A Very Productive Day!

"Two writers burst through the internet"

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Yesterday was a great day! I met Donna McDine at one of the many Starbucks that I frequent and it happened to be about equidistant between us both. I had promised myself some time for me, since I have been exclusively with my family since the fire. When I met Donna I was hoping for an hour or two for me and stimulating conversation with another writer. But Donna was so warm and I felt like we knew each other for much longer. We had met online in several different places and she will be a guest on my radio show this month. Our meeting was so much fun and I know that we will meet again. We have so much in common and the great thing is that the feeling is mutual between us. It's so great to have a writing friend who lives so close!! As you can see in the picture we had a great time!!! Donna wrote about this on her blog, Write What Inspires You! too.:) It's a true admiration society between the two of us. And we owe it all to the internet.

On some days you feel like you are on an airport conveyer walk. Today was one of those days. There was hardly any down time at all! After two weeks of procrastination we finally got my daughter's TV and DVD player out of her room. We put them all in my husband's car. Today we brought them back to Costco and here is the amazing thing. They were both on the three month warranty so Costco gave back the entire amount to my daughter. I wanted to hug the Costco employee and it was such a short and wonderful experience. If you buy anything from Costco as long as you have all the parts they will take it back if it's within three months of the date of sale.

Then today we went over to the smokey house and got our TV and Blue Ray DVD player out of the house! The smoke smell seems to have gotten worse, but we were able to transport the 37" TV down our steps and into my husband's car that is sadly starting to smell like the inside of a busy ashtray. We brought it to Stanton Electronics, which is giving us an estimate.

Here's the thing about this estimate. When I called them to ask about it they said that we could bring in as much as we wanted. The guy on the phone said that it would be a free estimate. But when we got there we had to have a sidewalk conference, because the guy then said that it would be $75 for the three pieces that we brought in. We also brought the Breville toaster oven that I wrote about with such love a few weeks ago before the fire. With the TV and DVD player he said each one was $25 apiece. So I reminded him that they said free. Then he said it was only free for one. I chose the TV and we had to pay $50. That was not cool! I mean when you say free it should be free. It even says free estimates on the website.

But we were worried about all of them and hope that we don't have to replace them. I will be especially sad about the toaster oven, since we only got to use it for about a week.:) Stanton will open them up and check if they are still working. Hopefully all they will need to do is clean them and they will be good as new. You should have seen all the TV's and small appliances in this place. The guy told me that a lot of people use them for the huge TV's and I saw quite a few there too. It's like a treatment center for sick appliances. I wonder if they take health insurance.LOL

As the days wear on I think that my husband is starting to come to the point where we are. Today after he hauled the TV down the steps and brushed by the soot covered door, walked down the outside steps littered with glass pieces and got soot all over his brand new leather jacket I think it dawned on him that this is no longer our home. The place is freezing cold and I talked about my daughter's room in my last blog. I am giving up my piano, but since it is from 1959 and a Sterling upright I am going to try to sell it. It needs to be ozoned, but after that I am going to see if I can get a buyer for it. If there is anyone reading this who might want a vintage piano that is in good shape except for one key and needs a new hammer, please let me know. Of course, if you want it you will have to come and take it for yourself or hire your own movers to get it. :) It has a really good tone and has had lots of love over the years. :)

Until the next time, I hope to get back to talking about writing soon, but real life is cutting into my writing totally. Donna told me about a new group that is called IndeDebut 2010 and is composed of authors who are published by small presses. Donna is one of them and the group was formed by an author who was published by a small press. She got frustrated that she couldn't be a part of some of the groups out there for newly published authors and got all these authors together. I think this is a great idea and hope that more authors will join her.

Donna McDine is going to be one of my guests on the January Red River Writers Tales from the Pages. My other guests will be Lea Schizas and maybe a special mystery guest. Please tune in on Thursday, January 28th at 3PM Central time for this month's show.

Thank you to all of my new followers and to the ones who continue to read my meanderings. I am so grateful to you for keeping me sane during this chaotic time in my life.:) I hope you all got the hug I gave you:)