Lots of stuff.
Free time has been in short supply the past few weeks. I finally have the van repaired from the accident with the fellow who turned in front of me as I was going straight through an intersection with a green light. I was leaving work at the 'berry and was concerned about driving on the highway with all the snow and ice we had had that day. I didn't even get across the street leaving work before this youngster turned left from the other direction and put his Dad's vehicle directly in my path. Any other day I could probably have stopped, but four inches of snow on top of a good inch of ice made that impossible. I had enough to to go "I'm going to hit him" three times before we met with that lovely sound cars make when you try to make them bend. No injuries and fortunately a very nice police officer stopped and helped us five minutes after the accident, as she made her way to one of many serious accidents on the highways. No one was hurt and we could drive both vehicles, so it certainly could have been worse.
So after lots of calls and letters with various insurance people, I have the van repaired. I also had to take it in for repairs I'd been putting off. I've had it in the shop at least one day for the past month and I have to swing by and have the lug nuts tightened again this week. I won't even mention the nasty oil leak. I'm so ready for warm temps and bike trails.
I rode the mountain bike to the Uncles yesterday. It was a good day of selling books and chatting with our customers. We have some of the nicest folks come in to buy books. It's always a delight to see their faces when they find that special title they were looking for or hear about how much they enjoyed that new author they discovered. I can't tell you how much I enjoy being part of that experience. Book selling makes me very little money, but it brings me lots of pleasure.
We had Walter H. Hunt is for a signing. Once again, I left my camera at home. He has a new book out, A Song in Stone. It involves the Templars and time travel. I got to chat with Walter briefly and as usual he was quite interesting.
I finally got a copy of the new Kim Harrison book, White Witch, Black Curse. We were looking forward to seeing Kim on tour, but we were one of the cities dropped from the tour when the economy bailed on us. I'd been lucky enough to see her the past two years andthe_feral_cat and I were quite disappointed we didn't get to see her again this year.
I was also VERY excited to get my hands on the new Caitlin Kittredge title, Second Skin. Caitlin is a wonderful author and she has a boatload of titles coming your way in the months ahead. I'm really looking forward to reading all her stories. She's quite the writer.
I'm currently reading The Accidental Sorcerer by K.E.Mills, who is also Karen Miller. Don at the Uncles has been recommending the book and I have to agree with him. I'm having a fun time with this story about a not particularly good wizard. Stop in at your local bookshop, pick up a few good books and chat with your local bookseller.
The other reason I've lost what little free time I have, is that we finally made the move from dial-up to DSL. As with all things computer, it went smoothly. Hahahaha! What hair I have left is turrning grey. It's remarkable how the sales people all sound very Mid-Western and all the tech support people do not. Don't get me wrong, all the tech people from India are quite polite, but they were about as useful as beating your head against the wall and I was already doing that. Things are working now, so the faery dust seems to be working.
I co-worker from the Uncles was kind enough to lend me all thirteen episodes of the delightful show, Wonderfalls. Another show killed by Fox. It's a quirky, unusual, delightful show. If you liked Pushing Daisies you'd enjoy the sensibilities of Wonderfalls. I have four more episodes to watch and I'm trying not to go too fast. I want to savor the moments.
We were in line for some snow today. It missed us and the sun came out. I almost got in a bike ride, but my window of opportunity has passed. With the extra hour of daylight, I should be able to get some rides in after work now. Of course we do have another storm headed this way for Tuesday, but hey it's gonna be in the forties tomorrow!
The 'berry continues to be very stressful these days with budget cuts, layoffs on the horizon, and more people seeking our services as we have less staff and money to provide the services they are coming in for. You can take things from the library for free with a card or surf the web all day at your local library, but these "free" resources do cost money. As usual when we're needed most, we face the biggest battles for survival.
The new animated DCU DVD Wonder Woman just came out. Keri Russell did a pretty good job as the Amazon Princess. The movie is an origins picture, so it wasn't as exciting as it might have been. I'm still very glad they made it. Green Lantern comes out this summer!
So after lots of calls and letters with various insurance people, I have the van repaired. I also had to take it in for repairs I'd been putting off. I've had it in the shop at least one day for the past month and I have to swing by and have the lug nuts tightened again this week. I won't even mention the nasty oil leak. I'm so ready for warm temps and bike trails.
I rode the mountain bike to the Uncles yesterday. It was a good day of selling books and chatting with our customers. We have some of the nicest folks come in to buy books. It's always a delight to see their faces when they find that special title they were looking for or hear about how much they enjoyed that new author they discovered. I can't tell you how much I enjoy being part of that experience. Book selling makes me very little money, but it brings me lots of pleasure.
We had Walter H. Hunt is for a signing. Once again, I left my camera at home. He has a new book out, A Song in Stone. It involves the Templars and time travel. I got to chat with Walter briefly and as usual he was quite interesting.
I finally got a copy of the new Kim Harrison book, White Witch, Black Curse. We were looking forward to seeing Kim on tour, but we were one of the cities dropped from the tour when the economy bailed on us. I'd been lucky enough to see her the past two years andthe_feral_cat and I were quite disappointed we didn't get to see her again this year.
I was also VERY excited to get my hands on the new Caitlin Kittredge title, Second Skin. Caitlin is a wonderful author and she has a boatload of titles coming your way in the months ahead. I'm really looking forward to reading all her stories. She's quite the writer.
I'm currently reading The Accidental Sorcerer by K.E.Mills, who is also Karen Miller. Don at the Uncles has been recommending the book and I have to agree with him. I'm having a fun time with this story about a not particularly good wizard. Stop in at your local bookshop, pick up a few good books and chat with your local bookseller.
The other reason I've lost what little free time I have, is that we finally made the move from dial-up to DSL. As with all things computer, it went smoothly. Hahahaha! What hair I have left is turrning grey. It's remarkable how the sales people all sound very Mid-Western and all the tech support people do not. Don't get me wrong, all the tech people from India are quite polite, but they were about as useful as beating your head against the wall and I was already doing that. Things are working now, so the faery dust seems to be working.
I co-worker from the Uncles was kind enough to lend me all thirteen episodes of the delightful show, Wonderfalls. Another show killed by Fox. It's a quirky, unusual, delightful show. If you liked Pushing Daisies you'd enjoy the sensibilities of Wonderfalls. I have four more episodes to watch and I'm trying not to go too fast. I want to savor the moments.
We were in line for some snow today. It missed us and the sun came out. I almost got in a bike ride, but my window of opportunity has passed. With the extra hour of daylight, I should be able to get some rides in after work now. Of course we do have another storm headed this way for Tuesday, but hey it's gonna be in the forties tomorrow!
The 'berry continues to be very stressful these days with budget cuts, layoffs on the horizon, and more people seeking our services as we have less staff and money to provide the services they are coming in for. You can take things from the library for free with a card or surf the web all day at your local library, but these "free" resources do cost money. As usual when we're needed most, we face the biggest battles for survival.
The new animated DCU DVD Wonder Woman just came out. Keri Russell did a pretty good job as the Amazon Princess. The movie is an origins picture, so it wasn't as exciting as it might have been. I'm still very glad they made it. Green Lantern comes out this summer!