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You can see how he got the nickname, right? Ways Finney makes my life hell:

– Bites my feet.
– Reaches out and claws me when I walk by sometimes.
– Loves to knock things off things.
– We’ll be curled up on the couch, peacefully, when suddenly he’ll use me as a launching pad. Maybe he saw a bug or something. It involves digging his claws in before springing off, and it happens too fast for me to do anything about it. I’ll just be left stunned, bleeding and crying. He weighs 18 pounds, so you can imagine the damage. Still, I love the little monster.

Here is Finney lulling me into a false sense of security.

Sitting on my desk, just waiting for my signature, is the contract for my next book! I’ll be writing about ghosts, among other things. I can’t get over the fact that I get to devote the next few years of my life to something so ridiculously interesting. I haven’t had an easy life, but I can’t complain about my career luck.

This is a picture of the Morris-Jumel Mansion in Harlem (at the end of the road, at the top of the hill). First, can you believe that’s Manhattan?? Ghosts have been haunting this mansion since it was built in 1765, and I will tell the story of this house in my next book. Originally, I planned to make the Mansion the focus of the book, but I’ve changed my mind. I will include the story, it’s just too good to pass up, but a better idea came up (I’ll talk about that idea in a couple of months).

Since I watch TV 24 hours a day, I’m breaking down and buying an HDTV. I think. The huge, crt TVs still have the best picture quality, so I think I’m going to go for the one above. It’s a Panasonic CT30WX15 (30″) and it weighs 140 pounds. And it’s $750, not counting what I will have to pay the delivery men to carry it up to the top floor of a five story walk-up. There will have to be some apartment re-arranging to fit it. I’ll take before and after shots.

Speaking of TV, I’m trying to think if any of the news show have blown me away yet. Thinking … thinking … I don’t think so. Not yet.

Someone recently asked me to send them snapshots of some of the things I saved from my volunteer experience down at the Trade Center. I thought I’d put them up here, too.

I saved a lot of children’s drawings. This is one of my favorites.

Crosses made from the steel of the World Trade Center, and a piece of glass
from the windows.

Hats and shirts and sweatshirts — getting dusty!

This is a box of all sorts of stuff, cards and letters and patches and CDs,
Christmas ornaments, etc. Some guy carved the “Stacy 9/11” for me.

This is a bag of letters from people I meant to write back. I still haven’t worked
up the emotional energy to do it. They come from children mostly, who will
be adults by the time I get to it, it looks like.

I wasn’t going to go because it was my choir night, but I decided to cut choir and I went to the party celebrating the publication of Stealing God’s Thunder.

It was great! Usually book parties are so tedious, but I had FUN. I met a curator from the American Philosophical Society (founded by Franklin) and all these people from the Loser’s Lounge (one of my favorite things in New York to do) were there. Ms. Cecilia Brauer of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra gave a performance on the armonica (that’s spelled correctly), a glass musical instrument invented by Benjamin Franklin. And my friend Lianne (married to Phil) gave a sweet toast.

I made a wise how-should-I-spend-my-evening decision.