(Belated) Happy New Year!

No, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth, but the holidays (and working in retail, the holidays start in October) took all my time and energy.

Family

We had a wonderful Yuletide -- not quite all the family (niece Natalie, her husband and son couldn't join us) got together at my sister's home for a couple days of celebrating and way too much food. Now everyone has gone home, back to school, or off to see in-laws, leaving Hubbie and me alone. Don't get any romantic notions -- remember, I work nights and tax season has started, so Hubbie's working a second job until mid-April.

Music Question

While listening to "Music of the Night" (from Phantom of the Opera) on my new MP3 player (thank you, Santa), it occured to me that if one didn't know the story of Phantom, one just might think the song was sung by a Vampire. Any comments?

Paul Potts

I was listening to the CD from the British talent show winner (like American Idol), Paul Potts. He's totally untrained, but a superb tenor -- the first time I heard him sing "Nessum Dorma" I was in tears. He outdoes Michael Crawford on "Music of the Night" with a stronger low register and clearer high notes. I hope to see/hear many more recordings from Potts.

New Years Resolutions

I have two main resolutions this year (no, one of them is not losing weight; that's a given): One, to get my house in shape (clean is the operative word), including remodeling the kitchen; and Two, to get back to writing. Having my own computer again will help that (sharing computers in this family is a lose-lose situation). Now I just have to figure out how to get my old files off a dead computer (power supply input is damaged, and the battery is run down, but the hard drive should be OK). Part of the writing resolution includes blogging more frequently. It would be nice, too, to have some comments from time to time (hint, hint).