Author Archives: Sparky
Printing the blog
I haven’t been blogging much lately, partly because there hasn’t been a lot to blog about (I have been doing a lot of genealogy and the weather has been terrible, so I have been sitting inside, on the computer, a lot). But I recently finished a time-consuming second pass through my ancestors and have started … Continue reading
“The Big Dig” by Linda Barnes
Copyright 2002 by Linda Appleblatt Barnes. Published by St Martin’s Press, New York. This was my first Linda Barnes mystery and I was impressed. She is a very good writer – describes people, places and events vividly and moves the story line along rapidly. I never got bored reading this one. The protagonist is Carlotta … Continue reading
Camping World “diagnostics”
When we bought our fifth wheel in May 2015 we purchased an extended warranty plan that would give us “stem-to-stern” coverage for 6 years. Recently we found a reason to use the plan: a cable on one of our black water tank valves broke, making our half bath unusable. We thought this would also be … Continue reading
“The Sacred Vault” by Andy McDermott
2011 Bantam Books Mass Market Edition This is a book of epic adventure, #6 in the series featuring archaeologists Nina Wilde and Eddie Chase. These books are reminiscent of the Clive Cussler novels in that they involve fantastic locations and non-stop action. And a huge body count. In this book I counted 87 deaths, plus … Continue reading
“No Safe House” by Linwood Barclay
Copyright 2014 Barclay Perspectives, Inc. Published by Penguin Random House. I will give Barclay credit for coming up with a plot that I have never encountered before. A small-time gangster goes into the “private banking” business, taking in cash and other valuables from people who don’t want them where the authorities might find them should … Continue reading
Cruise claims
Our insurance claims for the aborted cruise total $13,601.97, not counting the $202.34 that was automatically refunded by TAP when we cancelled our airline tickets from Venice. There were four separate claims: $394.00 to AIG (airline insurance carrier) for the non-refunded portion of the Venice airfare. $9,253.86 to Aon (cruise insurance) for trip interruption. $2,963.29 … Continue reading
TN4 wrapup
I am belatedly doing the post-mortem on the Fourth Trip North (TN4). By the numbers: 17 nights in 8 hops, 1664 tow miles, 1930 truck miles, $757.93 in campground fees ($44.58 per night). The campground total does not include the 2 nights we spent in the Quality Inn in Lexington MA and if I were … Continue reading
TN4 Hop 8: Newburgh NY to Phillipston MA
190 miles via NY 32, I-87, I-90, MA 21 and US 202. Truck miles: 267. Cumulative tow miles: 1694. Cumulative truck miles: 1930. This was a hop that, like the stay in Newburgh, was not in our plan. The original, ill-fated Hop 7 would have taken I-84 to I-91 up into MA. But from Newburgh … Continue reading
TN4 Road Trip
The truck was left for repair while we rented a car and drove to Boston for two nights in the Quality Inn in Lexington MA. The road trip was necessary because we had two critically important commitments: my first summer softball game on Monday and Jett’s appointment with her doctor on Tuesday. Both went reasonably … Continue reading
Update on Jett’s health
Her most recent blood tests show that her hemoglobin is holding steady at a low-normal level. Her doctor is putting her on B12 supplements and will monitor her condition closely. So while we still don’t know the cause for the near-catastrophic drop in hemoglobin while on the cruise, the fact that it has recovered and … Continue reading »