Cheryl B. Dale's Blog: RANDOM MUSINGS, page 31

FIRST DAY OF SPRING

It's official! Spring is here! But we've been suspecting it for some time now. Here are some random pix of the flowers and budding trees around the island for all the poor people suffering up north. I hope your snowstorms will soon be over!

NO CLOSING

We were supposed to close on our house yesterday but naturally it got put off till next week. So my dreams are back.

Last night I was in Italy, touring the countryside, eating all kinds of good food, looking at villas overlooking vineyards. And speaking Italian.

I don't know Italian. Well, other than stuff like arriverderci and ciao. I did have one of those 'Learn Italian at Home' kits when I was growing up, but that's been a long time ago and I'm afraid I never really applied myself. So I'm not sure where all the Italian phrases I was spouting in my dream came from.

And I must have been muttering in my sleep, because the cats gave me strange looks when I got up this morning, and they keep scuttling away like they're scared they're gonna become Italian cats.

I think I'll let them keep thinking it's a possibility. Keeps them from underfoot.

LIFE WITHOUT TELEVISION

Our television went out last Friday. Just as we were getting ready to watch the race qualifying. It was old, but it could have lasted a little longer. Like till the house closes and we get moved in.

Anyway, over the years we've gotten pretty resigned about accepting the way things you don't want to happen, happen. So we shopped at Wally World Saturday. The TV we came to buy, the one they had on sale, was not in stock. Rather than end up with something we didn't want (read that, 'something that my guy didn't want' since he's the one who reads up on stuff like TVs, phones, electronics, etc.), we held off and went down to the nearest Best Buy Sunday.

Best Buy didn't have the TV my guy wanted, but they had another one on sale that caught his eye. After much hemming and hawing, we bought it and brought it home. He got it hooked up that night. Not in time to see the race, but it came on. And did I say hooked up? I should have said plugged up.

To make a long story short, after fiddling a couple of days, the remote for the cable finally controls the TV. Except for the on/off part. We have to use the TV remote for that still.

But my guy's working on it and will get it figured out soon, I'm sure. Thank goodness, he's around to do techie stuff like that. I'd have no idea where to start.

Now, to get that old TV out of the house...

HOUSE BUYING

This house buying is the pits. I keep having weird dreams about it.

Last night, the dream is about closing. We and our real estate agent are sitting around a table with some more people (never did figure out who they were nor were they actual people I know) and looking at the paperwork.

I pick up a pen to sign, then see the address and stop, horrified. "We're buying the wrong house!"

Our real estate agent pats my hand. "Now, now, everything's being taken care of. I have it all in hand."

"No! We're buying the wrong house! We can't sign this!"

My guy chirps, "No worries. We'll deal with it later."

"It's the wrong house, I tell you!"

"Just sign the paper!" my guy snaps. "If you don't, it'll be a year before we can close!"

This morning I wake up, mad with him and worried about the closing. Do I subconsciously not want to close? Do I wish we were still looking at houses? Do I resent my guy for insisting on getting us out of my neat little condo?

This is worse than buying our first house!

I LOVE MY KINDLE BUT...

I love my Kindle. I really do. It's so easy to buy a book at night when there's nothing around to read. It's so easy to make the text large enough that I don't strain my eyes. It's so easy to carry scads of books on trips in one tiny container.

But today Amazon sent me a Best Books of the Month ad that showed the book covers over the hardback price and the Kindle price. And I was amazed that publishers still don't get it.

The Still Point of the Turning World - Hardback $14.41, Kindle 12.99
Benediction - Hardback 14.36, Kindle 12.99
Between Man and Beast - Hardback 15.66, Kindle 13.99
The Drunken Botanist - Hardback 11.97, Kindle 9.99

Went into the Mysteries category and the same thing:
Six Years (a Harlan Coben pre-order) - Hardback 15.98, Kindle 14.99
The Golden Egg (Donna Leon pre-order) - Hardback 14.43, Kindle 13.20
Murder Below Montparnassee (Cara Black pre-order) - Hardback 15.71, Kindle 12.99
The Accursed (Joyce Carol Oates pre-order) -Hardback 16.62, Kindle 12.74

And so on.

Why should I pay 9.99-14.99 for an eBook when for 1-4 dollars more I can get a printed copy? And then I can loan it to as many friends as I like, I can donate it to the used book sale for the library, or I can trade it in at the used bookstore for credit to buy more books.

The eBook, on the other hand...Well, I think Amazon allows us to loan it once. And that may depend on publisher permission; I'm not real clear on that. But anyway, if you loan it to your sister, then your mother and cousin want to read it...Too bad!

Not to mention Amazon can evidently take back any of your eBooks stored in the Cloud at any time. Not that they would, I'm sure, but still...

And I don't blame Amazon for the unreasonable prices. It's the publishers. I understand that they're trying to cover their overhead and make a profit. But lots of smaller ePublishers are putting out books for half these prices and less.

So bottom line: I really have to want to read an author before I'll buy their eBooks. And I'm sorry to say, there are lots of authors I enjoy reading, but there aren't that many I like well enough to shell out ten bucks plus for. So I'll wait till the used paperbacks come down to prices I can afford and buy them then. And I'll stick to trying new authors on my Kindle, or wait for old authors I like to go on sale.

So long as I have something to read, I'm okay with that. Publishers might want to get on board with  our reading habits and adjust their thinking. I suspect they could sell a lot more books if they do.

Okay. Rant over. It's safe to come out now.

EARRING WINNER

And Barb Wilson is the winner of these lovely earrings! I have a pair very like these and love them!


I feel strange when people I know win, but then I look back over the people who comment and realize I know them all from other online groups. Except for the strange spam poster who didn't mention earrings anyway.

So congratulations, Barb! Email me your address at cherylbdale@hotmail.com or through FaceBook and I'll get them shipped to you.

This will be the last earring giveaway for a while. We are, after finally selling our last house, in the process of getting into the homeowner business again. Yeah, grass cutting, cleaning gutters, moving furniture around, hanging curtains, arguing over what color to paint, and all that good stuff.

I kind of regret leaving my cozy condo but my guy wants the charcoal grill we can't have here. And I admit, those charcoal hamburgers are unbeatable.

The cats don't know about the coming move. They aren't going to like it because there is no screened porch, not even a sliding door, to look outside from. Plus there are two big dogs next door. I'm hoping they won't sulk. Or throw up hairballs from disgust.

LAST CHANCE TO WIN EARRINGS

Just to remind you:

Today and tomorrow will be the last day to comment with the word 'earring' in your post to have a chance to win these earrings.

I'm putting the giveaway on hiatus for a while after this month. It has brought some more traffic to my blog, but I'm not sure how much. Anyway, looks like we're going to be moving--yes again!--and I'll be pretty busy  with other things. But maybe this fall, I might bring it back. We'll see.

Anyway, here are this month's pair you might win:


These would be perfect for the formal dinners the Warwicks host in WARWICKS OF SLUMBER MOUNTAIN.

Although I have a similar pair I wear with jeans so it depends on the person, I suspect.

TRAVELS

Setting off again for north Georgia. We plan to visit relatives, go to the shooting range, and see our tax guy.

Yes, the dreaded income tax deadline is getting nearer. We heard the IRS didn't have its computers tuned up for the latest tax changes at the first of the year, so we've put it off. I hope they're ready for us now.

I took a course in figuring income taxes once and vowed never again. It seems to me, if we have to give up part of our income to it, the government could make the whole thing easier. Like just taking our blood to sell or something.

But then I guess the CPA's and tax firms like H&R Block and Hewlett Jackson would be out of business. Not to mention all the government employees.

Oh, wait! Then we'd have to pay to support them!

Never mind.

And here are the babies, crushed that we're leaving them. They actually woke up from their nap long enough for me to record their devastation.

Not. They're looking forward to seeing the catsitter. She thinks they're perfect.

REMINDER OF GIVEAWAY

This is just to remind everyone I'm giving away another pair of earrings this month.

This has been an experiment to see if the giveaway each month generated more traffic on my blog. As far as I can tell, it doesn't seem to have made any difference. So this is likely the last month for a chance at free earrings!

Just comment with the word 'earrings' in the post to be entered!  Here are the ones available this month!




And here's a link to the Etsy store they come from:

 http://www.etsy.com/shop/TalismanMoon?ref=search_shop_redirect

LIVING HISTORY

We went up to Fort Frederica yesterday to see the reenactors walking around and talking about the colonial history of the area. At one time we were the southern outpost, or frontier, of Georgia. But I won't get into that. It was cold and threatening to rain so we didn't stay long, but I have some pix of the reenactors.

Let's start off with a picture of a street sign. Frederica was laid out very neatly with nice straight streets and alleys. Now the signs are about all that's left to mark where they were, although they do keep the remains mowed.



And I need to make it clear these people don't call themselves reenactors; they call themselves living history. This General Oglethorpe pretender was in a rather heated discussion with a visitor regarding the reason for John Wesley's hurried flight from Georgia. The visitor said he was run off; Oglethorpe said he left on his own. I didn't dally in case they came to fisticuffs!



These are some soldiers huddled around a fire. They needed it today, too. I was turning blue.



And some more soldiers under a tent. It wasn't nearly as cozy as the open-air fire, to my way of thinking.



This one is of a soldier, an Indian, and a woman. They had a varied assortment of people at Frederica. The Indian Mary Musgrove lived in her own tabby house here. Charles Wesley (John's brother) stayed here, too, but was accused of adultery and left pretty quickly.



This last picture is of a Scot. The Scots were the backbone of the Frederica settlement. This one, he explained to us, was called a "pretty man." Nope, not because of his looks, though he's certainly a handsome fellow. Seems a "pretty man" means a man who's armed to the teeth. And he was! You can see the dirk handle sticking out from his coat on his right side and one of his two pistols on his left. There's also a sword on the left that we saw, although the picture doesn't show it. And his concealed knife was at his back under his coat. So he was indeed a "pretty man" arms wise!


All in all, a good day, even with the cold and raindrops!