Barbara V Evers

It's ten days until Christmas and so many thoughts are whirling around in my head. Some are expected. Others? Well, you tell me. Got to ship any remaining gifts today because it's the last day of regular ground shipping. Or maybe, I'll find something on Amazon and send it gift wrapped???? Might be easier. Oh, but there is the one gift I can't do that way. UPS, here I come. As for Amazon, what gives. Every year you mess up the wish lists! Our family uses the lists because it's easy, as long as everything goes according to plan. But when it doesn't, you get duplicates or random items that were never on your list to begin with. Maybe I won't use the lists next year. Yeah, I said that last year. Then there's the lovely engagement ornament I ordered through Etsy to send to my newly engaged daughter. She received it last night, and I didn't get the reaction from her I expected. Why? It. Was. Not. An. Engagement. Ornament! Nope, they sent one of those ...

After my grandchildren came to live with me, I got heavily into listening to books. I spend a lot of time in the car, especially since we live at least thirty minutes from any and every thing. Over time, I've read more audiobooks than regular books. Although it's a great way to enhance all of the necessary trips I end up making, it does have it's pros and cons. Pros I can read when I need to have my eyes on the road. I can read while doing housework. I can read while getting ready in the morning. I can enjoy books with my grandchildren while we're driving. I don't have to give up my love of reading since I have less down time for it now. Some stories blossom if the right narrator reads the audiobook. I pick up nuances to the story better when I hear it. Cons Some narrators are not very good--luckily those are few and far between. My grandson often interrupts the story which frustrates his sister. If I start a book with both children in the car, we can only listen to...

  Happy December 1! We decorated for Christmas over the weekend, and, just like the Hallmark commercials suggest, many of our decorations bring back fond memories.  Ornaments : My favorite Christmas ornament from my childhood hangs on my tree, now. It's gold with white stars and has an inset design of white, blue and pink. I'm not sure why this ornament has been my favorite for as long as I can remember, I tend to prefer blue and silver ornaments, but I remember digging through the ornaments each year to make sure I was the one who hung this one on the tree.  It's mine now, and no one else is allowed to hang it on the tree. Stockings : The year I was eleven, my stocking was not in the box with the others when my family pulled out the decorations. My grandmother made me one, simple but beautiful, to replace it, but it didn't have my name on it in glitter like my siblings. I think that made me desire pretty stockings because now I own LOTS of them. Every year, I'm tem...