Well here we are, last week of August, time to say good-bye to summer and bring in the fall! I’m getting ready for my favorite time of the year, time to start decorating and pretending it’s cool weather (pictures next week). It’s been a very productive, somewhat amusing week so far (tinged with a bit of sadness). I have had the chance to make some major progress on book 3 (on track to be at 50% complete by end of this week (that is before all the editing, revisions, beta reader inputs)….OK my 50% is just based on getting the first draft of the book written (characters laughing wildly). It’s Thursday, time for Dear Diary:
It’s wet out there (not), better check the electronics…
Him: “Well, we must not be in a drought any more.” (Dry humor, he does it quite well actually)
Me: “What are you talking about?” (Giving him a look as if he’s gone daft from the drought)
Him: “You know the rebate we received from the water company, giving us $200 to install an electronic monitor to turn the sprinklers on and off to conserve water?”
Me: “Um, yeah…” (Kind of remember, but since we have so little rain I thought having a sprinkler regulator that regulates based on rainfall kind of useless since I can’t even remember what a raindrop looks like anymore, but if the water company wants to hand out $200 checks, go for it, I guess…)
Him: “Well according to the latest electronic monitor reading, we had 5.56 inches of rain in the past 24 hours, so we will be getting a rain skip day…”
Me: “We haven’t had 5.56 inches of rain the entire year, even the succulents are starting to look like dried prunes.”
Him: “Well, read this and weep—wait a minute, better not weep, they may give us another rain skip day….” (Their math is a bit off as well, #JustSayin)
Why is my watering schedule being skipped? At 06:05 AM, 60 minutes before your Water all zones schedule’s start time, your weather station has observed 5.56 in of precipitation in the past 24 hours. Based on predicted weather in your area, we estimate that your yard will receive approximately 0.0 in of precipitation in the next 24 hours. The estimated total for your device area is 5.56 in of precipitation over a 48 hour period.
Your current Rain Skip threshold is 0.125 in of precipitation. You may adjust the Rain Skip threshold using the app.
Him: “I better check the wiring, I think the gage processor may need a drink…”
I have been the recipient of an apport incident (2 actually)….I was privileged to be a featured guest on writer Luna Selas’ recent blogpost, take a minute to check it out (Luna has a top notch blog, link below):
“Apport is the term used to refer to the appearance (or perhaps reappearance) of physical objects, seemingly from nowhere.”– WexfordParanormal.com
Veronica Cline Barton writes mysteries, but her reality is sometimes stranger than fiction. In fact, occasionally, it’s downright…paranormal. Case in point: Veronica has received apports (objects that appear without explanation) from the deceased. The first apport was from her father, and the second from her stepfather. The objects appeared unexpectedly, and both were extremely appropriate to the circumstances.
Telly Tiara Update—the Crown Has Been Found!
Being the almost royal crown sleuth queen that I am, I am proud to announce that a fitting crown has been found for the coveted Telly Tiara award that Ma-ma (aka actress Jillian Phillips) is hoping to hold in her esteemed actress hands one day. I think it looks pretty regal, don’t you? BTW, the Telly is sitting on the gorgeous pink and gray faux fur vest that I will wear even if it’s 90 degrees outside. 🙂
The Farewell Statement from U.S. Senator John McCain…
I don’t like to post anything political on my blog, we get quite enough on it from every other media on earth, IMO. Today though, I did want to post the beautiful farewell statement released by Sen. McCain’s office after he passed away last weekend. I was very touched when I read it, his words humble, grateful, and so full of a life well lived. He will be missed, RIP, fellow American.
And on the cat front, Daisy thinks her powers of deception are pretty amazing…
Ebbie looks a bit dejected because she can’t find her sissy. I have to admit, she’s hard to, ahem, find…gotta love them Amazon boxes, endless entertainment (for the cats too). 🙂
Some final pictures as we close out summer…
We’ve had lots of fun this summer taking mini trips, just wanted to see the sites from Biltmore, the beach, Catalina, the train trip, Solvang, and San Francisco one more time. We’ve had lots of fun, and experienced some very, ahem, entertaining moments (let’s just say there’s never a dull moment).
Welcome to my world this week. Hope you’ve had a lovely summer—enjoy the rest of the week and the weekend!
Crowns and Kisses,
Veronica
P.S. The #PSL (Pumpkin Spice Latte) is back at Starbucks! Gemma would approve 🙂