December 30, 2009

5:30 AM Up for a pit stop and couldn't resist looking at email, seeing what comments people make. I have two regular responders.

About names. Judy and Ken have a dog named Szabo. Szabo is a Hungarian name.

8:30 AM Up for another pit stop. Dogs barking at trash collection.
NOVA had a good program last night on DNA and genes. They gave Darwin too much credit, but I can live with that. The idea of evolution had been bruited about for two hundred years before Darwin. LaMarck had a theory about 1800. Darwin's contribution was the idea of "natural selection".

11 AM Up for the day. My hip and knee are aching, I know not why. Front passed yesterday. I have NOT had pains for about a week.
I woke up from a dream where I was receiving Homicide Award of the Year. Even in the dream I did not know the basis on which this was to be awarded.
Dogs want to eat. They have to go outside first. We are above freezing I know bc the snow on my car has melted.

I am doing better today. I downloaded Adobe Flash and then I could download the softwear to download pics from my camera. I still cant find the Manual. Why do they have to do this? Why cant they just ---- well, I know. They have a list of languages. This has gone global.

Blitzen's Tale
We got a Christmas card today with cats on it. ha! The lady who sent it said to discuss it at Pup's. So we did. Pup could care less. He is so laid back. And old LC grew up with cats. Well, just let me at 'em. And that cat wrote a Christmas letter. Grrrr.

Lady Chica's Tale
I dont know why Blitzen got in such a tizzy. I grew up with cats and I rather like them, They understand me better than Blitzen. he is such a dweeb.

I spent the evening with Pup's family. I finished up the orange batik quilt by hand. Lea began wroking on the green batik. I got these quilt blocks in the mid seventies from a woman in East Lansing.

BOOK REVIEW
Diane Gabaldon, *Echo in the Bone*
I have no idea what the title means. This is the seventh volume in a serial story. And more to come as the ending leaves us hanging. This volume covers 1776 thru 1778.
Gabaldon intended to write a historical novel but she couldn't get her female protagonist to act like a woman of the 18th century. So she invented a time traveler. Aside from the time traveler, the series is historically mostly accurate.
Claire steps into a faery place in Scotland and is transported back two hundred years in time to the Highlands of Scotland on the eve of the return of Bonnie Prince Charlie. She falls in love with Jamie Fraser, who participates in the Battle of Culloden (where the English defeat the Highlanders).
Several adventures later, Claire and Jamie emigrate to the colonies in America. In this latest volume, Jamie is involved in the American revolution. Jamie collects a company of militia for the Continental Army and Claire works as a battlefield surgeon. The book features the Battle of Saratoga. Meanwhile their daughter and her family have returned to the twentieth century.
The author on her web page says series will end in 1800. She implies there will be one more volume. She says it will be a happy ending but will leave readers crying. By 1800 Claire and Jamie will be about 80 years old.
Hugs, Dr. Liz