What I've been reading: Midnight Fugue, by Reginald Hill
A nice, tight novel-- I grow more and more fond of Dalziel over the years. Pascoe needs to lighten up, though and could be much more than just a foil to the big guy.

Crime Machine by Giles Blunt: The novel was very twisted tale set in Northern Ontario in winter with an exploration of the fur industry. Blunt and Louise Penny are two of my favorite Canadian mystery writers. No surprise there.

What I've been watching: The 39 Steps, by Alfred Hitchcock. This spy movie is one of his earlier films, with an interesting documentary on the disc about how Hitchcock was influenced by German cinema and his Jesuit upbringing. I love the physical comedy he throws in to chase scenes, for instance when the two fugitives are locked together with handcuffs and they get tangled in a fence.

What's in the dye pot: Cotton and linen wrapped around rose leaves, lupin leaves, and black tea leaves in a tannin mordant. (Boiled today.)

What's curing: Eucalyptus leaves, false indigo leaves and pods, rusty nails, copper wire, wrapped in cotton and cotton blend with an alum mordant. (Steamed two days ago.)

Shetland Mysteries

I've just read Anne Cleeves's new mystery, Blue Lightening. I thought it wasn't as good as her other books. The main murder victim especially seemed cardboard and two dimensional. I like the setting of her novels on the Shetlands and found the references to the birding culture very engaging, but the characters weren't up to scratch.

I also read Shadow, by Karin Alvtegen, a Swedish mystery quite different from the rest of the Scandi pack. This is not my favorite kind of mystery, heavy on soap opera with characters you don't really care about because they are so self-involved. There are so many people trapped in unhappy lives in this novel it lacks a grounded character, and it makes for depressing summer reading with a melodramatic climax. The ending is somewhat predictable because you get a sense of what the novel is building towards long before it happens.

I watched Broken Flowers by Jim Jarmusch. Not much there to see folks, except good performances by the women in between long stretches of very dull scenes with Bill Murry and his friend Winston. Ho. Hum.

I am feeling more like myself after a week off, and had a great time at a garden work party yesterday. I love the feeling of community, working outdoors, sharing knowledge, and making things grow.

Today's Happiness Is

A grilled cheese sandwich, glass of dry French rosé and a Henning Mankell novel: The Man Who Smiled. The weather has turned cool(er) and drizzly which is a relief after the yesterday's heat. Peter baked the potatoes I bought at the market yesterday and I scarfed them with salmon and creme fraîche. I spent hours on cleaning house today and finally feel as though I'm close to catching up on it. Although I am on a week off, I end up spending a lot of time on e-mails fielding volunteer requests.

Summer Reading and Movies Too

I have officially begun my summer reading. The first book was A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley. It's part of a mystery series with a girl detective that is set somewhere in England. Since it revolves around a family of gypsies, I was hooked from the start since I just performed as one last week. Lots of lovely twists and turns, memorable quotes, quirky humor and chemistry. Woot! There's a new one coming out for Christmas and did I mention the author is Canadian? Tres bon.

The novel also captures that particularly viciously playful nature of girls in the strange relationships among the three sisters.

ETA: This afternoon I watched a movie called Turn Left at the End of the World directed by Avi Nesher. It's a comedy and a tear jerker that I thoroughly enjoyed and the relationships among the women are passionate and engaging. The movie is set in the 1960's in the Negev dessert where a girl who is Jewish Moroccan makes friends with a girl from India. I highly recommend it for summer viewing.

New Bra Day

Yes, I desperately needed an over the shoulder boulder holder, so headed to a proper store to have a proper fitting. A buxom Scottish lady wanted to see me in my current bra to see how it was fitting. Gosh, I was so embarrassed. It was all stretched and ripped and I was sweaty from gardening. She got into that room with me and didn't even have to measure me to find the right bras. She even told me how to scoop my hand inside the bra from the opposite side and lift up each breast to where it "should" be. Well, it does make me look better, but it's still not the most comfortable bra I've worn and it cost the earth. It was quite an intimate experience. I feel like it's my first bra as a mature woman. I feel sexy and dowdy at the same time.

This morning I pinched suckers off tomato plants in the school garden. My heart is bursting with happiness from that little plot. I love it so and I love seeing the two gardeners on the corner lovingly tending their plot together. The other day I was watering the plot and I felt this hot sensation on my foot. WTF! I got stung by a wasp on my foot. Apparently I was watering their little nest. Boy, that hurt. I picked peas today to give to the summer camp for their lunch.

I did a petite bit of shopping on South Granville. Williams Sonoma (could the salesperson have learned his style from PeeWee's Playhouse?) was empty, but Pottery Barn Kids was full and people were laying down the cash.

Ules had his first day of camp today and really enjoyed it. As I prayed he would.

Reading: The God of the Hive by Laurie R. King. She writes her version of Sherlock Holmes' later (married) years. I wish I'd read the one in the series that comes before this one, The Language of Bees, because the action seems to directly jump into The God of the Hive. This one is my favorite of her series so far, especially as it contains a character that is a very soulful and whimsical foil to Sherlock Holmes. I also read three Swedish mysteries and a Minette Walters' (The Devil's Feather) over the weekend. Good stuff.

Rereading

Reread: Savage Altar, aka Sun Storm by Asa Larsson. I love how she evokes a sense of light, season, and place. She creates desperate characters that make you want to stage interventions in their lives.

Watched: The first season of a British cop show called Murphy's Luck with the Irish dude from Cold Feet. He's good, but much better in a more comic role.

Picked: Raspberries, chard, peas and strawberries from the garden and made a summery stir fry.

I confess I've been sleeping a lot. Hopefully now that I'm coming off the medication I will have more of my energy back. I seem to get all fired up for two days and then on the third day... boof! She crashed.

Kinder is into back-to-back episodes of Jimmy Neutron. Tomorrow we go to the foot specialist.

Tiny Bees

This morning I saw two tiny turquoise native bees on a sunflower leaf. It was magical. I am also seeing and hearing a lot of one particular kind of fly that looks a lot like a bit like a rusty-colored bumble bee with black legs. What a difference in scale and perspective from tiny sweat bee to large busty human. I was reading about how the little forget-me-not flowers we usually pull up at this time of the year are important to the tiny bees, so I am letting them go on as long as possible. Meanwhile the bumble bees are scrambling over the lacy climbing hydrangeas in front of our house. The pollen grains are huge. I don't even see the honey bees go near them.

I find it amazing how bees can negotiate us, these lumbering apartment-sized humans hulking around their food sources, creating havoc and casting giant shadows. How would we fare?

I arrived at school to see the mobile dairy education van pulled up in front of the building. When the kids went inside they let out a new black and white calf on its still ungainly legs. It's blinking those soulful black eyes at me and I am in love. Oh sweet little newborn, you are so lovely. It felt cruel to take this wee one off of his farm, but they usually only use a calf once, so that's okay.