Murder on the Celtic

Life is sweet. The windows are all open and the wind is blowing through the house bringing the sounds of Jesse and the kids raking the lawn and teasing each other. There's only the occasional sound of a car passing by (and Molly on the four-wheeler). The weather is so warm, it's easy to forget that it's only April. Yesterday Jess and I bought a porch/chest for storing sports equipment and outside toys. It quickly came into use today as his grandma, Aunts Sandie, Janet, and Jean, and Uncles Gus, Gene, and John came over to visit along with his cousin Julie. I am not by nature a social person. I want to be, but it doesn't come to me naturally. Thank God for this house. It seems to draw people in and invite them to sit down and stay awhile. Drop-in company is regular here, and while it tires me out, I welcome it. I love to see the Locksteins who grew up here come in and look around at our slight changes and smile in approval. Grandma Lockstein is funny, because she comes in and starts looking through the cupboards. Today she peeked through my medicine cabinets, thank goodness they are clean! She lived here for 60 years; I don't blame her in the least.

I'm reading Why Do I Always Feel Guilty by Mary Whelchel, and there's a chapter about trying to be a superwoman and do everything. That's not a title I ever applied to myself until I read her description of it. Yep, I try to please everyone; I feel guilty if I say no to someone; I want to appear capable of keeping my house clean, taking good care of my children, being a perfect wife, plus do well at work, all while managing my illness, oh, and don't forget being a good Christian as well. I fail more often than I succeed and feel guilty for it. Friday after reading the chapter, I cleaned the whole house (except the girls' room), babysat for Tyler, had company, did some errands, and than ran to a booksale. Saturday, I was up at 5:45 am for a rummage sale, did the grocery shopping, put the groceries away, plus straightened. Today I did normal household chores again (plus extra for company), and now I'm paying for all of it. Superwoman, yeah I guess I do try to do it all. I sat down outside with Grandma Lockstein and we chatted about Molly's confirmation in two weeks. Grandma reminsced about her own and how she had to memorize an entire chapter of the Bible. She chose Psalm 1 and said it still brings her comfort to this day. 86-year-old Grandma then proceeded to recite the entire chapter to me without error. It's a beautiful uplifting chapter, and she summed it up to me by saying that it told her if she wanted to be blessed, she needed to follow the Lord's ways. And she said, "When I was married with five kids and the farm, I just didn't know how I could do it all. It was too much. But that verse reminded me that if I had faith God would take care of it all. I just had to do what I could until he stepped in to answer my prayers." So Grandma tried to be a superwoman too, and ended up giving it up to the Lord. Answered prayers all around, and life is sweet.

Murder on the Celtic by Conrad Allen is the latest entry in the George Porter Dillman-Genevieve Masefield series. This fun cozy mystery series takes place on luxury liners as the pair are ship detectives who do their best to keep crimes from interfering with the passengers' enjoyment of their cruise. This latest caper involves a stolen notebook belonging to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a missing businessman, and a possible murderer-thief on board. I love this series that describes the insular life aboard a cruise ship where friendships are quickly struck up and romances bloom. Allen always makes his books enjoyable with snappy dialogue and suspenseful drama. While there is a formula to the series, it's fun to see how Allen will make each installment work, and he never fails to thrill.

The pic for today is in honor of another Blogging Chicks Carnival, plus it goes with my theme of sweetness.

This week I'm going to see a new rheumatologist; I'm praying he will have some answers that don't involve prednisone. I'm currently suffering from a reader's dilemma. I have an overabundance of good books to read and not nearly enough time. I have the latest by Tasha Alexander, Alexander McCall Smith, Jonathan Kellerman, and P.B. Ryan, plus tons of others, and a good 50 more on my wish list. I think I hear Alex Delaware calling my name, enjoy the rest of the weekend!