And now for a word from our sponsor...

Me.

It's been a while since I've done any shameless self-promotion.  No, I still haven't developed a good sense of shame.  I was delivering an order of books to the premier bookstore on South Padre Island today, and was struck by the fact that I haven't mentioned the book here, on my own site, in a very long time.  So, without further adieu...

Do you need a Christmas gift for that special person?  Does that special person like true stories about exceptional cats?  Do they enjoy travel and adventure?  Do they have a heart?

If so, there is still time to order a copy of "Cat On A Leash", the true story of Molly the catboat cat, and her travels with her human family, a dashing boat captain and his lovely blonde wife.  What's that?  Those people sound familiar?

They should. ;-)

You can click on the banner above to take you to the thread explaining how to order your autographed copy of "Cat On A Leash."  Yes, that banner up there is a link.  If you don't want to go through the work of clicking up there, here's how you order your copy:

Send me an e-mail at:

eiwiz AT aol.com

Yes, you have to replace "AT" with "@" and remove the spaces.  Tell me that you want a book.  The book is $10.50 plus $6.00 for Priority shipping - total price: $16.50.  I will send a PayPal request for payment to your e-mail address.  You do NOT have to have a PayPal account to purchase the book, you can use your major credit card.  Tell me what you want for the inscription in the book(s) (yes, you can order multiple copies), and the address.  In 3 to 5 days, your copy of "Cat On A Leash" will be at your door.

"Wow!  That sounds too good to be true!" you say?  "Is there a catch?"  Thank you for asking.  Paragraphs (the aforementioned bookstore) bought a good portion of this shipment (more on that in a moment), so I have a limited number of books that can be delivered from this order.  If I cannot fulfill the order right away, I will let you know that before any payment processing.  Order right away, and that won't be an issue.

"So, what about the bookstore you mentioned above?"  Well, you're just full of questions, aren't you?  Grif and Joni (the owners) asked if I'd like to do a book signing before the New Year.  I was scheduled to do a book signing with them when the book first came out, but had to leave because my Mother had a stroke.

So, I will be doing a book signing and playing some music at Paragraphs on South Padre Island on December 30th.  I'll have more details here in the near future.  If you're planning an Island Christmas holiday trip, please stop by.

In the meantime, order your signed copy of "Cat On A Leash" before they're all gone!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

In years past, we have taken lights off the boat and put some of them up on the house.  This is usually done while wearing a t-shirt and shorts.  I've been putting off hanging any lights, waiting for a break in the weather.  OK, we had a lovely break in the weather this week, but most of it was taken up with putting the 5th wheel away.

Today, the temp climbed up to 46º (so far) and the wind dropped down to a couple hundred miles per hour... so, I dug out the lights.  I have to admit, I am like a kid - I enjoy the lights, the sounds, and the smells of Christmas.  No, I still think having to watch the Lifetime Channel with "All Schlocky Christmas Movies All The Time From November To New Years" is painful.  With the cold weather, I brought the lights inside to test them... any Clark Griswold wannabe knows you have to make sure the lights are all lit before you hang them.

Nope, that strand is only about half lit.  Hmmm, about one third on this one.  Seriously, don't any of these strands work?  Is there a reason I put away lights that don't light?  Maybe they went out the last night we had them lit and I didn't know?  Maybe the Grinch got into the lights and undid a couple of them right in the middle?

This box says, "The strand will stay lit if one light goes out."  What it should say: "About half of the strand will stay lit if one light goes out."  I threw away a big bag of non-lighting lights.

The star that was the centerpiece last time we used it on the boat wouldn't light... on the bright side: we had picked up another star at half price after Christmas last year.  The blowing salt spray during the parade is hard on the lights.  No doubt, somewhere in the badly written safety instructions for the lights (you know, the instructions that say: "Don't use these in the shower") it says, "Do not immerse these in salt water, you stupid American."

It took me three times as long to test the lights as it did to hang the lights.  That is probably because I quit when I finally found two strands of lights that were mostly lit, hung one on either side of the star, and called it: decorated.

Now, if I could just find an outdoor extension cord.

----------------------

Joan put some inside decorations.  Little Iz was curious.  This is what happens when you get nosy...

"Seriously, this is NOT funny!"

"Fine, get your picture... oh, and I won't forget this."

"You might want to check in your shoe before you put it on next time... just sayin'!"

It's HOW COLD???

No, this isn't another weather report.

It's damn cold.  That's my technical meteorological term.  It was 39º according to our thermometer when I got up this morning.  It's cold enough that I am not going outside to put up Christmas lights.  And I am a Christmas lights kinda guy.

One of our family wears a fur coat all the time.  The heat is on, but she apparently felt the need to bundle up...

Yeah, she really is that cute...

We are going to be hanging out around the house today.  'Cause I don't plan on going outside, unless someone wants to take me to lunch.  One of us can't "hang out."  She is making some chili, 'cause that's what you do when it's cold outside.  And, she is knitting.

One of us (the one with the fur coat) likes knitting.  Well, maybe a bit of a cliche', but she likes playing with the yarn...

"Oh, is that for me?"

"I like yarn!"

This ain't boat drinks...

While shopping today, Joan said, "We need to stop at the liquor store. Anything you want?"

"Yes, some peppermint schnapps."

"Really??"

Back when I was much younger, my fingertips didn't burn from frostbite, and I thought strapping a couple boards on my feet and jumping over the side of a snowy mountain was fun, we would occasionally go to a ski area that lighted runs for night skiing.

The drink was called a Snuggler: hot chocolate, peppermint schnapps, and a glob of whipped cream. Make a couple runs, have a Snuggler, a couple more runs, another Snuggler. It goes down smooth and warms you from the inside out.

With the norther that will be keeping the Tropical Tip temperatures feeling like something WAY further north, I thought a Snuggler might make it easier to endure.

I was right. Just finished it, and I feel all warm inside.

Yep, it's here...

Not talking about the Christmas season, although it is here.

This norther is unpleasant.  Oh, not Wyoming it's-so-cold-my-spit-freezes-before-it-hits-the-ground kinda cold... but, this is the Tropical Tip and the normal daytime high is 75º and it's 30º colder than that, and the local folks aren't happy about it.

Any place you go, this cold is all people are talking about.  We did the bank, lunch out, and some shopping... everywhere we heard, "It's really cold out there, huh?"

Yeah.

Speaking of lunch out... and I was... we had lunch at Marcello's today.  It's an Italian restaurant here in town.  Years ago, it was our favorite place to eat.  Over the years, the food got more institutional tasting while the price went up.  They made up for it with indifferent service.  We quit going there.  Recently, we heard that they have a new manager and things were better... we decided to give them a try.

We were greeted as soon as we came in the door.  The placed looked cleaner, with some new decorations.  It smelled good!  The waitstaff were friendly and attentive.  New menu with lots of interesting lunch options.  They're back, baby!  The food was good, the dining experience was pleasant... we won't have to drive to Brownsville just to have Italian out.

On the way out, I visited with the nice lady who greeted us on the way in.  She and her husband are the new managers.  She said they have been working hard to make it the kind of place people will want to return to.  We told her the difference was impressive, and we will be back.

Well, that's cute...

I snuck in a short nap on the couch this afternoon.  No, there's nothing cute about that.

When I woke up, little Izzy was down by my feet.  She was looking cute, but I knew if I moved, she would get up.  I mentioned it to Joan - she grabbed the camera and captured the cuteness...

When I did (slowly) get up, I got this one...

What a sweet little face.  Yes, you're right - it has been too long since little Izzy was featured here; I'll try to do better.  ;-)

MSO update...

That sounds kinda official, doesn't it?

The Manufacturers Statement of Origin (what you need to give to your state to get a title/registration) arrived via FedEx today.  Apparently, it absolutely, positively had to be here overnight.  The boat buyer for West Marine came through.  He must be a very busy guy... I had a voice mail from someone else to tell me that Dave (the boat buyer) was taking care of this... after I talked with Dave (the boat buyer)... after he had sent me a lengthy e-mail.

I'm thinking of all the time, effort, and expense that went into resolving what could have been done by one person taking 10 seconds to put the MSO in the box with the boat in the first place.  Or, spend a buck and send it separate by mail.

All this after multiple phone calls and e-mails from me before anything got done.  Different ideas of "customer service," I guess... imagine the man-hours and expense to overnight that could have been saved had there been some "customer service" at purchase/shipping.