Semper Fidelis Memorial Chapel Progress

Construction on the Semper Fidelis Memorial Chapel began after the holidays. Last summer, they built the road to the site and the parking lot .

This is what it looked like in September and pretty much all through the holidays:

This is what it looks like now (not quite the same angle).

You may notice the 2x4s sticking out of the ground in a line. I believe that marks the length and side of one wall. You may be able to tell from the drawings, that there will be a water feature. I think this may be the part of that future water feature. We'll have to see how it develops.

Veterinarian Drama Part 1

So, if I weren't Christian, today's experience would be one more indicator to me that Ranger was a Delta Force operator in a former life. Just a thought too, another fitting name for him would have been Hannibal the Cannibal.

Ranger has a urinary tract issue that just started on Thursday. Luckily he pees in the bathtub. He was due for his annual exam and rabies vaccination anyway and I was able to get him in for an appointment.

Now, Ranger has stickers on his file that say "I BITE". And those don't mean "I suck". They mean he bites. With his teeth. I once made my mom laugh when Ranger was being a pain and I snapped at him, "Oh bite me!" and the SOB did!

A vet tech that has never handled Ranger asked if he'd be able to take Ranger out and take blood and give him his shot before the vet came in.

"Um, Ranger is very combative and I didn't plan ahead with this trip, so I wasn't able to give him any sedatives before we got here."

To put an exclamation point to what I had just told the vet tech, Ranger stuck his paws out through the spaces in the carrier, started grabbing and clawing at my clothes and started growling.

The vet tech looked at that and said, "O.k. lets hold off taking him out until the Dr. can see him."
Good idea.

Just to give you an idea - - here is a short video from one of Ranger's escape attempts this past summer.

The vet remembered him right away, sort of. She asked if they could take him into the treatment area, away from me so that they could perform the physical exam and get a urine sample.

"Just so you know, you will have to sedate him to do that."

The vet said, o.k. but they wanted to see if they could do it back in one of their treatment rooms without having to sedate him.

5 minutes later she comes back in to the examining room to tell me that Ranger was being very combative through the carrier and for everyone's safety, she wanted my permission to sedate him.

"Go right ahead."

15 minutes goes by and the vet rushes back in with Ranger in his carrier and sets him down on the examining table. She was a little out of breath.

"O.k., he escaped and was running amok through the animal hospital." (maybe that Marine Corps pilot I dated a few years ago was on to something when he swore he thought Ranger had been through SERE school - - that is Survival, Escape, Resistance and Evasion)

"But good news is, he peed so we were able to get a sample without having to sedate him and do a catheter."

I asked, "Did you give him his rabies shot?"

"Oh, shoot. We forgot that in all the drama."

She looked at him and then at me, "Will he let you hold him while we give him the shot."

Are you kidding me? "No."

I was honest with her, I've had Ranger now for 6 years, I know him. I know what he is capable of. No way in hell I'm going to hold him while she give him a shot. To handle him when you are trying to make him do something he doesn't want to do - - you practically have to put body armor on.

So, they took him out to a treatment room and with lots of thick towels they were able to hold him down while she gave him a shot.

When she brought him back she said, "He is so lucky to have a nice home where you love him. He's very lucky."

So we are home now and he's being all lovey-dovey now. (rolling my eyes). Only 365 more days to go before we have to do this all again.

Veterinarian Drama Part 2

Generals Getting Wired

I saw this article in today's Christian Science Monitor about some of the service Branches' top brass setting up Facebook profiles and blogs to inform the public about their mission and to get feedback from troops.

Military brass joins wired troops

I'm wondering, if a General sets up a Twitter account and sends out a tweet that reads, "Drop and give me 20"  Would someone in the military have to do it?  Since I have spent my life observing the military - - its a non-military kind of hmmm.

Anyway, I did some on the spot research and sure enough the Brass sited in the article do have Facebook accounts.  General Ward doesn't, that I could find - - but has a blog somewhere so I'll have to look for that.

I debate - - should I send a friend request?  If they actually blog, that could be interesting reads - - or boring.  Who knows.

So my military/millitary spouse friends, what do you think of this?  Good idea?  I'm not sure if many of their troops would "friend" them.  I mean, geez, you'd have to be really careful about what you put on your facebook page with the possibility of these guys lurking about.  I've realized after adding several of my co-workers at Friends on Facebook that I need to watch my complaining/venting.  I mean, I need to be careful when I call a supervisor a jerk (um, for any of my bosses that might be reading this on my Facebook feed, I haven't called any of you jerks. Um, lately.  At least I don't think so.  Arrrrgh!  Crap, I don't have time to scrub my blogs!)

Seriously, my policy when I started blogging was if its something I wouldn't want the public to know, I wouldn't blog about it.

Update on the Debit Card

Praise God for having Bank of America set up a wonderful notification system. A system that obviously knows my spending habits so well that within minutes of a fraudulent charge being made, they were able to notify me and close my debit card.

Thankfully, whoever had gotten my debit card number, only had my debit card number. BoA is very certain that they did not gain any access to my bank accounts. They gave me a temporary debit card (I took enough cash out to last me through the week - - I am not using the debit card for piddly purchases for a while).

Oh, and they recovered all of the funds. wooohooo!

Inauguration Word Of The Day: Patience

When my alarm clock went off at 0515 this morning (5:15 a.m. - - just throwing military terminology in there for ya), the first thing I heard was "Metro parking lots are full".

For some reason that jarred me awake.

Full?! FULL! Its not even O dark 530 yet.

Once my sleep depraved fog lifted, I heard the radio commentators on WTOP say there were three metro lots in Maryland that were already full. At 6 a.m. drivers were reporting that they had been waiting in line for 2 hours to get into the metro lot near my home. Are you kidding me??? Holy cow!

Also at 6 a.m., it was announced that the only route via a Virginia bridge into DC was closed because there had been a serious accident, involving the ejection of one person from the vehicle.

By 7 a.m. the ridership on the metro was 200,000 people. And there were still more people standing in huge crushes on the platforms.

You can go to WTOP's web site, for the latest traffic reports. They have reporters at key metro stations, the Washington Monument, some of the check points along the parade route and at Capital Hill.

While my journalistic heart is turning over at the thought that I am missing this historic event, I am glad I didn't venture out. It was flippin' 12 degrees this morning at 5:30. I think its gotten up to about 20. When I was younger, I'd suck up the cold and the traffic and the crowds. In my 'old age' - - maybe its my 'wise age' - - I have determined that its not worth it. I've done DC during July 4th. The getting into DC isn't so much the problem. Its the leaving DC. Everyone will be leaving at the EXACT same time. None of this hours and hours worth of trickling in - - they aren't going to trickle out, no. It will be fire hose out. And, you know, I'm really not that interested in getting THAT close to people I don't know.

What I am venturing out to do is resolve this issue I had over the weekend with some yahoo getting hold of my debit card number. Luckily, my bank caught it right away and stopped payment on the first charge and notified me. $412 to some pharmacy in New York. Luckily I really don't keep much money in my checking account. That one charge almost wiped me out. The bank credited the money back to me, so I'm assuming whoever has my number is making online orders. This worries me because I thought you need someone's name and address to use a credit card for online purchases. So after I take care of all the bank account stuff. I'll have to contact all the credit reporting agencies to see if my identity has been stolen.

Wonderful.

Just what I needed.

The thing that really killed me, is I use my debit card for EVERYTHING. I do not carry cash. So, this long weekend, I was without cash or the ability to use my debit card (the bank closed it right away after the first fraudulent charge). I don't like using my credit card for little purchases. However, I needed gas. When I was pretty much down to just chocolate pudding in my refrigerator, I had to give in and go grocery shopping.

So, today, I will be burning up vacation hours to resolve this lovely issue. It is so annoying. Its like being rear ended by someone. Sure, their insurance covers the damage but I have to take the time off to take my car in and be inconvenienced.

So yes, the Inauguration word of the day (WOTD), put forth by the WTOP traffic reporter, is "Patience".

I think that I will have to be patient today, even though I'm not going in to the city for the inauguration.

Oh, and on the sleep note - - when a cat has been held hostage under a bed all day by the other cats, it wants to play when the coast is clear. Can I just say "velcro wall".

Yes, that was my bed last night. I have no idea what imaginary things Gracie was chasing. She'd jump on the bed and claw her way the rest of the way up and then do some chase the tail thing on top of me then fling herself off the bed. Then I started hearing digging noises - - and they weren't coming from the litter box.

Note to self: clean clothes or dirty clothes in a laundry basket equals REALLY soft kitty litter.

Needless to say when I realized what was happening, I was wide awake and trying to put her in the litter box. I'm thinking the boys have cornered her in the litter box so she doesn't want to go in it now. GREAT. She peed in the box but pooped in and on my slippers.

Since I was awake and it was like 12:30 a.m., I played with her for an hour until she burrowed under the blankets and fell asleep.

So, I'm really tired.

Museum's Phase 1A Build Underway

With the holidays behind us, the Phase 1A build is underway. The first week of January, all of the artifacts, photos and artwork were removed from the temporary Global War on Terror and Combat Art galleries.

All of the storage cabinets, tables and chairs from the classroom were moved out into a double wide trailer in the parking lot. This is the temporary classroom/educational offices trailer, taken this summer.

The docent and Marine offices were also packed-up and moved out to another double wide trailer, behind the education trailer, in the parking lot. By the way - - those double wides are pretty nice. They even have shower facilities, which they don't have in the museum and won't have until Phase 2.

I told you about what happened to the offices but what happened to the combat art and the GWOT photos and artifacts?

Three triangular display walls were constructed in Leatherneck gallery, between the HRS-1 and the elevators. Combat photos from Iraq and Afghanistan will be displayed here.

The weapons tower, affectionately referred to as "The Cheese Grater" has been dis-armed and will be disassembled. You could barely see the weapons in it/ on it anyway. In its place, artifact cabinets that had been in the GWOT gallery. Again, these will hold micro artifacts from GWOT.

If you are looking down that back hallway from Legacy Walk toward Leatherneck, the left side will contain Combat Art from Post Vietnam to Present. The right side of the wall will contain the 9-11 images that had been in the GWOT gallery. Nothing has been hung up yet. I also don't have any photos of this hallway as one wall is back, it doesn't photograph very well.

This week, the 8-foot physical construction barrier wall went up. From the top of the wall to the ceiling is a fabric barrier. That was completed today.

This next week, all of the partition walls will be knocked down.

So, it will be NOISY at the museum.

Currently, the construction barrier is dull and boring. It will be sprused up eventually with sneak preview drawings of the new construction as well as combat photos from GWOT.

In addition to the sneak preview drawings, the Model T Ford that was used for Toys-for-Tots will remain as a 'teaser' for what is to come in the World War 1 gallery.

This is what the museum will look like until early spring 2010. The grand opening for the new galleries is planned for March or April of 2010.

They plan on bringing in plans and 3D models so the docents and staff can see what will be in the new gallery space. When I see it, I'll share it with you.

Exciting stuff!

Yet Another Adoption Event With Gracie

Going to these adoption events is hard. Emotionally.

First of all, Gracie cries this mournful cry when I put her in the carrier. She used to cry the entire way to PetSmart. Now, the car ride is deathly silent. I don't know what is worse. The silence almost feels like 'resignation', like she knows I'm trying to get rid of her. Like she knows she is being rejected, yet again.

Once at PetSmart, she is transferred to a cage/crate. She tunnels under the towel to hide. She hides really well. I have to reach in and uncover her so people can see her.

The whole time, she gives me "The Look".

I can't explain "The Look", really. But its like she's saying, "What are you doing to me? I am so angry with you right now. Don't you know that I've adopted YOU! YOU are my human. I want to go home, NOW!"

It kills me.

The tension here at home between Gracie and the others - -my fuzz posse - - has gotten pretty bad. Its like the others know she doesn't belong or won't be staying, isn't going to be permanent. Therefore, her initial assertion that she get the prime sleeping spots on the bed has been over ruled. They walk right up to her and smack her with their paws and she runs and hides. Now, the others don't have to even smack her, they just walk in the room and she hides.

While I am at work, the boys keep her hostage under a bed.

I feel so bad. What a horrible life, to live it under a bed. I do realize that the alternative is worse. She's indoors, she's being fed - - much better than her situation before. I just hope that I can find a home for her soon. A home where she can sleep out in the sun, cuddle and play.

The other hard thing about going to adoption events is seeing the other cats. Today, there were two kittens they rescued from a shelter in Spotsylvania County. One of the kittens looked exactly like Ranger. When I pulled him out of the carrier to put him in the crate, under his fluffy fur he was skin and bones. Oh my goodness. I have never felt a kitten so starved in my life. My heart just broke for him. One of the other ladies that fosters decided to take him home and get him fattened up. He was such a sweet little man. He purred when I was holding him and fell asleep in the other lady's arms.

I just want to take them all home with me.

We're Scaring The Away

In similar fashion to Field of Dreams' "Build it and they will come".  Washington, DC was experiencing: "Elect him and they will come".

Well it seems that the constantly changing security procedures, the driving and parking ban in DC, the threat of the possible collapse of the metro system, the threat of not enough bathrooms (I'm telling you Americans are motivated by toilet paper), inaccessibility to food and the threat of cold weather may be scaring people away from the inauguration. 

That was the latest this morning. 

Even if its like July 4th in DC - - that will be bad enough. 

Believe it or not, politicians and government employees were being really honest about what DC could be like if that many people converged on the city for the inauguration.  Maybe the honesty had something to do with Obama using "Honest" Abe's Bible for his swearing in.

Inauguration Mayhem

Well lets see, the dry run didn't go off without a hitch - - seems SOMEONE forgot to tell people the roads would be closed for the dry run. Seems that law enforcement, military, secret service and the other intel agencies haven't quite gotten the whole communication amongst themselves down yet. Well, actually - - they all knew the roads would be closed for the dry run, they just failed to inform the public. Which really makes me wonder, if the government isn't telling me the little things I need to know - - what BIG things aren't they telling me.

Oh gosh, maybe aliens do exist!

But anyway back to the inauguration mayhem. Unknown to the millions of estimated visitors, the rules keep changing. For some reason they do keep telling us locals the rule changes as they go. Granted, the people that really need to know about the rule changes are the outsiders coming in for this event. Oh, well, that will just add to our entertainment.

First, four metro parking lots were going to be closed for parking - - one was going to be reserved for metro employees, one for charter buses and the other two for I don't remember what. Well the charter bus lot - -- they've re-opened that to public parking because only 22 charter buses reserved spots. I'm wondering how many charters KNEW about the lot and KNEW they needed to make reservations before January 1st.

Then they announced last week that EVERY bridge from northern Virginia going into the District was going to be closed to motorized traffic. Gee, are they worried about the Confederacy rising again and us Virginians invading? Needless to say No.Va politicians complained and I think they changed the rules to now allow shuttle buses, taxis and limos over the bridges and into DC.

There is a driving perimeter and a pedestrian perimeter, or so I've heard. The driving perimeter is a mile or so away from the check points to get into the parade route and the National Mall. Personal vehicles are not permitted into the driving perimeter, only shuttle buses, taxi cabs and limos. So, the irony here is, the only people able to drive into the DC driving perimeter are foreign born, muslim men.

That quip was made by a morning DJ and relayed to me by one of my co-workers who thought it was the funniest, politically incorrect thing she had heard.

But in all seriousness, most of the 'for hire' drivers in the DC area are foreign born and muslim - - and often times they try to convert you during the cab ride. Or in my case they try to convert me but tell me in their culture, I'd be an old maid. And they wonder why I don't end up tipping them.

This morning, I then heard that the Secret Service was putting a cap on the number of people allowed through the check points. Apparently, the parade route can really only accommodate maybe 200,000 to 300,000 people. That will be interesting because they are estimating that between 2 to 4 MILLION people will be trying to get into DC to see the inauguration. So only about 10 percent of those people will be able to get positions on the parade route. The rest will be directed to the National Mall.

I heard some limit on the space on the National Mall at something like 2 million people - - o.k. that still leaves about 1 million people trying to get in to DC for a 'glimpse'. I'm thinking there are going to be some REALLY angry people. This will be very interesting.

BTW, there will be Jumbo-trons set-up all along the National Mall so that those who fit on that space will be able to see the parade and inauguration.

The estimated number of people coming for the event, should they all come, would be the largest number of people coming to DC for a single event in the history of our nation. The number of news media that are in DC to cover the event is the largest number of news media to ever cover a single event in DC in the history of our nation.

Honestly, everything seems to change on a daily basis so I'm pretty sure something I've written above isn't correct. But you know what, it doesn't really matter, because I won't be going into DC this whole weekend.

Should you be interested in the details. Here is a link to the Washington Post's Inauguration FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions).

The First Warning Sign Should Have Been: "You look like a nice person"

O.k. I got in trouble at the museum today. Whoops.

As the Marines on duty put it, you can't always have a perfect day and today wasn't mine. In fact, today, one Marine said, I was living up to my hair color.

So this family walks up to me and says "Lets ask her, she looks like a nice person." and they ask if they an bring in a picnic lunch to eat in Leatherneck gallery.

Um, you know, I've never seen anyone do in two years. Does it cross my mind that the reason I've not seen that is because its not allowed....NOOOOOOO.

I say, well, I think it would be o.k. for you to bring it in but I think you should eat it up in the Mess Hall.

Answer is still wrong.

So needless to say when they tried to bring their little cooler in - -security stopped them. And I got the "Didn't they brief you on that"

Um, yah - - 2 years ago. I forgot. I apologized to everyone.

Then a woman asks where the classroom is. Well, they just started construction on Phase 1A, so this is what our classroom looks like right now.

Its kind of not there.

She was kind of upset because the web site says its family day today and there was a craft in the classroom and we should update our web page. Well, the classroom is out in one of the double wide trailers in the parking lot.

I didn't know this.

Now I do.

It was probably in my notes from our last docent meeting.

A Marine then asks me to get a wheel chair. I say, "Sure, where are they?"

He looks at me kind of funny and says, "Right behind you."

Duh-uh! I know this. I see the darn things there everyday I volunteer.

So anyway. I think that the brain snatchers have snatched my brain - - which would explain the horrible headache I have had since about 2 p.m. today.

Notes to Self

• Open your coca cola before putting on hand lotion
• When using the turtleneck that you are wearing to get a grip on the coca cola top you are opening, make sure the coca cola has had a chance to "calm down" from your run up five flights of steps you had with it.

Fortress Washington

Hate to disappoint any of you, but I will not be going into Washington DC for the inauguration. So if you were hoping for a local's first person account of the events, you won't be getting it here.

Ya see, I am working that day. I know, I know the federal government has been given that day off - - but we contractors don't get that day off, unless we take vacation. Now, I will take vacation in the middle of the winter if I'm going someplace warm were I can enjoy it.

Washington, DC is being turned into a closed city. A 'fortress' of sorts. Thousands of law enforcement, National Guard and Active Duty troops will be on the ready to control crowds. Four metro parking lots will be closed. One of them will be used for metro employee parking only, the other three will be for charter buses. Many of the roads in DC itself are going to be closed. Almost all the bridges from Virginia into DC will be closed to motorized traffic. If you want in, you are going to have to walk in and keep walking.

What if you want out? Sorry, you are stuck. You can't leave. One of my co-workers who lives in the District says she has to take the day off because she won't be able to get out of the city to make it in to work.

My parents asked me if I was going to rent my house out for the event. A lot of people are renting their apartments and homes out to inaugural visitors for HUGE sums of money. I'm talking HUGE sums of money. Like $20,000 for a week. Of course the home owner in those cases has also agreed to be your personal driver, cook all your meals and do all of your laundry. O.k. for $20,000 that's not bad. I had to remind my dad that I don't' live THAT close to DC. I'd be lucky to get $2000 for the week for my townhouse. If I got that, I'd be afraid the people would trash my house. And besides, where would the cats and I go.

The other reason I won't be going down town for the event. It will be cold.

Cold I tell you!

O.k. it won't be 20 below - - well it could be I think it was really cold like that for someone, like Reagan? I can't remember. I am not a cold weather person. Never was. I was born a Southern cold wimp despite the attempts of Ohio winters to condition me. Any pictures I would attempt to take while freezing my patuckus off would be all blurry so if I can't take any pictures, it has no fun potential for me. Take a tripod you say. Um, yah, after finding out that its an arrestable offense to set up a tripod on the side walk outside the White House gates, I'm not going to risk doing that at an event like this.

The other reason you won't find me down town -- the number of people. They estimate 3 to 5 million people will be converging on Washington, DC on January 20th. No thank you. I've experienced DC during spring break when it seems like every middle school in America has arrived in the nation's capital. No way am I going to brave crowds that big. Do you have any idea what 3 to 5 million people looks like?

Um, ya, neither do I, but its a lot of people.

A lot of businesses and restaurants are worried about how they are going to get staff in and food delivered for the hungry throngs. Remember the bridges are going to be closed as well as many roads.

An interesting piece of trivia I learned today - - the largest crowd for an inauguration was 1.2 million in 1965 for Lyndon Johnson. Yah, Lyndon Johnson.

Its 15 days and counting to all heck breaks out here in DC. I better go stock up on toilet paper just in case I can't get out of my house!

Friday the 13th and Full Moon all in One

You'd think that the Friday after a holiday would be really nice and quiet. It seemed like it would be that way. I got a really nice parking spot. Well, o.k., any space where I don't have to park across the street in the other building's satellite parking lot a quarter mile away is a good spot. Most of the government staff took the day off. So yep, quiet day. No calls, no instant messages.

Well, when I logged on it was a flood.

A flood I tell you!

I barely got my coca cola open before it began.

Non stop instant messages and phone calls, Oh MY!

Most people like to use IM. So I was typing my little fingers into stubs!

It was like Friday the 13th and the full moon all converged at the same time.

That is all I have to say about that.

Well, actually, I've typed my max number of words for the day.

Welcome 2009 -- Happy New Year Everyone!

Its amazing what a difference one night can make.

I mean, supposedly, at the crack of midnight, we all have a fresh clean slate. Out with the old, in with the new.New Year's Eve, I was 'celebrating' quietly with the cats listening to Old Time Radio on NPR। I love old time radio shows. The first show of the evening was the Jack Benny Show from December 31, 1939. Funny thing was, I had to adjust my FM antennae wire to get good reception, how nostalgic is that? Jello was the show's sponsor. I like how they incorporate the commercials into the shows back then. I could imagine my grand parents sitting around the big radio I now have in my living room, listening to this broadcast.

I was one of the last people to leave the office tonight। It was month end so some of the tech guys were still there. One of the guys asked me why I wasn't going out which led to...

"Have you ever tried Match।com? That's how I met my wife."

I rolled my eyes, "Yes, I've been on Match off and on now for the past 7-8 years।"

We had a 20 minute chat about dating and match.com. It was interesting to get a guys perspective. From his perspective, I've been successful because I've actually met people and gone out on dates. His perspective is the whole purpose of Match is to "introduce" people. My perspective is you are successful if you meet someone, get married and no longer have to use the service.

He told me to just keep with it। However, I told him I'm just getting tired of it - - its like constant job interviews, ya know. I'm tired of dating.

Ranger is curled up on the pillow next to me। I brushed him really well tonight. He loves to get his face brushed. Using a laser pen, I played with Scout and Stryker. Boy was that a good time.

So anyway...looking back on the goals I set out to achieve in 2008...

The Big Task Goal was to create a side garden the length of my house - - Completed। This spring is should look glorious with tulips and pansies.

Big Purchase - Bookshelves and Camera - - Completed there were a couple other items that have just been moved to the 2009 Big Purchase list। The bookshelves have helped with organization so much!

Financial Goal was to have at least 2 months of income in savings and pay off the credit card। I did at one point (July/August) have 2 months of income in savings and then September hit and it has been one thing after another. That savings account is getting horribly depleted. Paying the CC off - - didn't happen. Things were looking good this summer and well - - same fate as the savings account. So those will still be goals for 2009.

Fitness Goal was to lose 15-20 pounds -- I gained 10 pounds instead। I also wanted to train and run in a 5k this year, that also did not happen, in fact, I can't even run one mile now.

The new goals or old goals made new for 2009

Financial

• Two months of Income in Savings
  
• Pay off the Credit Card
  

Big Purchases

• New Basement sliding door (insulated so no drafts and I save more on heating and cooling)
  
• Wardrobe chest for bedroom (the cheap particle board one that I have is falling apart)
  
• New computer (may need sooner than later)

Tasks

• Tile the basement bathroom floor

Fitness Goals

• Goal weight is 135-140 pounds
  
• Able to run 3 miles
  
• Able to run continuously for 45 minutes
  
• Able to swim 1 mile
  
• Able to swim continuously for 45 minutes
  
• Improve body tone, strength and knee स्ताबिलिटी

Personal Enrichment Goals

• Take a photography class
  
• Visit at least one location on my domestic (Continental US) travel list

So here is to 2009! I am spending the day in PJs by a big fire working on my scrapbooks.