At the end of January already...

...another month just flying by.  But at least the weather is warmer, even if today is a rainy drippy day.  My birthday is next week. 66 this year. How in the world is that even possible?  I feel exactly as I did when I turned 40... total disbelief in the number. But I would rather be facing the number 40 instead of the number 66.

The Magic Wand Book Club.... I brought in the "Readability Capes" and the "Thinking Caps" for the students this week.... capes for the girls, caps for the boys. Talk about excitement... the girls were over the moon about the pretty capes, and the boys were excited to pick out their caps.  I just stood there and couldn't stop smiling. These students, most of whom have very little out-of-the-ordinary surprises in their lives, couldn't get over the surprise of their new capes and caps. More than a few of the girls twirled in their seats with their capes draped over their shoulders, and it was just pure joy to watch them. This book club for the students is by far the best thing I have ever accomplished.

Next week, Barry Manilow will be in concert in the Houston area... and we will be there, front and center.  We saw Manilow in Houston a couple of years ago, for his 'One Last Time' tour, supposedly the end of his touring years because he wanted to retire.  That Houston concert was bittersweet because we all thought we wouldn't be seeing him live on stage again. So the announcement of this coming performance was magical.  "We have to go! No doubt about it at all, we just have to be there!"  And so we will be.  The ticket prices for the best seats were astronomical.... I told my husband that he could do all his gift shopping for the entire year with one swipe of his credit card... my birthday, Christmas, anniversary, Valentine's Day, and whatever else comes along. All I want is to see Manilow on stage. Period. The end. I don't need anything else. (And if I do, I'll just buy it myself.)

So cloudy and drippy today. I've checked the weather for next week... it will be a sunny and clear day for the Manilow concert. It's the least Texas can do for Barry... we cannot have him coming here to face a rainy day, because then he would be singing "I made it through the rain...." 

Happy New Year....

...and so far, it's been a busy one. And also a cold one. I can barely wait until our weather gets more Texas-like. These cold fronts that come down from Canada have us dressing in layers and sleeping under heated blankets. As I type this, Savannah is sound asleep on the sofa next to me and she is underneath a blue baby-blanket that my husband just warmed up over the heater. I guess Savannah has forgotten that her favorite color is pink... the blue blanket is nice and warm and she is tucked into it as if she's ready to hibernate till Spring.

Since the first of the year, my Thunderbird spent two days at the dealership because the fan system started making noise as if it were falling apart, which it was. They replaced the entire thing at an exorbitant cost which had the service manager asking me if I wanted to just trade in the car. Are you kidding?  They don't make these small two-seater Thunderbirds anymore and my car has less than 30,000 miles on it. I love this car and have from Day One... and it's not going anywhere without me.

The New Year's gift to our riding lawn mower was a repair job that was fixed free at the tractor supply store where we bought it.  The mower literally caught fire while our handyman was cutting the tall grass out by the barn. He ran to the nearest hose for a bucket of water and managed to put out the fire without being hurt or caught in the flames, and without having an entire dry-grass pasture going up in smoke.

After packing away all the Christmas decorations, I started to move merchandise out of my booth at the antique shop in town. I have decided that my time spent at the elementary school with the kids and The Magic Wand Book Club is more important than selling collectibles in the shop. I packed up three boxes to donate to the thrift store, I gave some items to the girls who work in the shop, and I have a couple of boxes of antique items to sell on eBay as time allows.  The Book Club begins again next week... the kids have been out of school on winter break, and I truly have missed them all since before Christmas.

The New Year has already caused havoc and harm to pets and wildlife in our area of these hills. Two vicious stray dogs have been wandering around the area, nearly killing one friend's dog and possibly killing three baby calves... one belonging to a friend and the other two belonging to her neighbor. We are saying 'possibly killing' those calves because we don't have proof that the dogs were responsible, but the timing is just too much of a coincidence. With my friend's dog, her husband caught both strays attacking their dog and managed to get the strays away before their dog's life was ended right there on their own property. Phone calls were made to all the neighbors, and now everyone is looking for the two strays with the intention of shooting them at first sight.

I am trying to type as Sweet Pea is cuddled up on my lap with his head on my left wrist. Savannah is still sleeping beside me, tucked under her blanket. With the cold weather, living in a 110-yr-old house which was built for Texas heat, not Texas cold, means that the cold air seeps into each and every teeny-tiny crevice in and around this vintage Victorian. I am so tired of dressing in layers and wearing a heavy sweater all day long. However... my cousins in NY are dealing with below freezing temperatures and layers of ice and snow. As of right this minute, I will stop complaining about the weather. Maybe.

It's a New Year. Everyone in this house in healthy and happy. The riding mower didn't burn up the handyman or the pasture... my Thunderbird is purring like a kitten... and warmer weather will be here in a heartbeat. And besides all of that.... Barry Manilow is coming to the Houston area and we will be there to see him. Life is good. Life is great.