My younger son has always wanted a dog. I, who read/saw MARLEY & ME, am a lot less sure about this concept. A few weeks ago, a teacher at his school told us about the Seeing Eye Dog program where people raise and nurture puppies from the time they are weaned until they are old enough to train. Thus our time with the dog would have a definitive start/stop date. This sounded reasonable --- and altruistic --- so I started to explore it.

Tuesday I was the emcee at a fundraiser luncheon for the National MS Society. The guests were the co-authors of THE NECKLACE, a really interesting story of 13 women in California who all share a very expensive diamond necklace that they purchased together; something none of them could afford on their own. What has evolved among them is a story with a lot more substance than glitz. Through this venture they have become best friends, comrades and advocates for one another.

In February, the groundhog, our hopeful harbinger of spring, poked his head out and took a look around after a long winter's nap. As I began prematurely packing away my sweaters and thinking about sandy beaches (okay, maybe sandy beaches are a couple of seasons away, but a gal can daydream, right?), I was abruptly halted by the appearance of the weatherly rodent's shadow, forecasting six more weeks of winter (sigh). With the last few weeks being as cold as they've been, who could blame the groundhog for heading back to bed that fateful February 2nd? Are you feeling the same way? Luckily, I have a bunch of new books to hold us over until spring!