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Monday, February 15, 2016

'A Ha' Moments

Hannah spent the night on Wednesday. She has outgrown the portable crib.

'A Ha' Moment #1.  After weeks of fretting about where she would sleep when she was here for her much-anticipated overnight visit, the purchase of an inflatable mattress (still in the box), a cottage-like tent to make it fun to sleep on (still in the box) and a couple of travel locks for the doors to keep her from wandering into the building hallway or onto the patio in the middle of the night (easily removed by her in record time), the simple solution was sleeping with her on the sofa bed in the den. I made up the bed while she was busy playing office at my desk. When she came into the den, her jaw dropped. She had no idea that her favorite sofa could be transformed into a sofa bed. She hopped right in clothes and all! 


'A Ha' Moment #2.  The next morning, while she was putting her pajamas back on (having decided that she would be a sofa bed potato all morning), I turned on "Bubble Guppies" in the living room because it was playing in the den in an effort to coax her into some breakfast. When she came out to get back in bed to watch, she stood in the doorway between the den and the living room looking from one television to the other. She looked like she was watching a tennis match. Then I heard "Nana, Nana, look." as she excitedly pointed to each TV. The smile on her face was priceless as she realized that the sets could play the same show at the same time! And then, she had breakfast in bed - the sofa bed.

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Merry Christmas Alex Cross by James Patterson

Merry Christmas, Alex Cross (Alex Cross, #19)Merry Christmas, Alex Cross by James Patterson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Alex, Sampson, Nana Momma, Brie and the kids are all familiar characters in this favorite detective/suspense series. Maybe it's the warm and loving home setting that makes the crimes Alex and Sampson tackle palatable. Or maybe it's the feeling of being an insider on their team and in Alex's family, but, whatever it is, I love this series.

Merry Christmas Alex Cross started small on Christmas Eve and ended big by New Year's Eve. Along the way not one, but four situations required Alex's attention. The last two were complicated and related. I listened to the audio book without checking on the chapter count, so it was easy to feel real relief as the first problem concluded and think that Alex was done for the night. But, no, the calls to duty on Christmas Eve just kept snowballing.

Sampson is Sampson. Nana Momma wields guilt like a sword. Alex employs his valuable skills with wit and humor. The family is warm, loving and patient. Knitted together, they all gave me a feeling of comfort, joy and good humor in the face of unnerving crimes.

Highly recommended with a shiver and a smile.



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