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September 2008 Archives

September 4, 2008

More on Our Birthday Fortnight (If You Don't Like It - Get Your Own Blog)

On the Actual Day (Sunday), we headed to Prospect for dinner (not in our bus, but in my convertable Saab, which Tim is ashamed to be seen in, let alone drive - isn't Our Royal Birthday fabulous?) Prospect, just outside of Longmont (yeah, I know that clarifies it for you), is billed as Colorado's first New Urbanist community. Whatever. I thought it was kinda cute in a Prisoner-meets-Deadwood kinda way. (Ah, dating myself with the former - how apropos during my bday fortnight.) We half-expected to see a giant white ball bouncing down the streets before it was deflated by a shotgun blast. (Patrick McGoohan, are you taking notes? If not, "Be seeing you." Oh, don't say it. I'm pathetic.)

What do you think?

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Now, here's a street I could live on:

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After dinner, we returned to the castle, where We changed into Our usual attire...

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Other Royally celebratory activities this week include:

As if they haven't already done enough for this Royal, Celestial Seasonings has posted the QUEEN OF THE ROAD webcast We did at their fabulous tour center a few weeks ago. Even if you don't want to see it, go on over to get the winning entries to their QUEEN OF THE ROAD tea-tini contest. (They look quite delectable - can't wait for Sir Tim to make them.) This is what it looked like when we recorded it:

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That's Bob Kennedy with the camera.

Do check out and sign up for the Celestial Seasonings Adventure At Every Turn Book Club. Obviously, they take great care in their selections!

Finally, Jerry WAXLER (sorry, Sir Jer), posted yet another glowing tribute (is there any other kind?) to Your Queen's missive on his blog.

The Queen Father (is that what they're called?) also had a birthday this week, as will the Queen Cousin (now, I know something's wrong in this case with that one), Doug, in 2 weeks. So, happy birthday Dad and happy birthday-to-be Doug! Enjoy these 19 days a year in which we are the exact same age. You're turning 50, right? Meow.

September 11, 2008

Cousin JT's Got Fans (And I Don't Mean In His Radiator)

Somehow, a wonderful book group in Ketchum, Idaho, decided to read QUEEN OF THE ROAD, even though (as they pointed out) there was nary a mention of their fabulous state in any of my book’s pages.

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Back row from left: Monica, Ramona, Julie, Chrissy
Front: Heather G., Jennifer T., Jennifer S., Mary, Alee.
Heather D. took the picture.

The group did provide some serious criticism, however. To wit, that I do not proffer a “Cousin JT’s been run’d over by the tractor” mug in my QUEEN OF THE ROAD shop. I merely have the t-shirt.
(Poor Cousin JT – he was run’d over by the tractor and all he got was a lousy t-shirt.)

For those of you wondering, Cousin JT is still doing well. And, how did he feel (ah, the shrink in me) about that episode being portrayed in QUEEN OF THE ROAD? Well, we recently got a picture of Cousin JT posing – in one of those very t-shirts – in front of that very tractor. Lookin' good, Cousin JT! (And my favorite book group in Idaho.) Ladies, Cousin JT thanks you for your concern and fandom!

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September 15, 2008

Fun in the Workplace

OK. So, this is the first time I have EVAH even had the genesis of the thought, "Hmmm. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad getting out of my PJs, getting dressed and going to work."

Don't worry. I said it was just a genesis. This book group works at wfrv.com, channel 5 in Green Bay, WI. (It's the CBS affiliate.) I guess with RV in the station's call letters, they really couldn't help but pick QUEEN OF THE ROAD, no?

They even took the picture on their news set:

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From left to right standing: Mauree, Erika, Vicky, Gretchen, and Kathy.
Seated/kneeling left to right: Dana and Erin.

Seems like a very fun work environment, no?

September 18, 2008

Sex in RV Parks

(I was going to call this post, "Dear Abby Don't Know Nothin' 'Bout RVs," but realized I wanted people to read it.)

One of my dear readers (yes, I actually have some of those - OK, one. Geez.), send me this recent Dear Abby column:

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I are in our early 50s and starting to spend a lot of time traveling in our RV and staying in RV parks and campgrounds.

My question is about sex. With everyone so close, how do folks handle this? -- TWO FOR THE ROAD

DEAR T FOR THE R: I searched frantically for my manual on sex etiquette in RV communities, but seem to have misplaced it. However, to the best of my recollection, the way to "handle it" would be to find a spot to park your RV some distance away from the other vehicles, keep the windows shut and try to keep your voices down.

Maybe my next book should be a manual on sex etiquette in RV communities, because Abby, you got it wrong. You've obviously never been in an RV park. You usually can't just "find a spot." You're assigned one. Even if you pick the one you want, "some distance away from the other vehicles" is rarely an option - that's what everyone wants. So, even if you manage to ah... score such a sweet spot... someone else is likely to park close by before long.

And, I hope you didn't mean that T FOR THE R should just pull up stakes whenever the moment feels right in order to find an out-of-the-way cement pad. Real romantic, Abby. Besides, you gotta (OK, Tim gotta) unhook the water, electric and sewer (Ooooh! Bottle and sell that aphrodesiac potential), turn on the engine and go. That's all far noisier than any motorhome moaning (for most of us, anyway - and if you're the exception, could I interview you for that RV sex ettiquette book?). Frankly, I've stayed in some dive motels with shared walls thinner than an RVs - and I guarentee you our neighbors could not have cared less about the noise they made.

On a related note, during one of the first radio interviews I did for QUEEN OF THE ROAD, the host asked, "How do you have sex in an RV?" (It was an LA radio station, natch.) I told him we had a queen-sized bed and countertops in the kitchen, just like we do at home. Can you say, "moron"? Good. I bet he can't.

So, what would be my advice for T FOR THE R? It's a little snarkier than some others' might be (What do you want from me?): Relax, hon. When most people are cocooned in their rigs for the night, they've got the TV on. And, even if they figure out what's going on in yours, I doubt they'd be shocked - unless you arrive at the campground in a nun's habit. And even then....

For everyone else in the RV park, just remember: if it's rockin', don't bother knockin'.


September 24, 2008

Tim's Demented Aunt and Jim's Unit

Tim was gone most of last week, visiting his buddy Jim at some God-forsaken cabin Jim's sister and her husband are building in Westcliff, Colorado. It's not even actually in Westcliff. That would probably be too civilized for them.

Linda and Joe are truly off-the-grind kinda people. They work when they have to (as engineers at a major tech firm), just so they don't have to work - like, terribly much. That's why they're building this thing (and I do mean they are building it) as a summer home in that God-forsaken place.

When Jim first invited Tim down for a visit, I called his wife, Lisa, who happens to be a close friend of mine, as well.

"Lisa! Let's also meet there. It'll be great to see you!" I exclaimed.

"Uh... Doreen," she stammered. "I-I don't think you realize what this place is like." She went on to explain that it's beyond rustic. So much so, that she's never even been there. Like, they just got indoor plumbing. They use solar power, so essentially freeze at night - well, there is the wood-burning stove for the entire thing. They're so far from anywhere, in fact, they only go to the supermarket once a month.

"OK, Lisa. I really want to see you - but not that much," I conceded.

"Me, too."

Jim takes his RV to the cabin when he drives from their home in Prescott, Arizona to visit Linda and Joe. He calls his rig his "unit."

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He and Tim slept in it.

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This is why they didn't sleep in the cabin:

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The morning Tim left me at home, he said good-bye with a concerned look on his face.

"OK, Sweetie. I did the laundry, so you should have clean underwear. The dishes in the dishwasher are also clean - I just ran it last night. I gassed up your car, so you've got a full tank. There's - "

"You know, it's not like you're leaving your demented aunt alone for the week." He shot me a dubious look.

"Fine." I continued. "So how come you didn't hire a sitter?" His face lit up.

"You think there's still time?"

Nice.

When Tim got home, the first thing he noticed was that the electric blanket was on the bed.

"You used the electric blanket?" You would think he knows me well enough after nearly 20 years not be incredulous about my inability to maintain any modicum of body heat - even while it was still officially summer.

"The bed just wouldn't warm up without you in it." He shook his head and gave me a look of despair.

"That's because you have no soul."

Very nice.

The second thing he noticed is that I was in my PJs. It was 4 pm. (Those of you who know me know it was most definitely not because I had gotten ready for bed early.)

But, something was amiss.

“Sweetie, is your nightgown inside out?” I looked down.

“Yeah. I guess it is,” I shrugged.

“Sweetie, PLEASE take it off and turn it right. It’s bad enough if people see you in it all day, but if it’s inside out, they’ll start offering to help me toilet and feed you.”

Very, very nice.

Finally, that night, we saw on TV it was something called "National Stay at Home Week." They pay someone to think up this stuff? I proudly proclaimed, "See? I'm ahead of my time." Tim, recalling that the gas gauge on my car still indicated, "full" upon his return, rolled his eyes.

''Only a week? Amateurs."

September 30, 2008

An Evening with a New York Times Bestselling Author

Sadly, I don't mean me.

John Robison, author of LOOK ME IN THE EYE, came to town to do a signing and talk at the Boulder Bookstore. He, his fabulo media escort, Beth Vagle, Tim and I met for dinner at local fish haunt, Jax.

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(When Beth handed me her card, she said, "It just has my contact info, but not my job title." I wanted to know why. She obliged: "I don't want it to say, 'escort'". Good point, Beth!)

If you're not following John's blog, you should. He's a "free range Aspergian" and recently, has been undergoing a TMS experimental procedure at Harvard. (Which reminds me: One of my best friends from teen years at summer camp at Cejwin went to Hofstra University on Long Island. Whenever people asked her where she went to school, she'd say, "Hah hah." She said they'd figure she was answering, "Harvard," but was being shy and modest. Little did they know.)

Anyway. John and I first "met" on Absolute Write, but then actually met in real life when the hardcover of LOOK ME IN THE EYE came out last year. Since then, he's been involved with the TMS research. His take on the differences he's noticed is fascinating. I have to say (and did, to John), that there was a certain warmth I hadn't seen on our last visit. It's as if he's become more emotionally intuitive, along with his considerable and long-standing mechanical intuition.

He's just a very sweet man, who wrote a very important book. Read it.

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About September 2008

This page contains all entries posted to What Do You Want From Me? by Doreen Orion in September 2008. They are listed from oldest to newest.

August 2008 is the previous archive.

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