January 2015 Recap

My monthly recaps are going to change. The only thing that will remain the same will be books I have read. The savings challenge I was doing is now static with $110 a week (every Monday). Projects will still be highlighted if any was worked on and/or completed; but, not as important. I am just going to highlight certain things I think were important and or memorable to me. I may also may make "announcements" for family and friends.

• Books Finishes
  • #29: The Travelers: Present in the Past by Emily Schmidt.

    This book was on an extreme sale (75%) with free shipping and the story line, which used a couple of old quilts, intrigued me. So, I purchased it for dirt cheap. This is geared towards young readers; but, it is also a quick enjoyable read for older readers and adults.

    A young girl, Nona, is the ninth generation of travelers – those that can travel in time. She came into her abilities at a critical time and had to flee and hide in the past. A boy, who was held hostage to his abilities, crashed landed in the past where Nona was hiding. Nona manages to help anchor Henry and teach him what limited knowledge she about traveling. Winnie, a relative in the past she was staying (hiding out) with, is coming into her own traveling abilities. Nona ended up having to flee from some bad Travelers and both Henry and Emily hung onto and traveled with her.

    The one thing I really liked, besides the time traveling aspect, is the historical perspective of the times Nona got “stuck” in the past. Emily Schmidt was able to blend everything extremely well. I am biased towards fantasy books anyway. :-)

    The one thing I disliked is the abrupt ending forcing you to wait for a second book if (and that is a big IF), one gets published. I have my doubts.

• Company

  Two of my nephews and a niece-in-law used our house as a hotel to attend the first ever PAX held in San Antonio called PAX South. By all appearances, they seemed to have enjoyed themselves. And, I am not going to lie; they were the best guests anybody could expect! They were my kind of guests – they were too busy attending and having fun at the convention to visit much. They are more than welcome to use our house again as a hotel to attend the next convention or just go sightseeing.

  I honestly do not mind family and close friends crash landing at the house just to go sightseeing nearby areas including San Antonio or attend events and/or conventions. (In fact, these kinds of guests are less stressful for me – just do what you want to do and let me do my own thing.) I don't even mind them coming to escape their own places and visit with us. I am more than happy to provide beds and a bathroom along with eats and drinks as long as they let me know ahead of time what they prefer as my household is mostly gluten free and mighty boring to most folks. If they need breakfast, lunch and dinner, they need to let us know that to as we tend to wing ours on the weekends.

  These kids (yes, they are kids to me even though they are adults) did not seem to want eats and drinks from our house. Even though I was worried about them going hungry, they seemed to do just fine on their own. By the way, they never put in a request for eats and drinks when I asked them to when they first asked to stay here. I should not have worried about being good hosts; but, I did worry. I have to much of my Mother in me concerning this fact. I want people to be happy and content staying here in spite of my inability to socialize sometimes due to deafness. Dan more than filled in this part of being a host for me which relieved me immensely.

• Announcement (to Family and Close Friends)

  It is my hope to have Murphy beds (a queen and a twin) installed in the official guest room by the end of February along with my room be mostly finished. When those beds are installed, I will send word to family and friends that our “hotel” is officially open even though the guest room and bath will be a work in progress! We will have the Murphy beds along with a queen size camp cot (a stable air mattress and very comfortable) and a twin sized (slightly smaller than a twin) sleeper sofa bed for people to crash on.

  Like most hotels, a fridge, freezer and microwave are available. Unlike most hotels, we also have a stovetop, an oven and a Keurig. And, we have cookware and dishes. However, the location is not exactly ideal as it is approximately forty minutes from downtown San Antonio. But, if any of my family and close friends needs cheap, this place is a cheap (free) hotel. Just don't expect this place to be like a hotel though -- decorated and pristine. It is a house that is lived in with constant work being done to it.

  Also, be aware that we have cats if you are allergic to them. My nephews are allergic and yet, they seemed to have done just fine with their allergy meds. I do try to keep allergens down on account of Dan being allergic too. Just grab and run. Maybe that is what we should call our place, "Just grab and run". Ha! :-)

  As long as one does not have high expectations of me as a host and puts in their requests ahead of time, I think we all will get along just fine.