Can you hear my whoops of delight all the way to the Mainland? Our DSL is up and working again! I really dislike using Steve's laptop and the phone line Internet connection. Not only is his laptop slower, it gets so darn hot, even on a lap table.

I am home today but haven't gotten anything accomplished yet other than to talk about cars with my daughter Mary. She loves them as much as I do and is looking to buy a new one. She is thinking about a PT Cruiser. I don't care for them but it makes sense with a baby and the boxes she moves around for work. Oh well, I have my little RAV4 for now and drool over the Porsche that is parked in the garage of one of the houses we go by on the way home.

Sophie came in from her wanderings this a.m. with dust bunnies and gold foil stars on her whiskers. Who knows where she found those. She is "speaking" to me again after the fiasco last night. We have a stray cat who the previous owner fed that upsets Sophie. She was letting it know this is her territory, through the patio doors, when Steve turned on the air conditioner near her. It frightened her so bad she left an "offering" on the floor. You can literally scare the crap out of a cat! Well, she thought I had done it as I was standing next to her when it happened and she wouldn't even look at me all night. Steve thought that was hilarious.

My Hyperion review books came in and it was like Christmas. Immediately sat down and read Ann Rinaldi's The Color of Fire last night. Loved it - she has again taken a piece of little known U.S. history and brought it to life. Through the voice of 14-year-old Phoebe, a slave working for a kindly master in NYC, the horrific burnings at the stake and hangings that took place in the 1740s are brought to life. Fear of a slave revolt brought on by fires being set in the city resulted in a Salem Witchcraft Trials mentality. There were thousands of African Americans in NY at the time, both slaves and indentured servants. Imprisoned slaves and indentured servants, both black and white, gave names of innocent people, trying to save themselves, but it did no good. Both groups were hung or burned at the stake if they were not fortunate enough of escape to the "long island" to live with the Native Americans. Would be a great book to use in a U.S. History class as it is a relatively quick read.

Time to find the top of this desk.