Ah, summer fun!

I really have no good excuse for not posting - I've been alternately scraping the porch before my husband rebuilds and paints it, going to the cabin just because I can, and drinking lots of malted milkshakes. :)

Seriously. Have you had a chocolate malt? I'm on a crusade to bring them back. I like mine with extra chocolate and triple the malt. Yum!

I've done some writing in there as well. Nearly ten years ago I started a murder mystery set in the Smith Opera House. Went on a historical tour of the place recently (thanks, Chris, for a whole new set of ideas!) and got inspired to dig it out and see if something can be done with it. Wrote an entire new first chapter for it and mapped out the whodunnit part. Will be working on that for the next few months.

After I go on a ten-day cruise first.

Yep, leaving on my 38th wedding anniversary - and going without my wonderful hubby. For the first time in all those years, we're taking separate vacations this summer. It feels weird. Several people have told me its a great way to add some spark - I know I'll miss him while I'm gone and I expect half the time I'll be thinking, "Oh, I wish Steven could see this!" But I'm traveling with my daughter who works for Celebrity Cruises as a stage manager and staying in her cabin, so I won't be alone. And I am QUITE excited to see my daughter, as she's been gone since January. This is her last cruise of her current contract, so she gets to come home with me. And since the port is only five hours from where we live, I'm driving down. She's very excited that, once she gets off the ship, she doesn't have to take a plane or two before doing a five hour drive. We get off the ship, walk to the garage, and drive home. Easy-peasy!

For the record, lest any of you feel sorry for the hubby I'm leaving at home, he's going to Ireland at the end of July for a 10-day plein air event. He and another artist are going together and are renting a car. They'll stay with a host family near Wexford, Ireland and spend much of their time painting Ireland's beautiful southeastern coast. Why am I not going with him? Because 1) I won't drive in Ireland so I'd have to go wherever he paints and 2) I learned last year when we went to three plein air events in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, that watching an artist paint? Is literally watching paint dry.

And yes, I've done some reading over the past several weeks. Just a few books. Here's May's list:

A Play of Heresy	Margaret Frazer	mystery
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation	Lauren Willig	mystery
The Masque of the Black Tulip	Lauren Willig	mystery
The Deception of the Emerald Ring	Lauren Willig	mystery
The Seduction of the Crimson Rose	Lauren Willig	mystery
The Mischief of the Mistletoe	Lauren Willig	mystery

You may note that the first one was the last in the series that I read in April. The rest are all part of a wonderful series that presumes the Scarlet Pimpernel (one of my favorite books) was a real person and that there was an entire network of flower-named spies solving mysteries. There are a few more in that series, but I read them in June, so will include the titles later.

As you can tell, the good weather has put me outside more often than not, so not only have I not posted, I didn't read quite as many books in May as I have in previous months. June's numbers will be similarly low - and for the same reason.

That's all for now - stay tuned for more information on the Smith Opera House Mystery!

Oh, and when you visit the website for the Smith, you'll see an ad for Spamalot! My hubby is directing that - so if you're in the area, come see it - and me!

Play safe,

Diana