I took advantage of a couple Black Friday Cyber Monday deals to replace a glitchy monitor and get a new speaker for my PC, so Merry Christmas (Merry Kris Smith) to me!

 

I ordered a 24″ monitor to replace the 22″ one I have now because I have enough space on my desk for a bigger one now that the cabinet overhang has been relocated.  For the past few weeks there have been instances where this 22″monitor quit working for several seconds or minutes, so I know it’s just a matter of time before it fails completely, and having a work computer without a monitor is useless.

 

I got the new Dell monitor for just $89. I think it’s usually listed for $149 or something like that.

 

I also ordered a new speaker to replace the speaker set I’ve had for decades because they developed an annoying buzz that I couldn’t get rid of.  I bought a speaker bar just last week, but it only lasted three days before crapping out, so I sent it back and ordered a single speaker that was deeply discounted to $8. It will arrive tomorrow sometime before 10 p.m, as will the monitor.  Until then, I remain speaker-less, so when Hannah McCrane and I visited virtually yesterday, it was by smartphone. No image, but at least I could hear her!  We yakked for an hour.  It’s always fun catching up with her.

 

TRAILBLAZER IS ALMOST READY TO ROLL OUT

 

I’ve heard back from all three beta readers and made the additions and corrections they suggested for my new book TRAILBLAZER: A Guide for Magnificent Misfits.  They were excellent beta readers. I got exactly the kind of feedback a writer wants when asking for critical feedback.

 

Examples: One of my sentences was written clunkily (kinda like this one!) and, in a couple of places, readers wanted more information or examples from my own life to better “blaze the trail” for readers so they can do something similar.  Making those changes truly helped improve the mansucript.

 

It’s just over 100 pages in large print  

 

The last ten or so pages are descriptions of some of my other books, though, so it’s really only about 90 pages long. It’s a fast, short read, but all three beta readers said they got something new out of it and enjoyed reading it. I’ve added their “advance praise” to the front of the book (three pages) so people who haven’t read my books before will get a little insight into what they’ll be getting if they decide to get this one.

 

Lisa will be creating the cover for the book, as always

 

Right now I have a Conestoga wagon as a placeholder image for the front cover, because I couldn’t find anything better when I googled explorers, mountain men and trappers for images that indicate trailblazing in the geographical sense.  I can’t wait to see what she comes up with.  She says she’s going to use some AI magic to make something memorable.

 

CHICKEN ROUNDUP FOLLOW-UP

 

Yesterday I went into the back yard at about 3:30 to corral the hens.  Eight of them showed up readily because I always throw them some kind of goodie whenever I go out, so they’ll respond to my apperance quickly and come running.

 

That left four that remained AWOL.  I looked all over our property in the goat pen (where they prefer to hang out) but none of the Missing Four were there.  So, I continued to call for them.

 

Finally, they heard me.  They were in the far field beyond our property and had to find their way through the back fence to get back into the yard. But they did that quite handily so I had them all safely corralled by about 4.

 

I threw them some turkey remains, greenery, cucumbers, and sourdough bread to make them happy in their predator-proof area until bedtime, which came pretty shortly thereafter. So, my timing was good yesterday.

 

I will be glad when December 21st rolls around and the sun starts staying up three and a half minutes longer every day.  It’s kinda anxiety provoking to figure out how early every day I should go out and call them in prior to nightfall this time of year.

 

That’s pretty much the sum total of what’s been happening here in my neck of the woods.I hope this holiday season is keeping you as happy, healthy, and well-fed as I have been. It’s good to feel great.