The suspense is killing me!

When I was 12, I received a box of books from a family friend. Inside that box was a series that would forever cement "mysteries" and "summer" in my mind: Trixie Belden.  I had so much in common with Trixie, how could I not fall in love?  She was petite and had short, blonde, curly hair: I was petite and had short, brown, strait hair. She lived in rural, upstate New York; I lived in a midwestern suburb. Her best friend was a millionaire's daughter; my best friend was the daughter of an engineer. Trixie LOVED horses; I pretty much LOATHED horses.

OK, so we didn't have as much in common as I would have liked to believe. But I loved reading about Trixie's adventures. They carried me through a long summer in a new town. I have restarted my collection of Trixie Belden books, and was thrilled to no end when the series was brought back in print (and also available as nook books!)

In an effort to relive my youthful, mystery-filled summers, I'm indulging in mysterious adventures this summer.  I just can't get enough of them!  So far, I've discovered Anne Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt mysteries. Charlotte is a Victorian sleuth, who aids her husband in solving crimes in the wealthier sets. And can I just say how exciting it is to discover a series of books that is already up to number 29? This series alone could carry me through the summer!  But I can't read just one mystery author.  I have to continue following Amelia Peabody -another Victorian sleuth, but one who solves crimes involving ancient Egypt. Then of course, there is watching Geraldine McEwan's Miss Marple mysteries on Netflix. Naturally, this will mean reading some more Agatha Christie. I believe there may be a new Hannah Swenson mystery (or two) that I haven't read yet (warning: don't read Hannah's adventures when you are hungry: she makes cookies for a living!) Plus, I managed to miss the second series of Sherlock when it showed on PBS earlier this year, so I'll have to catch up on that (dreamy sigh: Benedict Cumberbatch)

So that's my Summer Mystery Tour in a capsule. Do you read different books according to the season? What's on your bookshelf for the summer?




Agatha Christie...

Vanessa  Wagstaff

Buy This at Allposters.com

Bread!

From this................

to this!

Yes, I've been playing with Instagram. But more importantly, I've been playing with bread!  Bread can be so easy to make, especially if you have Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day.  I like making flat breads because they don't need much shaping. For the focaccia I made in the picture above, I just scraped it out of the container onto the pan. Drizzle with olive oil, let rest while the oven heats up, pop it in the oven for 15 minutes and voila -fresh bread from the oven! 

I try to bake in the mornings during the summer. Even with the AC on, my kitchen is no fun to be in after mid-day.  I'm going to experiment with making pita using a cast iron skillet on the stove, which would mean fresh bread without turning the oven on!  And if we had a gas grill, we would be grilling pizzas all the time. I have successfully made buns to go with bratwurst, and I have plans to make hamburger buns as well. Oh, so little time, so much bread! Not to mention, fresh strawberry jam....

The Gingerbread Baby

I fly by the seat of my pants quite frequently at school.  I have themes planned out and lessons to go along with the themes, but I like to leave wiggle-room so I can entertain last minute ideas.  Just minutes before typing this blog, I saw a tweet referring me to activities around the very book I am going to read today in my class,  Jan Brett's  The Gingerbread Baby.  What an amazing coincidence!  I checked it out because quite frankly, the activities I have to go along with this book are pretty lame.  If you are a homeschooler, a teacher, or a parent in desperate need of things for Junior to use, check out this Gingerbread Baby Preschool Pack here.  I haven't patrolled this site much yet, but it looks like there is a lot of good stuff here!

A sad good-bye

Woman Sitting Beside Table with Laptop Photographic Print

I regret to inform you that my laptop (Orac O'Dell) and I have decided to part ways.  Sadly we could no longer work together in a manner that was neither tolerable nor productive for either of us.  I will admit that my inflexibility regarding  powering up on command had much to do with the demise of this relationship, and I am sincerely sorry that a workable agreement could not be forged.

I cannot regret the time we spent together, nor deny the beautiful work we accomplished.  I hope you will join me in wishing Orac good luck as he searches for work in the computer parts industry.  Perhaps we will see him playing a role in a sequel to  62 Projects to Make with a Dead Computer: (And Other Discarded Electronics) or possibly parts of him ensconced in gold and dangling from a socialite's ears.

Good-bye Orac, and Good Luck

C

For Booksellers (and Book Lovers)

View to Castle Cornet, St. Peterport (St. Peter Port), Guernsey, Channel Islands
 "[B]ooksellers really are a special breed.  No one in their right  mind would take up clerking in a bookstore for the salary, and no one in his right mind would want to own one -the margin of profit is too small.  So, it has to be a love of readers and reading that makes them do it- along with first dibs on the new books."
                       ~Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society

Great Reading Adventure

So much for spring cleaning & flinging!  Its already Wednesday and all I've managed to do is organize DH's closet and dresser.  What I have managed to do is finish reading three books and start on a fourth! 

The first book I finished was Unclutter Your Life in One Week.  Many of you already know I'm a fan of The Flylady.  She advocates decluttering for 15 minutes a day until all your clutter is gone.  I think that is a great idea, except for the fact that I don't know if I can wait the year it would take for me to get rid of the junk that is weighing me down!  I'm looking for a Crisis Declutter, hence the attempt to unclutter in one week.

I honestly don't see how one could follow the plan in this book and get your house in order in just one week, especially if you work outside the home.  Nonetheless, there are some great ideas.  Doland suggests starting with your closet space (hence my attempt to tame DH's closet & dresser). To be honest, I am breathing easier already!  I've got a plan now for dealing with sentimental clutter (including my books *gasp*) and ways I can rearrange furniture to create a Flylady-style launch pad. 

No, I won't get it done in a week.  But I'll get enough done on my week off to make my life easier!  By the way, did I mention that I read this book in DIGITAL form?  Great clutter buster right there!

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