We had snow last week. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. I live in New England, and it is November. Snow happens. It isn’t like it was a full on Nor’easter blizzard. It was maybe six inches, and although it was wet, heavy stuff, the air temperatures stayed high enough that we didn’t get any icing. The roads are clear and dry now. It’s not biting cold out. In fact, I was able to walk the dog Sunday in just my hoodie. Yes, I had my warm headband and gloves on, also, but I didn’t need the down coat.
The other true indicator of winter around here is that Daylight Savings Time has ended. It gets dark really fast these days, usually before five. So, I had to dig out the dog’s blinking collar for our evening walks. I really do think Daylight Savings Time has passed its usefulness. It made sense in less industrialized times, but now, I don’t think most people care about that extra hour of daylight in summer quite so much. And it sure would simplify things to get rid of it.
On the other hand, those who support keeping DST claim that people do appreciate having an extra hour or so of daylight during the summer for after work activities. There is also an argument that says DST saves energy because of the extra daylight causing less electricity usage, but I suspect any of that might be offset by the increase in use in winter. At any rate, I don’t think I’d be upset if we decided to ditch it.
This week is going to be kind of an odd one. We have had a big family Thanksgiving thing just about every year for a long time. The BaldMan’s family comes to our place, as do the kids and grandkids, and we all eat, drink, and enjoy the holiday. These days, scheduling has gotten to be a bit tricky, with one daughter working at a restaurant that is open on the holiday, and is busy most weekends, especially when the Patriots are in town or there is some other event at the stadium. The restaurant she works at is about a mile from Gilette stadium, the home field of the New England Patriots. It gets tough for her to get time off, sometimes. And another of the girls is in retail, so Thanksgiving was always the start of her busiest season, and the time she had the most trouble getting time off. She’s not in that job anymore, so it’s a little easier, but she still needs advance notice to ask for the time off. And, of course, the third one and her family are in England. The result of all this is that it will just be three of us on Thanksgiving this year: myself, the BaldMan, and Steph. The family get-together will be after Christmas this year.
I am trying to get myself organized and onto a bit more of a regular schedule in the coming weeks. I have things I want to do, and it seems like there is never time. I know it’s my fault- I tend to waste a lot of time doing nothing much and procrastinating. I am working on a plan for fixing that. We’ll see how it goes.
Happy Thanksgiving to all celebrating this week, and for those who don’t, maybe take a moment or two at some point, and be thankful for your family, friends, pets, and all the good things in your lives.
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On presale now and coming in December 2018: Two’s Company, a sci-fi novel in the space opera tradition.
Medusa “Deuce” Grainger is smart, confident, and as good a pilot as she is a poker player. A freelance shuttle jockey working for an independent terraforming company, she’s left her former life, and her father, behind. Mostly.
Now, her AI has downloaded another Personality off a wrecked ship, and he’s acting oddly ever since. Someone wants to sabotage her friend’s company out of business, evidence of tampering is being corrupted, and people have died. With an investigation looming that could shut down the company and cut off her main source of income, it’s up to Deuce to figure out what’s going on, and how all the pieces fit the puzzle. Along the way, she reconnects with an old friend and discovers someone is stalking her. Deuce will need to connect all the dots fast, because more lives are at stake than anyone suspects.
Learn more here, where you will find links to the presale.
Two’s Company is listed on Goodreads. If you like what you see above, I’d appreciate you adding it to your Want To Read list. Thanks!
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And So On... 