Goosey Lucy and Books

Good morning,
It's a bright chilly day out...but there are a few clouds in the west. I have several plans for today. I have to tidy up the house and then the floors need washing. That's about all the housework I'll do today. I started to work on my goose yesterday. She is Goosey Lucy...who sits on my front porch with an outfit for all the seasons. Her nose needed touching up with paint and also her legs. The little neighbor girl loves this goose and always mentions than Goosey Lucy needs to change her outfit. Sometimes pure laziness takes hold and Goosey wears the same outfit for a month or so. We had a calamity with her clothes last year. Some little visitors (mice) got into her wardrobe and nibbled on an outfit or two. She is in dire need of some new clothes, but not at Christmas time. She has two outfits for the holidays. So, late this morning, I will put another coat of paint on her and then varnish and she will be ready for her red sweater and stocking cap. She will wear this until it is time for her beautiful Christmas coat. I'd put a picture her, but as I said she has no clothes on...so it wouldn't be proper :)

Later on, and after dinner...I want to read some more of the book that I'm reading now. It is Elizabeth Berg's book called The Handmaid and the Carpenter. It's a wonderful book of fiction, the story is real, however. The story of Mary and Joseph ...making them seem more real to us. It reminds us that Mary and Joseph were "human" and had the same feelings and frustrations as the rest of mankind. This is a simple little book that is easy to read and a nice remembrance during the holidays.
I went to my Shorts and Sweets book club yesterday. We had been reading the short story called "Flush" from the collection of stories called Nice Big American Baby, by Judy Budnitz. This story led us into quite a discussion of women's issues. Mammograms, miscarriage, mother and daughter relationships etc. A very interesting two hours. Our leader really gets us into the writing style, subject matter and lessons learned of these short stories. You would think that they were books. It's teaching me to really delve into the author's writing and not skimming as I so many times do. A wonderful group of women who ask such intelligent questions...I am learning  from them too. Our next story will be a Christmas tale called The H Street sledding Record, by Ron Carlson. The first sentence is The Last thing I do every Christmas Eve is go out in the yard and throw the horse manure onto the roof. Now wouldn't that sentence make you curious enough to want to read on?
Balisha