And the dust settles...

There once was a Christmas post that was brilliant in it's form and elocution right up until the Google deities ate it.  Now it is all gone.  I will give this another try but, be warned, I am not in nearly so good as mood as I was while typing it the first time.

Christmas here at Chez Serenity was simply wonderful.   It started Friday night when we had my brother & SIL over for a full eat until you burst holiday dinner.    It was one of those evenings when everything goes just right.   My back has been bothering me again, so I took a supervisory roll in the guest prep (i.e. cleaning & cooking).   I have to say that hubby and the boys really stepped up.   The house looked great and dinner was scrumptious.    I am impressed, pleased, & proud of my guys.

Christmas Day was a lovely, comfy, cozy, day.   We got up early to open presents (I got the boys up at 6am!  How is that for role reversal?).   We spent the day, playing with our new toys (Hubby & the boys got Kindles.  I got a new camera), watching Dr. Who, eating leftovers, and hanging out in our PJ’s.  

The ritual opening of presents was a blast.   Hubby & sons were thrilled to receive Kindles (I got mine last year).   My favorite part was watching my boys open their presents.   T1, who since he was little, shakes & smells his presents before announcing that they must be Legos, was stunned and pleased when he realized that for the first time in a long time, his Santa present actually was Legos (In my family only those who believe receive.  Consequently, we never admit to not believing).   Then, when T2 began crowing in delight at his new Kindle, T1 dropped what he was opening to search for the right size box, so that he could confirm that he got one too.   It was just too sweet watching my big guys momentarily revisit to their little guy days.   Actually the most fun item was sent to T1 by the ex.   It was a flying monkey (ala Wizard of Oz).   You shoot it from your fingers like a sling shot while it screams monkey noises.   What a hoot!   I think I played with it more than the boys did.

Hubby is somewhat less effusive than the boys and I (he is, after all, Scottish and a bit reserved) but he assures me that he loved his presents and enjoyed watching me “shriek” with delight at mine.

I can not remember when I have gotten so many perfect presents on a single holiday.   Nothing I received will be returned/exchanged.   Hubby got me a DKNY handbag & wallet that I had petted while we were Xmas shopping.   He went back one night after work so I never saw it coming and was thrilled with my surprise.   I was also shocked to get the Cannon PowerShot that was on my Xmas list.   That and a new sewing machine were my hoped for bit ticket items.   There were no sewing machine size boxes under the tree and T2 had said something that made me think I was not going to get the camera.   Imagine my delighted surprise when I unwrapped it after all.   I spent the rest of the day taking pictures of our tree, hubby and the boys.   Also, under the tree were earrings and a pendent from the Southern Christmas show (turns out there was not really a like for the men’s room), and the cutest goofy sheep from a local artist (“That’s okay honey.  I will wait for the man to wrap your mom’s gift.   You go chat with Jamie”), a lovely dolphin painting (created just for me by a family friend), and the sweetest angel tote bag courtesy of friend, Robin.    Again, I say, I LOVED every last one of my Christmas presents.

May all of your holidays bring you peace, love, & joy.

Don't mess with my....

Have you heard that MacMillan publishing is trying to force up the price of ebooks (read more here)?  In response Amazon has temporarily pulled MacMillan’s books (digital & other from their site).   No doubt, there is more than a one side to this story.   As a reader, here is mine:

A couple of months ago I got tired of waiting to have enough money to buy an eReader.   In a fit of pique, I sold off the last of my ex-husband’s jewelry, cashed in my coin jar (for real!), sold a thing or two on Ebay, and bought myself a Nook (disappointing) which I almost immediately exchanged for a Kindle2 (which I love).

I am an avid (sometimes book-a-day) reader.   I read in bed, while I wait for my boys, while I knit (and wait for my boys), in public, and at home.   Books have been my cave for as long as I can remember.   I worried that I might not like the eReader format (too sterile?), but I was wrong.   I love, love, love, my Kindle.  A big part of this love/love relationship is being able to carry lots of books (there are knitting books!) with me sans back/shoulder pain.   

Like so many, I am on a budget, with a set amount put aside for books each pay check.    Accordingly, the lower price of Kindle books allows me to buy more books.  I had hoped that Amazon would stand firm, thus preventing MacMillan from forcing up eBook prices, but apparently that is not to be (read more here).    

MacMillan has prevailed at our, the readers, expense (literally),  but the ultimate outcome will be up to us, their customers.   Businesses, and publishing is a business, run with what works for them.   If we shrug our shoulders and pay their needlessly high prices, we will make MacMillan and others like them very happy.    If we give preference to the publishers that are charging reasonable ($10 or less) prices (there are quite a few), and buy the higher price books only when necessary (i.e text books), we will make those same publishers unhappy, thereby discouraging them from making it harder for those of us who must watch our pennies, to continue feeding our minds.

Think about it….

All's well that ends well...

After much thought, I decided to return the B&N Nook. It is likely that most of it's problems will be resolved via software patches, but, honestly, I did not pay that much money for something that will likely work someday.

Yesterday, I ordered a Kindle2. Today, I went to my local Barnes & Noble and returned the Nook. At first the manager thought he would have to charge me a $26 re-stocking fee. I pointed out that the return policy calls for the fee on "non-defective" units and that since mine required a software "fix" to work properly that made it de-facto "defective". I was ready to fight but I did not have to. He relented quickly and gracefully. Not only did he not charge the re-stocking fee but he refunded the maintenance plan too. There was a moment when it seemed like the computer would only issue a store credit (rather than a credit to my charge card) but he quickly found a way around that and all was well.

Once home, my Kindle was waiting (I went for overnight shipping). It was good to go right out of the box. It was even already registered to my account so the books I bought last night were already loaded and ready to read. I have already cast on for a felted sleeve for it, which I am going to go knit now (while I read my book, of course). :-)