John Simpson - Back for more 2014, Chapter Seven - The Epilogue

Welcome to the final chapter of 2014, please feel free to pop along and leave a message, you never know you might get a reply.

Books Read in 2014.

JANUARY

1. Death of an Outsider - M.C.Beaton
2. A Cold Day for Murder - Dana Stabenow
3. The Forgotten Affairs of Youth - Alexander McCall Smith
4. Jump - Jilly Cooper
5. I, Michael Bennett - James Patterson

FEBRUARY

6. Dead in the Water - Carola Dunn
7. The Shock of the Fall - Nathan Filer
8. The Promise - Danielle Steel
9. Citadel - Kate Mosse
10. The Brethren - John Grisham
11. The Vintage Teacup Club - Vanessa Greene

MARCH

12. Notorious Nineteen - Janet Evanovich
13. Something for the Weekend - Pauline McLynn
14. Sold to the man with the Tin Leg - Philip Serrell
15. The Long Shadow by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
16. An Advancement of Learning by Reginald Hill
17. London by Edward Rutherfurd
18. NYPD Red by James Patterson

APRIL

19. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection by Alexander McCall Smith
20. Before I go to Sleep by S.J.Watson
21. Winter Games by Rachel Johnson
22. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
23. Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer
24. The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly

MAY

25. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
26. Temeraire by Naomi Novik
27. Wicked Pleasures by Penny Vincenzi
28. Birdman by Mo Hayder

JUNE

29. Four Play by Fiona Walker
30. Theodore Boone : The Abduction by John Grisham
31. Styx and Stones by Carola Dunn
32. Season of Passion by Danielle Steel
33. Death of a Perfect Wife by M.C.Beaton
34. A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon
35. Death of a Hussy by M.C.Beaton

JULY

36. The Apprentice by Tess Gerritsen
37. 12th of Never by James Patterson
38. The Winds of War by Herman Wouk

AUGUST

39. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
40. Right on Time by Pauline McLynn
41. Drop Shot by Harlen Coben
42. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
43. World Without End by Ken Follett

SEPTEMBER

44. Death in the Cotswolds by Rebecca Tope
45. Private No1 Suspect by James Patterson
46. Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey
47. The Sins of The Father by Jeffrey Archer

OCTOBER

48. Rattle His Bones by Carola Dunn
49. The School Inspector Calls by Gervase Phinn
50. Merry Christmas, Alex Cross by James Patterson
51. Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich
52. Severed by Simon Kernick
53. Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson
54. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
55. Shall We Tell The President by Jeffrey Archer
56. The Life by Martina Cole

NOVEMBER

57. Open Season by C.J.Box
58. Wish Upon a Star by Trisha Ashley
59. Death of a Snob by M.C.Beaton
60. The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths
61. The Executioner's Son by Norman Mailer

DECEMBER

62. City of Women by David Gillham
63. Best Kept Secret by Jeffrey Archer
64. The Broken Souls by Jack Kerley
65. An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon

Books Bought in 2014.

JANUARY

1.The Einstein Pursuit by Chris Kuzneski £3.50
2.Alex Cross, Run by James Patterson £3.50
3.The Wood Beyond by Reginald Hill £0.50
4.The Wildcats by J.T.Edson £0.50
5.Hangman's Choice by Ralph Cotton £0.50
6.Pancho and Black Jack by Fred Bean £0.50
7.Paper Money by Ken Follett £0.33
8.Right on Time by Pauline McLynn £0.33
9.The Summer That Never Was by Peter Robinson £0.34
10.The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty £3.50
11.Philomena by Martin Sixsmith £3.50
12.Manna From Hades by Carola Dunn £2.25
13.A Colourful Death by Carola Dunn £2.25
14.Valley of the Shadow by Carola Dunn £2.49
15.The Shadow Child by Judith Lennox £1.59
16.Divine Justice by David Baldacci £1.49
17.The City of Gold and Lead by John Christopher £1.99
18.Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik £3.49
19.Black Powder War by Naomi Novik £2.49
20.Trains and Lovers by Alexander McCall Smith £7.99
21.A Thousand Pardons by Jonathan Dee £4.00
22.The Book Thief by Markus Zusak £7.99
23.The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer £4.00
24.Our Spoons Came From Woolworths by Barbara Comyns £8.99
25.The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce £4.00
26.The French Gardener by Santa Montefiore £3.00
27.Starry Night by Debbie Macomber £3.00
28.Pilgrim's Rest by Patricia Wentworth £2.50
29.Out of the Past by Patricia Wentworth £2.00
30.Earth by David Brin £1.50

FEBRUARY

31.Private Down Under by James Patterson £3.50
32.The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith £3.80
33.Something for the Weekend by Pauline McLynn £0.33
34.Belgarath the Sorcerer by David Eddings £0.33
35.Queen of Sorcery by David Eddings £0.34

MARCH

36. The Railway Man by Eric Lomax £3.79
37. An April Shroud by Reginald Hill £1.00
38. Chances by Freya North £1.00
39. Heresy by S.J.Parris £1.00
40. Enchanter's End Game by David Eddings £0.40
41. The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper £0.40
42. Bones and Silence by Reginald Hill £0.40
43. Cause of Death by Patricia Cornwell £0.40
44. Elephant Song by Wilbur Smith £0.40
45. Mick Grant, Takin' the Mick by Mick Grant £9.98
46. Shunt by Tom Rubython Free
47. Here be Dragons by Sharon Penman £1.50
48. When Christ and his Saints Slept by Sharon Penman £1.50
49. A French Affair by Katie Fforde £ 3.50
50. Blossom Street Brides by Debbie Macomber £3.50
51. Mistress by James Patterson £3.50
52. Anathem by Neal Stephenson £1.50
53. Hollywood Wives by Jackie Collins Free
54. Shatter the Bones by Stuart Macbride £1.79
55. Heirs of the Body by Carola Dunn £1.36
56. Paris by Edward Rutherfurd £1.36

APRIL

57.Patriot Games by Tom Clancy £1.25
58.Ultimatum by Simon Kernick £1.25
59.Irons in the Fire by Juliet E.McKenna £0.50
60.People of the Silence by Kathleen O'Neal Gear £0.50
61.Theodore Boone, The Activist by John Grisham £3.50
62.2014 Playfair Cricket Annual by £5.99
63.The Honor of the Queen by David Weber £7.50
64.The Gray Wolf Throne by Cinda Williams Chima £0.60
65.Scarlet Woman by Jessie Keane £0.60
66.Black Widow by Jessie Keane £0.60
67.Bloodstream by Tess Gerritsen £0.60
68.The Lost boy by Camilla Lackberg £0.60
69.Murder Most Royal by Jean Plaidy £0.50
70.Punish the Sinners by John Saul £0.50
71.Boneland by Alan Garner £0.60
72.The Scrivener's Tale by Fiona McIntosh £0.60
73.The Yips by Nicola Barker £0.60
74.The Northern Clemency by Philip Henscher £0.60
75.Frith on Cricket by David Frith £0.60
76.Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan £4.00
77.Everything to Lose by Andrew Gross £3.33
78.King and Maxwell by David Baldacci £3.33
79.The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton £3.34
80.The Sins of the Mother by Danielle Steel £0.33
81.Happy Birthday by Danielle Steel £0.33
82.Have a Nice Night by James Hadley Chase £0.34
83.Deception on his Mind by Elizabeth George £0.33
84.The Forgotten by David Baldacci £0.33
85.Dangerous Kiss by Jackie Collins £0.34
86.A Darkness More Than Night by Michael Connelly £0.33
87.Void Moon by Michael Connelly £0.33
88.Death of Yesterday by M.C.Beaton £0.34
89.Otherland by Tad Williams £0.33
90.The Emperor's Tomb by Steve Berry £0.33
91.Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey £0.34
92.Revenge by Martina Cole £3.99
93.Recipe for Life, The Autobiography by Mary Berry £3.99
94.The Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez £7.99
95.Storm Front by Jim Butcher £1.99

MAY
96.Castle of Wizardry by David Eddings £0.50
97.Guardians of the West by David Eddings £0.50
98.The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley £3.00
99.Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy £1.50
100.I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes £3.49
101.Home by Ronald Harwood £0.50
102.Godchildren by Nicholas Coleridge £0.50
103.The Bone Bed by Patricia Cornwell £3.34
104.Sea of Lost Love by Santa Montefiore £3.33
105.Secrets of The Lighthouse by Santa Montefiore £3.33
106.Private L.A by James Patterson £3.60
107.Underworld by Reginald Hill £0.50
108.The Case of William Smith by Patricia Wentworth £0.50
109.Sharpe's Honour by Bernard Cornwell £0.50
110.Seeress of Kell by David Eddings £0.50

JUNE
111. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare £11.99
112. Best Kept Secret by Jeffrey Archer £0.50
113. Sharpe's Trafalgar by Bernard Cornwell £0.50
114. Boycott the Autobiography by Geoffrey Boycott £0.60
115. The Omen Machine by Terry Goodkind £0.60
116. Five Star Billionaire by Tash Aw £0.60
117. The Shining Ones by David Eddings £0.49
118. Don't Point That Thing at Me by Kyril Bonfiglioli £3.99
119. The Kills by Richard House £9.99
120. The Unpredictable Consequences of Love by Jill Mansell £3.34
121. Summer at the Lake by Erica James £3.33
122. The Country Escape by Fiona Walker £3.33
123. The Case of the Gilded Fly by Edmund Crispin £1.20
124. The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin £1.20
125. Love Lies Bleeding by Edmund Crispin £1.20
126. Holy Disorders by Edmund Crispin £1.20
127. Swansong by Edmund Crispin £1.20
128. Buried for Pleasure by Edmund Crispin £0.99
129. The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite by Beatrice Colin £2.00
130. The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith £3.00
131. Bring Me Home by Alan Titchmarsh £4.99
132. The Village Vet by Cathy Woodman £1.30
133. Trust Me, I'm a Vet by Cathy Woodman £1.30
134. Must Be Love by Cathy Woodman £1.30
135. The Sweetest Thing by Cathy Woodman £1.30
136. It's a Vet's Life by Cathy Woodman £1.30
137. Vet's in Love by Cathy Woodman £1.49
138. An Immoral Code by Caro Fraser £1.70
139. Judicial Whispers by Caro Fraser £1.70
140. The Pupil by Caro Fraser £1.59
141. Expose! by Hannah Dennison £1.70
142. Scoop! by Hannah Dennison £1.70
143. Exclusive! by Hannah Dennison £1.59
144. High Rising by Angela Thirkell £1.70
145. Wild Strawberries by Angela Thirkell £1.70
146. Pomfret Towers by Angela Thirkell £1.59
147. The Truth by Peter James £1.00
148. Host by Peter James £1.00
149. Possession by Peter James £1.00
150. Twilight by Peter James £1.00
151. Prophecy by Peter James £1.00
152. Alchemist by Peter James £1.00
153. Denial by Peter James £1.00
154. Faith by Peter James £1.00
155. Sweet Heart by Peter James £1.00
156. Dreamer by Peter James £0.99
157. Storm Rising by Mercedes Lackey £0.50
158. Storm Breaking by Mercedes Lackey £0.50
159. Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich £3.99
160. The School Inspector Calls by Gervase Phinn £3.99
161. After You With The Pistol by Kyril Bonfiglioli £4.50
162. Something Nasty in The Woodshed by Kyril Bonfiglioli £8.99
163. The Great Mortdecai Moustache Mystery by Kyril Bonfiglioli £8.99
164. All The Tea in China by Kyril Bonfiglioli £8.99

JULY

165. White Heat by Dominic Sandbrook £2.50
166. The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer £1.99
167. Sense and Sensibility by Joanna Trollope £3.34
168. My Husband Next Door by Catherine Alliott £3.33
169. Sycamore Row by John Grisham £3.33
170. False Start by John Francome £0.33
171. The Bancroft Strategy by Robert Ludlum £0.33
172. The Lazarus Vendetta by Robert Ludlum £0.34
173. Sharpe's Sword by Bernard Cornwell £0.20
174. The Forests of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley £0.20
175. Severed by Simon Kernick £0.20
176. An Offer You Can't Refuse by Jill Mansell £0.20
177. The Forget-me-not Sonata by Santa Montefiore £0.20
178. Rumours by Freya North £0.50
179. Cry of the Halidon by Robert Ludlum £0.50
180. Lifeless by Mark Billingham £0.50
181. Soldiers of the Mist by Garry Kilworth £0.50
182. Meet me under the Ombu Tree by Santa Montefiore £0.50
183. The Deaths by Mark Lawson £3.99
184. The Summer Without You by Karen Swan £7.99
185. Second Honeymoon by James Patterson £4.00
186. The God's of Guilt by Michael Connelly £4.00
187. The Pheasants' Revolt by Brian Viner £1.00
188. Red Rabbit by Tom Clancy £1.00
189. On Beulah Height by Reginald Hill £1.00
190. The Butterfly Box by Santa Montefiore £2.00
191. The Foreign Field by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles £1.50
192. The Winding Road by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles £1.50
193. The Crippled God by Steven Erikson £2.00
194. Open Season by C.J.Box (Freebie from Barbara (ameise1) )

AUGUST

195. Gone by James Patterson
196. In The Name of Honour by Richard North Patterson £1.00
197. The Warrior's Princess by Barbara Erskine £1.00

SEPTEMBER

198. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt £4.49
199. NYPD2 by James Patterson £4.00
200. The Well of Tears by Cecilia Dart-Thornton £0.99
201. Weather Witch by Cecilia Dart-Thornton £0.99
202. The Barbed Coil by J.V.Jones £0.95
203. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry £2.00
204. Be Careful What You Wish For by Jeffrey Archer £3.00
205. The Way You Look Tonight by Richard Madeley £1.00
206. Poison in the Pen by Patricia Wentworth £0.50
207. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion £1.99
208. The Sins of The Father by Jeffrey Archer £2.25
209. Cathedral of the Sea by Ildefonso Falcones £1.50
210. The Watersplash by Patricia Wentworth £0.50
211. Skinner's Round by Quintin Jardine £0.50
212. Executive Orders by Tom Clancy £2.00
213. Requiem by Robyn Young £2.00

OCTOBER

214. Command Authority by Tom Clancy £3.50
215. The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson £3.50
216. And Quiet Flows The Don by Mikhail Sholokov £1.50
217. Saville by David Storey £1.00
218. Prince of the Blood by Raymond E.Feist £0.25
219. The Spirit of Cricket by Christopher Martin-Jenkins £0.25
220. Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber £2.00
221. A Week in Paris by Rachel Hore £3.15
222. Cross My Heart by James Patterson £3.15
223. Stalin's General, The Life of Georgy Zhukov by Geoffrey Roberts £10.99
224. Some Old Lover's Ghost by Judith Lennox £1.00
225. The Girl on the Cliff by Lucinda Riley £1.00
226. Kushiel's Avatar by Jacqueline Carey £2.49
227. Cricket, A Modern Anthology by Jonathan Agnew £2.49
228. Sidney Chambers and The Shadow of Death by James Runcie £7.99
229. Sidney Chambers and The Perils of the Night by James Runcie £3.99
230. The Care and Management of Lies by Jacqueline Winspear Free
231. My Autobiography by Guy Martin £6.99
232. The King's Curse by Philippa Gregory £4.00
233. W.G.Grace ate my Pedalo by Tyers and Beach £1.60
234. "What are the Butchers For" by Lawrence Booth £1.60
235. Elk Stopped Play by Charles Connelly £1.79
236. And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander £1.60
237. A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander £1.60
238. A Fatal Waltz by Tasha Alexander £1.79
239. The Cat Who Tailed a Thief by Lillian Jackson Braun £2.70
240. The Cat Who had 60 Whiskers by Lilian Jackson Braun £2.70
241. The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell by Lilian Jackson Braun £2.70
242. The Cat Who said Cheese by Lilian Jackson Braun £2.70
243. The Cat Who Sang to the Birds by Lilian Jackson Braun £2.70
244. The Cat Who Moved a Mountain by Lilian Jackson Braun £2.70
245. The Cat Who Played Post Office by Lilian Jackson Braun £2.70
246. The Cat Who Came to Breakfast by Lilian Jackson Braun £2.74
247. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe £1.99
248. The Heart of Midlothian by Sir Walter Scott £1.99
249. The Queen's Quair by Maurice Hewlett £1.99

NOVEMBER

250. The Blood of an Englishman by M.C.Beaton £3.99
251. Murder at the Brightwell by Ashley Weaver £3.99
252. The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton £3.99
253. Vintage Murder by Ngaio Marsh £1.28
254. Death in Ecstasy by Ngaio Marsh £1.28
255. The Nursing Home Murder by Ngaio Marsh £1.28
256. Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh £1.28
257. A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh £1.28
258. A Drake at the Door by Derek Tangye £1.33
259. A Cat at the Window by Derek Tangye £1.33
260. A Gull on the Roof by Derek Tangye £1.33
261. Vampire Voles by Gary Kilworth £2.49
262. Naked Empire by Terry Goodkind £1.00
263. Phantom by Terry Goodkind £1.00
264. The Tribes of Britain by David Miles Free
265. Nothing like it in the World by Stephen E.Ambrose Free
266. The Oxford History of the American West Edited by various authors Free
267. Fire & Steam by Christian Wolmar Free
268. The Dead Sea Deception by Adam Blake Free
269. The Sanctuary by Raymond Khoury Free
270. The Eagle and The Wolves by Simon Scarrow Free
271. Imperium by Robert Harris Free
272. Crown & Country by David Starkey Free
273. The English by Jeremy Paxman Free
274. The Political Animal by Jeremy Paxman Free
275. On Royalty by Jeremy Paxman Free
276. Master & Commander by Patrick O'Brien Free
277. Post Captain by Patrick O'Brien Free
278. H.M.S. Surprise by Patrick O'Brien Free
279. The Mauritius Command by Patrick O'Brien Free
280. Empire by Niall Ferguson Free
281. The Templar Legion by Paul Christopher Free
282. The Shadow Project by Scott Mariani Free
283. The Templar's Secret by C.M.Palov Free
284. Phoenix Squadron by Rowland White Free
285. Pharoah by Valerio Massimo Manfredi Free
286. Undaunted Courage by Stephen E.Ambrose Free
287. D-Day by Stephen E.Ambrose Free
288. Citizen Soldiers by Stephen E.Ambrose Free
289. The Faber Book of Reportage by John Carey Free
290. Newton and the Counterfeiter by Thomas Levenson Free
291. Wellington by Elizabeth Longford Free
292. The Memoirs of a Physcian by Alexandre Dumas £0.50
293. Old Mortality by Sir Walter Scott £0.50
294. Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn £0.50
295. Star Scroll by Melanie Rawn £0.50
296. Sunrunner's Fire by Melanie Rawn £0.50
297. The Fast Men by David Frith £1.00
298. Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs £0.33
299. Bones are Forever by Kathy Reichs £0.33
300. Killing Orders by Sara Paretsky £0.34
301. The Disorderly Knights by Dorothy Dunnett £0.33
302. Pawn in Frankincense by Dorothy Dunnett £0.33
303. The Ringed Castle by Dorothy Dunnett £0.34
304. Skallagrigg by William Horwood £0.33
305. Under Orders by Dick Francis £0.33
306. Sharpe's Rifles by Bernard Cornwell £0.34

DECEMBER

307. Unlucky 13 by James Patterson £4.00
308. In The Summertime by Judy Astley £1.75
309. The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett £2.50
310. Queen's Play by Dorothy Dunnett £2.00
311. Checkmate by Dorothy Dunnett £2.50
312. A Christmas Feast and Other Stories by Katie Fforde £3.99
313. Larkswood by Valerie Mendes £3.99
314. The New Collected Short Stories by Jeffrey Archer £4.99
315. The Bookshop Book by Jen Campbell £6.99
316. Playing it My Way, The Autobiography by Sachin Tendulkar £15.00
317. The Corridor of Certainty, My Life Beyond Cricket by Geoffrey Boycott £16.00

Just to let everyone know my current reading is:

The Chevalier by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon

Latest reading stats:

Books on shelves at 1-10-14 - 1918
Books added in October - 36
Books read in October - 9

Revised book total - 1945

Pages to read at 1-10-14 - 836,076
Pages added in October - 14,060
Pages read in October - 4,132

Revised total pages to read - 846,004

Happy New Thread, John and have fun with 'Open Season'.

Just a little bit more on the stats front to keep me happy.

MONTH - PAGES READ - DAILY AVERAGE

January - 2052 - 66.19

February - 2649 - 94.61

March - 3449 - 111.26

April - 2994 - 99.80

May - 2218 - 71.55

June - 3086 - 102.87

July - 1844 - 59.48

August - 2624 - 84.65

September - 2271 - 75.70

October - 4132 - 133.29

November - 2291 - 76.36

December - 2449 - 79.00

Total - 31856 - 87.30

>7 Ameise1:, Thanks Barbara.

More to follow tomorrow guys and gals.

As I mentioned at the end of my last thread I have sorted out a reading plan for 2015, it is as follows, I will be reading a book from a set page span and these are:

100 to 199
200 to 299
300 to 399 etc up to 1,000 onwards

This means that it will be a cycle of ten and as I read two books at a time I can't start a new book until I have finished the lowest in the cycle, hopefully this will help me get to 75 books read for the year, it will help me get more books in series' finished and some of the big books will get read.

Although like Mr Cranswick I cannot avoid purchasing books I will be trying to ease off a bit and so books bought will be for my cricket collection rather than for general reading.

Sounds very interesting. Myownself can't read different books at the same time that makes me confused. :-)

Happy New Thread, John! I'll be interested in following your reading plan for next year.

>13 scaifea:, Thanks Amber.

Think I may be starting with the cold bug that has afflicted Karen, if this is the case I will have to sleep in the spare bedroom so that I do not re-infect Karen before her op.

I have made a good start on The Executioner's Song and Open Season so if I do get the dreaded bug I will get some decent reading done.

John, how long will Karen stay at the hospital?

I hope you get well soon. Drink tea of fresh ginger, lime and honey. xx

>16 Ameise1:, Barbara, Karen was due to go into hospital at 12.15 pm on Thursday and now she has to go in first thing, (although she has to wait for the letter to come which should be tomorrow) so I think they will keep her in overnight as she doesn't come out from the anaesthetic too well.

I will follow your advice about the tea as I need to be fit to look after Karen.

>4 johnsimpson: woah! That is quite the book collection for 2014!!

I hope you enjoy the Executioner's Song, it is one I have wanted to read for ages. And I will, when the mood takes me :)

>18 LovingLit:, Thanks Megan and there are still two months of the year to go for it to be added to. It is a good job I trawl the charity shops and there is a good book man in the market house in Wakefield where paperbacks are 50p and hardbacks are £1. Hope everything is well with you and the family my dear.

Hi John! Belatedly trying to catch up with everyone before the end of the year. :)
I hope you feel better soon and that Karen stays healthy. Germs begone!

It's official, I have the dreaded cold bug, not feeling too good but need to keep my distance from Karen before her op. Karen goes for her pre-op assessment this afternoon, hopefully everything will be ok for her, looks like I am in the spare bed for the next few nights now. Oh well, at least I should get some decent reading done over the next few days.

It is a sunny but cool Monday here in Walton and although I have the lurgy I don't feel too bad at the moment. I have caught up with a few threads and got some reading done and will soon be picking Karen up from work to take her to the hospital for her pre-op assessment.

Hope you feel better soon mate. Love to all.
Your page reading records are remarkably similiar to my own this year. Good luck with knocking off the 19 books to reach the target.

>23 PaulCranswick:, Cheers mate.

Karen has been for her pre-op assessment and everything is good to go, she has to be at the hospital for 7.15am on Thursday and between now and then she has to smear a pink liquid over all her body, leave it for one minute and then shower off twice a day. This is because she needed her MRSA test re-done as her last test has expired, they rang about this test last Wednesday and needed her to come in but because I knew she had her pre-op appointment I let them know so they said it could be done then, unfortunately from test to results takes five days and there is insufficient time before her op so this liquid and shower will do the trick. She has finished work now, having put two days holiday in to cover the next two days and she won't be back at work until January at the earliest.

I hope everything goes well on Thursday, John. Give Karen all my love. I will be thinking of you both the coming days!

It has been a busy but enjoyable day, I had to pop into town this morning so Karen strained the jars containing the Blackberry Gin and Vodka ready to bottle up and did a bit of ironing. After a nice cup of tea and some tidying up in the kitchen we went to pick Louise up to go to Costco, part way through shopping I got a call to pick Rob up from work as he was not well at all. We got some large household items that will save us a bit of money by buying in bulk and then it was time for home. Once home we had a cup of tea before bottling the flavoured Vodka and Gin and then Karen decided to make a drunken Blackberry crumble, it is delicious by the way as we had some after our tea and there is a bit left for tomorrow.

drunken blackberry crumble....never had it before but boy does that sound yum right now! :)

>27 johnsimpson: Is there any of that crumble left? I'll be right over...

Thinking of you both this week...

>28 jolerie:, Valerie it is yummy, just need to be careful what you are doing after eating it and the size of the portion. It could be that if you were driving you may be over the alcohol limit.

>29 scaifea:, Amber come on over some left and Karen has put some of the alcohol soaked blackberries into the freezer for a later date. Please see the next post.

Karen had a phone call just before 7pm tonight from the hospital, they were ringing to postpone her op as due to an influx of emergencies they could not offer her a bed. Hopefully she will be called in in the next few days, they told her that they would be contacting her tomorrow to give her some more information. As I have the dreaded cold I have spent the last two nights in the spare bed and will be doing so for the next two days to make sure Karen doesn't get any germs but she was all geared up for her op and now has to wait a bit longer poor lass. She would like to thank you all for the good wishes sent to her via my thread.

Seems like so many people are dealing with hospital/health issues. That just stinks. Hopefully Karen will get her op sooner than later and will be back to good health soon! You are both in my prayers. In the meantime comfort via drunken food related stuff sounds good! :)

>32 jolerie:, Thanks for the message and we will find comfort in the "Drunken" food.

John, I hope that Karen haven't to wait too long. hugs xx

>34 Ameise1:, Barbara, I hope her wait isn't too long either, she was all geared up for tomorrow and now she has a wait which isn't good for her. Love and hugs to you and Thomas my dear.

Howdy John! Lots to comment on.

I love your reading plan for next year. I can't wait to see what you decide to read.

I also want to know what you think of The Executioner's Song That is one book that I have wanted to read and have not. I honestly don't know why.

Drunken blackberry crumble sounds divine!

I am so sorry about your cold but I think you are very wise to sleep in the other room. Get better soon.

I also think it is smart that Karen is using the pre-op prep (we used Hibclens for my mom) because safe is better than sorry. It only works for 24 hours so she will probably have to soap up again. :-(

Message for Karen: Karen you are in my thoughts and prayers. I'm sorry your surgery was postponed. Who know the reasons for this beyond emergencies but I know it is very stressful. I am sending you peaceful and healing thoughts for your surgery and for the wait and after. You have a very lovely smile and I hope you will be smiling non-stop in the days to come. May peace be with you.

Oh, dang, I'm sorry that Karen has to wait longer - the waiting is always the worst part! Thinking of you both, as always.

>36 luvamystery65:, Hi Roberta, let me try to answer your comments my dear.

I have not decided what to read yet but the way my plan goes it should help me to read books from the vast number of series' that I have got and with the larger books I have a number of standalone and auto/biographies available.

I am about a fifth of the way throughThe Executioner's Song and am enjoying it, it is a bit different and the first Mailer I have read but with what I remember of the case and now this it is making for a good read and I would definitely recommend it.

I think today it my worst day with the cold and I feel better sleeping in the spare room rather than re-infecting Karen even though I miss her by my side. I will be posting the latest on her op after this.

Love and hugs to you my dear and Karen says a big thank you for your kind thoughts.

>37 scaifea:, Hi Amber, Your comments are correct my dear but there maybe a reason for this that a higher authority deigned, love and hugs to you and see next post for update on her op.

After the phone call last night cancelling Karen's op she was told they would contact her first thing this morning, this they failed to do. After waiting until 1pm, Karen decided to ring and find out what was going to happen as she wanted to allay any fears but also so she could let work know what the situation was. After being given a couple of numbers to contact someone, numbers which rang once and then clicked off, she got a bit angry and found three numbers on her letter which were for members of the plastic surgery team, one lovely lady told Karen that the lady who sorts the op register was off today but told her that she will be ringing Karen in the morning and she would make sure this happened. Also this lovely lady answered a Karen's question which was why if she was down as an elective daycase patient why was it cancelled as there is a daycase ward, she was told that whoever had told her it was a daycase op was mistaken and that she would be in for at least two to three days as it is a big op and they need to monitor her for at least 48 hours after surgery, this is what we thought ourselves but were told different originally. Karen is now feeling better with this information and the fact that this morning she felt that the cold she thought had virtually cleared seemed to have come back and so they may not have done the op if she had turned up. Maybe somebody thought that she wasn't quite ready for surgery after her cold and so this cancellation occurred to give her time to be fully fighting fit for this op. She is a bit annoyed but thinks it is for the best. She loves you all for the kind messages that have been sent for her. I will keep everyone updated on the op status and when she has surgery as this will help her recovery.

Glad to hear that she got some help and some confusion cleared up, John. Again thinking of you both and praying for rest of the process to be smooth and uncomplicated.

>40 jolerie:, Thanks Valerie, love and hugs my dear.

Isn't it funny how these sorts of things turn out to be for the best? Still thinking of you both...

>42 scaifea:, Probably Amber.

Latest news is that they did not phone Karen this morning so she rang them and spoke to one of the plastic surgery team and she is booked in for the 20th of November. They will be sending a letter with all the details and time she has to be in for. A two week wait is not too bad and she should be rid of the cold by then.

John, I wish you and Karen a relaxed and healing weekend. I hope you both get better soon. xx

What a mess, John! I hope the second appointment will not be postponed again. Waiting on something you are not looking forward too is the worst thing.

>44 Ameise1:, Thanks Barbara.

>45 connie53:, Thanks Connie.

I finished book Fifty-Seven late last night Open Season by C.J.Box. This is a lovely book and introduces Game Warden Joe Pickett and the State of Wyoming. I really enjoyed this tale of life as a game warden in Wyoming and the deceit that can lead to murder and ruination of a good man. Joe Pickett is a character that has grown on me and I will be getting more of these books. The biggest thing this book has done is to introduce the State of Wyoming to me and I want to know more, I love history and travel and this is a place I want to at least investigate even if I never visit. That can be the wonder of a fiction book, it opens horizons and makes you want to know more about the place.

John, I'm glad to hear that you liked this book too.

>47 johnsimpson: I'm always stunned when people say they read nonfiction because there isn't anything to be learned from fiction. I wonder what fiction they've read. Probably zilch!

>49 clue:, Clue I think you are right with your comment. I am from the UK and have read numerous books about America mainly focusing on its history but not about individual states and so this book has piqued my interest. Also for that matter, I am Fifty-One years old and do not know the history of every county in the UK but have visited a number of places over the years but when we decide to go somewhere new to us I look around for information about the county I am going to if I know nothing of it. I find that fiction can open doors that you won't necessarily find if you just read non-fiction because you may only read non-fiction that interests you and leaves you blind to other areas. Hope you have a good Sunday Clue.

Another day and we are still fully under the weather with this dreaded cold bug, I think I need to put a black cross on the front door to ward people away. On a positive note, I have to go to the doctors tomorrow for a medication review so I will get fully checked out and Karen is coming with me to try and get an appointment as she thinks it has now gone onto her chest. Karen has ten days to get clear before her op so it will be more nights in the spare bedroom for me.

Later today I am now taking Karen's place taking Hannah and Shannon to Disney on ice at the Sheffield Arena and because Rob is not well and Louise has to work I am now being accompanied with his MIL. The changes to who is going to this event have been mind boggling, hopefully there will be no more changes to personnel before we set off at 5pm.

If you like to read about the state of Wyoming you could add the Walt Longmire books to your reading list. These are written by Craig Johnson and are mysteries set in a Wyoming county and are about a county sheriff named Walt Longmire and his friends. This is a mystery series and there is also an American TV show based on this series that you might enjoy watching. There is also Annie Proulx book Bird Cloud which is a memoir about the years she built a house and lived in Wyoming.

John I second Benita that the Longmire books are great way to discover Wyoming. Next year instead of a year long with Spenser we decided to alternate between The Navajo Mystery series of Tony Hillerman (That was a gem of a find thanks to Benita!) and Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire series. We will alternate the series every other month. The Longmire portion starts in February with book one. The reading list is below. Join us if you like. I'll start up a thread when the 2015 75 group is created.

Navajo Mystery(Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee)/Walt Longmire Project

January - The Blessing Way
February - The Cold Dish
March - Dance Hall of the Dead
April - Death Without Company
May - Listening Woman
June - Kindness Goes Unpunished
July - People of Darkness
August - Another Man's Moccasins
September - The Dark Wind
October - The Dark Horse
November - The Ghostway
December - Junkyard Dogs

Hi John! I hope you and Karen get well soon!

Thinking of you and Karen, John, and hoping you both have a well-deserved good week!

>52 benitastrnad:; >53 luvamystery65:; Thanks Benita and Roberta for a heads up for future Wyoming reading, I will have to check the availability of getting hold of these books, if I can I will join your reading challenge.

>54 connie53:; >55 scaifea:, thanks guys for the lovely messages.

We have both been to see the doctor, I went this morning and had my medication check up and mentioned this cold so she checked me over and it hasn't gone onto my chest so I just need to carry on with the shop bought remedies. Karen made an appointment for the afternoon and came out with a prescription for antibiotics and was told she should have gone last week but this should clear her up by next Monday so she should be ready for her op. It needs to clear up as I do not like spending nights in the spare bedroom. We have caught up with more programmes we have recorded and I have got some reading done.

I had a lovely time at the Disney on Ice show at the Sheffield Arena, in the end it was me, Rob's MIL, Shannon and Hannah. Hannah was really good and only fell asleep with about 15 minutes to the end, all she really wanted to see was Elsa.

I'm glad to hear that your appointments went well, and here's hoping the antibiotics do the trick for Karen. I love the idea of taking Hannah to Disney on Ice! We should try to get Charlie to a live show sometime soon...

Good to hear the colds are under control. Especially for Karen. With her surgery coming up she will have to be as healthy as can be.

The colds have got no worse and hopefully we are on the road to recovery, this morning I went to get the very small amount of shopping and picked up a couple of shirts that Karen had ordered for me whilst she did a little bit of housework. Karen was a little bit tired after this and I was the same after the shopping but at least we were able to do something, unfortunately the shirts were not right so back to the drawing board.

The letter about Karen's op came with the post and she is due in at 12.15pm on the 20th but if it is anything like last time they will change it to an early morning call.

#53
I may sneak some reading in with you guys, as I have not read any of the Longmire books and there are two of the Hillerman books I haven't read either.

Sorry about all the delays, but Karen will be in great shape come the 20th. Hoping the two of you are well ASAP!! And that you don't have to sleep in the spare bedroom much longer. Hugs.

>61 benitastrnad: Be glad for you to join in Benita. You sent me on the trail of the Hillerman books so I owe half the project to you. Your insight will be a real treat.

>62 Berly:, Thanks Kim and hopefully I will be back in the marital bed in the next few days.

>63 luvamystery65:, Hi Roberta, I haven't looked at sourcing the books yet but I will give it a good go.

A nice steady day for the pair of us today, we did get a lovely surprise in the post, Our dear friend Connie sent Karen a nice card ahead of her op next. Karen was very surprised and loved it and would like to thank Connie for thinking of her. Connie you are a star my dear.

This afternoon I went and picked Hannah up for a few hours as this is the last time we will see her for a couple of weeks as Karen will not really be up to much once she comes out of hospital.

Depending on the weather and how Karen is feeling, we hope to pop over to Skipton for a few hours to have a mooch around and Karen can go to one of her favourite shops to pick up a Christmas decoration for the tree, it has become an annual thing for her to get a new bauble each year and she has got Amy doing it as well.

John, I wish you and Karen a lovely weekend.

I hope you and Karen and wonderful Hannah Friday.

>66 Ameise1:, Thanks Barbara.

>67 luvamystery65:, Roberta we had a lovely day with her although she was a bit of a madam at one point.

We ended up going to Skipton even though it was quite foggy when we set off, we had to endure a diversion which we thought would cost us a chance of getting parked up. We managed to get one or two Christmas presents and I picked up three books which I thought was quite conservative of me, ha ha. We went to the canal basin in the old part of Skipton and came across a nice craft and gift outlet in what used to be the old fire station and I went into the town's stationary shop which I had not come across before and saw a lovely Faber-Castell fountain pen which I have added to my future gift list.
Both Karen and I are feeling quite a bit better although Karen was a bit tired by the time we got home.

Just added my recent book purchases and I am now up to 263 new books for the year so far, I don't think I will reach 300, or that is my hope as I have enough to keep me going.

It is cold and rainy here in T-town today. Perfect for a cup of tea and reading. I plan on taking it easy today and baking some cornmeal muffins to eat later this week with my vegetable beef soup that I have in the freezer. I am deep into a YA fantasy series called Girl of Fire and Thorns and loving it.

I think there is something wrong with my house furnace as it took it all day yesterday to get the house warmed up to 70 degrees and it wasn't that cold outside. I guess I will have to contact the landlord and get somebody out to check it. Other than that, I am loving the change in weather. The trees are changing colors here and we have some beautiful Gingko trees on campus that will soon turn to a brilliant yellow.

Late Friday night I finished knitting a sweater that I have been working on for most of the year. It is simply beautiful and the yarn for it was hugely expensive good quality stuff so overall I am so pleased with the outcome. Now all I have to do in order to wear it is to get the piece sewn together. That is going to take several weeks but I hope to get it done in order to wear for Christmas.

The two of you have a lot going on next week so rest up.

>71 benitastrnad:, Hi Benita, you will have to post a picture of your sweater when it is finished my dear. I think we have got the same weather at the moment although it is supposed to become drier as the week progresses, hope you get your heating sorted out before it starts to get really cold.

A nice steady relaxing day for us, a lie-in and a late breakfast and then watching some cookery programmes. We then caught up on some programmes we had recorded and then got a late lunch prepared. Everything has been good today and now we are just relaxing, Karen goes back to work tomorrow and she will be busy on Tuesday and Wednesday as it is double discount day for the staff.

Oh, it sounds like you had a lovely relaxing Sunday!

>74 scaifea:, Amber it was a lovely relaxing day and Karen got some of the frozen alcohol soaked blackberries out to thaw and made another Drunken blackberry crumble, it is yummy with two portions left for tonight.

>75 johnsimpson: Aw, man! So jealous right now...

>76 scaifea:, I'm sorry Amber, it is so not right of me to make you jealous my dear.

>77 johnsimpson: Darn tootin'! *snork!*

Book Fifty-Eight finished just before lunch today, Wish Upon a Star by Trisha Ashley. This is part of the Lancashire series and is a nice gentle read and mentions a favourite Lancashire market town that I like to visit, Ormskirk. Cally Weston is a recipe writer based in London but when her daughter becomes sick she has to relocate to Lancashire and stay with her mum in the village of Sticklepond. Whilst in Sticklepond she meets a baker called Jago and a friendship blossoms, but with an ill daughter the last thing on her mind is romance. So ensues a tale that includes bitchy exes and intrigue in a family name. This is a read I would recommend.

Wishing you a lovely day and hope that Karen feels much better. xx

Had a good day after an early start, poor Karen had to be at work for 7am this morning and the same tomorrow as it is double discount day for the staff so we were up at 6am so we could have a quick drink of tea before we set off. Once I had dropped her off I popped into store to get what we needed and then home for breakfast. Once I had done this I checked over a box of books a good friend had given me, 28 out of 33 were of interest and so these have been added to my TBR pile and then I had to pop into town to do some banking and I had a stroll around town and came home with six more books for a total cost of £3.50, two of which were Collins pocket classics from the turn of the 20th century and one was a cricket book signed by the author. This signed book was inscribed to the owner at the time and luckily for me his name was John. So today I have garnered 34 books to my TBR pile. I will add these to my books gained in 2014 post at the top of this thread.

>80 Ameise1:, Thanks for the message Barbara and I hope you enjoyed the Peter Gabriel concert.

Today's book haul as mentioned in post 81.

264. The Tribes of Britain by David Miles Free
265. Nothing like it in the World by Stephen E.Ambrose Free
266. The Oxford History of the American West Edited by various authors Free
267. Fire & Steam by Christian Wolmar Free
268. The Dead Sea Deception by Adam Blake Free
269. The Sanctuary by Raymond Khoury Free
270. The Eagle and The Wolves by Simon Scarrow Free
271. Imperium by Robert Harris Free
272. Crown & Country by David Starkey Free
273. The English by Jeremy Paxman Free
274. The Political Animal by Jeremy Paxman Free
275. On Royalty by Jeremy Paxman Free
276. Master & Commander by Patrick O'Brien Free
277. Post Captain by Patrick O'Brien Free
278. H.M.S. Surprise by Patrick O'Brien Free
279. The Mauritius Command by Patrick O'Brien Free
280. Empire by Niall Ferguson Free
281. The Templar Legion by Paul Christopher Free
282. The Shadow Project by Scott Mariani Free
283. The Templar's Secret by C.M.Palov Free
284. Phoenix Squadron by Rowland White Free
285. Pharoah by Valerio Massimo Manfredi Free
286. Undaunted Courage by Stephen E.Ambrose Free
287. D-Day by Stephen E.Ambrose Free
288. Citizen Soldiers by Stephen E.Ambrose Free
289. The Faber Book of Reportage by John Carey Free
290. Newton and the Counterfeiter by Thomas Levenson Free
291. Wellington by Elizabeth Longford Free
292. The Memoirs of a Physcian by Alexandre Dumas £0.50
293. Old Mortality by Sir Walter Scott £0.50
294. Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn £0.50
295. Star Scroll by Melanie Rawn £0.50
296. Sunrunner's Fire by Melanie Rawn £0.50
297. The Fast Men by David Frith £1.00

John, the concert was GORGEOUS. I posted some more pics on FB and will do so on LT tomorrow.

Yay for more book acquisitions and double yay for most of them being free. Thinking of you and Karen. Sending you both continual good health energies!

I see you got a nice selection of the early Master and Commander books by Patrick O'Brian. These are hugely popular here in the U. S. so getting them free is really nice. The Stephen Ambrose books are also much in demand here. I have read Undaunted Courage and liked it. Somewhere in my collection I have Imperium by Robert Harris. It is a fictionalized account of the life of Cicero. You have some good reading ahead of you.

>83 johnsimpson: Wow! What a haul, John!!

John!!! What a lot of books! WOW.

John I read The Sanctuary (4 1/2 stars) in 2010. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

>84 Ameise1:, Glad you enjoyed Peter Gabriel, Karen has bought me the R-Kive album from Genesis which also features solo stuff from all the band members throughout their history, for Christmas.

>85 jolerie:, Thanks Val for the good wishes, Karen is relaxing ready to go in to hospital tomorrow lunchtime.

>86 benitastrnad:, Hi Benita, it is a varied selection of reading matter and some will be read next year.

>87 scaifea:, Amber it is the biggest haul this year, I am seriously addicted to books but there are worse things.

>88 connie53:, Hi Connie, it is a lot of books but I needed to give them a good home.

>89 Ameise1:, Thanks Barbara for view on The Sanctuary, I am looking forward to reading it.

Lucky boy for getting such a fab x-mas present. Will be thinking of Karen tomorrow the whole day. Please, keep me informed how it went. xx

>91 Ameise1:, You are on my list to be informed how she is my dear, I have a long list of messages to be sent or calls to be made.

Book Fifty-Nine finished mid-morning, Death of a Snob by M.C.Beaton, this is the sixth in the Hamish Macbeth series and was a nice enjoyable light read. Hamish appears to be having to spend Christmas on his own until his friend Priscilla asks him to help a friend of hers by listening to her problem. Hamish listens to Jane Weatherby's tale and with a bit of gilding of the tale gets offered a holiday at her health farm over the Christmas period. Everything seems to be going ok at the health farm and the friends that Jane had invited seem to be getting along ok until one of them goes missing, a search party is got together and it is Hamish who spots a body at the bottom of a cliff, the police are informed and accidental death is the cause given until Hamish takes it upon himself to want to know more as he thinks a murder has been committed. Will Hamish get to the truth or will he be found to be wrong in this instance?

>92 johnsimpson: So, you are kept pretty busy tomorrow. Thanks John and please give Karen a gentle hug from me. xx

>94 Ameise1:, I will gladly give Karen a hug from you my dear, I think I will get quite a bit of reading done over the next two or three days whilst she is in hospital Barbara.

John please send Karen my love and I will thinking of her and sending her my best.

Thinking of you both today, John...

I hope everything is al right with Karen! Love and hugs for the both of you.

Thinking of you both today!

Karen went down to theatre at 1pm and was transferred to the recovery suite at 5.10pm and then onto the ward at 7.10pm. I managed to see her for 25 minutes and considering what she has gone through she was quite chatty. According to the surgeon she has taken away 14 pounds of excess skin and fat etc and has told Karen that she will call her back in in six months to tidy up the scarring (she has bad scarring which she was warned about before the op as her skin below was thin) and will take a fatty lump off her back which is a relic of the weight loss after her bypass surgery. Hopefully she will be able to come home on Sunday if everything goes well, if not she will be home on Monday. She would like to thank everyone for their lovely messages and I would like to thank you all for your support.

>100 johnsimpson: I'm so happy to hear that everything went well for Karen! I'm positive that you'll be a busy bee this weekend getting ready to pamper her like crazy when she gets home... Hugs to you both (gentle ones for Karen).

>101 scaifea:, she will be pampered for weeks my dear and in fact I am going to Sheffield in the morning to do a bit of Christmas shopping and will be making sure that I get her some really good gifts because she has gone through a lot today. I will have plenty of time and then I will go to see her at the afternoon visiting and then at the night time visiting, the shopping will keep me occupied. Love and hugs to you and the family my dear.

>102 johnsimpson: Good man! *smiles*

Good to hear that the op went well, John. I hope last night she slept reasonably well too.

Give her my love and gentle hugs and a big hug for you! You are such a dear man.

>103 scaifea:, Thanks Amber.

>104 connie53:, Hi Connie, unfortunately Karen had a bad nights sleep and with the morphine for pain relief she has been drowsy all day. The surgeon who did the op came to see her this morning and whilst changing her dressings she was pleased with the result although she reiterated that she would call Karen back in six months time to tidy the scarring up and also mentioned about sorting her boobs out, Karen thought this was down to us to fund but Miss Austin just smiled and said she thought she would be able to sort the funding out as it will complete the upper body problems caused by the weight loss, Karen was quite pleased at this. Hopefully she will get a goodnights sleep and feel better tomorrow and the nauseous feeling will disappear as well.

Thank you for the hug and I will pass on your love to her and give her a gentle hug, I am blushing now at being called a dear man. Hope you and Peet are well my dear and send love and hugs to you both.

I had a good trip down to Sheffield to do a bit of Christmas shopping in search of nice gifts for my beloved, I will need to go again soon as I saw a couple of things for myself. I was surprised at how well I felt as I also had a bad nights sleep even after reading until 00.35am, or maybe that is why I had a bad night, who knows.

>105 johnsimpson: Poor Karen. The anesthesia and morphine both cause nausea. I hope she has better night tonight. You too my friend. Sending you my love and hugs from Texas.

John, I wish you a lovely weekend and hope that Karen feels better today.

Hi all, Karen has had a better day, I woke up to a number of text messages from her, the last one informing me she was having a shower. Apparently this is a good sign this early and once again her surgeon came to see her and have the dressing changed and it is coming along ok. Amy came over to ours and we went to the hospital to visit Karen, she was quite chatty by then but a little sore. I went tonight and she was visibly tiring, bless her and was feeling nauseous and in the end she asked me to leave her before the end of visiting so she could have a nap. I don't think she will be coming out tomorrow now, I think it will be Monday.

Thank you all for the lovely messages.

Thanks for the updates on Karen. Glad to hear that she is doing well and that the medical people are looking out for her interests.

It was a beautiful day here in Tuscaloosa. Mild temperatures and a quiet day.

My mother and sister are on their way here to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with me. It is a long trip, 1,100 miles. I am looking forward to the visit and even though I have to work most of the time they are here I hope to have a nice visit with them.

I am going to be cooking tomorrow and will try cooking squid for the first time. It will be an adventure in cooking.

Nice to see that Karen is on the mend and I am sure that she is being extremely well looked after. Any book shops of note in Sheffield? It is not somewhere I have done a lot of shopping in truth.

Hope Karen continues to recuperate as part of an excellent Sunday, mate.

John--So glad to see Karen was up, texting and showering. All good signs. Tell her not to overdo. Monday will be fine. Best to both of you!

>110 benitastrnad:, >111 benitastrnad:, Thanks Benita for the kind message, hope you have a good Thanksgiving my dear with your mum and sister, 1,100 miles is a heck of a long way. When I think that people in the UK do Land's End to John O'Groats either cycling or walking and that is around 850 miles and is from one end of the country to the other, 1,100 takes some thinking about, we just don't realise how big the States is sometimes. Enjoy the Squid, not something I am too fond of.

>112 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, Karen is doing quite well although this morning she was a bit down as one of the drains had come out and they are filling too quickly so it looks like she will be out Monday or possibly Tuesday and she really wants to come home. The shopping in Sheffield is not too bad but there is a distinct lack of book shops, apart from Waterstones that is it and I know that The Book Guide's check on antiquarian and secondhand bookshops is woefully sparse, they comment that South Yorkshire doesn't seem that interested in books. Hope you have had a good weekend mate.

>113 Berly:, Hi kim, Karen was not too bad apart from feeling a bit tired last night, had a message from her this morning about the drain coming out and that she might not be home until tomorrow or Tuesday and she really wants to come home. I just want her to be right to come home so that I can look after her ok without having any trauma's to deal with, she may have to come home with a couple of drains in and I can empty these no problem but don't want them filling up too quickly. Have a great Sunday my dear.

Karen has had an indifferent day in hospital, she was in pain most of the day due to being unable to poo but by late afternoon this had been rectified. She was ok when I saw her this afternoon apart from the pain and by the time I went this evening she was quite chipper although feeling a bit tired. It looks as though she will be able to come home tomorrow but it will be late afternoon we think. She has asked me to thank you all for the lovely messages that I have passed on.

On my side of things, I really must get up when the alarm goes off otherwise I end up getting up well late. This morning the alarm went off at 8.30, I got up, let the cat in and made myself a pot of tea. I went back to bed and lifted the blind up read a bit whilst drinking my tea, at 9.10 I thought I would have a quick ten minutes nap and woke up at 10.20, this threw me out until tea time. This is the second day running I have overslept, note to oneself, get up with the alarm.

Glad to hear Karen is doing better, John. I hope you are busy pamper her now and she is home.

John, I'm glad to hear that Karen is safely back home and chatty as always. I hope she is able to sleep.

I picked Karen up at 11.45 this morning after a sticky text made us think they would keep her till late afternoon. She is not too bad albeit a bit tender and I have pampered her ever since she got home, she sat in the armchair until six thirty when she felt it was time to go for a lie down. She still has two drains which I have to empty and record fluid amounts (blood) and she has to go back on Wednesday to the dressings clinic and they may take the drains out then. She feels better now she is home and she has had visitors this afternoon, hopefully she will get a good night's sleep. I have to help her upstairs to go to the toilet and to undress her as bending to far causes pain. She thanks everyone for their kind messages.

Book Sixty finished about an hour ago, The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths. This is the first in the series and introduces the reader to Dr. Ruth Galloway, she is a forensic archaeologist based on the Norfolk coast. When a child's bones are found she is called in to help date them as a child was abducted ten years ago and the investigating officer thinks these may be the missing girls. Unfortunately they are two thousand years old but a relationship between Ruth and DCI Harry Nelson begins. Soon another little girl goes missing and Ruth becomes a part of the investigating team as colleagues of hers who did an archaeological dig on the Saltmarshes ten years ago may be of help or could be the villain of the piece, as the first missing girl vanished just after the dig. Since that time DCI Nelson has received anonymous letters which include archaeological, literary and poetic messgaes which purport to the dig. Will Ruth be able to help or is she in danger, read and find out. This is a really good first crime novel and I can't wait to read the next in this series.

So glad to hear that Karen is home now!

Good News, Karen is home and enjoying it! Keep up the pampering, John!

Glad to hear that the prcedure is done and Karen is now resting at home. Take care, the both of you!

John, you are a perfectly 'nurse' I've heard but I didn't expect something else. Hope you find some time for you too. Hugs xx

>120 scaifea:, Thanks Amber.

>121 connie53:, Thanks Connie.

>122 jolerie:, Thanks Valerie,

>123 Ameise1:, Thanks Barbara.

Karen hasn't been too bad today considering that neither of us had a good night's sleep. Karen was a bit concerned that one of her drains didn't seem to be working but by lunchtime it needed emptying. We had a relaxing morning and then I had to take repeat prescriptions to the doctors, take some old tablets to the chemists to dispose of and then go into town to pick up some Red Clover tablets and then take her sick note into work, Karen was ok on her own as it was only for 20 minutes until the hairdresser came to wash and blow dry her hair so that she felt better. Bridget the hairdresser stayed with Karen whilst I got back, bless her and they had a good chat. I have made sure that she has had her medications at the right time, fed her so she keeps her strength up and done the housework upstairs, I even went to the Aldi for a few bits and pieces and got something nice for tea. Karen has now gone up to bed to lie down as she has been up long enough, I have to take her to the hospital tomorrow for her dressings changing. In between all the above I have managed to read a few pages.

>124 johnsimpson: It sounds like you had a very busy day, John! Karen is lucky to have such a doting care-taker.

>125 scaifea:, Why thank you Amber, 30 years ago I promised to look after Karen in sickness and in health so I am just doing what I promised. Today she has not been too bad although now she has gone to bed to lie down as tiredness has crept up on her.
This morning I went to the supermarket to do a small shop and then after getting back made some lunch for the both of us and then I hoovered and dusted the lounge and dining room before taking Karen to the hospital for her appointment at the dressings clinic. They were very pleased how everything was looking and I took the chance to see the surgeon's handiwork. I was very impressed with how things look, the nurse gave Karen a good gentle massage and cleaned the whole area up and then re-dressed the area. They left the drains in as she is still losing too much liquid but not enough to be worried about and so now each morning we have to ring them with the 24 hour totals of each drain and if need be they will ask us to go in and remove them, if the totals remain the same they will remove them next Wednesday and do a vacuum procedure, or something like that.
Some of Karen's work colleagues asked me what it is like to have a new woman and I replied I was very happy but that Karen still had the old man, it gave them a chuckle.

A relaxing day for the two of us after we both had a bad nights sleep although Karen suffered more. She had various things going through her mind and so from 2.30am she barely slept and at 7.00am she asked if I would make a cup of tea which I did, I then read for the next hour before we got up. I cleaned the kitchen and did a load of washing and Karen told me to set up the ironing board in its lowest position and she ironed two items that I would struggle with and then I put it up properly and did the rest of the ironing. This afternoon we caught up on programmes I recorded for her whilst she was in hospital. Amy came over after she finished work as the hairdresser was coming over and then we had tea together before she set off home and Karen went up to bed. Karen is progressing well and feels better since she had her dressings changed yesterday but is still quite tender and the bruising is coming out now. She keeps looking at her tummy and can't believe how flat it is now and it is taking time for her to believe she is slim, bless her.

We had a nice steady day until about 11am when Karen realised that she was leaking blood, it turned out that the centre drain had stopped working and blood was leaking from where the drain was inserted, we rang the hospital and were told to come in at 2pm, meanwhile Dr John was called into play and with various items of padding and dressings we plugged the gap, this had to be done again at 12.30. Once we got to the ward we spotted the nurse who Karen saw on Wednesday and she took us straight in and the drain was removed and they cleaned everything up and she also cleaned the whole area and massaged the wound area. Karen has now just the one drain left and unless there is a problem this will be taken out next Wednesday. The nurse and sister were impressed with the pair of us and on our way out we bought tickets for their tombola, we didn't win but the sister gave us three more tickets each for free and I won a prize, this will be ideal for Hannah. They are lovely people on the Plastic Surgery unit.

Great to hear that everything is improving. Wishing you and Karen a lovely weekend. xx

Finished book Sixty-One late last night, The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer. This has been a really good read, the tale of Gary Mark Gilmore, a man who served a large amount of his adult life in prison and who came to world prominence after being sentenced to death for the murder of two males in Utah. The death penalty had not been used for ten years when he was sentenced and he demanded to be shot and would not appeal his sentence. I was Thirteen at the time and can remember it being on the news here in Britain, eventually the sentence was done and he was shot on the 17th January 1977. This is a book I would recommend as a must read, it gives an insight into a murderer and the machinations of the legal system and the media at that time.

I had a very good time with my sister and mother. My mother cleaned my living room for me! Go Mum! However, I think we tired her out and my sister had trouble with her on the two day trip home. I was really glad that they came and only wish that I did not have to work for three days while they were here.

We did lots of eating out. I only cooked one meal while they were here. My sister told me that she was on vacation and she was not going to cook while she was on vacation. I am very glad that they came.

Now my little house is very quiet.

>131 benitastrnad:, Hi Benita, I can imagine that the house is a little quiet now my dear.

It has not been too bad a day, after a little lie-in and helping Karen to wash her hair we had a leisurely breakfast and then I went to a local Christmas and book fair at Nostell Priory, this is a large country house not far from me. As usual I had a good time perusing books and came home with a small haul of nine books for a total cost of £3.00 and I also picked up a lovely little present for Karen. This afternoon Robert and family came over to see Karen, it was nice to see them and Hannah was on top form, showing Grandma different things and then raiding the fridge.

Today's book haul:
Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs
Bones are Forever by Kathy Reichs
Killing Orders by Sara Paretsky
The Disorderly Knights by Dorothy Dunnett
Pawn in Frankincense by Dorothy Dunnett
The Ringed Castle by Dorothy Dunnett
Skallagrigg by William Horwood
Under Orders by Dick Francis
Sharpe's Rifles by Bernard Cornwell

Latest reading stats:

Books on shelves at 1-11-14 - 1945
Books added in November - 57
Books read in November - 5

Revised book total - 1997

Pages to read at 1-11-14 - 846,004
Pages added in November - 23,687
Pages read in November - 2,291

Revised total pages to read - 867,400

#133
I loved the Sharpe's Rifles series. I devoured them when I first came to Alabama. I didn't know anybody so had lots of time to spend reading. At that time there were only 10 or 11 in the series and now I think there are 14. Cornwell's series on the American Revolution is good, but a friend of mine really really likes the one on the longbowman in the 100 years war. You should enjoy this book.

I am back at work today, and trying to get myself back into the swing of things. I have lots of packages to get ready to mail as my sister who lives in Montana is not coming back to Kansas for Christmas. I started packing the boxes yesterday evening while watching the Downton Abbey preview for season 5 and have four boxes almost ready to seal up. Christmas is coming much to early this year for me.

Glad to hear that Karen is doing well. Good nursing probably helps.

Glad to hear Karen is doing well, John. Good job you are doing there with the drain and all.

Love and gentle hugs!

>135 benitastrnad:, Hi Benita, glad you loved the Sharpe books, there are 22 in the series and I have eleven of them, hopefully I will get to read one or two next year as part of my 2015 challenge. It takes a little bit of time to get back in the swing of things at work after a bit of time off, you seem to be busy getting packages ready to mail for Christmas and I agree that it seems to be coming quicker than I need it to. Karen was bored on Saturday evening and so she wrote out the Christmas cards and today she got me to go in the loft to get the Christmas decorations down ready for her to direct me in putting them up. I do try to be a good nurse for her. Have a good week my dear.

>136 connie53:, Hi Connie, Karen is doing really well although she is fed up of the drain but that should be taken out on Wednesday. I have had to replace some of the steri-strips as they are coming off as she feels a bit itchy, she really wants a shower but until the drain is out she just has to use wet wipes etc. As I type this she has dozed off in the armchair, bless her. Hope you have a good week my dear.

Thinking of you and Karen this week, John - I bet she'll be so relieved to get the drain out on Wednesday!

>138 scaifea:, Hi Amber, we are not too sure that they will take the drain out tomorrow as the amount of blood coming away is still quite high, if they leave it in it will need re-dressing as she is quite uncomfortable at the moment.

John, I hope that Karen feels better soon. How are you. Your life must be pretty busy doing all your different jobs at the moment. I hope you catch some time for yourself. Hugs xx

A very busy day for me today, after yesterday's phone call from the estate agents, we had to organise a skip and so this morning both me and my BIL went over to the bungalow to load the skip with all the conifer cuttings and the stuff between the garage and next doors garage. We worked solid apart from one small smoke break for three and a half hours before we had finished and the skip was full. By the time I got home I was in quite a bit of pain, a painkiller, a cup of tea and then another cup of tea and some lunch eased me a little bit. Not long after this our best friends Linda and Geoff came over to see Karen and we had a good chat for about an hour or so and when they left I had to go off into town to do some banking etc. Once home I finished the bedroom cleaning by hovering (Karen had dusted what she could whilst I was out) and then cleaned the bathroom. I have made a list for tomorrow's shopping and am now relaxing on here. I think I will be ready for my bed tonight, at least it is patch change night for me so I should get a good nights sleep free from pain.

>140 Ameise1:, Hi Barbara, I am managing to get some time for me although it is going to be a busy week, at least I should have a good time on Sunday when we go to see Andy and Amy in the pantomime, just a shame Karen is not fit enough to go. Love and hugs to you my dear.

Thinking of Karen - and Karen's mister - today...

John it sounds like Karen's surgery was a success and what a great job you are doing nursing her back to health. Be careful not to overdo it yourself. Give Karen my love. I hope the other drain comes out today and all continues well.

Hi all, another busy day but it has been a good one. After a little blip when Karen thought the shower had broken (she had it on the wrong setting and the water was icy cold but after I had a shave I thought I would check it out and realised this mistake and everything was well with the shower, she blamed it on anaesthetic brain) things got better. I went to do the shopping and Karen did a little bit of ironing very carefully and then I cracked on with oiling the oak dining room furniture. After a bit of lunch we went to the hospital for Karen's appointment, last night I had noticed a little bit of swelling that looked a bit angry but knowing we were at the hospital today we left it. When the surgeon came in to see Karen she examined this and said it had got bigger and it would be best if she drained it, this she did and was very happy with things, she checked her drain and they decided to leave it in but un-vacced it and re -dressed it and will take another look on Friday. Karen decided to put trousers on instead of leggings but the trousers headed south so she had to add a belt and when mentioning this to the surgeon she told Karen to hang fire on getting new ones as she will lose more when everything is healed and toned up her tummy which made Karen feel really good. Both the surgeon and the unit sister congratulated me on my nursing skills and Karen skipped out of there, she looks really good. Once home I polished up the oak units before getting a bit of reading done. Tomorrow I am taking Karen out for a bit of air and a different environment and we are going to see Andy's mum for a natter and a bit of lunch.

Book Sixty-Two finished a short while ago, City of Women by David Gillham. I enjoyed this immensely, it tells the tale of a woman called Sigrid, her husband is a serving soldier on the Eastern front yet there is another side to Sigrid, this one dreams of her Jewish lover, all this in Berlin of 1943. One day whilst she is at the cinema a young girl sits next to her and asks in a whisper if she will tell the Gestapo that they came to the cinema together. This Sigrid does and here starts a new, dangerous chapter in her life, secrets and lies become the norm and taking risks and lovers are the currency of the moment. This is an ordinary woman caught in extraordinary times and she must find the strength to not only keep herself alive but also save the lives of others, if she can. Who can she love and who can she trust, these are things that torment her every waking moment. I would recommend this to all to read, well worth it.

I will get to 65 books for the year but will still have a go at reaching 75, it all depends on jobs to be done for Christmas and how much help Karen needs of me, she is improving day by day but I need to make sure that she doesn't overdo anything. On Sunday whilst I take Robert and the girls to see the pantomime, Karen's best friend Tina is coming over to make sure she has company and she doesn't do anything untoward, they will have plenty of time for a good natter and a bite to eat.

Good news about Karen! And it sounds like you have a lovely weekend coming up...

Thanks for keeping us updated on Karen's progress. You are such a sweet and thoughtful husband John. What a blessing!

I have City of Women on my TBR mountain. Thanks for the review. I should bump it up sooner rather than later.

>148 scaifea:, Hi Amber, it will be lovely to go to the pantomime on Sunday but it is a shame Karen is not fit enough to attend, luckily her best friend is coming over to spend the afternoon with her. Love and hugs to you my dear.

>149 jolerie:, Hi Val, thank you for your kind comments my dear, thirty years ago I promised Karen that I would look after her in sickness and health as part of my wedding vows and now she needs looking after and I am upholding my promise. I hope you enjoy the City of Women as much as I did, it makes you wonder how people lived in those times under that regime.

It has been a good day, after re-dressing Karen's wounds she washed her hair and then time for breakfast, after this I went to the post office to post Christmas cards that are going overseas and then when I got back we collected some presents that Amy had had delivered here and set off to go to Andy's mum's. This is the first real trip out for Karen and it would alleviate her cabin fever. We had a lovely few hours with Pat and her dog Molly, I had to do a re-dress of her drain site as it is now leaking through naturally since it was de-vacced. By the time we left Pat's, Karen was getting tired and then just before five o'clock we got some good news, the solicitor rang to say that we should be completing on the Bungalow sale next Friday. Hopefully there are no hiccups and once I have got all the utility bills through I will be able to distribute funds as per the will and before Christmas, as I said to Karen, this is Dad's last Christmas box he will be giving out.

I have had to re-dress the drain wound again and then popped out to get some more dressings in case it leaks through the night, she goes to the doctors in the morning and then back to the plastic surgery clinic tomorrow afternoon, they may take the drain out tomorrow, if not it will be done when she goes on Monday. Thank you to everyone who has sent lovely messages for Karen, she really appreciates them.

Oh, great news about the house sale - fingers crossed that it goes through without a hitch! And other fingers crossed that the drain comes out today for Karen...

Glad to hear about the house sale. I have to pay the second half of the taxes on my house before the end of December, so it makes me think about the value of houses.

I baked a fantastic Butter Sage Herb Bread this week. When finished it looked too good to eat. However, it tasted wonderful with some Darjeeling tea. I will be making that same recipe this weekend as I plan on giving it away as Christmas gifts.

>152 scaifea:, Thanks for the fingers crossed for Karen.

>153 benitastrnad:, Benita the bread sounds good, you must let me have the recipe as I like to make bread.

Today has been a hectic and busy one. We had to get up a bit early as Karen had a doctor's appointment so once we were up I re-dressed her drain site which had got messy. On the way back from the Dr's we were chatting about him and I mentioned that he had come to see Dad this time last year and I ended up in tears as it brought back memories, I had to dress the drain site as blood was leaking through when we got home, the first dressing had lasted less than 2 hours. After this I went to pick Hannah up and drop her mum off at the stables, she asked how I was and how Karen was and then on the way to the stables we got chatting and I ended up in tears again, I must be a bit vulnerable today. Once home with Hannah we had to get the toys out and then again I had to dress the drain site, I was quickly running out of dressings and then at just after one the drain site needed dressing again, at this point I said enough is enough, let's take Hannah home a bit early and go up to the hospital as she had an appointment and see if we can be seen a bit early. They took the drain out and dressed the wound plus the site they drained on Wednesday, when Karen tried to get off the couch the nurse told her to stay there as the wound had filled up in the space of ten minutes. They squeezed out blood from the drain site and left Karen on the couch for ten minutes for it to drain away and then left her for a further 5 minutes before finally dressing the wound. They have given me plenty of dressings to cover me until Karen sees Miss Austin on Monday, if things get worse we can go in to the ward over the weekend for it to be dressed if necessary.

Karen is relaxing now and will be going up to bed soon as she tires easily.

Oh, dang, John, I'm sorry to hear that you've had a bit of a rough day, the both of you. Sending hugs to you and Karen from the colonies...

>156 scaifea:, Hi Amber. Thanks for the hugs, I think Karen needs them after the trauma of the first part of today. On the last occasion of me dressing the wound, Hannah came up stairs and Karen told her not to worry, grandma had had an operation and granddad was just mending the wound, Hannah wanted to kiss it better bless her.

John, I wish you and Karen a relaxed weekend.

Buttery Yeast Dough recipe

INGREDIENTS

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1/4 cup warm water
1/3 cup sugar
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
6 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 6 pieces, plus more for plastic wrap

DIRECTIONS

Whisk together both flours and salt. In the bowl of a mixer, combine warm water, sugar, and yeast. Let stand until foamy, 5 minutes.
Add eggs, zest, and flour mixture to yeast mixture. Beat on medium-high speed with a dough hook until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, about 5 minutes.
Beat in butter, one piece at a time; continue beating until fully combined and dough is silky but still sticky, about 5 minutes more. Cover with buttered plastic wrap; let rise in a warm spot until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Chill 1 hour. Punch down dough. Refrigerate, covered, 1 hour or overnight.
VARIATIONS
Herb Variation: Reduce sugar to 3 tablespoons. Add 3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage and 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme in step 2.
COOK'S NOTE
You can prepare all of the recipes that use this dough ahead: Place formed breads in baking pan(s); cover tightly with buttered plastic wrap, then foil; and freeze for up to 1 month. When ready to use, thaw, then let rise as directed.

Sage Braided Bread

INGREDIENTS

Buttery Yeast Dough, herb variation
16 fresh sage leaves
1 large egg, well beaten
Unsalted butter, room temperature, for plastic wrap and brushing

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment. Divide dough into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 16-inch-long, 3/4-inch-wide rope.
Braid 3 ropes together on a prepared sheet, tucking in sage leaves as you work. Pinch ends to seal; tuck under loaf. Brush with beaten egg. Drape loosely with buttered plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining dough, sage leaves, and egg wash. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in bulk, about 55 minutes.
Bake loaves until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Brush center with butter and continue baking until outer crust sounds hollow when bottom is tapped, about 8 minutes more. Brush all over with butter. Let cool completely on a wire rack before serving.
COOK'S NOTE
Make-ahead: You can prepare this recipe ahead: Place formed breads in baking pans; cover tightly with buttered plastic wrap, then foil; and freeze for up to 1 month. When ready to use, thaw, then let rise as directed.

I love that you still had your Hannah day and it is wonderful for Hannah to see Grandad taking care of Grandma. This will stay in her memory of how an gentleman should treat a lady.

Hugs to you Karen. I hope you get better soon.

John you are gem and a wonderful man to keep your vows so diligently. Your lovely wife has kept hers and you both honor each other and set a fine example to the rest of us.

Hoping for a restful Sunday for both you and Karen, John!

>159 benitastrnad:, Hi Benita, thanks for the recipe and instructions my dear, I will try to have a go at this before the year is out.

>160 luvamystery65:, Hi Roberta, it was lovely having Hannah over but a shame we had to cut it short slightly, we got to the hospital and the Sister was great, she had a quick look and took stock of the situation and then went to get lots of dressings and then came back and dealt with Karen superbly. Just as she finished and told Karen to get up she noticed that the dressing was full and told Karen to get back on the bed and proceeded to deal with the wound and it has been little bother since.
To be honest Roberta I could have lost Karen soon after falling for her, we met inadvertently in a pub as her friend worked at the opticians my friend went to and so when they came in she noticed my friend and as it was my round I said let's get these girls a drink, me and Karen chatted and then we left the pub but went separate ways. I could not stop talking about this gorgeous girl until my friend said let's try and find them, we knew the pub they were going to and just hoped they were there, as we turned the corner at the top of the street where the pub was at a speed that would not have shamed Usain Bolt, they were walking up. We immediately stopped and tried to make it appear that we were just strolling down, luckily Karen still liked me and the rest is history. She still makes my heart skip a beat and I just love her to bits

>161 scaifea:, Hi Amber, Karen has had a restful day and I have been to the Pantomime with Robert, Shannon and Hannah. Hannah loved it, just a shame Karen was not well enough to go along. Andy was great as the baddie and Amy played her part in the chorus and a lovely afternoon was had.

The bread is not hard to make, so don't let the instructions intimidate you. When you do try it, let me know how it turns out.

I am glad that they got the wound fixed as it was beginning to seem to me that there might be a problem. Thanks for the story about how you met Karen.

I have a wine club party to go to tomorrow and so tonight I will be making a liver pate to take. Last year I made it with aspic and all the decorations, but this year I think I will put it in smaller ramekins and forego the aspic decoration. It depends on what kind of day I have at work and how tired I am when I get home tonight.

>165 benitastrnad:, Hi Benita, thanks for the recipe and kind message regarding the making of it. Karen saw the Surgeon today and mentioned to her that her tummy was swollen, her words were that she looked 20 weeks pregnant, the surgeon just laughed. On a serious note it turns out it is called gravitational swelling and should hopefully go down. She tried to drain fluid off but didn't get too much so they dressed it and gave me plenty of dressings as the first 24 hours will probably be the worst as her natural movement will cause fluid to drain away, she also gave Karen a script for some antibiotics and by the time we got those and got home her dressing needed changing, I have just changed it again about 5 minutes ago. Karen is feeling a bit sore and tired again but she can cope with this for the next couple of days.

Enjoy your wine club party and the liver pate, I love pate. Love and hugs to you my dear.

Karen has kept me busy today, I cleaned the leather suite in the living room this morning and then took Karen to her hospital appointment this afternoon (see previous post for details) and then shortly after we got home her beauty lady came to do her eyebrows etc. Whilst we were out our solicitor rang to say all the paperwork has been done for the sale of the bungalow and completion will be on Friday, I should be able to sort out all the debts and then distribute funds as per the will. As I said to Karen last Thursday, this will be the last Christmas box that Dad/granddad gives to everyone. Tomorrow we are going to the cinema to see Paddington, can't wait.

Glad to hear that the selling of the house comes to an end. Keep my fingers crossed. Enjoy you cinema trip. I envy you. When you are there I probably will be at the hospital for a last check at my hand. Should be ok now. Hugs xx

>168 Ameise1:, I hope the check-up on your hand goes ok my dear, I will let you know how the film went, it will be nice for Karen as she missed the pantomime. Hugs xxx

We have had a good day, this morning I popped over to the bungalow to spread some of Karen's mum and Dad's ashes in a place she loved, near where all the birds were fed and her mum sat in the conservatory watching them come along throughout the seasons. I had a last check around the property and in the loft, the only downside was that I gauged where the loft cover was all wrong and have bumped my head yet again and left a large graze on top of my head, there was quite a lot of blood unfortunately. Once home I topped my bird feeders up and then we had a bite of lunch before going to the cinema to see Paddington. We had a great time and laughed and laughed at the antics on screen.

Karen's wound has not been too bad today, I had to re-dress it before bedtime last night and changed the dressing this morning, this has lasted ok and will only need changing before bedtime tonight.

Hi, John! Sorry about the bump on the head (those always bleed like crazy, don't they?!) but happy to hear that you enjoyed the movie!

>171 scaifea:, Thanks Amber.

A fairly busy day but an enjoyable one, Whilst I went to the supermarket to do the weekly shop Karen sorted out the branches for the Xmas tree ready for me to build up when I got home. After unpacking and putting all the shopping away it was time to get the tree up and under instruction decorate it. Karen was able to do the top half and I did the bottom once she had decided where the baubles should go. We had a short break for some lunch and it enabled Karen to have a rest and all in all it took us about three and a half hours, good teamwork from an experienced pairing. Earlier this evening I took Karen to the gastric surgery support group xmas meeting, a buffet was put on and we had a good hour and a half chat and social. Tomorrow weather and Karen being ok we will have a drive to Harrogate to have a nice perusal of the farmer's market and some lovely independent shops and I will be able to visit a favourite antiquarian bookshop of mine. I will post a photo of the tree shortly.

Teamwork gets the tree up.

That is a beautiful tree. I have put up a tree twice in my lifetime. The rest of the time I leave it up to my mother.

Due to the lack of a tree in my life, I decided that hanging on to all those Christmas tree decorations I had purchased for use in the future had to go. I got rid of all of them. It lightened my load of Christmas stuff, but it was sad, as it was also saying good-bye to some long held hopes. The bright side is that my mother has wonderful Christmas tree decorations which I will inherit at some point in the future.

Oooh, that's a lovely tree! Well done!

Wow John, thanks so much for your lovely card. I made a huge jump when I saw it on the table. It's so kind you and Karen are thinking of us. Hugs for both of you xx

Book Sixty-Three finished late last night, Best Kept Secret by Jeffrey Archer, this is the third in the Clifton Chronicles series and did not disappoint. This is a fantastic series and I am looking forward to reading book four shortly. The series was planned to be five books covering the period 1920 to 2020 but at the end of this book the author put a note in to say that he now thinks it will run to seven books to do the story justice. As far as I am concerned he can carry on writing this series as it is one to read and I think he is back to his best.

We had a lovely day in Harrogate despite the inclement weather, it was raining on the way there but had stopped by the time I got parked. The farmer's market was good and we got some nice artisan bread, cheese and some Buffalo Burgers which are ideal for Karen to digest easily. We picked up some small stocking filler gifts to give a smile to the recipients on Christmas morn. I visited my little antiquarian bookshop and picked up three books and then picked up another at a charity shop. We only had a little hiccup with Karen's dressings, she realised that it was leaking whilst in Marks and Spencer's so she managed to change it in the toilets but later whilst having a coffee she suspected that it was leaking again, we called into Boots the chemist and spoke to the dispensing chemist and got some more dressings and he told us to use the consulting room to change them, this guy was great and made sure we had plenty of privacy. By the time we were ready to go back to the car the weather looked bad and then started snowing before we got to the car, once in I got the heating going and by the time we got near Leeds it had stopped but had not settled. Karen is now tired but had a good day. Tomorrow she goes to the hospital to see the consultant and hopefully she will drain this small area and things will start to heal properly. On the positive side the property sale will be all done tomorrow when funds are deposited with our solicitors and then I can drop the keys off with the estate agents, I can get utility readings done and cancel the insurance, by the middle of next week I dispurse monies to all the beneficiaries in time for xmas.

John I am having my weekend early this week. I am in Cedar Creek, Texas at Lost Pines with Katie and enjoying a nice reading retreat. It's wonderful to hang out with someone who knows that you would just rather read and relax.

Give my best to Karen. Love and hugs to you both.

It sounds like you had a great day yesterday, John. And congrats on the house being nearly finished and done-with!

Hi John! What a lovely surprise to find a card on my doormat from you and Karen! Thanks dear friend.

Love and hugs, Connie

>180 luvamystery65:; Roberta you are making me jealous with your reading retreat, I hope you and Katie have a wonderful weekend my dear. I will pass on your message to Karen and send love and hugs to you and Katie.xx

>181 scaifea:; Amber we had a good time although items that Karen bought are going back as they are either too big, tight or not what she wanted after they had been tried on.

>182 connie53:; Connie I am glad the card got to you ok, Barbara's got there yesterday, so nice to be able to send cards to new friends at this special time of year. You are a special friend my dear, love and hugs to you.

A busy morning but all worthwhile, we got up a little bit early and after breakfast we shot off to the bungalow to take the last meter readings for the gas and electric and then I switched the heating off, I also checked which keys were for each door and labelled them up ready to hand in at the estate agents. After this we drove to the hospital for Karen's appointment, she saw the surgeon who was pleased with how things are progressing and after deciding which way to play the wound she decided to stick with the dressings rather than a bag to collect the blood. I was given a good week's supply of dressings to last until Karen goes back next Wednesday although if by Monday morning there are problems we have to ring up and will be seen on Monday. After leaving the hospital we went to the local Aldi for a few bits of shopping and then went home.

Once we got home I checked our answering machine and found two messages from the solicitor's, one to say the monies had been received by them and the second to say there had been a change of plan of how it was to be transferred to my account. I rang her up to say I had keys to drop off and would call in to pick the paperwork up and the cheque. I called in and picked the paperwork and cheque up, dropped the keys off at the estate agents and then went to the insurance office to cancel the insurance. After this I deposited the cheque and did some other banking and then drove home. After this I had to ring the energy suppliers solicitor's with the meter readings, rang the council up to get the bill for the council tax and rang the water board up to check whether we owed them any money. After all this was done it was time for the hairdresser to appear and for us both to have our hair done although in my case it doesn't take long. Just got to wait for the cheque to clear next Thursday and for the bills to come next week and then I can pay them and work out what's left and who gets what. From Karen's share she is giving the kids something and we are giving Rob a bit extra as he needs a new laptop, we had to tell him about this little extra as he was on about one and was going to get it so Karen told him that he had spoiled our surprise. We can surprise Amy on Christmas morning with her little extra, when she chose her wedding dress it went on my credit card and she said she would pay me back in instalments for it seeing as I am paying for most of the wedding but we decided that I will pay for the dress and do it this way, she has no idea so it will be a wonderful surprise for her and she hasn't paid me anything yet so nothing to give her back.

We have had a relaxing day since the hairdresser departed which is just as well as Karen is tiring now.

Wow, John, that was really a busy day. I'm glad that everything went well. When you're able to finish up everything next week than you've 'earned' the x-mas holiday for sure. Hugs for both of you xx

>185 Ameise1:, Thanks Barbara, it will be nice to get everything disbursed before the big day, as I said last week this will be the last xmas present that Dad/ Grandad gives. Hugs to you and Thomas my dear.

>183 johnsimpson: Wonderful news John that you'll be able to help the family a bit with the long overdue windfall from the house - that is what money is for isn't it mate? - Anything left for tickets to Malaysia?; your LT buddy could put you up in accommodation FOC if you could get yourselves over here!

Have a great weekend mate and give our best to Karen.

John, I wish you and Karen a relaxed weekend. Love and hugs xx

Oh, I'm excited for you being able to give your family those extra surprises! What a lovely Christmas you'll all have!

>187 PaulCranswick:;Thanks for the offer mate and the good wishes, need to check with SWMBO as to what she wants to do, lots for her to concentrate on in 2015 with our Amy getting married in October.

>188 Ameise1:; Thanks for the lovely message Barbara.

>189 scaifea:; I am sure we will have a lovely Christmas Amber my dear, the guys and gals here on LT have been fantastic to us over the last eighteen months with all that has gone on, we both thank you all for your support.

Well it has been a bit hectic since I posted my message on Friday night. When we went to bed on Friday night I needed to change her dressings and then the trouble started, we could not stop it bleeding, after 20 minutes I managed to put dressings on and then we were doing it every two hours through to Saturday morning. We rang the clinic and said we were on our way, they decided to put a colostomy type bag on to collect any blood to save Karen from having dressings changed too often. We go back to the clinic on Monday afternoon. The remainder of Saturday was fine with me delivering Christmas cards and Karen wrapping presents. We have had a relaxing day today and now all presents are wrapped apart from Karen's and I still have some shopping to do. Karen has been to a friend and work colleagues 40th birthday tonight but now she is back she is a little bit tired.

So, when will Karen be able to stop with the dressings and such? It'll be a big relief to you both, I suspect, when it happens.

>184 johnsimpson: I just get tired reading what you have done all day!

>192 scaifea:, Hi Amber. We are not sure when the dressings will be stopped although with Karen just having a stoma type bag to collect any blood loss it has made things easier for the both of us. Karen was due to see Miss Austin the surgeon this afternoon but got a phone call this morning to say that Miss Austin was ill and had rung in sick and if things were ok would it be alright if she just had her appointment on Wednesday with Miss Austin, assuming she is back at work and Karen was happy with this. Apparently it is a rarity for Miss Austin to be too ill to either hold her clinic or operate.

>193 connie53:, Hi Connie, some days seem to have been busy of late and my narrative is quite long, hopefully things have now calmed down.

As Karen didn't have to go to the hospital this afternoon we could relax a bit and decided to go to the Meadowhall shopping centre near Sheffield as I needed to get a couple of gifts for her and she had a couple of items to return. We took our time and Karen rested often and we were able to get everything we wanted done so all presents are bought now and I just need to do some wrapping.

Karen had a phone call from a friend to ask if she wanted a hamster, cage, food and playthings, apparently the friends elder daughter had bought these for her sister as a housewarming present, quite a random thing to get as a housewarming present. The friend didn't want the hamster and neither did the elder daughter, after a few calls by Karen Amy said she would love it. The hamster was delivered to us late this afternoon and he is a cute little thing and we will have him until Friday when Amy is coming to us for a few hours when she finishes work.

Since getting home I have managed to get some reading done before coming on here to check threads.

A lovely day for the pair of us, whilst Karen did a bit of dusting I got the house work done before going into town to do some banking. This afternoon Karen had to go into work to see the Occupational Health lady to see how she is going on and what needs to be done to give her the correct return to work pathway, Karen said things went well but we will wait to see what her written report says.
This evening we have been to a local pub/restaurant for a meal with our friends Linda and Geoff, it is always nice to meet up with them and have a meal. We had a lovely time but it seemed to pass to quickly, unfortunately Geoff is away for Christmas and New Year with his job, he works on Japanese Govt scientific ship and this year his rota means he is away for the festive season.

Karen is doing fine and she sees the surgeon tomorrow to see how things are progressing, the hamster is doing fine and after we sent Amy and Andy a photo they have given the little fellow a name, because he is brown and fluffy he reminds them of Fozzie bear from the Muppets and so he is called Fozzie.

Hi, John! I just love stopping by here and reading up on your daily happenings. And yay for Fozzie! Ha! Do you know about the Hot Rod Hamster series? Hannah may enjoy those now...

John, it looks like you are a busy pair. It's good to hear that Karen feels much better. Dinner with friends is alwasy fun.
How is your cat dealing with the hamster?

I have heard of people giving singles pets for housewarming gifts, but think the idea of doing so is a bit presumptuous on the part of the giver. I have thought of having a pet, but my frequent absences from home preclude having a pet. I have done my share of pet sitting duty and continue to do so for a neighbor, but don't relish the idea so don't want to wish that on others. I do think that having something live to come home to is a welcoming idea, but it has to fit into your lifestyle.

Glad to hear that things are going well in your house and that you are enjoying the season.

>197 scaifea:; Hi Amber, the daily happenings may get boring soon when Karen is fully healed and life gets back to the mundane although with Amy getting married in October there is still quite a bit to do. I am sure you don't want to read about my housework schedule every week.

>198 Ameise1:; Hi Barbara, things do seem to have been busy recently but things are getting back to normal, the cat hasn't seen the hamster. The hamster is in the tiny box bedroom along with Christmas presents and lots of books, Amy is coming on Friday after work to have a couple of hours with us and to pick Fozzie up.

>199 benitastrnad:; Hi Benita, a hamster or any other pet is not what I would get for a housewarming present, apparently Heather asked for a mixing bowl and her sister went big on hamster and accessories. Karen is doing well but still needs to take things easy.

Not as busy today but time seems to have whizzed by, after we had breakfast a friend of Karen's came to see her and brought some homemade mince pies, I left them to chat while I went to do the supermarket shopping. A number of her colleagues stopped me to ask how she is doing so it took me a bit longer than normal to do the shop. Once back it was time for a cup of tea and one of the homemade mince pies, they are delicious. We then went looking for some leggings for Karen before we went to the hospital for her appointment, Miss Austin is well pleased with the progress and they have changed the bag they put on and she just needs to go back next Monday for a check up before Christmas. We got home and had a late lunch /early tea and watched a couple of programmes we had recorded whilst out. Tomorrow we have nothing planned and no appointments so we should have an easy day before a busy Friday and it will be Hannah day.

Oh, mince pies! I'll be right over...

And yay for Hannah day!

Sounds like you've been busy John. Hope you and Karen are doing well!

>203 jolerie:, Hi Valerie, we are both doing well although I think I need a holiday with all the looking after I have been doing, ha ha.

We have had nice relaxing day just about, a nice lie in this morning before I popped out to pick up our prescriptions. Once back I cleaned the kitchen and Karen did a few bits of ironing. We then watched the Food Network and had some lunch and then more programmes until a visitor came to see Karen. I have managed to get some decent reading done today and may get to 66 books for the year. Tomorrow is going to be busier but with Hannah coming for a few hours it will be good and no doubt the time will fly by.

Finished book Sixty-Four a couple of hours ago, The Broken Souls by Jack Kerley. This the first Carson Ryder book I have read but didn't know it is book three in the series. I must say that I really enjoyed it and once past the halfway mark I didn't want to put it down, this is another author to follow more closely.

Today has been hectic but more by the amount of traffic on the roads which slowed me down somewhat. After getting up a bit earlier I went to the doctors for my Asthma check, the lady was new, the machine played up a bit and then wouldn't print the results out so this put us behind schedule. Karen rang Louise to let her know we had been delayed then traffic slowed us down, I took a detour and thought everything ok and then hit roadworks. We picked Hannah up and then popped into town so Karen could take a garment back and I went to the bank to put a cheque in, when I looked at it to make sure of the amount I saw that it had been made out in the name of my late FIL rather than in the name of the executor so I had to go to the insurance brokers to get them to sort it out.

We had a lovely three hours with Hannah before it was time to take Karen to the hospital for her pre-op appointment for her knee, I dropped Karen off and took Hannah to her other grandparents and again got stuck in traffic. I got back to pick Karen up ok and then on the way home all the traffic had disappeared. Amy came straight from work to have some tea with us and to pick the hamster up. Amy is still with us but will be making her way back home in the next hour.

Oh those traffic woes....... Hopefully you and Karen at least have a restful evening!

Hi Valerie, we have had a lovely evening with our Amy coming over although now she has just set off home with the hamster Karen is feeling a little bereft now the little chap has left for his new home. Amy and Andy will be coming to us on Christmas Eve and staying until Boxing Day, unfortunately Andy has to work on Boxing Day and so I will take him to work and Amy will stay with us until later in the day. Also on Christmas Day, Robert, Louise Shannon and Hannah are coming for lunch and to open presents so a lot to look forward to.

Hope things are fine with you my dear and I send love and hugs to you.

John, I wish you and Karen a lovely weekend and Merry Christmas.

John, I guess my computer needs holdiday because it's making very often double posts. *argh*

Love and hugs xx

>210 Ameise1:; >211 Ameise1:; Hi Barbara, thanks for the messages my dear, we both wish you a lovely weekend my dear and a Merry Christmas, love and hugs to you.
p.s I will be sending special messages on Christmas Eve.

We have had a very relaxed and chill out day, we just popped out to pick up a few groceries for Christmas and then got back for a nice pot of tea. Karen has made some chocolate cupcakes just to keep her hand in and now we are watching the final of Strictly Come Dancing. I wish I could dance like some of these celebrities and their professional partners.

Wonder which of my current reads will be finished first, whichever one it is will be the 800th I've read since I started keeping records of my reading on 1st July 1995. I have 459 pages left to read on the Gabaldon book and 384 on the Harrod-Eagles book, both will be read before year end and I will smash my 31,000 page target for the year, Happy reading to me.

>214 johnsimpson: Wow, congrats on the amazing statistics, John!

John, I keep my fingers crossed that you will reach your pages challenge. I'm so far behind, I guess I won't reach my goal.

>215 scaifea:, Amber I just love statistics and I will post a photo of all my statistical equipment, sometimes on here I see something statistical that I am not doing and look to see if I can incorporate it with what I already do.

>216 Ameise1:, Barbara I only have 209 pages to go to reach my target of 31,000 and on one of the books I am reading I am up to page 663 so theoretically I have reached my target but not definite until the book is finished. I may get to 32,500 by year end.

A busy but rewarding day, we got up and dashed of to Blacker Hall Farm Shop and treated ourselves to breakfast and then collected our Christmas order, the Capon and all other meats and treats, popped into the shop area to pick up cheeses etc and then went to the supermarket for two or three items I had forgotten last week. Karen bumped into colleagues who haven't seen her since she went for her op and they all thought she looked great. Once home I rang to check how much the Council Tax bill was and then worked out the figures so I could dispense the monies to the beneficiaries, I felt like Santa and made six people and their loved ones very happy at this special time. My role as executor is virtually done just two bills to pay and I have set aside monies for them.
This afternoon Karen went for a check up at the hospital and her surgeon is really pleased how things are healing, they have taken off the bag and she just has a small dressing to apply and given us enough to see us over the festive period so she is one happy bunny. Karen is out at a friends at the moment and I will be picking her up shortly.
In the New year we will be going to buy something special for each other as a later 30th wedding anniversary present and Karen will need some new clothes to fit her svelte figure, she laughed at the term svelte but that is how she looks now. Thank you all for your lovely messages.

Hi John (and Karen)

A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and the family!

>219 connie53:; Thanks Connie for the lovely message.

A steady day today, Karen had an appointment at the doctors for her quarterly B12 vitamin injection and then it was back home before her Nails appointment at 11.45am, during the time between appointments she received a call to say her Iron levels were quite low so it is back on the Iron tablets for awhile. Whilst Karen had her nails done I popped into Staples to check something out and then called into the supermarket for two items and my cigars for the Christmas period. This afternoon was spent chilling out and I briefly popped out to put fuel in the car as I am on an early morning mission on Boxing Day, poor Andy has to work so I will take him to York so that Amy can spend a bit longer with us rather than being on her own at home.

A lovely start to the day, dashed out to pick up things we had forgotten about (why does this always happen, little things slip by yet the freezer is stocked up as if Karen is expecting a famine to be declared or she knows something about the weather that I don't) and then home for breakfast. Whilst I cleaned the bathroom Karen cooked her Ham with her special homemade glaze and the Pork is cooking away nicely. Karen has also prepared the fish for the fish pie tonight with Andy and Amy and the Large Apple and Strawberry crumble is de-frosting in the fridge ready to be cooked as well for tonight. I am getting very excited as I love this time of year and tomorrow I will charge everybody to raise a toast to Karen's dad and all grandparents no longer with us and we will remember them but not get mournful as they all loved this special day and will be looking down on us joining in the celebrations and watching everyone un-wrap their gifts.

>222 johnsimpson:. Peet went to the supermarket two times today, John. I was cleaning the bathroom and toilet. We had a list of last minute things (vegetables and some things for breakfast that need to be fresh) but we too forgot some things so he went back for a second time. And yesterday he did some rounds of shopping too. I think it's a natural thing: forgetting to list things you need for festive days.

>223 connie53:: I think you are right, it is a natural thing to forget things at this time of year.

Ha! I had to have Tomm stop by the market on his way home yesterday for a couple of things I had somehow forgotten!

Happiest of Happy Christmases to you and yours, John!

From our family to yours!

>225 scaifea: You see, it's natural!

John, your tree is just lovely. Merry Christmas, my friend.

>227 connie53: Connie: Ha! It sure is!

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Merry Christmas, John and Karen. Enjoy the time with your lovely family.

Merry Christmas to you and Karen, John. And of course to little Hannah, too.

Amy and Andy bought me this for Christmas, it will take pride of place in my Library/studio when I get it sorted out.

Yay, it's my third Thingaversary and I got a book voucher for Christmas, wonder what books to get. There are a number that I need to add to my Cricket collection and loads on the fiction front.

A nice relaxing day for us after I had an early start, poor Andy had to work today so I got up a bit early and drove him into York which allowed Amy to stay with us until 5pm when she set off to York to pick him up from work. We had a nice day catching up on chat and watched a few programmes before settling down to watch Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont on DVD.

After a tea of leftovers from yesterday we are watching a few things we have recorded and about an hour ago it started to snow, the first of the winter but we are only expected to get 2 to 4 cm. I don't think it will cause any problems and tomorrow we are hopefully going to Meadowhall shopping centre to see what there is at the sales, Karen needs some new trousers as the ones she has are too big now.

Happy shopping! We should get some snow, too.

Thanks for continuing to be such a great pal in the group, John. Wishing you and Karen a wonderful festive season and we all hope to see you at some stage in 2015.

John, I wish you and Karen a lovely weekend.

I can sympathize with you regarding all the trips to the grocer's. I have been driving the twelve miles to town most every day for the last week because when I go to cook something I am missing at least one ingredient - and usually one that I can't do without.

Christmas Eve was beautiful in Kansas. It has been a very mild Christmas up to last night and now it has turned cold. However, Christmas Eve I spent under a wide black sky and attended night services at the Ada Lutheran Church. I got to talk to some people I haven't seen since my Father's funeral last March and then I listened to Christmas carols and sang out loud to them while driving back home. Wonderful way to spend Christmas. Tomorrow is my big family christmas dinner and I am making a big batch of porcupine meatballs. Those are made with ground beef and rice. This is a recipe with which I have had great success so I don't think I will be bringing any of these home tomorrow afternoon.

Most of last night's snow had disappeared by the time we got up this morning although what remained had frozen and there was black ice in places. We set off to Meadowhall and were hoping the traffic wasn't too bad, it appeared that Sheffield had the worst of the snow and parts of the motorway was down to two lanes in each direction. We got parked up ok and whilst there were lots of shoppers it wasn't as bad as it has been in previous years. Unfortunately Karen struggled to get what she wanted in the trouser department as she seems to be between sizes, some size 14's are a bit snug and the 16's too big or the 14's are too small and the 16's a bit snug, she did manage to get one pair but we need to go to Boundary mill as they may have a better selection. On the other hand I did quite well, I got a nice polo shirt and jumper from Fat Face, I spent my book voucher on Playing it my Way, the Autobiography by Sachin Tendulkar and I snuck in The Bookshop Book by Jen Campbell and then Karen treated me to a new watch as a belated 30th wedding anniversary present. I still need to choose my Thingaversary books but I will take a few days to sort this out.

Just had a look at the 2015 group threads, going to have to give it a bit of thought before I commit my info and challenges electronically, where has this year gone, four days left before I tally up the 2014 stats and wind the thread down.

John, I hope you'll be back in 2015, too.

Belated Happy Christmas John and Karen!

Book Sixty-Five finished a short while ago, An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon. This is the seventh in the Outlander series and I loved it and look forward to reading book eight sometime in 2015. This is a memorable book as it is the 800th I have read since I started keeping reading records on 1st July 1995, also it puts my LT total to 195 over the three years I have been on here at an average of 65 per year. This book also helped me pass my page reading target of 31,000 for the year. I am looking forward to what 2015 will bring on the reading front and also for all my LT friends.

Congrats on passing your page reading target. Well done!!

>245 Ameise1:, Thanks Barbara, just thinking what figure to set myself in 2015.

Congrats on reaching your goal, John! I'm still waiting for her to be close to finishing the series before I continue on.....

Time to reveal my 2014 reading stats and my overall reading stats.

Books Read - 65

Pages read - 31,856

Different authors - 44

Female authors - 23

Male authors - 21

New authors - 15

I completed the 800th book I have read since I started logging my reading on 1st July 1995. since then I have read 377,960 pages and my average book length over this time is 472.45 pages, I hope to pass the 400,000 page barrier by the end of July but end of June would be better as this marks the 20th anniversary of my record keeping.

Latest reading stats:

Books on shelves at 1-12-14 - 1997
Books added in December - 11
Books read in December - 4

Revised book total - 2004

Pages to read at 1-12-14 - 867,400
Pages added in December - 5,496
Pages read in December - 2,449

Revised total pages to read - 870,447

Having a nice quiet evening in with the gorgeous Mrs S, we had a nice tea and are now watching television with something we recorded earlier today and having a nice alcoholic drink or two.

I am late but I wish both of you a very happy new year.

I had a traumatic Christmas break with my mother. This is the first Christmas without my Dad and Christmas Day would have been their 60th wedding anniversary. It was a hard day for Mom and her granddaughter didn't show up to the Christmas day celebration until about 1/2 hour before we opened presents. It really hurt Mom. It bothered me too - but I work with 20 year olds and they have no sense of importance. It is all about them.

I worry about Mom and don't think she is eating right. However, since all three of her daughters live a distance from her I will have to be dependent on my remaining Aunts and cousins to help her out and keep me informed. It would be easier if I didn't live so far away.

Hi, John! I hope your weekend is going well! We've more snow on the ground here today - thank goodness I have a shoveling helper, eh?

I have been driving through rain, but so far all the way through the middle part of the U. S. it has not been freezing so the driving has been easy.

Yesterday, I stopped at a used book store that is close to the Interstate and of course, could not leave without buying something. I will be passing a large Goodwill store today that has a large book section and will probably make a purchase or two there as well. I will have titles to add to my LT catalog when I get back to Alabama later today!

I have set up my 2015 thread, use the link below to come and visit me.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/185218

>251 benitastrnad:;, >253 benitastrnad:, Hi Benita, I hope your mom is ok my dear, like you it was the first Christmas without Karen's dad and seven years ago we lost her mum on Christmas Day. We had all our family for xmas lunch and once we were all around the table I proposed a toast to dad and to all our parents who are no longer with us. I know what you have gone through and all I can say is that they are watching over us and will always be in our hearts.