This is going to be one of the shortest Latelys on record, simply because there's a lot going on right now.

Mary and I are getting ready for our annual visit from her dad Joe, who'll be flying down from Milwaukee to stay with us for two weeks at the end of the month.

We always look forward to these visits. It's a time for the three of us to share good food, good movies, good conversation.

Our menu this year is:

Mary's Sea Scallops in Cream and Basil Sauce (the recipe is here).
Whole Maine Lobster
Steamed Clams and Halibut
Pastitsio
Spaghetti Carbonara
Prime Rib Roast
Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic
Chicken-Fried Steak
Lobster Thermidor
Salisbury Steaks and Macaroni and Cheese
Hot Cheese Chicken (the recipe is here).
Shrimp Etouffee

The evening he arrives, we'll bring home the Spinach and Artichoke Dip from Romano's Macaroni Grill, as a light supper. We'll also be getting take-out food from some of the local Mexican restaurants.

In other happy news, I have a new job.

As those of you who read these Latelys on a regular basis know, I was laid off from my previous job in July.

Since then, I've been sending my resume out over the Internet.

The company I'm now working for has a great group of good, smart people who have made me feel more than welcome. As before, because of Mary's stroke, I'll be telecommuting, working from home, so I can care for her.

In less than happy news, Bookbooters, the publisher who brought out my novel Father Figure back in 2003, has gone out of business. So new copies of the trade paperback are no longer available, although I do see used copies of it from time to time on E-bay, Abe Books, and other resellers. I'm sorry to see the book go out-of-print. It was a bestseller at Bookbooters for over two years.

Rather than try to find a new publisher for the novel, I've decided to offer the complete text of the book on-line, for free, on this site. The downloads will be available as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file. This will probably happen sometime after the first of the year.

In other publishing news, the literary magazine Porcupine has accepted my short story, "The Burden of Words", for publication. The story will be in their next issue, coming out early next year.

Have a great holiday season, everyone. Be in snow, or watch snow on television.