Caniculares Dies

Caniculares Dies!

No, this is not really a disease, although it does seem to be a state of mind. Dog Days of Summer!
The Romans believed this was an evil time "when seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics and phrensies"
Here in Las Vegas, it means heat, heat and more heat. It's hot when I go out before the sunrise to water my plants, it's hot at 10am, noon, 3pm and into the night. Everyone seems to go into a funk and the predominant thought is to just survive until mid-September when the heat breaks.

Even the internet dating scene is affected by the dog days, in fact, I seem to be getting more mutts as matches. "Hunka, Hunka Burning Love" ( see "Buffet of Men" ) has been back flirting with me twice. "ButtLover" changed the name on his profile but is still sending messages although I have told him "Thanks, but no Thanks!" The amount of profiles with no photos has increased. One of the sites keeps sending me matches with 40 - 50 years old guys. In general, I am looking at the same profiles over and over. I am going to change my profile to state that I will not respond to any profile without a photo.

Sometime next week, I will make some changes to my profile on this blog. I finally did something I have been saying I wouldn't do again. I am no longer your favorite little ole silver haired lady. I am now your favorite ( I hope) little ole strawberry blond lady. As many of you know, I have been out of work for over a year. Interviewers look at me and began commenting on how qualified I am for the position they offer; how very qualified I am and then, how over qualified I am for their job. I really believe the comments are less about my qualifications as they are about my age. So I elected to make a change, maybe influenced by the fevers of the Dog Days.

I spent about 15 years as a redhead; right up to the morning when my head was shaved and my skull was drilled and crosscut. The crosscut appears to have healed but the drill holes will never close. My doctor, at the time, suggested that it might be best not to color my hair again to avoid any chemical contamination of my brain. That was then, this is now. I don't feel there is potential for the chemicals to penetrate the soft cover of my skull. Here I am, red again! Red hair may not be my natural color but it is my natural disposition!

Funny things have been happening this last week. I was in Sam's Club yesterday and had a couple of bottles of White Zin in my basket along with a box of fresh peaches and some strawberries. A fellow came up and offered to help me drink the wine! A little later, another guy approached and asked about the wine, then told me how he was entering chef's school in the fall. Hummmm, didn't happen with my silver hair. We will see what happens when new photos go up next week on the dating sites.

My days are spent looking for a job before my benefits run out but my nights are filled with summer reading. Many of my favorite authors have new books out. If I can't snuggle up with a great guy, I'll curl up with a good book. Yes, I would prefer the right guy but you go with what you have. Having started reading at age four, I have always been a reader. I devour from three to seven books a week. If you are also a reader, here are a few summer suggestions:

Right up at the top of my list is Daniel Silva's new political/spy thriller: "The Defector". Silva writes a series not so loosely based on the Mossad. His hero is Gabriel Allon, noted art restorer in public, Israeli assassin and spy in his secret life. To fully appreciate this author, you need to begin at the beginning of this series. In order the Allon books are: (1) "The Kill Artist". (2) "The English Assassin", (3) "The Confessor", (4) "A Death in Vienna", (5) "Prince of Fire", (6) "The Messenger", (7) The Secret Servant", (8) "Moscow Rules" and (9) "The Defector". Silva is a former CNN reporter and very informed regarding European and middle East politics which form the background for these novels. The latest two novels deal with the breakup of the Soviet Union complete with arms sales to the middle East and Africa. Silva is so spot on that situations he writes about as background, sometimes appear in the European press as current news.

I will read any novel by Jeffrey Deaver but the Lincoln Rhyme books are my favorites. If you saw the movie "The Bone Collector" erase it out of your mind. In my humble opinion, it sucked big time! The book is great and is the first of the Rhyme series. This series is best read in sequence so you can follow the development of the characters. But you can't go wrong with whatever Deaver book you read. He is a master plotter with more twists and turns than Lombard Street in San Francisco. "Roadside Crosses" is the new summer book. Don't miss it!

I don't know why it took me so long to read Harlan Coben but once I did, I had to go out and find all his books. Coben writes series and stand alone novels. His primary character is Myron Bolitar, a nice Jewish boy from New Jersey. Myron had a real shot at being a shinning star in the NBA until he was nearly crippled in an early game. He picked himself up, went to law school and became a sports agent in New York. Along with his unusual sidekicks, best friend "Win"aka Windsor Horne Lockwood III, a certified trustfund sociopath , partner Esperanza Diaz, aka "Little Pocahontas" a former professional wrestler and, of course, Big Cyndi the only six foot five, three hundred pounds receptionist in the world. Poor Myron, all he wants out of life is to find a beautiful woman who wants a family and children and would love to live the suburban life in New Jersey. Alas, in "Long Lost" his dream again fails to come true. Read Coben, his novels come at you like a freight train.

No summer would be complete without an offering from Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. These guys write separately as well as together. I really prefer them together, especially the Agent Pendergast series. Special Agent A. X. L. Pendergast has to be one of the strangest characters in fiction today. He first appears in "Relic" and the series continues with this summer's release of "Cemetery Dance". I don't know how to describe these books: Sci Fi, fantasy, thrillers and fun? Just go to the Preston/Child website for the sequence, then climb into bed, turn the lights up and don't look under the bed! Enjoy!

I have been reading Stephanie Plum novels for some 15 years. When Plum fans get together, they compare their favorite funny scenes. Remember when Stephanie and Lulu were moving the body wrapped in a rug on the top of Stephanie's car and the rug slid off the car and landed in the freeway median? Remember when Lulu threw her hot pink thong at an Elvis impersonator in Vegas? Remember Lulu in her "super model" outfit spilling her bucket of quarters in the Atlantic City casino? My favorite: remember when the bad guys dognapped Bob after he had eaten the box of prunes? I am laughing as I type! I simply love this series but I do wish the story line would move on. My suggestion to Janet Evanovich is for Stephanie to finally marry Joe and immediately become pregnant with twins. Lulu would take over her bounty hunter job and need help from a very pregnant Stephanie. Joe is loaned out to the Feds for a critical undercover job so he asks Ranger to keep an eye on Stephanie. Of course, Ranger has to rescue Steph and Lulu with Joe appearing in the nick of time. The twins are boys and Ranger becomes their Godfather.
If you have never read one of these novels, "One for the Money" is the first. START NOW! But try to keep it down and don't wake your partner.

Just a quick mention of two more favorites; try the Meg Langslow series, beginning with "Murder with Peacocks". Meg is a charming and solid character with the wildest family in fiction today. You will find the sequence for this series at the author's website: Donna Andrews.com.
My favorite to date is "We will always have Parrots!"

A small, three book series to date, that I enjoy, is the Annie Szabo series. A young and maybe foolish Annie married her gypsy husband til death do them part. When he dies in a tragic accident, leaving her expecting their third child, she does her best to divorce his gypsy family. Mother in Law, Mina is a tarot and mind reading Diva who doesn't believe in divorce. In the first book Annie and Mina are reunited but not happy while they solve the problems of family members. Meredith Blevins offers a look into the world of the modern gypsy with love and humor.

So hunker down, summer has maybe a month more to go. While I wait, I'll let you know if strawberry blonds have more fun! Check back about the middle of next week to view the "new" Granny.

Light & Love,

Granny B