Friday fun video --The First Help Desk

Now that I've -- yay! -- turned in The Homecoming, sexy SEAL Sax Douchett's story, this week, I've been cleaning old files off my computer while trying to decide whether to download the new Snow Leopard operating system, spring for a new computer, or take this one to the Mac "geniuses" and see if they can get it back up to speed. (If you're a true genius, would working in a Mac retail store at the mall really be your first career choice?)

But I digress. . . For anyone who's ever called a tech help desk, or who's worked in tech support, enjoy this English version of an original Norwegian video:

Friday FUN VIDEO --Delta Wars and United Break Guitars

After signing a contract with NAL for my new Shelter Bay series set on the Oregon Coast, I decided this was a great time to take a trip back home to Oregon, most specifically to Depoe Bay. Not only is it the model for my fictional coastal town, it's also where my sweetie proposed to me, so naturally, I have a lot of good memories of the place. Since I had a LOT of frequent flyer miles saved up, it made sense to use them before Delta Airlines figures out a way to take them away.

Thus began a frustrating two month process which had me going online several times a day only to be blocked for various reasons at every turn. Last week, as the flights I needed began running out of seats, two different customer service reps both essentially told me I was flat out of luck. To quote one when I asked him if that was the case, "Well, I don't want to be blunt. But the answer is yes." Undeterred, I called back and tried a new rep. Who, when I asked if my only hope was to pray to the Delta gods (with whom I'd begun to lose faith), she said that unfortunately she had to agree with rep #1.

But, the way I looked at it, Delta and I had a bargain. A contract, so to speak, going back 30 (!!) years. So, I fought on, and eventually outwitted, outplayed, and OUTLASTED Delta Airlines. So now I have my two first class seats to Oregon for my sweetie and me. Of course, they could still cancel our flight. Or keep us on the tarmac. Or lose our luggage for two days as they have in the past -- which made the Saks store in NYC very happy as we scrambled during a rushed thirty minute window to buy clothes for a special dinner with my publisher, editor, and publisher's PR person. But at least I've gotten over the first hurdle.

For all of you who've suffered your own frustration at the hands of any airline, all of whom seem to have forgotten the meaning of concept of customer service, I offer this hilarious three-part Friday Fun video passed on by friend Michele Benard: United Breaks Guitars. (Oh, and yes, I did buy the song. Partly because I think it's super, and partly to support such a clever response to a year-long airline fight.) Enjoy, and for those of you in the States, have a super holiday weekend!

Cooking with Julie and Julia

I've always loved to cook. When I was a young teenage bride, my sweetie bought me a cookbook for our first Christmas together. The woman at the bookstore recommended a Betty Crocker one with lots of bright pictures and easy recipes, many revolving around canned soup. He proudly assured her that I was much more advanced than that and, ignoring her warning that it might be too difficult, bought me my first Joy of Cooking book. (A friend later bought me my second when the first fell out of a cupboard at a Christmas party and she was appalled by all the food stains, which, to my mind, only meant it had been well loved.) That was only the first of many wonderful cookbooks I've collected over the years. (There are, by the way, some super recipes from locations in my books on my website.)

I grew up in ranching country in Oregon's Cascade Mountains, a small town still isolated miles from the nearest freeway. Which meant dinner pretty much involved hunks of grilled or roast meat and potatoes. (If you've ever eaten a baked potato, or even one of the fabulous new purple fingerlings, there's a good chance it came from my home county.) Right after I got married, my new groom informed me that we needed to save more for our move to Arizona, where he'd been accepted into ASU's grad school. One way to do that, he claimed, was to eat casseroles.

I honestly had NO idea what a casserole was. I asked my mother. She shrugged and said, "'I'm not exactly sure, but I believe it's a bit like a meat loaf."

So, trying to get with this new save-money casserole program, I got a tuna/green bean/condensed mushroom soup recipe from a friend. I rushed home from work and prepared it just as instructed. But it wouldn't turn into a brick-like meatloaf.

I cranked the the oven up to 500 degrees. Still it wouldn't solidify. I tried broiling it. Which made those little canned onion rings on the top nearly black, but didn't help.

I dragged out the pressure cooker (anyone remember them?) we'd gotten as a wedding present and pressured it for a looong time. But it still refused to stick together.

Finally I gave up and threw it in the trash. When my sweetie arrived home all hot and smoky from his summer job fighting forest fires, I burst into tears as I related him my tragic casserole saga. He laughed, gave me a big comforting hug and kiss and assured me I'd never have to make tuna casserole again.

And I haven't.

Because I've been madly writing to deadline, and had a visit from son and grandkidlets last week, I also haven't seen a movie I've been dying to see -- Julie and Julia. But it's on my calendar for September 16th, the day after I turn The Homecoming in. Meanwhile, for those of you who may have been living on Mars the past month and missed it, here's the movie trailer. Enjoy.