Happy Black Friday! Best wishes and good luck to those of you braving the lunatics maddening crowds millions of other shoppers! Me, I’m doing my Black Friday shopping online.

The only thing on tonight are a myriad of holiday movies and a new special episode of Psych.

Reading: Now I’m reading a science fiction book titled Ancient Shores by Jack McDevitt. It’s about a farmer in North Dakota who digs up a 45′ boat that was buried in one of his fields. It turns out the boat is 10,000 years old and made from some unknown material. So how the heck did it end up in the farmer’s field?

There’s a story on CNN’s website about a piano that has mysteriously appeared in the middle of a forest. Crazy!

Not a lot going on around here. Which given the last couple of months is kind of nice.

Last night’s 24 was kind of disappointing. Not enough shooting, not enough explosions (heck the one explosion took place off-camera! What’s up with that?!), not a single perimeter was set. And Jack-who-is-tough-as-nails was…. kind of soft and cuddly. So wrong! And when the season premiere starts in January, we have the return of Tony Almeida. Which is a really good trick since he’s DEAD. Why do they always kill off the people I like? But the people you wish would die, like Jack’s daughter Kim and his ex-girlfriend Audrey, never do. It’s so unfair. Oddly, however, Zombie Tony is apparently one of the upcoming season’s villains. I guess being dead will do that to you.

But tonight we have Dancing with the Stars, Cities of the Underworld, CSI: Miami, Chuck, Heroes, and My Own Worst Enemy. Whew!

Reading: Now I’m reading 1634: The Bavarian Crisis (not to be confused with The Baltic War) by Eric Flint and Virginia DeMarce. Thankfully, this book isn’t quite as long. It’s only 704 pages.

*sigh* The bastards at ABC have axed two of my favorite shows. The delightfully quirky Pushing Daisies and Eli Stone. Personally, I think the Sci Fi Channel should pick up both shows and air them in a three hour block with Eureka.

Last night was my aunt’s visitation. I’m not sure if that’s just a Southern/Midwestern thing, or what. We don’t have wakes around here, though I’ve always assumed they were basically the same thing. It was kind of disconcerting because I kept seeing people I didn’t have a clue who they were because it had been so many years since I’d seen them. And then there was my aunt’s teenaged granddaughter. I didn’t think I’d seen her since she was a baby. Then I realized late last night (don’t ask me why it didn’t occur to me until then… my mind is a scary place) that I’d met her last year! Sheesh. She probably thought I was insane.

There’s a movie on tonight on the Sci Fi Channel that looks interesting. Lost City Raiders. I’m not entirely sure what it’s about, but I’ll give it a whirl.

I wrote a whopping half page last night. Better than nothing, I suppose.

Reading: Still reading 1634: The Baltic War. And likely will be for some time. It’s 752 pages. In hardcover. I shudder to think how thick it is in paperback…. Holy cow! The paperback edition is 1072 pages!!!

According to information I found yesterday, I’m descended from Charlemagne. If I wore rings I’d let you kiss them. (You do realize I’m not buying any of this, right?)

I’ve been scarce today because I’ve been helping some cousins whose mother is gravely ill with pulling stuff together for her funeral. Not the most pleasant thing to do, but at least what I’m doing is something I can do to help.

Not a darn thing on tonight, so I’ll be catching up on recorded shows. With all these shows I like getting cancelled, this should start being an easier thing. *g*

Wrote about a page and a half last night.

Reading: Now I’m reading My Nerdy Valentine by Vicki Lewis Thompson which is adorable. Psychology intern Amanda Rykowsky is receiving creepy “secret Valentines” from somebody and nerdy stockbroker William Sloan is determined to protect her.

From the archaeology news desk, a 4300 year old pyramid has been discovered buried in the Egyptian desert. Fun stuff!

Well, last night on Dancing with the Stars we lost Maurice Greene. It was sad to see him go, but I love all the other ones who are left, too. I had a really hard time voting Monday night.

Tonight, we have Ghost Hunters, Bones, Criminal Minds, MythBusters, CSI: NY.

Cool! Today’s mail delivered two Christmas presents I got for my parents. I hardly ever get started with my shopping this early. *g*

I wrote a page & a half last night. Yet another annoyed cop to deal with. *g*

Reading: Now I’m reading News from the Edge: The Monster of Minnesota by Mark Sumner. Journalist Savannah McKinnon works for a tabloid newspaper in a St. Louis, Missouri suburb and investigates really weird stories. The kind you used to get in the Weekly World News, only in Savvy’s case, the accounts are true.

First, I would like to acknowledge Veterans Day. Thank you to all the soldiers, past and present, who keep us safe.

It’s time now for another Dancing with the Stars report!

Cody Linley & Edyta Sliwinska – Their first dance was the foxtrot. I thought it was really good, though I kept getting distracted by how low her gown was in the back. Yikes! They scored 24/30. Then they danced the mambo. Great job! The judges were pickier than I was, though. *g* They scored 24/30, for a total of 48/60. His orginal partner, Julianne Hough will return next week if he makes it through.

Maurice Greene & Cheryl Burke – Their first dance was the quickstep. I thought they did a great job! They scored 24/30. Then they danced the paso doble. It rocked! They scored 24/30, for a total of 48/60.

Brooke Burke & Derek Hough – Their first dance was the tango. Great job! Mr. Crankypants thought it was riddled with mistakes, though. Hmph! They scored 28/30. Then they danced the mambo. Another great job! They scored 27/30, for a total of 55/60.

Lance Bass & Lacey Schwimmer – Their first dance was the foxtrot. I thought they did a really good job. They scored 26/30. Then they danced the samba. I’m not sure why but I didn’t really like it. They scored 24/30, for a total of 50/60.

Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson – Their first dance was the tango. Great job! Though I never would have thought about using the theme from Peter Gunn as tango music. They scored 28/30. Then they danced the jive. I thought it was great! They scored 26/30, for a total of 54/60.

Tonight the musical guest will be Brad Paisley. Cool! And the first hour of tonight’s results show is just a recap show.

Also tonight, we have NCIS, The Mentalist, Fringe, and Eli Stone.

I started laughing while doing some more genealogy work yesterday. Someone has some possible ancestors as being born in Virginia in the early 1580s. Small problem there. The British (and these were British ancestors) didn’t even start exploring, let alone settling, in Virginia until 1584. Somebody didn’t do their homework! LOL! This is why I have to take everything I find with a huge grain of salt.

Only got one page written last night. I had a hard time getting back into the story. Hopefully tonight will be easier. Re the writing saddle and when I got off it, it was just my usual weekend off.

Reading: Now I’m reading The Last Resort by Jaqueline Girdner. Kate Jasper gets a panicked call from her ex-husband when his girlfriend—the woman he left Kate for—is murdered at a spa. He wants her help solving the murder because he’s the prime suspect.

I’ve got the warm and fuzzies today because I’ve been awarded the “I Love Your Blog” award by two of my favorite bloggers, Amy and Dru.

1) Add the logo of the award to your blog.
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you.
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog.
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

I’ve known Kacey at Wine on the Keyboard for eons. She was one of the first people I met online when I first started thinking about becoming a writer. And here we are 15 years, er, many, um, a few years later, still going strong! Her Boomer Generation blog is always entertaining. I love reading about her adventures in living with a houseful of males.

Suzanne’s Chickens in the Road makes me glad I don’t live on a farm. I’d love to visit her farm, mind you, but I wouldn’t want to live there. I’m not cut out for the country girl life. Suzanne is another online friend from Way Back.

Kitchen Retro is a site where our hostess pokes fun at the wacky ads from days gone by. Her insights are always hysterical!

The ladies at Killer Fiction are always entertaining. And so are their books! If you like romantic mysteries with humor, these ladies write your kind of books!

Michelle Willingham is someone else I’ve known for a long time. In fact, she was a teenager when we first “met” online. And I’m just so darned proud of her and the career she’s building as a historical romance writer.

Dru has become a good friend in the relatively short time I’ve known her. She’s an avid reader and quilter, the latter at which she’s very talented. I love reading about her life in the Big Apple and the crazy things she sees on her daily commute to work.

Bookmom has the “Weirdest Cats Ever”. Just ask her! Or better yet, go read her blog where she chronicles their constant crazy antics.

Then there’s Marianne, Devon, and Melissa. And tons more! I have a LOT of favorite blogs I read.

Now, since several people have expressed an interest, I’ll talk about what I’m finding on the family history front. But first a disclaimer. *g* I haven’t had time to analyze any of the information I’ve found so I’m taking it all with a HUGE grain of salt for now. But according to what I’ve found, I may be distant cousins with the likes of Mae West, J. M. Barrie, William Faulkner, Elvis Presley, Queen Elizabeth II, presidents Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson & Theodore Roosevelt, Doc Holliday, and Clyde Barrow (of Bonnie & Clyde fame), Frank and Jesse James, and Pretty Boy Floyd. I’m not sure what it says about me that I’m more thrilled about the bank robbers than anyone else. *g*

Tonight on TV, we have Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Valentine and Cities of the Underworld.

Reading: Still reading Raise the Titanic. I think this actually may be my favorite of the Dirk Pitt books.

I’m still digging into my family history and having a lot of fun. I’d forgotten just how addictive it could be!

Tonight on TV, we have Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Valentine and the season premiere (I think) of Cities of the Underworld which is usually entertaining.

Reading: I really enjoyed the Tara Janzen book. Hot guys, cool cars, and lots of action! Now I’m reading The Medusa Stone by Jack Du Brul. It’s another action/adventure book about geologist Philip Mercer who’s on the trail of a mysterious ancient treasure in Eritrea (that’s near Ethiopia).

The other day I discovered Ancestry.com had revamped their website. This has made it a lot easier to search their records and find stuff on your family. So I’ve suddenly jumped back into my family history with a vengeance. I’ve never actually found any skeletons in my family’s closet, though. I keep hoping, however. *g*

Ghost Hunters was fun last night. So was CSI: NY. They combined two of my favorite “hidden New York” stories. First, the secret train station where Franklin Delano Roosevelt could ride his private train straight beneath the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and they combined it with the mysterious disappearance of Judge Joseph Force Crater who left a restaurant in a taxi in 1930 never to be seen or heard from again. He was once called the “Missingest Man in New York”.

Tonight on TV, we have Survivor, CSI and Eleventh Hour.

Wrote two and a half pages last night.

Reading: Now I’m reading The Red-Hot Cajun by Sandra Hill because I was in the mood for something funny.