THERE ARE GOOD DOCTORS STILL AROUND

My family doc is one of them.

Went for routine maintenance today and was greeted by a new sign. When you consider how much paperwork is required and what hoops the doctors must go through simply to practice, you appreciate the ones who stay in the field because medicine is their calling.

We love our doctor!

DEAD BATTERY

A while back, we started out in the little car and had a dead battery. Someone--not calling names here because this is something I can't blame on the cats--had not shut the trunk completely and the light stayed on long enough to run the battery completely down.

My guy, who didn't fuss since he was uncertain whether it was him or me responsible, charged it up and we drove it for a week or so. No problem. Then one day he used the SUV to run errands. The next day, you guessed it. The battery in the little car was dead again.

Normally, we have bad luck with warranties and things like that. Stuff breaks right after they run out. But we found the battery receipt and hallelulah! We had a full replacement guaranteed till May. So today he took it back to Sears, and they put in another battery. No charge.

Think I'll go out and buy a lottery ticket.

GOLDEN LIES by Barbara Freethy

Barbara Freethy is a nice writer and delivers her usual entertaining story in GOLDEN LIES.

When Riley takes his grandmother to the House of Hathaway to have them appraise a Chinese dragon she found in her attic, the dragon disappears when one of the Hathaways takes it off site and disappears.

The culprit is Paige's father and at first she's disbelieving (he'd never take someone else's property out of their showroom and emplorium), then shocked, and finally frightened when her father turns up in an alley, unconscious and near death. Naturally the dragon is gone.

Riley's angry that the Hathaways would try to take advantage of his grandmother and is determined that they will return it one way or the other. Paige wants to know where her father took the dragon and why. Together they go on a search that takes them to San Francisco's Chinatown leads back to China itself.

Nice easy read.

THE VARSITY IN ATLANTA

We stopped at The Varsity in Dawsonville yesterday. For those who don't know, The Varsity is a fast food place started 80-85 years ago by a Georgia Tech dropout. The first location was, coincidentally enough, across from Georgia Tech convenient for the engineering students.

Now it has locations in Athens (UGA!!!), Norcross, Alpharetta, Marietta, and -- ta da!!! -- little old Dawsonville, home of NASCAR racer Bill Elliott!

I had two chili dogs, onion rings and brought home two fried peach pies for later. Yum!

Here's its picture!

Don't ask me about my weight.

COVER for THE MAN IN THE BOAT

I'm very excited because I got my cover for the book coming out in March from MuseItUp Publishing. Suzannah Safi did a great job, I think, showing the stunned heroine confronting a wounded man who runs his boat up on the bank beside her.

CUP LID DISPENSERS

While in Florida last week, we stopped at a McDonald's. I love to stop at McDonald's when we travel because their bathrooms are usually clean and their tea is great. So we always use one for our rest stop when possible.

This McDonald's, on the way to Orlando, was one of their chintzy new designs with the white brick front and strange renditions of their fabled arches. But when I bought my tea and went to get a lid, I was overjoyed. Their lid dispenser had little doors on the front for each size lid. You chose your size, opened that door and, voila! The lid was stuck in the door, waiting for you to take it out and put on your drink.

Oh the wonders of science! I love it! No fumbling for lids, no scattered lids everywhere, no handling of lids you don't use. Can't wait for all the fast food places to follow suit!

CHANGES AT ST SIMONS

While we were away, some stuff changed on St. Simons Island. Here's a photo of the whale in Neptune Park the kids always love to climb on. See how it's been spiffed up? Fresh paint, fresh sand, new shells glued to barnacles! Looks like a new statue!

And to my joy, Sweet Mama's did not close as we feared when we saw their old place up for lease! They simply moved to a new location near Winn Dixie (the old Quizno's) and got all spiffed up, too. Oh my, I had to go in and get pound cake squares!