Hi Everyone,
This week the hot topic has been whether to blog or not. Much of the consensus is that blogging is a time suck. I’ve even had people tell me they don’t read e-books, and therefore wouldn’t buy my book regardless of whether they read my blog.
I usually spend anywhere from an hour to four hours a week on my blog by the time I write it, tweak it a few times, and then send out e-mail to friends, Yahoo loops, Twitter, Ning, MySpace, Facebook, etc.
So today, I’m going to ask my readers what they think. Do you think writing a blog is unnecessary? Would you buy my books without reading my posts? Have any of the people who read my blog ever read one of my stories? Does reading my blog convince you to buy my books?
Have a good week.
Sandy
http://www.skaymarshall.com
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com/addiction.htm/
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
In Memory of Our Beautiful Long-haired Black Cat: Maxie
Once upon a point of time on a wintry, icy February, Ron, my hubby, was leaving work. He opened his car when he heard a cry and looked down to see a scrawny little black cat weaving his way around his feet. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know what happened next when you know what a tender heart my husband has when it comes to animals. Smile.
When Ron walked up the steps from the basement the first thing out of his mouth was, “Don’t be mad, but I’ve got a present for you.” At that instance, I’m thinking, uh, oh what is it? He unzipped his jacket and this little black head came out and meowed, and then ducked back in.
“It’s only temporary. Until the worst of the winter is over with,” Ron said. Who knew then that a love would blossom and last seventeen years? Days went by and the weather didn’t get any better, and the little cat didn’t gain any weight. We talked it over and decided to take him to the vet where we learned he had worms. Although, we still didn’t plan to keep him, we had him de-wormed. We also noticed the little cat wasn’t totally black, he had a white spot under his chin and in certain lights his coat had a red tinge to it.
The vet told us what we would need to do if we decided to keep the little cat, or if we didn’t where to take him. The little cat followed Ron around everywhere he went, and it wasn’t long before the cat crawled his way into our hearts. We started playing with him, and one day we sat down to talk about the cat and decided to keep him. At that point, I said, “We have to name him.” Maximillian was born, but we shortened it to Max or Maxie.
Max had his shots and was spayed after that decision. The vet guessed his age to be 1 ½ to 2 years old. The little fellow grew into a handsome young lad who strutted around the neighborhood ruling the other cats. One of our neighbors got a little yellow and white cat. One day, we saw Max sitting at the bottom of the tree looking up. Rusty was up in the tree and couldn’t figure out how to get back down. Lol Max went up to show him how to do it. It was so funny. Ron and I stood at the window watching and laughing.
Max would run up the steps to the loft and look down at Ron and I while we would throw a little rubber ball to him, which he would catch. He would pull it off his claws and throw it back. Another thing he did as a young cat was run up those stairs and get over by the wall and come down the wall onto the sofa. We had more fun with this fellow. It wasn’t long before we became Dad and Mom to him.
Always, he was dad’s boy, his main man, and I was second fiddle. Neither one of us knew cats could be so smart, but we came to realize that the more time we spent with him the smarter he became. Ron talked to Max like to one of the kids. Dad would tell him if he wanted to go outside he had to go to the door, and he would. As soon as Ron told him it was night-night time, Max went out into the hall and waited for dad to shut the television down and when Ron walked through the door Max made a beeline to race him up the stairs. Whenever Ron talked to Max, he listened attentively to him while staring at him. He still had a mind of his own so he didn’t always obey.
When Ron got mad at Max, he would run to me to tell me about it. I would say, “What did you do now, Max? Or, I would say, “Uh, oh, you’re in trouble again.” Lol But Max never held a grudge, he always went back to make up with his dad. He’d jump in the chair with him and rub his little head against him. When dad was on the ham radio, Max lay in the chair that sat beside dad and slept, but when he woke up, he demanded attention. Grin.
Max was a hunter. He caught birds and brought them to us. That was hard to handle because we loved birds, too. We started learning more about cats and learned this was their nature to hunt. Often times, the birds were alive and we would get them away from Max and release them.
One time, he caught a huge rabbit (much bigger than him) and he was dragging it to the front porch for us to see his prize. Both Ron and I ran out there and scolded him. Fortunately, the rabbit was only pretending while he planned his escape, and we gave him that chance. Afterwards, we laughed over little Maxie dragging that huge rabbit. We didn’t think it was so funny when he brought us bunnies, but most of those we were able to save, too.
One of the funniest things we watched him do was go after squirrels. As fast as he was, Max was no match for them, but he didn’t give up trying. One time, a baby blue jay fell out of the tree and Max got it. We managed to save it, but every time afterwards, when Max went out of the house those blue jays would bombard him. Lol I told him he deserved it, but Ron egged him on by calling him to the window to look at the birdies or letting him out and telling him to go get the birdies. Lol
A year or so ago, Max started loosing his sight, a little earlier than that Ron had discovered he had macular degeneration. Dad would talk to Max, telling him he was getting to be an old cat, and that they were two old dudes. Max became a little more dependent on us, and we would tell him not to go too far from home. Sometimes he minded us and other times he didn’t, but more often he did.
Every time Max wouldn’t eat, I just assumed he had a hairball, but a couple of months ago we noticed he was eating less and less. Dad kept telling him if he didn’t eat, he’d have to take him to the doctor’s. Max hated going to the vet, and he was terrified of cars (he never crossed the street without checking for cars) and he was scared of plastic sacks.
Last week, we took Max to the vet because he had quit eating and had lost so much weight. We found out his kidneys were failing. The doctor explained to us that he was losing body fluids faster than he could take in more, and that it wouldn’t get better.
He gave him a saline shot under the skin to see if this would make him better, and it seemed to help for two or three days, but then quit working. Maxie was sleeping more and not eating. He was getting weaker and we were afraid to let him outside longer than for about ten minutes because he might go too far and be too weak to get back.
We started talking about putting him to sleep when we realized he was starving to death and was becoming dehydrated. One day, we were going to do it, and then we would see him eat a bit and drink water, and we would decide not to because maybe he was getting better. Soon, we realized the smart little guy was moving his food around with his nose and making a hole in the middle of his bowl to make it look like he’d eaten. Most of the time, he would take a sniff of his food and walk off. He only tried to eat to please us.
Denial kept us from doing anything, but this past week we finally agreed it was time, but it was the hardest decision we ever made. We took him to the vet and stayed with him to the end. Max lay his little head in Ron’s hand, and Ron rubbed his body and I rubbed between his ears both of us telling him we loved him and we would never forget him.
We both cried afterwards, and then the “what ifs” sat in. What if the vet was wrong and that wasn’t the problem. What if he had longer than we thought?
The hardest thing to live with is that we made the decision to put him to sleep because he couldn’t. I liken this to a person on life support and family having to make the decision to pull the plug. In that instance, you can’t help but wonder what if. Somehow, you have to keep yourself from second guessing when you make a decision because whether wrong or right you have to live with it.
Our home is empty without Max. No little black face peering between the blinds as we drive down the driveway, no one to greet us when we open the door at the top of the stairs and no one to wake us up when something is going on outside at three o-clock in the morning. Usually, it was deer in the back yard or raccoons on the deck.
We will miss you Maxie. You were a well-loved little boy, dad’s main man and his Maxie cat and my baby boy. We gave you the best of both worlds. The more we learned about you, we knew you couldn’t be just an indoor cat, and for that reason we never had you de-clawed. We will miss you Maxie, you’ll always be in our hearts and we’ll always love you.
Until next Sunday have a great week folks.
Sandy
http://www.sandramarshall.com
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com/
When Ron walked up the steps from the basement the first thing out of his mouth was, “Don’t be mad, but I’ve got a present for you.” At that instance, I’m thinking, uh, oh what is it? He unzipped his jacket and this little black head came out and meowed, and then ducked back in.
“It’s only temporary. Until the worst of the winter is over with,” Ron said. Who knew then that a love would blossom and last seventeen years? Days went by and the weather didn’t get any better, and the little cat didn’t gain any weight. We talked it over and decided to take him to the vet where we learned he had worms. Although, we still didn’t plan to keep him, we had him de-wormed. We also noticed the little cat wasn’t totally black, he had a white spot under his chin and in certain lights his coat had a red tinge to it.
The vet told us what we would need to do if we decided to keep the little cat, or if we didn’t where to take him. The little cat followed Ron around everywhere he went, and it wasn’t long before the cat crawled his way into our hearts. We started playing with him, and one day we sat down to talk about the cat and decided to keep him. At that point, I said, “We have to name him.” Maximillian was born, but we shortened it to Max or Maxie.
Max had his shots and was spayed after that decision. The vet guessed his age to be 1 ½ to 2 years old. The little fellow grew into a handsome young lad who strutted around the neighborhood ruling the other cats. One of our neighbors got a little yellow and white cat. One day, we saw Max sitting at the bottom of the tree looking up. Rusty was up in the tree and couldn’t figure out how to get back down. Lol Max went up to show him how to do it. It was so funny. Ron and I stood at the window watching and laughing.
Max would run up the steps to the loft and look down at Ron and I while we would throw a little rubber ball to him, which he would catch. He would pull it off his claws and throw it back. Another thing he did as a young cat was run up those stairs and get over by the wall and come down the wall onto the sofa. We had more fun with this fellow. It wasn’t long before we became Dad and Mom to him.
Always, he was dad’s boy, his main man, and I was second fiddle. Neither one of us knew cats could be so smart, but we came to realize that the more time we spent with him the smarter he became. Ron talked to Max like to one of the kids. Dad would tell him if he wanted to go outside he had to go to the door, and he would. As soon as Ron told him it was night-night time, Max went out into the hall and waited for dad to shut the television down and when Ron walked through the door Max made a beeline to race him up the stairs. Whenever Ron talked to Max, he listened attentively to him while staring at him. He still had a mind of his own so he didn’t always obey.
When Ron got mad at Max, he would run to me to tell me about it. I would say, “What did you do now, Max? Or, I would say, “Uh, oh, you’re in trouble again.” Lol But Max never held a grudge, he always went back to make up with his dad. He’d jump in the chair with him and rub his little head against him. When dad was on the ham radio, Max lay in the chair that sat beside dad and slept, but when he woke up, he demanded attention. Grin.
Max was a hunter. He caught birds and brought them to us. That was hard to handle because we loved birds, too. We started learning more about cats and learned this was their nature to hunt. Often times, the birds were alive and we would get them away from Max and release them.
One time, he caught a huge rabbit (much bigger than him) and he was dragging it to the front porch for us to see his prize. Both Ron and I ran out there and scolded him. Fortunately, the rabbit was only pretending while he planned his escape, and we gave him that chance. Afterwards, we laughed over little Maxie dragging that huge rabbit. We didn’t think it was so funny when he brought us bunnies, but most of those we were able to save, too.
One of the funniest things we watched him do was go after squirrels. As fast as he was, Max was no match for them, but he didn’t give up trying. One time, a baby blue jay fell out of the tree and Max got it. We managed to save it, but every time afterwards, when Max went out of the house those blue jays would bombard him. Lol I told him he deserved it, but Ron egged him on by calling him to the window to look at the birdies or letting him out and telling him to go get the birdies. Lol
A year or so ago, Max started loosing his sight, a little earlier than that Ron had discovered he had macular degeneration. Dad would talk to Max, telling him he was getting to be an old cat, and that they were two old dudes. Max became a little more dependent on us, and we would tell him not to go too far from home. Sometimes he minded us and other times he didn’t, but more often he did.
Every time Max wouldn’t eat, I just assumed he had a hairball, but a couple of months ago we noticed he was eating less and less. Dad kept telling him if he didn’t eat, he’d have to take him to the doctor’s. Max hated going to the vet, and he was terrified of cars (he never crossed the street without checking for cars) and he was scared of plastic sacks.
Last week, we took Max to the vet because he had quit eating and had lost so much weight. We found out his kidneys were failing. The doctor explained to us that he was losing body fluids faster than he could take in more, and that it wouldn’t get better.
He gave him a saline shot under the skin to see if this would make him better, and it seemed to help for two or three days, but then quit working. Maxie was sleeping more and not eating. He was getting weaker and we were afraid to let him outside longer than for about ten minutes because he might go too far and be too weak to get back.
We started talking about putting him to sleep when we realized he was starving to death and was becoming dehydrated. One day, we were going to do it, and then we would see him eat a bit and drink water, and we would decide not to because maybe he was getting better. Soon, we realized the smart little guy was moving his food around with his nose and making a hole in the middle of his bowl to make it look like he’d eaten. Most of the time, he would take a sniff of his food and walk off. He only tried to eat to please us.
Denial kept us from doing anything, but this past week we finally agreed it was time, but it was the hardest decision we ever made. We took him to the vet and stayed with him to the end. Max lay his little head in Ron’s hand, and Ron rubbed his body and I rubbed between his ears both of us telling him we loved him and we would never forget him.
We both cried afterwards, and then the “what ifs” sat in. What if the vet was wrong and that wasn’t the problem. What if he had longer than we thought?
The hardest thing to live with is that we made the decision to put him to sleep because he couldn’t. I liken this to a person on life support and family having to make the decision to pull the plug. In that instance, you can’t help but wonder what if. Somehow, you have to keep yourself from second guessing when you make a decision because whether wrong or right you have to live with it.
Our home is empty without Max. No little black face peering between the blinds as we drive down the driveway, no one to greet us when we open the door at the top of the stairs and no one to wake us up when something is going on outside at three o-clock in the morning. Usually, it was deer in the back yard or raccoons on the deck.
We will miss you Maxie. You were a well-loved little boy, dad’s main man and his Maxie cat and my baby boy. We gave you the best of both worlds. The more we learned about you, we knew you couldn’t be just an indoor cat, and for that reason we never had you de-clawed. We will miss you Maxie, you’ll always be in our hearts and we’ll always love you.
Until next Sunday have a great week folks.
Sandy
http://www.sandramarshall.com
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com/
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Happy Valentine's Day
Hi Everyone,
I hope you have lots of love in your home today. It's Valentine's Day, the day of love, and the day I announce the winners of my Valentine's Day contest. One of the things, I've learned from this contest is that I need to ask harder questions. lol
My question: What does Jolene say to Jake when he tells her, "When I tell you to do something, do it."
Answer: "Well, aren't you the bossy one."
I have six winners: 1. Judy 2. Mariska 3. booklover0226 4. bison61 5. RobynL and 6. Amy S.
I need to hear from everyone but Robyn L and Amy S since I don't have your emails. Thank you for participating in my contest.
Next, I want to let you know that I'm being interviewed over at Women In the Air, http://womenintheair.blogspot.com/ a blog for women who have worked in aviation and have become authors.
Until next Sunday, have a great week.
Thanks,
Sandy
http://www.skaymarshall.com/
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com/
I hope you have lots of love in your home today. It's Valentine's Day, the day of love, and the day I announce the winners of my Valentine's Day contest. One of the things, I've learned from this contest is that I need to ask harder questions. lol
My question: What does Jolene say to Jake when he tells her, "When I tell you to do something, do it."
Answer: "Well, aren't you the bossy one."
I have six winners: 1. Judy 2. Mariska 3. booklover0226 4. bison61 5. RobynL and 6. Amy S.
I need to hear from everyone but Robyn L and Amy S since I don't have your emails. Thank you for participating in my contest.
Next, I want to let you know that I'm being interviewed over at Women In the Air, http://womenintheair.blogspot.com/ a blog for women who have worked in aviation and have become authors.
Until next Sunday, have a great week.
Thanks,
Sandy
http://www.skaymarshall.com/
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com/
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Valentine's Day Contest
Hi Everyone,
First, I want to apologize for spelling Amelia Earhart’s name wrong last week. No one said anything and maybe no one caught it, but I did, and I went in and corrected the spelling.
It’s time for that pesky cupid with the bow and arrow again. To celebrate the day of love, I’m having a contest, which will end on Valentine’s Day. All you have to do is answer one question: In my book, Addiction, what does Jolene say to Jake when he tells her, “When I tell you to do something, do it.”?
Okay, ladies, I know that’s an easy one for you, but I want the exact words. Guys, you’ve probably heard something very similar. Lol You just never learn. Okay, that’s enough teasing for now. There are one of two places where you can find the answer; my website, http://www.skaymarshall.com or at Eirelander Publishing, http://www.eirelander-publishing.com/addiction.htm under excerpts. Good luck!
Have a great week everyone. Don’t let that ornery little cupid sneak upon you and shoot you with his arrow. Grin.
See you next Sunday.
Sandy
http://www.myspace.com/s_zinn_marshall/
First, I want to apologize for spelling Amelia Earhart’s name wrong last week. No one said anything and maybe no one caught it, but I did, and I went in and corrected the spelling.
It’s time for that pesky cupid with the bow and arrow again. To celebrate the day of love, I’m having a contest, which will end on Valentine’s Day. All you have to do is answer one question: In my book, Addiction, what does Jolene say to Jake when he tells her, “When I tell you to do something, do it.”?
Okay, ladies, I know that’s an easy one for you, but I want the exact words. Guys, you’ve probably heard something very similar. Lol You just never learn. Okay, that’s enough teasing for now. There are one of two places where you can find the answer; my website, http://www.skaymarshall.com or at Eirelander Publishing, http://www.eirelander-publishing.com/addiction.htm under excerpts. Good luck!
Have a great week everyone. Don’t let that ornery little cupid sneak upon you and shoot you with his arrow. Grin.
See you next Sunday.
Sandy
http://www.myspace.com/s_zinn_marshall/
Sunday, January 31, 2010
More of My Travels
Hi Everyone,
Today, I’m going to tell you some more about my adventures while traveling. One of my first out of the country trips was to the emerald isle, Ireland. Prior to that I had only been to places within the states. This was a fantastic trip. We flew into Shannon and spent the night there. That night we went to Bunratty Castle to eat and party.
The next day we left Shannon and started a lovely four day tour toward Dublin. My mom was with me on this trip, too. We met a lovely lady named Anne Yokim (not sure of the spelling) from Sask. Canada who was on a three month tour of Europe, which started in Ireland. We stayed in touch with her, and she came to visit us a few years later. One of the stops we made was in in Killarney. During our journey, Mom and I had pictures of us kissing the blarney stone. Could that be the reason why my hubby says I’m full of it? Grin. The countryside is so lush and green in Ireland, you can’t help but believe in leprechauns and fairy’s while there.
We visited Glendalough and stopped to see the monastery and the Round Tower. We took a one day tour through County Wicklow. This area is so beautiful it takes your breath away. It’s hard for me to remember the order in which we traveled through Ireland, but I believe these two areas were south of Dublin.
The next day, we took the train from Dublin back to Shannon to catch our flight home. On that train, we met a terrific Irishman, and we struck up a conversation about politics. At that time, Ireland was having a lot of trouble in the northern part of the island, and this man believed the communists were the cause of the problem. Back in those days, everyone blamed the communists for everything.
On our Ireland trip, we didn’t have any problems making our flights. It was just a lovely vacation, and we had a great time.
Mom and I took many wonderful trips together. We saw Germany, Switzerland, U.S. Virgin Islands, California, Nevada, Florida, Illinois, Colorado, Hawaii and many more. My hubby and I also took many trips together. We went to Portugal, Spain, Australia, Jamaica and many other wonderful spots. His favorite place is Florida, or anywhere warm.
Trans World Airlines was a wonderful company to work for, and it gave me the opportunity to travel. Before that I had only dreamed of traveling by reading about those destinations in books. I will always be grateful for the opportunities I had with this once great company.
I might also add here that if you ever come to Kansas City there is a historical aviation museum to be seen at the old municipal airport now named the Charles B. Wheeler airport. If you would like to learn more about the museum visit http://www.AHMHangar.com Also, the Amelia Earhart museum is not too far away as it’s in Atchison, Kansas. For more info, visit http://www.Ameliaearhart.net
Until next Sunday have a great week.
Sandy
http://www.skaymarshall.com
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com/addiction.htm
Today, I’m going to tell you some more about my adventures while traveling. One of my first out of the country trips was to the emerald isle, Ireland. Prior to that I had only been to places within the states. This was a fantastic trip. We flew into Shannon and spent the night there. That night we went to Bunratty Castle to eat and party.
The next day we left Shannon and started a lovely four day tour toward Dublin. My mom was with me on this trip, too. We met a lovely lady named Anne Yokim (not sure of the spelling) from Sask. Canada who was on a three month tour of Europe, which started in Ireland. We stayed in touch with her, and she came to visit us a few years later. One of the stops we made was in in Killarney. During our journey, Mom and I had pictures of us kissing the blarney stone. Could that be the reason why my hubby says I’m full of it? Grin. The countryside is so lush and green in Ireland, you can’t help but believe in leprechauns and fairy’s while there.
We visited Glendalough and stopped to see the monastery and the Round Tower. We took a one day tour through County Wicklow. This area is so beautiful it takes your breath away. It’s hard for me to remember the order in which we traveled through Ireland, but I believe these two areas were south of Dublin.
The next day, we took the train from Dublin back to Shannon to catch our flight home. On that train, we met a terrific Irishman, and we struck up a conversation about politics. At that time, Ireland was having a lot of trouble in the northern part of the island, and this man believed the communists were the cause of the problem. Back in those days, everyone blamed the communists for everything.
On our Ireland trip, we didn’t have any problems making our flights. It was just a lovely vacation, and we had a great time.
Mom and I took many wonderful trips together. We saw Germany, Switzerland, U.S. Virgin Islands, California, Nevada, Florida, Illinois, Colorado, Hawaii and many more. My hubby and I also took many trips together. We went to Portugal, Spain, Australia, Jamaica and many other wonderful spots. His favorite place is Florida, or anywhere warm.
Trans World Airlines was a wonderful company to work for, and it gave me the opportunity to travel. Before that I had only dreamed of traveling by reading about those destinations in books. I will always be grateful for the opportunities I had with this once great company.
I might also add here that if you ever come to Kansas City there is a historical aviation museum to be seen at the old municipal airport now named the Charles B. Wheeler airport. If you would like to learn more about the museum visit http://www.AHMHangar.com Also, the Amelia Earhart museum is not too far away as it’s in Atchison, Kansas. For more info, visit http://www.Ameliaearhart.net
Until next Sunday have a great week.
Sandy
http://www.skaymarshall.com
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com/addiction.htm
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Book Review
Hello Everyone,
I know I said that I would be telling you more about my world travels today, but last week I managed to read a whole book, and I want to do the review while it is still fresh in my mind. Besides, I really need to read my mother’s journal before I write the next segment of our travels. Smile. The old memory is not as good as it used to be.
The novel, I’m reviewing is Divorced, Desperate and Deceived by Christie Craig. Although, this book is a mystery romance, Craig is so witty that she had me cracked up half the time. .
The two main characters, florist, Kathy Callahan and plumber, Stan Bradley, are not at all what they seem. These characters as well as the secondary characters are so well drawn that you are rooting for them to the end and many of those people you’ll recognize in your own lives.
It didn’t hurt this story at all to have a cute little pug named Goodwill as a secondary character in it. Even with the main characters running for their lives Goodwill was the one being with them all the time. When I finished the book I was very happy with the ending, but I still wanted to continue reading about them. To me that is the sign of a really good book when you don’t want it to end.
Christie Craig is being compared to Janet Evanovich and Harley Jane Kozak. I have never read those authors, but if they are as good as Craig I should. Her other books are Weddings Can Be Murder, Gotcha!, Divorced, Desperate and Dating, and Divorced, Desperate and Delicious. I haven’t read her other books, but I’ll be looking for them.
You can find her books at Dorchester, http://www.dorchesterpub.com or at bookstores near you. You may learn more about Christie at http://www.christie-craig.com and I wish I could remember Christie’s blog because she’s hilarious there. Anytime you need a picker-upper that would be the place to go.
Until next Sunday have a great week.
Sandy
http://www.skaymarshall.com
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com/addiction.htm
I know I said that I would be telling you more about my world travels today, but last week I managed to read a whole book, and I want to do the review while it is still fresh in my mind. Besides, I really need to read my mother’s journal before I write the next segment of our travels. Smile. The old memory is not as good as it used to be.
The novel, I’m reviewing is Divorced, Desperate and Deceived by Christie Craig. Although, this book is a mystery romance, Craig is so witty that she had me cracked up half the time. .
The two main characters, florist, Kathy Callahan and plumber, Stan Bradley, are not at all what they seem. These characters as well as the secondary characters are so well drawn that you are rooting for them to the end and many of those people you’ll recognize in your own lives.
It didn’t hurt this story at all to have a cute little pug named Goodwill as a secondary character in it. Even with the main characters running for their lives Goodwill was the one being with them all the time. When I finished the book I was very happy with the ending, but I still wanted to continue reading about them. To me that is the sign of a really good book when you don’t want it to end.
Christie Craig is being compared to Janet Evanovich and Harley Jane Kozak. I have never read those authors, but if they are as good as Craig I should. Her other books are Weddings Can Be Murder, Gotcha!, Divorced, Desperate and Dating, and Divorced, Desperate and Delicious. I haven’t read her other books, but I’ll be looking for them.
You can find her books at Dorchester, http://www.dorchesterpub.com or at bookstores near you. You may learn more about Christie at http://www.christie-craig.com and I wish I could remember Christie’s blog because she’s hilarious there. Anytime you need a picker-upper that would be the place to go.
Until next Sunday have a great week.
Sandy
http://www.skaymarshall.com
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com/addiction.htm
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Some of My Adventures
Hi Everyone,
Last week I told you I would tell you about some of my non-revenue travel adventures. My first trip I tried to fly to Los Angeles to visit my best friend from high school. With my low seniority, I wasn’t able to make it, and it was with bitter disappointment I had to call my friend to tell her I wouldn’t be out.
The next time I decided to go out and see my friend I took a two week vacation in October (the best time to travel for non-revs) to allow myself time to get there and back. This time I took my mom so she could visit with my friend’s mother. We had a lovely time. Not only did we visit with them, but they took us to the beach, Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm among other sightseeing.
After our visit with them, we went to San Francisco to see my favorite aunt and one of my uncle’s (he was a favorite but not my very favorite). We did more sightseeing there, Fisherman’s Wharf, took a ride on the trolley cars, and went up to the mountains to see the mammoth red wood trees. These were just a few of the things we did in California.
One of my most exciting vacations was to Guam and Hong Kong. My mother had a friend whose husband was stationed with the military in Guam so I planned a trip there and on to Hong Kong. Mom had another friend who wanted to go, and she paid full fare. Since the flight was such a long one we planned to spend four days in Guam, five days in Hong Kong and a few more days in Guam on the way back to break it up.
In Guam I learned how to surfboard (I must admit here that I was off the surfboard more than on lol), went to the USO dances, visited and went sightseeing around the island. We reassured them we would be back for a couple of more days and headed to Hong Kong.
In Hong Kong we had a problem with our hotel and they wanted to move us to another hotel. At three o’clock in the morning, I was not willing to be reasonable. I had paperwork showing them our reservations and insisted I wanted my room. There was a man a few people back in line from us who quietly said, “You go Tiger.” We finally got everything straightened out and made it to our room to get some much needed sleep.
The next morning, we went to the restaurant for breakfast. We were ready to be seated when a strange man walked up to saying, “I’m glad to see you got everything straightened out with the hotel.” He introduced himself, (can’t remember his name now) told us he was a businessman from Connecticut, and he invited us to a table with some other people.
After that one meeting, we arranged to eat all of our meals together when we were at the hotel. To me the people I meet on a trip are a major part of the travel experience, so I’m going to tell you about them. The gentleman who introduced all of us was in Hong Kong on business. He owned a company which sold what I call knick knacks (ceramics and other items), and he was here to check the order from the factory making these things for him.
The other woman at the table besides us was a retired school teacher who had been traveling for two years. She and her husband had always dreamed of traveling when they retired, but unfortunately he died before they could full-fill their dream. She had decided to do it for both of them. She’d traveled all over Europe, the Mediterranean, and was going on to China from Hong Kong. She’d kept in contact with her children and even met them from time to time in her journeys, but she was starting to get homesick so she was going home after Singapore and Japan. She had wonderful stories to tell of her travels. I thought she was a brave woman to travel by herself for so long.
Another person at our table was a blind professor who was on sabbatical for a couple of years. He’d just spent time out in the desert camping. He told the story about one night there had been something in his tent with him. He could hear it slithering around bumping into things. He’d been told about these huge snakes that would sometimes crawl into a tent at night. The poor man lying on his cot didn’t dare move for fear whatever it was would find him, so he laid there all night listening to the movements. The next morning it grew quiet, and he carefully got out of bed. Can you imagine how fearful you would be if you couldn’t see and didn’t know for sure if the thing was gone? Not only that, he was going to be teaching at a University in a desert (can’t remember which one) for six months.
We did a lot of sightseeing in Hong Kong but my memory has dimmed some, so I’ll just give you the highlights. We took a tour to the other end of the island where we could see the tip of China, the stretch of water between them, and a portion of the great wall. We walked in the old portion of Hong Kong where the people sell food, clothing, etc. The buildings had clothes and other things hanging on their balconies to dry. We went to the harbor in Kowloon where you could see luxury boats and little fishing boats side by side. Even on the little boats where people lived you could see TV antennas. Their roads were more modern than ours at that time. The whole island was a fascinating mixture of smells and sights, and old and new.
The last night in Hong Kong was a bit somber because we had to say good-by to our new friends. We exchanged addresses and promised to write to one another (we did for a bit), but I told them that my mother and I were on standby, so there was a possibility we might be back to try to get our room back. Lol We had no idea that we would be back three more days to stay at the hotel and visit with our new friends.
Each day we went to the airport to see it filled with standby passengers. On the third day, I ran into a friend of a friend who worked at TWA, too. We were talking, and she said her husband and she had decided to buy 50% tickets to Hawaii so they could make the next flight. I told her I was starting to worry about money, and she gave me $300.00 and told me I could pay her back when we got home. (Perkie, that was your friend, Pat.)
Back at the hotel we met our friends for the last time because the next day we were able to make our flight due to a big group in first class deciding to stay in Hong Kong for a few more days. Yep, we got to travel first from Hong Kong to Guam and on to Hawaii because when we got to Guam, the airline wouldn’t even open the doors. They just filled up with fuel, took on more food, drinks and took off.
We were still in first class and we became the party class. Lol We ate and drank like kings and queens to Hawaii. My mom and I were seated together, and across the aisle was a guy who was a banker in Los Angeles, and he was so funny that he had us roaring the whole trip. When we reached Honolulu we had to go through customs, and that’s where the funny guy got into trouble. Lol He made a joke about drugs, and customs whisked him off to a room by himself where they searched his bags and his body. Poor guy, I’m sure he learned a lesson then, but it still didn’t dampen his spirits. Once, we were free of customs and back in the air again he was fine.
I will add here that my mom and I weren’t in first class again. The funny man wasn’t either because even though he was paying full fare it wasn’t for first class. We all made it to Los Angeles, and my mother and I caught a flight to Kansas City. That was a twenty-four trip straight through from Hong Kong to Kansas City counting the layovers.
We were so glad to get home, but it was an adventure I will never forget. I have a lot more adventures to tell you about, but I’ve already bored you enough this week. You’ll get to hear more next week, I promise. Lol
Have a great day.
Sandy
http://www.skmarshall.com
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com/
Last week I told you I would tell you about some of my non-revenue travel adventures. My first trip I tried to fly to Los Angeles to visit my best friend from high school. With my low seniority, I wasn’t able to make it, and it was with bitter disappointment I had to call my friend to tell her I wouldn’t be out.
The next time I decided to go out and see my friend I took a two week vacation in October (the best time to travel for non-revs) to allow myself time to get there and back. This time I took my mom so she could visit with my friend’s mother. We had a lovely time. Not only did we visit with them, but they took us to the beach, Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm among other sightseeing.
After our visit with them, we went to San Francisco to see my favorite aunt and one of my uncle’s (he was a favorite but not my very favorite). We did more sightseeing there, Fisherman’s Wharf, took a ride on the trolley cars, and went up to the mountains to see the mammoth red wood trees. These were just a few of the things we did in California.
One of my most exciting vacations was to Guam and Hong Kong. My mother had a friend whose husband was stationed with the military in Guam so I planned a trip there and on to Hong Kong. Mom had another friend who wanted to go, and she paid full fare. Since the flight was such a long one we planned to spend four days in Guam, five days in Hong Kong and a few more days in Guam on the way back to break it up.
In Guam I learned how to surfboard (I must admit here that I was off the surfboard more than on lol), went to the USO dances, visited and went sightseeing around the island. We reassured them we would be back for a couple of more days and headed to Hong Kong.
In Hong Kong we had a problem with our hotel and they wanted to move us to another hotel. At three o’clock in the morning, I was not willing to be reasonable. I had paperwork showing them our reservations and insisted I wanted my room. There was a man a few people back in line from us who quietly said, “You go Tiger.” We finally got everything straightened out and made it to our room to get some much needed sleep.
The next morning, we went to the restaurant for breakfast. We were ready to be seated when a strange man walked up to saying, “I’m glad to see you got everything straightened out with the hotel.” He introduced himself, (can’t remember his name now) told us he was a businessman from Connecticut, and he invited us to a table with some other people.
After that one meeting, we arranged to eat all of our meals together when we were at the hotel. To me the people I meet on a trip are a major part of the travel experience, so I’m going to tell you about them. The gentleman who introduced all of us was in Hong Kong on business. He owned a company which sold what I call knick knacks (ceramics and other items), and he was here to check the order from the factory making these things for him.
The other woman at the table besides us was a retired school teacher who had been traveling for two years. She and her husband had always dreamed of traveling when they retired, but unfortunately he died before they could full-fill their dream. She had decided to do it for both of them. She’d traveled all over Europe, the Mediterranean, and was going on to China from Hong Kong. She’d kept in contact with her children and even met them from time to time in her journeys, but she was starting to get homesick so she was going home after Singapore and Japan. She had wonderful stories to tell of her travels. I thought she was a brave woman to travel by herself for so long.
Another person at our table was a blind professor who was on sabbatical for a couple of years. He’d just spent time out in the desert camping. He told the story about one night there had been something in his tent with him. He could hear it slithering around bumping into things. He’d been told about these huge snakes that would sometimes crawl into a tent at night. The poor man lying on his cot didn’t dare move for fear whatever it was would find him, so he laid there all night listening to the movements. The next morning it grew quiet, and he carefully got out of bed. Can you imagine how fearful you would be if you couldn’t see and didn’t know for sure if the thing was gone? Not only that, he was going to be teaching at a University in a desert (can’t remember which one) for six months.
We did a lot of sightseeing in Hong Kong but my memory has dimmed some, so I’ll just give you the highlights. We took a tour to the other end of the island where we could see the tip of China, the stretch of water between them, and a portion of the great wall. We walked in the old portion of Hong Kong where the people sell food, clothing, etc. The buildings had clothes and other things hanging on their balconies to dry. We went to the harbor in Kowloon where you could see luxury boats and little fishing boats side by side. Even on the little boats where people lived you could see TV antennas. Their roads were more modern than ours at that time. The whole island was a fascinating mixture of smells and sights, and old and new.
The last night in Hong Kong was a bit somber because we had to say good-by to our new friends. We exchanged addresses and promised to write to one another (we did for a bit), but I told them that my mother and I were on standby, so there was a possibility we might be back to try to get our room back. Lol We had no idea that we would be back three more days to stay at the hotel and visit with our new friends.
Each day we went to the airport to see it filled with standby passengers. On the third day, I ran into a friend of a friend who worked at TWA, too. We were talking, and she said her husband and she had decided to buy 50% tickets to Hawaii so they could make the next flight. I told her I was starting to worry about money, and she gave me $300.00 and told me I could pay her back when we got home. (Perkie, that was your friend, Pat.)
Back at the hotel we met our friends for the last time because the next day we were able to make our flight due to a big group in first class deciding to stay in Hong Kong for a few more days. Yep, we got to travel first from Hong Kong to Guam and on to Hawaii because when we got to Guam, the airline wouldn’t even open the doors. They just filled up with fuel, took on more food, drinks and took off.
We were still in first class and we became the party class. Lol We ate and drank like kings and queens to Hawaii. My mom and I were seated together, and across the aisle was a guy who was a banker in Los Angeles, and he was so funny that he had us roaring the whole trip. When we reached Honolulu we had to go through customs, and that’s where the funny guy got into trouble. Lol He made a joke about drugs, and customs whisked him off to a room by himself where they searched his bags and his body. Poor guy, I’m sure he learned a lesson then, but it still didn’t dampen his spirits. Once, we were free of customs and back in the air again he was fine.
I will add here that my mom and I weren’t in first class again. The funny man wasn’t either because even though he was paying full fare it wasn’t for first class. We all made it to Los Angeles, and my mother and I caught a flight to Kansas City. That was a twenty-four trip straight through from Hong Kong to Kansas City counting the layovers.
We were so glad to get home, but it was an adventure I will never forget. I have a lot more adventures to tell you about, but I’ve already bored you enough this week. You’ll get to hear more next week, I promise. Lol
Have a great day.
Sandy
http://www.skmarshall.com
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com/
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