The Perils of Drying Clothes

The dryer died but I have an outside line.
I'm saving energy but it's a pain in the rear
Carrying wet clothes up the basement stairs.
Thank goodness the clothesline's near.

It doesn't take long for things to dry
Hanging up there above grass and ants,
But tell me this, little birdie -
Why did you have to poop on my pants?

Random Thoughts, Part 2

Does your spouse (or significant other) read? I read a lot but Jim isn't a good reader, doesn't like to read, and so doesn't do it unless it's the newspaper, instructions for something, or maybe a magazine. I can remember my paternal grandparents reading all the time. They each had a rocking chair and there was a floor lamp between them, and they sat and read each evening. They lived about 20 miles from town and went to the library every two weeks, coming home with a box of books. They're actually the ones who introduced me to reading since we lived close and they would get books for me and my brother, too. My hubby is jealous of the time I read which to me, doesn't make sense. He says it's like I'm not with him when I'm reading. I don't feel it's any different than when he's sleeping in his recliner with the TV on. He's still there if I need him. How does your spouse or SO react to your reading?

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Oh, darn! I did it again! What, you ask. I didn't divide my hostas and now they're all getting too big and hanging over the sidewalk. They look so good when they're just coming up and I forget that they'll get bigger each year. I spent a hot afternoon today dividing a couple of them up and moving pieces to the other side of the house.

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Sorry, but I had to turn on comment moderation last night after being hit with several spam comments. I'll leave it for a while and then see what happens.

Books I've read this week - Man Overboard

I was sent a copy of Man Overboard, written by Sandy Mason, to review. The book was written as if the main character, Johnny Donohue, was telling the story. (It reminded me of some of those TV shows where the cop or investigator talks to the audience during the show.) Donohue and a buddy, ex-cop Lonny Turner are delivering a boat when they find an unattended sailboat. It belongs to a marina owner and he's nowhere to be found. The police investigation finds out he'd been skimming money from his business and also, suspected drug-running boats had been tied up at his marina. Did the man just skip town or is he involved with the drug-runners? Johnny is a friend of the family and tries to find out what happened along with the help of his new girlfriend, Maria deFlores, who's a newspaper reporter, and his friend Lonny. The book is full of boat descriptions and sailing references. Not knowing one boat from another, it was hard to understand part of the time. If you like a mystery and sailing, you may like this book.

I found the book to be somewhat repetitive. And I have no idea why, when referring to Florida, he needed to say "that there seemed to be a lot of people wandering around the streets or working in the stores with IQ's well below the national norm." (p. 116) That should win some brownie points with Floridian readers! The author also seemed to think that since he was writing a book aimed at a mainly male audience, he needed to throw in references to the Korean War. (Chapter 30) In my opinion, this whole chapter and Johnny's trip back home wasn't necessary to the story. He also kept telling what Johnny was wearing and what they were eating ........ who cares? On page 161, "The weather now became a steady drizzle, so I ditched the sport coat and put on a sailing jacket. I still looked stunning." HUH? I hope he was trying to be funny. What kind of guy calls himself 'stunning'? This just wasn't really my kind of book. Sorry, Mr. Mason.

I believe this book was self-published as there was no publisher or copyright date listed. For more information on the author, you can go here.

Drey's having a birthday giveaway!

Drey from Drey's Library is having a birthday but she's giving the presents instead of receiving them. To enter, just leave a comment and guess the actual date of her birthday. One clue for you - it's in June. Everyone who guesses the right date will be entered into the drawing, and Randomizer will pick the winner. In addition, you'll have one extra guess if you're a follower, and two extra guesses if you share - that's 2 per share! For every 10 people who enter, 1 winner will be picked, with up to 3 winners. What're you playing for? Up to three of the following books (mix & match, it's your pick...)--first winner picks 3, second winner picks 2, and the third winner picks 1.
The books you get to pick from are -
Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series: Furies of Caleron, Academ's Fury, and Cursor's Fury;
Eileen Wilks' Tempting Danger;
Anne Bishop's The House of Gaian;
Vicki Petterson's The Touch of Twilight;
David Baldacci's First Family;
Ted Dekker's Boneman's Daughters;
Dan Simmons' The Terror;
Linda Kelsey's Fifty Is Not a Four-Letter Word;
Jean Hanff Korelitz's Admission;
Katie Crouch's Girls in Trucks.

Enter here. Contest ends June 30 at 6 pm central. Good luck!

Books I've read this week - The Last Family

After reading First Family by David Baldacci, I thought it was only fitting to follow up by reading The Last Family by John Ramsey Miller ©1996 (Bantam Books). This thriller kept my attention from the start and didn't let go until the final chapter. Martin Fletcher is a renegade DEA agent who blames former agent Paul Masterson for his downfall. Fletcher is a psychopath who doesn't care who he hurts in his quest for revenge. Over the past couple of years he has been killing the family members of Paul's former team, making it look like accidental deaths. After killing Agent Rainey Lee's wife, he calls Rainey and tells him what he'd done and that it was he who also killed his two children. He tells him it's all Paul Masterson's fault. Paul himself has become a recluse in a Montana cabin six years after almost getting killed in one of Fletcher's schemes. He's lost an eye, has limited use of one arm and hand, and walks with a limp. He wants nothing more than to try and forget the two men who died trying to save him but his life is filled with nightmares and regrets. He's alienated his family and doesn't know how to make things right

One day two men show up on the mountain looking for Paul. He learns that Fletcher has killed the families of 3 other agents and he needs to return to work in order to stop Fletcher from killing the last family, his family. The only way he can do that is to use his family as bait and try and take Fletcher out before he killst them. Is he up to the task? He and his former teammates, who have already lost their wives and children, are certainly going to try.

This book starts out fast and never slows down. The seemingly untouchable Fletcher gets away time after time. He's a makeup artist and has had plastic surgery and hides in plain sight a lot of the time. He taunts Paul with messages and phone calls. He's pure evil and you just want them to get him SO badly! I probably wouldn't watch this type of movie because of all the graphic violence and killing, including children, but it had so much character background that it made it really interesting to read. If you like this type of book, I guarantee you won't be disappointed.