John Irving has been one of my favorite authors ever since I read The World According to Garp.  In fact, it’s one of the few books that I felt transitioned well to the big screen, thanks in no small part to Robin Williams and Glenn Close.  I’ve since read several other tomes he has penned but other than Cider House Rules, they have fallen short of my expectations which is probably a result of Garp not only being one of my all-time favorite books but also my introduction to Irving.

Yesterday I finished Last Night in Twisted River and give it a huge two thumbs up!  Wow!  Irving is in top form with this book and I was so sad to finish it and say good-by to the characters who had become dear friends in just a matter of days.  Irving wrote in a great style where the book was constantly moving forward or backward from whatever the “current” timeframe was and in doing so, gave glimpses of the past and future that nagged at my imagination.  As with any great writer, those glimpses often lead my imagination down a different path but it was a great way to keep me up late at night and wanting to ditch everything else I had to do and just read!

I’m now trying to figure out who can play the characters of Danny, Cookie and Ketchum when it hits the big screen.  If Hollywood doesn’t mess with great writing and they get the right cast, I predict an academy-award winning movie.

Just don’t cast me as Six-Pack Pam!

Daughter Stacey, her husband Len and son Alex (almost 12) are with us for a few days so we’re enjoying relaxing and hanging out together.  Last night Len’s parents came over for soup and we ended up playing a mean game of Mexican Train – which I won.  Since it requires very little skill, I don’t claim too much in bragging rights!

I’ve also introduced Alex to Pathwords which I’ve started playing on Facebook.  Friend Vickie is at 1700 points and is my true hero.  I’m at a measly 760 for my high and Alex is already on his way to beating me.  It’s been fun to watch him gain confidence and try new words and his competitive nature is obvious.

This morning Burl and Len headed to the country club for breakfast and golf and Stacey and I got court time for racquetball leaving Alex at home to read and play Pathwords.  She and I are evenly matched in the game and most matches were only won by a couple of points.  At the start of the tie-breaker game I made the fatal mistake of declaring the loser would buy coffee and Stacey was in her element.  She announced she wanted a grande and proceeded to beat me 15-10!  So much for close games.

I offered Alex an opportunity to go to lunch and the Discover Center but he had a better idea.  He wanted Incredible Pizza so off we went!  Stacey and I were amazed that the buffet was actually quite good – as an Old Fart, I got the buffet and a drink for $4.99 and I think they lost $ on me!  Salad bar rated about a 9 out of 10, the Tomato Basil soup was as good as I’ve had anywhere and the taco bar was excellent.  AND they carried caffeine-free Diet Coke too!

Alex enjoyed giving us a tour of the place and then we left him to his own device and settled into the a booth and had a great chance to visit.  Stacey is slowly learning to allow Alex to venture out on his own as evidenced by leaving him home with Mulligan this morning and letting his go off and play video games alone at Incredible Pizza. 

I doubt we’ll return to the place soon – and definitely will have a grandchild in tow if we do – but I give the place two thumbs up for offering decent food choices and a multi-faceted Christian atmosphere for family entertainment.

It’s Incredible!

Burl loves to go to movies so today he asked me for a date to the movies and dinner tonight.  How could I refuse?  Sure couldn’t tell him I had other plans, could I?

There are a few movies out that I wanted to see but since we opted to go to the Springfield 8, our selection was limited.  I decided that “Invictus” might be a bit heavy for my tastes tonight so we went for the mindless romantic comedy “Have You Heard About The Morgans?”

This is one movie that you can see on autopilot.  The plot was thinner than I’ll ever be and Sarah Jessica Parker looked very unlike Carrie Bradshaw – the only resemblance being their mutual love of New York City.  As for Hugh Grant, I think he’s only played one character in all his movies, they’re just in different locations with different leading ladies.

Predictable?  Yep!  Entertaining?  So-so.

Let’s just say I didn’t over extend the gray matter while watching this flick but I’ve certainly seen worse.

Last week when we drove to Riverside Inn we notice a new little pasta place in Ozark.  It was featured in the week-end section of the paper on Thursday so we decided to give it a try.  The food was better than most inexpensive pasta places (i.e. Pasta Express, Fazoli’s) but we’ve decided it won’t stay in business for long.  Not only did we see the owner take $ out of the cash register twice, the employees also ate in the dining room while customers were there and when the owner came over to chat with us, it was obvious the mints weren’t covering up the alcohol on his breath.  He did offer us the last piece of tiramisu since it was almost time to close and they aren’t open tomorrow – then realized he was out of it!  So he brought us each a piece of custard pie – not something I would have chosen but actually quite tasty.

It’s one of those places we might visit again but only if we’re with a group and someone else wants to go there.  Just didn’t have enough going for it to make us want to drive to Ozark for their food.

I’ll agree with Burl that the best meal he had this week was my homemade chicken noodle soup.  It rocks!

I know that Christmas arrives every year – it’s always on December 25th no matter what the day of the week.  I also know that it takes time to shop, wrap, decorate, write, mail, bake and party – plus clean the house occasionally.

So I’m happy to announce that a few days ago we finally got the tree up and decorated and actually got the outside lights hung so we no longer look like the non-Christian family in the ‘hood.

With our current rotation of Christmas at home or with kids, I only do the decorating part every other year so you would think it would be a priority.  I even offered to switch to an artificial tree this year (only for the convenience part!) and met strong resistance from Mulligan’s dad.  Wasn’t gonna happen.

But the time I would have spent decorating a few weeks ago was put to good use with the hallway project so now we can enjoy the tree and decorations even though they’ll be up for just a couple of weeks. 

Better late than never!

I’ve also finished all my shopping and everything is wrapped and under the tree – or ready to go to Des Moines next Saturday.  I’ve made a couple of batches of sweet and salty pecans along with a batch of Apple Pie (the kind that uses a fifth of Everclear!) and the cards are all mailed.  Heck, I even cleaned the lower level of the house in case someone wants to play pool this week and tomorrow afternoon I’ll finish the rest of the cleaning and get the bedrooms ready for Stacey, Len and Alex to arrive.

I think it’s time to listen to Christmas carols and relax by the fireplace!  I’ve earned it.

The very best gifts are those things you don’t even know you want/need but show a lot of thought from the giver.  Such is the case of a birthday gift I received from Tammy and Steve.  I’m not sure which of them had the idea but I’m betting it was Steve since he’s our family techno-geek.  No matter who thought of the gift, it was perfect because not only did I not even know to want it, but I would never have known how to acquire it.

In case you haven’t figured it out, they gave me my own Internet domain name.  Henceforth, and forever after (if the annual fees are paid), I shall be part of the worldwide web with the address of www.keckeley.com

My dad was always a bit sad that his family name would not be passed to a son but through the magic of technology, my maiden name of Keckeley lives on.

Steve set it up for me a few days ago and now I feel much more “with it” than I did when I was without it!  He tells me I can even get my own email address with the latter part being “@keckeley.com” so I may have to consider that.  While it will never replace personalized correspondence cards – and handwritten notes – it’s still very cool.

I may not have been the John Stuart Keckeley my parents planned for their second born child, but the family name continues through the web – and through a middle name of my great nephew.  Guess I’d better let him know part of his name is out there too!

Thanks, Tammy and Steve, you’ve definitely raised my coolness factor among the AARP set!

We’re a couple of sentimental (or semi-mental) folks at our house.  Give us a reason to celebrate and we’ll run with it.  And we love traditions.

Today was the 8th anniversary of the day we met face:face so once again we were at Springfield Brewing Co. sitting in “our” booth enjoying a glass of beer and dinner.  Usually we go alone but this evening our friends Ron and Barb joined us since they are leaving for the west coast this week and wont’ return until later in the winter.

Per tradition, Burl wore the same shirt and sweater he bought to wear when we met and I wore a copy of the outfit I was wearing that fateful night.  We had fun sharing our story with the waitress but I guess she wasn’t too taken with it – we didn’t get a free beer like we’ve gotten in years past.  Must be the economy.

We hope we will cross paths with Ron and Barb if we all happen to be in San Diego at the same time and we’re even considering taking a cruise to the western coast of Mexico in late January or early February if it works out for the 4 of us.  In the meantime, I’m in charge of checking out cruise deals through Travel Zoo.  If you’re not getting their free weekly email, sign up for it and check out the bargains they offer.

Burl is coming down the home stretch on the hallway flooring and I’m certainly ready to finish this project and clean the house which is quite messy and dirty from construction.  He ran out of flooring on Friday so I picked up a couple of boxes and hopefully he’ll finish tomorrow before his tee time.  I also picked out a piece of granite on Friday and it will be cut to fit the top of a piece in our dining room that was water-damaged from a plant.  Burl offered me the option to replace the piece but since it matches another cabinet, I’m content to fix the top and shop instead for living room furniture – if/when I ever find the time.

Last night we helped close down Riverside Inn on their final night in business.  When we ate there several weeks ago we actually thought that would be our last opportunity for corn fritters but as luck would have it, we were invited to a private party held that last night.   The buffet featured all the Riverside Inn favorites and since I’m not a fan of fried chicken or chicken livers, I ate the meatballs and had a couple of extra corn fritters for my dessert.

My sorority sister, Sue, was also at the party and we had our photo taken in front of one of the murals to commemorate all the great Pi Phi formals we attended there in the 60’s.  We had fun reminiscing about our days at Drury but spent more time talking about how wonderful our grandkids are.  And we both agreed that we’d be lost without “magic shampoo” to help keep us looking so young!

Not bad for a couple of old broads, huh?

This morning we attended the Christmas Cantata at our church and now I’m really in the Christmas mood.  The music was beautiful and the accompanying scripture readings reminded me of why we really celebrate this season.  I was feeling so magnanimous that I even agreed to go out to breakfast with Burl and then we picked out our tree.  Got a 6′ Douglas fir that we’ll decorate tomorrow evening.

I’ve finished the last of my Christmas sewing, wrapped all the gifts I have in hand (more still en route from cyber-shopping) and now it’s time to do cards. 

At this rate, I may actually finish with a few days to spare.

Several friends have recommended that we see “The Blind Side” and since I knew the story line and Burl adores Sandra Bullock, we saw it over the weekend.  Even though I knew the ending – and knew Hollywood had dealt the movie a big dose of sappiness – I was still in tears by time the final credits rolled.

Surprisingly, I hadn’t read the book but probably will just to see how much fact the movie studios actually rolled into the final product.  And from what I know about the real Leanne Touhy, Sandra Bullock was the perfect choice to play her.

If you haven’t seen it, this is one “feel good” movie that deserves at least the price of a rush hour show if only for the fact that it will make you think about the consequences of our actions and how one small kindness can truly change a life.

Burl and I have talked at length about that premise for the last few days – how we never know when or if something we say or do has a life-changing impact (good or bad) on someone and how we should never pass up an opportunity to do something for someone else.  We are very blessed and have all our needs met and need to remember to open our hearts and be generous with others in our thoughts, words and actions every day and not just at Christmas.

There really is a reason I get those little “God nudges” – I just need to respond and see how much more enriched my life and the lives of others can be.

The ‘blind side’ in the movie referred to a football game but I think it applies to life as well.  It’s easy to turn a blind side to others who are in need – but taking the easy approach is not always the right approach.

Let’s hope my eyes stay open instead of being blind to the needs of others.

I awoke on Monday morning thinking I had a pretty good handle on how my week would go – plenty of gym time, some Christmas errands, unpack boxes for living room and dining room, lunch with friends, movie at The Moxie – you get the picture. 

Didn’t happen.

Burl reviewed the weather forecast, looked down the unfinished hallway and suggested we finish laying the hardwood flooring which of course also meant painting.  Granted, he did give me a choice.  And I suggested we wait until after the holidays but then realized that I really do want the job completed and I just needed to suck it up and get to work.

While I headed to the gym, he tore up the carpeting and readied the area for my Monet-like touches.  It’s now Wednesday evening and the trim and the walls all have two coats of paint on them and now I just have to do the doors which will be easy since I can take them downstairs and lay them over saw horses.

I’m really, really, really, really hoping that tomorrow I can escape to do my own things and he’ll magically lay the floor on his own.

What do you think my chances are for that to happen?

Yeah, probably nil.

Oh well, it’s Thursday and I do have the Rotary at noon excuse so I will get a little time off.

But a week from now I’ll sure be glad that it’s behind us.

 I really love the Christmas season when I can enjoy is in a leisurely fashion.  For me that means lots of cyber-shopping, going to stores early in the day (and early in the week), having time each day to get to the gym and not having too many events in one day lest they cut into my reading time!

Fortunately this past week was busy without being overwhelming. Here’s a quick recap:

• Went to the orthopedic surgeon w/Burl and got good news and bad news.  The good news is he doesn’t need surgery.  The bad news is that it’s going to take 12-18 months to heal.  He was referred to a PT who gave him new arch supports for his shoes and a script for special shoes he needs to order.
• Enjoyed a free lunch at Mr. Yen’s that I won from Star 105.1 – and I got to let them know how I felt about 24/7 Christmas music that started before Halloween.
• Finished 2 more knit hats for the kids at Rare Breed and started another one.
• Made American Girl doll dresses to match dresses I made for Julia and Lydia.
• Attended our first Christmas party.
• Decorated the house for Christmas and got rid of all the decorations we haven’t used in the last 7 years.
• Helped Tammy at Winterfest where she is showing her jewelry this weekend.
• Wrapped all the gifts that I’ve already bought.
• Sorted the stocking stuffers by family units.
• Finished the majority of my shopping – all the hard-t0-buy-for shopping is done!
• Returned some gifts – isn’t that the American way?
• Had a great week because I got to read and knit every day.
• Skipped a party last night because Burl was so exhausted from “Shrine-ing” all day and he wanted to stay home.  I didn’t care if we went anyway because the Shrine smells like an ashtray!  Besides we got to watch a great football game – too bad Nebraska lost in the last second.
• Made a batch of Apple Pie – the kind that includes a quart of EverClear!

Today we’re going to a movie!  Hope your week was as fun and productive as mine.

Let the Christmas season begin – Women of Substance have met for December and have words of wisdom to share!   Tonight was the last in our Year of Italian Eating so we went to Zio’s.  The place used to be packed – tonight they had the back part shut off and the rest of the place was only half occupied.  I also realized later that all the waiters and kitchen staff didn’t greet patrons as they came in.

• Our waiter was Kurt – it was his first night alone so Vickie asked if he was a virgin waiter?  Don’t know/care about the virgin part but we all agreed he was gay.
• Vickie is the new president-elect-elect of her Rotary Club which makes a Rotary President trifecta for us – Robin is past president of the Downtown Rotary and I served my time with Southeast.
• Vickie and I wanted to order salads but Robin insisted we order pasta since it was an Italian place – Vickie got the cannelloni and I had lemon chicken pasta which was loaded with fresh veggies, chicken and penne pasta in a lemon and olive oil pesto.  I’d definitely order it again.
• Robin had a coupon for a free appetizer so we got the spinach/artichoke dip.  Yummy!
• I was extremely disappointed in Vickie’s performance tonight.  We count on her to have some good gossip to share each time we meet since she’s in the Springfield work world every day.  Alas, she failed us this time. 
• Hannah had a guy ask her to come watch him play basketball – he told her he’d score 8 points for her and she’d be his good luck charm.  Unfortunately she had already agreed to a babysitting job and can’t go – and she’s convinced something this cool will never happen again in her life.
• Obama should be impeached – his speech tonight about sending 30,000 troops to Afghanistan preempted “Charlie Brown Christmas”.  That’s totally un-American and leaves million of little kids deprived of a quality television experience.
• Vickie loves the Food Channel show about “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.”  She said when she watches it she gets hungry even when she’s just eaten.
• My favorite new site on I-40 is the Jesus Is Lord truck stop in Amarillo.  We didn’t stop – just drove by it.
• I won lunch at Mr. Yen’s tomorrow from a local radio station.  It’s the same station I quit listening to several weeks ago when they went to 24/7 Christmas music before Halloween.  Of course I didn’t tell them that when they called me yesterday.  Apparently I had texted in my entry in mid-October. 
•  Burl has an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon at 11 tomorrow so there’s a good chance we’ll miss our free lunch unless the doctor is on time.  She did surgery on Robin’s foot and Robin said she’s a great surgeon but always runs 1-2 hours late on office appointments.  Guess I’d better take a snack with me!
• Robin is getting deep tissue massage therapy for her lower back.  She has been twice and said the guy is amazing – he could tell she’d been in a car wreck many years ago.  He also talked about a ‘third eye’ and told Robin hers is her gut instinct and she’s not listening to it.  He also said the excess cortisol causes belly fat.  That’s my new excuse – too much cortisol!
• Robin and Jim are going to New Zealand for two weeks over Christmas – she’s going cold turkey on e-mail or even checking her iPhone.  Said if anyone needs them for an emergency, they can call.  Go Robin – I’m proud of you – a REAL vacation.
• Vickie’s firm recently had a marketing consultant for a day and she was excellent – now we just hope they take all her suggestions.
• Robin gave each of us an Amaryllis plant – mine is already in its vase and hopefully growing.  Vickie gave us snowmen angel ornaments for our Christmas trees.
• Vickie wants to know how to wear a scarf like Robin does.
• I recently bought a pair of leggings which I haven’t yet worn.  Robin said I need to get a sweater dress, slouchy boots and a belt to complete the look.  So my $15 leggings which I got on sale will require $200 in accessories?  May have to return them!
• Vickie bought the Neutrogena eye roller and loves it – said you have to use it for at least a week to get results.
• Robin read that you must sleep on your back or you’ll get wrinkles or puffy skin on your face.  Now she tells me – little late for that advice.
• Hannah wears pretty much the same thing every day – American Eagle jeans (she has 3 identical pair), t-shirt, zipper hoodie and black Converse tennies.
• Vickie actually said “Sh*t”!
• Vickie doesn’t like selling brats at Bass Pro for Rock ‘n Ribs.
• Robey can now jump Robin’s fence so they may need to get an invisible fence installed.  They also think he may be allergic to beef – he needs chicken as the main ingredient in his food.  Hank is a barker - need the Dog Whisperer.
• Why does Vickie have gnats in her house?  Yes she has no bananas!  Per Robin, they probably came in with plants she brought inside so she needs to spray them.
• My plans for a winter in Phoenix are on hold until we find out about Burl’s foot surgery.  So if we can’t do a weekend in Phoenix, we’ll all go to Robin’s cabin for a weekend of margaritas and chick flicks.

Merry Christmas from Women of Substance – no Happy Holidays from this group!