Hummingbirds, Jags, Office Update, more
I'm catching up on things this week. Mother's Day was quiet, but good. Mom wanted hats! So she got a baseball style cap with a red smiling lobster on it, a floppy sun hat that's reversible and a straw dressy hat. She's happy as a cl. . .I mean lobster, ha ha!
I got orders from the military for my Ghosts of Okinawa books - 200 total. Hooray for the order, although they get a 55% discount on the cover price. I don't make a lot, but the book is getting out there. I just sent 250 copies to an Okinawan bookseller who's been a regular customer for many years. He usually orders about 1000 copies of the book each year. It's a bestseller in Okinawa!
The electrician came to move the dryer to the new laundry room downstairs. Now Rob, the construction guy, can put walls and a door up to separate that from the "garden" area, where I'll have a potting sink and plant supplies.
V2 painted the office! Hooray! I took photos. But you won't see them until the office is complete so that I can show start to finish. The color is golden beige and has a tinge of pink in it, which will set off the terra cotta tiles going in front of the fireplace. I am getting so excited. Rob hopes to get the floor down this weekend, then it'll be the doors and drop ceiling, then the tiles in the garden area. Then I'll have to plan the office open house!
I got a new Weber grill over the weekend and V2 helped me break it in two nights in a row. I've been cooking on it every night it hasn't rained. I love it!
I had to take my car into the dealership where I bought it from because the front end was wobbling at around 65MPH. I thought it needed an alignment. So when I had talked to Mike, the GM, he said he'd have a loaner car available for me. I planned on taking Dad to breakfast.
I dropped off my car and was told the key for the loaner was being programmed. Hmmm.
I was led to the loaner. A Jaguar XKR Convertible. Starting price is $85,385. Gulp.
It was raining, so I couldn't put the top down. The programmed key wasn't a key. It was a remote. The car has a keyless starter. You place the remote anywhere in the car or your purse, put your foot on the brake and press the START button. The engine roars to life. And I means ROARS.
I had a ball. I drove to Dad's, picked him up, showed him the computer display which was a touchscreen. It had different menus. He goggled at it. I saw a "button" that read Valet and asked if I should touch it. He asked if there was a guy in the trunk. We laughed.
We went to breakfast, then to WalMart. Yep, in the expensive Jag. I giggled the whole time. We had fun, talked a lot, caught up with things. I was shocked when I picked him up. My childhood friend Joey's house was gone from that nor'easter we had recently. The two cottages next door were now one - the smaller had been move to behind the bigger one and was being enlarged. The house next to Joey's was also gone, so Dad and Joan still have an ocean view, but now they are just *one* house away from the beach. Wow. Joey is talking about rebuilding, but I don't know. I wouldn't. I'd sell the land and let some other sucker build on it.
Dropped Dad off and got a call from the dealership. Turns out one of my tires, when I'd hit a giant pothole on my last road trip, had torn a belt off. I was lucky I didn't have a blowout on the highway. Just goes to show what good tires were on the car. The others were worn, so I had them replace three (the full sized spare was brand new), do an alignment and fix a rubber thingy that was hanging down in the front. $739 dollars later. . .oy. But, Jurgen only gets the best.
I took the Jag back (boo hoo) and teased Mike about how he was trying to get me to buy it. He laughed and said no, I was a good customer. He's a nice guy. Got into Jurgen, fired him up and although he's a Beemer and not an expensive Jag, I love him all the same.
Got home, cleaned, BBQ'd before the rain hit and relaxed.
LOST was great - next week is the finale - two hours worth. Mom comes Wednesday to dogsit while I fly to Philly the next day, so she'd better like watching LOST, ha ha.
Having lunch with Robin, a friend who works at the post office (and was in the dating chapter of Net Crimes & Misdemeanors, then will start putting more of Chris' computer games, CDs, etc on eBay.
Oh, the hummingbirds! I put out the feeder and the usual red throated ones came around. Then this bright green one with a white and gray chest and throat came and sat on one of the perches. I've never seen a hummingbird stay still. But this is definitely a hummingbird. When he/she took off, you couldn't see its wings and it whizzed by.
I'm trying to figure out what kind it is. If you have any idea, let me know!
Chippy isn't as friendly as last year, maybe because the weather has been bad and I can't sit on the deck to hand feed him. Julian pops in the backyard and there is this big, fat gray squirrel with red ears that is brave enough to come in the backyard when the Chipsters isn't around. I have loads of birds - my "ladies," the mourning doves, nine beautiful BlueJays, cowbirds, sparrows, finches, chickadees, robins, orioles, grackles, more! It's fun watching them.
Don't forget to support writers - buy a copy of Net Crimes & Misdemeanors today. Or if you want one of the ghosts books, email me for pricing.
I got orders from the military for my Ghosts of Okinawa books - 200 total. Hooray for the order, although they get a 55% discount on the cover price. I don't make a lot, but the book is getting out there. I just sent 250 copies to an Okinawan bookseller who's been a regular customer for many years. He usually orders about 1000 copies of the book each year. It's a bestseller in Okinawa!
The electrician came to move the dryer to the new laundry room downstairs. Now Rob, the construction guy, can put walls and a door up to separate that from the "garden" area, where I'll have a potting sink and plant supplies.
V2 painted the office! Hooray! I took photos. But you won't see them until the office is complete so that I can show start to finish. The color is golden beige and has a tinge of pink in it, which will set off the terra cotta tiles going in front of the fireplace. I am getting so excited. Rob hopes to get the floor down this weekend, then it'll be the doors and drop ceiling, then the tiles in the garden area. Then I'll have to plan the office open house!
I got a new Weber grill over the weekend and V2 helped me break it in two nights in a row. I've been cooking on it every night it hasn't rained. I love it!
I had to take my car into the dealership where I bought it from because the front end was wobbling at around 65MPH. I thought it needed an alignment. So when I had talked to Mike, the GM, he said he'd have a loaner car available for me. I planned on taking Dad to breakfast.
I dropped off my car and was told the key for the loaner was being programmed. Hmmm.
I was led to the loaner. A Jaguar XKR Convertible. Starting price is $85,385. Gulp.
It was raining, so I couldn't put the top down. The programmed key wasn't a key. It was a remote. The car has a keyless starter. You place the remote anywhere in the car or your purse, put your foot on the brake and press the START button. The engine roars to life. And I means ROARS.
I had a ball. I drove to Dad's, picked him up, showed him the computer display which was a touchscreen. It had different menus. He goggled at it. I saw a "button" that read Valet and asked if I should touch it. He asked if there was a guy in the trunk. We laughed.
We went to breakfast, then to WalMart. Yep, in the expensive Jag. I giggled the whole time. We had fun, talked a lot, caught up with things. I was shocked when I picked him up. My childhood friend Joey's house was gone from that nor'easter we had recently. The two cottages next door were now one - the smaller had been move to behind the bigger one and was being enlarged. The house next to Joey's was also gone, so Dad and Joan still have an ocean view, but now they are just *one* house away from the beach. Wow. Joey is talking about rebuilding, but I don't know. I wouldn't. I'd sell the land and let some other sucker build on it.
Dropped Dad off and got a call from the dealership. Turns out one of my tires, when I'd hit a giant pothole on my last road trip, had torn a belt off. I was lucky I didn't have a blowout on the highway. Just goes to show what good tires were on the car. The others were worn, so I had them replace three (the full sized spare was brand new), do an alignment and fix a rubber thingy that was hanging down in the front. $739 dollars later. . .oy. But, Jurgen only gets the best.
I took the Jag back (boo hoo) and teased Mike about how he was trying to get me to buy it. He laughed and said no, I was a good customer. He's a nice guy. Got into Jurgen, fired him up and although he's a Beemer and not an expensive Jag, I love him all the same.
Got home, cleaned, BBQ'd before the rain hit and relaxed.
LOST was great - next week is the finale - two hours worth. Mom comes Wednesday to dogsit while I fly to Philly the next day, so she'd better like watching LOST, ha ha.
Having lunch with Robin, a friend who works at the post office (and was in the dating chapter of Net Crimes & Misdemeanors, then will start putting more of Chris' computer games, CDs, etc on eBay.
Oh, the hummingbirds! I put out the feeder and the usual red throated ones came around. Then this bright green one with a white and gray chest and throat came and sat on one of the perches. I've never seen a hummingbird stay still. But this is definitely a hummingbird. When he/she took off, you couldn't see its wings and it whizzed by.
I'm trying to figure out what kind it is. If you have any idea, let me know!
Chippy isn't as friendly as last year, maybe because the weather has been bad and I can't sit on the deck to hand feed him. Julian pops in the backyard and there is this big, fat gray squirrel with red ears that is brave enough to come in the backyard when the Chipsters isn't around. I have loads of birds - my "ladies," the mourning doves, nine beautiful BlueJays, cowbirds, sparrows, finches, chickadees, robins, orioles, grackles, more! It's fun watching them.
Don't forget to support writers - buy a copy of Net Crimes & Misdemeanors today. Or if you want one of the ghosts books, email me for pricing.
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