The first thing Mama Buckley did when we got to her house this morning was load Seanie up with as many drugs as possible to treat his cold. The woman's an amateur pharmacist, and she has the dosage for every over-the-counter cold and pain treatment memorized. She kept telling him, "Take ___, and you can it with this much of ___, and if you use a ( Read more... )

It was busy at the bookstore today. We had a steady stream of customers and we ended the day two thousand dollars over Christmas Eve 2015's sales. And yet, though I was never idle, the store didn't seem to hustle and bustle as it should. Christmas Eve seemed just a touch slower than my expectations ( Read more... )

My mother-in-law has been nagging we children to send our Christmas wishlists so that she can get her shopping out of the way.  It's surprisingly difficult to come up with present ideas on the spot, because as a general rule if Seanie and I want something, we buy it.  If we can't afford to buy it, it's probably too expensive to ask for as a ( Read more... )

Today was supposed to be relatively easy. I would wake up early, go to church, go to work in the late afternoon to put up Christmas decorations ( Read more... )

Every year, I have been told, HB's throws a big party after the end of the holiday season for its employees. The store owners go all out, reserving a restaurant for the evening and giving gifts. The employees have been talking about it for weeks ( Read more... )

Christmas was pretty good this year. Seanie and I were able to sleep in this morning, making our leisurely way up to the Buckley ranch just in time for a hearty breakfast of bacon, sausages, waffles, and eggs. Mostly bacon in my case - I don’t want to say I hogged it all because that would be punny, but it would also be true. Yum. Bacon breakfast. ( Read more... )

Things have gotten a bit crazy around here, what with Christmas around the corner and our trip to Florida directly after that.  I'd bought all the presents for our family and had them in a pile, but no time to wrap them ( Read more... )

There has been a serious decline in the number of cookies and candies residents have brought me this year ( Read more... )

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There are several books at the store that I will only be allowed to buy if I make it through the holiday season without smashing our sound system in a fit of Christmas music-induced rage.

So far, the bribe is working. Only two more weeks to go...

Wait for me, The Woman Who Would Be King and The Roman Guide to Slave Management.