E- Book

Last Friday was Fav Son's birthday. He insisted. Repeat, INSISTED we drag his cake and gifts to LBB so he could celebrate. Two Cavaliers, a cake and gift in tow, we loaded the suburban and went to LBB at O'dark thirty in the morning.

We had lunch at a steak house, did some black Friday shopping and looked at Oliver, wondering where our baby went. :-)

We arrived in town a little early and amid screeches of "Madre! Padre!" we went to Hastings and saw Josephine. AKA Favorite Daughter. :-) We wandered around, sneaking in a few brief chats with Jo. Travers bought a calender, using Jo's discount. I looked at e-books. (You were probably wondering when I'd bring it up)

I'd asked Santa for an e-book. Specifically, a Kindle Fire. Not that I'd been snooping or anything, but I did find out there would be no e-book in my stocking. With plans in the back of my mind to purchase one after the first of the year, I began looking at what Hastings had to offer.

Josephine walked by and saw me and began her unplanned sales pitch.It was a Nextbook 7. Color, a good deal, and customers seemed to like them. Best of all, there had been no returns. Included was a case, screen protector and 3 stylus.Bill was with me and with his support, I indulged. So, after having had it a week, what do I think?

I wanted an e-book for travel. All those early morning trips to Amarillo with nothing to do because it's too dark to read. It would also be convenient for cruising and traveling on long trips. The adjustable font is easy on these old eyes. Last trip to PA I had 2 bags of books to read. Cumbersome! I also wanted one with internet capability so I could read email at hotspots along the way. Much easier than dragging in my laptop. The charge lasts 3 x's longer than my laptop.

I've download a few e-books. Played with it. Took it to Amarillo yesterday. For all the reasons I mentioned, I love it. There are some downsides.

I can't program it for my email. Customer Support, HELP! I downloaded a cookbook but can't quite see myself propping him up in the kitchen to follow the recipe. Maybe there's a way I can send it to my printer... Stephanie, can you help me out here??? :-)

Josephine will receive a small commission on the sale. That's nice.

Now, as for Travers' birthday.... we had pumpking spice cake. His choice. We also surprised him with a new hoodie featuring logos from the original Star Trek series. He actually amazed us all and smiled.

Travers has been fighting me about taking pics of him and his new hoodie. Eventually, I will prevail!

Now please, I need everyone to rush out and buy an e-book from Josephine. :-)

Richard's Birthday

Favorite son-in-law's birthday is Nov. 30. Trans Siberian Orchestra was coming to LBB on Nov. 14th. As an early birthday gift, we decided to surprise Richard with tickets. They were tucked into a wallet, wrapped in gift wrap, duct tape and more gift wrap. Yes, he was VERY HAPPY! He later told me he knew something was up because both families were in town at the same time. After opening them he asked if his parents were going, too.

Left to right, you're looking at the back of Richard's family: Dickie, Ginger and his sister Robin.

You can see the stage and all the equipment. In front of Dickie was the control booth plus a small platform they used a few times during the show.

There were flames, near-constant laser light shows, OUTSTANDING musicians. A broken bow didn't stop the violinist! 2 1/2 hours of non-stop entertainment! NO intermission. The worst part was getting out of the parking lot. :-(

It's something you need to see at least once. Caution: once you see it you will want to make it an annual tradition! Tickets were only $50. Mainheim Steamroller is coming to LBB and their tickets start at $80. OUCH! Over 6000 in attendance and $1 from the price of each ticket was donated to the local food bank.