Book Report - Her Royal Spyness Series

As you may recall, I recently deviated from my modus operandi of the past 6.5 years and abandoned post-apocalyptic literature. I'm not sure why I can't be a normal person and pick up various types of books here and there, but no, I am already deeply ensconced in two new but related genres: historical mystery and historical romance. Don't judge my fascination with tales of British aristocracy...lords and ladies of the mid 1800's through the Downton Abbey era of the early 1900s. Romances, murders, mysteries, you name it, if there are dukes and earls, I'm into it.

I especially like when I find a series. This both limits the amount of time spent searching for more tales of royalty and also creates a nice arc of relationships among the characters, particularly enjoyable if there is a clever little romance threading from book to book.

I'm loving the Royal Spyness series by Rhys Bowen. It's a slightly implausible set of cozy mysteries where the main character Georgiana is 34th in line for the throne and the Queen enlists her to help with various tasks, usually inadvertently resulting in her investigating one murder or another. Her love interest Darcy appears in each book and though it seems to take ages for their relationship to gain traction, it's nice to see that develop from book to book. There are currently 9 books in the series with the next installment due out August 1. All in all, this has proven to be one of my favorite series of late, and I highly recommend it.

Bad Dreams

I've had my fair share. I'll remember two particular nightmares from my youth forever. Both involved being chased, one in my parents' backyard as a man turned those he could catch into stone while my mom played bridge up the hill inside the house. I could see her playing cards in the window but of course, couldn't call out for help. Classic dream scenario where you can't run and can't speak. Similar themes prevailed in dream #2.

The other night I had one of the worst dreams I can recall. I don't remember why but Simon and I were trying to kill Merwin. I still get cold chills when I think about it. Simon was tossing heavy books at him and I was repeatedly picking him up then dropping him on his head. He didn't show any effects of our attempts and I remember telling Simon "You're going to have to shoot him in the head."

WHAT THE HECK!? I'm not sure anyone understands any type of dream but what was going on there? Any dream analysts care to tackle that one? Yikes.

As I continue to mull this over, I'm putting new pieces together. When we woke up the next day, we discovered some, um, "gifts" that Merwin had deposited on the dining room carpet overnight. Perhaps part of me was aware of his naughty actions while I was slumbering. Or maybe this was his revenge poop for my macabre sub-conscious thoughts. Either way, I'm glad both of those incidents are behind us.

So cute and innocent!

Adventures In Politics

This year's presidential election and primary have garnered my interest more than any from the past. Perhaps it is the ridiculousness of it, my raised awareness of certain issues, or maybe just living in NH, where the eyes of the country first focus during primary season. Whatever the reason, I've been into it. I waffled from Bernie to Hillary to disgruntlement with all the choices but one thing is certain. I despise Trump. He disgusts me on a level I never knew was possible. That's another post. Today's is about attending Hillary's event over at the Portsmouth High School. Bernie recently jumped on board and it was very clear that he would endorse her officially at the rally. Simon and I hadn't attended anything related to the race yet and knew this could be our best opportunity to see Hillary and - bonus - hear Bernie.

We headed over around 8:30 and stood in an enormously long, sun-soaked line for a few hot hours. We were pretty certain we wouldn't be allowed in given the quantity of people ahead of us but alas, we made it through. We scanned for seats on the gym bleachers before realizing that we could stand dead center, just a few rows back from the podium!

It was awesome! Hearing these two in person was really inspiring. I never imagined that I would stand that close to a future president (cross your fingers) and it was a pretty surreal experience. Whatever your opinion, I think it's important to be active and take advantage of things like this when they are right in your backyard. 

A Poem For A Monday

The Daylight Is Huge
Amy MacLennan

The daylight is huge.
Five a.m. and the sky already
blushing gray. Mornings so full
of blue the clouds almost sheepish
as they wisp over hills.
High noon only happens in June,
mid-day a tipping point, the scale
weighed down on both sides
with blazed hours. And the evenings--
so drawn out the land lies stunned
by that shambling last light.