Letters to Holly

Wednesday, August 20

No Sale

I saved myself $750 by pushing two buttons.

My phone was acting slow since Hawaii, and I knew the constant photography was a blight upon its soul. Finally the power button didn't respond, and I could only wake up the phone by sliding out the keyboard. I figured the phone was toast.

I went to Best Buy instead of a Verizon store because Your Sister and I have had bad experiences with them in the past year. For me, the salesperson sold me a phone that had not been cleared of the previous customer's contacts and photos. I had to go back and get all that erased, and he offered me a free shell case and screen cover for my trouble. They had to be ordered. I went back after the weekend to get them, and he had forgotten the entire conversation. Your Sister tried to order a new phone and equipment from the local store, and they were understocked and open at erratic hours.

So, yeah, Best Buy. I browsed at some nice phones much fancier than what I have. The one I picked would cost me the full price because Verizon wouldn't let me upgrade until October. I figured the price would be worth it until I drove out of the parking lot and realized I was crazy. I could wait two months. I took the fancy phone back for a refund and reactivated my old phone. That night, I opened the back to look at the battery and found a small note telling me how to rest the phone. I pressed the mute and power button at the same time for ten seconds, and it cranked up. Works just like new.

+  +  + 

We all got together on Saturday for Your Dad's birthday. Your Sister threw the party at a restored train station. It has a few cars and engines open for tours, and it runs a small trolley along a few miles of track. We ate in a refurbished train car, and The Deputy was in heaven. I think Your Dad was too. They both got free shirts, and we may go back to the trolley before winter.

+  +  + 

We're plucking roma and cherry tomatoes from the backyard garden daily. The Deputy and I eat cherry tomatoes after his dinner every night. Somehow we're now growing pumpkins. I didn't plant any. I didn't plant any last year. We had one grow maybe five years back on the other end of the garden, but now we have at least five swelling and turning bright orange. I blame birds for pooping out seeds from other folks. Your Sister thinks they might be from intact seeds from our jack o-lanterns in the compost bin.

+  +  + 

Your Sister started back at school on Monday. She gets students next Monday. Next Friday, we go to DragonCon. My costume is almost ready. She's renting hers from a local place, and she bought a blonde wig. I have about another hour's of work on my outfit, and that should be done this weekend. I'm also wearing my costume's shoes around the house to break them in. Mom will again watch the boy, and he can manage an entire weekend almost by himself. They'll be fine.

Picture of the Day


If you're looking for a new series to catch online, look up Hannibal. It's true horror and gorgeous. It's amazing what they're getting away with on network TV.