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A taste of summer
Jun. 10th, 2011 05:19 amThe weather has finally started to warm up around here. After two months with highs from 60°-64°, it's finally getting up to around 68°. It's a small change, but it really makes all the difference. Some of the flowers on my balcony are getting ready to open at last, and one of my plumeria cuttings is showing signs of unfurling new leaves. My tomato plant has one marble-sized fruit in evidence.
The egg in the dove nest outside my door hatched safely, and I was able to get a picture of the happy family. Sadly, when I came home from work yesterday, the entire nest was gone. I don't know who removed it, why they did it, or what became of it. I hope they put it in a safe place, and that the baby dove is okay.
Another sign that summer is near is that county fairs are starting to open. If anyone is in the Bay Area next week with time off midafternoon on a weekday, Benny and I will be making an appearance (in uniform!) at the San Mateo County Fair from 1-2pm on Monday and Friday.
Plans for my house closing are proceeding smoothly so far. The appraisal came in at just the right price, and I have insurance lined up. Now I'm just waiting for some money from an out-of-state account to be delivered for the down payment. My parents have generously boxed up all of my stuff that has been taking up space at their house and will be driving it cross-country to help me move.
I want to end with a testimonial for the Sunshine Prince Hotel in Tokyo. I was trying to make a connecting-room reservation for a two week summer vacation there, but I was having difficulty because the discount price I was choosing was sold out for a weekend partway through the stay. I ended up with rooms on different floors, meaning my friends and I would have to change rooms twice, and then I got a note from the hotel that there were no connecting rooms on the floors I had selected. I wrote back saying, "I would reaaaaally like connecting rooms if possible, and it would be convenient if we didn't have to change rooms in the middle of our stay."
The hotel reservation staff promptly switched us to connecting rooms on a different floor, allowed us to stay in the same rooms during the whole two weeks, and even gave us a bigger discount than the one I had reserved. That saved us over $600. I can't say enough good things about this place. Best customer service EVER.
The egg in the dove nest outside my door hatched safely, and I was able to get a picture of the happy family. Sadly, when I came home from work yesterday, the entire nest was gone. I don't know who removed it, why they did it, or what became of it. I hope they put it in a safe place, and that the baby dove is okay.
Another sign that summer is near is that county fairs are starting to open. If anyone is in the Bay Area next week with time off midafternoon on a weekday, Benny and I will be making an appearance (in uniform!) at the San Mateo County Fair from 1-2pm on Monday and Friday.
Plans for my house closing are proceeding smoothly so far. The appraisal came in at just the right price, and I have insurance lined up. Now I'm just waiting for some money from an out-of-state account to be delivered for the down payment. My parents have generously boxed up all of my stuff that has been taking up space at their house and will be driving it cross-country to help me move.
I want to end with a testimonial for the Sunshine Prince Hotel in Tokyo. I was trying to make a connecting-room reservation for a two week summer vacation there, but I was having difficulty because the discount price I was choosing was sold out for a weekend partway through the stay. I ended up with rooms on different floors, meaning my friends and I would have to change rooms twice, and then I got a note from the hotel that there were no connecting rooms on the floors I had selected. I wrote back saying, "I would reaaaaally like connecting rooms if possible, and it would be convenient if we didn't have to change rooms in the middle of our stay."
The hotel reservation staff promptly switched us to connecting rooms on a different floor, allowed us to stay in the same rooms during the whole two weeks, and even gave us a bigger discount than the one I had reserved. That saved us over $600. I can't say enough good things about this place. Best customer service EVER.
