Saturdays after a short week are always a bit of a surprise. I know, David and I are retired—every week is a short week—but there is still a need to pay attention to holidays. One of the joys of being retired is shopping when other people aren’t. We have to plan those Cosco runs. Anyway, short or long, when Saturday comes around, we meet at the bar, Cheryl pours us a cold drink and, among other things, we address Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. This week, she’s giving us another shot at bonus points:
“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: ‘mostly/at least.’ Use one, use ’em both, use ’em any way you’d like. Bonus points if they both appear in your post. Enjoy!”
If we were having a beer, you’d be asking about progress.
“Cheryl, the parking lot is almost full, where is everyone?”
“Outside, David. It’s the first day under ninety degrees, the patio is a hopin’ place.”
“Well, that gives Dan and me lots of room at the bar.”
“Speaking of Dan, here he is, and here’s a nice cold Modelo for him.”
“For him? I think I was here first, Cheryl.”
“Yes, but I’m out of John Howell’s Bourbon.”
“Out?”
“Don’t worry. There’s more downstairs. I sent someone down a few minutes ago.”
“David, join me in a nice cold beer. You can switch to bourbon after one glass.”
“OK, Cheryl, Dan’s buying me a Modelo.”
“Here you go.”
“Thanks Dan. A cold beer does feel good. Can I assume that you didn’t spend much time in your shop this week.”
“I did a little work there on Monday, but I mostly stayed indoors.”
“At least you have a lot to do inside. You’re still working on your next book, aren’t you?”
“I am. Editing is almost done, but I’m still trying to get all the other stuff organized.”
“Other stuff? Is that a technical term used by authors?”
“I didn’t conduct a survey, but it works for me.”
“So, what kind of stuff?”
“I got a final proof copy , and I didn’t like the way the cover looked. Also, I’m organizing a trailer and some other graphic elements.”
“I liked the trailers you did for the other books. Will this be similar?”
“Yes and no—I know, you hate that answer. It will be similar in that I’m trying to build interest without introducing spoilers.”
“And it will be different, how?”
“Less Zach and Billy.”
“But they’re in the book, right?”
“Yes, but this is their swan song. I want to highlight the other characters.”
“For once I actually get to say, ‘I’ll wait for the movie’ – sorry.”
“That’s fine, David.”
“David, are you ready to switch to bourbon?”
“I am, Cheryl, but give Dan another beer.”
“Thanks, David.”
“You said you weren’t in your shop very much. Did that go well?”
“Yes and no.”
“Cheryl, put Dan’s beer back on his tab.”
“Ha ha – I know you’re kidding, David.”
“Dan, what did go well in your shop?”
“Earlier last weekend, I was able to get all the blanks glued up, so on Monday, I ran everything through the surface planer. All the structural parts are at their final thickness.”
“OK, so what did not go well?”
“Cedar shavings tend to be long—the chips don’t break up. That caused my dust-collector to clog.”
“I’d say that sucks, but I guess it doesn’t.”
“Good one, but essentially correct.”
“Is there any way to fix that? I mean, short of not working with cedar ever again.”
“I think so. They make a kit for a separator that collects the large chips before they get to the vacuum.”
“And you bought one of these kits?”
“I did. WoodCraft in West Springfield.”
“Dan, did I hear you say West Springfield?”
“Yes, Cheryl.”
“So, you won’t be interested in anything to eat today.”
“No, I mean yes. Yes, I am interested. I went to WoodCraft and The White Hut yesterday.”
“Then you’re up for a pizza today?”
“I am. David, how ‘bout a pizza. My treat.”
“That sounds good, Dan.”
Sad news: You’ll notice that the flag in today’s gallery is at half-staff. On Thursday, police attempted to pull over a driver whose registration was problematic. The driver drove away at high speed. The police officer did not pursue. The driver continued fleeing the stop. He drove through several intersections, including two red traffic signals. He slammed into a different police cruiser—one not involved in the original attempted stop—and killed one of the police officers in that second cruiser.
All five of my current books are now available in audio book form thanks to Amazon KDP’s Virtual Voice process. The voice is AI generated, but I can honestly say, it’s pretty darn good. The audio books are reasonably priced (all below $7 US) and, if you already own the Kindle version and want to add an audio version, you can do that for $1.99. There is a five-minute sample on the book page for each book. If you’re interested, click on any of the Dreamer’s Alliance book links below the image or on the link below for my latest book.
No Facilities 
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