Spring haiku

Last weekend we took a long drive down to southwestern Virginia to transfer custody of Dave's mom to his sister. Yay!

The weather was perfect and the scenery was gorgeous, but I was driving and couldn't take any pictures the whole first day. So instead I composed haiku in my head.

On our way home we stopped overnight just south of Washington D.C. and first thing in the morning drove into the city to see the fabled cherry blossoms. We'd never seen them before, and it was so worth it! Just gorgeous.

Here are my haiku from the trip.

Shenandoah valley
Cattle graze in spring-green fields
Trees fluffy with buds

Beautiful Blue Ridge
Gauzy layers of mountains
To infinity

Pink cherry blossoms
Reflecting in blue water
Breathtaking springtime
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Book review: Treachery in Death

I usually do my book reviews on Goodreads, and lately all in haiku, but I just had to say more about J.D. Robb's latest, Treachery in Death. It's truly amazing to me how a series with more than 30 books, almost 40 if you count the novella-length entries, can continue to provide such high quality.

And this particular one might be my favorite of the whole shebang.

Now if you're in it for the romance, there's not a whole lot of it here. A couple of pretty tame love scenes, and very little of the conflict between Eve and Roarke that makes some of the books so interesting.

And the mystery, well, you know early on who the bad guys are. But you know what? It doesn't make a damn bit of difference. It still kept me up late, wanting to see what came next.

The suspense? Hard to develop too much of that when pretty much every single reader knows Eve's going to come out on top. Even with Eve in the bad guys' crosshairs, you just know she's going to survive, and win, and kick some ass in the process.

What really blew me away about this one was the contrast in characters. Two female lieutenants, one good, one dirty. Their actions, their morals, their motives, their leadership style, the loyalty of their squads. This just couldn't have been better.

I gave it five stars, because that's the most I could. But it deserves six!

Thanks, JD/Nora, for writing brilliant books, year after year, decade after decade. You're a genius!
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Spawn of Satan

I might have mentioned a few weeks ago that the evil Mr. T has returned. After living with Molly for a couple of years, he's ba-a-ack. And I'm not happy.

Why are our pets always evil?

First we had Mickey, the Dalmatian from Hell. He bit people, mostly me, barked a lot, and shed evil dalmatian hair all over the house.

Now there's Mr. T. He bites, too, and poops big turtle poops. Nasty. And he eats live fish when he can find them. One year we let him out in the pond for the summer, and he bit every single leaf off the water lilies at the water line.

Evil, I say!

And expensive! He outgrew his first tank so we had to buy a new one, and now he destroys everything we put in--a floating shelf, the heater. But Dave keeps buying new stuff. The latest is a little penthouse where he can sun himself.

I've been trying to find someone who's driving down to Florida so they can release him into the wild. No takers yet. For some reason, everyone else in the family likes him. How can you be fond of a reptile? You can't pet him... he'd bite your finger. You can talk to him, but he doesn't respond. All he does is eat and sleep.

Next year we're probably going to Hilton Head for a week. My plan is to take him along and let him go.

Do you think he'd fit in my pocket?
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Just shoot me

My tweets for the first half of February:

4-Feb – Last day of freedom before MIL arrives to stay with us for 7 weeks. Last chance to lie around the house naked all day. Clothes off...

5-Feb – If I ever get so old I can't open a bottle of water myself, even after someone's already loosened the cap, just shoot me.

6-Feb – If I ever get so old that I shuffle in teeny tiny steps, not caring how many people are behind me trying to get by, just shoot me.

6-Feb – If I ever get so old that I talk whenever I want to, even if someone else is talking, just shoot me.

7-Feb – If I ever get so old that even a pet turtle can walk faster than I can, just shoot me.

7-Feb – If I ever get so old that taking my pills is the highlight of my day, just shoot me.

9-Feb – If I ever get so old that worrying about my bowels becomes the focus of my entire life, just shoot me.

9-Feb – I think a margarita for breakfast sounds like a fine idea. Limes are fruit, and it's five o'clock somewhere, right?

9-Feb – If I ever get so old that I can't even get my own lunch, just shoot me.

11-Feb – If I ever get so old that I won't shut the f*ck up when I find out I gained a few pounds, just shoot me.

11-Feb – If I ever get so old that I shuffle to a stop in a doorway and just stand there, blocking everyone from passing, just shoot me.

12-Feb – If I ever get so old that every thought that crosses my mind comes gushing out of my mouth like diarrhea, just shoot me.

12-Feb – If I ever get so old that I can't take a shower without my daughter or daughter-in-law helping me, just shoot me... PLEASE!!!!

12-Feb – If I ever get so old that I make my children feel guilty for not doing enough for me, just shoot me.

13-Feb – If I ever get so old that I have to eat pancakes with a spoon, just shoot me.

13-Feb – If I ever get so old I can't do ANYTHING for myself, not even warm up a plate of food in the microwave, just shoot me.

14-Feb – If I ever whine constantly so I can't hold a normal conversation, just shoot me. Oh, I'm doing that now? Crap, shoot me, PLEASE!
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