Windowseat: maybe someone is trying to tell me something

I've got cool friends. I've received three books recently in the mail from amazon.com, which were gifts from friends.

One a week or two ago, another yesterday, and one more today.

Now they're all excellent books, which were on my wishlist. I don't expect gifts for my birthday, especially since I'm so awful about remembering other people's birthdays. So it's always a pleasant surprise when it happens and I'm more grateful and more pleased than I can say.

The books? The Deluxe Transitive Vampire. It's a fabulously fun book about grammar (I know, this sounds impossible, doesn't it?). I've coveted it for a long time and for a while I looked for it and couldn't find it. Now I have it in my grasp, thanks to someone cool. Whee!

Someone else also sent me: Help! My Apartment Has a Dining Room: How to Have People Over for Dinner Without Stressing Out which sounds neat and which could prove helpful since I've been meaning to have people over for ages.

And other friends sent me Cookwise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Cooking which is a large hardcover and looks really cool. If you watch Good Eats, you're familiar with the author-- it's by Shirley! Cool.

Of course receiving two cookbooks in rapid succession from friends, when I've many things on my wishlist and only two or three are cookbooks, makes me wonder a bit.

My parents gave me a persimmon Fiestaware napkin holder and a turquoise Fiestaware classic pitcher. The better for entertaining, I suppose.

What are my friends and family trying to tell me? That I need to improve my grammar and my cooking skills? That they want to see my apartment? (But that would end the jokes that I live in my minivan!) Fine by me (but it makes me chuckle anyway).

Thanks much to you kind people you. A little birdie told me there may be some other gifts en route. So thanks in advance to anyone else who decided to send me stuff. And while I'm on vacation, I'm assured any gifts will be set aside someplace safe where they'll be waiting for me when I get back.

I'll respond properly to email when I get back, too. Your emails mean a lot, thanks for writing.

Oh-- I updated the journal last night. I talked to my Grandpa today (he's not doing well) and to my folks, who want me to check in daily while I'm vacationing in case something should happen. I'm worried. Here's hoping I have fun anyway and that I'll get a chance to visit my grandparents upon my return.