Let them eat asiago cheese bread

Got some fresh tomatoes from the farmers market. Decided to make bruschetta. Stopped at Panera's for a loaf of some nice chewy bread. The Asiago Cheese bread caught my eye, so I bought a loaf. Mighty good. Made a nice light meal.

Next day decided to make a simple grilled cheese sandwich with the bread. Nothing fancy, good old Elsie cheese product, between two pieces of buttered asiago bread, pan grilled. Seriously you have to try this bread.

As Rach would say, Yum-O.

Status: Unchanged, doing research.

"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" M.Corleone

Fiction: Death in a Strange Country by Donna Leon.

Every once in a while, I stumble on a mystery writer I haven't read before. Leon has been writing mysteries for twenty years. I found her just last week after a recommendation in bookmarks magazine. Death in a Strange Country is the second book in her series.

I usually like to start at the beginning of a series and watch the characters develop. Unfortunately, I couldn't find her first book. My library ladies don't like to file books on bottom shelves. The library claims to have a copy, but since Leon ended up on a bottom shelf, it could be anywhere.

Police detective Guido Brunetti solves crimes in Venice, Italy. He's an honorable man trying to mete out justice and not rock the gondola. The Italian government is corrupt. His Chief wants crimes that might scare tourists hushed up. And then there are those guys down South.

Guido can't trust anyone around him, since most have family ties to the government or the southerners. Even his own father-in-law, Count Orazio, has shadowy allegiances Guido doesn't fully understand.

Along the way we learn about the city of Venice, and the threats to her survival, both political and natural. We also pick up a smattering of Italian. A lovely language.

If I can find it, I plan to read the next book in the series. The library says they have a copy. Maybe I can get a library lady to help me look. I'll just have to make her an offer she can't refuse.

Status: 16,600 words, 63,400 to go.

Silver Lining

Today is changeover day. Change over from what to what, you might ask. Today is the day I abandoned shorts and tee shirt for long pants and sweater. It's that day every year when summer turns to fall, not because the calendar says so, but because the coolness in the air leaves little doubt. At least for me.

Hardier souls will cling to their shorts for another month or so, but throw on a heavy sweatshirt. That seems a bit odd to me. I might still squeeze in a shorts day or two before abandoning them completely until spring, but I'm only kidding myself.

The leaves on the maple tree across the street are red tipped and getting sparse. Pink roses appear garish against the orange and yellow of fall. Spiders are invading every corner of the house. I even turned the furnace on for a while today. Fall is here.

It's a good day for a little introspection. And maybe some hot chocolate with lot's of marshmallows, or better yet, a little Bailey's. There it is. There's the bright side.

Status: 16,000 words, 64,000 to go.

Rainy Days and Mondays

Rainy days make me lazy. I look forward to them. This picture would hold little interest without them. I love this picture and decided to share it. It reminded me of another old favorite that I liked.

And I'm not the only one.

Status: 15,430 words, 64,570 to go.

Way too Stephen King for me

This was intended to get us all in the mood for fall. Is it just me or does the guy on the right look downright creepy?

I'm sure there's a dead guy stuffed in that scarecrow suit. A dead guy with a pumpkin over his bloody smashed-in head. Are those fingers I see sticking out of the straw arms? And those eyes, those great gawping eyes! I have to go hide in the closet now.

Gee thanks Mount Airy for another generation of kids with scarecrow nightmares. Clowns weren't bad enough?

Status: 14,850 words, 65,150 to go.

Who's that behind the Ray Bans?

I'm fascinated with the Mars rovers. They're the twin robots that landed on Mars in January, 2004. They were built to last roughly ninety days, and travel less than a mile each before fading into history. Five years later, they're still...well...roving.

Now what I find so interesting about these little guys, is their power source. They have small batteries, but most of the power comes from solar cells. Yep, just like the solar cells people put on roofs to generate power. Granted the rovers don't go far in a day, and they move at a snails pace, but they've been going for over five years.

I can't help but question why this technology can't be adapted for cars. It probably couldn't be used everywhere, Seattle comes to mind, but some parts of the country, like the entire Southern half, gets plenty of sun. I guess it all comes down to economics. Apparently it's cheaper to beat up on people in far off countries than develop new stuff here.

For now anyway, we've still got the little pink guy.

Status: 14,237 words, or 65,763 to go.

What's that growing up the table leg?

Sitting in a popular chain restaurant having lunch. Waiter brings pitcher of ice water, and pitcher of ice tea to refill glasses. Turns pitchers sideways to refresh both ice and water. Water and ice dribble onto the floor. Ditto the tea. Floor is carpeted. Realized dark spots on carpet were not decoration.

Inspection certificate on wall read 101 out of 100. Suspect last number of rating was added by wacky bar patron.

My resolution: Never eat here again. Support Staff's resolution: Don't look down.

Where's me boots?

The publishing blogs seem fixated on the book coming out from Sarah Palin's ghost writer. As I've said before, I'm not very political. But frankly I don't know what else there is for Sarah to say. I thought she and Tina Fey covered it all pretty well during the campaign.

Maybe Sarah has included some insider tips on how to field dress a moose, you know, things too graphic for TV. Granted that would be more interesting, but as enticing as that sounds I still wouldn't buy the book.

Still she does look good in hip-waders. If she ends up in Washington, she'll need 'em.

Status: 13,660 words, 66,340 to go.

"Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" Neil Sedaka

Stopped at the local farmers market today for some fresh vegetables. It was late in the day and the vendors were closing up.

Saw some nice looking peaches and stopped to get some. They were $8 bucks for a tray of eight. A little pricey perhaps, but they were pretty nice. I asked the young guy behind the counter if I could buy four. He said he didn't have a scale and wouldn't know how much to charge me. I looked at the peaches, the price on the sign, and then at the guy. It didn't seem like hard math to me.

All the while, another guy behind him was dumping peaches from the trays into a crate so they could be loaded back on the truck.

I don't know, maybe he just couldn't bring himself to break up the set. I could sympathize. So I let him keep all eight.

Status: 13,110 words, 66,890 to go.

"Sign, sign, everywhere a sign..." Five Man Electrical Band

Aren't there times in everyone's life when they really need a little help figuring out what do do next? Just a small signal to set them on the right path.

I came across this one today on my usual daily walk. It's probably as blatant a sign as one could hope for. Unfortunately, I hadn't particularly been looking for one. Determined to make the most of this gift, I stopped to consider the possibilities.

When I stumbled on the sign, I had been thinking about chrysanthemums. Following the arrow would eventually lead to the Home Depot. Where they sell, yep you guessed it, chrysanthemums.

Well what could I do? Only the arrogantly brave or supremely foolish would ignore such a clear sign. So I spent the afternoon planting chrysanthemums. A few other things too, you know, just to cover myself.

Status: Unchanged. As I just explained, I was planting flowers.