Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Granita - OT

Hi Beloved BB's --

Thank you Bonnie for your email and invitation and for keeping in touch. I had to stop in to say hi. So nice to see so many familiar names gathered here -- Bonnie, Caboose, Denise, Gerry, Jo, Bookread, Marg, Margie, Margreet, Marylyn, Pamela, and Shirley -- wow! Some of you here now know I was one of the Buddies back from the 2003 days when Oprah kicked off the 'classics' version her book club with East of Eden.

Caboose, it's so nice to still hear from you occasionally. Pamela, congratulations on your South Beach success! Shirley, I'm so very sorry about your loss.

I have to catch you up on two things. First, I'm bursting at the seams to tell you that I returned this weekend from a trip to Europe, during which Margreet and I had a face to face meeting!! We've stayed in touch through the past couple of years although I've not been participating in the groups, and it was absolutely wonderful to get the chance to spend a day together! I flew into Amsterdam and hopped on a Eurail train, meeting Margreet in the town where she attended university. It was such a beautiful place. I loved the architecture and the canals. And best of all I loved getting to spend time with my dear friend Margreet! Thanks for being such a great hostess for the day, Margreet!

Second, I have to tell you that from the Netherlands I continued on to Tuscany, where I had the opportunity to live out our Book Buddies wrap party of Under the Tuscan Sun! A friend of mine rented a villa for a week and invited several people to join her. It was an unbelievable chance of a lifetime week, and time after time I flashed back on all the Buddies who were a part of our cyberparty at our virtual Italian villa back in 2003. Life imitating art?

Life is going quite well these days but I continue to feel time challenged with regard to finding balance between my personal and work life so for now I'm just here to say hi and say that I think of the Buddies often and hope you're all well. Although I haven't been an active participant in quite some time, it's remarkable to me that the discussions we had have served as the springboard for several great friendships, on and off the boards through the past few years. This is a great group of people, and I wish you continued enjoyable discussions!

All the best,
Granita

5 comments:

Marg said...

Granita!! So good to hear from you!

How exciting that you got to have your very own time under the Tuscan sun, but that you also got to meet up with Margreet!

Margreet said...

I'm so happy to see you got home safe and sound. We had such a great day together!!! Thank you for taking the time to come and visit me...now it's my turn.........

Bonnie Jacobs said...

Good to see you back with Book Buddies, Granita. I hope you'll visit frequently. Let me know when you'll be back in my part of the USA so we can visit again.

Oh, Margreet, I love seeing you write, "Now it's my turn"! Yessss! Let us know in plenty of time so we can invite other BBs together.

justmejo said...

Granita,
It is really great to hear from you. I have been wondering about you since I came back on the board.

It is wonderful to hear that some of the friendships made on Book Buddies endured over time. I know it sure feels like old home week on the board. We all have Bnnie to thank for her persistence.

I am so jealous (grin) of your Tuscan visit. I well remember our old BB virtual vacations. I hope to make that trip myself some day soon.

Please stay in touch.
Jo

caboose said...

Hello Granita,

Good to hear you and Margreet got to meet in person. Keeping in touch by snail mail or e-mail just is not the same as meeting in person. I am just so happy for you both. Please Granita, Keep in touch when time permits.