BOOK 'EM DIVA - THE FALL GUY

I love a good story of intrigue, so The Fall Guy by James Lasdun was the perfect reading choice for a cold winter's night when I could, if needed, hover under the blankets. It is a novel in the noir genre, so from the onset, the reader is left with a sense of unease. After all, it's just a story of two cousins, Matthew and Charlie, and Charlie's wife, Chloe, who are going to summer together at the wealthy cousin's home in upstate New York. What could go wrong?

BOOK 'EM, DIVA - HILLBILLY ELEGY

And now, for something extra. Weekly book reviews from The Invisible Diva. Read 'em and weep (or laugh, or think, or smile...)

With the long stretch of holiday time ahead, it's time to get in some reading. This week, I recommend Hillbilly Elegy by  J.D. Vance.

ADVICE FROM MISS PEARL CLUTCHER: CHRISTMAS EDITION

As I am busy preparing for the upcoming holidays, I asked my kind friend, the advise columnist, Pearl Clutcher, to share her social media expertise. Heed her wise words for a happier Christmas Facebook experience.

THE ELEPHANT AND THE TURKEY

Hoo boy! In case you've forgotten, what with all the election hoopla, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Now, if this were any other year, I'd be lecturing on why bringing a can of jellied cranberry sauce as your contribution to the big meal is as thoughtful as offering a sleeve of Saltine Crackers at the neighborhood potlock.

They say you can tell the age by counting the can rings on the base!

ALL HALLOWED OUT

For some reason, my small Ohio town decided to hold Trick-or-Treat night (aka: the true meaning of Halloween) on Thursday, October 27 (aka: NOT Halloween.) I have no idea what that nonsense was about, nor was I made aware of this information until after 5 p.m. on Thursday evening. I happened to catch the local news, and glanced, indifferently, at the listing of Trick-or-Treat times in the various communities. While I expected some to hold theirs over the weekend (which sucks for parents who want to go to Halloween parties, but is the best for kids who can stay up all night and eat their loot,) I never expected any adult fools would force the youngsters to go a-begging four full days ahead of the rest of the world. Therefore, I was lying on the sofa in sweatpants and an old hoodie, make-up free, hair in a high pony reserved for shampoo-free days, with nothing that resembled candy in the entire household. If the kids around here were into tricks, I was screwed.

"No candy? Redrum her! Redrum!!"

TWINKLES GIVES US THE NEWS

This blog post is brought to you by my new intern blogger, Twinkles! Normally, I wouldn't take on an intern, but her Uncle Pete made me an offer I couldn't refuse. So, PLEASE,  like and share this post as if my your life depended on it.

Twinkles the Intern

DECORATION DAYS

One of the biggest challenges of downsizing to our condo has involved holiday decorating.  Now, the husband and I have always been at odds when it comes to turning our home into The Museum of Seasonal Tchotkes, but that never stopped me in the past. Besides, our former house was large enough that it could handle the several boxes of ceramic figurines, plastic flora, and wooden fauna that represented every important milestone of each year. I decorated for Autumn, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, Winter, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Spring, Summer, and the 4th of July. (August was the middle child of months - ignored.) Alas, with almost zero storage and barely enough solid surfaces (unless you count the tops of toilet tanks,) those glory days of turning my home into a three-D version of an elementary school bulletin board are gone. But, that doesn't stop me from remembering the glory days.

A few well-placed pieces can get the entire household in the spirit!