Oh! I almost forgot...

Our annual snowman burning took place last Friday...

The woman in the top photo setting Frosty aflame has worked for the university for 50 years and is finally retiring. Can't imagine what we'll do without her!

Happy Spring!

Ah... Yes! Spring!

It's actually the second day of Spring here in my little corner of the world and, par for course, we have about two inches of new snow on the ground. But, it is spring and there is a difference. This snow won't last more than a few days.

My boss, who isn't from this area, had a relevant comment the other day. She said that she was amazed by how, in spite of the temperature, if the sun is out, things are melting and she's right. It can be well below the magical freezing mark but if the sun is out, things will be dripping.

I had a backyard until yesterday. Grass and everything. Now it's all white again. The cats go out and come right back in and look at me like it was my fault. The dog doesn't much care. She's weather proof, for the most part, but I have noticed she's gimpy when it's cold.

I've had two of my undeniable signs of spring - spring training started weeks ago and last week, I heard and saw my first seagull but the boats don't start locking through until the 25th so I guess I'll go with two and call it good...

Reading is proving problematic again this month but for a good reason - I'm writing again so I'll take the trade-off. I've learned a great deal about my writing process over the last little bit, so it's been a real adventure.

My prayers go out to everyone in Japan affected by the horrendous events over there. I cannot imagine going through somehting like that. I live in such a geologically stable part of the world; we don't get hurricanes or earthquakes and tornadoes are extremely rare. Blizzards are another thing but you stay inside, dig out when it's done, and usually the damage is minimul. Never thought I'd be glad for a blizzard...

Anyway, I believe I have three reviews pending and I'll get to them shortly...

I hope y'all have a great week of reading and whatever rolls your way!

Happy St. Urho's Day!

Ode to Saint Urho
by Gene McCavic and Richard Mattson
Virginia, Minnesota

Ooksi kooksi coolama vee
Santia Urho is ta poy for me!
He sase out ta hoppers as pig as pirds.
Neffer peefor haff I hurd tose words!

He reely tolt tose pugs of kreen
Braffest Finn I effer seen
Some celebrate for St. Pat unt hiss nakes
Putt Urho poyka kot what it takes.

He kot tall and trong from feelia sour
Unt ate kala moyakka effery hour.
Tat's why tat kuy could sase toes peetles
What krew as thick as chack bine neetles.

So let's give a cheer in hower pest vay
On Sixteenth of March, St. Urho's Tay.

Translation:

Ooksi kooksi coolama vee (One, two, three four but it doesn't work to translate)
Saint Urho is the boy for me!
He chase out the hoppers as big as birds
Never before have I heard those words!

He really told those bugs of green
Bravest Finn I ever seen
Some celebrate for St. Pat and his snakes
But Urho boy got what it takes.

He got tall and strong from feelia sour (Finnish dish)
And ate kala moyakka every hour. (another Finnish dish)
That's why that guy could chase those bettles
What grew as thick as jack pine needles.

So let's give a cheer in our best way
On sixteenth of March, St. Urho's Day.

With no apologies to St. Pat at all...

If you know any old Finns, get them to read the poem for you.  It sounds better that way!

Have a Happy St. Urho's Day!

Book Review: Pale Demon by Kim Harrison

Pale Demon by Kim Harrison
Harper Collins
Pages 439
Copyright 2011

In the ninth book of The Hollows Series by Harrison, Rachel Morgan, witch and bounty hunter finds herself in a predicament; she has to get from Cincinnati to San Francisco where she is supposedly to have her shunning by the magical community revoked. Problems begin when Rachel discovers she is on a 'no-fly' list and the only way she'll be able to get to San Francisco is by car. Faster than you can say 'road-trip' she finds herself venturing across country with Ivy, her living-vampire parent, Jinx, her pixie partner, and Trent Kalamack, evil drug-selling, gene-splicing, thorn-in-Rachel's-side elf. Trent has hired Rachel to get him to San Francisco in three days in order to complete an old-fashioned elf quest. What transpires is an action-filled, page turner that doesn't let up until the last page.

Rachel is one of my favorite urban fantasy characters. She is a strong, kick-ass, self-assured woman . . . who has plenty of doubts and insecurities. Her past is troubled, leaving her with questions about everything -who she is, what her place in the world is, what her future holds. Jinx is simply adorable, the perfect smart-mouthed sidekick who has Rachel's back, without a question just as she has his. Ivy, the living vampire, is also a tough, tortured character who is fighting her own nature and finally, in this book, she seems poised to step up and claim a life of her own. And Trent? Trent is part of Rachel's past, but it is part of the past that she can't truly remember. He is tough, ruthless, hell bent on getting what he wants, no matter what it takes yet there are layers to him that Harrison is just beginning to show her readers.

Recommendation: Urban Fantasy at its best. Harrison answers some questions in this book, questions that had to be answered, but she also raises brand new ones and they're the sort of question that has me impatient for the next in the series already.

Isn't it cute??

Okay...

I can't believe I'm doing this but it's simply too cute not to... isn't it:



I haven't seen this one on the air but it sure has all the 'ahhhh' factor going for it and then some!

February blahs...

So, the shortest month of the year is over. In my little corner of the world, February is also the worst month, weather-wise. Cold, snowy, blowy... except, as I noted in my last post, it was 42F here in the middle of the worst month!

Today, we have 5.2 inches of new snow on the ground. I couldn't park in my drive because I wasn't going to shovel after working all night.

This IS March, right?

Anyway...

If it wasn't a blah month weather-wise, it sure was reading-wise.

Three books. After ten in January, I managed three books in February and not one of them compelled me to write a review. I've tried but...

Blah.

Here they are:

13. Nightingale's Lament by Simon R. Green
12. The Devil's Bones by Jefferson Bass
11. Flesh and Bone by Jefferson Bass

After reading the first book, Carved in Bone, I was intrigued and eager to read more. I thought I'd found a forensic guy who could write a decent fiction tale and not make me feel I was back in a class room being lectured...

Unfortunately, it didn't hold true. Not only did they lecture, dryly, about some topics, there is page after page of totally meaningless musings and goings on that have nothing to do with the story. Nothing. Paragraphs telling me how the characters got from Point A to Point B... do I really care if they turned left on a street I've never heard of in a town I've never been to?

Let's just say a little of it goes a long way...

The mysteries aren't bad, if you can wade through the trivial to find them.

Simon R. Green's next installment of the Nightside series wasn't so much 'blah' as it was more of the same. Intriguing plot - an up-and-coming female singer sings so powerfully that her sad songs drive her fans to committe suicide with smiles on their faces - intriguing place, excellent characters... yet I didn't feel compelled to write a review.

Let's leave it at this: If you like paranormal stories about the weird and exotic, check the Nightside out. It's an interesting place to visit.

Now...

I've finished my first book for March, Pale Demon by Kim Harrison, and loved it. There will be a review as soon as I have time to sit down and write it.

I'm currently reading Decisions Points by George W. Bush and have enjoyed it so far. I'm interested in hearing what he has to say about what he considers to be his most important decisions while in the White House.

Computer training for work this afternoon, at 1545 so I guess it's time to try and get some sleep...

Hope y'all have a great day!