Nancy Drew -- Who Knew?

I have always been a reader.  I don't remember a time in my life that I wasn't a reader.  My daughter's name even came from a book so you can see that reading has had an impact on my life.  I remember as a little kid I watched my mother read the newspaper and was completely fascinated by it -- I would ask her what it felt like to be able to read.  So, when I started reading I never stopped and, in my old age, I truly believe that if you have your health you have everything and if you can read, you can do anything.

So, this year I decided to join two Reading Challenges on Goodreads -- the 2013 Reading Challenge where my goal was 20 books.  I have met and surpassed that goal and I still have a couple of books to finish before the end of the year.  I also joined the pre-1960 Children's Book Challenge.  This challenge requires you to read any children's book that was published prior to 1960 and contains more than 60 pages.  I decided I would read one author and I started with the Bobbsey Twins books but they didn't hold my interest well enough. So, I decided I would try Nancy Drew again and have been completely drawn in.  I had quite a few Nancy Drew books from a book club I belonged to but I could never get "into" them.  My mom read them, my aunt read them, my grandmother read them but I didn't.  However I decided to give them another chance for this challenge and I am really enjoying them.  Today I finished "The Case of the Hidden Staircase".  It was really good and a little spooky.  I really enjoy the settings in these books -- I mean, who doesn't like big mansions with antiques and secret doors and, yes, hidden staircases.  There is just enough intrigue to make you keep reading but not so much to be frightening to younger readers.  They do hold an adults interest and they are very quick reads.  I would recommend to anybody who wants something light that takes you back in time a bit.

So, after finishing "The Case of the Hidden Staircase" I immediately bought the next one in the series for my Nook.  I will be starting "The Bungalow Mystery" tonight!  Review to follow.

2013 Reading Challenge

I was going great guns on my reading challenge for 2013 and then many distractions popped up and the reading fell by the wayside.  However, it is picking up again and I have completed one more book for the 2013 Pre-1960 Children's Book Challenge.

When I was a child I belonged to a Nancy Drew book club but I never read any of the books! My mother loved them and my aunt loved them but me -- yeah, not so much.  However, I revisited them for the book challenge and I was completely taken in by this story and would definitely recommend it.  In fact, I am looking forward to the next title in the series -- The Case of the Hidden Staircase. 

Old Meme Revisited

Taking some time this afternoon to catch up on my blog reading, I was reminded me of an meme I shared a long time ago.  JLSHall at Joysweb decided to revisit this meme and I thought it would be fun to do the same.  In order to participate you google your name and the word "needs" and list the first ten things that come up.  So, here is an updated version of mine.

Melissa needs:

some help -- hmmm.. yeah .. vacuuming comes to mind here.


a bunny and a stove .... uh, ok


to see -- is this prophetic or philosophical or perhaps a reminder that I need to get my eyes tested






make the signed copy of Google maps she uses -- who is supposed to sign it?

to stop wearing -- is this a remark about the blue eye shadow? How rude!

 a home -- what? this isn't home?  Then why am I doing all this vacuuming?

 a straightjacket --  excuse me?  Well, maybe I do.

to focus -- this is true -- Christmas shopping did not go well on Wednesday

help getting her truck on the road  -- well, first I would need a truck.  Hubs won't let me drive his. 

I don't think these responses were as much fun as the first time around.  Oh well, have a go and see how funny your responses are!




 

All Things Family History


I have done genealogy for years -- absolutely years.  I have never, up until now, figured out how to store and organize all the documentation that goes along with it.  I didn't think up the system on my own, I stole it from somebody on YouTube and, I will say, she did a much better job of it than I have.


I have tried everything from file cabinets to notebooks to folders to electronic programs and nothing seems to work for me as well as I would like.  So, when I went looking for a "new" way to do things, I had an open mind and a good thing, too, because I watched this woman organized her records and was slapped in the face by the simplicity of it all.  Why hadn't I thought of it?

The whole idea is filing documentation, in pendaflex folders in portable, plastic file boxes, by the individual.  Each person in your tree has a folder and whatever information you have on that person goes in his/her file.  They are arranged in the file box just like they appear on your ancestor chart.  By doing it this way you have ready access to whatever you have on any person and you can readily see if you need to find a document to add more information to your tree.  Before I tried keeping all my death/birth certificates (and other documents in like fashion) in one folder labelled as such and I had to sift through all of them in order to find one particular one.  This was time consuming and also meant I handled the documents more than necessary.  Those things are expensive so you really don't want to handle them more than you need to.

Now, the lady on the YouTube video did hers with more panache than I have.  I have been reusing file folders that have been used before, not caring if they were color coordinated.  This lady used blue for her male ancestors and pink for her female ancestors.  It looks really nice when put together but, since I have been going "green" for a while, I saw no sense in repurchasing what I already had. 

As I sat and worked on this today, totally trashing my dining room table, I was amazed at the amount of information I have amassed on all those who went before me.  A good deal of it I had forgotten I had.  I was surprised at some of the information and was able to add it to my tree on Ancestry.com right away before I filed it away.  I discovered some copies of pictures that I mulled over for a while -- I never knew these relatives but I feel like I do.  I finally feel like I am getting all my information in some sort of workable order.  Genealogy is a great hobby but, when you get past the four or five generations, the volume of information becomes almost uncontrollable and almost takes on a life of its own.  I feel like I might actually have a shot at taming the beast with this system.  In the new system, it will be so nice to be able to pull a folder and look over the contents without having to sort through tons of material to find something.  Yes, I think this will work.

I have abandoned the project for the evening -- the dust from the paper is making my nose run and I don't need that -- so tomorrow is another day and I will continue then.  I don't want to rush through this process, I want to enjoy it and relish the past.  My mother always chastised my dad for "living in the past" and I guess, to some extent, I do the same but some days, the past is just the place I need to be.

Still Here -- Just Tired

Hi, all! I am still here -- just a little tired.  Things have been very busy lately what with babysitting the Bean and taking care of my health -- both very tiring activities.  I find that when I return home of an evening about all I can do is a shower, a bit of reality tv, some facebook and then I am down for the count.

Speaking of reality tv, I have somehow morphed into watching Honey Boo Boo.  Why you ask?  I have no clue.  This isn't my usual sort of viewing pleasure.  I love the Smithsonian Channel, PBS, The Learning Channel but not Honey Boo Boo.  I have to say, though, it is the ultimate diversion.  For sure.

Facebook has taken on a different approach for me.  I have a love hate relationship with FB -- I really don't like some of the political stuff on there but I have really enjoyed reacquainting myself with people I went through school with.  We have talked about our present lives and we have talked about our childhoods and taken walks down memory lane, dredging up old memories and having a lot of laughs over it.  We have watched our elementary school be torn down -- much to our dismay -- and we have wondered where others are that we haven't heard from in many years.

After one of those walks down memory lane, I seemed to stay on the path for a while.  I was trying to find my  "happy place" and I did -- in the library of my junior high school.  In a previous post, or two, I have discussed attending a "historical" school on a main street that led to downtown San Antonio, in a beautiful, historic neighborhood with gorgeous homes called Monte Vista.

 The school was built in 1923 and many of my family members attended.  It was, in my mind, a beautiful school -- on the outside.  It has been described as a bit "prison-like" on the inside, however, but I never felt that way.  As one who always loved old architecture, I just loved the dark woodwork, the transom windows, the mullioned floor to ceiling windows and the library.  The first floor windows in the photo above are that very library.  Those windows look out on San Pedro and into the neighborhood of beautiful homes across the street.

Now, I always wanted to be a writer and I would spend many long study hall periods studying each house I could see and making up stories of the families that lived in each house.  The stories became very elaborate in my mind but I never seemed to write them down.  What a shame because I believe that they were very good -- in my 14 year old mind.

During this same time, my father was dabbling in movie making.  He created a film that used almost all local talent including a young college student named Helen Hogan.

My twelve year old self thought Miss Hogan was wonderful.  She was elegant, poised,  pretty, and thin!.  She was active in the San Antonio Little Theater scene along with several of the other cast members.  I thought the little theater life was the most glamorous even though I had only been in the theater once for a piano recital.  So, the movie making came and went, as did the cast members.  I grew up and never gave all that much thought until I was recently asked what happened to all those people.  So, the genealogist in me went on a hunt for those elusive cast members.  I knew a several had passed away, one had moved far away and then there was Helen Hogan.  A quick search and I learned that she had married in the 1990's and was living -- yes, in one of those houses that I had made up a story about!

No, none of my stories ever centered around a young socialite of means, a debutant, a budding actress who was active on the civic front and enjoyed starring in her university's dramatic performances.  But, maybe one should have -- sounds like a pretty nice story to me.

Suddenly Good Reads Dysfunctional

I have been participating in the 2013 Goodreads Reading Challenge, pledging to read 20 books.  I have met my goal but Goodreads will never know that because it won't let me add one of the books I have read! I have tried everything I know but it just won't get added to my "read" list.

The book is titled "West of the Creek:  Murder, Mayhem and Vice in Old San Antonio".  It is a small book with 35 stories about all sorts of scandalous activities in San Antonio from the early days until the 30's and 40's.  Now, I recognize that this isn't a book for everybody but being from San Antonio and doing lots of family research in the area, I found it to be a really interesting read.  I was curious because, when I worked downtown just south of Hemisfair Plaza, my mother was horrified that my place of business was actually in a section of what used to the the old "red light" district.  I laughed but one day I was there late, by myself until my husband could pick me up, and the neighborhood definitely took on another feel at dusk.  Ghosts, maybe?  Ha!

The book was very interesting when I looked at where events took place or where businesses were located and they were areas that I am familiar with and had no idea that shady things had once gone on there!

Anyway, this was my 20th book for my Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge and I can't get it to post!  Grrrr!

It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times -- No, Wait, It Was Just July


Do we all remember when Queen Elizabeth referred to her particularly very bad year as "annus horribleus"?  Well, that is how I feel about July but just don't know how to say it in Latin.  It all started the last of June, actually.  School had let out,  plans were made for the Bean's birthday party, the day had arrived, the guests were there and the party ensued but the honoree's mother was on the bathroom floor writhing in pain.  Immediately after the last guest left, Dear Daughter was taken to the emergency room (this was a Saturday) to have her gall bladder removed as she had two gall stones stuck in a duct.  Of course, she had to wait until Monday because only emergencies are taken on weekends so she had one procedure on Monday to remove the offending stones and the second procedure on Tuesday to remove the offending gall bladder.  I stayed at her house for the duration.

I felt terrible.  Couldn't breathe.  Couldn't walk. Chest pains.  Yes, I was going to the doctor right after the planned trip to San Antonio on July 8.

The trip to San Antonio came and went and I wasn't able to participate much because of the aforementioned symptoms.  During one sight seeing venture, I just stayed in the hotel room.  We came home.  Truly, the daughter shouldn't have gone either as she was having trouble eating from the surgery. I made and went to the dr. appointment as I said I would. I still felt horrible but he said everything sounded fine and looked good.  This was on Wednesday.  On Thursday I was sent to the hospital because my hemoglobin was half what it should be. I received four pints of blood.  When the doctor started quizzing me I mentioned that I had never been through menopause and immediately a gyno was called in and in very short order I had an exam, a sonogram, a biopsy and a referral to a gynecological oncologist.  The next week I had a hysterectomy, a pathology report that declared everything negative but one lymph node and because of that one lymph node and the fact that the type of malignancy tends to be a bit aggressive,  I will be starting a  twelve week stint of chemo starting on August 19. 

This blog is primarily a book blog, a Bean blog, sometimes a travel blog, sometimes a rant/vent blog.  What it will never be is a political blog or a cancer blog.  I am upbeat, I think things will go well, I have faith in the doctor and in my God and I will not allow this to define me.  I have not discussed this on Facebook and will not do so -- I have talked to the people that I feel need to know and that is where I am leaving it.  I just wanted my bloggy friends to know why I haven't been here for a while and also that I feel really good, have a very positive outlook and feel that things are going to go well for me. 

So, on that note, I would like to add that I have been doing a LOT of reading during all of this -- I finished "Sullivan's Island" and am half way through "Return to Sullivan's Island".  They are fantastic reads and I recommend to everyone.

And She Lives to Tell The Tale --

Yes, today I went to visit the little doctor man.  I was anxious, upset, and my hands felt like they had been in cold storage.  He was friendly and personable.  I was comfortable with him and the nurse although I still don't like the Nazi receptionist.  The final result was my heart and lungs sound normal -- how can that be -- I have an irregular heart beat and I have heart palpitations and now I have chest pains.  Ah, yes, anxiety.  The blood sugar was normal but he did the A1C anyway.  The thyroid is in question but we will have the results of that Friday as well.  So, he sent me on my way and pronounced me ok albeit somewhat of a nervous, anxiety ridden walking disaster.  Take Clariten for the allergies, exercise, good about that 31 lb. weight loss, get a new b/p monitor and have a nice day.  Sigh.  I am pleased, don't get me wrong, I am just surprised.  Is the mind all that powerful to make a sick person out of a well person?  I guess it could be.  I think I am a good example of the first year psychology student who analyzes everybody -- maybe I know a just enough medical stuff to be dangerous.  In any event, we will talk more when the test results come back.

If It's Not One Damn Thing, It's Another......

Yep, those are the words of my wise Aunt V.  The last several weeks have been chock full of challenges and the only good one resulted in a new computer for me.  And a new Vera Bradley tote bag.

It all started when school let out and my DD went back to being a full time mommy and I went back to whatever it was I used to do before I became a part time caregiver to the Bean.  It is hard to remember what I used to do so for the better part of June I just sort of roamed around the house.  I did notice, however, that I was getting shortwinded.  Well, I do have allergies so.....that is my catch all excuse for everything.

Anyway, about three weeks ago I noticed that I could only walk about 25 steps before I got this really bad pain in my chest.  I had had this pain before but usually only outside.  Now it was happening inside after 25 steps.  It made me nervous.  I started researching online and I think I have angina.  Or possibly anxiety.  There is no "possibly" for the anxiety -- I have always been the most nervous person I have ever known -- well, not really, I think my mother cornered the market on that.  Anyway,  on the 29th I went to the Bean's birthday party and when I walked in I found that my daughter was in great pain -- she had been since Thursday but didn't say much.  However, this was different.  The party happened, all 30 something people came, ate donuts, opened gifts and left all while my DD was wadded up in a ball on her bathroom floor.  After almost everybody left she did too -- for the hospital.  Long story short -- bad gall bladder, two stones stuck in a duct, surgery not an option.  Done. 

A week later it was off to San Antonio for a little vacation.  My chest was still hurting tafter 25 steps so I didn't do so well.  DD did fine, she went on the trip with the blessing of her surgeon, but came home with a blood clot in her wrist.  After they dropped us off at our house they were back to the hospital -- blood clot is fine -- it will go away in a week or so.

So, back to me.  About six weeks ago I discovered that I was really thirsty -- a lot-- so I asked my hubs to test my blood -- he is diabetic so he has all the equipment.  I have been testing my blood sugar daily since then and it has stayed firmly in the pre-diabetes range except for the couple of times it has gone over into the diabetic range. 

Then, there is the ever present worry about my thyroid.  I had a diagnosis of overactive thyroid years ago - it was never addressed and nothing was ever done.  However, I think I have a thyroid issue since I have almost every symptom of both over and under active thyroid.

So, Wednesday I will be visiting my husbands little doctor.  I was always a doctor goer but, after my parents and aunt passed, I decided to fire the dr. we had been going to.  I never really trusted her, felt she was too handy with a prescription pad, and when I realized that she actually made deadly mistakes, I decided I was better off without her.  However, I don't know what the chest pain is, really, and WebMD isn't too reliable.  I could test my own thyroid but I would feel better with a dr. doing it and I can't do the A1C for the blood sugar so, hi ho, hi ho, off to the dr. I go.

That is why I have been absent here but that is temporary.  I will be back with more boring posts as soon as I have all this sorted out.  Or, maybe later to post some vacation pics.

WWW Wednesdays (June 19)

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?









I am currently reading Sullivan's Island by Dorothea Benton Frank.  It is another in her collection of Low Country novels.  I am half done and it has me completely taken in. 

I just finished reading A Highland Christmas by M. C. Beaton.  This is the first in the Hamish Macbeth series and it was completely enjoyable. It was a short read but it was engaging and entertaining.  I  can't wait to start on the next one,

I am not sure but I think I will start The Secret of the Old Clock next -- I might even read concurrently with Sullivan's Island. As a child I was not a big Nancy Drew fan but since I have been so enamoured with the Macbeth and Dimity series, I thought I would give it a go.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers



Ok, my teaser this week is coming from A Highland Christmas by M. C. Beaton, page 103.
 
"A red haired little boy  called Sean Morrison said "Folks say Morag has been visiting Mrs. Gallagher." There was an amazed chorus, "That old witch! Maybe she'll put a spell on her!"

This is a short little book -- only 130 pages -- and very easy reading but it is so relaxing -- you are simply transported to this little village of Lochdubh in Scotland and there you sit watching the antics and mysteries of the locals and you feel like you are right there.