Peggy Ann's Post

Moving Day

2017-02-01T22:27:00.002-05:00

Well, I've done it. Moved to Wordpress. I don't know why, except I needed a change. I like the format there and the design tools. I hope you'll drop over to PEGGY'S PORCH and visit me there. Just click on the link and you'll go to my first post at the new address and catch up with whats been going on! I'm not shutting down this blog, I just won't be posting from here anymore. Thanks! Hope to see you over on my porch! Comments have been turned off here.

Peggy

Spring or Winter?

2017-01-25T11:54:00.000-05:00

We've had such mild weather here for the month of January. Beautiful days up to 67*! The flowers and the birds are so confused! My bulbs are all coming up!

The robins have come back by the droves! I got up one morning and the back yard was covered in them. I started counting and gave up at 30! Tried to get pics but they are a bit blurry and I was scaring them away

A town near Knoxville was having trouble with Starlings. They came back by the thousands and were hanging around really making a nuisance so they had to get out the big guns! Some kind of propane things that make really loud booms and after a couple days of that the birds moved on. That would have been something to see!

We did have a three day cold snap early on with a bit of snow and the birds were flocking like crazy to the feeders during the bitter cold! One day we had 6 male cardinals and 6 females at the feeders! Junco's and one Rufous-sided Towhee even showed up! That was a first for my feeders.

The Towhee

Mr. & Mrs. Downy Woodpecker together!

Titmice. I love these little birds!

Red Finch

Nuthatch, another of my favorites!

Mrs. Cardinal and a dove.

But this morning we woke up to heavy frost. Winter is back! Seasonal temps expected now, which isn't bad for winter here. In the forties during the day and thirties at night. If the bitter cold brings the birds like it did those few days the first of the month though, I won't complain about it. I never get tired of watching them!

Gallow's View by Peter Robinson

2017-01-24T21:09:00.000-05:00

A Peeping Tom is frightening the women of Eastvale; two glue-sniffing young thugs are breaking into homes and robbing people; an old woman may or may not have been murdered. Investigating these cases is Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks, a perceptive, curious and compassionate policeman recently moved to the Yorkshire Dales from London to escape the stress of city life. In addition to all this, Banks has to deal with the local feminists and his attraction to a young psychologist, Jenny Fuller. As the tension mounts, both Jenny and Banks’s wife, Sandra, are drawn deeper into the events. The cases weave together as the story reaches a tense and surprising climax.

My first Peter Robinson. I've been picking this series up as I see them, but never got around to reading any of them yet! Very good police procedural. I love the ITV series, DCI Banks, made from this series of books.

Get a short lesson on building a strong stone wall in this one too. I found that quite interesting.

Peggy Ann

A Tale of Two Murders by Elizabeth Ferrars

2017-01-18T20:58:00.000-05:00

A witty man, quietly charming, could be good company: that was Stephen Gazeley.

and yet... And yet...

His sister Hilda, housekeeping for him since the tragic death of his wife, had to admit that people did turn against him. Even his own wife in the year before she died. Daughter Katherine's fiancé and his parents. His oldest friend. Even the gardener...

But it was only after the first murder that Hilda began to see things as they were, rather than as she wished they could be.

And found the process very, very uncomfortable...

Another solid page turner by Elizabeth Ferrars. I haven't read one yet that I didn't enjoy!

Peggy Ann

Hive of Suspects by Sheila Pim

2017-01-14T16:40:00.001-05:00

1952

When sudden death strikes in this Irish town,

local beekeepers suspect a poisonous hive

Jason Prendergast built his fortune taking minerals from the earth near the Irish town of Drumclash, but bees became the real passion of his life once the mines gave up the last of their riches. When he dies after dining on honey from one of his own hives, village beekeepers suspect local bees are feasting on poisonous plants and infecting hives with deadly nectar.
Prendergast's solicitor, Edward Gildea, consults his fellow beekeepers who think rhododendrons the most likely source of the poison. Only why is it that only Jason Prendergast's hives were infected? And why should bees suddenly take a liking to this particular plant? The Civic Guard prefers to look for a human hand and suspicion falls upon those locals who stand to benefit from the old man's death, including several servants and an aged distant cousin who deliberately hacks her own rhododendron plants to bits in a crazed frenzy.
The chief suspect, however, is Phoebe Prendergast, a niece who gave up a promising career on the stage to look after the old man. Gildea can't believe in Phoebe's guilt and conceals from the police the fact that Prendergast was about to add a codicil to his will, disinheriting her should she return to the stage-even after his death. Nor does Phoebe's odd behavior following the old man's death bode well for her innocence.
The truth finally emerges during a wild chase in the abandoned mines deep under the earth of the green Irish hills near the old man's mansion. Once again, Sheila Him paints a vivid and affectionate portrait of life in a small Irish town in this 1952 novel, showing why contemporary critics called her "the Irish AngelaThirkell."

This is the fourth and last of Pim's garden mysteries. I have enjoyed every one of them! Each book has a garden theme and is set in a rural Irish village. Well plotted and characters I can like and engage with. The story takes right off and keeps your attention. She does a good job of making each suspect really viable so it's hard to put your finger on the culprit. If you get a chance to read her mysteries I highly recommend it!

In this one bee-keeping is integral to the story. Not only do you have fun with the mystery, you learn quite a bit about bees and the plants they use. Did you know that bees usually don't sting when they are swarming? Or that bumblebees have longer tongues than hive bees? Why should the honey become poisonous this year?

'Edward had two possible answers to that. The first was that the climate of the Vale, so favorable that even tropical plants would grow there, was a perpetual temptation to gardeners to import ever more weird exotics. Somebody might be growing the so-called American yellow jasmine (not a true jasmine) Gelsemium sempervirens, or mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia, both plants to which honey poisoning had been attributed. It might be the first year they had flowered, or they might only just have been discovered by the bees. Were this the case it would not be too difficult to trace the source of the trouble and root the plans out. But it does take a large spread of blossom to provide even a teaspoonful of honey. There would have to be Gelsemium or Kalmia by the acre. The Gildeas knew most of the great gardeners in the neighborhood, and if there were anything new on that scale they out to have heard about it.
Edward was more inclined to blame the rhododendrons. They had been mentioned in Xenophon's account, he discovered, as well as that of Mr. Kingdon Ward. There were plenty of these about. The Gildeas had one in their own garden. The bushes were often buzzing with bumblebees, but the hive bees, according to Edward's own observation seldom visited them. The nectar was more troublesome for hive bees to reach; bumblebees have longer tongues. That might mean that the flowers were neglected as long as there were other sources of supply, but that for some reason this year, the bees, mysterious creatures that they are, had suddenly taken to them. Or could it be that repeated crossing with imported races, like bees of the yellow Italian strain, had evolved a longer-tongued breed, which could compete with the bumblebees, and that Mr. Prendergast's bees were driven from such a cross? Fascinated by the various possibilities, Edward was tending to lose himself in speculation, when his wife brought him down to earth.'

This book counts for Bev's Vintage Cover Scavenger Hunt - Gold- Skull and also is book two in my Follow the Clues challenge also at Bev's ...
Bodies in a Bookshop (botanist amateur detectives) > Hive of Suspects (bees and bee-keepers)

Peggy Ann

Puzzle Time

2017-01-12T12:31:00.001-05:00

I've been laid up with a wicked upper respiratory infection this week. Feeling a little better today but I think it's settled in my chest now. I'm having a hard time breathing and it feels like a brick on my chest. If it doesn't go away soon I'll probably break down and go to the doctor. Yuck! I hate going to the doc. I've never had pneumonia so I don't what the symptoms are. I think my fever is gone. Any whoo, a quick post so you don't think I've disappeared again!

Finished Charles Wysocki's A Delightful Day on Sparkhawk Island last week...

and am nearing finish on his Lobster Shack...

I adore his puzzles and am collecting them. I find older, hard to find ones on eBay.

I have a vintage Scottish travel poster puzzle from Katrina to do still. Think that one will be next on my list. She says their pieces are different than ours so I'm looking forward to checking it out. And picked up a Ravensburger Puzzle of The Singing Butler at a thrift store. I love that painting!

Even if I can't breath I can work at the puzzle off and on! I was looking forward to winter to do puzzles but it's going to be in the upper 60's for the next two weeks! What's up with that? I'm just a northern girl at heart.

Peggy Ann

New Book Additions

2017-01-10T00:00:00.000-05:00

Made a recent trip to Mr. Kay's Books. Found three Jane Langton's I have been looking for! I took a bag of my read books in for trade. They took about half of them. They are very choosy.

I've never heard of Mark Hebden before. These books are part of a series, Inspector Evariste Clovis Désiré Pel, a quirky French detective. France is not particularly a setting I seek out, but the books are lovely copies and they intrigue me. They aren't really old, 1979 and 1982. They are Walker British Mysteries. It looks like his daughter continued the series after his death. Have you heard of or read any Hebden? What did you think? Michael Gilbert is a new author for me too.

I got three books a while ago at a Goodwill store.

I was pleased with the Ellen Turngren book. I've not heard of her, but it's set in a farming community in Minnesota and I like that setting! It was written in 1961. She appears to have written three books. She is of Swedish descent and born and raised on a Minnesota farm. On the book jacket it says 'The story is told against a background of farming life so vividly portrayed in its sewing circles, church socials, gossip and county fairs that the reader can almost taste the goodness of it." Sounds delicious! Can't wait to read it and tell you all about it and Ms. Turngren.

Peggy Ann

Last and First

2017-01-08T22:10:00.001-05:00

The last book I read in 2016 was Murder for Christmas...

A CLASSIC MYSTERY FOR THE FESTIVE SEASON: MULLED WINE, MINCE PIES... AND MURDER

Mordecai Tremaine, former tobacconist and perennial lover of romance novels, has been invited to spend Christmas in the sleepy village of Sherbroome at the country retreat of one Benedict Grame.

Arriving on Christmas Eve, he finds that the revelries are in full flow - but so too are tensions amongst the assortment of guests.

Midnight strikes and the party-goers discover that it's not just presents nestling under the tree...there's a dead body too. A dead body that bears a striking resemblance to Father Christmas.

With the snow falling and the suspicions flying, it's up to Mordecai to sniff out the culprit - and prevent someone else from getting murder for Christmas.

This book was first published in 1949. Frances Duncan was the author of over twenty crime novels published between 1937 and 1959. Every year I say I'm going to read a Christmas mystery for Christmas and never get around to it. Finally I did! I picked this book up in Scotland last August.

It is a good solid mystery. I didn't figure it out thats for sure! I didn't warm up to any of the characters so it's a good thing the plot was good. I liked Denys and her boyfriend Roger, but they didn't really have a big enough play in the telling of the story to get to spend enough time with them. I'd like to come across more by this author. Have you read any of his books?

The first book of this year is Bodies in a Bookshop by R.T. Campbell

Botanist Max Boyle visits "a curious little shop in a side-street off the Tottenham Court Road" in London and is delighted with the bibliophile treasures he finds. He also stumbles across something less pleasant: in a back room, an unlit gas ring emits its noxious fumes and two corpses lie sprawled on the floor.

Boyles calls in 'the Bishop' - Chief Inspector Reginald F. Bishop of Scotland Yard - who in turn coaxes professor John Stubbs, a rotund old Scottish botanist and amateur criminologist, to lend his assistance. The salty old professor, quaffing pint after pint of good British beer, his pipe emitting clouds of foul smoke: the protesting Boyle, who would rather be basking in the sun on the Scilly Islands: and the polite, skeptical, world-weary Bishop soon delve beneath the tip of a sinister iceberg to discover skulduggery and dark deeds. Fueled as much by friction among themselves as by enthusiasm, the little crime-solving club threads a maze through London's book and print emporia, grappling with a puzzle that is likely to baffle even the most astute armchair detective.

Bodies in a Bookshop is filled with amusing sallies of wit, quaint and pungent observations, droll characters and rambles among many a volume of forgotten lore. Crisp dialogue keeps the plot moving at top speed. After forty years, Bodies in a Bookshop is as exuberantly readable as ever, a welcome and refreshing relief from so many of today's flat and colorless mystery puzzles.

This is my second book by R.T. Campbell (you can read my review of Unholy Dying here), and a gift from Joan @ Planet Joan! She's such a thoughtful person. After she read it she thought of me and mailed it right off. Thank you, Joan!

Once again the wonderful John Stubbs with all his eccentricities. The story is told by Max and he is very drool and serious compared to Stubbs flamboyant personality. As in the first book Stubbs car, a Bentley, is almost a character and his driving is outrageous. There is always little comments by Max when they jump in and take off to search out a clue...

"I'll drive ye down." he announced, "that'll blow the depression out o' yer head."
The Bishop shuddered, but apparently felt that he had nothing to live for anyhow and climbed in the Bentley. the journey passed without incident. We managed to negotiate Hyde Park Corner and finally found ourselves in the King's Road.

This mystery was extra special as it was set in a bookshop and a quite smart book theft ring was uncovered in the solving of the murders. Lots of talk about beautiful old copies of rare books...

I had never held a genuine Blake illuminated book in my hands before. It was certainly very beautiful. I could almost, for a moment, understand the temptation that would fall on a collector if the book was offered to him. It was such a beautiful piece of work that to have it in the house would be a continual pleasure.

A man after my own heart! Another grand romp and solid mystery.

This book counts for Read Scotland 2017 and Bev's Vintage Cover Scavenger Hunt 2017 - Gold era with a staircase on the cover and is the first book in my chain for Bev's Follow the Clues Challenge

Peggy Ann

Where Have I Been?!

2017-01-05T21:51:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I've been missing in action around here. I don't really have an excuse. I seemed to have lost my umph for awhile there. I'm sorry. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and the new year has been off to a good start for you.

Christmas was quiet for us this year. I flew my handicapped brother in for Christmas. It was just the three of us. He came on the 20th and stayed until the 28th. It was his first visit since I moved away from him. Only his second time flying on a plane and he did it all by himself! Nerve wracking for me! Here's me and Donald before we left for the airport to take him home. That's his 'cheese' face!

We lack 4 days being a year apart in age! He loves it that for 4 days he's the same age as me! He was 3 months premature.

We had him fly into Charlotte NC, which is a 3 hour drive for us. He would have had an hour plus layover there to come on to Knoxville. I was afraid to leave him sitting in the busy airport all by himself for that long. Too many things could happen. It took us longer to drive to pick him up than it took him to fly down! It was a grand adventure for him and he loved it. The airlines were great and let us go through customs at both ends to see him to and from the gate. In this day of heightened security I didn't think that would be possible.

He was so tickled to get back to Tennessee. He lived in LaFollette years ago with my mom. He was excited to watch the news on the channels he use to watch and was disappointed that the newscasters are not the same. I use to get him and take him home with me for several weeks each year to give my mom a break. I was young, my kids were little and DK (Donald Kevin) was younger. It was no problem. Wow have things changed. I'm older, he's older and has several health issues. I had forgotten all the work it was to take care of him! Let's just say he is a full time job! Thank goodness he is so pleasant!

My house was not convenient for him showering. He had to go down the basement steps and the shower room is very large and roomy not good for a blind person! There are no side walls just shower curtains. I ended up just getting in with my clothes on and helping him. If I stood to the far end I didn't get wet. We have one bathroom, one toilet. He goes to the bathroom ALOT! He takes forever and he loves to crank the faucets on the sink so tight you can't get them on and he breaks them. Needless to say bossman worried himself to death about what he was doing in the bathroom all the time! Poor DK was probably glad to get home to pee in peace! He did mess up the hot water faucet :(

He wears a CPAP mask to sleep now and he can't put it on himself. Then he gets up once, sometimes twice a night, to go to the bathroom and I have to get up and put it back on him. Not to mention help him find his way back to bed as my house is new to him. He got turned around a lot going back and forth.

He is diabetic now and has issues with sores/cellulitis and when he gets them if you don't get right on it, he ends up in the hospital very sick. As soon as he got here he got a big blister on his toe, HOW??? and I went right into panic mode. I didn't know if his medical would cover him here. Then I discovered he had jock itch, again, that had to be taken care of. So We doctored, cut toe and finger nails, cut the hair out of his ears and nose and by the time he went home he was ship shape! And I was exhausted! There are definitely drawbacks to personal care homes.

I fixed all his favorites he never gets at the home. Pinto beans and cornbread, chili, beefaroni, tomato soup and grilled cheese for lunch and cream of wheat for breakfast. He doesn't have teeth anymore so we have to have soft stuff! He LOVES cream of wheat!

Donald lives in a good home, they are good to him, its like a big family there. He has lots of social opportunities there. I can't give him that here in TN. He would lose lots of benefits and his two social outings each week with Blind associations and his week of camp in the summer. He might not get as diligent attention as he would at home, but he is happy there and safe. He can't see the dust on his electronics or that his clothes are a mess in his drawers from him getting them out himself. I just have to let a few things go. He is loved and feels it and that is important. No one steals from him or abuses him. Everyone looks out for him. He has some independence there because they don't dote and fret over everything like I do. I think I would drive him nuts! I struggled with mixed emotions when he left, relief, sadness and guilt. But when I talked to him a day after he got home, he seemed so content and happy to be back in his routine and his own environment that I felt much better. We talk on the phone every Tuesday night. He seems content with that.

I just haven't felt up to being online and chit chatting since all that though. But I'm starting to feel more like myself and I'll be around more I think! I am playing around with the idea of moving to Wordpress. I was playing around with setting a blog up over there but didn't get too far as I haven't been online much. We'll see what happens.

Its been nice and mild weather here but tomorrow that is changing. A storm is coming in with very cold temps and some chance of a little snow! Here it is January and I've only worn my winter coat twice so I can't complain. Back up to 60 in a week though!

Lots to catch up on. See you later!

Peggy Ann

The Funeral Maker by Cathie Pelletier

2016-12-19T09:48:00.000-05:00

Meet the residents of Mattagash, Maine, a dull backwater town rocked by scandal. seduction, mayhem, blackmail, and the only recorded case of beriberi on the entire North American continent!
This is the story of the trials that beset the McKinnons, the first family of Mattagash, Maine, when they try to arrange a funeral for the family matriarch. At the heart of the novel are the three McKinnon sisters: Marge, the one who is dying; Pearl, the one who left town; Sicily, the one who stayed--and Sicily's fourteen-year-old daughter, Amy Joy, a bored and sexually promiscuous adolescent whose raging hormones lead her straight into the brawny arms of one Chester Lee Gifford, Mattagash's blackest sheep. One of the most highly acclaimed debuts in the last decade.

The Funeral Makers is 'a crazy rollicking whoop of a book, written with a poets's sensibility and a deeply wacky down-home wisdom' ~Lee Smith, author of Oral History

'Pelletier writes with skill and grace, with a beautiful ear for human speech, awry affection for human folly and a wise, warm heart for human sadness.'
~Michael Malone, author of Handling Sin

'Morbidly funny...satirizes, ridicules and maligns almost everything that's sacred about American life.' ~John Blades, Chicago Tribune

I picked this book up at the Naples, Maine library book sale this last summer. I like quirky and this is the queen of quirky! At first I thought it might be too quirky for me, I kept thinking I should be reading a Christmas mystery right now. But without me even knowing it Pelletier was reeling me into these wacky people's lives and suddenly I couldn't put it down! How she was able to get me invested in these nutty peoples lives just goes to show what a good writer she is!

A scene from Thelma and Marvin Jr's 'family camping experience'...

Hearing the faint gurgle, Thelma was the first to face the truth, coming suddenly awake and shouting to her husband, "Oh, my God! There's a flood! The river has flooded!"
Junior Ivy was granted, for the second time in two days, an opportunity to save his entire family. He struggled to abandon the sleeping bag, managing to get one leg out, but catching the other pants leg in the sharp teeth of the zipper. Trying to leave the tent by means of one leg in a sleeping bag proved more difficult than vaulting drunkenly from the backseat of the Packard.
Thelma continued to scream, accompanied by Regina, who was now convince that she had indeed peed in her pants and was confused over what she considered her mother's overreaction.
"We'll drown!" Thelma prophesied. Regina covered her eyes and wept in embarrassment. She knew she had a bed-wetting problem, but had never thought of it as a danger to her family.
Junior stood up, hoping it would enable him to free his leg. At that moment Thelma, in an extreme case of hydrophobia, lurched for the flap opening and knocked her husband to the ground.
Junior pitched forward, pulling up the pegs of the tent and taking the unlucky structure with him into the blackness until he felt the ground stop him. Pain flickered in his right wrist, which had positioned itself in an unnatural angle in hopes of releasing the pants leg from the zipper and was not prepared for breaking a fall. The wrist snapped. Junior heard it. Knew what it meant. A broken right wrist to accompany his sprained left ankle. He held the right arm across his stomach to protect it as he worked clumsily with the left arm to free himself of the tent. Everyone was wide awake now and dealing with the situation with honesty.
Regina, who had checked her panties and found them to be reasonably dry, felt an apology was in order. She skulked off to the camper, where Randy and Cynthia stood sleepy, but round eyed in the door.
Because her husband had uprooted the tent, Thelma found herself on the open ground. The bedding was now being bombarded by rain, as well as the water running down the pathway. But there was no flood. She was quite sure of that now. She heard Junior moaning. The pole light the town had erected near the campsite provided little light in the downpour. Thelma could see what looked like a living mountain of canvas swaying to and fro in the wet night.
"Junior? Are you under there, honey?"
"Oh, my wrist," moaned the hulk of canvas.
"God! You look so funny!" Thelma burst out, when her eyes finally adjusted to the contours and discovered what must be Junior's form beneath. She was seized with laughter, uncommon in Thelma, who perceived excessive gaity as unladylike.
A crude syllogism surfaced in Junior's mind. Major premise: He had broken his wrist when Thelma had stupidly shoved him in the dark and sent him sprawling with tent. Minor premise: He went sprawling because of his imbalance created by one pants leg being caught in the zipper, which happened because Thelma had shouted, "Flood!" Conclusion: Kill Thelma.
Junior dove, tent and all, in the direction of Thelma's laughter, which had moved nearer to him. Thelma, who could see, stepped aside and let the bulky form hurl past her.She stopped laughing.
"What are you trying to do?" she asked her husband. "Don't you want me to help you?"
"I'm trying to kill you, Thelma," Junior shouted. "You can help if you want to."
Hearing a savage, entirely primitive noise coming from the throat of the man she had married, Thelma ran for the camper, shoving the children back inside and locking the door. Junior shed the tent and ran after her, forgetting about the symbiotic sleeping bag that still clung to him. He fell face first into the remains of what had been, before the rain, a pleasant morning campfire...

Morbidly funny really sums up this tale! But in all the silliness, Pelletier hits on serious issues and deep sadness in the characters. This is one that you will chew on well after you finish reading it. This is the first book in the four book series: Mattagash.

Peggy Ann

Read Scotland 2016 Wrap-up

2016-12-16T00:00:00.000-05:00

Another good year of reading Scotland in this third year of the challenge! Twenty two books for me.

The Lion and Unicorn Quest by Celia Peartrees
The Last of the Line by John MacKay
Heartland by John MacKay
Bloq by Alan Jones
The Loch by Janet Caird
Indian Peter by Douglas Skelton
Murder of a Lady by Anthony Wynne
Finding Peggy by Meg Henderson
Fear the Light by Elizabeth Ferrars
Open Wounds by Douglas Skelton
Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart
The Woman who Walked into the Sea by Mark Douglas-Home
The Darkness and the Deep by Aline Templeton
Murder By The Book by Eric Brown
Against a Dark Sky DCI Bevan #1 by Katherine Pathak
The Shrouded Way by Janet Caird
Heaven Knows Who by Christianna Brand
The Quarry Wood by Nan Shepherd
Unholy Dying by R.T. Campbell
His Bloody Project by Graeme MacRae Burnet
The Singing Sands by Josephine Tey
The Chess Men by Peter May

We are going again for our fourth year in 2017, join us!

Peggy Ann

Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner

2016-12-14T18:03:00.002-05:00

Into the rarefied atmosphere of the Hotel du Lac timidly walks Edith Hope, romantic novelist and holder of modest dreams. Exiled form home after embarrassing herself and her friends, Edith has refused to sacrifice her ideals and remains stubbornly single. But among the pampered women and minor nobility Edith finds Mr. Neville, and her chance to escape from a life of humiliating spinsterhood is renewed...

This was my first Anita Brookner. I keep seeing glowing reviews of her work on the blogs. I see why now! I did enjoy this delicious little story. The question Edith ponders most, as she reflects on her life in exile, is 'what behavior most becomes a woman'. Nearing 60, children all grown and parents deceased, I found myself joining in Edith's soul searching and wondering these things about myself. I enjoyed this book and found it quite satisfying. Will be looking for more by this author.

Peggy Ann

Florida Finds

2016-12-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

Last week we were in Panama City Beach Florida. I have to say I was not impressed with the area at all! Yes the ocean was a gorgeous turquoise color and the sand pure white, but if your not golfing or swimming there is nothing to do and its not pretty, scrubby, flat and nothing but huge condos. There wasn't even any real decent shopping. Of course it was December and they got an unusual cold snap and the first two days were rain and fog so thick we couldn't see the ocean. Maybe I need to go in the summer.

We (being me and two girlfriends that went with us) did go to a couple charity shops and Bealls (bells) Outlet, which is a discount store I love to get in when we are in FL. and roamed around an antique shop in Panama City. Other than that we played a lot of cards and read while Bossman golfed, golfed, golfed. But I have to share this wonderful find from the antique store with you. I was so tickled when I found them and they were under $25...

Aren't they beautiful bookends! I thought Irish Wolfhounds when I first saw them but I think they are Scottish Deerhounds!

I did manage to pick up four books. We could only find one bookstore and I only got the Elizabeth Daly there. The others I got at Goodwill.

A Killer's Christmas in Wales has a lovely cover and I'll read it for this Christmas!

I'll be posting a few pictures in the next couple days of the area.

Gothic Reading Challenge Wrap-up

2016-12-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

I only read five gothic novels this year, but I hadn't read any in years and years so this little challenge put them on the radar for me.

The Loch by Janet Caird
Fear the Light by Elizabeth Ferrars
No. 9 Belmont Square by Margaret Erskine
Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart
The Shrouded Way by Janet Caird

You can check out links to what others read for this challenge @ Book of Secrets

Peggy Ann

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

2016-12-12T09:49:00.000-05:00

After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day's journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby's cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.
Tom, who keeps meticulous records and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel insists the baby is a 'gift from God' and against Tom's judgement, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.

A haunting, heartbreaking tale. Set on an isolated lighthouse station where two oceans meet. I've read so many lovely reviews about this book and they are so right, a wonderful story that will bring tears to your eyes.

A couple quotes I like from the book...
'The rain is falling more heavily and in the distance, thunder grumbles at being left behind by the lightening.'

and when Frank's wife responds 'But it's not that easy.' when they are discussing forgiving and forgetting he tells her...
'Oh but my treasure, it is so much less exhausting. You only have to forgive once. To resent, you have to do it all day, every day. You have to keep remembering all the bad things. I would have to make a list, a very, very long list and make sure I hated the people on it the right amount. That I did a very proper job of hating, too: very Teutonic! No - we always have a choice. All of us.'

(I used Blogo on my iPad to post this while in FL. It didn't work :( What do you use on a device when away to post?)

Peggy Ann

Vintage Scavenger Hunt Wrap-up

2016-12-11T13:10:00.002-05:00

I had a lot of fun getting back into my favorite genre, vintage mysteries, this year, thanks to Bev @ My Reader's Block. I signed up for both the silver and the gold eras. If your not familiar with this challenge, we had to hunt for objects on the covers of our books. Here's how I faired...

Silver: published between 1960-1989

Dark Nantucket Moon by Jane Langton 1975 (building other than a house)
The Transcendental Murder by Jane Langton 1964 (revolver)
The Loch by Janet Caird 1968 (Red-Head)
Fear the Light by Elizabeth Ferrars 1960 (a statue)
No. 9 Belmont Square by Margaret Erskine 1963 (Brunette)
Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart 1965 (Shadowy Figure)
Death at the Cut by Douglas Kiker 1988 (Body of Water)
The Methods of Sergeant Cluff by Gil North 1965 (town scene)

Gold: published pre-1960

The Bells of Old Bailey by Dorothy Bowers 1947 (Skull)
Murder of a Lady by Anthony Wynne 1931 (mansion)
The Silent Women by Margaret Page Hood 1953 (dead body)
The Scarlet Thread by Margaret Page Hood 1956 (tombstone)
The Murders on Fox Island by Margaret Page Hood 1957 (Red-Head)
The Bell on Lonely by Margaret Page Hood 1959 (shadowy figure)
The Crimson Patch by Phoebe Atwood Taylor 1936 (bird)
Death of My Aunt by C.H.B. Kitchin 1929 (bottle/drinking glass)
Drown the Wind by Margaret Page Hood 1961 (just one person)
Unholy Dying by R.T. Campbell 1945 (town scene)
The Singing Sands by Josephine Tey 1952 (statue)
Suddenly at his Residence by Christian Brand 1946 (ghostly figure)
Black-Headed Pins by Constance & Gwenyth Little 1938 (holiday decoration)
Murder in Stained Glass: A Miss Trumble Mystery Margaret Armstrong 1939 (building other than house)
Death and the Pleasant Voices by Mary Fitt 1946 (statue)

I hope I got all of these linked up on the review posts over the year! I am so scatter-brained! Looking forward to next year!

Peggy Ann

Abernethy and a Very Old Pictish Tower

2016-12-09T00:00:00.000-05:00

A short stop in Abernethy to look at the Pictish Round Tower. One of only two left. We didn't climb to the top, but you can! This tower was thought to have been built around 1100. Click on the link above for a look around the website for this tower!

Abernethy is a very ancient town, thought to date back over 2,000 years ago! We didn't mooch around it much, really just stopped in to show me the tower. You can read about the town HERE.

This churches The Kirk of St. Bride and it was dedicated in 457 AD!

A monkey puzzle tree

This stone is dated to around 600 and was found on the foundation of a home and moved here to the tower last century. Pretty amazing to be around things so old!

And on my last evening in Scotland it gave me a double rainbow as a going away gift!

And that's it for this trip! Maybe, if I'm lucky, there will be another one!

Stay tuned for Panama Beach Florida next! That's where I am this week.

Peggy Ann

Balmerino Abbey

2016-12-07T00:00:00.000-05:00

After a lovely visit with James Oswald and his partner, Barbara we rode over to roam around Balmerino Abbey and the little village of Balmerino. Gorgeous area.

Tradition claims that this Spanish Chestnut was planted by Queen Ermengarde at the foundation of the abbey in 1229. However the National Trust for Scotland has taken core borings which indicate that it is between 400 and 435 years old. It has props all over to hold up its old branches!

This is just a ruin along the road not far from James Oswald's farm. He told me it was the ruins of Ballinbreich Castle, once home to the Leslie family IIRC. The big house behind it across the Tay is Errol Park

Read Scotland 2017

2016-12-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

Yes, we're doing it again! Folks on Goodreads really like this challenge so I guess we'll go again. It wasn't too big on the blog, but we did get a list of over 100 reviews for it this year, thanks mostly to Jack Deighton! So I think we'll mostly focus on Goodreads this year. If your not on Goodreads, what are you waiting for?! It's full of wonderful readers and book groups and it's free!

We're going to do a couple read-a-longs over at Goodreads this year. If you do Goodreads you might want to stop over there and sign up with our group. It's easier to chit chat there :)

If you need suggestions for Scottish authors and books check out the Read Scotland review pages, tabs at the top of the blog for the last three years.

Peggy Ann

Kenmore, Scotland

2016-12-05T00:00:00.000-05:00

We drove through Kenmore on the way home from our trip to the Highlands. It was a surprise, a gem. Too bad we didn't have time to put it on our list of places to explore. It's a 16th century village and the Kenmore Hotel is the oldest Inn in Scotland. I'd love to get a chance to sleep there! If I'm remembering right it was built in the 1600's and has been a continuously operating Inn since.

These are just a few photos as we drove along.

This one is where they were doing some logging. They plant acres of trees for logging all over the hills. And in the water is a small fish farm. You see this type of scene all over Scotland.

Bev's at it Again!

2016-12-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

Bev over at My Reader's Block is the one who first got me started blogging. She reads vintage mysteries and every year she has wonderful reading challenges. This year I'm signing on for two she's hosting!

I'm going in for the Vintage Cover Scavenger Hunt again this year. It was lots of fun last year and got me back into reading vintage mysteries. I had drifted away from my first love over the last couple of years.

You can choose from Gold (published before 1960) or Silver (published 1960-1989). There are duplicate lists for each era. Find as many objects on the scavenger hunt list as possible on the covers of the mystery books you read. I'm going for both Gold and Silver, hoping to make 12 in each era.Want to join in too? Run over to Bev's and check out the full rules and sign on the dotted line!

New this year is Follow the Clues Mystery Challenge! It sounds like loads of fun! The gist of the challenge is follow a set of clues furnished by the mystery books you read to create a body of evidence to support a book court case. Each book clue should lead you to your next read. The connection can be anything at all from author names to motive for murder to type of mystery (police procedural, espionage, romantic thriller, etc) to an item on the cover, but you must be able to make your case to the jury on your detective logic. I'm signing on for Infraction: 6 books in a chain of evidence, how about you? This one might be pretty challenging! Click the link above to read the full rules and sign on!

Thanks Bev! You make reading more fun than it already is!

Peggy Ann

The Smoky Mountains Ablaze

2016-12-01T13:04:00.001-05:00

Click to read

I'm sure you have all heard something of the fires that have ravaged the Great Smoky Mountain National Park (which is 100 years old this year!) and the town of Gatlinburg at the base of the park. We live an hour from there. I've been glued to the local TV as they have broadcast 24 hrs. for a couple days. It is horrific, its the only word I can think of to describe the scene. Gatlinburg looks like a war zone.

The fire started on Wednesday evening, the 23rd, by human hand (under investigation), in the Chimney Tops area of the park.

Wed. Nov. 23 2016

Monday a cold front moved in and brought with it low humidity and gale force wind gusts (87mph). The fire moved rapidly and the winds brought down trees and power lines which when laying on the dry drought ridden leaf cover, ignited new fires. Within an hours time we had a major event, apocalyptic even! I've never seen anything like it.

The fire quickly made its way down to Gatlinburg, the popular tourist town at the foot of the park. 4,000 people live and work in Gatlinburg. Imagine this, night, winds raging, fire moving at breakneck speed, trees and power lines across the winding mountain roads making escape impossible in some situations. It's unimaginable! 14,000 were evacuated from Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.

Many homes burned to the foundation, nothing left standing, in Gatlinburg and surrounding communities. We've heard stories of family members calling loved ones frantically, that the fire was around the house and now the family can't get ahold of them and have no idea if they survived. Fires are still burning even after rain. No one is allowed in yet to their homes. Seven confirmed deaths, 74 injured as of the last update. So many missing. They have 4 search zones they are combing through. There are so many remote homes in the mountains too! In the last update the fire chief said finding the missing is not an easy job as the fires burned so hot there is nothing to find, basically and it will be a forensic search soon, in other words digging for bones. I told you it is horrific!

As of last update just a half hour ago 17,108 acres have burned. 10,000+ in the National Park and 6,000+ in the surrounding area. The fire chief said even though we had a day of good rain it was not enough to penetrate our drought ridden ground and the fires can rekindle easily. There are a couple new ones today. Low humidity and wind today is a real danger.

So much need now in the area, so many families lost everything. 700 structures destroyed, homes and businesses. The mayor of Gatlinburg lost his home and business. Firefighters battling the blaze while wondering if their families were safe and if their houses still stood. There is a 'Smokies Strong' T-shirt for sale and the proceeds go to support victims of the fire. You can order one here, but be warned, the site keeps crashing as the response has been fantastic!

$15

WBIR TV in Knoxville is the station that I have been keeping up with. You can check out videos and This link takes you to a page with a video of a short ride a long with a firefighter as he drives through it. Click on Home on the page to see the latest.
updates and there's even a link at the top to watch live coverage if you'd like.

Here are a few pics of the devastation...

So much wildlife lost too! We need your prays and support. When we rebuild come visit and support the businesses and see our beautiful mountains.

With a heavy heart,
Peggy Ann

*Update: 13 confirmed deaths and 80 injured now.

Murder in Stained Glass by Margaret Armstrong

2016-12-01T10:42:00.000-05:00

Goodreads description:

Meet Miss Trumbull, a stout talkative New Yorker with perfect manners and a passion for sleuthing.
When the remains of temperamental artist, Frederick Ullathorne, are found in his own fiery kiln it looks like a ghastly murder has been committed. But with only a few bones as evidence the local police are getting nowhere fast. Can Miss Trumbull pick up the clues that the police are missing? Or will her interfering get her into trouble in more ways that one?

"Fast paced and a lot of fun"
If you like Agatha Christie then you'll love Miss Trumbull."
This delightful whodunnit by Margaret Armstrong was first published in 1939. It is the first in the American Queens of Crime series from Lost Crime Classics

A decent mystery and enjoyable read. Silly names for characters... Mrs. Podsnap, Mr. Drinkwater, Mrs. Winklebrook and Mrs. Pullover for a few!

Bones were found in a kiln. Burned so hot that the bones were almost dust and very fragile. So the clue that told them who the body was is a little far fetched.

"Your Honor, I have just received a report on th shred of cloth and the two trouser buttons found in the kiln. The New York police inform me that L P Fortune, the tailor, made a suit of this sort of cloth, a Canadian homespun, for ******** about two years ago. It is of a peculiar weave and color, imported especially for ********."

How could a piece of fabric survive the fire?

Aside from that Miss Trumbull grew on me and if I came across another in the series I would pick it up.

This is number thirteen for Bev's Vintage Cover Scavenger Hunt- Gold - building other than a house

Peggy Ann

Peggy Ann

Black-Headed Pins by Constance & Gwenyth Little

2016-11-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

Why wouldn't the corpses stay put at this Christmas houseparty?

With her bank account down to empty, orphaned Leigh Smith has no choice but to take a job as a paid companion and housekeeper to the miserly Mrs. Ballister. However, once she moves into the drafty, creaking old Ballister mansion in the wilds of New Jersey, Smithy has reason to regret her decision.
But when Mrs. Ballister decides to invite her nieces and nephews for Christmas, Smithy sees the possibility for some fun. What she doesn't expect is to encounter the Ballister family curse. It seems that when a dragging noise is heard in the attic it foretells the death of a Ballister. And once a Ballister dies, if you don't watch the body until it's buried, it's likely to walk.
The stocking are barely hung from the mantle when those dreaded sounds are heard in the attic, and before long, corpses are going for regular midnight strolls. Smithy and a pair of potential beaux turn detective and try to figure out why the murderer leaves black-headed pins at the scene of every crime.
Filled with the eccentric characters and odd plot twists typical of a Little mystery, The Black-Headed Pins first appeared in 1938 and was the second book by the two queens of the wacky cozy.

At first I thought this was going to be a little bit of a boring read and I didn't care for any of the characters. Having enjoyed another Littles book, The Black House I decided to keep reading and I ended up really enjoying this wacky mystery and liking the heroine very much! I think I would like to collect all their books!

This one counts for Bev's Vintage Cover Scavenger Hunt also Gold- Christmas Decoration. Number 12!

Peggy Ann

Suddenly at his Residence by Christianna Brand

2016-11-28T19:36:00.000-05:00

Where There's a Will...
In the luscious height of an English summer, Grandfather is found dead in the little Grecian Lodge among the rose gardens of the estate. Inspector Cockrill has reason to believe that Sir Richard met with an untimely death, and that the evildoer is among the genteel family gathered at the rural manor. But why on earth would one of the loving brood do such a dreadful thing? Simple: the night he died, cantankerous Sir Richard was arranging to disinherit his offspring for the umpteenth time. Someone took murderous steps to protect their own interest. But the murderer left no scuff in the carefully raked sand paths, no trace on the manicured lawns of Swanswater.
...There's a way - to Die.
Meanwhile, Philip and Claire have fallen madly in love, which just isn't cricket. The lawyer is fending off the advances of the heiress apparent. And young Edward isn't much help, with his tendency towards amnesia and fugues. It's all in the family, but it's up to Inspector Cockrill to make sure it doesn't stay a family secret.

This was a fun read, loads of quirky characters and set during WWII! A good solid locked room mystery and it could have been any one of them! Edward is a half cousin and his parents died in an accident when he was very small. He was pampered and coddled and he learned very young, that if he feigned 'mental episodes' he got lots of sympathy. By the time he was grown he wasn't sure what was real and what was imagined in his mental health. This enabled wonderful bits with Edward not knowing if he killed grandfather or not! A grand romp you'll be happy to read!

This one counts for Bev's Vintage Cover Scavenger Hunt Gold - Blue Object. The dead body in the window is a ghostly blue figure! This makes 11 for the challenge!

Peggy Ann