Well, not the drawer per se, to be exact it was the runner underneath the drawer that makes it easy to pull in & out of the dresser. Somewhat shocked, I pulled out the entire drawer (which I swear weighs 40 pounds) and the broken wood shards from the runner. I looked into the dresser and was surprised to discover quite a bite of junk underneath & behind the drawer (keep in mind prior to this point this drawer actually closed all the way).
Here’s the complete inventory of what I found:
- 4 plastic/vinyl make-up bags (1 of these bags is actually pretty large so maybe it should count as 2)
- 1 brand new set of make-up brushes (never used – very excited about this find!)
- Gone With the Wind postcard
- package of Kleenex
- 8 X 6 wooden plaque with white kittens on it that says "Best Friends"
- random scraps of paper & other junk
Pretty impressive, don't ya think? 
Actually it is a little scary that all of this junk fit underneath and behind the drawer...what is scarier is how many years this stuff's been stuck there! I probably shouldn't go there...LOL!
If ya'll would, please keep my Mom & the rest of the family in your prayers -- they took off this morning to visit her mom & sister. She is doing a whole lot better healthwise, thankfully! (My brother just called to say they arrived safely -- like pulling teeth to keep the conversation going...MEN!!)
So I went to the bookstore where I used to work and the manager's kids were there listening to this guy talk like Gollum. I was browsing on a nearby shelf, trying not to snort with laughter, when the guy suddenly caught site of me and and his eyes got very big and Gollum-like. I could just hear something like I didn't mean for ADULTS to hear me doing Gollum impressions run through his head. It was really funny. So I complimented his mimickry skills and when I left the store he said "bye" in his best Gollum-esque manner. I mean it's not every day one encounters people entertaining themselves with LOTR impressions in public, is it?
There are some really wonderful short stories in the Murder for Christmas anthology. There are the usual suspects that make the honor roll, of course – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (“The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle” – you can read this story here), Agatha Christie (“The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding”), Rex Stout’s “Christmas Party,” Dorothy L. Sayers (“The Necklace of Pearls”), and Ellery Queen's "The Adventure of the Dauphin's Doll." And then there are the stories (new to me) that pack a terrific, mind-bending twist into the conclusion that makes for extremely enjoyable reading.
John Collier’s short story, “Back for Christmas,” packs a fantastic twist right at the end of the story. It was filmed by Alfred Hitchcock as an episode of his television series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and aired in 1956. You can read a good article about the episode and the story here. (I actually remember seeing this on TV years ago -- and as I remember it, the episode is an extremely faithful adaption of the story.)
Another fantastic story is Damon Runyon’s “Dancing Dan’s Christmas” which you can read here. Runyon wrote the short stories that the stage musical & subsequent film, Guys & Dolls (one of my favorites) was based on. A fantastic compilation of his wickedly funny, satiric short stories is available here from Amazon.
I'd also recommend O. Henry's "The Chaparral Christmas Gift" which you can read here.
Toby sent new books this week (YAY!!). More on all those later...Terra would like me to point out that when she called me last week, she called my cell phone which I didn't have to answer (TRUE -- but she still knew I'd be at WORK) with the purest friendship motives (not to rub in the fact that she was off work). How dare I be so suspicious and darksided...hmm...LOL...
