Bravo One, this is Bravo two...

My daughter, my husband and I went shopping in the States this past long weekend.
Now, as a Canadian, this in itself is hardly newsworthy.
But having your retired soldier husband tell you, "We're taking the walkie-talkies. I don't want to lose you." Well, that is a bit of news. He doesn't want to lose me.
Isn't that sweet? He doesn't want to lose me.
But, girlfriend, read between the lines. He wants to bug me. To check to see if I have left the lingerie section yet. To see if I'm reading to move to the next store.
Hey, hubby, this is Kohl's and they're having a sale! I AM NOT ready to leave yet!
Undeterred, because after all, he was a soldier for 25 years. He's dealt with difficult situations before. "Barbara, you are Bravo One and I am Bravo Two. Normal radio procedures will be in effect."
"What about radio silence?"
"No radio silence. As soon as we get into the store, we'll do a radio check, okay?"
"Whatever."
So, my daughter is in the change room. I'm inspecting the nearby tank tops. My walkie talkie goes off. A short stream of static and the nice young man waiting on his wife, also in the change room, has his interest piqued.
I smiled at him. "That's my hubby doing a radio check."
On the radio: "Tango One, this is Tango Two. Request your location. Over."
That's not right! I shake my head and speak to the man. "I am supposed to be Bravo One. I shouldn't answer this. Besides, where was the radio check?"
The young man smiled.
"Tango One, come in, over!"
I continue to inspect the tank tops. "I'm Bravo One," I toss over my shoulder to the man. "I can't answer that. And it's going to drive him crazy."
"Tango One! Where are you?"
The young man is laughing hard. Since I have to live with this old soldier, I relent and key the mike. "I thought I was Bravo One?"
"So I forgot. Where are you?"
"Weren't we supposed to do a radio check first?
"Where are you?!!??"
I smile knowingly, like Kevin Spacey does in House of Cards. Then I relent. "Change rooms, center of the store. Bravo One out."

Oh, my hubs showed up shortly after. And yes, I listened to yet another lecture on proper radio procedures. 
You know, there is a lesson in all of this.
Husband found me, Walkie-talkies worked, and  something we don't always consider.
Radio Silence is so underrated.

The price for a bit of extra safety?

Having recently traveled, and noting that for some reason, this blog is one of my more popular ones, I decided to regurgitate it.
And this is something you may have noticed yourself. The airline we're booked on offers a pre-booking of our seats, to, as they put it, save time.
(Like that's going to get the plane off the ground any sooner. We all know you're only saving the time to wait in the lounge and watch someone in front of you text his life away)
But, I can always look at what is offered.
It turns out that if we want to choose our seats, we will be charged anywhere from $15 to $25, depending on where you want to sit. It seems that right by the emergency exit is the most expensive. (I'd think seats near the toilet would be more desirable, but that's my menopause coming out)
Now, you may argue that it's the leg room they're really offering, but I want to counter that. Not every plane has that extra leg room by the emergency exit.
I say it's because of the perceived notion that you'll be safer near the exit, and be able to get out sooner should the plane crash. Except....
as a friend of mine pointed out, you'll also be trampled to death by others, if you in any way hesitate.
I told my husband, who, like I said before, likes inexpensive vacations, said to me, 'Forget it. I don't care where I sit.'
But it got me thinking. Are the airlines are cashing in on people's paranoia. People want that extra bit of peace of mind, and sitting by an emergency exit may provide that for them. 
And while I know the airlines try their best to put you with your traveling companions, it doesn't always happen.
Are they sometimes separating you so as to encourage you to rebook your seats, and thus pay that extra fee? Me? I don't buy that notion that you need to pay extra to sit by your loved one. Where the heck is your loved one going whilst flying in a plane? And frankly, having raised two kids, I would only be too happy to put my little darlings next to some stranger, especially if that person refuses my request to change seats.
Sure, mister, sit by my kid. Like his mother, he snores when he falls asleep, which is at the drop of a hat. Oh, and by the way, he may drool a little at the same time. Like his mother.
But what burns me is the fact that airlines, who already charge for anything more than a cup of tea, are just trying to get more money out of us. They're basically saying, 'You want to think you'll be safer by that emergency exit? You'll have to pay for it.'
What's next? 'Oh, ma'am, you want a life jacket? That'll be an extra $50. The ones that come with the plane only inflate halfway.'
Oh, yeah, Airline?  I watched the safety video. I can inflate my own, thank you very much.

Plan for a summer of fun!

Great news! Okay, allow me to back up a little. You know that when summer comes, we always stock up on condiments, napkins, cold drinks and a stack of some great meat for the barbeque?

Well, think of this as stock up for your mind. And your ereader, too! No one wants to be stuck in on the computer on a nice day searching for a book to read. You want to be outside in the chaise, or hammock, or poolside, having already picked out your summer books.

This is your opportunity. 
And wait!  Does your mother have an ereader? Grab those books for her. Save them onto a cute little flashdrive and pop it into the card you plan to give her.






   All right, segue over and done with, here's my idea. 

Book Lovers' Buffet

Why not load up with books? Grab some for your mother, daughter, sister for that special day in May, and save some for yourself, whilst lounging around this summer?

Each book is only 99 cents, and we have loads of your fave categories. Mystery, historical, inspirational, paranormal, sci-fi, contemporary, we have them all.

But only for three days! I know everyone says, 'If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't true.' But I wouldn't lie to you, folks. (okay I may lie about my weight, but that's it!) This is only 3 days long, and it's going on right now.

Wii (are not) FIT

When a friend told me she bought a Wii Fit on Kijiji, I was a bit jealous. I'd been wanting one for a while. So I hit Kijiji and actually found what I wanted, and very close by.
I happily set it up today after work. 
And, I am even happier to report that I did not need anyone under the age of 25 to figure it out for me.
Then the thing had the gall to weigh me.
THEN the thing had the even bigger gall to take my perfectly fine Mii avatar and plump her up a bit!

THEN THEN it assigned me a trainer! Some young bobble head pup with more muscles that should be allowed.

Miffed, I decided I would deem to allow it to show me its games and such.
And I loved it!
I liked hula hooping, throwing snowballs, and jogging with some stray dog.
I did not like those tone your arm exercises that young pup of a trainer did with ease. But I did some, and for the most part, my butt didn't touch the evil Wii scales, board thingimijig.
But I will try it again tomorrow. I set a schedule of weight loss, am aiming to match that muscle pup, even though we all know we shouldn't be comparing ourselves to photoshopped images, or imaginary Wii images.
So if you see some bobble head character bouncing through town one day, take note. It may be Mii.

 

The Forward Observer

Do you know what a forward observer is? In basic terms, it's a military position whereas a soldier is situated forward of the fire line to observe where artillery fire is hitting. Advice radioed back from this soldier aids the next volley.
Yup, it's a guy who can climb a tree, hide in plain site, do anything to gain information to correct an action. 

It's also the title of my newest Sherlock Holmes novella, written under the pen name of that wild woman Georgina Lee, the title taken from the souvenir book given to those soldiers who completed Canada's last tour of Cyprus, back in 1993. And in my tale, our hero gives us one paragraph that sums up his thoughts on the military position and his mother, (our own Doctor Watson). 

He'd also noticed that the last few days, she hadn't worked at all on her biography. She'd pored over the proof of The Forward Observer, as if taking the military title to heart. Holmes wanted to tell her that it was just a name for a front line observation post for artillery fire, and not a suggested action.

 

View it at Amazon here

Sherlock Holmes in The Forward Observer is #2 in my Sherlock Holmes Fan Fiction series. Holmes and his mother, Watson, find the Base Photographer murdered, and the evidence leads them to a single souvenir book published twenty years before. But as Holmes closes in on a killer, he soon realizes that his own mother is keeping just as many secrets.

Good news! I have secured an ad at BookBlast for my romantic suspense, Hard Target, and part of the ad's requirements was to lower the price. 
 

Under siege, her life and her heart...

So, Hard Target is now only $1.99! You save $2.00! If you prefer the Epub format, you can find the book here. But remember, this kind of ad will only appear for one day, so don't look for it on Bookblast tomorrow. 
The good news is that my sale price will linger for a bit longer!
So, please check it out and if you enjoy it, feel free to review it.

I mean no disrespect...

Okay, occasionally, I watch those reality shows on TV that claim they are filming a ghost. The cameras are rolling at night, and something happens.
I'm sorry, but I have to take this stuff with a grain of salt. A door closes in an upstairs bedroom? A wisp of something dances across the screen? A murmur is heard in the distance?
Give me a break.
My house is only 10 years old and every time the furnace kicks in, or the back door is opened, some other door in the house shuts. And with my proximity to a short wave transmitter, heck, my copper pipes have been talking to me for a decade.
And wisps of light? Haven't these people heard of insects? Those critters love to crawl on anything warm and staticky.
Yes, I know those shows are purely for entertainment, but we need to watch so-called reality shows with a jaundiced eye. Not everything is the result of other-worldly spirits or UFOs. Most of the time, it's just a result of good editing and even better acting.