Brooke Writes Books... and Other Musings...

It's a very easy trap to fall into: complaining on the blog. Oh sure, it may come out comical and be very entertaining. But, bottom line: negativity. Since I seem to be on a quest lately to be positive and perky…I am devoting this blog entry to naming a baker’s dozen of things I love. Here goes!

1. I love how fresh and crisp the air is after a rainstorm. All the dust is washed away, all the trees seem greener, the horizon is clear as a bell. Even the birds sound happier.

2. I love ice cream and pizza. Yum, yum…especially when they are served in one meal!

3. I love baseball. And I love any sport viewed in person. You can just feel the passion, the excitement!

4. I love traveling. Whether I’ve been to the destination before or it’s the first time, I love the thrill of seeing new and different things. Even the air smells different in places away from home.

5. I love the silky feel of polished wood.

6. I love roses. Everything about a rose says beauty and grace. I also love daffodils because they are so perky—it does take a certain amount of spunk to be the first flower of spring! And I love tulips for their charm and luck.

7. I love the smell of baking bread. Nothing is quite so homey.

8. I love sunrises, sunsets, and moon rises. Talk about nature’s perfect show.

9. I love fireworks! Well, except when they appear unwanted in my backyard! But a fireworks show…definitely can relate to all the ooh’s and ah’s…

10. I love getting something accomplished that has been nagging at me; shouting at me to “finish me and get me off your stinkin’ list!” Ah, the feeling of joy when that finally happens!

11. I love to write. I have so many stories in me… I simply love the joy of writing. It is never a chore. The chore is finding the time and giving myself permission to delve into something I love.

12. I love reading. Always have…always will.

13. I love how my family and friends, who are all so special and wonderful, make me feel special and wonderful…even when I am not so special and wonderful.

Now, see? That wasn’t very hard at all!

Well, all I have to say is: it’s a good thing I am not terribly superstitious. Otherwise, I’d be kinda concerned. Let me tell you about my New Year’s Eve and the first few hours of New Year’s Day.

Now….first I should explain that New Year’s is my favorite holiday. I love new beginnings…no matter what they are….and what is more of a new beginning than the first day of a brand new year?

I have this little tradition that I’ve been doing for a number of years, and frankly, I like it. I look forward to it. I have a really nice dinner on New Year’s Eve. Something fancy. Beef Wellington. Salmon in Phyllo Pastry. Nice wine. A nice dessert. Then about 10PM, I break out the snacks. At 11:30 or so, out comes the champagne, and the TV gets flipped to Dick Clark and the big ball in Times Square.

This year’s New Year’s Eve feast was Lobster Cakes with a field green salad. Had been looking forward to those Lobster Cakes for weeks. Got them all prepared…and they were awful! Just dreadful! Horrid. Wretched. Okay…you get the idea. They were dastardly. They were so bad, they made me feel sick. To the point where I was really in no mood for snacks at 10PM…or 10:30…or 11. Didn’t even want the champagne.

But that was okay. I can be flexible when forced into it! I’d just drink my bottled water and toast Dick Clark and the Waterford Crystal Ball at midnight with a bit of Crysal Geyser! How healthful!

Now…the other thing that most people know about me is that I am practically paranoid to the point of obsessive about fires. They are my worst nightmare… And I have many occasions to worry about them living in Fire Country….

So…back to my story!

At precisely 11:54PM, while I am happily watching Dick Clark and trying not to feel badly that his stroke was so devastating, suddenly gunshots go off in my neighborhood and firecrackers begin crackling away. One of them hits the side of my house. Now that makes a person feel really good! I check out the window (carefully so I don’t get my head shot off! Hey! I ain’t no dope!). No signs of fire. Thank heavens it rained earlier (and to think, since the drainage is NOT fixed, I wasn’t happy about the rain…man, how things can change on a dime!)

I return…not quite so happy…to Dick Clark. Of course, with my heart thundering at 500 beats a minute, I can hardly concentrate on the ball dropping… I believe I saw it. I believe I wished Year 2005 good-by. I think I wished a happy welcome to Year 2006.

The neighborhood remained quiet. My heart slowed down.

At 12:20, I hear a whooshing, a crackle and see another firecracker come into my yard and skitter along my patio. It too went out…harmlessly.

Heart beat increases dramatically. Calmness is shot to hell.

At 12:40…a repeat of the above.

The clock moves to 1:01…another one plummets into my yard.

Seems my normally very quiet neighbors next door have moved their party outside to their patio, and are drinking up a storm…among other things. A small fight ensued but reconciliation came quickly.

Now it is 1:30…and you got it! Another firecracker whistles into my yard.

This continued until 3:31AM.

Needless to say…On January 1st…I was very, very tired. Oh…and the lobster cakes were still letting me know they didn’t love me.

Ah well. I guess a lot of people feel tired and puny on this day. Hee, hee…just never thought I’d be one of them!

Happy New Year! And ho, ho, ho….Bah Humbug!