Sunday Synopsis

Blood Test by Jonathan Kellerman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Blood Test begins with psychologist Alex Delaware visiting a boy and his family at the hospital. The boy is undergoing cancer treatment. Suddenly, the boy disappears from the hospital, possibly because his parents didn't agree with the treatment, but they have also disappeared from the motel where they were staying leaving only a blood stain behind.

Soon, the parents are found dead, and the boy and his older sister are nowhere to be found. As Alex and his detective friend continue to investigate, they find a cult that had visited the parents at the hospital, and both Alex and another doctor believe the cult is the key to finding the boy who desperately needs treatment. The local sheriff where the cult is located also becomes involved when he has to arrest the doctor for threatening the cult. As it turns out, the cult has plenty to hide as do other members of the community.

As you can tell, there are some twists and turns and surprises in store for the reader. Enjoy!

View all my reviews

Random Happy Tuesday

 If you live in the U.S., you've probably heard that the one cent coin will be phased out and 230 years of existence.  The final order for the penny blanks has already been filled.  But, it's still legal tender, and you can continue using them.  I've heard that in the near future, retailers may begin rounding to the next nickel.  So, then we will need more nickels?  They cost more to make than pennies!  Wasn't that part of the reason for phasing out the penny? I have mixed feelings about the demise of the penny.

Moving right along

 

Be sure to visit Happy Tuesday and Random Tuesday Thoughts and have a great week!

Sunday Synopsis

 

Pompeii by Robert Harris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is a historical fiction novel about the days leading up to and including the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Having recently visited the remains of Pompeii, I found this to be enlightening and interesting.

The book follows Marcus Attilius, the engineer in charge of the Aqua Augusta, the source of fresh water to all of the Bay of Naples. He is investigating the blockage of the aqueduct in the days leading up to the explosion of the volcano. It gives a glimpse into the daily lives of the Romans around 79AD as well as insight into the class system of the time period, both the luxe life of the richest men and the tortured lives of slaves. In time, Attilius will discover what happened to his predecessor who seemingly just vanished. And he will test the power and corruption in Pompeii.

The names take a little getting used to as some of them are so similar, but once past that, the novel is fascinating. Harris has clearly done his research in his ability to describe life in Pompeii as it was and the devastating effects of the volcanic eruption. I highly recommend this book.

View all my reviews

Fun Photos

 

Sunset on the Mississippi River in New Orleans

Beignets from Cafe Du Monde

Please visit my friends at Comedy Plus, Image-in-ing, and Wordless Wednesday Blogspot.

Random Happy Tuesday

 

Hello!  Hello!  It's been a while!  It's good to be back.  

Does anyone have experience with neuropathy in the foot or leg? I am in PT and wearing a brace, and it seems to be getting better, but I don't know if I will always have issues or if it will go away.  It was made worse by a medication I'm taking as well as high levels of B6 plasma.  I had no idea an excess of vitamins could be that "bad" for my health.  I'd love to hear from anyone with experience in dealing with peripheral neuropathy, and anyone else that just wants to say hi, of course!

Moving on...  (I have noticed that there is an ad that will appear here.  I have looked at it three times, and it shows a different ad each time, but they are all... "questionable" and I apologize.  I would love to know how to remove the ads within the post. Advice?  ETA I think I fixed it.  Please let me know if you are still seeing ads within my posts.)

The kitty in the basket reminds me so much of my Lacy.  I miss her!

Please visit my friends at Happy Tuesday and Random Tuesday Thoughts.

Fun Photos

These photos were taken in Rockport, Texas in 2018. I love interesting and beautiful trees!

Please visit Wordless Wednesday here and here and Image-in-ing here.

Fun Photo

 

La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona has a rich and fascinating history.  Read about it here.

For more fun photos, please visit Comedy Plus and Wordless Wednesday.

Random Tuesday Thoughts

 I hope everyone had a good Memorial Day and took some time to thanks those that try to keep our country safe.  I have a son-in-law who is in the Air Force Reserves.  He just returned from a mission to ... I can't say where.  He was part of the team that got the cargo and servicemen ready to go... somewhere else I can't say.  He may be the one deployed next time.  He reports for duty one weekend a month, every month, and at least one mission, could also be two, that each take 2-4 weeks.  He is a Sergeant. My dad was in the air force.  My mom's dad was also in the air force.

I want to thank any and all of you who are service men and women as well.  Pop in the comments and tell me what branch you were in.

Moving right along.

Get it?

Hilarious!

Last, but not least...

Have a great week and don't forget to visit Happy Tuesday and Stacy Uncorked.

Sunday Synopsis

The Lady in the Tower by Jean Plaidy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Many of us who read historical fiction based on the British Royal Family likely already know what happened to the Lady in the Tower (Anne Boleyn), but this book attempts to take us through events from Anne's perspective. I don't think the characters are as well developed as those in Philippa Gregory's books. Plaidy's books tend to focus on a romanticized view of historical European royalty.

This book covers a great deal of information about Anne's experience at the French Court. It also shows how her sister's affair with King Henry VIII did the family no good, and in fact, made them appear lower. Anne is set to change that when Henry shows interest. She keeps him waiting until either a divorce or annulment comes through from the Pope. When it doesn't, Henry breaks from the church in his quest to sire a male heir.

I won't give away too many more details in case you want to read the book, but this one follows Anne all the way to the tower and to the green where she loses her life.

Something that annoyed me about this book was her continually using the words "cruel mouth" to refer to Henry. And she speculated that either he could not have children or could not have male children. There is no reason and no way for her to have known or thought either of those two things at that time. Medicine was not a science like it is now. And she frequently described herself as "laughing wildly" which I also doubt happened. I think the author could have made a better attempt to remain historically accurate while still injecting some fictional elements or even some humor into the storyline.

View all my reviews

Painting Fun!

 

This past weekend, my daughter and I went to paint ceramics at a place called Color Me Mine.

  The first thing you do is choose a piece that you want to paint such as a figurine, bowl, plate, or piggy bank.  Then you choose the colors you want, then you paint!  The colors don't show on the ceramic the way they will look once they are glazed.

When you are finished, they hold on to your piece and fire it in the kiln after which you go and pick up your item.  It was a little nerve-wracking trying to get it just right, but overall, it was great fun.  What are you doing for fun lately?

Don't forget to visit Happy Tuesday and Random Tuesday Thoughts, and have a great week!

Sunday Synopsis

The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the tenth book in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Consider dealing with this... snow gnats, an organized group of young people, a dastardly man with an evil plan, and a secret headquarters. This follows the Baudelaire children in their quest to rid themselves of the maniac who is following them around and trying to steal their fortune. In this installment, they get one step closer, and they learn some information about the two triplets who are also on the run.

Lemony Snicket has a way of including, not traditional definitions of words the reader may not no, but clever descriptions and the consequences of knowing those words. There is just enough "suspended belief" to make it interesting without alienating the reader. The author is clever and continues to add details to the mystery as it goes along. This is a good series, especially for young adult readers and middle schoolers.

View all my reviews

A little of our London trip

 Visited with the cousins in England. It was amazing!  Here are a few (unedited) highlights.

Kensington Palace Garden

The Shard

The Globe Theater with a modern-day performance of MacBeth

Tower Bridge

We had a great time and would love to go back!

See more fun photos here and here.

I'm bored

 No, this is not the lament of a school-age child after one week's worth of summer, though it could be!  It's me!  I'm bored!  What do you do when you're bored?  There is only so much TV that can be watched and Internet that can be surfed.

I've done all the laundry.  The house is (fairly) clean. Dinner tonight is easy to warm up.    I've made a thank you card, and I did some other crafting. I've run errands.  I've watched the shows I want to watch.  This is what happens when you wake up too early (Thanks to the neighbors for chopping down a giant tree that was providing wonderful shade in my bedroom).  Now what?

I wonder what Chat GPT will say.

It said I could watch a movie (nope), go for a walk (not feeling it), rearrange a room (not gonna happen), or scroll Google Earth.  Chat GPT clearly does not know me!  One of its seriously lame suggestions was to go on Youtube and learn a new skill such as, get this, origami, speedcubing, or lockpicking.  Yes, it said that!  I guess I will look up what speedcubing is and get back to you.  But for now...

Have a great week!  Don't forget to visit Happy Tuesday and Random Tuesday Thoughts!