I'm Back--with News about a Book Signing!

I'm still here, readers.  I'm not sure if any of you are, though, since my output at the old bloggeroo has been fairly pitiful lately.

But I've been a tad busy, you see. And spending my days with my little buddy, G-Man, has reminded this former SAHM just how all-consuming the task of full-time baby care is.  It's the best job a Grammy could ever ask for, trust me; but at the end of the day I am so tired that I can't force myself to think about sitting down at my laptop and trying to come up with an interesting new post.  How you young mommy bloggers do it, I'll never know.  My hat is off to you, ladies!

I don't write much these says; but I do take lots of selfies (I like to call the photo series "Scenes from Grammy's Lap")--of G-Man sleeping peacefully...and me looking all scary and disheveled, with messy hair and no make-up, unshowered and wearing work-out clothes that are never used for working out anymore.

Yikes.  How about another, less scary pic of Grammy?  This one was taken on a day when Papa was splitting duties with me, so I was able to shower, brush my hair, and put on a little blusher.

I like this one a lot better--especially because I used magical Instagram color and lighting effects to enhance it (and there's more news: I've jumped on the Instagram bandwagon!).  But Papa did point out that because of the angle and that crease, G-Man's head looks too big for his neck here.  But it's not, I assure you.  That's just an optical illusion.
 
I've had so many wonderful things happen to me in the past few weeks.  I've been contacted by Ascension Press to see if I'd be willing to blog about a new DVD series they have out that helps to show young people the beauty of the Mass.  My answer was a resounding "YES!"--but I have yet to sit down and give that project the attention it deserves.  An old blogging friend of mine sent me some beautiful hand-made cord Rosaries for my family members, and I've been meaning to post some photos of those.  I was also contacted out of the blue by a thoughtful reader who saw an Irish Mother's Rosary in her online travels and thought I'd like it (it can be personalized with five names; how perfect for this mother of five sons!), and I wanted to share that story with you, as well as the address of the awesome website where an Irish mom can get one of those beautiful Rosaries.  I've got pictures of G-Man to share that are to die for, and also a sweet story about something one of my twin granddaughters said recently that completely melted her Grammy's heart.  (It's about a coat, and I'll be sure to tell you that story in an upcoming post.)  I missed the first anniversary of son #4 and his bride Braveheart almost a month ago, and on the same day, the second birthday of Little Gal--both big milestones I would normally have celebrated on this blog.  Mea culpa!  I certainly have a lot of great topics to blog about, when I get myself back in the groove.  The hubby and I are home in NH for almost two weeks, while G-Man is cared for by his other grandma, so I'm going to be doing a lot of catching up--both at the house and here at String of Pearls.  (Congratulate me: my Christmas decorations have finally been taken down and stored away in the attic.  With the exception of the tree...now there's another blog post topic for you!)

But the big news today is that I'm having my first book signing for Erin's Ring, after the anticipated Mass at St. Mary's Church (the church that is so prominently featured in the novel).  Our pastor put an announcement in last week's bulletin and this week's, too, so this thing is really happening!  I will be in the church hall after all four Masses tomorrow as well.  I'm a little nervous, because I've only had one book signing in my three years as a published author.  At the Catholic Writer's Guild conference in NJ in August of 2013, I had a table for one hour.  (During that time, I signed one whole copy of Finding Grace--but I think that still counts!)

I have been busy trying to come up with some table decorations that will be appealing to the eye.  Here's what I have so far:

Erin's Ring is a book that celebrates the Irish, and it's almost St. Patty's Day, so I thought it would be okay to include some shamrocks and a pot o' gold in my table decor.  Hope it's not too much.

I just remembered that one of my sons had an enormous Irish flag that used to hang on the wall in his dorm room...I've got to go down to the basement now and dig through some boxes to see if it's still there.

I'm hoping for the luck of the Irish this weekend.  Please keep me in your prayers, won't you?