Thanks for the compliment on my photography Jim. I've taken thousands of Ebay pictures with it. Right after I took the pictures and sent them to all of you, I dropped my trusty little Sony camera and now it won't work. Everything comes out way too light or dark. Very upsetting as I've been using it for years. I hope I can get it fixed.

I have a metal cape or cloak closer that I want to list on Ebay. It's really pretty, but it has a metal design that looks like symbols of something and I know it will go higher if I can figure out the meaning (if there is one). I put it on Facebook, but so far nothing. Maybe someone here will recognize it. This link will (I hope) take you to a Photobucket album with pictures. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. http://tiny.cc/nhp4zx

Saw that JoAnne was looking for some suggestions for new shows. My favorites are English mystery series. So, if you're a fan of Midsommer Murders, Agatha Christie, Morse, Endeavour or Granchester, I think you'll love Vera or the George Gently series. Vera is a middle aged rather dowdy single woman who lives alone on the moors in Newcastle. She's the head of the Murder squad. She's very intelligent and the mysteries are more cerebral than gory. George Gently is a widowed Police Inspector on the verge of retiring and training a narrow-minded younger man. It takes place in the 1960's also on the moors. Great scenery! Both are available from Acorn or Amazon.

I'm going to try to stop in more often now that I'm almost done with my consignment buttons. I've been selling this lot that my consignor found in a storage locker for 3 years now and it's been a real experience. I've sold over $100,000 worth of those buttons and have learned so much. Between that and babysitting for my great granddaughter, I keep pretty busy.

June, I see that you have a new grand niece called Matilda. What a pretty name! I think it’s so nice that the old names are coming back. My 20-month-old great-granddaughter is called Ivy Rose. Remember the old Perry Como song?

Love your Chinese Woman painting Diane. It's really fun to see a work in progress like that.

It has very good reviews and everyone I know that has used it is very happy with it. Hope you are all doing well. I will try to stop by more often.

I just bought the new Louise Penny book "A Trick of the Light", but I'm saving it for a treat. I tell myself I can't read it until the kitchen is completely cleaned! It gives me incentive. It made it to number 4 on the New York Times Bestseller List.

Thanks for the video Chris - it was really beautiful!

Thanks also for the comments on my button sales. Mom and I were passionate collectors for many years. We had so many good times going to swap meets and conventions and entering contests. If anyone has any buttons they need to have identified or priced, I'd be very glad to help.

Sorry to hear about your problems Laurie. You certainly have had a dark cloud lately. Let's hope it goes away soon and the sun starts shining on you.

I have been very busy between trips to Florida to see my son and grandson (I agree there's nothing like a real hug). Also I've been listing and selling many buttons for a friend who bought a storage locker filled with wonderful old buttons. I agreed to 30%, but I'm shocked by the fees Ebay charges. I've only listed one or two things before, but now I'm listing 50 to 100 a week and never realised how expensive it was! I stopped listing for awhile, but will start again on the 29th. These buttons were in an attic for 30 years and then put in storage for another year. If anyone is interested in looking at the completed listings. Here is the link http://tiny.cc/j875u. Some of them are very beautiful and unusual and I'm having fun listing them.

I loved your Christmas card Patsy!

Here is mine for all of you: http://tiny.cc/6k47k

I was wondering where Lludwig/Kathleen is? I haven't seen her posts for awhile and I miss them. Even if I don't know the answers to the quizzes, I always learn something new.

Mim Your first paragraph read just like a poem. I'm not crazy about spiders, but the way you wrote it was beautiful.

Patsy/Grano Nasty about the fall. I think everyone who has ever had a cat has done it at one time or another, but when you're older, the consequences can be much more serious,

Has anyone been watching "New Tricks" on PBS? It's a great show about retired police in England working cold cases. It's been on for awhile, but I just discovered it. It's funny and serious at the same time, but no gore or nasty language. Everyone is slightly eccentric as is usual with British shows. Here's a wiki link if you're interested.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Tricks_(TV_series)

Another one I've just found is "Outnumbered" about a British family with three children, none of whom are smart alec, know it all brats. It's a nice funny/serious show. I get it on BBCA which surprised me because usually there's nothing on BBCA except Gordon Ramsay, Top Speed and Dr Who. Here's a link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outnumbered

Belated Happy Birthday Wishes LLUDWIG/KATHLEEN. Guess I haven't been around long enough to collect the birtdays.

PATSY/GRANO Hope your arm improves soon.

I'm have a hard time putting in Bold. If I do it for one it disappears on the other one. Strange.

Diane/Furtima: You said your dad loved books and had many but you never saw him read them. My dad loved to read and even when he became legally blind (macular degeneration) he listened to at least 2 or 3 books a week that he got from the National Library Service for the Blind. When my mother suggested he donate or sell some of his books, he was horrified at the suggestion. He loved his books even though he couldn’t read them, and he wanted them nearby. Sometimes he would stand at the bookcase and pull out a book and ask which book it was.

Laurie was such a gracious hostess, the horses were beautiful, and Teddy the wonder dog was amazing. He waved, bowed, jumped through hoops, scrambled through tunnels, rolled and danced. What a cutie! I got to ride through woods and fields and on and off roads, and Laurie knew the name of every bit of flora and fauna we saw. I was a little nervous. I used to ride a lot when I was younger and thought was maybe I was too old to take it up again, but the Icelandic horses’ gaits are so smooth I didn’t even get saddle sore or have any aches or pains the next day. If we were closer (it’s a four hour drive and ½ hour ferry trip) I’d be hanging around all the time. The horses are hypoallergenic which was great for an animal lover like me who’s developed allergies to fur and feathers. Here we are tolting on down the road.

I was so sorry to hear about the problems many of you Easterners are having with flooding and rain. I thought things were improving with the weather there, but apparently that’s not the case. We’ve been really lucky. Our only problem in Wisconsin this year was the terrible heat of the summer, but we’re having perfect weather now. I hope it gets better there for you all soon.

http://tiny.cc/flk3f

They call the Wind Mariah by the Kingston Trio http://tiny.cc/k05s5

Fake Steve Jobs book becomes a best seller. http://tiny.cc/ybyef

Welcome to the Cozy Mystery site!

Question about a book I wanted to buy recently. I checked prices on the web and decided I couldn't afford it, but then found I could order it from Australia for $60. Are these prices real or made up because people don't want to sell the book? Look at the last price! Must be some kind of mistake. http://tiny.cc/svkcg

Diane/Furtime Loved the painting and looking forward to seeing more.