dream

I remember feeling happy and excited.  I was in the dark, dancing by myself in my old white handfasting dress.

Soundtrack to this dream: November Rain by GNR, and no, it was NOT raining.

A Trouble of Fools by Linda Barnes

I was looking at, and for, mysteries. This one struck my gaze. It's a pretty old one, but it features a female PI living in Boston. I like female PIs, and I like books that are set in a place where I live or used to live, so I decided to give it a try.

Carlotta is a cab driver turned cop turned PI. She enjoys a good game of volleyball, time spent with her Little Sister, Paolina, and trying to teach her parrot subversive propaganda. But when an elderly Irish lady brings her a missing person case, and pays in cash, she may be getting in over her head. Can she find Eugene Devens? Will she make it to Paolina's band concert? And perhaps most importantly, will she be able to collect the $20,000 reward she is being offered if she can only present the husband she doesn't have for a condo tour?

( A quote. )

This book is a little dated, but it has a lot of zip. It also has tons of local flavor. If you like your PIs being described with words like "zany," or if you're a fan of the city of Boston, you should give it a look. I will try at least one more book in this series. Three stars.

raspberry mate kombucha

I mentioned I've been making kombucha. Well, today I decanted a raspberry mate brew - one of my wilder experiments. It came out fine but it's not quite to my taste. Perhaps it would be to yours?

No reasonable offer refused. Again, I'd hate to see it go to waste.