The best-laid plans....

I'm back! (did you notice I was gone??)  

I am dead tired, and I am sure I am forgetting some things, but I wanted to break my silence (aside from my book reviews) and tell you about my recent trip west to visit my Dad.  .  

We arrived there on July 18th, as scheduled... but the situation was not what we'd been expecting.  Earlier in the week, my sister called me, in tears, to tell me one of Dad's former neighbours had taken him to the local hospital emergency room. He was having intermittent abdominal pain and (ummm...), shall we say, bathroom issues?  He was not in very good shape, severely dehydrated with some concerning bloodwork results. I asked her if we should change our flight and come earlier.. She told me she was on her way out there to see him, and not to do anything until she'd seen him for herself and reported back.   

When I talked to her again, she told me they were admitting him. They weren't sure what the source of the problem was (and they were ultimately not able to determine that), but he was being closely monitored, and the drugs and hydrating fluids they were giving him seemed to be helping.  He told her (only half-joking, I think!)  to bring a deck of cards and some money (we play for quarters, lol).  That made me feel better! so we decided to stick to our original plan. 

We stopped briefly at Dad's apartment to unload our stuff when we arrived on Saturday afternoon, and then headed over to the hospital.  Dad was in bed with the covers drawn up, but that was because the air vent was right above his bed and he was cold.  He looked and sounded a lot better than I expected, and he was anxious to get home again, but they told him they were still waiting on some test results from the city, and that he'd be there until at least Monday.   

We visited him at the hospital a few times every day for the next two days -- and then on Monday, he was discharged. It was his 87th birthday.  :)  He didn't feel much like cake just then, but he was very happy to be home.  

My sister had planned to take a week off work while we were there -- but since she'd already been off for a week unexpectedly while Dad was in the hospital (on top of other recent time off to help clear out the house, etc.), she decided to return to the office while we were there to look out for Dad, and come out on the weekends. Dad's apartment only has two bedrooms, but his old neighbours generously offered to let her & her partner stay in their basement while we were there, so that worked out very well.  

Dad didn't sleep very well at the hospital, so I was relieved when he declared, the first morning he was back home, that he'd had the best night's sleep he'd had in months. While in the hospital, he developed a taste for vanilla Greek yogurt (lol), and so we bought him some at the local store, and he ate several helpings of that every day.  One of the neighbours gave him some vanilla Boost to try, and he actually liked that too (my grandfather loathed the stuff -- maybe they've improved it since then??). He also tried and loved the bottled iced tea that my sister was drinking. He doesn't drink nearly as much water as he should, but he would drink iced tea (and it's fluids!), so dh & I were kept busy running to the store to stock up!  He has his meals delivered several times a week (and ordered meals for us too), so we didn't have to do a lot of cooking -- although we did have some fresh vegetables from the weekly local farmers' market while we were there (yum!). So he seemed to be eating a little better -- I heard him telling someone he had more of an appetite than he'd had in a while -- and my sister said she thought he looked and sounded better (and much more like his old self) than he had in months.  (I thought so too.)  

Dad asked us, early on, if we'd stay an extra week.  For some unfathomable reason, I was not able to change our tickets online (as I did when we extended our stay in January, after Mom died) -- I had to call the airline's 1-800 customer service line -- and sit on hold for more than two hours before I was able to speak to an agent!  It cost us a ridiculous amount of money to change our tickets (on top of the ridiculous amount it already cost us to buy the tickets in the first place -- travel within Canada is not cheap!) -- but I paid up, because it was clear Dad really wanted us to stay longer, and I wanted to make sure he was OK before we left. Plus he needed our help with a lot of stuff related to Mom's estate and the recent sale of the house):  we took him to the lawyer's office, the bank, and another bank in another town where we'd lived in the 1970s (we took Dad there when we were there in May, too!)  

We shopped for groceries, picked up the meals that were delivered to the building's door downstairs and reheated them later for dinner, and cooked on the nights we weren't getting those. We got Dad's yogurt, Boost, iced tea and breakfast cereal for him whenever he asked for it.  I dusted the main living areas (which needed it!), cleaned the bathroom and swiffered the floor. (The cleaning lady he & Mom had at the house is going to start coming in a few times a month, which will help.)  We picked up prescriptions at the local drugstore. We bought TV bingo cards, and I played with him every Saturday afternoon.  

Dad watches Game TV for hours on end (the game show network -- much to our consternation -- arrrghhhhhh... he's also fond of "Judge Judy"...!), but he also watched a lot of CFL football games and Major League baseball (especially the Toronto Blue Jays). I'm not a huge sports fan, but that was infinitely preferable, lol.  

We watched the construction of a new gas station next door from the balcony.  And we played cards just about every night we were there.  

We also had visitors:  Neighbours from the house dropped by several times to see how he was doing.  Parents' Neighbours' Daughter brought over all three Princesses when we had cake for his birthday, and returned with the Littlest Princess (#3) several times a week while we were there.  Her parents also came by to visit when they were in town for the day.  And one of my cousins, in Manitoba visiting family, stopped by for an hour, before heading home to Alberta. I hadn't seen her in about 25 years, so it was great to catch up!  

And we went (back) to the funeral home:  Dad purchased a niche at the local cemetery, which fits two urns, and we made arrangements to have Mom's ashes interred while we were there.  We did that last Saturday, just before we returned to Ontario. There were just the five of us (me, dh, my sister & her partner, and Dad), PND, three of Mom & Dad's former neighbours/friends, and the minister at Mom's church who presided at her funeral.  We were only there about 15 minutes, and then we went back to the apartment for lunch.  I'd ordered a tray of deli meats, pickles and cheese a couple of loaves of rye bread and some potato chips from the local grocery store, and my sister brought some Mom's favourite KitKat bars for dessert  We all had a nice visit.   

On the downside: Dad fell twice while we were there:  once, heading from the waiting room at the medical clinic, into the doctor's office (!). He insisted on using his cane and not bringing his walker with us in the car -- reached out for the counter to steady himself -- missed, and fell. :(  Everyone came running to help him (and would you believe the doctor threw out his back trying to help dad up??).  He skinned his knee (which the doctor cleaned and bandaged), and I think his pride was bruised, but that seemed to be the extent of the damage, thank goodness.  

The second time was two hours before we were scheduled to leave for the airport (!!), in the bathroom, just after he got up. I think he was still half asleep and lost his balance. With a little help from me and his walker, he was eventually able to pull himself up off the floor, and again, aside from his pride, he didn't seem to have sustained any injuries. THANK GOODNESS.  (I called him when we got home that night and he insisted he was fine. Hopefully he wasn't downplaying things...)  My sister is looking into getting him a Lifeline ASAP (and hopefully he will wear it...!).  

The doctor had mentioned he would refer Dad to homecare services too -- someone to look in on Dad regularly and maybe help him with his bath/shower.  That would be a load off my mind (although I also have memories of my mother arranging a similar service for my grandmother, 30 years ago, only to have Grandma refuse to let the person into their apartment...!).  

A few personal notes:  Staying an extra week meant we were not at home on Katie's day (Aug. 7th -- 28 years later!) to do all the traditional things we usually do. It's not the first time we've been away fro home on that day, but it's been a while. We did go out for a while that afternoon on our own to spend some private time remembering her together.  One of our traditions is a visit to the Dairy Queen for Blizzards  :)  -- there is no DQ in my parents' town, but there is a great little drive-in restaurant that's been around 60+ years (as long as I have!), and so we went there for ice cream, just the two of us. :)  

We also went to the local cemetery, to scout out the site ahead of the committal service. I said to dh as we drove there that I wished I knew where my old boss (the owner of the local weekly newspaper who gave me my first job after journalism school) was buried. Would you believe he (and his wife, whom I also knew) were both cremated, and their ashes are in the same wall where Mom & Dad's niche is, just a few rows above them?  I patted the marker in delight, said, "Thanks for my career, H." --  and dearly wished my late friend R., who worked for him too, was still here, so I could tell her.  :(  

My sister & her partner brought me "the box" from their house in the city (the one I'd filled with all the stuff I wanted to keep, when we were there in May, clearing out Mom & Dad's house). We brought an extra empty suitcase with us, and I was able to bring home the rest of my diaries/journals and other youthful writing projects, autograph books from my school days, part of an old scrapbook with concert tickets and reviews in it, etc. My sister had thrown in our great-uncle's letters home from Italy during WWII, which I had insisted should go to the county museum where my mother's family is from. I decided to take those home too, to look through and scan. I'll figure out how to get them to the museum later.  What's left in the box is mostly some books, and I should be able to take all or most of those with me when we're back again at Christmastime.

We got back here on Sunday night.  We were sooooo tired!!  And then (wouldn't you know it?), the stupid carbon monoxide detector (wall plug-in unit) started beeping at 5 AM on Monday morning!!  We bought it 10 years ago when we moved in, and I remembered the manual said it had a 10-year shelf life, and sure enough...!  I found the manual, found the switch to turn it off and that was that -- but of course by then, we were pretty much awake. Needless to say, it was an early bedtime...!  

We're still really tired, though. Extending the fatigue (lol):  we spent Tuesday morning with the Little Great-Nephews (lol) -- SIL/their grandmother asked if we'd stay with them for a few hours while she went out for an appointment, and of course we said yes. They are/were pretty good, but noisy and full of energy. Dh spent half the morning chasing LGNephew #2 around the house. Then the little guy wrapped himself up in a blanket and conked out (on the floor!) before his grandmother got back -- and dh did likewise this afternoon when we got back home!  

I tried to keep with reading and commenting on your blogs while I was away, but I will admit I was not very successful...!  (Likewise, I barely looked at my social media accounts.)  I'm hoping to catch up a little, now that I'm home. 

(Did I say I was tired??)  This eldercare stuff is not easy.  (And my sister has been shouldering most of the responsibility for many years now.  And Dad is in better shape than many elderly people, I know.)  Kudos to all of you who have caregiving responsibilities of any kind! 

"Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" by Winifred Watson

I've always gotten "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris" and "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" mixed up in my mind (with "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" only adding to the confusion...!).  So, having just read "Mrs. Harris" (reviewed here), I decided "Miss Pettigrew" would be my next read. ("Major Pettigrew" reviewed here, FYI!) 

"Miss Pettigrew," by Winifred Watson, was published in 1938 and, like "Mrs. Harris," (published 20 years later), it's a bit of a fairy tale. One Goodreads review I read likened it to a 1930s screwball comedy, and that's a pretty apt comparison. (I kept picturing Carole Lombard in the role of Miss LaFosse, and one of her lovers is likened to Clark Gable!  Apparently there's a 2008 movie version, starring Frances McDormand as Miss Pettigrew -- she also narrates the audiobook version --  and Amy Adams as Miss LaFosse.)  

The plot:  dowdy middle-aged spinster governess Miss Guinevere Pettigrew is out of a job, flat broke and on the verge of homelessness when her employment agency (mistakenly) sends her to the apartment of Miss Delysia LaFosse for a job interview. No children are present, nor a husband -- but there's a man in Miss LaFosse's bedroom (gasp!) -- and she's desperate to get rid of him before her the lover/manager she shares the apartment with returns from a business trip. Miss Pettigrew to the rescue! By the end of a whirlwind day on the town in the company of Miss LaFosse, her friends and their assorted lovers, the very prim and proper Miss Pettigrew is utterly transformed -- and so are they. 

This was a short, fast read and quite enjoyable for the most part. It's very much a book of its times -- for good (e.g., the screwball elements and snappy dialogue) --but also, unfortunately, not-so-good: there are disparaging references to Miss LaFosse's lovers' ethnic backgrounds, and many of the men display a rather brutish/misogynistic attitude towards women.  

Passages like this can grate on a modern reader, and while I can often overlook the odd such reference or two, there were just a few too many scattered throughout this book for my comfort. So, after some thought, 3.5 stars on StoryGraph, rounded down to 3 on Goodreads. 

This was Book #21 read to date in 2026 (and Book #3 finished in August), bringing me to 53% of  my 2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 40 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 3 books behind pace to meet my goal.  :(  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2026 tagged as "2026 books." 

"Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris" by Paul Gallico

I was looking for something short and light to read, and thought of a book that's been on my list for a while -- "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris," a 1958 novel by Paul Gallico.  The cover of my digital version (pictured here) is a tie-in to the  2022 movie starring the wonderful Lesley Manville, and while I haven't seen the movie (and have a hard time picturing her as a charwoman...!), she's an amazing actress and I have no doubt she pulled it off!  

Mrs. Ada Harris (or 'Arris, as she says in her Cockney accent) is a childless widow who now supports herself as a charwoman/cleaning lady in London with a large number of daily/regular clients, many of them wealthy and titled. She's content with her life and takes pleasure in flowers, particularly the geraniums she grows in and outside her flat -- until the day she spots a Dior couture dress hanging in the closet of one of her clients. It's the most beautiful thing she's ever seen -- and she wants one for herself, more than anything she's ever wanted before in her life. For three years, she scrimps and saves (and makes the occasional bet, lol -- sometimes winning, sometimes losing) until she finally has just enough to finance a one-day round-trip airplane ticket to Paris --  and a precious Dior dress to bring home with her.  

What happens next is the stuff of fairy tales, as the people she encounters change her life -- and she changes theirs too. The cheerful, plain-spoken Mrs. Harris enchants the staff of Dior (including Christian Dior himself!) -- and she won me over too. The book is just a wee bit dated in its language and attitudes, and I had a couple of questions (She didn't bring any luggage!  Did she have any trouble changing her return ticket? -- we do not know...) -- but I thoroughly enjoyed this sweet and utterly charming book. (Who among us hasn't fallen utterly in love with a pretty dress or some other object that we simply HAD to have?? impractical though it might have been?)   

4 stars on Goodreads & StoryGraph.  

My copy actually includes a sequel -- "Mrs. Harris Goes to New York" -- and there are two more:  "Mrs. Harris Goes to Parliament" and "Mrs. Harris Goes to Moscow"(!).    I hope to get around to those,  eventually...! 

This was Book #20 read to date in 2026 (and Book #2 finished in August), bringing me to 50% of  my 2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 40 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 3 books behind pace to meet my goal.  :(  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2026 tagged as "2026 books." 

"Young Woman and the Sea" by Glenn Stout

"Young Woman and the Sea" by Glenn Stout is the September pick for my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club.

First published in 2009, and re-issued in conjunction with a 2022 Disney movie version starring Daisy Ridley -- the book is credited with acquainting a whole new generation with the remarkable story of Gertrude "Trudy" Ederle, and how she became the first woman to swim the English Channel in 1926. (I finished this book almost 100 years to the day of Ederle's famous swim.) 

I vaguely remembered Ederle's name from childhood reading about famous women and Olympic athletes. I assumed she was British (she swam the ENGLISH Channel, after all...?), but she was actually an American of German descent.  Beyond being a great personal story, it's also the kind of deep dive into social history that I love, covering (among other topics) the history of swimming (going back to ancient times), and a feminist-oriented history of women in swimming and in sports generally. It might be a little more background detail than some readers might be interested in, but I found it all fascinating, and learned a lot.  

For example, I'd never heard of the 1904 tragedy of the General Slocum, which opens the book: a steamboat carrying 1,342 people to a church picnic caught fire and sank in the East River near New York City.  An estimated 1,021 people died, most of them women and children who could not swim.  It was the worst maritime disaster of the 20th century until the sinking of the Titanic a few years later, and remains the worst maritime disaster in New York City history, and the deadliest man-made disaster of any sort in the area until September 11, 2001.  

Women were considered "the weaker sex," and it was thought that any kind of physical exertion was not only improper but damaging to their health. In the wake of the tragedy of the Slocum, that began to change. New organizations sprang up to teach women to swim, alongside of other women's sports organizations. The Ederle family had a cottage at Sandy Hook, and Trudy learned to swim in the ocean waters alongside her two older sisters. She began competing and setting records when she was 12, and competed at the Olympic Games in 1924, where she won several medals. She turned professional shortly afterward, and began planning to conquer the English Channel -- a feat that only a handful of men had previously accomplished. 

The historic Channel crossing -- Ederle's second attempt -- is covered in a couple of riveting chapters near the end of the book. I found it hard to put the book down by that point, and I had tears in my eyes by the time she finally staggered out of the water onto the beach in England.

Trudy took a couple of weeks to visit her grandmother in Germany and rest before heading home to New York City, where huge crowds and one of the first big ticker tape parades awaited her. Unfortunately, by then, her momentum had started to slow, and a series of bad business decisions plus other Channel swimmers repeating her feat quickly caused her star to fade. She never managed to cash in on her accomplishment at the level she might have, but her story has served as inspiration for generations of female swimmers and other athletes in the years since then.  She never married or had children, but was happy to lead a quiet life, teaching children to swim.  She died in 2003 at age 98 (!).  

4 stars on Goodreads & StoryGraph. 

This was Book #19 read to date in 2026 (and Book #1 finished in August). You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2026 tagged as "2026 books." 

Right now

Right now...* 

*(A (mostly) monthly series/meme.  Explanation of how this started & my inspirations in my first "Right now" post, here. Also my first (similar) "The Current" post, here.)

July was mostly hot, humid, smoky (wildfires in northwestern Ontario) and very busy! -- both at home and at my Dad's in Manitoba (which is where we are right now -- and which is why this post is both later and shorter than usual...!).    

Some of the things I/we did this month include: 

• Tried to stay cool (mostly at home with the air conditioning...!) during a major heatwave in early July! (At one point on July 1st, the temperature was 36C and humidex 48C!!).  
• Went out for an early anniversary dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant (yum!). (July 4th) 
• Drove up to Leaskdale, Ontario (about an hour away) on Sunday, July 5th, for afternoon tea and a performance of "The Blue Castle" (musical), based on the L.M. Montgomery novel (a favourite of mine!).  Details in this post! 
• Shopped for groceries at the supermarket (July 6th & 13th). 
• Had another (!) dinner out on our actual anniversary (July 6th) at another local (Italian) restaurant.  
• Spent the morning at the mall, walking and shopping. (July 7th & 14th) 
• Visited SIL & the Little Great-Nephews for a few hours (July 8th & 15rh). 
• Drove out to our former community for haircuts with our longtime stylist at the mall. Also did some walking and shopping and had lunch while we were there, and stopped by the cemetery en route to spend a few minutes with Katie.  (July 10th) 
• Stopped at the bank for some cash from the ABM, and shopped for birthday gifts for BIL & SIL at Chapters. (July 13th) 
• Stayed indoors as much as possible, and ran the air purifier to counter the thick wildfire smoke and poor air quality outside. (We could smell it in our unit when we woke up in the morning.) (July 15th & 16th) 
• Got myself a pedicure! (July 16th) 
• Headed west (flew) to spend two weeks with my dad (July 18th) -- which have turned into three. (A post on that to come...!)  Since getting here, we have:  
• Taken dad to several medical and other appointments, done some banking and other admin tasks related to my mom's estate and the sale of the house (which closed on July 1st). 
• Made umpteen trips to the local Co-op grocery store. 
• Made a side trip during one of those outings to the local drive-in restaurant  (a local institution for 60+ years!) for ice cream. 
• Played Saturday night TV bingo with Dad (a family tradition dating back about 50 years!).  
• Welcomed a number of visitors, including Parents' Neighbours' Daughter, the Little Princess and her two older (not-so-little anymore) sisters, and PND's parents;  (other) former neighbours from the house, and one of my cousins on my dad's side, whom I hadn't seen in about 25 years.  :)  
• Fetched things and made meals for Dad (who has mobility issues and uses a walker). 

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

Also right now:  

Reading: I finished 4 books in July (all reviewed on this blog, as well as Goodreads & StoryGraph, & tagged "2026 books").  Year to date, I've read 18 books,  reached 45% of my Goodreads Challenge goal, and am currently 5 books behind schedule to achieve it by year end.  

• "London Falling" by Patrick Radden Keefe. (5 stars;  my review)   
• "Treacle Walker" by Alan Garner.  (Three-week slow readalong with Footnotes & Tangents.  2.5-3 stars;  my review). 
• "Marble Hall Murders" by Anthony Horowitz -- the third book in his series featuring book editor Susan Ryeland and fictional detective Atticus Pund. I read this one in advance of the PBS Masterpiece Mystery TV series, coming Sept. 6th!  (4.5-5 stars;  my review.) 
• "The Queen of Poisons" by Robert Thorogood (The Marlow Murder Club #3). Season 3 of the PBS Masterpiece Mystery TV series, based in part on this book, also starts Sept. 6th! (3 stars;  my review.) 

Current reads: 

• "Young Woman and the Sea" by Glenn Stout (the September choice for my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club.)  Currently 62% completed. 
• "Still Glides the Stream" by D.E. Stevenson, with my DES group. We started reading & discussing this book on June 22nd and will finish in mid-August. Last read in 2021 (my reviews here & here). Currently 71% completed. 
• "The Forsyte Saga" by John Galsworthy. After mulling it over (see this post!), I accepted a commenter's suggestion to do a readalong together!  Currently 65% completed. 
• "Childless: A Woman and a Girl in a Man's World" by Fabiana Formica.  This one is beautifully written, but slow going, and I was reading it (or trying to...!) at Mom & Dad's last summer (2025), where there were a lot of distractions. I've put it aside for the moment to focus on other reading priorities, but I've completed 33% to date.
• "L.M. Montgomery and Gender," an essay collection edited by E. Holly Pike & Laura Robinson. Slowly working my way through, in between the other books...! 

Coming up: Most of my book groups have their next reads plotted out for a few months in advance -- and listing them here helps me keep track of what I should be reading next. ;)  

• For my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club:  
• "The Wedding People" by Alison Espach (October). (I previously read and reviewed this one, here;  rated 4-4.5 stars.)
• "The Women" by Kristin Hannah (November)
• For my D.E. Stevenson group:  Future reads to be determined.  
• Footnotes & Tangents slow readalongs for 2026 include:

• "The Children’s Book" by A.S. Byatt (September–December) (Planning to take part in this one, as I've never read Byatt and this one sounds interesting.)    

A few recently purchased titles (all in digital format, mostly discounted ($5-10 or less) or purchased with points): (Titles not linked this time.)  

• "Famesick" by Lena Dunham 
• "The Astral Library" by Kate Quinn 
• "John of John" by Douglas Stuart
• "Polished" by Melissa Osborne
• "Strong Ground" by Brene Brown 
• "Straight Man" by Richard Russo 
• "The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts" by Robert Thorogood 
• "The Outsourced Self" by Arlie Russell Hochschild 

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

Watching: 

• World Cup games. We weren't as into it as some people were (and dh was more interested than I am) -- and the fact that Italy is not in the tournament was a huge disappointment locally (it would have been bonkers in our particular suburb if they had...!)  -- but it was still fun watching some of the games and the local coverage -- particularly since Toronto is one of the host cities!  AND Canada did so well!   
• Too much Game Show Network, Cash Cab and Judge Judy (good Lord, she's obnoxious...!)...!  (Thanks but no thanks, Dad...!)  
• CFL football and Toronto Blue Jays baseball games (also Dad's viewing choices, but far preferable to the Game Show Network!  lol) 

Playing:  

• Heardle Decades: I haven't listened to the daily Heardles since we got to Manitoba, but here the stats (as of July 30th):  
• Heardle 60s: 74.3% (965/1298, 390 on first guess), up 0.1%. since June 30th. Max streak: 21. 
• Heardle 70s: 75.0% (781/1042, 438 on first guess), unchanged from June 30th.. Max streak: 18. 
• Heardle 80s:  41.3% (370/895, 148 on first guess), unchagned from June 30th. Max. streak: 6.
• Heardle 90s: 32.9% (328/996, 85 on first guess), unchanged from June 30th. Max. streak: 9. 
• NYT Connections: 
• As of June 30th, I'd played 684 games and won 90% of them (a gain of 1%! since Dec. 31st), including 370 "perfect puzzles" with zero errors, and 20 where I got the most difficult/purple category first (unchanged since Dec.  31st). Maximum winning streak: 45 (unchanged since June 30th, 2025). Current streak: 9.
• I have been playing every day we've been in Manitoba -- but I forgot to note the stats for July 31st!  So these include up to Aug. 2nd: I completed 717 games, won 90% of them (unchanged since June 30th), including 385 "perfect puzzles" with zero errors, and 20 where I got the most difficult/purple category first (unchanged since Dec. 31st). Maximum winning streak:  45 (unchanged since June 30th, 2025).  Current streak: 18..  

Eating/Drinking:  Not as healthily as we do at home...!  The results on the scale when we get back will be interesting...!  (although I have been more active while we've been here, to counterbalance the less-healthy stuff we've been eating...!).  I may have some explaining to do to my doctor when I have to redo my bloodwork in the fall, though, particularly my cholesterol levels (eeekkkk)...!  

• Over the past almost-two years, we've been trying to eat healthier and lower our cholesterol -- and avoid having to take (more) medication -- since some less-than-stellar bloodwork results for both of us in fall 2024 and again more recently... (not as bad as fall 2024, but not as good as early 2025 either).  
• Before we left home in mid-July, I was 0.4 pounds less than when the month started.  Overall, I'm down more than 15 pounds since late October 2024 -- close to my lowest weight in more than a decade -- and more than 27 pounds from my heaviest-ever weight  (in August 2021). 
• (Dh is down about 16 pounds overall since fall 2024.)
• Takeout meals included the usual pizza slices, soup and teriyaki rice bowls from the supermarket. (It's gotten a little boring lately, to be honest -- but it's not easy finding takeout meals that are (a) cheap-ish (b) not too horrible in terms of cholesterol and (c) something dh & I can agree on...!)  
• My dad gets meals delivered directly to his building from a community meals program for seniors -- and since dh & I are also seniors, we can get them too!  They're available every week day -- the menu is published a month in advance -- and dad gets them several times a week (as do many seniors in his building). It's not exactly gourmet fare, but it's tasty, balanced, and filling, always including a protein, starch, veggies or salad, dessert and a bun (often homemade) -- all for the grand price of $7.50 (Canadian) -- plus a few dollars extra delivery fee.  Not bad!  

Wearing:  With the advent of consistently warmer/(very) hot, sometimes (very) humid weather, shorts and tank tops have been added to the wardrobe roster, along with short sleeves, capris & sandals. :) 

Buying (besides books, lol):  Not much!  Mostly groceries since we got here.    

Not attending: Dh's cousin's daughter's wedding, which was July 24th at a rural barn that's been converted into an "event space." We sent our regrets and a gift with BIL & SIL (cash, which is the norm hereabouts and in dh's family's culture -- albeit not as much as would have brought if we'd been attending the wedding ourselves).

Prioritizing:  Taking care of my dad, doing things for him and making his life a little easier, while we're here.  

Trying: To be patient and stay busy, although it's hard in a small shared space that's not my own... 

Wondering/Enduring:  Which is more annoying to have blaring in the background -- "The Price is Right," "Family Feud," "Cash Cab" or "Judge Judy"?? (All staples of my dad's daily TV viewing, unfortunately...!)  

Wanting: At least one more trip to the local drive-in restaurant for ice cream before we leave. :)  

Loving:  Manitoba's big skies.  :)  

                        

Feeling: Tired. A bit stressed. Worried about my dad (albeit less so since he got out of the hospital).  Tired of heat & humidity!! (It IS cooler and less humid today, thankfully...!)  

Anticipating: Spending a little more time with the great-nephews, once we're back home, before Older Great-Nephew has to head back to school in September.   

Coming up in August: Heading home (eventually...!). Remembering our Katie on her day from afar, 28 (!!) years later. 

"The Queen of Poisons" by Robert Thorogood (Marlow Murder Club #3)

The third season/series of "The Marlow Murder Club" starts on PBS Masterpiece Mystery on Sept. 6th, based in part on "The Queen of Poisons" by Robert Thorogood, the third in his Marlow Murder Club cozy mystery series. (The other storylines have been created by other writers.)  

(My reviews of the first two books in the series, here and here.) 

MMC member/dogwalker/radio host Suzie is conveniently present at the Marlow town council planning committee meeting when the affable mayor, Geoffrey Lushington, takes one sip of his coffee and promptly dies.  Traces of aconite -- "the queen of poisons" -- are found in his cup. Who wanted the mayor dead, and why?  The Marlow Murder Club -- including 77-year-old crossword designer Judith and the vicar's wife Rebecca ("Becks") -- springs into action, now granted "civilian advisor" status to the local police department by recently promoted Detective Inspector Tanika Malik.  

The same things that annoyed me about the first two books in the series are also present here:  Judith is "incorrigible," refusing to play by the rules and charging ahead, certain that she's right. (Admittedly, she IS often right -- and, as she says to Becks in Chapter 11, "I do hope so [that I'm incorrigible], imagine being corrigible!  How boring.")  The prose style is rather basic. And once again, the climactic confrontation with the killer goes on for pages -- two full chapters! -- while Judith expounds at length and in great detail about what really happened and why. 

Even so, it's a pleasant, entertaining and mildly humorous read that did keep me guessing as to the identity of the killer. (It wasn't who I suspected.)  And as I've said in my reviews of previous books in the series, it's nice to see stories with strong (older!) female characters!  (CNBC note:  Judith does not have children.) 

I'm looking forward to the TV version.  :)  

3 stars on both Goodreads and StoryGraph. 

This was Book #18 read to date in 2026 (and Book #4 finished in July), bringing me to 45% of  my 2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 40 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 4 books behind pace to meet my goal.  :(  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2026 tagged as "2026 books." 

"Marble Hall Murders" by Anthony Horowitz

Thank you, Lesley Manville!  

British actress Manville has played book editor Susan Ryeland in both "Magpie Murders" and "Moonflower Murders" (among many other great roles) -- the TV adaptations of two mystery novels by the same names by Anthony Horowitz (both of which I've read and enjoyed -- reviewed here and here -- and also watched on TV). 

Apparently Manville enjoyed playing Susan so much that, on the last day of shooting "Moonflower," she expressed an interest in playing Susan one more time to Horowitz.  

And voila! "Marble Hall Murders" was published last year, and a six-part TV version -- once again starring Manville as Susan -- will be airing on PBS in September.  I picked up the book recently, in anticipation of watching the series this fall.  

Susan has ditched her Greek boyfriend, Andreas (sob -- I always liked him -- especially the very handsome and charming TV Andreas!), as well as the hotel they ran together in Crete, to resume her old life as a book editor (now freelancing) in London. Her first assignment is familiar territory -- a continuation of the highly successful Atticus Pund mystery series by the late Alan Conway -- a work in progress by a talented but troubled young writer named Eliot Crace. 

Eliot's grandmother, Miriam Crace, was a beloved and wildly successful children's author who died 15 years ago -- murdered, according to Eliot.  Susan soon realizes that the characters in the book Eliot is working on are thinly disguised versions of his own family members, and the mystery depicted reflects what may have happened to his grandmother.  But Eliot dies suddenly and mysteriously before he can finish the novel and reveal whodunnit. Not only does Susan find herself trying to solve three mysterious deaths/murders (Miriam's, Eliot's, and the fictional Miriam's in Eliot's unfinished book), she's become both a suspect and a potential target herself.   

Like its predecessors, "Marble Hall Murders" contains a book-within-the-book. We get to read the Atticus Pund novel (in draft version) at the same time Susan does. It's a lot of fun -- perhaps a little long with a little too much unnecessary detail? (some characters' speeches go on and on and on...) -- but very well done and very entertaining overall. I did guess one of the whodunnits, but there were enough surprises and twists to keep me turning the pages. And I love Susan (for many reasons, but for me, it's especially notable that she's in her 50s, unmarried and childless, and loves books.  :)  )  

It might not be necessary to have read the previous two books in the series, but both are referenced here ("Magpie Murders" in particular) and you will probably enjoy and get more out of "Marble Hall Murders" if you've read at least that first book already.  

I rated Horowitz's two previous Susan Ryeland books 4.5 to 5 stars.  This one gets 4.5 stars on StoryGraph, rounded up to 5 on Goodreads.  

This was Book #17 read to date in 2026 (and Book #3 finished in July), bringing me to 43% of  my 2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 40 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 5 books behind pace to meet my goal.  :(  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2026 tagged as "2026 books."