Kindle Special

If you have a Kindle or a Kindle app, here's a killer deal for you beginning 9 a.m. December 28. Ninety-nine cents buys you a copy of "Uncle Billy." If you want to see what you'll be getting check out the Amazon listing: http://www.amazon.com/Uncle-Billy-William-Behr-Mueller-ebook/dp/B009M8WLSU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1388191544&sr=1-1&keywords=uncle+billy

Some Christmas cheer

Mary was born on Christmas day.

Her father and mother loved her.

They were very happy that she came on Christmas day

Because Mary’s last name was “Christmas.”

Mary was happy on her second and third Christmas days because she was

Always reminded of her name when relatives

Would smile and say “Merry Christmas.”

On her fourth Christmas a stranger said “Merry Christmas.”

The stranger had a large belly, a red nose and white whiskers.

“How did he know my name?” Mary asked her mother.

“I think he looks like Santa Clause, don’t you?” Mary’s mother

said to Mary as they walked to the store.

A very large woman with a purple and green hat said, “Merry Christmas.”

“How did she know my name?” Mary asked her mother.

“A very good guess, I suppose,” her mother said, smiling.

Mary held her mother’s hand as they went into the store.

They shopped and looked at the Christmas lights and listened to the Christmas music.

“Merry Christmas,” the cashier said to Mary and her mother at the checkout counter.

Mary smiled and said, “Yes, that’s my name.”

The cashier smiled back and continued running their groceries through the scanner.

On Mary’s fifth Christmas her mother said that she was

Almost old enough to start school.

“Will school be like home?” Mary asked.

“A little different, but you will get to meet lots of other children,” her mother said.

When Mary was five and a half her mother took her to school.

Mary looked at all the other boys and girls. They stared at her.

Mary’s mother talked with the teacher. Her mother said that she would come for Mary as soon as kindergarten got out. Mary said good-bye to her mother.

“Welcome to Martin Luther King, junior elementary school, children,” Mary’s teacher said. Her teacher smiled and said “My name is Miss Singleton.” She wrote her name on the green board in the front of the room.

 “Now children,” Miss Singleton said. “I have to take roll. That means I will call your name and you will answer here or present.” Miss Singleton opened her roll book and said, “Mary Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” the class answered, all but Mary.

“Present,” Mary said. The other children giggled.

Miss Singleton tapped her pen on the roll book. “Now children, it’s a long way to Christmas, isn’t it?

“Yes, Miss Singleton,” the class said.

“After I finish taking roll, we will have a recess.”

Outside Mary wanted to play chase with the other children, but the boy with the red shirt said, “No, it’s not Christmas yet.” The other children laughed at Mary.

Mary stood by the slide and watched the other children laugh as they all climbed through the plastic tube that led to the slide. Mary wanted to play with them so much she almost cried.

The bell rang and all the children lined up to go back to the classroom.

At the end of the day Mary’s mother drove up to the school and Mary ran to the car to get in.

“How was your first day?” her mother asked on the way home.

“How come our name has to be Christmas?” Mary asked.

“Well,” her mother said. “A long time ago your great, great grandfather changed his name from Kintermas to Christmas and that’s how you got your last name.”

Mary looked out of the car window at some of the other children as they walked away from school.

“If I was Kintermas they’d let me play chase,” Mary said.

 “The other children wouldn’t let you play chase?”

“No,” Mary said. “One boy said I wasn’t the real Christmas.”

“Whether or not you are the real Christmas, and you are,” Mary’s mother said. “The children should have let you play chase.”

“I had to stand and watch them play,” Mary said.

 “Where’s Rex?” Mary asked, as she looked around the house for her dog.

“Your father took him to the vet. Rex had something wrong with him.”

“They kept laughing at me,” Mary said.

“They shouldn’t have,” Mary’s mother said.

 “Is anybody home,” Mary heard her father shout from downstairs. Mary put her doll Emily on her bed and went downstairs to say hello to her father.

 “How was your first day at school?’ Mary’s father asked. He was taller than her mother and had started growing a beard that tickled Mary’s face when he kissed her on the cheek.

“The other children wouldn’t let me play chase,” Mary said.

“Well, that was their loss,” her father said, sitting down in his big chair. “Did that bother you Mary?”

“They said I wasn’t the real Christmas.”

 “You’re as real as the twenty-fifth of December, that’s for sure,” Mary’s father said.

 “If I was still named Kintermas they would have let me play,” Mary said.

Mary’s father frowned, then smiled. “I think they were just jealous, that’s all. They were probably thinking that you’d have Christmas every day while they’d only have it once a year.”

 “I just want to play with them.”

Mary’s father shrugged. “You’ll just have to find a way to do that tomorrow.”

The next day at recess Mary went up to the boy with the red shirt who said she couldn’t play chase. Mary was a little taller than he was.

“Is that the same shirt you wore yesterday?” Mary asked.

“What if it is?” the boy said.

“I like red,” Mary said. “It reminds me of Christmas.”

The boy looked at Mary. He looked at his shirt. “I guess you can play chase.”

Mary joined the other children who ran away from the girl who was “it.”

Mary’s mother came for Mary when school let out.

“How was your second day?”

“I got to play chase.”

“It must have been a better day than yesterday,” her mother said.

“And nobody laughed at me,” Mary said.

Mary’s mother smiled and drove them home.

Doors

Some time ago I posted pics of the cabinet I built for the counter renovation. The old doors wouldn't do, so I built new ones with raised panels.

C'est fini

Decided on a paint scheme for the puzzle.

Movie Blogs and Movie Blogs II

All the movie reviews have been removed from this blog. If you wish to peruse any or all they are contained in "Movie Blogs" and "Movie Blogs II." Both are available from Create Space or Amazon. If you wish to view them on Create Space go to my web site: http://www.williambmueller.com. You can see them on Amazon by entering my full name: William Behr Mueller.

Happy reading.

Movie Blogs II

For those who have enjoyed reading my movie reviews, another collection is out: https://www.createspace.com/4457609.

Whoa big fella

And that horse's command was quite appropriate since the puzzle pieces wouldn't stand by themselves. Routing three dados and chamfering the edges made a serviceable stand for the mounts, trees, and animals.

Whadayado

With the cabinet project out of the way and the new novel coming along something had to be done about the kids puzzle template sitting on my workbench. So with new scroll saw blades and a fair amount of free time away from my computers the initial part of the puzzle has taken shape. What comes next will undoubtedly be a few hours sanding and then a decision as to what sort of finish will be applied.

Saturday II

Been a very productive week. Finished the cabinet and published a new book. Response to both has been encouraging.

Saturday

More work on the kitchen cabinet this week. Drawers installed and veneer glued in place. The re-learning curve was interesting and is one of those necessary aspects of being away from a craft and then returning. Here’s what the cabinet looks like at present.

August 29, 2013

Franz Lehar was a composer who couldn’t help but write hummable and singable tunes. If you haven’t attended a performance of “The Merry Widow” or watched a recording then you have a real musical treat in store. One of the best versions I’ve seen stars Jane Thorngren in a New York Opera production that was broadcast on PBS. 

With great foresight Jane converted the film version to DVD and she has it for sale.

The interviews and the explanation of how various stage effects were achieved are bonuses included on the DVD.

Jane has just released a new CD of unusual soprano pieces and if you want to listen to some excerpts of her singing talent go to http:www.janethorngren.com. She also has pics of her various stage roles.

If this sounds like a commercial for her it should because she deserves it.