writershodgepodge

Customer Service

2009-07-06T19:50:00.002-04:00

Customer Service

At some point in your life you have or will have to deal with a customer service problem, how it’s handles can be a make or brake customer relationship. Whether you are the one seeking customer service or the one giving customer service there is one important thing to remember “respect the person you are dealing with.”

I had a terrible experience in a TJ Max store, I was checking out when the girl scanned an item and put it in my bag and I commented to her, how happy I was that it was on sale, that I had passed it up last time I was there because I thought it was to expensive for that item.

The clerk took it back out of my bag and took it over to another cashier and told her that she thought the price on the item was wrong. The woman looked over at me and then turned over the item to where the price was and started to peel up the label. If she was looking to see if there was a label underneath it, it was very plain to see that it was an only label and cleanly attached.

Then a third clerk came over, again they stood whispering and then I overheard one of them say she was going to look that up in the book. The clerk went and got the book and low and behold she couldn’t find the item. The line behind me is growing and the three clerks now are shaking their heads in my direction.

The three walked over and stood at the register next to mine and looked at me. No one said anything to me they continued to talk among themselves. Finally I said look I didn’t mark the price that is on the item, that’s your responsibility, to be honest with you it’s not that important to me so just take it off my receipt and let me leave.

They did that and the two clerks still holding the item kept repeating how they didn’t believe that was the correct price. My time and the customers waiting behind me had to wait while these three clerks made more of a problem out of a problem.

That is an example of poor customer service. On my ride home all I could think of is that I wanted to take the rest of my purchase back and get my money back and not shop TJ Max or Marshals, the other store they have. Needless to say I did call their customer service and let them know what happened…

Letter From God

2009-03-27T21:53:00.004-04:00

Sometimes I wonder what God would say to us if he could write us a letter. I thought that maybe it would go something like this...

Hello My Child,

What is that you are thinking you are too old to be my child? That's not so, you will always be my child no matter what age you are.

I am writing to you because I have heard all your prayers, and each time you ask why I am not listening to you. Let me first say, I do hear all prayers and all are answered, not always the way you think that they should be, but trust me I do know what's best for you. Someday you will understand that what I tell you is true.

One of the questions you ask me is why I allow so many bad things to happen, another is why don't I just stop all the bad things that are going on. I want you to know how badly it pains my heart to see the misery that all my children seem to partake in, hurting each other, by robbing, adultery, killing and lying just to name a few. I could stop it all, but have you forgotten my child the earth is not mine to rule just yet.

The earth is under the devils rule; he has a certain amount of time to win over some of my children, to prove to me his power. I watch over you hoping you will not give into his temptations. I have given you the commandments to follow as your guide. I have faith in my children, I have given you free will, it is the only way to prove that I truly do have the love of my creation and in the long run they will turn back to me, and I will rule the earth with them, there will be no pain or wars then, glory will be for all of us.

He who rules the underworld will throw many temptations at you. I know they are hard to deny, greed, wealth and corruption. Wealth is not a bad thing as long as you don't let it become your end all. You must always remember to help those who are less fortunate then you, they are my children too. In fact they are the ones that though they have less their beliefs are much stronger then those that have more.

It saddens me so, when I look down to see a child starving, I have truly provided enough food for the entire world population to eat, yet no one has yet figured that out. I cry when I see spoiled food thrown away, some have so much and others have nothing... this is not the way I wanted it to be. I have given you everything to work out the troubles of the world, and still you do not see it. I have given you every cure for the diseases that plague your world, money stops the progress along with ignorance, I am sorry to say.

Man still wages war on each other, why? The power you seek doesn't really exist; it only serves a false purpose and history will show you anything that becomes too powerful seems to fall. Power is not the answer to help mankind; the word kind is part of man I have linked them together and still you don't get it. There are many things I have given you as a subtle reminder, yet your eyes are closed. Your tear down the beautiful gifts, destroying the wonderful creations I have given you. I look and see cold cement wrapped around this lovely earth, it saddens me.

Give to me your pain, your worries, and your hopes; I in turn will give you faith to know someday all will be right. You already have that knowledge when I created you I placed it inside you, it is that little voice you hear that lets you know right from wrong intuitively. When you pray, this is where I answer you, if you are quiet you will feel it, yes that's right, sometimes you feel it and it doesn't have to be spoken it is an abundance of love with hope that assures you it will all be okay.

The time will come when the count is taken and I come for my children, I will take back the earth and make it a place of peace for all those who have suffered under the hands of the devil and his evil ways. Those who have found faith in what ever name they may call me, and who reach out to help others, I will not forsake you.

So when you think I am not answering your prayers, think again, the lessons of this life do not go unanswered but will someday be rewarded. Know that I love you, take a look at the commandments, easier still just remember this one, "Love thy neighbor," If you feel that your neighbor is evil or bad, that is more reason to pray for him.

You are my example, created in my image, and all you need to know is hidden inside you open your heart and you will have all the knowledge that I have gifted to you.

The words that are contained in this letter will melt into your heart and not stay visible on the paper; it is up to you to spread my word. I could have easily written everyone a letter, but it is a better if you share my words.

LOVE, God

Neglected Blog

2009-01-22T02:23:00.004-05:00

I have so neglected this blog, please except my apologies. I have been very busy with so many other things that have come up and I simply put this blog on the back burner while I still pretty much kept up with MyParadiseMoon.com. I started this blog it was my first, I started it when I joined Helium, thinking it would be a good place to get my thoughts and ideas together, well so much for that.

I went to it today as if visiting an old friend, feeling a bit guilty because I didn’t keep in touch. I have no real excuse it was just easy to put off expressing myself on these pages. Today I sit wondering what words I would place here and decided to just think out loud. Express what I am feeling at the very minute I sit here at the keyboard and type.

I find it difficult to focus, yet I want to share some sort of insight, perhaps my mind is tired now and I need to come back. I will not neglect this blog for such a long time as I have in the past. I will comeback shortly to share with you a small portion of whom I am or those I know.

I will share with you a picture taken at Niagara Falls, It is amazing. It was taken by my son. Look at the rainbow streched out over the boat

Link

Vacation Part Two

2008-06-18T11:05:00.004-04:00

My husband had never gone cat fishing before so it was an adventure that we both looked forward to. We live in New York, but have a house not far from Myrtle Beach, and we decided that we would like to go further down to Santee Cooper to fish on the lake. We careful made our plans. We decided to stay for two days in Santee Copper, which would give us time to also look around.

My husband got on the computer and he found this place that was close to the lake, real close. He gave me the number and told me the decision was mine whether I wanted to book a cabin or a room. I called I asked for a cabin, the voice on the other end asked if I wanted to cook or wanted room service. The voice mentioned that they had a restaurant located on the grounds.

Convinced I took the room, and thought I could relax, just in case my husband caught a fish and was tempted to cook it. In a room we couldn’t do that, okay I thought I felt smart taking no chances. Room service wow, this really is going to be a vacation, I couldn’t wait.

The day we headed down for Santee Cooper, the weather was perfect, we packed loaded the car and headed off. The ride down was fun we talked about the lakes and we enjoyed the scenery and by night fall we were ready to find our room and settle down to get rested up so that in the morning we would be ready to catch the big one, the fish you could go home and brag about, I had my camera ready to snap pictures.

We headed toward the lake both of us very tired; we turned down the road and found the place we would be staying. It was just getting dark out, but it was still light enough to look around. I suddenly felt a bit puzzled, what I was seeing was a run down hotel, with small buildings dotting the property along with trailers that looked deserted and run down. This was the place, my husband and I looked at each other and said maybe it looks worse then what it is. I reminded him the voice on the phone said they reserved the larger room for us; I was sure it looked worse then what it was.

We were told where I room was and with key in hand my husband I stood outside the door for a second we both looked at each other without saying a word. He placed the key in the lock and turned it, the door opened, he stepped in with me following right behind him. “Let’s leave,” he turned and said to me.

Knowing we were both tired and not knowing where the next place would be, I told him no, we would stay and this would be an adventure and a story we would one day look back and laugh about. When he went out to the car I immediately stripped off the top spreads on the beds, they looked yucky! The sheets looked clean I was grateful for that. I moved the mattress and looked all around for creatures. I could see that the room wasn’t cleaned there was a pile of junk between the bed and the wall including dead moths and beetles. It’s only for one night I told myself, pretend you are camping.

I used the bathroom which was just old, it could have been worse, but then I smelled it. What the heck, I thought and then realized it was coming from the water that I had turned on to wash my hands. It smelled like excuse the expression “farts”. There was no way I was going to take a shower, brushing my teeth I did with a one of the bottles of water that we had brought along.

My husband went out to the car to get another bottle of water and as he opened the door every flying bug that was out there came in. They were flying about and we were smacking them against the walls and then I was sitting in the middle of the bed with the sheet pulled over me smacking them on the bed. .The one corner on the bottom of the bed looked like a graveyard for the bugs that I was hitting all night. We had slept (barely) all night with the bright lights on. That’s right, on the ceiling there was two sets of industrial fluorescent light fixtures that had at least three lights in each.

In the morning we left early to go fishing knowing there was no way we would stay there another night. Fishing was great my husband caught more then a dozen fish, and cat fish are pretty big. Our fishing trip turned out great! The fishing guide was wonderful we had so much fun. Later when we came back we decide to use the room to go to the bathroom and then check out.

Reluctantly we entered the room, the beds were made the dead bugs that we smashed the night before that flew in were still on the walls. I picked up the corner of the bedspread and there before my eyes the bug graveyard remained intact. Shivers went down my spine, my husband and I left and found another place to stay the night and when we talk about out fishing trip we somehow manage to joke about the room from hell.

Vacation

2008-05-26T12:00:00.006-04:00

It is very rare that we take a vacation, so this year when we decided it would be fun to go check the house in South Carolina; we would also go fishing down at Santee Cooper.

We arrived at the house, by Myrtle Beach and it was late so we went in and showered and went to sleep, anything else could wait for morning. Well the sun came up and so did we, having coffee and leisurely enjoying our morning before going outside to tackle whatever would be waiting for us.

My husband was the first one to venture out, every once in a while I would catch a glimpse of him passing a window, I decided I would go ahead out and see what he was up to. I opened the front door and noticed that they had added a few new houses into the development. Then I looked to the side and I saw it! A dandelion that was as tall as I was.

I stepped further across the lawn and looked down the side of the house; there they were tall big dandelions, their trunk thick, nothing like the ones back home. I knew them by their leaves and the yellow flower. Of course the flower and leaves were much larger then I was used to seeing, but none the less they had to go. I put my husband in charge of that, got out the honey does list and started writing.

I attempted to help but those weeds were in tight. I watched as my husband pulled them and I followed along grabbing the smaller weeds. That was our first day, but it was nice to get it done with so that we could relax. Looking around the yard we saw the neighbor to the back of us flower beds extended well into our own yard, in fact our sprinkler was in the flowerbed. Later that day we told her that we would appreciate her moving her flowers back, we were going to be putting up a fence. (Picture shows weeds all gone)

The next day we decided that we would go to the Crab Fest, in Little River and it was fun. We parked our car and a bus picked up us and drove us to the Fest on the waterfront. It was hot out and waiting for the bus the crowd was growing larger and larger. A bus came that sort of looked like a trolley and we were loaded in, but because it stopped and picked up people before us there was just a few seats and the rest was standing room only. We all squeezed in tight, and the trip was so hot the buses windows didn’t open and there was no air.

By the time we arrived we were ready to get off that bus, everyone was starting to get edgy and complaining. The Crab Fest was great it was a lot of fun and there were all different kinds of food. There were vendors and they sold everything. It was fun going around and seeing everything. The trip back to the car was in a large air conditioned bus, thank goodness.

The next blog I will tell you about the fishing trip, it was fun!

Spring Is In The Air

2008-04-16T00:00:00.003-04:00

...........................................................................................Beach in Hamptons NY

Spring is here and I have to admit, the fever has tickled me. My son brought home plantings today, I am afraid that it is too dangerous to leave them out in the night, because of frost, so I placed them all on the counter in front of the kitchen window.

Spring does get my blood flowing and the mind going, I have so many ideas going through my mind, hmm I wonder if I should tell my son that some of those ideas involve his plants. I think it is a good idea that he is planting tomatoes, a few herbs and some peppers. I already picked a place for them to be put in the ground…right near my kitchen door.

Grapes would be a good thing to start this year; I think I’ll have him put in a few around the one section of the patio. It would make a nice privacy fence and a tasty snack on the summer days that we are sitting out there. In fact many years ago the house I lived in had a grape arbor, it was beautiful, many summer days I sat out under it on a blanket eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with my two year old. The house was located in Babylon New York, it has been since taken down and Condos have replaced it.

My brain is just bubbling over with ideas, I want to get back and add some chapters to my book, and my mind is already designing new jewelry pieces that I can’t wait to get started on. There are cards waiting to get done and scrapbook pages waiting to get made. Spring wonderful Spring, I just hope these ideas roll into summer with me and don’t melt away somewhere in my mind. The older I get, there is a feeling that time goes by faster, the seasons just don’t last as long, or it could be that I am truly getting slower…just a thought.

I will plant something in memory of Buddy, not sure what yet, but it will be special.

Dedicated To Buddy - Passed Away March 23, 2008

2008-04-01T16:36:00.018-04:00

"This Is Dedicated To Buddy"
_____________________________________________________________Picture of Buddy and Missy 2005

Buddy passed away on Easter, he was a loyal companion and was about fifteen years old when he died. Buddy was found in Northport, Long Island by my daughter and her boyfriend and has been a part of our family since, that was fifteen years ago.

Buddy was a Dalmatian, he was half starved when we first found him and you could tell he was beaten, his body was bruised and he was very frightened and scared. We put signs up and called pounds to see if someone had lost him, and perhaps he fell into bad hands. No one claimed him, he became my daughter’s dog.

He went through many trails and tribulations with her, he shared our home and her home during the first few years of his life. He was always welcomed at our home, and felt safe and comfortable when he was here. His true comfort was my daughter, he loved her and would follow her around when she was home. He went through two relationships in my daughters life, and it took some patience because Buddy had a habit of whining.

When my daughter was married they decided they would get Buddy a puppy to keep him company. They purchased a Jack Russell Terrier and called him Freddie. Well Buddy was a very good big brother, Freddie on the other hand was tiny compared to Buddy, and he wasn’t to nice to him. He never gave Buddy a moment of peace, but Buddy was very good with him and never hurt the puppy. It got to be to much with the puppy, he would bite Buddy and never leave him alone. Freddie was very good at my house when he was here, so I adopted him.

My daughter was going through a divorce when Buddy became very sick. He was around twelve at the time and contacted a virus that most animals do not survive. Buddy was in a hospital and in very bad shape, this was during the Christmas Holidays, we went to see him, and was told to keep the visit short, things did not look good for him. When we saw him, he looked very bad, but he perked up when he saw us. The staff was surprised to see such a sudden change in him, and they allowed us to stay as long as we wanted. Even my daughters future ex went to visit Buddy when he was in the hospital.

We visited him every day and sat with him, and we could see him improve day by day. The doctor told us he would make it, she was surprised because he was an older dog, and he survived what most dogs did not. His will to live was great, and his love for my daughter kept him going.

We thought we were out of the woods when a few months later he was sick again throwing up, he could barely eat and he was having a hard time. An ex-ray showed that he had swallowed something and there was a blockage, surgery was required, whatever he swallowed was trapped in his intestines. After the surgery we were informed that Buddy had swallowed a small rock, the reason it didn’t pass through his system was because it was stopped by a tumor. Had he not swallowed the rock the tumor would have been undetected. They removed the tumor but the prognoses wasn’t good. The tumor was cancerous and it was the kind that would be elsewhere in his body.

Buddy came home and recuperated, and the decision for chemo therapy was given up for herbal medicine, since it would at least give him a quality of life. Buddy went on and did very well, with this therapy for three years he is cancer free. My daughter met someone, and her wedding was set for March 29th. Buddy died on Easter with his family around him, we went to spend Easter with them. His death was sudden, he had been to the doctor just the day before, and they told my daughter he was doing fine that he just needed more exercise. On Easter, suddenly Buddy wasn't fine, he seemed to be in pain, we had to call the Vet, and Buddy was put down in the comfort of his home with the ones who loved him at his side.

Buddy had many people who cared about him, and many will miss him. He will always remain in our hearts, he was a good boy and a loyal companion, no one could ever take his place...Buddy, may you run free in Gods Heaven.

Sometime ago I wrote a poem about Buddy, it is on Helium along with a story about Freddie and a story about my daughter. I hope you will take the time to read them, they will leave your heart a tad lighter.

http://www.helium.com/items/574562-buddy-puppy-tortured-hours (Buddy's Poem)

http://www.helium.com/items/606957-story-other-phone-friend (Freddie's Story)

http://www.helium.com/items/575932-brighter-daughter-around-seven (Daughter's Story)

Spring Is In The Air

2008-03-14T15:29:00.000-04:00

Computer is repaired.

Spring is upon us and I look forward to seeing nature reward us it’s burst of color, and fragrance as she starts to display her first blossoms. I can see them peeking through the ground hinting at what is to come.

A fresh start, I would like to think that we all get a fresh start. I feel that every year, this is the time that I look back and forward at the same moment, knowing where I came from and where I want to go. Like the crocuses pushing through the soil, silent without complaint...then when it blossoms, that is its statement!

I would like to think that I could have such an impact, but then again it is hard for me to remain silent, so when it comes to the bloom...well it just doesn’t have the same impact. I still will renew my goals and my plans for spring this year and perhaps with less talk and more planning, and maybe I too can accomplish a few flowers of my own, this year.

My creative juices have been flowing, if you would like to see what I have been doing you can check it out.

http://luluborealis.blogspot.com/

Computer Woes

2008-03-06T09:30:00.005-05:00

While working on the computer last week I met my first Trojan, needless to say it was not a very good experience. I was doing research and clicked onto a website, the website didn’t open but suddenly I had pop ups telling me it was XP virus info and that a virus entered my computer click here if I wanted to know more. BINGO! it got me and after that every two seconds a pop up window would appear saying the same thing telling me to click it.

When I say pop up windows, they would start popping up faster then I could shut them down. I closed down the computer and clicked it off the net, and suddenly it would turn itself back onto the net the pop ups were back, no mater how many times I took it off it would go back on. My son tried to look at it and he ran diagnostic disk and suddenly we find out that the computer is being used as a server for about five other hackers (and not with names that were warm and fuzzy).

There was nothing left to do but to turn off the computer and unplug it. I took it into the computer center to see if they could save it. I have not heard back from them, this is not good! I am on my laptop which is very slow but it works, and I trudge through what I need to get done, but I must say I miss the desktop. I hope that it is not “terminal”, and that it could be saved and I will do my best to keep it safe.

Just to let you know the research I was doing was on the Ketchum family of Amityville, it was about three or so titles down the page where I clicked I do not advise anyone checking that out.

2008-03-02T23:58:00.002-05:00

The shower was held for my daughter and it went really well. We all had a really nice time there was plenty of food and lots of jokes. My daughter is getting married in
Cancun so not everyone is going to be able to attend the wedding so this gathering
was a way of for all of us to get together and wish her well.

The theme was an island theme and we had a coconut top and grass skirt for my daughter to throw on over her clothes. It was really funny, we all got a really good laugh.

Crafty Ideas

2008-02-13T14:44:00.006-05:00

I promised I would tell you what I was up to and share with you what I was doing. Well I am making shower favors for a wedding, these can also be used for baby showers or little gifts that you may want to give your friends. It is a perfect theme for summer or a beach wedding. The items can vary, instead of shells and sand you can put miniture baby items, a picture,flowers etc.

The boxes are easy and simple to make - Directions will be below pictures:

Purchase these small boxes from your local craft store these wooden boxes are approximately 21/2 inches square. Inside the lid they have a removable lid that will give you access to the glass on top of the box. You will also need sand, small sea shells and a strong glue, all can be purchased at your local craft store

I spray painted it with stone paint (you can use what ever you want. You can even decoupage these.)

First step:
Prepare the Box -
Take thin strip masking tape and tape of the glass on top of the box. (This is so that paint doesn’t get onto the glass.)

You will also need to take small pieces of tape and place it over the metal closures front and back. The front latch can be completely removed if you want to do that. It is just for decorative purposes.

Second step:
Paint the box, you can spray it or hand paint it, the design is your unique choice. You can even decorate it in decoupage too. When the paint or the decoupage is dry I recommend that you seal it. Let it dry overnight.

Third step:
Take all the tape off of the sealed off areas touch up if necessary by hand. Then open the box and lift metal tabs that are on the inside of the top cover remove the small square of wood. This gives you access to the glass. (Tabs are shown in the picture below.)

Fourth step:
Place the tiny shells on top of the glass, I found that five is a good number, but the choice is yours. Then you add the sand I think about 1 teaspoon more or less is good. (You can put the back on and see how it looks and make adjustments as you see necessary.)

Fifth step:
When everything is the way you like then you take off the back and place glue (I used gorilla glue) all around the lip on the cover where the square wood lays on top of. Make sure that it is evenly around, glue has to cover the entire lid or sand can leak out. When you have that completes place on the back, press it into place and hold it for a minute then tighten up the metal tabs but leave the top lay open so the glue can dry, at least an hour.

Then you are done and you have a small shaker box that can be used for a small gift or as I did I made beaded wine glass charms to place inside.

I can be googled at L A Hardt or click onto my profile below

The End of January

2008-01-28T20:50:00.000-05:00

The end of January came mighty fast. This year so far for me has not been the best, but it could be worse. I am working on something that I can’t share with you just yet but I will soon. It is a craft that I am working on, and if I tell you what it is, let’s just say it will ruin everything.

I am ignoring the house again to get other things done that came up. Story of my life, just when I think I can forge ahead something comes and leads me sideways. Not that I mind sometimes I like it, it has led me to new adventures and I’ve met some interesting people.

The house is always going to be here and I am always going to be closing doors, I will complete it someday…but for now I will slide a bit sideways and be creative. I can’t wait to show you what I am doing, until then you just have to be patient.
Another one of my little creations

Frustrated

2008-01-15T08:51:00.000-05:00

With the New Year here I am feeling creative, but I can’t channel it. I want to write, I want to scrapbook, I want to make things, and try things I have never done before. So what have I accomplished so far… NOTHING!

Why, because I am scattered into so many places. My craft room is a process in the making and I tell myself that you can’t start anything until that is done. I can’t get that done because I am still working on other areas in the house. I started but never really completed, now I have to complete these projects and put my creativity on hold.

I will need to complete the craft room first I decided, so that I can steal myself away once in a while to craft, if I don’t my mind will explode into fragments of color and all will be lost.

With valentines day coming I want to make my Valentines scrapbook bears with boxes of candy I have made them two years ago and they are such a big hit, that I want to make some more this year and sell them for others to also enjoy. Here is one that I did

Now I am running around the house trying to get things done my mind is elsewhere. The house also needs to be painted and my bedroom could use new carpeting. I don’t think it would be wise to put a paint brush in my hands right now, I don’t want bare walls I want splashes of color.

Well on I need to go get something done; I hope I don’t give into that subtle voice that is calling me to the realms of color and paper.

New Years Resolutions

2008-01-04T17:02:00.000-05:00

The wrapping paper is gone, the Christmas tree is gone, the New Year is here and we have or are still setting our goals for the year ahead. We are looking back to see what we did not accomplish in the past year, and if you are like me, you just have to pick up the old list and start over.

I keep telling myself from year to year that I will accomplish what I set out to do. This year I did not promise myself anything, I told myself I will move forward one day at a time. I will make small goals to reach everyday. And hopefully I can achieve some of the small goals that will eventually by the end of the year be part of the goals I was trying to set out to do for years.

The world will not seem so overwhelming; I just have to keep reminding myself “One Day At A Time”. In the past I have always allowed myself to be distracted, and I am slowly trying to put a stop to that. I can not reach my goals if I don’t make the small changes within myself; I am learning to say “No”.

I wish for all of you that have set goals and have not accomplished them to be easy on yourself, very few people reach their goals. Count your blessings and move on. One of my goals I did set out to accomplish this year is to make a trip to California. I have a dear friend who lives there and I haven’t seen her two children since they were really young.

I have seen pictures of the children as they were growing, and now are all grown up. I have spent the past years worrying about them, being happy for them and sharing every part of their lives that my dear friend shared with me. I would like to hug them in person, to hold more then just a picture.

California here I come! (Even if it’s at the end of the year, I want to make this trip!)

New Year

2007-12-31T10:50:00.000-05:00

I hope that all your New Year wishes come true.

May there be Peace On Earth!

HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS

2007-12-21T18:59:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas

When my children were young and Christmas time was coming I made sure they were a part of the celebration right up to Christmas Day. I didn’t want them to think it was only about the presents, I wanted us to come together as a family. We watched Christmas shows together, the Grinch was my favorite, even when I was a child.

We went to church and we participated as a family in making an advent wreath, my three children and their grandmother. My children and I made ours, but we always admired grandma’s she was very artistic and creative her wreath was always beautiful.

As the holiday grew closer I got the cookie cutters out, but not to make cookies. We used them to trace onto felt and we cut out the design, then we would decorate them with sequence, beads and of course sparkles. We would glue two same sides together leaving a small opening and stuff it with poly-fill inside then we would finish gluing the two same sides together and hang them on the Christmas tree. The kids and their friends loved doing this and I loved doing it with them.

I have one or two left from our past Christmases; but the children liked them so much that they very often ended up in their rooms. I also have the decorations that they made at school these are treasures that they created and I could never bring myself to throw away. Some of the other things I’ve done with the children, is to take old Christmas cards, mine and the ones I collected from relatives and friends. I taught the children how to make Christmas post cards with the cards, so that they can give them out at school.

To make the post cards you just remove the front of the card and you write on the opposite side your Merry Christmas, turn it over to the front where the picture is you might want to add some sparkles to the make the card even more special, when you add your creative touch.

All these things were family projects that we did as a family and of course any one that wanted to join us. The children were busy all the way up till Christmas, then on Christmas Eve we would bake a birthday cake for Jesus. As the children and I added the ingredients we would take about Jesus and the meaning of Christmas. One year my youngest son, when the cake was all done shouted out “Happy Birthday Jesus”, he was about two and half years old.

It is those memories that I shared with my family that will keep with me always and I hope that when they have children that they will find their own traditions and enjoy them through the years, I got so much pleasure from mine. And who knows maybe I will have grand children one day so that I can get those cookie cutters and perhaps make a memory for them.

One Week Till Christmas

2007-12-17T20:51:00.000-05:00

One more week till Christmas, I don’t even have any of my shopping done. Somewhere along the line I ended up losing time. I got sick and as I was recuperating, my daughter ended up in the hospital with a gall bladder attack.

She had her gall bladder removed and I ended up with my cold back. Now I am doing much better and I hope to get out sometime in the middle of the week. Never the less I am still feeling the Christmas spirit and I love the holiday.

Well I Wish you all A Merry Christmas! I hope that you get everything you wish for or at least what you need. Please take the time to give to those who are less fortunate then us. And may all your days be bright

L A Hardt

2007-12-08T10:35:00.000-05:00

"Never let someone walk the path alone. Reach out your hand."

The Gift of Christmas

Was the night before Christmas and there’s nothing to eat,
No turkey or ham not even a treat,

The children are snuggled all in one bed,
Dreaming of a dinner they never got fed.

And mom in the kitchen, crying and sad,
Counting out change, this year’s really bad.

And who’s at the door what could be the matter,
It’s a wonderful neighbor with a huge turkey platter.

She brought the potatoes, sweet corn and pie,
There were so many things it made the mom cry.

And who was that who stood close behind her,
It was another neighbor, carrying toys and the cider.

And standing right next to the door she did see,
These very kind people brought a large Christmas tree.

They kissed and they hugged, and they hugged and they kissed,
Her kids will have Christmas she thought they would miss

And out of the window she saw one shinning star,
She knew the blessings of Christmas, was not very far.

She thanked them all kindly, and asked them to join,
Her and the children on a bright Christmas morn.

The gift was a blessing of kindness, you see,
Of food, and of toys, and of one Christmas tree.

It made all the difference to a family with needs,
The spirit of Christmas can be found in good deeds.

By
L. A. Hardt

Read more stories by this writer, by clicking on the link below

2007-11-29T15:34:00.000-05:00

A Short Visit to South Carolina

Friday morning after Thanksgiving we drove down to South Carolina, not far from North Myrtle Beach. We also ventured down to Charleston and visited the museum. It was a nice trip that I hope to do again perhaps after Christmas.

The trip down was really nice the leaves were still on the trees with a kaleidoscope of colors that were just magnificent. I’m sure you have seen them for yourself, the reds were so intense!

I like going to the Carolina’s I do prefer North Myrtle Beach, only because it has less people and its beaches are beautiful. I love walking the shore at Cherry Grove, I will say that it is really being built up in the last year, I just hope it holds onto its charm.

My son lives in Longs, before that he lived in Little River, North Carolina. Little River is on the border line of North and South Carolina, along with Sunset Beach and Calabash, more of my favorite places. There is no shortage of places to eat or play, miniature golf seems very popular, in fact if you can think of a theme they have a miniature golf for it. They are really nice I see people just taking pictures standing in front of them.

Golf is also very popular, and I have to say I have seen some really nice golf courses. Any way I am going to get back down as soon as I can. I am waiting for my son to get rid of his house guest actually it lives outside and I just happen to bump into it, of course I have a picture.

I am sure you can see how big this spider was, at least an inch and a half. I am going to look it up to see what kind it is.

I removed the spider, replaced it with the ocean, for my friend Anne.

Link

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

2007-11-22T11:14:00.000-05:00

Here It Is Thanksgiving!

Well here it is Thanksgiving; it is so unbelievably warm in New York. I hope everyone enjoys this day and use it to create more special memories. I am going on vacation tomorrow.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

The colors of our this post will be changing with the seasons

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Thanksgiving Count Down

2007-11-13T16:18:00.000-05:00

Link

Here it is already November 12; I am slowly making progress, let’s see I cleaned out my closet. Now what to do with all those shoes? I would like to get everything done so that I can put up the tree early this year and take back my Christmas. Every year I wait longer and longer to put the tree up and I hate it, I feel like I am not part of the holidays.

Well I have to admit I am one of those people that very often wrap all night on Christmas Eve; I am not going to do that this year. No, I plan to have a different year then I’ve had for the last few holidays. Now, if only I can recall where I put those decorations, hmmm.

I recall Christmas as a kid; some of my favorite things were when my mother took glass wax and added a color packet to it. Then she would dip a cut up sponge into it and use a stencil to place a decoration or a scene on the window. I remember the wreaths and she would dot red berries on it. There were the small tin foil wreaths also that had a candle in the middle and she would also hang that on the window and plug in.

Ah Christmas, I played with the metal dollhouse and plastic furniture that we found under the tree on Christmas morning and oh those cut outs, and you really had to cut them out! My sister and I would play for hours, or was that fight for hours, maybe it was both. My mother would take us up on Manhattan Avenue to see the stores decorated and the church with the manger. I remember it snowing and it all seemed so magical.

Talking about snow, during the winter when it did snow the trucks would come and pile it all at the end of the street making a mountain of snow. Now mind you I was pretty small back in those days but that pile of snow was the greatest! I followed my brother, both of us dragging sleighs to the end of the street to that mountain of snow. Now my brother being responsible for my well being told me I wasn’t allowed to go all the way to the top.

I dragged my sleigh up the side of the piled snow and would go down for the ride of my life. This snow really was piled pretty high, I remember thinking that the people that lived on the second story had this snow up to there window height. At the end of my street was a pier so I guess they could have thrown it there which I am sure that is what they do now, but back then it was a snow adventure.

My brother and I along with his friends would also build large snow forts and then have snowball fights. I don’t remember being cold when I was playing outside just having fun. Remember the only things we had on our feet were those red goulashes that had that little snap that would close the top over. All we wore under those boats were our shoes and when you took the boots off you had to dump all the snow out of them that would always end up inside the boot.

My sisters were too young and only played in the snow when my mom would take them out in it. But I was lucky I tagged after my big brother, it was the best.

Our family was always close, that’s why I look forward to the holidays being with them and sharing the memories. This year I think I’ll bring that box of shoes maybe they could use them hmmm. Now where did I say I put those decorations?

"CHECK OUT MY STORIES" Just click on helium

Cleaning And Finding Memories

2007-11-07T11:49:00.000-05:00

"Cleaning the bathroom, could prove to be deadly! Perhaps I'll skip that room."

I guess you all are wondering how I am doing on that house cleaning. Well let me just say this, it can be more frightening then a scary movie. I have found things that I don’t know why I had them to begin with or where they came from. (I am not getting rid of the lava lamp.) No I did not find the Go Go boots, I think I got rid of during the last big clean up. Nehru shirts, elephant bells, and no I didn’t find those things either but I had great memories.

The sixties weren’t that bad, not when you were young and living in it, looking back on it is another story. I probably know more know about the sixties then when I was actually living in it. I don’t have any regrets, I was pretty young and I can only remember the fun I had.

The not so fun things I recall was the news that would announce the number of soldiers that were lost in Vietnam, I was always scared by that. There wasn’t a person that didn’t personally know someone that was lost. If you passed a military cemetery they were always open graves waiting for the soldiers that were lost. I wrote a lot of poetry back then, but that came a bit later in the sixties.

Teenagers and kids walked everywhere, I walked to the shopping center to meet friend at the pizza place, a coke and a slice under a dollar. The shopping center was all the way on the other side of town. The walk was fun you usually shared the walk with a friend and you laughed and talked there and back. I moved out of that town to the next town over and I still walked to that shopping center.

If you were lucky and you had a friend that drove, the car was usually an older model, and we would reach into our pockets and get a dollars worth of change and put gas in the car. That would take you far; I recall the gas price was about .29 cents per gallon. Of course no one made as much money as we do now the cost of living was very different.

Oh those were the years, but the house is calling, (very loudly, I might add). The next time I’ll take you back even further, so if you want to reminisce with me please find your way back. Or if you’re just curious about the sixties take a peek.

Link

November

2007-11-03T00:55:00.000-04:00

Okay now that Halloween is over, we have Thanksgiving to look forward to. I like this time of the year, I live where the weather gets cold, and you sort of tuck yourself in for the winter. You try to get holiday shopping done before the temperature drops. Usually all our good intentions still has us running around in cold rain or snow.

I am trying to get rid of the left over Halloween candy before I am so tempted to eat it. Then I can run out and replace it with a sampling of holiday cookies and pies, hmmm or should I say mmmm. I can’t win, especially if you’re on a diet.

I am thinking about my fall clean up since I really didn’t do the spring clean up. I think I better tackle it. I hate going through stuff and lord knows I have a lot of stuff. If I could find good use for things I would gladly get rid of them, but I have a hard time parting with things that are in good condition. Oh well the time has come to start making donations.

I really shouldn’t be here working blog, but to be honest I would do anything to avoid what needs to be done. Oh well, I will keep you up dated on how the clean out is going. Oh by the way does anybody need anything I might have…?

Link

2007-10-29T00:14:00.000-04:00

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Ghostly goblins witches brew
Tonight we’ll have a scare or two
Candy Corn and chocolate sweets
Costumed children in the streets
Pumpkin eyes that glow at night
With hollow insides firelight
Monsters up and down the block
Run inside and doors do lock
They hunt for candy far and wide
If you have none, you better hide
Ghostly goblins can be mean
So have a Happy Halloween

TRICK OR TREAT, TRICK OR TREAT, GIVE ME SOMETHING GOOD TO EAT!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN

I have been very busy writing for a contest. I wrote nine stories in a matter if three days, needless to say my mind is “humming” to a close. I do not know if I have it in me to write any more. I love the challenge of a contest, but to get as many stories as you can in one week is very difficult.

I chose to stop if I felt the integrity of my writing was going to be compromised. I didn’t write just to win I accepted the challenge to see how far I could stretch my mind. These titles were not picked by me so I had to write according to the titles.

My stories can be found on Helium. (Just click onto the Helium sign on the bottom of this page) The categories I wrote in were: Death Wish, Solitude, Memory Loss, Despair, Shame, Serenity, Rumors, Lies, and Birth.

I read a lot of articles that others wrote and I must say that I really thought some of them were really good. So while you’re in there take a peek at what some of the others wrote to.

Halloween Goblins

2007-10-19T14:06:00.000-04:00

“Halloween Night”

Halloween a night that’s fun, till the ghostly goblins come.

Then I hide under my bed, I don’t want to see the walking dead!

I close my eyes and start to say, make the goblins go away.

I peek a little here and there; I see a very scary stare.

My hair stands on its very ends, these monsters are my very friends.

With bags of treats they stand about, till the candy I give out.

Then on their way off down the street, to scare and get more trick or treat

L. A. Hardt
10/19/2007

Link

A Bit of a Scare

2007-10-14T16:09:00.000-04:00

Halloween a night of fright,
Trick or treat something’s not right.

Ghosts are running down the street,
I fear the goblins I might meet.

I look to the left and then the right,
I see a very scary sight.

Right before these eyes of mine,
Someone’s mooning his behind.

L.A. Hardt 10/15/07

I WON! FIRST PLACE AT HELIUM HOBBIES & GAMES CATORGORY

How strange is this? I had taken this picture the summer of last year. It was a trap that catches yellow jackets. You use a sweet treat in the bottom of the jar that attracts them, they can get in and they are not supposed to be able to get out it.

Looks like they liked the treat so much they set up home in the jar. So much for not getting out!

I was going through pictures and found this one thought I’d share it. (I do not recommend this trap for use.) Although this isn’t “Halloweenish” it is pretty scary.

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yipbyY

This Months Mood Halloween

2007-10-04T23:17:00.000-04:00

When I was a kid I loved Halloween. I couldn’t wait to get dressed up and get out the door just to go trick or treating. My sisters and I would hurry go out go through the neighborhood and yes, we did reach into our bags and eat some of the goodies that people dropped in. We even got apples, oranges, and bags of popcorn, all without incident and razor blades.

If my sisters and I finished our collecting of sweet morsels early we would go home and change our costumes and go out again. Of course we carried an old sock filled with flower that we would hit each other with and anyone else that came at us yielding the loaded sock. We also had large pieces of chalk that we would also chalk each other with too.

I never recalled getting hit with eggs, or being afraid. We all walked in groups and laughed and clowned around with each other. The worst that we probably did was ring doorbells and run.

A HAUNTING IN BROOKLYN IN THE 50'S (COPY AND PASTE LINK)
http://www.helium.com/tm/630323/haunting-brooklyn-50sshe-child

Officially Fall

2007-09-24T11:14:00.000-04:00

Well it is now officially Fall, although the weather is still very nice all the leaves are on the trees and the summer patio furniture is still out in the yard. The schools are open and the mornings are filled with the sound of school buses picking up children. I want to hang onto the summer as long as I can. There is a certain kind of feeling that summer has, I don’t want to let it go.

In the stores all the Halloween things are out, I can’t believe it’s almost here. Over the weekend a friend sent a picture of an early Halloween sighting.

CHICKY CORN VAMPIRE

I would definitely pass the word around to watch out for teeth marks in the chicky corn!

Hmm... might make for a good story "Chicky Corn Vampires".

Below is part of my story "Tunnel Vision," you can read about it by clicking on the Heluim "Go".

Sounding nervous DJ blurted out. "This sure is freaky! Does anyone believe in Aliens?" He really wasn't kidding when he said it; he wanted to see how his partners would react to his question.

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The One That Got Away

2007-09-17T14:50:00.000-04:00

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo"Possum Catcher" as Puppy

Just the other day I was on the phone with my friend (yeah the one who I am waiting for, to finish her book), we were discussing dogs. She is looking for one, I on the other hand have mine, and he has brought me much joy and needless to say some real surprises in our lives.

My dog is a Jack Russell terrier named Freddie. No, I didn’t name him, my daughter did (funny my daughter seems to be around for names). Anyway he was her dog and somewhere along the line, now he’s my dog. He wasn’t being good at her house; in fact he was just a puppy and was bossing her older dog around. Hmm, I wonder if he learned that from…well never mind, the fact is he was dominating the older dog. Not to mention he wasn’t on his best behavior, getting into things, and his poor bathroom habits (the floor, ugh).

Freddie was about six months old when he came to live with us” his adoptive parents”. He was always very good here; perhaps some things are just meant to be. He came into my life at such a perfect time and we truly enjoy him, except for those occasional times that he brings us his surprises. (Some have set my heart pounding!)

We have a doggie door which allows Freddie the freedom to go in and out. He also loves to climb on the back of the couch and look out the window into the yard; he owns...his turf…ruler of chattels. If a bird should land on his ground, he immediately goes out chasing them away. He does the same if he sees an animal on TV, he runs over barking and trying to chase it off the TV. Sometimes when an animal on the TV leaves he jumps on the couch looking out the window to see if it has gone into his yard.

He has brought us snakes (garden snakes) but to me they could have been rattlers or pythons, I screamed just the same. We chase him around, get him to drop it and then let the creature go into the woods behind the yard. Recently, he came into the house and ran past me very quickly, I immediately knew something wasn't good. I called him to come to me, he does… struts’ in like “What? I didn’t do anything!” He almost gets away with it, when I spot the two legs hanging out of his mouth! Drop it I yell, drop it! He opens his mouth and the frog falls to the floor, I grab it and again let it loose in the wild. This frog was lucky, most are not.

Then there was the night I was watching TV my husband upstairs, (shaving or something). Freddie is in the yard barking and right when I was going to see what he was up to, he stopped, I relaxed back onto the couch enjoying the show. A few moments later I hear the doggie door, I look over and here comes Freddie. Panic immediately grips me! In his mouth almost the same size as him was a possum…DEAD! He drops it on the floor in the hall between the kitchen and the den, looks over at me very proud of himself, he then takes off upstairs to get my husband to show him what he caught.

Now I am alone with the dead possum, I know I have only moments to get it up and out of here before the dog comes back to get it. Getting off the couch, my mind is thinking how I am going to pick it up, maybe with a towel. I would have to hurry Freddie would be down…suddenly as I approached… the possum stands up! I start screaming so loud that I was sure my neighbors were going to be at the door thinking I was being murdered. I am screaming for my husband, and I do mean screaming!

The possum goes into the kitchen, my heart pounding in shear panic, I am peeking around the corner in the hall (far enough away) still screaming, but keeping enough wits about me to try and see where it was going, it passes the doggie door and scoots into the dining room.

The dinning room was dark and of course led back into the center hall that could take you anywhere in my house. I stopped screaming by now, I hear my husband talking to the dog. I cautiously back track to the den, into the back of the center hall, I slowly go down the hall looking at every opening that the possum could come out of. I get to the stairs and yell up to my husband, to get down I need him. The thought occurs to me, what if the possum went up stairs, now I am totally freaked out again because I really have no idea where it is.

Freddie comes down with my husband and starts to go where he had left his find. I snatch him up, didn’t want the possum to get him (what was I thinking.) I am holding the dog he is wiggling around in my arms trying to get down, I am yelling at my husband because he never heard me screaming, telling him I could have been killed, and he would never even know it was happening. It was the gleam in his eye that made me stop yelling at him… back to the possum I told myself.

With Freddie wiggling and whining to get down we look around but can’t find the possum. I am starting to panic again; my husband says maybe it went outside when I was in the hall. I wasn’t buying that! We are both standing in the den when he turns to me and says,” Put the dog down.” I didn’t want to do that not with the possum in the house. My husband then tells me if we wanted to find the possum the dog would show us. I reluctantly put him down, he immediately went to where he first dropped it, sniffed around and then ran into the dining room and started to bark under the china cabinet.

My husband picked up the dog handed him back to me, bent down and sure enough there was the possum. My husband called my son, and together they got a large fishing net and where able to corner it and take it out of the house. Talk about the one that got away.
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End of Summer Draws Near

2007-09-14T17:55:00.000-04:00

As the end of summer draws near (September 23rd), and the air chills, life seems to wind down. I am never ready to wind down, summer ends too quickly. Don’t get me wrong, I like the fall and love the spring, on the other hand I am fond of a freshly falling snow (without the wind), it has a very peaceful fresh sort of feeling. But I do get tired of the freezing temperatures or driving on icy streets trying to get somewhere.

I also promise myself that this year will be different, (I seem to do that year after year) but I somehow fall short of making a real difference. I am promising myself that I will be more dedicated to getting my book finished, or at least working on it. I am also going to be very persistent in pestering my friend to work on her book. If she can get that finished I will at least finally know the ending, and it will leave her more time to nag me.

This time of year I feel like having Toffee Bars. I have a recipe from my mother in-law, I could almost taste them. I’ll give you the recipe so you can enjoy them as much as I do; it is almost like an old fashion toffee candy

Preheat oven 350
1 cup butter or margarine 1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla 2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 6-ounce package (1 cup) semi sweet chocolate pieces
1 cup chopped California walnuts

Thoroughly cream together butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add flour, mix it well. Stir in chocolate and walnuts. Press the mixture into ungreased
151/2 X101/2 X1-inch jelly roll pan.

Bake in moderate oven (350) about 25 minutes or until browned. While still warm, cut in bars or squares. Cool before removing from pan.
Makes about 5 dozen

Well that’s it for now. Don’t forget to check out that blog on Bizz Flip.

http://www.bizzflip.com/

Link

Brainstorming

2007-09-12T23:27:00.000-04:00
Today I have plans to sit and brainstorm, every once in awhile I have to do this so that it freshens my ideas. I toss some of these ideas around with a very dear friend of mine. When the other end of the phone gets quiet and there are no questions being asked, I know these are the ideas that have gone over the line.

It is these ideas that I very often expand on. If they can make my friend question my sanity, then this is what I want. Unfortunately I feel somewhat guilty about scaring the daylights out of my friend, but if it scared her it would scare others. (I just hope the men in white aren’t called in.) I try to stretch the imagination to its limits, still trying to have some form of reality in it. (Even if it is very little)

I need to go over what I already have written, and try to freshen it up so that it can go on. Once the monsters are out of the closet you still have to keep you reader’s attention.

There is a new website that has been set up by a couple of young guys, I love checking it out and watching it grow. I really enjoy reading their blog. I will leave you a link check out the site, and then go down at the bottom and click on the blog and get a good chuckle.

http://www.bizzflip.com/ Have fun:)

Link

In The Mood

2007-09-08T08:00:00.000-04:00
To get your mind set regarding emotions when writing, if it calls for writing about something happy, I find going to a time in my life when I experienced something that made me happy. I reminisce with hopes that the emotions comes through my writing.

Of course we have all had our share of sadness’; I find it easier to express that. Not only for the times that my life has experienced such emotions, but sadness is an emotion that you reach out to others with, and they to you.

The hardest thing to do isn’t how the emotions should feel, but to put it in words to get it across. Not so easy! To use the right words just the right way to make the reader feel what I am trying to create, enough to pull them more into the story. To make them sense the emotion so strong that it becomes theirs.

I know when I am enjoying a story it is when I make some of the characters my friends and can’t wait to get back to visit them. For that matter even the characters I don’t like I have to get back and see what they are up to, and that they get their just due.

When I pick up that book, I want to leave where I am and travel in the story with the world the writer created. It doesn’t matter if it’s a wonderful place or a dark place, like you would find in the scarier stories. It is still an escape. And I am always ready to take a trip.

Discipline Needed

2007-09-07T11:33:00.000-04:00
I either have writers block or I am overflowing with ideas. I seem to be better doing short stories, I guess because I can get it all out and then go back to whatever I was doing. Instant gratification! Sometimes the ideas come at the worst times and if I don’t get it on paper they don’t come back! Hate that!

I have started two different books which I have not worked on in some time. Takes more planning of my time and perhaps I am just not disciplined enough to do that. I some how have to plan the week out better to fit writing time in. I feel like I won't be ready mentally to just start writing I have always written on the fly. I do miss my stories I get attached to the characters I do like getting lost in the story. Reality seems hard sometimes.

Link

2007-09-04T04:49:00.000-04:00
(Please excuse the way this post looks, it is under construction.)

2007-09-04T02:51:00.000-04:00
A small sample of one of the writings:

The alarm clock rang at 6:30 AM, I reached to turn it off, and through the threads of dim light that filtered through the curtains I saw the sticky reddish brown blood on my arm. I looked over the arm and didn’t see a cut. I turned to see if Mark had a nose bleed during the night, and I saw more blood on the bed, more then from just a nose bleed, but no Mark!

If you always wanted to write, do it! We put to many things off, before you know it time has passed us by. And we find that we have less time then we did before, or our mind dries up. Everyone of us has a story in us, and there is always some one out there that wants to hear it. (Like me, I will always listen)

I have a friend who is one of the best writers I know. I pray I live to hear the end of her story, it is really good and I've been in suspense for over a year. I know in my heart that she will finish, it would kill me if she doesn't
because I started to feel like the characters in her book are old friends. I keep waiting to see them.

Books are like old friends, they make for great company.