August 16-17

We entered the weekend with a hello and a good bye… first on Friday while we frolicked in the sunshine in the yard as much as we could…

And of course a little harvesting of the garden.

Ken went to the airport and after having lunch out brought home his friend JEFF all the way from Alberta, Canada. Ken worked for Jeff (and Darryl) way back when the twins were tiny and they have been friends ever since. He now works for Apple in their Canadian office though he does travel often down to California. We lucked out and he had holidays he had to use up and a break in projects AND trips even further south. What a total pick me up for Ken. I think he had been missing his friends back home more than he let on. And Jeff is great with kids!!

The guys were quick to settle down in our room where they could game in peace. Happy boys!

On Sunday we packed up the kids and Jeff and took him to see our favourite (though slightly chilly with the heat of summer fading) beach. Double bonus – Renee and Christopher were able to join us with their 3 boys. Our best beach buddies and a good friend from Canada on a day when the beach was NOT full of people… awesome!

I do not have high hopes for school progress the following week but Ken and Jeff have plans to power through cleaning in the sub basement and sort sort sort. Ken has dreams of a computer room down there and they finally look attainable! Sunday also marks the beginning of Nana and Baba’s first longer trip to Mexico in ages. Friends and family and fun… awesome!

Time for something a little different… well for a rather unique heroine. This first in a series by Penny Warner (A Connor Westphal Mystery) is set in small town in the California Gold Country. Connor is a deaf reporter turned detective out of necessity in this cozy mystery. The pace is good in this story and the characters interesting. I loved the premise of a woman born hearing who through an illness became deaf as a child. 

There were moments where I found Connor to be a little scattered at  time but she was fun and interesting and a tough gal. There was some editing issues which did take away from the enjoyment in reading. I would have loved a little more time with Connor’s dog as it is shown so prominently on the cover, and hope that it would become more of a player in the future books. As well, though Connor inherited a newspaper and defunct diner she seemed to do little with it, instead leaving everything with her teenage assistant (that she often refers to a slight attraction to). He (Miah) runs her errands and basically writes the paper while Connor ran here and there. 

There was a romance as well with the brother to the detective with an office in the same building as Connor’s newspaper. While I had my hiccups with this series I am still going to hunt down the next in the series. There is a lot going for this book, an unusual main character, a good mystery… definitely good for a lazy afternoon.

Dead Body Language

I have lucked out with a string of amazing stories lately and Sue Ann Jaffarian’s Ghost a la Mode was no exception. This first book in the Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery series and I honestly hope it is far from the last! You start the story with Emma Whitecastle, a woman in her early 40’s going through a lengthy divorce from her famous (but not so nice) talk show (cheating) husband. They have a daughter (Kelly) and lives with her parents. Cue in Tracy, the best friend whose friendship had been renewed with her leaving of her husband. 

Together the two of them head to a seance (on Tracy’s insistence), cue the clairvoyant Milo who has a message for Emma from a great great great grandmother… Granny Apples known as Ish. What does this spitfire ghost need from Emma, not much, just vindication that she did NOT murder her husband as she was hanged for! Add in that Emma’s mother has had contact with Ish before and the mystery is on! 

You join Emma on a sojourn to find out about her roots, to help Ish and to find out what this new talent of not only HEARING but SEEING ghosts means for her. Visit the real town Julian, California with Emma and meet the characters that live there (not so real), ghost and living. I don’t want to give away too much, but there is some romance, lots of action, history, and of course a spunky lady on a mission.

I am definitely going to read the next books in the series! There are few things that I truly love about this book – ONE she doesn’t hide things from the police… granted it is not easy and she does come off a bit crazy to them BUT she is true to herself and TWO yes there is murder but there is NOT huge amounts of gore. The ghosts are varied, the people hilarious and the story absolutely fabulous! Check it out!

Ghost a la Mode