ST. LOUIS – When Sheila Effan found a Kindle electronic reader among her gifts last Christmas, one of her first thoughts was whether she would miss the smell and feel of real paper. She got her answer five months later.

That’s when a friend lent her a paperback.

WASHINGTON – As the Senate health-care debate stretched through the weekend, President Barack Obama planned to travel to Capitol Hill Saturday afternoon to meet with Democratic lawmakers at a rare weekend caucus gathering.

The move came as Democratic leaders are pushing the Senate to complete work on its bill before Christmas, a deadline seen as critical if Congress is to send the president health-care legislation by the end of January.

On Saturday Nov. 21, 2009, I set my Facebook status as “I will not be on Facebook for a week because I am writing an article for SRU Mosaic.is it possible to go days without Facebook? Let me know what you think.”

Since then, I have been tempted to check my Facebook a few times just to see what people have responded.

It has been over 120 years since the official housewarming of the Van Alen’s summer cottage, Wakehurst, and it is hard to imagine that Mr. Van Alen ever saw the future of his Newport estate to be what it is today. The gentle humming of servants and discussions between Mr.

Family of the Year recently released their first full length debut album, “Songbook,” on independent label, Washashore Records. The CD consists of 15 songs which will brighten anyone’s day. This feel good album can easily be listened to at work or on a long drive to the beach.