Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie

I started Agatha Christie's "Hallowe'en Party", but I'm woefully unimpressed with the first two chapters. I may abandon it. Any yes, the odd apostrophe is in the title.

PBS'ing

LuLu and Smiley are watching Julia Child and Jaqcques Pepin (sic) with Lisa and asking 1000 pertinent questions.

The Doorbell Rang

If you want an example of smooth, flawless writing that drops you into the story with panache, look no further than Rex Stout. I loved the opening of 'The DoorBell Rang', a Nero Wolfe mystery from late in Stout's career, when he went all lefty-loosy. Here he paints the FBI as a group of murdering fascist thugs. IIRC the book cost Stout many fans, inc. John Wayne. Not a great bk, but not a bad read, ideology aside.

Home cooking!

<p><span style="font-size: large;">For the warmup to the kid's dinner: a salad made of greens picked fresh from our garden!

Father's Day 2011

Best part of Fathers's Day 2011: watching Terminator with YaYa and LuLu after a taco dinner. They seemed to enjoy it as much as I did back in the day, and I couldn't have been happier!

A Yucky Day

Got home from wrk near midnight, went to bed close to 230. Dumb. Lisa got me up @ 6. Tried going back to bed @ 745 but was invited to Godson's 1st haircut. Didn't go, had to deal w/ near disaster @ Noah's Ark (girls are there on scout trip). Gave up on sleep. Sharpened/oiled mower, cut & trimmed lawn. Going to garden w/ Park, then make lunch, clean a bit, then hopefully nap b4 returning to work. Day sux.

Buried Prey

I finished "Buried Prey", the latest Lucas Davenport book by John Sandford. Very well done. Part of it is set in the distant past when Davenport's career began, but unlike the use of this technique in the latest Scudder novel (where it seemed a sign the character was too old to matter in the present), Sandford makes it work and work well. I enjoyed it a lot.

A Chance Encounter

just ran into Dave Shore @ the Botanical Gardens. I rarely forget faces, and in fact we both recognized each other @ the same time. It was a friendly reunion. He thanked me for advice back in the day, commented on the lovely paint job of the hi, and mentioned the economy is tough.

Anyway. 

There was a concert there that evening (the music of John Williams) and that allowed me to get in free with the kids. We didn't stay for the music. I had 3 kids under 8 with me, all of whom have a 7 pm bedtime. Had I stayed everyone else would have missed hearing a good show. 

Smiley's Roller skates

Technically, aren't they called Heeley's?

Wish Me Luck

I should mention that I tossed my hat into the ring for a writing job of some significance. While it's a long shot of a long shot, I was happy to see that not only wasn't I rejected out of hand, the editor passed news of my interest up the ladder. So say a prayer, offer to fund a bribe, or just send good thoughts my way - whatever your preference, I'm grateful for the help.