Seems Like a Long Time

Seems like it's been awhile since my last post.

I've been working on a new blog with a friend -- keep your fingers crossed it makes us both a ton of money.

Let's see -- birdies are all well and fussing at me as I type. Nicholas still flicks his little wing but not as much.

I've moved most of my domains over to hostmonster.com, which is cheaper, has an easier-to-understand control panel, and 24/7 American support -- us Americans need all the jobs we can get, and when I'm wrangling with a tech problem at 8am on Sunday morning I do not want to fight the language barrier or hear how the offices are closed.

Piano lessons continue, one slow key at a time. Just when my fingers get used to being on one range of keys, O makes me move them to another range! But I'm trudging through anyway.

The women's chorus I'm in was requested to sing (for money!) at one of the international companies here in town. We covered all three shifts at different days, going in 90-minute sessions. I went last Saturday; it was fun to sing Christmas carols and the workers really seemed to enjoy it.

We're having our first winter storm of the season. Sleet, snow, ice. brrrrr

Now for the neighbors!

There have been the usual variety of unknown cars coming and going, especially on weekends. One weekend there were three cars in the driveway and about three more parked out in the street. But they're all quiet and no one comes around asking to use my phone to make long-distance calls.

Last Wednesday, the young woman who comes to clean my house (thank you gawd!) while I'm at work said the police stopped her at the entrance to the neighborhood (which is mostly rental property), demanding to know if she knew any of my neighbors. She said there were police cars and even those big police trucks, all surrounding a house about three doors down. She wanted to know if I knew them or any reason the police would show up.

Nope. There's only been one "incident" I know anything about and that was maybe eight or nine years ago. A couple of college boys, who lived in the SAME house, got drunk one night and started shooting guns out the door and in the house. The police evacuated everyone and by five in the morning, the kids were passed out and what seemed to be the entire police department were in the street. The police finally stormed the house and took the boys to jail and we were all released to go back to our homes.

I don't know what it is about that house.

Anyway, I happened to run into my next-door neighbor yesterday morning. He said he was home that day and "I was scared they were going to shoot me! They have their rifles drawn and everything," he told me.

Evidently nobody got shot and whoever they were after came out peacefully. And the neighbor was very nice and personable. As always.

I hope everyone is having a good holiday season. I'm going to my mom's and over eat!