Now on sale . . . Muffins & Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if Disorderly) Life by Suzanne Beecher, and when you purchase it, request a free autographed bookplate, by visiting:
http://tinyurl.com/Muffins-MayhemPO
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Dear Reader,
Chest of drawers in the living room, night stands tucked underneath the dining room table, a dinosaur lamp, a yellow stool, a miniature blue table, two red bookcases, a colorful storage rack for toys, sheets and pillow cases, a yellow VW Bug Bed, curtains on rods ready to be installed, rolled up rugs--the inside of my home is an obstacle course--like one of those labyrinth gardens, but a furniture maze instead.
Every morning my husband and I check Craigslist for new household postings. The good stuff goes early; first one to call and show up with their trailer gets the hot deal. We've been first so many times we've almost replaced all of the furniture lost in the fire. (My son, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren's home burned a few weeks ago.) All of the bargains need a staging area, and since houses in Florida, where I live, don't have basements and because our home was built in 1926, we don't even have a garage--we do have a carriage house--but since it's our only place to store things it's already filled. Oh how I'm missing the huge basement and the double car garage we had in our house when we lived in Middleton, Wisconsin.
I've added night-lights in every room so when I get up in the middle of the night, I don't forget to dodge a chair, dresser or book sling with my grandson's name on it. But even though every room in my home is filled with stuff, waiting for its debut, there's still no place like home. And James, my two-year-old grandson agrees. James stands in front of the door of the home he's temporarily staying in and keeps repeating over and over again, what everyone else is thinking, "Home, home, I want to go home."
Amazingly, the construction manager working on my son's home says the house will be repaired before Thanksgiving. And I believe him. Half the house was destroyed by fire, the other half, water and smoke damage, but now almost four weeks later, in some of the rooms you wouldn't even know there had been a fire, because numerous angels have come to the rescue. A public adjuster who worked with the insurance company, a contractor whose painter told me yesterday, "Have a blessed day and don't worry about a thing here. We'll have this house fixed up in no time," a book club reader who's letting my son and his family stay in her vacant furnished home, friends and book club readers who have sent love and support, clothes and gift cards. Yes, angels have come to the rescue and so very soon my two-year-old grandson James will be saying "Home, home, it's so good to be home."
Thanks to everyone who is planning on giving my book as a holiday gift. I am having fun signing the book plates and letters. If you haven't ask for your personalized book plates yet, be sure to visit http://www.muffinsandmayhem.com/node/17092 and see the 'Whoops Banana Bread' gift idea.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
www.MuffinsandMayhem.com
KIDSBUZZ: Books and books--lots of children's and tween books to give away. Email an author, sign up for their giveaway and learn about great titles for kids of all ages from: Liz Levy/DANGER & DIAMONDS: A MYSTERY AT SEA; Rose Kent/ROCKY ROAD; Lita Judge/BORN TO BE GIANTS; and Wafa Tarnowska/THE ARABIAN NIGHTS. For a chance to win free books and more, see http://www.authorbuzz.com/kidsbuzz
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