Secret Faces, Secret Places by Barbara J Davis

This is the name of my cousin's first published book. She had a book signing yesterday. It is about 2 men who have both lost the loves of their lives and how they cope with those losses. I am not allowing myself to start it until I get more papers put away, but I will let you all know how I like it. If it is as well written as her travel logs, which she has sent me for years, it will be a great read.

$65 CSN Giveaway in progress!

And entry number 128 is............

susitravl

Congratulations! Please contact me for your prize!

As stated in an earlier post, I am hosting a $65 CSN stores gift card giveaway. Here are the rules for entry into the giveaway...

MANDATORY ENTRY:
Tell me how you would spend your $65 at CSN Stores

EXTRA ENTRIES:
* Become a follower of my blog or comment if you already are (1 entry)
* Visit my Etsy shop (Link to right) and tell me one thing you would like to have (1 entry)
* Blog about this giveaway and leave me a comment with a link (3 entries)
*Make a purchase from my Etsy shop (5 entries)


Giveaway ends September 9 at 11:59 PDT. I understand that many want to keep their email addresses secret to avoid spam. So if you have that concern, please leave your email like this….any person at Comcast dot com. You MUST leave some sort of email/contact information in order for me to reach you if you are the winner. The winner will be drawn in a random drawing by random.org. If I am not contacted within 2 days by the winner, a new winner will be drawn.

I look forward to hearing all your comments! Have fun & Good Luck!!

CSN - your new "Go To" store!

I few weeks ago, I introduced you to CSN. They have over 200 stores that sell everything from shoes to dutch ovens I have been browsing through the stores and will be buying a few things to replace those that were lost in the fire. Take a look and let me know what YOU like!!

The wonderful people at CSN have graciously agreed to give one of my readers a $65 gift certificate in the form of a promotional gift code that can be used online at any one of the over 200 stores. So if you are looking for back to school supplies, household products OR just something special for yourself, this will be a great opportunity to get $65 towards your purchase. Lucky, lucky you!!

Rules of the give-away will be posted in a few!

6 weeks later.......

the last 6 weeks have been FULL of good things and bad! I had a great trip to San Diego with my dad to spend some time with Devan and Diana and take a one-day family cruise on the Mobile Bay. We did some very fun maneuvers and fired off 40 rounds on the 5" guns! AWESOME. We had a very nice visit and it was so fun getting to see Daylan ride his bike without training wheels for the first time!

I returned home on Tuesday, August 3. At 5 in the morning of the 4th, Michael woke me up with the cry of "FIRE". An iron that I had left plugged in 8 days earlier had ignited and set my office on fire. (8 days to catch fire???!!!) Luckily Michael woke up and got the fire out.

Only a few things are total loss, one being my childhood doll. It was a Miss Revlon doll from the 1950's. The other loss is my grandmothers jewelry box that I inherited from my sister when she passed. The box is not a total loss, but it is badly charred on one side and the top has plastic melted onto it, obscuring the picture on top. I will have them clean it as much as possible and keep it even though it is charred. Just too precious to get rid of. My vanity/desk was also heavily damaged. In subsequent searching I found it is a piece from the late 1800's/early 1900's by Maple & Co., a British furniture maker. Because it is rather an old piece, and really unique, we are going to try and have it restored, rather than find a new one....even if I COULD find a replacement!

Several of my Packer banners/decals are lost also, but that is minor to what could have happened. My stock certificate will be replaced by the Packers.

The day after the fire I left for Green Bay with Marnie & Tiana for Training camp, PPCC reception, Family night, sightseeing and the first preseason game against the Browns. We had such a good time in Green Bay....we went to the water park in Wisconsin Dells, the State Fair in Milwaukee and all the Packer stuff. It was a very busy week!!

Home again on the 15th to start dealing with all the fire clean-up/repairs. It took 4 days but the office is totally cleaned out and the dry-wallers are here today to do the repairs. Tomorrow the painters are to be here to seal the walls & ceiling, then painting in Thursday. New carpet after that and I should be able to move back in next week. TONS of stuff to sort before that happens.

On the plus side----I am going to be hosting another give-away for a CSN gift card soon!! Stay tuned for your chance to win!!