Typically British Reading Challenge 2010 - Completed!

I've finished my third and final reading challenge for the year. When signing up for the Typically British Reading Challenge, I set out to read four books - the "Gordon Bennett" level. Instead, I ended up reaching the top level - "Cream Crackered" - with eight books.

Here are the links to the reviews for the books I read:

Revelation by C.J. Sansom


Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter by A.E. Moorat


Fallen into the Pit by Ellis Peters


Nemesis by Lindsey Davis


The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears


The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths


The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox


Conspirata by Robert Harris

Conspirata by Robert Harris

Conspirata is the second book in Robert Harris' planned trilogy about the life of Marcus Tullius Cicero. Once again narrated by his secretary, Tiro, it picks up where the first book (Imperium) left off, with Cicero having been elected consul of Rome.

Whereas Imperium read more like a courtroom drama, chronicling the trial which led to Cicero's fame, Conspirata delves into the day to day politics of Republican Rome.... a nasty, vicious period in history, to say the least. It begins two days before Cicero takes office in 63 B.C. and closes in 58 B.C.

Although written as fiction, Harris does a superb job of weaving his story around the actual facts of this era. It's true that Tiro existed and that he produced a biography of Cicero. It is cited by both Plutarch and Asconious Pedianus. He was the first man to record a speech in the Senate verbatim, using the shorthand system he created (traces of which can still be found in our writing today). Sadly, the biography along with many of these other works disappeared during the collapse of the Roman Empire.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - every bit as much as the first. Even though I know the history and what the ultimate outcome will be for Cicero, it ends as a cliffhanger. I anxiously await the third!

This is my eighth and final book for the Typically British Reading Challenge.

A Double

I was preparing lunch on Sunday and was startled to see two yolks when I cracked open an egg. It's been years since I saw or even thought about a double yolk egg. I called my husband over to look at it before taking a quick photo with my phone.





After stirring it in I decided I needed another egg. It was another double yolk!! What are the chances?! While looking for some facts online, I came across several links to a story about a woman in the UK who found not one, but six eggs with a double yolk.... all in the same carton! Click here for the story. I have to admit, it took a little of the thrill out of my two-egg find.

But....I still have ten more eggs in my carton.

Be careful what you wish for...

... because you might just get it!


For quite some time now Suzy has been escaping whenever she can slip out the carport door. This isn't just when we go in and out, either. If the door isn't shut firmly she will nose open the inside door then push on the storm door to make her way out. This isn't the problem as much as the fact she then takes off into the woods and will not come back when called. All our other dogs mind us. Suzy doesn't.

We finally decided she must really want to be an outside dog, so we stopped letting her back in when she returned. Mama Dog, Blue and Jed have taken it in stride. In fact, I think Jed loves having someone who will run and play with him all the time. The transition has gone fairly well with the exception of nighttime. That's when Suzy thinks she wants to be an inside dog again. No way! Living in the country with no leash law gives our outside pups freedom to run the woods.... and pick up all sorts of creepy crawlies. We do use collars and other flea/tick products on them, but that doesn't equal the controlled environment of the inside girls. The first three nights Suzy managed, one way or another, to get into the back yard then sat on the back steps and barked. And barked. And barked. The past two nights we shut her in her crate which we moved to the carport. She seemed content with that. Meanwhille, things are getting back to normal inside for Alice and Mabel.

Here are some photos I took over the weekend.

Shadow Shot Sunday

I've noticed each week Boonie participates in something called Shadow Shot Sunday hosted by Hey Harriet. I was taking some photos on Friday for an upcoming entry and realized one of them would work nicely for this. Jed and his shadow!


To see lots of wonderful shadow photos, click on the button at the top of this entry. You can then visit participating blogs from the Mister Linky feature at the bottom of her entry. The collages in her post are made up of photos from past participants. Some are quite beautiful, others quite clever. Go see for yourself!

Titles Tell a Story

Here's a fun idea I saw over at Pen and Paper. Take ten books from your TBR pile and arrange the titles so they tell a story. Considering I have so many books waiting to be read, there were plenty of titles to choose from. Here's what I came up with.


When the Ground Turns in its Sleep (Sylvia Sellers-Garcia)

[and] The Dead Hour (Denise Mina) [approaches],

The Great Stink (Clare Clark) [caused by]

Holy Fools (Joanne Harris)

In the Company of Others (Jan Karon)

[was] Not Quite What I Was Planning (edited by Smith magazine).

[Despite having] Heart and Soul (Maeve Binchy),

The Art of Racing in the Rain (Garth Stein) [is quite difficult].

[After all, we all know] Life is a Three-Ring Circus (Rebecca Kelly)

[and] Being Dead is No Excuse (Gayden Metcalfe & Charlotte Hays) !

Movie Madness

My husband loves to watch movies so it was a wonderful thing for him when he discovered Netflix. He will give most any movie a chance and it's rare he won't finish one he's started, especially now that he's not paying per movie. I'm a little more discriminating and have to weigh how much I want to see one versus anything else I might have on my agenda.

Here are a few that I opted to watch recently. Some were worth the time, some were not.


Iron Man 2 - So often sequels fall short and I heard that this wasn't as good as the first Iron Man. I heard right. It wasn't as good, but still entertaining.

Robin Hood - I hadn't intended to watch this since the Robin Hood legend has never been one of my favorites. I like Cate Blanchett and Russell Crowe, however, and decided to give it a go. It was not the Robin Hood story I remembered at all. If anything, the ending set things up for a sequel more along the lines of what I expected with this one.

P2 - This is a horror movie. Definitely not my preferred genre. It sucked me in, though, and I stayed with it all the way through. There was only one scene that had me wanting to avert my eyes.

To Kill A Mockingbird - It wasn't that long ago that I read this book for the first time. Several folks told me that the movie was very good, perhaps as good as the book. I won't go so far as to say I liked it as well as the book (that's a rarity in my opinion), but I did think it was very good. A book just provides so much more detail than a movie can. It did stay true to the central theme of the story.

Date Night - This was one of those comedies that had its share of funny moments, but didn't leave any lasting impressions. I enjoyed it while I watched it, but wouldn't tell anyone it was a "must see".

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - Based on a video game. I can see that it's probably a great game, but it didn't make the transition to the big screen very well. I didn't think it was very good.

Julie & Julia - This was my favorite of all the movies listed here. It's based on a book for which I've read glowing reviews. I haven't read it myself and don't think I will. I could be wrong, but I just don't think it would be as good in book format.

Soil and Soul

The Arkansas Delta might be one of the poorest regions of the United States, but it's an area that is rich in musical culture and heritage, particularly the Blues. A friend told me about a website that offers a free CD of Delta music just for the asking. So, I asked and this is what they sent me.


In addition to the CD (which includes music from artists like Albert King, Al Green, Johnny Cash and Charlie Rich) there is a DVD of interviews with several musicians discussing the history of the Blues and the music it relates to such as Southern Gospel, Country, Jazz, Rockabilly and Rock & Roll. The brochure pictured with the CD/DVD is a promotional travel guide for the Arkansas Delta.

To get your own CD/DVD (it appears to be limited to those in the US), click on this link: Arkansas Delta Byways.

Thanks for letting me know about this wonderful freebie, Jamie!

Human Bones!!

Did I get your attention with the scary title for my Halloween entry? Well, sorry....it's not really a scary entry, but it does contain human bones!


We're part owners of some farmland in the Arkansas Delta. Earlier this month some bones were uncovered in one of the fields following some leveling work. An article from a newspaper in that area stated the operator of a land plane made the discovery. In truth, it was someone trespassing on our property (looking for arrowheads) that found them. Click on the link below if you'd like to read the full article.

Ashley County Ledger

It's a whopper!

Last weekend we attended a 90th birthday reception for my husband's aunt. It was a grand affair at her church with lots of friends and family. A real celebration! One of those in attendance was a woman who had worked for his aunt for many, many years. When she saw my husband she teased him saying he never brought her any fish like he promised. He just laughed and said he would bring them to her this week. Friday was the first chance we had to make good on his promise. Thank goodness the fish were biting!!

Here's the stringer with my catch. Notice two of them are rather large. We each use our own stringer so one of us doesn't have to miss out on fishing while stringing the other's fish! How competitive is that?!

This might be the largest fish I've ever caught. We didn't have a "de-liar" with us but I think it was five pounds or better!

I really looked rough in these photos so I cropped my head out, but you can still see my fancy rubber boots!