Wednesday, November 30, 2011


Man is it sounding nasty out there -- the wind is just howling. No snow yet but awful awful wind.

Work was work. Walked the dogs quickly, had dinner and then got caught up on a Star Trek documentary on the science channel. The angle was the son of creator Gene Roddenberry learning to appreciate what his father had done. Growing up, he did not like the show and as his dad was gone a lot making the show, Roddenberry wasn't a good father. I've always loved Star Trek, from the repeats of the original (so in love with Kirk), the tie-in novels, the Next Gen, and even the new movie. I wish I could convey how I get goosebumps when I hear the opening music.


So now it's 8:00, I've not really read the news and at this point I'd like to soak in the hot shower because the wind makes me cold and then finish my book because I'm ] [ that close to finishing it.
Moby is fixed. It was something about a "grounding". I dunno.

The inside of the sliding glass door is done (other than staining) but the outside still needs framing but that is just cosmetic. Oh, I'm wrong, it is snowing out but not much accumulation. Brrr.


You know, I'm a strange person. I don't really like sweet things for breakfast other than my tea. I've had to have oatmeal for breakfast this week. Screw it. I'm making macaroni. I'm out of rice and can't get groceries until Friday so I'm having buttered macaroni.


Sounds like Steve is home from shooting. Time to wrap up.


Stay warm and cozy, everyone.


Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

I couldn't just leave that picture there...just look at their faces! Just try putting something else up... you can't do it, can you...


Tuesday. Not Friday yet. Bah.

I got home from work, changed clothes, threw the dogs in the vehicle, it made one second of good noise and then .... dead again. Steve I think has it going now but we're having it looked at tomorrow. The dogs, however, would NOT GET OUT OF THE FRICKIN' CAR. I finally left them there. I went back several minutes later and they were still sitting in the car in the dark garage. I had to plead with them to get out with summer sausage and even then it was touch and go. Oy. Steve just took them for a walk around the block.


We're getting a new french door to the back. A construction guy owed Steve and in payment had this new french door so they're putting it in. It's not done quite yet. Needs framing and handles and so forth. It's heavier for sure but needs to be stained. It opens and closes really easy and smooth. Steve said when the door was closed during the install he couldn't hear the laborers' radio. Nice.


Don't know what to do for dinner tonight. Kinda tired of turkey. :)


Hey, Obama's job approval numbers has fallen below Carter's! Not surprising and probably not the wake up call some people need.....


I plan to read and relax tonight. I wish I had more ambition in the evenings but I'm tired, tired of people, and just need "me" time.


Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Monday, November 28, 2011

Oh yeah


I'm currently reading THE MANOR OF DEATH by Bernard Knight. This is 12th of 14 in series featuring Sir John de Wolfe, the crowner (coroner), in 12th century Devon, England. Here is a summary:
When an unidentified body is discovered in the harbor town of Axmouth, the county coroner Sir John de Wolfe is summoned to investigate. The manner of the young man's death is a matter of some dispute, but it was clearly no accident. In the ensuing murder investigation, Sir John is frustrated by what appears to be a conspiracy of silence among the seamen and townsfolk. There are many inhabitants of Axmouth who seem willing to go to extreme lengths to ensure that the shocking truth behind the death remains hidden. Sir John will need courage, cunning, and determination if he is to solve the case and escape from the town with his life.
It was published in 2008 and has 368. Blechy Monday. Glad it's over. Much love, PK the Bookeemonster

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Easy


Saturday morning. I've been up for a couple hours. Took the dogs for a run in the field, dropped off Brad's hat that fell out of his truck when he was here Thursday. Breakfast done, reading the news and blogs online. I don't really have anything planned. If it weren't the weekend after Thanksgiving and all the madness out there in retail, this would have been a great day for coffee at Barnes and Noble with my friend. But I'm not venturing down that way.

I will do bedding and towels laundry. I believe there is a nap or two in my future today. No clue what to do for dinner as we wound up having turkey last night.


I finished A BURIAL AT SEA by Charles Finch last night. Next up could be THE COMPLAINTS by Ian Rankin which is a 14-day book from the library. We'll see if it hits my mood.


The sun is shining but it looks to be still windy. I don't know what Steve will be doing today he mentioned he might go shooting with someone or go to a gun show but only if he is asked. I think he'd druther stay home today too.


Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Friday, November 25, 2011

Yes, the boys would love it -- no, I won't do it



I worked until 3, no breaks. Phones were steady. There were only two of us in the collection dept there. Uff da.


Then I walked the dogs -- majorly windy out. The good news is we don't have to be in the Christmas parade tonight. Woot!

Thanksgiving went well. The only hiccup was a bag of potatoes -- new from Walmart and previously unopened -- that were all bad. But I called the parents and they were able to rescue me. Dinner was good, I think. Plenty of food -- in fact I forgot I was going to do green beans for those that don't like creamed corn (most normal people) and completely forgot them in the microwave. We watched football then the rest of the day (Cowboys won!). I was tired by bedtime; wasn't able to take a nap.

Tonight and the rest of the weekend, I'm totally relaxing. The house is in good shape -- excellent shape, really -- so the only chores I have to do is laundry.

We have leftovers of course to eat not only from Thanksgiving but from the sausage/potato casserole I made earlier in the week, however, after a turkey bun snack for dinner last night and a turkey sandwich for lunch I'm not in the mood for any leftovers. Steve may be bringing Taco Bell or something. :)

All right, off you go. I have much reading to do. Have a good evening!

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving



Did you know that the first [Plymouth Colony Pilgrim's] Thanksgiving was a celebration of the triumph of private property and individual initiative?

William Bradford was the governor of the original Pilgrim colony, founded at Plymouth in 1621. The colony was first organized on a communal basis, as their financiers required. Land was owned in common. The Pilgrims farmed communally, too, following the "from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs" precept.

The results were disastrous. Communism didn't work any better 400 years ago than it does today. By 1623, the colony had suffered serious losses. Starvation was imminent.

Bradford realized that the communal system encouraged and rewarded waste and laziness and inefficiency, and destroyed individual initiative. Desperate, he abolished it. He distributed private plots of land among the surviving Pilgrims, encouraging them to plant early and farm as individuals, not collectively.

The results: a bountiful early harvest that saved the colonies. After the harvest, the Pilgrims celebrated with a day of Thanksgiving -- on August 9th.

Unfortunately, William Bradford's diaries -- in which he recorded the failure of the collectivist system and the triumph of private enterprise -- were lost for many years. When Thanksgiving was later made a national holiday, the present November date was chosen. And the lesson the Pilgrims so painfully learned was, alas, not made a part of the holiday.

Happily, Bradford's diaries were later rediscovered. They're available today in paperback. They tell the real story of Thanksgiving -- how private property and individual initiative saved the Pilgrims.

This Thanksgiving season, one of the many things I'm thankful for is our free market system (imperfectly realized as it is). And I'm also grateful that there are increasing numbers of Americans who are learning the importance of free markets, and who are working to replace government coercion with marketplace cooperation here in America and around the world.

Paul Schmidt

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

There's always room for one more



And so the holiday begins. I've got homemade apple crisp going in the oven right now as an alternative to pumpkin pie for dessert tomorrow. I hate pumpkin. And I felt like making apple crisp. After that I plan to make some Chex mix though the bowl I usually put it in may be needed tomorrow in the making of the stuffing... think think think....

Work was tolerable. Actually, the calls were making me cranky but I went to my happy place -- the library -- and felt better afterward.


Tomorrow I intend dinner to be between 12 and 1. Cowboys play at 2, I think. I'll walk the dogs per usual early and then probably get the turkey and crockpot stuffing going around 8:30 or 9.


I had a textbook to return to Amazon today. I had ordered it in case I got the job that I didn't. So I arranged to return it and have UPS pick it up on our doorstep. I left it on the doorstep right before leaving for work this morning. I then get a text from Steve that an Amazon box had been left on our doorstep and he had it. Argh! After a couple texts back and forth he returned it and as far as I know it is a done deal. Steve scolded me and said there needed to be a little better communication. I DID NOT say, it was fine until you got in the middle of it. Peace in the family, my motto.


I may not get a chance to post tomorrow: Have a very happy Thanksgiving.


Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Yeah, not feeling the love....


Another day to x off the calendar. Busy at work, coworker gone again. Got a free turkey from the hospital. Walked the dogs. Had hamburgers for dinner. Didn't watch the debate tonight. Didn't get the job for which I interviewed on my birthday. Gotta do some reading and then head for bed so we can do it all over again tomorrow.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Monday, November 21, 2011

No, that's more like today


Very tired and a slight headache. One of the collectors called in sick today so there were two of us answering the phones which is difficult on a Monday, our busiest day. Then my coworker disappeared for over an hour in the afternoon chatting with the boss so you can't say anything. Just tired.

So I walked the dogs, did dinner and just got the dishwasher going. I would like to read but frankly, I may not. Steve is across the street working on a garage door.


You know, it wasn't too long ago we were shaking our heads saying someday stores will be open on Thanksgiving. That day it today. Best Buy is open at 10pm. That's just wrong. Even worse was a story on the news this morning that some guy has been camping out "in line" at Best Buy since last Monday so he can be "first." That is someone who truly does not understand what the holidays are about. Other stores are open at midnight. Some days, I wish "civilization" would get wiped out so we start all over. I'm to the point of of saying no more presents for anyone and I don't want any for myself. Just stop and really think about it.


No news yet about the job but I was asked to do some more recordings for the phones for the clinics. I did North Shiloh last week.
I guess they like my voice.

Not to end on a bah humbug note, but I'm going to clean up some emails and then relax.


Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Sunday


The day didn't start well. I took the boys for a walk at 7, up at the field. Got back to the SUV and it was dead again, the first time since the incident on my birthday. I had to walk the boys back but I thought I'd be nice and keep them off leash while we went down the alley. Ryker ran off and wouldn't come back for a while. Grrr. Got home, got Steve up, got the car started. I took a shower, had breakfast and then took a nap because I was just tired.



Trudging along with the cleaning again today. I've got the table cleared off, the floor swept and mopped. I'm cleaning the oven -- making it hot in here -- and I've got laundry going. Next up is the bathroom.


Tonight I'm going to make sausage/hashbrown casserole. Steve likes it and he perked up at the mention of it; he's running and errand now and will pick up the frozen hashbrowns for me. He liked the KFC knockoff potato bowl I did last night so I'll add that to the rotation.


I finished BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP by SJ Watson last night. I'm left with an unsatisfied feeling. I see where people liked it because of the "twist" or whatever you want to call it. But the end just ... stops. There's resolution but there isn't.


I'm currently reading A BURIAL AT SEA by Charles Finch. This is 5th of 5 in series featuring Charles Lenox, a gentleman sleuth, in Victorian London. Here is a description:
1873 is a perilous time in the relationship between France and England. When a string of English spies is found dead on French soil, the threat of all-out war prompts government officials to ask Charles Lenox to visit the newly-dug Suez Canal on a secret mission. Once he is on board the Lucy, however, Lenox finds himself using not his new skills of diplomacy but his old ones: the ship’s second lieutenant is found dead on the voyage’s first night, his body cruelly abused. The ship’s captain begs the temporarily retired detective to join in the hunt for a criminal. Lenox finds the trail, but in the claustrophobic atmosphere on board, where nobody can come or go and everyone is a suspect, he has to race against the next crime—and also hope he won’t be the victim.
It was published this month and has 320 pages. This is a library book.

All right, lunch, and then back to it. The afternoon is fleeting...


Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Saturday, November 19, 2011

I truly do this all the time. My entire life.


Been busy today cleaning though I was able to get a nap in at one point. Yesterday after work I had to get groceries at Walmart and then pick up a prescription at Albertsons, pack stuff away, etc. Steve's cousin Brad came over so I made nachos for dinner. He left a little after 8 and I watched part one of the last Harry Potter movie as a reminder for part two that I picked up. No time to do a post.

I am currently reading BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP by SJ Watson. This is a stand alone novel from the library. Here is a description:

"As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I’m still a child. Thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me. . . " Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love—all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may be telling you only half the story.

It was published June 2011 and has 368 pages.

Next up will be THE SEA BURIAL by Charles Finch, also from the library.

I'm going to recreate the KFC potato bowl for dinner for Steve tonight. I'll have a big salad and maybe soup. It was super cold today, the high in the teens. Brrrr.

Tomorrow, more cleaning, focusing on bathrooms and kitchen floor.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Friday's coming ...wait for it....wait for it....


Random Thoughts:

I may be starting BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP by SJ Watson. I’ve got it as a 14-day book from the library so that may have to jump any queue.

Four days later and NOW I have a blister on my little finger. Weird.

I have a lot of stuff to do between now and Thanksgiving. How did it get to be Thanksgiving already?

I’m starting this week to take lunch at 2pm because of coverage issues between only three of us answering phones now. It’s not bad. It makes the afternoon fly by and time to go home that much quicker.

Tonight: walk dogs, dinner, read, bed.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Or maybe hiding?


I may be reading THREE DAY TOWN by Margaret Maron. This is an ARC via netgalley.com on my Kindle. I'm not sure if I'm sticking with it or not yet. I had intended to read the next Bernard Knight. Playing it by ear.

I gotta get to cleaning the house here pretty quick in prep of Thanksgiving. Nothing hugely major but I would imagine we want to eat at the table and that's covered with junk right now. My cousin Brad will be joining us and while he's California casual, I'm sure I'd feel better with cleaner bathrooms.


My hand is almost healed, just a couple spots on the fingers that sometimes gets in contact with something and lets me know it's there.
It's amazing how when you're in the middle of something - a cold, a burn, whatever -- it seems like it will be for forever and will never ever end. But it is amazing how quickly the body fixes itself.

Gotta go grocery shopping on Friday. Otherwise, not much going on other than the usual stuff. Steve is shooting. The boys are chewing on bones I gave them to keep them occupied tonight.


Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

There's an idea to get chronic snooze-buttoner Steve up....


So, I didn't post yesterday. Good reason. Sunday evening, as I multi-tasking trying to get dinner on -- it was late -- I was removing a chicken pot pie from the oven, it slid, I instinctively (and stupidly) tried to catch it. Hot pot pie guts on my right hand. So my hand was submerged in ice water for the next 24 hours or so. No blisters, no breakage, just pain. Better now. Lesson learned.

I finished both JANE AND THE UNPLEASANTNESS AT SCARGRAVE MANOR by Stephanie Barron and DEATH AND THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW by Deryn Lake over the weekend. Not sure what to read next. I'd like a couple books from the library to shake loose but it's not happening yet.


There's supposed to be a debate tonight but I may not watch it. Rather tired. I also have newspapers to read.


Have a lovely evening...


Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Let's just hang out today


I'm currently reading JANE AND THE UNPLEASANTNESS AT SCARGRAVE MANOR by Stephanie Barron. This is 1st of 11 in series featuring Jane Austen in Regency England. Here is a summary:

On a visit to the estate of her friend, the young and beautiful Isobel Payne, Countess of Scargrave, Jane bears witness to a tragedy. Isobel's husband—a gentleman of mature years—is felled by a mysterious and agonizing ailment. The Earl's death seems a cruel blow of fate for the newly married Isobel. Yet the bereaved widow soon finds that it's only the beginning of her misfortune...as she receives a sinister missive accusing her and the Earl's nephew of adultery—and murder. Desperately afraid that the letter will expose her to the worst sort of scandal, Isobel begs Jane for help.


It was published in 1996 and has 352 pages. I have this book and I know I must have read it years ago but I have no memory of the storyline. I'm "re-reading" it because I'd like to read others in the series.


Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Saturday, November 12, 2011


Yesterday was my friend Melanie's last day at work there. We invited many people to celebrate across the street at Tiny's but only four of us showed. I knew I had to go. So there was no post yesterday.

We didn't actually wind up going to a movie on my birthday. We got into Moby, the car started to turn over and then died. Everything electrical, dead. Steve spent a chunk of time looking for the problem. The car started and he drove it around the block but it was iffy. So we took the truck but he had to stop by an ATM for cash, the nearest one had a "temporarily out of service" message. I had been saying we didn't need to go, my heart wasn't set on it, a night in would be fine. Steve stopped by the mall looking for another ATM, none there. So I said, let's just go home. We got Taco Bell for dinner, the boys were glad we were back. I was thinking there were too many obstacles to overcome, too many signs that this wasn't the thing to be doing. :)
Besides, the showing was going to a 3D version and I hate 3D so I was ok. We'll catch in on DVD eventually. And the car was absolutely fine the next morning and has been since. Go figure.



My friend Tami and I had talked about having coffee today at Barnes and Noble but the weather is supposed to be dark and then rainy/snowy so we're thinking next weekend. I'm glad, actually. I would like to putter around the house and read and nap and hang out with the boys. I need to keep working on moving/organizing books into the new bookcase and shifting other books into the space where the old ones were.




I finished an autobiography by Gesine Bullock-Prado called MY LIFE FROM SCRATCH. She is Sandra Bullock's sister who ran the production company in Hollywood for her but then followed her dream to open her own bakery in Vermont. The humor was sharp and sarcastic, just the way I like it. It had some good recipes in there too. Her first name is pronounced Geh-see-neh.




Next up, I don't know yet. I'm waiting for a couple books from the library to shake loose but in the meantime I feel in the mood for a hist-myst but I don't know which exact one yet. I'm feeling sort of Jane Austen-ish, there is a series of mysteries featuring Jane Austen as sleuth that isn't too bad and I do have the first book which I read years ago. There's several books to the series now -- maybe I'll see if that's hitting the spot. Otherwise, I do have a library book called INDIA BLACK that I should get to. Hmmmm.


I put the boys off on their walk this morning until 7; they were bugging for at least a half hour if not more when it was still dark. It's now 9, Steve is still sleeping. I think he may be meeting up with a friend who's dog passed away this past week, spend some time with him to take his mind off it for a bit.


I'm not sure what's for dinner tonight. I had thought nachos but with the weather, it may be more of a soup and grilled cheese night.


Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Yah, so, another year, what of it? Gedoverit.


Hey, it's Annual Event day. Steve got me flowers when I told him not to which are super gorgeous; we went to lunch at The Burger Dive (num!), I left work an hour early, and tonight we may be going to a movie, The Three Musketeers.

I'm glad tomorrow is Friday, though it is the last day my friend Melanie will be there. She makes the place tolerable. Ah well.


I watched some of the debate last night. Perry's done. He's probably a very good governor of a state but isn't the one for President. Not that I liked him anyway.


Steve just got home. Gotta go.


Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Monday, November 7, 2011

Monday


An asteroid is going to pass by the earth tomorrow afternoon -- pass between us and the moon. That's really close. It's supposed to miss. Today was incredibly busy at work. We were down two people; one program went down in the afternoon; I took a shorter lunch to have better coverage. I'm tired of talking to people. I'm going to stare at a wall the rest of the evening.

The PBS thing last night was fairly good. I actually stayed for the full show; I usually get bored. It had excellent actors in it: Bill Nighy, Rachel Weiss, Judy Davis, Michael Gambon, Ralph Feines, etc.


Tomorrow night I may not get a chance to post. After work Steve wants us to go to a dinner/seminar thing put on by his banker about doing liens. Probably won't get home until 8-ish.


Now I'm going to fix dinner and then probably read something for a bit.


Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Oh the guilt pets inflict


Progress! I've moved the desk/hutch in the spare bedroom to another wall to make room for the $5 bookcase that we got from the MSU sale several months ago. It has been sitting in the garage. Now! Now I'm moving books from downstairs bookcase that is overflowing. This bookcase starts with J. I love it though the bookcase does need some cleaning up. Two of the bookcases downstairs had books on top of the case and on the ledge around the room. Now I will just have books in the cases and it will look better. I'm also weeding out those that I have duplicates of or that I feel I won't read. The hutch that got moved held nonfiction books so I was able to go through, clean up, add, subtract from there as well.

I have been on paperbackswap.com to fill in some of the series that I have so I'll be getting lots of shipments in the next couple weeks. I used up a bunch of credits, I'm down to 24 I think. I'll have to get rid of some more of my books to boost that up a bit again. Either ordering or putting on the wish list I was working on authors Jecks, Bujold, Barron, Lake, Liss, Sedley, Gregory.


Tonight the Steelers are playing so we're having a pizza from Papa Murphy's. I think I'd like to check out Masterpiece Mystery tonight. The show is called Page Eight.


So here we are at the ending of Daylight Savings time. Bright again in the morning but dark so much quicker. Tomorrow after work will be dark and I'll have to wear the headlamp to walk the boys. Probably not take them to the field anymore and just keep to the streets with them on leash until the weekends.

No snow today, sunny but in the 30s. Our backyard is trashed by the boys playing and running. At first they would lick it. Coda then came up with a game of dropping his ball into the snow and then finding it and pouncing on it. Then they chased each other. Ryker likes to lay on it on the deck.

Back at it this week. Work. Blech. And busy, too. Tuesday I think Steve wants us to go to a seminar that our banker is doing (?). Wednesday is another debate. Thursday is my annual event. Friday is my buddy Melanie's last day at work so we'll stop by Tiny's for goodbye drink. I won't stay long for that one.


Have a lovely!


Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Closer....



We watched Grimm last night. Disappointing. I think the concept/idea is good but the execution is lame. I don't like the casting and it was just .... blah. On the other hand, Say Yes to the Dress had a great showing of a bride with cerebral palsey that was just wonderful.

It is snowing today; started about 9. I had my haircut and I'm terribly not happy. She didn't do the right cut so now I have to suffer through this for five weeks until it's long enough again to do it right. Bah.


I'm going to make SOS for Steve and I'm going to try my hand at homemade chili for me. I love Wendy's chili but I don't really want to go anywhere and I have the makings for it for I'll give it a shot. Cops is finally on again now that baseball is over so we'll watch that tonight.



I finished the Judi Dench book. I'm also a little disappointed in that. It needed more meat on the bone; it was almost a listing of which plays she did "and then I did that play with that director and costarred with so and so and that person" over and over through the decades. I'm not sure what to read next. I haven't been able to get the Kindle library books to work and I'm beginning to wonder if it's because I don't have the newer version of the device. I can download it to the Kindle but I can't get the books to open.



Stay cozy....



Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Friday, November 4, 2011

Actually tomorrow is National Gaming Day at your libraries


I'm currently reading AND FURTHERMORE by Judi Dench, an autobiography. Here is a description:

I can hardly believe that it is more than half a century since I first stepped on to the stage of the Old Vic Theatre and into a way of life that has brought me the most rewarding professional relationships and friendships. I cannot imagine now ever doing anything else with my life except acting…” – Judi Dench

From London’s glittering West End to Broadway’s bright lights, from her Academy Award-winning role as Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love to “M” in the James Bond films, Judi Dench has treated audiences to some of the greatest performances of our time. She made her professional acting debut in 1957 with England’s Old Vic theatre company playing Ophelia in Hamlet , Katherine in Henry V (her New York debut), and then, Juliet. In 1961, she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company playing Anya in The Cherry Orchard with John Gielgud and Peggy Ashcroft. In 1968, she went beyond the classical stage to become a sensation as Sally Bowles in Cabaret, adding musical comedy to her repertoire. Over the years, Dench has given indelible performances in the classics as well as some of the greatest plays and musicals of the twentieth century including Noël Coward’s Hay Fever, Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, Kaufman and Hart’s The Royal Family and David Hare’s Amy’s View (for which she won the Tony Award). Recently, she made a triumphant return to A Midsummer Night’s Dream as Titania, a role she first played in 1962, now played as a theatre-besotted Queen Elizabeth I. Her film career has been filled with unforgettable performances of some unforgettable women: Queen Victoria in Mrs. Brown, the terrifying schoolteacher Barbara Covett in Notes on a Scandal and the writer Iris Murdoch in Iris. And, for the BBC, Dench created another unforgettable woman when she brought her great comic timing and deeply felt emotions to the role of Jean Pargetter in the long-running BBC series As Time Goes By. And Furthermore is, however, more than the story of a great actress’s career. It is also the story of Judi Dench’s life: her early days as a child in a family that was in love with the theatre; her marriage to actor Michael Williams; the joy she takes in her daughter, the actress Finty Williams, and her grandson, Sammy.

She is one of my top three favorite actresses. This is a library book and has 288 pages.

I had a terrific time with my friends last night having drinks and nachos. Afterward I called M&D to wish them a happy 53rd anniversary, and then had a touch of dinner and came across The Princess Bride, one of my favorite comedies.

I'm glad it's Friday. Worked, paid bills, went to Walmart for groceries, now waiting for enchiladas to be done for dinner. I have a toss up at 7 tonight on TV. Say Yes to the Dress of course but I'm hearing good things about Grimm. I will tape one of them suppose. Probably Say Yes or watch the repeat at 9. Oh wait, Grimm is on at 8! Good deal!

Steve was helpful and walked the dogs yesterday evening and this one. Now he's taking a pre-dinner nap; he mentioned he had a hard day. Tomorrow I have a haircut right away in the morning and I think after that I will hunker down because it's only supposed to get in the 30s for a high temp.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

I luv my bed! Oh yes.


I'm currently reading THE NEXT ALWAYS by Nora Roberts - description in previous post. I'm liking it a lot. It is somewhat opposite of the wedding quartet books because the main POV is the guy side -- three brothers.

Not much else going on. I walked the dogs after work and the wind was freakin' cold! Dang!


Tomorrow night I probably won't post. I'm meeting up with some friends after work at Jakes for drinks and appetizers. We had tried to do this a couple weeks ago but it fell apart at the last minute. So far so good for this happening tomorrow.


I am bummed because my friend at work has turned in notice. Bah. Her last day is next Friday. Basically, the girls who have been there for years are kinda panicking over some changes in the work load and are moving to other things within the whole hospital network. Panic and I think it was a nudge to move on to do something different. It will still be a sad then when Melanie is gone.


So, I'm catching up on some news and then will read before bed for a little bit.


Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

What the...? When did that dog move in??


November already. Amazing.

Here’s a list of books that I’m interested in this month:

Ash, Maureen A DEADLY PENANCE (Nov 1st) Templar Bascot de Marins is summoned to Lincoln Castle to learn who murdered a servant engaged in an illicit affair with a married woman. Even though the jealous husband had a motive, Bascot's investigation uncovers a more shocking revelation about the victim that would give him any number of potential enemies...

Roberts, Nora THE NEXT ALWAYS (Nov 1st) Book One of the Inn BoonsBoro Trilogy : The historic hotel in BoonsBoro, Maryland, has endured war and peace, changing hands, even rumored hauntings. Now it's getting a major facelift from the Montgomery brothers and their eccentric mother. As the architect of the family, Beckett's social life consists mostly of talking shop over pizza and beer. But there's another project he's got his eye on: the girl he's been waiting to kiss since he was fifteen...

Finch, Charles A BURIAL AT SEA (Nov 8th) 1873 is a perilous time in the relationship between France and England. When a string of English spies is found dead on French soil, the threat of all-out war prompts government officials to ask Charles Lenox to visit the newly-dug Suez Canal on a secret mission. Once he is on board the Lucy, however, Lenox finds himself using not his new skills of diplomacy but his old ones: the ship’s second lieutenant is found dead on the voyage’s first night, his body cruelly abused. The ship’s captain begs the temporarily retired detective to join in the hunt for a criminal. Lenox finds the trail, but in the claustrophobic atmosphere on board, where nobody can come or go and everyone is a suspect, he has to race against the next crime—and also hope he won’t be the victim.

Eco, Umberto THE PRAGUE CEMETERY (Nov 8th) Nineteenth-century Europe--from Turin to Prague to Paris--abounds with the ghastly and the mysterious. Conspiracies rule history. Jesuits plot against Freemasons. Italian republicans strangle priests with their own intestines. French criminals plan bombings by day and celebrate Black Masses at night. Every nation has its own secret service, perpetrating forgeries, plots, and massacres. From the unification of Italy to the Paris Commune to the Dreyfus Affair to "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion," Europe is in tumult and everyone needs a scapegoat. But what if, behind all of these conspiracies both real and imagined, lay one lone man? What if that evil genius created its most infamous document?

Hill, Susan BETRAYAL OF TRUST (Nov 10th) Freak weather and flash floods have hit southern England. The small cathedral town of Lafferton is underwater, and a landslip on the moor has closed the roads. As the rain slowly drains away, a shallow grave--and a skeleton--are exposed; twenty years on, the remains of missing teenager Joanne Lowther have finally been uncovered. The case is reopened and Simon Serrailler is called in as Senior Investigating Officer. Joanne, an only child, had been on her way home from a friend's house that night. She was the daughter of a prominent local businessman, and her mother had killed herself two years after she disappeared, unable to cope.

Connelly, Michael THE DROP (Nov 29th) Harry Bosch has been given three years before he must retire from the LAPD, and he wants cases more fiercely than ever. In one morning, he gets two. DNA from a 1989 rape and murder matches a 29-year-old convicted rapist. Was he an eight-year-old killer or has something gone terribly wrong in the new Regional Crime Lab? The latter possibility could compromise all of the lab's DNA cases currently in court. Then Bosch and his partner are called to a death scene fraught with internal politics. Councilman Irvin Irving's son jumped or was pushed from a window at the Chateau Marmont. Irving, Bosch's longtime nemesis, has demanded that Harry handle the investigation. Relentlessly pursuing both cases, Bosch makes two chilling discoveries: a killer operating unknown in the city for as many as three decades, and a political conspiracy that goes back into the dark history of the police department.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster