Even though it's still February, some of the trees, bulbs, and vines are starting to bloom here in North Texas. The familiar aroma of honeysuckle was wafting in the air when I pulled into the driveway after choir practice last night and it brought a big smile to my face. Sure enough, the honeysuckle vine draped over my back gate was already showing its yellow flowers and giving off its heady perfume.

So today, I'm thankful for the five senses and the pleasures that smelling, seeing, touching, tasting, and hearing can bring.

Read an article recently about people who have "an attitude of gratitude" living better and happier lives. So, I'm going to try and write regularly about things for which I'm thankful.

Right away what comes to mind is being employed. There are so many people without a job right now, including my younger brother, that I need to thank God daily that I have a job and one that is currently not threatened.

I am also thankful daily for the gift of song and for my love of reading and all the avenues available to me to obtain just about anything I'd like to read, including my favorite, the Public Library!

Currently, I'm reading The Art of Conversation: A Guided Tour of a Neglected Pleasure by Catherine Blyth. I'm only a few pages into it, but already I feel as if the book is speaking right to me because my conversation skills are sadly lacking. They've never been great at the best of times, but I feel as if they continue to deteriorate.

I'm also reading The Secret Papers of Madame Olivetti by Annie Vanderbilt which is about a woman spending the summer in the South of France writing her memoirs as part of a healing process. I've only just started it as well and should spend the afternoon really getting into it; I fear I've been a little distracted each time I've picked it up.

Just added a widget to my site. Not sure if I know what I'm doing....

I'm here to state my displeasure over the customer service at audiolunchbox.com--or the lack thereof. I've used audiolunchbox in the past but recently, I tried to download an album that had empty files. I successfully downloaded two other albums from the site, but this one album just didn't have anything in the files. After two emails to customer service, I still haven't heard anything nor was I sent a replacement file or credited back the points I had used. I will totally not use this site again. For much, much better customer service and a better site overall, I steer you over to emusic.com. I've been happy a customer there for the last couple of years and was pleased that when I had a download problem, I received immediate and courteous help.

Cold, rainy day today and I had to call in sick for my trip. I've been battling a cold since New Year's Day and thought I would be well by now but I woke up hacking at 5:30 this morning, so I guess I'm not quite over it.

So, of course I've been on the computer all morning and I went in search of a biography of Petula Clark. There was actually one published in 1983 and I found a copy for about $5.60 on a site called Awesome Books. It's a great site because it offers free shipping worldwide if you purchase 2 or more items, but even if you purchase only one item, the shipping is cheap! This has become my new favorite bookstore, especially since I can get books which are published in the UK before they even hit the U.S. Check out the site at www.awesomebooks.co.uk. Another great UK book site which offers free worldwide shipping is The Book Depository at www.bookdepository.co.uk. I ordered Cathy Kelly's last novel Lessons in Heartbreak from them (which was, unfortunately, a dud) this past summer and it's still not available in the States. I also recently ordered Dawn French's autobiography Dear Fatty which should be arriving any day now.