Still In One Piece

I said in yesterday’s blog that I planned to put a clamp on the gas line of the Chrysler convertible to secure it to the fuel pump. I mentioned then that it would be a simple project for anybody else, but with me doing something mechanical like that, anything could go wrong. I’m happy to report that I’m still here and still in one piece.

After putting chocks under the front wheels and then using my floor jack to raise the back of the car, I put jack stands under the frame. One of my earliest memories is of being at somebody’s house where one of my mom’s cousins was working under a car with just an old-style bumper jack. The jack slipped, and the car fell on him, crushing his head like an egg and killing him instantly. I always remembered that and would never crawl under a car without knowing that it was fully supported. Even so, I had Terry come out to stand by just in case something might go wrong. There’s no such thing as being too careful.

With that chore finished, I cleaned up and started writing, knocking out another 2,400-word chapter in my new Tinder Street book. Another good writing day should put me somewhere around 50,000 words.

But that might not be today because we have to go to Snowflake for a meeting with the attorney who is revising our family trust to make sure it meets all of Arizona’s standards, since we first established the trust when we lived in Florida. Each state has its own little quirks, and we want to make sure that if something happens to us, our estate is handled properly and doesn’t have to go into probate.

Later in the afternoon, Tiffany and Kenny stopped by for a quick visit. It’s the first time we’ve seen him since we went to Texas to pick up the old car. He’s still looking pretty haggard from his surgery, and Tiffany said the doctor told them if it had gone any longer, the gallbladder might have ruptured and he would have been dealing with sepsis. I’m glad they got it out when they did.

Be sure to enter our latest Free Drawing. his week’s prize is an autographed copy of The Ghost of Marlow House, the first book in the Haunting Danielle cozy paranormal mystery series by Bobbi Holmes, who was featured in a recent Author Spotlight. When Danielle Boatman inherits Marlow House, she dreams of turning it into a seaside bed and breakfast. Since she’s never visited the property, Danielle’s not sure what awaits her in Oregon. She certainly doesn’t expect to find one of the house’s previous owners still in residence. After all, the man has been dead for almost ninety years—shouldn’t he have moved on by now? Charming Walt Marlow convinces Danielle the only way he can move on is if she solves the mystery of his death. Danielle soon discovers her real problems may come from the living—those who have their sights on Marlow House’s other secrets.

To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed. After 30 days, unclaimed prizes revert back to the drawing pool for a future contest.

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Did you know that you can find all of my books and sign up for my free author’s newsletter on my website at www.nickrussellbooks.com?

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us. I bet somebody just filled their tank.

Thought For The Day – Never go down the “If Only” road. It never leads anywhere good.