Westminster Tuesday, Feb 12 2008 

Those of you who know Auntie M personally already know that I am very fond of dogs, and so watching Westminster has the hallmark of the Oscars at our house, although for last night’s first session we did low calorie pudding instead of popcorn.

There are just so many adorable breeds, all puffed out and cleaned up, as well as a few absurd and ridiculous ones.  I mean, the Puli and those cords?  A black mop for sure.  And that sorry cut on the poodle?  I know it has a history back centuries, and those pom-poms keep the dogs joints warm and protected, yadda, yadda.  But I feel for the poor thing out there, strutting his stuff and pretending NOT to be embarrassed by such a horrendous ‘do.  You just know the poor things is thinking: “Get me outta here” but has been trained to keep his nose up and pretend he likes it.
Give me my scruffy Spinone anyday over those tricked out cuts.  A hunting dog with webbed feet and a double coat, this guy has a large nose, human olive eyes, and the silliest grin this side of the Rockies.  As I type this he’s curled up on his ottoman, sleeping off a romp with his choc. lab pal in the marsh.  He arrived home with only a white stripe showing down his back, the rest of him black with stinky marsh mud, requiring a cold shower outside before he could come in the house.  Now the fragrance of Wet Dog permeates the rooms and as he wiggles and stretches in sleep, remembering his morning romp, I have to refrain myself from going over and cuddling the big goofy guy.  Poodle Boy, eat your heart out.

Big Time in the Big Apple Wednesday, Feb 6 2008 

For those of you thundering masses wondering where Auntie M has been, I’ve been to NYC for a writers convention and quite frankly, to enjoy myself.   The loan of a friend’s apartment coupled with a cheap ticket made this possible, and the days included a meeting with The Agent Who Knows All…but that’s another story.  Whilst there, I saw two movies on the big screen (versus none, since the closest cinema to me is over an hour away and we rarely get there–yes, I know, I live in a ridiculously rural area, usually spoken of with three ‘very’s, as in “very, very, very rural”–and how we got here from NY is yet another story.

There was something to be said for seeing “Atonement” in all its period beauty stretched across the wall in startling color, the fashions, the flat-chested  but well-dressed Keira Knightley, and of course, that darkly lit but lovely sex scene in the library.  What kind of bibliophile would I be not to like a movie that has  a sex scene in a library?  Fairly faithful to the book for a change, worth seeing, I’d give it an 8 1/2 out of 10.

Then “The Savages,” with an actor I admire, Philip Seymour Hoffman, who I knew was destined for great things when I first saw him in “Dead Poets Society.”  He plays the brother of Laura Linney, also great in this sometimes amusing but mostly realistic heartfelt story of sibling coming to terms with their aging father, beautifully played by Philip Bosco.  His scene alone on the plane taking him to a nursing home should get him some kind of award for chutzpah.

I  was also gifted a ticket to “Curtains,” an old-tyme musical revolving around murder on a Broadway show set.  Plenty of singing and dancing, and the divine David Hyde-Pierce playing the detective.  So much energy in live theatre makes me want to run to my laptop and start revising a novel or writing a new one…or writing a blog!

Cotswolds Idyll Monday, Jan 28 2008 

For those of you who enjoy a mystery set in the very English Cotswolds, check out Rebecca Tope’s trio set in that golden area. Her unusual heroine has an interesting mindset and empathy with the people she meets, and of course, she has an adorable dog…what more could you ask for in entertainment?

T is for Trespass Monday, Jan 14 2008 

is Sue Grafton’s latest entry in her Kinsey Milhone series.  This one alternates between Kinsey’s first person POV and the third person POV of a nurse taking care of Kinsey’s neighbor.  This approach made for a slow beginning, but the book settled down and is packed with sly humor in Kinsey’s voice.  What will Grafton do when she hits Z–any guesses?

Aunt Dimity (no relation) strikes again! Thursday, Jan 10 2008 

For those of you who love Nancy Atherton’s series, watch soon for her newest, Aunt Dimity: Vampire Hunter. Lori and her family are back in England and the twins are starting school. Sounds cozy, right? But Atherton’s readers know better…the author will be touring in February and signing books, so check out her website aunt-dimity.com for her schedule.

New (to me) Brit series to check out Tuesday, Jan 8 2008 

My Silver Fox, not to be confused with Green Girl from Wisconsin’s own, brought me a sack of books from a sale.  The jewel in the bag was Margaret Duffy’s Murder of Crows, which conveniently happened to be the first of her series about a divorced couple who must remarry to aid Merry Ol’ England at the start of MI-5.  Now spy novels are not usually my cup of tea, but the spy bit almost stays in the background, if you discount a few murders here and there, as Duffy brings us up to speed with this unusual couple (he’s missing a limb but you’ll have to read the book to find out which one).  There were a few brief sex scenes I had to read twice to see if they were, indeed, sex scenes–they were.  I quickly ordered the rest of the series in used books with a Christmas GC from my MN family, and look forward to catching up with this unlikely but highly like-able duo.

New Year’s Reads Thursday, Jan 3 2008 

Happy 2008 to all, as I pass on my first book recommendation of the New Year.  For a different voice, filled with wry wit and cutting observations, try Field of Darkness by Cornelia Read.  Her debut novel was nominated for an Edgar, and although it must fall into the mystery-suspense category, it is filled with social commentary as she contrasts Long Island society with the upstate New York farming community.  “And never the twain shall meet” is something protagonist reporter Madeline Dare hardly seems fixed to dispel as her two worlds clash.  Maddie soon finds herself enmeshed in tracking down the twenty+ year old murder of two sisters whose rose-garlanded bodies were found in a farm field.   Watch out for the Reader’s note at the book’s end, where author Read describes the real-life events that inspired the novel, plus questions for book club discussions.  Her next, The Crazy School, follows Maddie’s next pursuit.

Hello world! Saturday, Dec 22 2007 

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