So how about you?  Love ebooks?  Insist on paper?  Mother’s Day is coming up—is anyone thinking about giving (my mom already has a Kindle) or hoping to get an eReader?  If so, which one do you like? 

We arrived early enough to see the pre-game hoopla which consisted of girls shooting tee shirt balls out of cannons, giant flags stretched across the field, country music star Clay Walker singing The Star
Spangled Banner, and The Clydesdales presenting the game ball.  Okay, it was actually the guy driving the Clydesdales who handed off the ball, but still.  We’re talking about the Budweiser Clydesdales trotting around the baseball field.

The rosters of both teams were introduced.  The Colorado Rockies even introduced their massage therapist.  I am not making this up.

During the game, I saw broken bats and back to back home runs.  We ate expensive hot dogs and peanuts, but not Crackerjacks.  Lights flashed telling us to “Root Root Root” (new this year) but not how.  Were we supposed to yell, “Root”?

At one point, I was digging in my purse and heard the crack of the bat.  Hubby yells, “Watch out!”  Naturally, I assume he’s kidding and ignore him.  He was not.  A foul ball landed four rows directly behind me.  “How could you not see that coming?” he asks.  Because I was trying to get the empty peanut shells out of my purse, that’s how.

After the game was my favorite part–the fireworks.  I love fireworks.  A couple of colors were new to me–a pale green and a bronze that was definitely not gold.

The final score was Colorado 5 and the Astros 3, so it looks as though the Budweiser Clydesdales made the trip for nothing.  The Astros won’t be able to sell beer because they lost the opener.

Are you a baseball fan?  If so, what team?  And if you saw “Root Root Root” (no punctuation), what would you do?

But so do those of you who claim they were enchanted by the whimsy of a working carousel and pricey drinks.  Since my name is rarely mentioned in the same sentence as Faulkner, Williams, Hemmingway, Welty, and Capote, I knew I had to spend some time at the revolving bar.  For the good of my career.

I don’t spend a lot of time in bars, spinning or otherwise, so once I eliminate anything with tequila or absinthe, I generally order drinks according to how they’re garnished.  Anything in a coconut shell with a flower is great.  Extra points if the shell is carved into a face.  One umbrella is good, two are even better.  A metallic fountain cocktail pick spearing a bunch of fruit is right up there.  The Carousel Bar has none of these, but they did have cool swizzle sticks.  They also have incredibly complex drinks that I’d never heard of before.  After much studying of the menu and embarrassing my hubby, who came along (and insists on ordering drinks with tequila and/or absinthe), I ordered a Jazzeraco, which was Barsol Pisco, Gran Classico, simple syrup, fresh orange, and Aztec Chocolate Bitters.

Corpse Reviver #2 (left), Jazzeraco on the right.

The embarrassing part was when I Googled Barsol Pisco on my phone while sitting at the bar.  It’s a brandy from Peru.   Hubby ordered a Corpse Reviver #2.  That one has Tanqueray Gin, Cointreau, Lillet Blanc, Absinthe, and fresh lemon juice.  They tasted very jazzy and, er, reviving.

The next night, I ordered a Eudora’s Purple Hat in honor of Eudora Welty.  People watched as the bartender began running around the middle section of the carousel to find the ingredients which are:  Ketel One Citroen, fresh lemon juice, Crème de Violet, Black Raspberry Liqueur, simple syrup, and egg white.  Yes, the white of an egg.  “The lemon juice cooks it,” says the bartender.  I’ll pretend I believe that.  I think it was the sound of the egg cracking that brought all conversation to a halt.  Except for us.

London Fairy on the left, the pretty violet drink is Eudora's Purple Hat.

“What is he doing with that?” hubby asks.  “Putting it in my drink.  It’ll make a froth.”  Another egg cracks.  “Two of them?” he asks me.  “No.  That’s going in your drink.”  Hubby has ordered (with a straight face) a London Fairy consisting of Bombay Sapphire, Lucid Absinthe, fresh lime juice, pineapple juice, egg white, and simple syrup.  “I’m not supposed to have egg in my drink,” he insists.  I point out the egg white in the drink description.  “But I didn’t know it was going to come from an egg!”

It was actually good and did not taste like raw egg white; however, the drinks blew our dinner budget, so it was lucky that there was some protein in them.

What’s the most exotic drink–alcoholic or non–you’ve ever ordered?  If you checked the Carousel’s menu, what drink would you have chosen?

© Jeffrey Collingwood | Dreamstime.com

My college roomie has the TCU fight song as her ringtone.  I found the Pink Panther theme, but I can’t figure out who should get that one.  I’d give it to myself, but I assigned myself the loudest ringtone I could because the only time I call my phone is when I can’t find it.

Does anyone else play with ringtones?  What are some of the ones you’ve used?

It’s short and it’s powerful, especially when he uses the repetition in the middle.  The remarkable thing is that FDR wrote the speech, himself, because his speech writers were out of town.  Others advised him to include more detail, but he wisely kept the speech short and let careful word choice and rhythm deliver an emotional punch.

It’s a good reminder that our words do have power, whether in a blog post, a tweet, a Blaze, a heartfelt thank-you, a note of condolence, a review, shouted in anger, or murmured with love.  Use them wisely.

And with that, I wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season.  May Santa bring you lots of books!  Merry Christmas!

(c) Christapper | Dreamstime

Finally, finally, we’ve had a break in the searing, skin-sizzling heat of summer and early fall.  A big break.  This morning, the temperature outside was in the thirties.  Okay, thirty-nine–briefly.  So briefly, that by the time I got my camera to take a picture to illustrate, it was forty.

The point is that it was nippy and my favorite time of year to drink a cup of hot coffee.  I like strong coffee diluted with lots of milk.  In other words, café au lait.  I fill a big mug and step outside onto the patio.  I stand there and shiver for a moment because it’s such a rarity to have shiver weather in Houston.  And then I drink my coffee and enjoy the morning for about thirty seconds because I am not used to shiver weather and my coffee is gone by then, anyway.

(c) Ivan Hafizov | Dreamstime

On cold, rainy afternoons, I drink tea, also with milk.  Usually, I like Early Grey, but last year, I discovered chai.  And I discovered chai is best with lots of sugar and whole milk.  I’m cutting back on the chai this year, helped by the fact that we’re in a drought and there won’t be so many rainy afternoons.

So how about you?  Coffee?  How do you take it?  Tea?  What kind?  Or are you a hot chocolate drinker?

So when I decided to contact behemoth Johnson & Johnson about their Acuvue contact lenses, I had low expectations. I charged up my handset and prepared to dust, unload the dishwasher, and file, which is what I usually do when on hold. But after pressing one of two choices, I was talking to an actual person. She didn’t have to “redirect my call” and was able to answer my questions. She also suggested I speak to one of their nurses and seconds later, I was. I never felt rushed and they reassured me that they stood behind their product. A month later, I had to find out if they really meant what they said when two of the first three lenses I wore chipped. I’m caring for them correctly, so who knows why. Frustrated, I call J&J. Again, within seconds, I’m talking with a rep who takes my info, finds out where I bought the lenses, says, “Oh, good. We have a replacement contract with them. Let me get them on line.” Let me give a shout out to OptiContacts here, because fifteen seconds later, I’m talking to a rep who verifies my address and a couple of days later, my contacts arrive in the mail.

Yes, I know that’s the way it’s supposed to work, but here’s why I’m writing. J&J didn’t just replace the two chipped lenses–they sent a box of six. I know. I was stunned, too, because they’re expensive. But I got to thinking that it was a great move on their part. Of course, the cost to J&J is a lot less. Lenses barely weigh anything, so for them, the shipping and handling expenses were the same, and they know I’m covered in case there are future chips. By investing a few extra dollars, they gained priceless goodwill. I’ve told a lot of people and I’m writing about it here.

Amazon was also great to work with. I got a hold of a real person who upgraded my shipping when she didn’t have to, and another who express shipped a replacement for a damaged order. Easy to contact and quick problem resolution.

Why don’t more companies understand the value of good customer service? Or maybe we just don’t hear about them because people take the time to complain more than praise.

Today let’s give some credit for good customer service. I hope you’ve had some, lately. Who was it and what did they do?

I don’t even have the Pottery Barn style.  I don’t think I own anything that came from Pottery Barn.  And yet the lushly-staged photographs make me want to step into the pages and lounge on the chicly-neutral, accented-with-pops-of-color-pillowed furniture in the rooms painted with coordinating Benjamin Moore paint.

Half-full beverage glasses are common in the pictures, as though people stepped away for a moment–maybe to mail my invitation to join them in a lifestyle where the sun always casts long shadows in a spice-colored world.

What catalog do you want to live in?

eBunco.com

Any Bunco players out there?  I play with a neighborhood group once a month and really enjoy it.  It’s a very simple game–at least the way we play it.  There are tables of four and you play with a partner.  You roll three dice and count sixes.  If you roll a six–you keep rolling until you don’t roll a six.  That’s the end of your turn and you pass the dice to another player.  Each six counts as one point.  If you throw three sixes in a roll, it’s called a bunco and is worth six points to the team that grabs at least two of the three dice.  I’ve seen variations of the rules, but I’ve never seen one that encourages free-for-all fighting for the dice.  I’m thinking of proposing an amendment to the rules prohibiting long fingernails.

One table is designated as the head table and plays until one team reaches twenty-one points.  When that happens, they ring a bell and all play stops.  The winning teams move to the next table and change partners, and the losing teams remain behind.  There have been nights when I’ve stayed for an hour at a single table.

© Michal Adamczyk | Dreamstime.comtable.

In other versions of the game, you have to keep track of rounds and which number gets points, but that’s too complex for us.  Our group doesn’t want to think.  At the end of the evening, prizes are awarded for most games won, most buncos rolled, second most games, least games, and a roll off for a consolation prize.

Do you play bunco?  If so, what version of the rules do you use?