There is no magic in the world. I thought I would wake from my nap and find the dinner dishes magically washed.

Solstice

My son just told me that it's Solstice. You're supposed to be able to take an egg and stand it on its end - or you can walk around the park naked wearing a pair of horns.  He tried the egg bit but it didn't work so I threw a dishcloth on the counter and then it worked. That's what fathers are for. I didn't want him running around the park. In the long run it didn't matter, he doesn't have a set of horns.

Lawn Trimmer

 

On Friday Morning, I was out with the grass trimmer before 9 a.m. I heard it was going to rain by 11 a.m. So I got that done and trimmed some of the bushes as well. I have had a Toro trimmer for the past 32 yrs. It still works, except the spool is starting to fall apart and causing problems. We looked on ebay for a replacement, but the shipping costs were too high. It was just as cheap to buy a new one.
My wife's friend said they had two and I could have one. It seems her kids didn't place much value on it. A piece of junk was what they called it. It's a Black and Decker. So I tried it, and it works great. Certainly better than my old one. I just trim around trees and bricks, not do the whole lawn. That's what my neighbor across the street does. I wonder how old it is? I know it is discontinued.

 

The House Next Door.

 

Well, good-bye to the house next door. Last Monday, they brought in an Excavator - That used to be called a steam shovel. No steam involved now. By the end of the week, it was in a truck and gone. Then they knocked down the basement walls and pushed it into the hole. I guess they are not planning that the next house having a basement. Sad. I remember when I used to see them having barbecues on the patio.

Review: When it was Great: A Dealer Autobiographic Story by Jim Sinay

This book is an autobiography of a Las Vegas dealer. It sounds like a guy sitting on a barstool telling his life story. It's a book easy to read and interesting. There is a lot of name dropping that you have to expect. He stresses that the good, the bad, and the ugly are just people like you and I, except they live in Las Vegas. If you ever wondered what life behind the scenes was like, this is your book.

Review: One Shot (Jack Reacher, #9) by Lee Child

Not only does Reacher help friends in trouble, he also helps those who weren't friends. In this case in is in Indiana, which seems to be over run with Russian thugs. Everyone seems prepared to help, no matter how long they have known each other or the consequences. As usual, the dialogue is short and crisp, no words wasted. Some characters a bit over the top, but its fiction. No really big surprises.

"Work without pay until somebody offers to pay". - Mark Twain

I wonder if those two Canadians who went naked in Malaysia can make Selfies in prison?

Yeah! Put rappers lyrics on Sprite cans. That will make me buy it.

There's No Such Thing As Nonfiction

My feeling is that there's no such thing as nonfiction. Everything is fiction, because in the moment someone tries to relate an experience of what happened to them, it's gone. The reality that was felt at the moment is almost impossible to describe. It's one reason why there are writers, to come close to how it felt when it happened.

NORMAN MAILER

Mosquito Bite.

      On the way home from P.E.I, my wife was bitten by a mosquito. That was Fri. and on Sat. she had a bubble on it about 1 inch across. So it was best to go to Emergency. It seems that no matter what problem you have, you get to spend 4 hrs. there. She came home with a prescription to take every 6 hrs. They told her not to burst the bubble, because of infection. My wife was scared of getting the Flesh Eating Disease.
      It just so happened that she had an appointment on Mon. morning with an allergy doctor. By then, the bubble started getting larger, about two inches across. The allergy doctor put a needle in and drained the bubble, put an antibiotic on it and wrapped it up. She has to do that twice a day. I think they should have done that at the hospital. Looking better now. Attached is a photo of the early stages. They put a black circle around it and told her to return if it got red beyond the mark.

Review: Near Death by Glenn Cooper

A novel with near-death experience as the main subject. It blends science, police, drug culture and religion. From an intriguing idea comes an absorbing book. Well written, with characters well developed with backgrounds that glue the story together. An excellent read, hard to put down. It takes you to the last page to find the perfect ending.

Next Door

When I got back from P.E.I. on Fri., there was a new vehicle in the driveway next door. At the abandoned house. Here's a photo of the new vehicle.

Wow!

 Big news on CTV. They were interviewing a woman who did a study that suggested it was good for children to play outside by themselves. Even unsupervised and for a whole hour. I don't know whether to laugh or just shake my head.

Visit To P.E.I.

      Been away for the last little while. Spent four days in P.E.I. It's not for myself that I went but for my daughter. She is 42 and has Cerebral Palsy. She can't walk, talk, or do any of the things we take for granted. We have to feed her with a tube. So, we tell her that going to P.E.I. is her vacation. We can't keep her in the house all the time, and it is so much easier to take her in the new van. She can sit in the back and look out the window and at night she can sleep in a motel. She was smiling for the four days. It rained for the first two days, but she didn't mind as long as she can look out the window and see something different.
      My wife will take her away again in Aug. Her best friend lives along the ocean, and they go there for a week. Lots of noise, grand-kids, etc. Another vacation.

Review: Janus Man (Tweed & Co. #4) by Colin Forbes

'Janus Man' is the fourth in a series of 'Tweed and Co.' It's another cold war plot of spy versus spy. This is the first time I've seen Spymaster Tweed come out from behind his desk and work in the field. A man with a cold heart, he can also show weakness. The author has a substantial knowledge of the geographical landscape of his story. He's as good as a road map.
I find his character descriptions a bit too much. Each character mentioned is followed by a complete paragraph for a description, right down to the color of socks. It is obvious he has a fascination for women's legs.
It's a good story, not much of a suspenseful ending with a few threads left dangling.

More This & That

Some of the posts I put in last year are a little crooked in the ground, and some are a little wobbly from all the water. So I had to fix that up. When I bought gravel last year, I saved some for just that problem. I straightened the posts, put gravel around them and pounded it down. Back in business again.
The next thing was to put the clothesline back up. Had to take it down last fall when the trees were being trimmed. When the wind is strong, and the trees bend, it can pull the hooks out of the house. Has happened a few times.
You can pick up my latest book, "Mediterranean Mission," on Amazon for $2.99.