Yesterday morning I awakened with the Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious song from Mary Poppins floating through my head. In fact, as I walked downstairs from the bedroom to the kitchen I was singing it out loud.
I am such a dork!!!
Because I was feeling English suddenly I decided to have a proper pot of tea with milk and sugar. I got out my little blue 2-cup tea-pot, added some Taylors of Harrogate Irish Breakfast Tea [which I admit is not English at all, but is the only kind of strong black tea that we have in the house] and brewed myself a lovely beverage.
Jolly good, I tell you.
Did I mention to you, Dear Diary, that Z-D took a day off from work yesterday? Well, he did. And because the weather was so mild and the skies were so clear, we decided to skip yard work and drive over the river to the next state to have lunch on the patio of an English Pub.
Yes, my morning theme continued. Isn’t that cool?
At the Pub, I had my favorite unhealthy appetizer, curry and chips. I washed it down with a Belhaven Scottish Lager [which I admit is not from England either, but I like it– probably my ancestry coming through]. I also had healthy fish tacos with a side salad to balance out my first course.
Then, fortified with alcohol and calories, we decided to go exploring.
We drove back over the river into our state and went to a crowded, fussy, older part of the city where we found the bestest place yet. Yes, we went to Penzeys Spices, a place I’ve longed to go to for years, but only just discovered has a retail store in our city. You’d be proud of us, Dear Diary, we showed admirable restraint and only bought 6 small jars of spice, 2 small bottles of extract and 1 bag of herbs.
My inner foodie was in heaven.
Then we drove back home to the ‘burbs where we collapsed on our screened-in porch. One of us played Candy Crush [Level 205, be impressed] while the other one, exhausted by the day’s excitement, napped while pretending to read a book set in London [because once you have a theme day, you have to go with it].
This is middle age fun. Such as it is.
The rest of the day was the usual hum-drum of laundry, dishes, bills, planning, what have you. But that was okay, Dear Diary, because we had such a good time goofing off earlier in the day.
“Kings and statesmen, business men and professional men read mystery stories for relaxation, for fun, and to sharpen their wits for the daily battle of life.
Don’t let yourself go stale. These books are better than a radio drama and cheaper than a good movie for the family and keep you alert. Have your bookseller send you the books listed below and save over 65% from the former $2.00 price.”
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SO I FOUND THIS Sun Dial Mysteries 1930s [?] bookmark in an old book that happens to be in a large stack of old books that happen to be in our basement. I was charmed by the sexist copy on the bookmark, and I was intrigued by the titles of the books listed on it.
I knew that Leslie Charteris wrote The Saint books, but I’ve never read one. And I knew that Georgette Heyer was a contemporary of Agatha Christie, but I’ve never read one of her books either. The rest of the authors were new to me.
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I HAVE NO IDEA who these oldtime mystery writers might be. I can’t even keep up with the current mystery writers, which is why I thought that I’d ask you, my gentle readers: which mystery writers do you enjoy the most? Or, if you don’t read mysteries, what do you read that I should be reading, too?
Heaven knows, I must remain alert and not go stale!
NOT MUCH GOING ON HERE TO TELL you about, my gentle readers. It’s that time in August when everyone who I know is:
preparing for back-to-school; &/OR
taking a last-minute vacay before Labor Day; &/OR
hiding inside an air-conditioned building in a futile attempt to avoid ragweed, chenopods and nettle pollen*.
SO INSTEAD OF TWISTING MYSELF INTO KNOTS about not having anything to write about [or anyone around to read what I write], I’m going to share the following fun + informative links with you.
LIKE PIGS WHO FLY I SHALL RETURN in a week or two, presuming something blog-worthy happens in my life. Until then, enjoy!
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:: Wishing you knew a way to open that darned wine bottle when you are without a corkscrew, but have your shoes? Go here.
Filed under: “Things To Try… Maybe.”
:: Ever think that there might be a better, more scientific, way to go about cutting a birthday cake? Go here.
I’m telling ‘ya, you’re doing it wrong.
:: Do you dislike pitchers of warm beer yet lack a simple way to keep the pitcher cold? Go here.
Now this one seems useful.
:: Looking for ways to make all your pie crusts look pretty? Go here.
Loving every one of them.
:: Thinking that an expertly mixed martini is what you need right now? Go here.
Not bad: handsome man, perfect drink.
:: In the mood for a Jell-O ice cream pie prepared by Johnny Carson in 1957? Go here.
None for me, thanks.
:: Ever wonder if there’s a more difficult, yet mathematically equal, way to slice a bagel in two? Go here.
Cute, but too tricky for me.
* Find out what pollen is ruining your summer fun at Pollen.com.
THE SPECTACLED BEAN 