No, in my case it would be "broooownies"

 

 

 

Oy. TGIF. Very glad and it's a three-day weekend though it doesn't feel like it. It is overcast out there right now; it would be so nice to have some rain.

 

Last night, my respect for Mitt Romney grew. He is a man who appears to be a do-er not a man who blows his own trumpet for his achievements. His best line: “President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet. My promise is to help you and your family.”

 

I have Say Yes to the Dress to watch and then we'll probably catch Strike Back on Cinemax. Steve has a gun class all day tomorrow and Sunday. I'm hoping to clean and read.

 

Cross-posted on 4MA:

 

I have only four completed reads this month, about one or two books behind in my average. From about mid-month onward this month, I was working my through a big biography that I’ve had to set aside now for some more pressing reads from the library (more on that at the end). August reads:

 

OUR LADY OF DARKNESS by Peter Tremayne. 9^th of 23 in series featuring Sister Fidelma, a 7th century Celtic sister and legal advocate in Kildare, Ireland. “Sister Fidelma's beloved friend, Brother Eadulf, is charged with the murder of a young girl. By the time Sister Fidelma arrives, Eadulf has been found guilty-and faces execution in twenty-four hours. Now Fidelma must gather evidence worthy of an appeal. And behind the heinous crime is a shocking conspiracy that only she can stop...” It was published in 2000 and has 336 pages. This is a solid historical mystery series; I enjoy Fidelma immensely.

 

THE WICKED WINTER by Kate Sedley. 6^th of 21 in series featuring Roger the Chapman, a medieval chapman (peddler) in 15^th century England. “Despite the wintry weather, Roger the traveling Chapman is once again relishing the freedom of his calling. As he journeys west, he finds himself following in the footsteps of an itinerant preacher, Brother Simeon, whose fiery sermons are the talk of the countryside. Roger, who has met the Dominican friar before, and finds his zeal wearying, is less than enthused when they meet at Cederwell Manor, where Simeon has come to pray with Lady Cederwell and Roger to sell her his wares. But scarcely have the two men arrived when Lady Cederwell is found dead, sprawled on the frozen earth beneath the ancient tower she had converted into her private chapel, the circumstances strangely fulfilling the prophecy of a babbling hermit Roger had met on the road. Suddenly the friar and the Chapman are united by their aim-to discover the truth behind the death at Cederwell Manor.” It was published in 1996 and has 288 pages. This is another good, sound historical mystery series.

 

OFF THE GRID by PJ Tracy. 6th of 6 in series featuring Grace MacBride, founder of Monkeewrench, a game software company, in Minneapolis. “On a sailboat ten miles off the Florida coast, Grace MacBride, partner in Monkeewrench Software, thwarts an assassination attempt on retired FBI agent John Smith. A few hours later, in Minneapolis, a fifteen-year-old girl is discovered in a vacant lot, her throat slashed. Later that day, two young men are found in their home a few blocks away, killed execution-style. The next morning, the dead bodies of three more men turn up, savagely murdered in the same neighborhood. As Minneapolis homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth struggle to link the three crimes, they learn that there have been similar murders in other cities around the United States. Before it's all over, Grace and her partners, Annie, Roadrunner, and Harley Davidson, find themselves in the middle of a shocking collision of violence on a remote northern Minnesota reservation, fighting for their lives.” It was published August 2012 and has 320 pages. Perhaps better than their previous book, but still just kind of “meh” for me.

A PLACE OF CONFINEMENT by Anna Dean. 4th of four in series featuring Miss Dido Kent, a 35-year-old amateur sleuth, starting in 1805 Regency England. “Dido Kent's sister-in-law Margaret is attempting to marry her off to the ghastly clergyman Doctor Prowdlee, with his abominable side-whiskers. Dido, however, is determined to refuse him. As punishment she is sent on a journey as companion to her rich, hypochondriac Aunt Manners - whom the family wants to keep on the right side of. When they arrive at Charcombe Manor, Aunt Manners' childhood home, they find a mystery lying in wait for them. The rich heiress Letitia Verney has disappeared while visiting the house, and Mr Tom Lomax is suspected of abducting her.” It was published in August 2012 (UK) and has 416 pages. I love this series and it's been two years since her last book.

 

Current reads: I’ve started or am in the middle of the following: BONHOEFFER by Eric Metaxas, MR CHURCHILL’S SECRETARY by Susan Elia MacNeal, WHY NATIONS FAIL by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson and THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY by Louise Penny. My cup runneth over.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Me in front of the TV last night and tonight

 

 

Ohmygod, Paul Ryan makes me so happy and I have hope for the future. Please, oh please, they have to win in November. Paul Ryan’s speech last night at the GOP Convention in Tampa was just amazing and wonderful.

 

It was funny (from the transcript):

We are a full generation apart, Governor Romney and I. And
in some ways, we are different. There are the songs in his
Ipod, which I have heard on the campaign bus...
(LAUGHTER)
... and I have heard it on many hotel elevators.
(LAUGHTER)
He actually urged me to play some of these songs at
campaign rallies. I said, ``look, I hope it is not a deal
breaker Mitt, but my playlist starts with AC/DC and it ends with
Zeppelin.

It was provoking (from transcript):

College graduates should not have to live out their 20s in
their childhood bedrooms, staring up at fading Obama posters and
wondering when they can move out and get going with life.

It was touching (from transcript):

 

My Mom started a small business, and I've seen what it
takes. Mom was 50 when my Dad died. She got on a bus every
weekday for years, and rode 40 miles each morning to Madison.
She earned a new degree and learned new skills to start her
small business. It wasn't just a new livelihood. It was a new
life. And it transformed my Mom from a widow in grief to a
small businesswoman whose happiness wasn't just in the past.
Her work gave her hope. It made our family proud.
And to this day, my Mom is my role model.

Taking on the issues (from transcript):

 

So our opponents can consider themselves on notice. In
this election, on this issue , the usual posturing on the Left
isn't going to work. Mitt Romney and I know the difference
between protecting a program and raiding it. Ladies and
gentlemen, our nation needs this debate, we want this debate, we
will win in this debate.

 

Challenging and poetic (from transcript):

 

Obamacare, as much as anything else, explains why a
presidency that began with such anticipation now comes to such a
disappointing close. It began with a financial crisis. It ends
with a job crisis. It began with a housing crisis they alone
didn't cause. It ends with a housing crisis they didn't
correct.
(APPLAUSE)
It began with a perfect AAA credit rating for the United
States. It ends with the downgraded America . It all started
off with stirring speeches, Greek columns, the thrill of
something new. Now all that's left is a presidency adrift,
surviving on slogans that already seem tired., grasping at the
moment that has already passed, like a ship trying to sail on
yesterday's wind.

It was honest and inspiring (from transcript):

 

So here is our pledge.
We will not duck the tough issues, we will lead.
We will not spend the next four years blaming others, we
will take responsibility.
We will not try to replace our founding principles, we will
reapply our founding principles.
(APPLAUSE)
The work ahead will be hard. These times demand the best
of all of us -- all of us, but we can do this -- we can do this
. Together, we can do this.
We can get this country working again. We can get this
economy growing again. We can make the safety net safe again.
We can do this.
Whatever your political party, let's come together for the
sake of our country. Join Mitt Romney and me. Let's give this
effort everything we have. Let's see this through all the way.
Let's get this done.

What Romney/Ryan are doing isn’t easy. They’re elevating the campaign rhetoric to the issues and their solutions -- unlike their competition. I am so tired of the negativity of the current administration. I'll definitely be watching tonight's last night.

Reading: Of course, when I get a book I want to read (Louise Penny’s), I get notifications from the library about 14-day books. I’ll tell you about them tomorrow.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

But we're not ti......zzzz

I'm currently reading THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY by Louse Penny. This is 8th of 8 in series featuring Armand Gamache, Chief Inspector of the Sûreté du Québec, in the village of Three Pines, in southern Quebec, Canada. Here is a description:

No outsiders are ever admitted to the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, hidden deep in the wilderness of Quebec, where two dozen cloistered monks live in peace and prayer. They grow vegetables, they tend chickens, they make chocolate. And they sing. Ironically, for a community that has taken a vow of silence, the monks have become world-famous for their glorious voices, raised in ancient chants whose effect on both singer and listener is so profound it is known as “the beautiful mystery.” But when the renowned choir director is murdered, the lock on the monastery’s massive wooden door is drawn back to admit Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir of the Sûreté du Québec. There they discover disquiet beneath the silence, discord in the apparent harmony. One of the brothers, in this life of prayer and contemplation, has been contemplating murder. As the peace of the monastery crumbles, Gamache is forced to confront some of his own demons, as well as those roaming the remote corridors. Before finding the killer, before restoring peace, the Chief must first consider the divine, the human, and the cracks in between.

 

It was published August 2012 and has 884 pages. This author writes beautifully. I've just started and looking forward to a good read.

 

Steve has shooting tonight. I have GOP convention to watch and reading.

 

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Yeah, Ryker has a PhD in this

Can't .... resist .... too.... cute.....

Hot. Always hot.

Louise Penny's new book will be here tomorrow. I'm only at about 32% on the BONHOEFFER book. I'll have to set it aside while I read the new one. Not necessarily a bad idea; the biography is very heavy into the Third Reich now and rights being taken away one by one.

Steve will have gun shows to watch tonight. I'm hoping to do some reading. 

Not much else to report. The GOP convention was delayed a little bit by Hurricane Isaac but it is missing Tampa and heading toward Louisiana. It is being hyped to high heaven as the next Katrina. Same path! Same week! Well, duh, people. If you look at the shape of the US down there, hurricanes have followed that path for centuries. And this is hurricane SEASON. I hate mainstream media.

Having fish and corn on the cob for dinner. And probably either a coconut popcicle or some chocolate icecream. :)

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Sunday

Damn allergies!

Ohmygoodness, it is so smoky/hazy out. My allergies are taking a beating. Zyrtec gets me through the day. I've been having to take it all week so by today, I've had to take a couple naps, I think, from accumulated not-enough-sleep-ness.

I got the cleaning duties done for the Saturday. I've been trying to read BONHOEFFER because the new Louise Penny will be here on Tuesday after work (I've gotten the notice it has shipped). This was a 14-day digital loan from the library but I did purchase it from Amazon because it was on sale for $1.99 therefore the pressure to complete it within the timeframe is off. But I do want to finish it. I've started and not finished a lot of nonfiction books in the last few months and not from lack of enjoyment; it is usually the time element. I've checked out WHY NATIONS FAIL twice now and have it on hold again; it's a big, dense information book.

Tonight for dinner we're having steaks and corn on the cob and I'm trying some pre-made mushrooms stuffed with cheese that you just heat in the oven. We may watch The Hunger Games unless Steve just wants to channel surf.

This morning when I walked the dogs it was darn right chilly, only 46 degrees out but the result of that is a lovely day in the 70s. Don't worry, the 90s are coming again. Steve did some scrapping and then went to the gun show.

Next week I plan to watch the GOP convention coverage, barring interference from Isaac, tropical storm or hurricane. At work, Wednesday will be Joel's last day and Thursday will be Natalie's last day. Things will be ... interesting ... after that.

Anyway, have a lovely Saturday evening.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

No, it was a smartass cat in the kitchen with another think coming

Amazing movie, 2016. Everyone in America should view it. It is not necessarily meant as a slam against President Obama, it is an investigation into his background and motivations growing up and from his autobiography that should have been done in 2008.

The movie theater in Billings has expanded its showings through August 30th, not just today. Good! More people can see it. Really, I highly recommend it so spread the word.

I got groceries at Walmart after the movie.  Not sure what we're doing for dinner because Steve had popcorn at the movie and says he isn't hungry. May be a fend for yourself night.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Oh yeah

I don't have much to contribute today. Walked the dogs, worked. I just vacuumed upstairs because Coda has bene chewing sticks and I just couldn't stand it anymore. I don't think there's anything on TV for me so I'm hoping to read. I tried to read last night but didn't get a whole lot done because I kept dozing off.

Tomorrow I'll give a report on the 2016 movie.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

When lyrics go terribly wrong

I am so excited. I have tickets for Friday afternoon's showing of 2016. This is an independent documentary that is only in Billings for that one day. It's the movie this administration doesn't want you to see and you won't find it listed in the Yahoo database (why? Take a guess) Here's a description:

2016 Obama's America takes audiences on a gripping visual journey into the heart of the world’s most powerful office to reveal the struggle of whether one man's past will redefine America over the next four years. The film examines the question, "If Obama wins a second term, where will we be in 2016?"

Across the globe and in America, people in 2008 hungered for a leader who would unite and lift us from economic turmoil and war. True to America’s ideals, they invested their hope in a new kind of president, Barack Obama. What they didn't know is that Obama is a man with a past, and in powerful ways that past defines him--who he is, how he thinks, and where he intends to take America and the world.

Immersed in exotic locales across four continents, best selling author Dinesh D’Souza races against time to find answers to Obama’s past and reveal where America will be in 2016. During this journey he discovers how Hope and Change became radically misunderstood, and identifies new flashpoints for hot wars in mankind’s greatest struggle. The journey moves quickly over the arc of the old colonial empires, into America’s empire of liberty, and we see the unfolding realignment of nations and the shape of the global future.

Emotionally engaging, 2016 Obama’s America will make you confounded and cheer as you discover the mysteries and answers to your greatest aspirations and worst fears.

About the Filmmakers:

Gerald R. Molen

Gerald Molen has produced many of the most memorable films in the last three decades including blockbusters like Jurassic Park, Twister, Days of Thunder, Hook and Minority Report. He was a producer for the Academy Award winning film Schindler’s List and co-producer for Rain Man which won the Oscar for Best Picture.

Dinesh D’Souza

Born in Mumbai, India Dinesh D'Souza has truly lived the American Dream. He moved to the United States to attend Dartmouth College and upon graduation he went to work in the Reagan White House as a policy analyst. He has been a fellow of the Hoover Institute at Stanford University and the American Enterprise Institute. He is also the author of the New York Times Bestseller The Roots of Obama’s Rage.

So, I'm leaving work early on Friday and Steve is also and we're having a date to watch this. Woot!

Tonight, Steve has shooting and I'm hoping to read. I should research but I'm enjoying BONHOEFFER.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

That would be 4:30 on Fridays

Another person turned in notice today in our department. Shrinking. I didn't see much to apply for in the listings this weekend. Maybe one.

I’m currently reading BONHOEFFER: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas. This is a biography, a digital loan from the library. Here is a description:

As Adolf Hitler and the Nazis seduced a nation, bullied a continent, and attempted to exterminate the Jews of Europe, a small number of dissidents and saboteurs worked to dismantle the Third Reich from the inside. One of these was Dietrich Bonhoeffer—a pastor and author who died at age 39. In thisNew York Times best-selling biography, Eric Metaxas takes both strands of Bonhoeffer’s life—the theologian and the spy—and draws them together to tell a searing story of incredible moral courage in the face of monstrous evil. Metaxas presents the fullest accounting of Bonhoeffer’s heart-wrenching decision to leave the safe haven of America to return to Hitler’s Germany, and sheds new light on Bonhoeffer’s involvement in the famous Valkyrie plot and in “Operation 7,” the effort to smuggle Jews into neutral Switzerland. A passionate narrative voice combines with meticulous research to unpack the confluence of circumstances and personalities that led Germany from the defeat of WWI to the atrocities of WWII.

It was published in 2011 and has 624 pages.

I don't think there's anything for me on TV tonight so perhaps I'll have a chance to read.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Just give me the eucalyptus leaves...

Sunday

Soooo.... Steve didn't get the DVD last night. We didn't watch The Hunger Games. But .... I did watch it again this morning on the digital version. :) I might be okay now for a while, got my fix. :) But tomorrow the DVD should arrive with the extra material to watch....

I've spent the day doing laundry and cleaning out my email somewhat. I had over 250 things in there and now I've gone through about 100. Uff da. It takes a chunk of time to stay informed on world happenings. I haven't even read my book today yet.

Hailey spent the night again in her own home and Clayton was back at least by 10:30 this morning. I saw her outside about then. Things are back to normal. The thing with Hailey, I think, is that she is left alone a lot of the day while Clayton is at work -- and this has probably been the whole of her life. When he is home she is desperate for time with him, anyone. So when she is around people she is constantly begging to have someone play fetch with her. And it never ends. She has such sweetness in her eyes and I'm sorry she has to live with such anxiety that she is difficult to be around for long periods of time. I also feel sorry for dogs who owners measure their dog food, you know, the cup a day kind of people. Hailey has always been hungry when she comes over (she'll come into our house if the door is open and chow down on whatever is left in the boys' bowl). But, sadly, in both cases, she is not our dog.

I don't really know if anything is on TV for me tonight. I may be able to do some reading.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

What day is it?

Hunger Games DVD came out today!! Let me say that again:  HUNGER GAMES DVD CAME OUT TODAY!! I had ordered it from Amazon but it won't be here until Monday. Steve is going to go pick it up from Target or somewhere so we can watch it tonight. He will probably also pick up some Taco Johns for dinner since it is right next door.

I'm just starting A PLACE OF CONFINEMENT by Anna Dean. This is 4th of four in series featuring Miss Dido Kent, a 35-year-old amateur sleuth, starting in 1805 Regency England. Here is a description:

Dido Kent's sister-in-law Margaret is attempting to marry her off to the ghastly clergyman Doctor Prowdlee, with his abominable side-whiskers. Dido, however, is determined to refuse him. As punishment she is sent on a journey as companion to her rich, hypochondriac Aunt Manners - whom the family wants to keep on the right side of. When they arrive at Charcombe Manor, Aunt Manners' childhood home, they find a mystery lying in wait for them. The rich heiress Letitia Verney has disappeared while visiting the house, and Mr Tom Lomax is suspected of abducting her. Dido, upon hearing his story, is inclined to believe in his innocence - but how is she to explain the impossibility of Miss Verney vanishing into thin air? And there is also the abandoned wing of Charcombe Manor to be considered. Why do lights appear there at night? The house is full of enigmas, with its memories of old family quarrels and its crying ghost that keeps visitors awake. As the mystery intensifies, Miss Dido Kent embarks on her most intriguing investigation yet ...

Show More

Show Less

---

It was published in August 2012 (UK) and has 416 pages. I love this series and it's been two years since her last book.

Today hasn't gone so well with dogsitting Hailey. At one point she and Ryker got into a fight, physical and growling and I had to separate them. I put Hailey outside and kept the boys inside until this afternoon and for right now, peace is in the house.

So .... won't be doing anything else except watching The Hunger Games tonight. Ok ... coming clean and confessing ... the Amazon purchase of the DVD came with the digital version so I already watched it this morning. :) I will willingly do it again.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

TGIF

TGIF. Work was ok. I got home and found the next door neighbor's dog, Hailey, in our yard. We're babysitting her while Clayton is out of town this weekend. She's a German Shepherd who loves to play retrieve, endlessly. The boys hate her but don't attack her. Mostly they stay on the high ground (the deck) and Hailey is in the yard.  Ryker absolutely avoids her; Coda tries to protect his sticks and other stuff from her.

I haven't decided yet what to read instead of THE YARD. Tonight, I have TV. At 7 is Say Yes to the Dress and at 8 and 9 are two second season premiere episodes of Strike Back on Cinemax.

Tomorrow, Steve is coaching an intro to shooting class. I'll be keeping an eye on three dogs and trying to get some cleaning done.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

See, dogs don't do that

I'm thinking that I will probably not continue with THE YARD at this time. It's just not grabbing me so I'm not going to force it. I don't know what's next. Maybe the next in series of Michael Jecks.

The potluck at work went okay. I had left over mac-n-cheese but there was A LOT of food there so I don't feel badly. We had some for dinner.

I'm feeling a bit tired -- have had to take Zyrtek the last couple days -- so I'm going to read for a bit and then head for bed.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Wednesday

I’m currently reading THE YARD by Alex Grecian. This is a debut, featuring Detective Walter Day, of The Murder Squad, in late Victorian London. Here is a description:

Victorian London is a cesspool of crime, and Scotland Yard has only twelve detectives—known as “The Murder Squad”—to investigate countless murders every month. Created after the Metropolitan Police’s spectacular failure to capture Jack the Ripper, The Murder Squad suffers rampant public contempt. They have failed their citizens. But no one can anticipate the brutal murder of one of their own . . . one of the twelve . . .When Walter Day, the squad’s newest hire, is assigned the case of the murdered detective, he finds a strange ally in the Yard’s first forensic pathologist, Dr. Bernard Kingsley. Together they track the killer, who clearly is not finished with The Murder Squad . . . but why?

Published in May 2012, it has 432 pages. This is a 14-day library book. I’m not sure yet if I’ll stick with it; I’m only a few pages into it and it hasn’t grabbed me yet. But I'm giving it a healthy shot.

It was a lovely, cool day today. Amazing. Misty rain, temps no higher than the 60s. Ahhhh. Steve is out shooting tonight. The boys and I are hanging out. I'm making macaroni and Velveeta cheese tonight in a huge batch to take in a crockpot to a potluck at work tomorrow. It's all I can contribute with what I have in the house. Fingers crossed.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Revenge is ... scary

Monday

Monday. Hot (surprise). I'm determined to finish the Tracy book tonight so I can go on to the next library book.

I stayed up too late watching the closing ceremonies last night of the Olympics. Can you believe, because I can't, NBC cut several singers' performances AND THEN left the program at 10pm with only the performance by The Who left??? They decided to show the premiere of a new comedy series commercial free and then the news and then came back at 11pm for the ten minute performance of The Who. I mean, come on, people!! And NO, I'm not over it yet!

So, dinner, reading, bed.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Me, after too much TV

OMG. Steve mowed for the first time in like two months. I may faint. With his record, that's probably it for the summer.

Watched the closing ceremonies of the Olympics live online this afternoon, but the stream cut out at 4:30 so I missed the very end. Now I'll have to stay up late to watch the Brazil part and I hear my beloved Who sang! Blast it!

I watched the Perseid meteor shower a couple times last night. Love it. You have to sort of gaze at some middle ground in the sky and watch with your peripheral vision because they go by so fast. And I always have the thought that while I'm looking at the patch of sky I can, behind me there are probably ten meteors per minute going by. I won't be able to watch tonight, really, with work tomorrow. I may for a few minutes; I'm sure I won't be able to resist.

I haven't been reading much these last few days. And now I have a new one to pick up from the library. One I've been looking forward to trying out. More on that tomorrow.

We're having chicken and corn on the cob for dinner tonight. I didn't splurge on dessert but I would like to try the mango popcicles (I always get coconut ones for me and pineapple for Steve).

Have a good evening

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

I couldn't resist

OMG, Paul Ryan as VP is the best choice possible!! I'm so happy. There is hope now.

It rained this morning (!) and cooled things off for a bit. It was so lovely. Steve had to run a pistol match today so I went back to bed and slept this morning in the cool and dark. Again, lovely. But it's warming up again now (6pm).

I haven't read much today because of getting caught up on emails and blogs and online stuff. Maybe tonight. I'm going to make nachos for dinner.

I'm hoping either to stay awake tonight or wake up to watch the Perseid meteor shower. Tonight and tomorrow night are supposed to be some of the best viewing.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

TGIF

We had a thunderstorm this morning and bit of a gulleywasher. The sky was a strange yellow-ish in color because of the clouds and haziness from a fire somewhere. The rain seemed to dry up very fast even on the concrete. It is really overcast now again. The smoky haze is wreaking havoc with my allergies. I've taken a Zyrtec but eyes, I think, are being affected and I had sore throat for a day or so until I took the allergy medicine. How inconvenient.

Got groceries after work and picked up dinner from Quiznos. I watched Say Yes to the Dress. Otherwise, I’m hoping to get some good reading done (I haven’t been doing that very much since going back to work).

I’m spreading the gospel of THE HUNGER GAMES. Just got my books back from a coworker who had them for a long while and now I'm lending them to a new coworker so her daughter can read books two and three. Spread the books! Yes, I’m an enabler.

But now, I'm super tired. I haven't been on my feet in one go for so long (grocery shopping, unloading, trying to locate Ryker) so I'll finish this, read for a wee bit and then get some sleep.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

'Course I've never done this ... I'm a morning person!

The heat is just .... unending. Now it's smoky again from a fire somewhere. It creates a strange, hazy light and makes my eyes burn. Ugh.

I'll be elevating my leg again tonight as much as possible and I hope to get to sleep early. I didn't last night and I didn't sleep well. I'll do some reading then taking a running start at it. :)

I picked up a hold from the library yesterday: OFF THE GRID by PJ Tracy. This is 6th of 6 in series featuring Grace MacBride, founder of Monkeewrench, a game software company, in Minneapolis. Here is a description:

On a sailboat ten miles off the Florida coast, Grace MacBride, partner in Monkeewrench Software, thwarts an assassination attempt on retired FBI agent John Smith. A few hours later, in Minneapolis, a fifteen-year-old girl is discovered in a vacant lot, her throat slashed. Later that day, two young men are found in their home a few blocks away, killed execution-style. The next morning, the dead bodies of three more men turn up, savagely murdered in the same neighborhood.As Minneapolis homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth struggle to link the three crimes, they learn that there have been similar murders in other cities around the United States. Piece by piece, evidence accumulates, pointing to a suspect that shocks them to the core, uncovering a motive that puts the entire Midwest on high alert and Monkeewrench in the direct line of fire. Before it's all over, Grace and her partners, Annie, Roadrunner, and Harley Davidson, find themselves in the middle of a shocking collision of violence on a remote northern Minnesota reservation, fighting for their lives.

Show More

Show Less

Show More

Show Less

It was published August 2012 and has 320 pages.

Have a lovely evening

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

... and there's only so much you can take off....

Worked all day; didn't have to go home. I kept my leg as elevated as I could under the desk. Appears to be doing ok but I'm elevating it this evening. I'm very tired so I'm going to have dinner and read for a little bit but I expect to zonk out fairly quickly.

Steve is at shooting. Not much else happening.

Oh yeah, hot. 96. Again.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

You're right, this DOES work

NASA rover landed on Mars. First pictures:

Yesterday I said I was going to mention the fiction book I'm reading. Actually, I'm going to hold off for one more day. I'm really really loving HOW NATIONS FAIL. I'm learning so much fabulous and useful information, it's amazing.  Here's a quote:

"Getting it wrong is mostly not about ignorance or culture...poor countries are poor because those who have power make choices that create poverty. They get it wrong not by mistake or ignorance but on purpose. To understand this, you have to go beyond economics and expert advice on the best thing to do and, instead, study how decisions actually get made, who gets to make them, and why those people decide to do what they do. This is the study of politics and political processes."

I stayed home today. It was the right choice to keep it elevated. I don't know about tomorrow. My work ethic says damn the torpedos and go. My self-preservation doesn't know. We'll see.

It's currently dark and windy but I'm sure we won't get any rain out of it. Bah. Otherwise, it was another day in the 90s.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

That's why I'm a pro

Yeah .... not a lot happened today. Just keeping the leg elevated, yes, on the couch. I did get some clothes laundry done and vacuumed the living room.

I'm currently reading WHY NATIONS FAIL: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson. Here is a description: 

Brilliant and engagingly written, Why Nations Fail answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries: Why are some nations rich and others poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health and sickness, food and famine? Is it culture, the weather, geography? Perhaps ignorance of what the right policies are? Simply, no. None of these factors is either definitive or destiny. Otherwise, how to explain why Botswana has become one of the fastest growing countries in the world, while other African nations, such as Zimbabwe, the Congo, and Sierra Leone, are mired in poverty and violence? Acemoglu and Robinson conclusively show that it is man-made political and economic institutions that underlie economic success (or lack of it). Based on fifteen years of original research Acemoglu and Robinson marshall extraordinary historical evidence from the Roman Empire, the Mayan city-states, medieval Venice, the Soviet Union, Latin America, England, Europe, the United States, and Africa to build a new theory of political economy with great relevance for the big questions of today. Why Nations Fail will change the way you look at—and understand—the world.

 

It was published in March 2012 and has 544 pages. I have this as a digital loan from the library on my Kindle.  And it has already changed the way I understand the way the world works first because of the choices made in the past centuries.

 

Fiction-wise I'll getting into a Kate Sedley historical mystery. More on that tomorrow.

 

I don't know if I'll be going to work tomorrow; I'll have to play it by ear. It may be that my getting better will be better served if I stay home and keep the leg elevated. I don't know yet.

 

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Saturday

Stuck on the couch with the leg elevated. I have been doing massive cleaning out of emails and reading up on about two weeks' worth of inbox. That has taken most of the day and really needed to be done.  I managed to do some laundry of bedding and towels. The walk this morning with the boys wasn't very long, just too much pain in the ankle, but they got to run a bit.

It got up into the 80s today though this morning at 5:30 it was only 50 degrees and I needed to wear a fleece because of a breeze. Tomorrow back to the 90s.

My day is a little discombobulated because of not working yesterday. I have to remind myself it's Saturday.

I'm thinking we'll have fish and chips for dinner. Last night Steve brought home chicken enchiladas from Sam's Club that were really tasty. It was the kind to be cooked at home and we'd do it again but would need to add something to it. It was only sauce and chicken inside. It would need rice or beans or something to fill it out.

I watched some of the Olympic coverage last night instead of Say Yes to the Dress which is probably adding to my confusion of what day it is. Just amazing, the 15-year-old who won a gold in the 800 meter swimming and by such a large margin. And how typical of the left wing/progressive media who are saying they would like gold-medal gymnist Gabby better if she wasn't so into Jesus (she praised God when she won). We live in truly dark times.

Speaking of, here is a good story to read: http://www.trevorloudon.com/2012/08/my-black-dad-and-chick-fil-a/. 

All right, off you go.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Low tech version

I haven't posted. Yesterday at lunch I went to the walk in clinic: I've got cellulitis in my left ankle AGAIN. Couldn't get my antibiotic until this afternoon because I'm allergic to everything and the one that does work for me, they had to order. Therefore it had 24 hours to spread before I could send in the troops to fight it. It hurts. I hate it. I didn't go to work today, keeping it elevated, but I now have two days of weekend to get it to where I can go back to work. My theory now, having had it re-occur every year since I first contracted it in 2009, is that it never leaves my cells; it just goes dormant. You know how a program is never really deleted from a computer? And SOMETHING triggers it and yes, my psoriasis is a doorway. Is it the heat of summer? Stress? I don't know.

Today I finished reading a Peter Tremayne Sister Fidelma book I had started a while back. Otherwise I slept a lot.

It was "cooler" today. Only got up to the 70s, I believe. Yeah, 70s are considered cool weather, go figure.  Back to 90s though by Sunday I think.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Wednesday

Yeah, guess what? It's hot again. Surprised? Blech blech blech.

Walked dogs, worked, having some dinner. We'll go to the basement and I'll either read or be on the computer for a bit.

Steve is at shooting. He gave me three roses because of mowing issue. They're gorgeous.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster