor, but once he's gone Stephen of Blois claimed the throne and thus, the battle began.

"Time and Chance" is about Henry II and Eleanor and how they met and had children and thus the complicated relationship they shared.. also Thomas Becket.. and then a fictional character is more at play here as well. Battles on two borders, Henry cheats while Eleanor is busy having his many children, founding a dynasty that lasts for 300 years...

And now it is time For "Devil's Brood". Halfway through it, it is still as enjoyable as t he last two were, and less of the previously mentioned fictional character is at play. Which I like because I enjoy reading more closely matching to the real history. The phrase Devil's Brood refers to Henry and Eleanor's children, the young King Hal, Richard the LionHeart, Geoffrey, a few daughters.. There are rebellions of the young King Hal against his father Henry II and poor Eleanor gets caught in the middle and is never forgiven by her husband. She is now a prisoner and very little hope for escape. I must keep reading.. ;)

For our anniversary I had bought my husband "DALLAS" series 7. So we watched series 6 to get caught up, the funny thing is, I haven't watched it before. But Darn, give me a moment to watch it and actually sit down, and at season 6 midway I was hooked.
So that's why I haven't been able to read much of my book lately on Arbella Stuart; the last week has been spent catchng an episode of DALLAS in my free time.
It's insanely funny to see how ridiculous the characters are, and still I was intrigued. Also the costumes of the 80's are always something to look at, especially for a Ewing.
And here in my hometown, 22 miles east of Dallas, we had a rare Winter Wonderland. no, not snow.. but enough ice and precipitation to make the branches heavy with ice crystals and beads. It was a very pretty site and I wished I had my camera with me to snap a picture. So now my camera is in the car, not a good spot for it. Calls for bringing out the huge laptop carrying bag instead of the black hole purse.
Maybe a month or so more of 'winter' here in TX and we'll be back to our lovely Texas Spring.

We received a letter that Flood Insurance has been purchased for us and is being taken out of our escrow account. This flood insurance costs more than our normal insurance!! When we bought this wonderful house we were told we were not in a flood plain, well TADA !! Seven years later, a new survey is done, FEMA says there is a 1% chance.. therefore we have to buy this Flood Insurance!! I am disgusted. This government doing its best work again. Taking advantage of the poor hard-working people so the government can take our money and use it to pay for their company jets and their vacations.
What a wonderful way to start our year off. As usual there is nothing we can do to fight for the little people. This just makes me all the more ready to get the heck out of this cramped house and build me a new one that I can at least feel comfortable in.
My family doesn't fit naturally into our current house, when we bought it I wasn't intending to have two children of my own. We had my step-daughter & I honestly thought that would be all. No sooner did we purchase the property then I had Morgan. We built the house but my husband selected a plan not suited to family endeavors. When it was being built and I was pregnant, my stepdaughter and I wrote our names and little messages on the wood beams. That's our little special nuance about the house, but other than that, I hate this house. I hate everything from the colours to the layout, and I even hate the backyard. There is no grass!! Now that I realize the everyday type of needs of being a mom to two kiddos of my own, I will certainly have a say in what the layout and needs are for the new house we hope to build. I do know I hate carpet with two messy kids.
We are looking at floor-plans online and a lot look wonderfully suited, I just hope that they will fit the budget.
More on the house later, we still have to figure out the space available to us at Mom's property where we are moving to.
I am a little grumpy due to locking myself in the warehouse this AM and had to walk around the building in the pouring rain to get back into the office. SIGH. It's a vicious rain today, and of course the perfect temperature of 32°F to make driving hazardous. All this after a wonderful 84°F Saturday. God Bless Texas! Haven't you heard, "if you don't like the weather here, stay awhile, because it's going to change." :D
Love to all!

One of those forward emails that everyone hates to get with 600 headers at the top.
But the message is clear.. Live a Better Life!!

The first day of a new year, another new beginning..
So far, same whining children and same sickly husband.

Last night I watched old Dick Clark kiss his wife at the New Year.. it was quite touching. My husband was snoring on the couch and I was in bed finishing my book, Bess of Hardwick. I have read the Preface to Sarah Gristwood's Arbella biography, and I cannot wait to get into it.

Arbella, born to be something, and really became nothing because of what was in her blood. She was Tudor (royal english blood), and Stuart (Royal Scottish blood). She could have been so much, and the Elizabethan Era held so much promise. She was eventually forgotten.

And so.. onwards and upwards.. to see what madness I will endure this 2009 and hope to not be eventually forgotten..

The little picture there is from last July, 2008 fireworks by our house. But it was fitting for the New Years' celebration happening elsewhere.

Now the 6 year old is playing her new Nintendo DS, for which on our tenth anniversary my husband bought 'me' a Super Mario Bros game। Sigh. He says he ordered me a book too. That's more like it ;) I just wonder if its the same book he bought me for Christmas that's also on order.


Ah, but all is well here. No big expectations to bring in the New Year, we will all sleep through it. And I am almost done with the book Bess of Hardwick, which I am actually wishing I wasn't as it is a fabulous book. Which is why I am here writing, prolonging the finishing of the book. Another book that I will re-read I am sure.


The Dallas Stars are actually winning at the moment. A few years ago, perhaps 2003/2004 we had received tickets to the Stars game on NY Eve, and that was fun. That was the last time I remember actually DOING something on this date. Oh wait.. we went to my sister-in-laws a few years later and JR got totally shnockered which I recorded on video. He saw it afterwards, and was extremely embarassed. He really wasn't that bad, it just showed how stupid it is and he never got drunk again. Amazing tool for Interventions.


I figured out how to post to the blog from my mobile phone. That too is amazing. All these things with advanced technology. My kids are not going to benefit from all these things that are going to be discovered via their cellphones/computers.. I will always wish they had the innocent fun of our good old days. The library, the bike riding, climbing trees, board games with the family. Now everyone in my family (with the temporary exception of the 20month old) is in their own little world, with their own electronic devices attached to their hands. There is even a thing called the Kindle device from Amazon that you can purchase books through.. and you read it on that little device!! THAT is something that is just crazy. I will always love to leaf through a good book.


And I am never going to buy from the UK via Ebay ever again. Lesson #1 learned. The GBP conversion is a bit off on Ebay, not in our favor, and the multiple items discount was a complete crock of crap. So I am paying more for the shipping total then for the 9 tiny paperbacks all combined as a purchase price. Makes me mad that I was so silly depending on this discount. Buyer Beware! There are about 40+ books by deceased author Jean Plaidy (pen name) that I am buying since my lirbary doesn't carry them. They are about Enlgand/Normady etc and the queens, Kings.. Lovers, tragedies.. And so I have about 20 I guess and I need over 20 more ;) The thrill of the chase is half of it. I recommend Thriftbooks.com and Abebooks.com As always, compare shipping prices. A wonderful site I've found for books in UK is fantasticfiction.com

Now that I've put you to sleep I'll go read now that I've got myself back in the history mood. :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Here's to new books, old and used books for my wonderfully expanding Library! ;)

The obligatory nod to my tenth wedding anniversary today.
JR and I got married (on purpose, not a whim) at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas.
We drove there from our home in Garland TX in the red Camaro that we just traded in last year.
It was a very nice day on New Years Eve; we were outside the chapel chain smoking we were SO nervous!! (i have quit since then)..
We had a cassette tape of Journey's Open Arms song, and had that playing as we walked down the aisle.
Reverend Ray Cobb married us and not Elvis (that would have cost extra anyway).
We had a nice candle lighting ceremony and the chapel was very nice, I definitely recommend it.
Jon Bon Jovi got married there, as well as Catherine Oxenburg, Aaron Neville, Richard Simmons.. ;)

That night we went to Fremont Street and being NY EVE it was impossibly crazy packed, JR was afraid he was going to lose me in the crowd. I couldn't see anything except for the backs of many people.

It was the beginning of a Marriage, and a Family.