"A Wish For Christmas"

As part of one year's Hallmark countdown to Christmas,  comes the movie, "A Wish For Christmas."  Sara Shaw works in the marketing department of a large firm and tends to sit by and let her boss take credit for her work.  When Christmas comes and he presents one of her ideas as if it is his own (again!) and receives major accolades from Peter, the handsome owner of the company, Sara (after being granted a 48 hour wish from Santa) decides to take the marketing director (her boss) to task over it.  She does it in front of Peter and all the other employees at the office Christmas party.  As a result, her marketing boss is fired and Peter  invites her to travel from Chicago to Seattle with him instead of her former boss to present her idea to a major client.  With the Santa wish due to expire in 48 hours, will Sara be able to continue to be the assertive, strong woman without the wish?  Before that happens she is able to show Peter (and herself) a side of herself she didn't know she had.  Along the way love and healing happens.  pazt

"More Harm Than Good"

"More Harm Than Good" by Andrew Grant is his third David Trevellyan thriller.  This time David ends up in the hospital in England after a mission in Europe.  He's had a second blow to the head within 6 months in his line of work and is being admitted for an MRI to make sure there is no permanent brain injury.

In the hospital David's boots are stolen on his first day - He loved those boots and that did not sit well with him at all.  Searching for the culprit who stole his boots leads to a chain of events that has him working undercover with a British domestic agency.  He's not comfortable working on his home turf nor is he comfortable with the fact that part of his undercover operation is to see if there is a leak in the agency he's been loaned to -- especially if that leak might be atttributed to an attractive young woman he's going to be working with.  As usual, not all is what it seems and it takes David and the team some time to unravel the truth with some excitement along the way.  pazt

"Me Before You"

"Me Before You' is a beautiful story about love and life transformations.  I really didn't know much about this movie before I decided to check it out from my local library.  Although it is a beautiful story that I would recommend, it probably wasn't the best choice for me and my spouse to be watching at the moment.  He was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer earlier this year and our future together is uncertain.  What we really need are uplifting movies with humor!  pazt

Decluttering and Magazines!

So....I'm into downsizing and decluttering my home and thirty plus years of accumulation is a lot to go through!  I'm currently working on the spare room  -- or what was meant to be my room as opposed to the room my spouse uses for a home office.  Instead, it's been where everything has been tossed for almost 10 years.  There is a queen size futon bed I purchased from our oldest daughter when she moved to England to marry a Brit.  It had been her sofa and bed in her Capital Hill studio apartment in Seattle.  I thought it would make a great guest bedroom piece of furniture but takes up almost the whole width of my spare room and is not that comfortable -- especially compared to one my daughter purchased a couple of years ago from IKEA for her guest bedroom.  Since our guests all stay at our local daughter's home, we don't really have a need for a guest bedroom so my goal is to clear out the room and reorganize so my son and grandson can move the futon out of that room and I can place an ad to sell or give it away!

One of my discoveries has been some old magazines.  I found a couple of Real Simple magazines today from September and October of 2012.  I love Real Simple magazines and they seem to call my name when I pass a magazine stand so I subscribed for a few years.  However, in looking through these old issues, I discovered lots of pictures -- particularly of current fashions -- but nothing much of substance that I wanted to save so they're going into the recycling bin.  There were 3 or 4 pages of ideas that I might try in decorating my home but the fashions are no longer in style. 

I did save some clever Halloween costume ideas from the October issue that I'll pass on to my daughter since she and the two children still at home dress up for Halloween each year.  There were a few recipes that I cut out but my husband and I switched to plant-based no oil, no dairy, no eggs, no meat, etc. a little over a year ago and most recipes from popular magazines don't fit in our new way of eating.  Sometimes I can adapt a recipe that looks good but I've probably already saved more recipes than I'll be able to try in my lifetime!

My favorite magazine used to be "Good Housekeeping" and, as a young wife and mother, I subscribed to it and looked forward to its arrival each month.  However, when they stopped including short stories throughout and a novel at the end, it lost its appeal and I stopped my subscription.  By then I'd gone back to school, finished college and a master's program and was working.  I still miss those short stories and novels, though!  pazt

"Christmas In Evergreen"

"Christmas In Evergreen" is a Hallmark movie that I checked out from my local library.  It's almost Christmas in the town of Evergreen, Vermont, and the local veterinarian is closing her practice and, for the first time in her life, is prepared to spend Christmas away from her family and friends -- in Washington, D.C.  Long distance has taken a toll on a romance and she and her boyfriend have agreed that she'll move to Washington, D. C., to give their relationship a chance.  She's accepted a job with a veterinary practic there but before she makes the move she is going to spend Christmas in D.C.

However, fate has a way of stepping in and changing the best laid plans.  When the Burlington airport is closed by snow, she finds herself interacting with a single dad doctor and his delightful daughter.  When they're unable to find anywhere to stay in Burlington overnight, she invites them to return to Evergreen with her and stay at a Bed and Breakfast that is about to open.  The closer it gets to Christmas and the less it seems she's likely to make it to D.C. for Christmas, she finds herself throoughly enjoying the company of the widower and his daughter and the pull to stay in Evergreen is strong.  pazt