The Sissyfriss Sockmonkey and Lou Lou Skiptoo St. Valentine's Give-Away

Sat., Feb. 6, 2010 -
Lou Lou and Sissyfriss slept long and hard (see below : > ), and woke up with a bit of a headache ( see below : > ), but after a few cups of coffee and a toasted bagel they were both well on their way to feeling fine again. They couldn't wait to slip on those new snowshoes of theirs and do some exploring. We got another 2 or 3 inches of snow overnight and it's really beautiful out there, and these gals can't wait to be out in it! But before heading out for their next great adventure, they tossed all the names of the people who were interested in winning a copy of ROSES into a bowl and drew the winning name.


(note to everyone from Sissyfriss Sockmonkey and Lou Lou Skiptoo. They want you to know this picture was taken this morning. That is NOT wine in those wineglasses. nuh uh. That is apple juice. Sissy & Lou Lou have quit drinking. So they say. We'll just see about that, now won't we? Stay tuned for more adventures from these two.)

The winner of The First Annual Sissyfriss Sockmonkey and Lou Lou Skiptoo St. Valentine's Give-Away is Shirley - boots9k at wowway dot com

Congratulations, Shirley! and I hope you love the book! Drop me note with your mailing address, please ( barleykw at appstate.edu ) and I'll get your book off to you next week.

Come back and let us know how you like it!



The First Annual Sissyfriss Sockmonkey and Lou Lou Skiptoo St. Valentine's Give-Away

Part II
Friday, Feb. 5, 2010

WHAT a day.

The University closed today due to snow and the possibility of ice. We've gotten, oh golly - I don't know - 8 or 9 inches I'm guessing. With some mixtures of ice, rain, sleet and freezing rain all coming down every now and again. Truth be told, I'm not sure what the difference is in all those things other than rain. As far as I'm concerned sleet and ice and freezing rain are all the same thing and they're anything but good. So far, thank goodness, it has not been a bad as the weather folks had originally predicted, but then too - it's still pretty early., so I'm guessing this whole snow for awhile - ice a little - snow some more stuff is going to continue through the night and through tomorrow. But, whatever it does, I'm sure we're not going to get slammed as hard as my friends and family in Maryland where they're getting the worst storm since 1922, with the possibility of as much as 30 inches of snow.

A friend from Cambridge sent me this link to pictures taken at Ocean City and Assateague during the last storm.

http://www.assateaguephotos.com/photos/swfpopup.mg?AlbumID=11114154&AlbumKey=hPYvi

I've never seen snow like that on the Boardwalk and beach in Ocean City, and I think this weekend's storm will be even bigger. WHAT a winter.

And those crazy girls Sissyfriss and Lou Lou showed up at our door again today.



They're getting pretty darn good with those new snowshoes of theirs, I must say. There's just no holding them down. They are absolutely bound and determined that this weather is not going to get in the way of their fun.

They're still staying just down the road with Auntie Coo Coo. I'm not entirely clear about all this, but it seems Sissyfriss and Mr. Sockmonkey are experiencing some marital discord. So, Sissyfriss has been staying with Lou Lou, and the two of them somehow have ended up bunking in with Auntie Coo Coo. But Auntie was weary of them being underfoot, so she shoo-shooed them out of the house today which is how they ended up here.

Along with their bottle of wine.

And the more they drank, the funnier they were. And oooooh, the stories these gals have! They are a HOOT!

So, we spent the day together and had fun, but after awhile (and too much wine) Sissy Sockmonkey got a little bit blue and had herself a little bit of a crying jag. Lou Lou, being the best kind of girlfriend a gal can have, sat with her and talked to her and comforted her a bit. Mostly she just listened and let Sissy have a good cry.



And then they had another glass of wine.

Then, next thing I knew. They were both sound asleep.



They looked so comfortable. And they were snoring so loudly, I just couldn't bring myself to wake them up. So, I took away the empty wine glasses, and tossed a quilt over them. Gave them both a little kiss on the head, turned out the light and left them where I'm sure they'll sleep through the night.

And, tomorrow we'll draw a name, and I'll let you all know who the winner of the St. Valentine's Give-Away is.

Check back, O.K.?

The First Annual Sissyfriss Sockmonkey and Lou Lou Skiptoo St. Valentine's Give-Away

Part I

You may remember my little pals Sissyfriss Sockmonkey and Lou Lou Skiptoo.


They hosted a tea party for me back in June. Remember? And did a lovely job, I must say.


I haven't seen too much of them lately. Seems we were all busy and running in different directions during the summer, then when winter hit, it hit with a vengeance and we've just had a hard time getting together. The roads have been bad a lot and well . . . you know how it is. Life is just busy.


Then out of the blue, lo and behold - here they are. They just showed up at the door this morning. ASU delayed the start of classes today due to icy conditions, and the roads are AWFUL, so needless to say, I was super surprised to see these two out and about! But it turns out they spent the night close by. They were visiting with Lou Lou's elderly Auntie Coo Coo and ending up spending the night. I'm not real clear on all this, but the story I'm getting seems to be that there was wine involved. If you remember, these two do like a glass of wine every now and again.


Anyway.


They heard the news about delayed classes, and thought they'd drop in for a little visit. Slipped on their little snowshoes and voilà, here they are.


Visits with Lou Lou and Sissyfriss are a hoot. They have opinions they're willing to stick by and don't mind telling it like it is. I love that. At this stage of my life it's important to me that my friends are people I respect. Used to be they just had to be fun to hang out with. While it's true I still like fun people, and love more than anything to slap my knee and throw my head back and laugh till I cry with them, that added element of respect is also very important.


While the three of us don't necessarily agree on everything, one thing we absolutely totally and completely agree on, is that we can't let quite so much time pass between visits. Life is too short to let too much time pass without making time for those you care about.


And after coming to this momentous decision, Lou Lou and Sissy decided we needed to toast to the occassion.


uh oh.


In an effort to persuade them not to crack open the wine bottle at such an early hour, I kinda steered the conversation around to what we've all been reading. One thing led to another and next thing you know we're planning a give-away.


Yippee Skippy!


We're calling it . . .


drum roll . . .

The Sissyfriss Sockmonkey and Lou Lou Skiptoo St. Valentine's Give-Away

And yes, we know it's Groundhog Day. We say to heck with Groundhog Day and six more weeks of winter. We say let's start a little early with the celebrations for St. Valentine's Day. That's a much more fun holiday to celebrate. Or at least we think it is. Although, that Groundhog Day movie IS pretty cool . . .


After much discussion, we've decided the book of honor will be . . . . .





Leila Meacham' ROSES.


I read about this book at Lesa's Book Critiques. Being a long time fan of sagas and epic novels which are no longer quite as in favor as they once were, I was tickled pink to read about ROSES. Spanning the twentieth century, this is the story of the founding families of a small town in Texas. It follows their interwoven histories, including all the secrets and tragedies you'd expect in this type of novel. I ate it up. Maybe, just maybe, the re-entry of the family saga is on the horizon due in part to the popularity of Leila Meacham's novel. My fingers are crossed.


If you're a fan of Barbara Taylor Bradford's Harte family series, you might enjoy this one. (or if you remember some of the old Susan Howatch novels - Penmarric, Cashelmara, etc.). If you're a lover of this type of novel, then let me hear from you and I'll maybe send you a copy of ROSES. Leave your name and email address in the comment section below.


Sissyfriss and Lou Lou plan on dropping by this weekend to choose the winning name. Check here on Saturday or Sunday (they won't commit to which day!), and I'll have the winning name at the top of this post. How's that? You need to include your email address though. Without it your name won't be considered.


Do you have a favorite epic novel, or epic novel author you want to squeal about? I'm always on the hunt for these, so let me hear, please!




For full FTC disclosure.
I bought this book.
No payment of any kind has been made for the above stated opinion.