2 years old!!!

My goodness, where did the time go! A birthday trip to the zoo with mom, dad, grandma and some of their friends with little ones! Nana and grandad didn't go. We didn't think the new knee and hip were up to all the walking.  

We went to their house for the birthday dinner-Walkers favourite food-baked ham and scalloped potatoes, and cake. Of course, we can't forget all the presents as well! Fun time was had by all!

Books 24-28

 One Left Alive by Helen Phifer

When the body of a woman is found hanging from a tree in her front garden, rookie Detective Morgan Brookes is first on the scene. But Olivia Potter is past saving. And when her husband and daughters cannot be traced, Morgan knows there is more to this tragedy. And then she finds them. Lying huddled together in the dark basement, each of their faces covered with a small cotton cloth, their bodies cold to the touch.
But as Morgan kneels beside the family, she realises that one of the girls is still breathing. As she holds Bronte’s fragile hand in hers, begging her to hold on, she vows to find out who has done this.
Every day Morgan wakes at 4:25 AM, her old insomnia now mixed with a new fixation on the case. But every clue about the murdered family leads to a dead end. Until, trawling through old files, she discovers a link to a cold case from years ago. Another family was murdered in this house, and the killer was never caught.
When Morgan returns to the scene of the crime to discover more about this forgotten case, she finds another body.
With Bronte still unconscious in hospital, Morgan must act fast to solve this case and lay two families to rest, before the killer returns for the girl left alive…

I enjoyed this book, it kept me wanting to read to find out 'who did it'.  I had an inkling but it was still rather shocking at the end.

Long Dark Night by Susan Lund

Two teenage boys went missing from a park in King County a decade ago. While one of the boys was found days later, his body discarded in a ravine in the forest on Tiger Mountain, the other boy was never found.
Until now.
After a property developer’s front end loader unearths the skeletal remains of several teenage boys from around Washington State, the missing boy’s remains are identified. As a result, King County Cold Case Investigator Michael Carter looks into the cases. He suspects they are linked to several current disappearances of teenage boys who were either living on friend’s sofas or on the streets. Believing he has another serial killer on his hands, Carter works with the FBI’s CARD Team to try to locate the missing boy.
When Carter gets too close for comfort, he becomes the target of the serial killer’s rage, leading to a showdown between the two adversaries on one long dark night…

This was an interesting book about a sick, sick serial killer.  It became quite exciting and stressful towards the end.

When Birds Fall Silent by Shana Frost

Blaine Macgregor vanished on a summer’s night fifteen years ago. Now, DI Callan Cameron is investigating his case one last time. But for Callan it means unearthing a bygone summer he’d rather forget.

Amateur sleuth Aileen Mackinnon overhears a guest’s puzzling conversation and can’t stop asking questions. Is she being duped again? With Callan refusing to open up about his case, Aileen needs a distraction. What better than a case of her own?
As Aileen and Callan balance on a thin rope of backstabbing and trust, one question haunts them: Is Blaine still alive?           This had me guessing who the bad guy was.  I found some of it quite silly and unrealistic but the mystery kept me reading.

All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny

On their first night in Paris, the Gamaches gather as a family for a bistro dinner with Armand's godfather, the billionaire Stephen Horowitz. Walking home together after the meal, they watch in horror as Stephen is knocked down and critically injured in what Gamache knows is no accident, but a deliberate attempt on the elderly man's life.
When a strange key is found in Stephen's possession it sends Armand, his wife Reine-Marie, and his former second-in-command at the Sûreté, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, from the top of the Tour d'Eiffel, to the bowels of the Paris Archives, from luxury hotels to odd, coded, works of art.
It sends them deep into the secrets Armand's godfather has kept for decades.
A gruesome discovery in Stephen's Paris apartment makes it clear the secrets are more rancid, the danger far greater and more imminent, than they realized.
Soon the whole family is caught up in a web of lies and deceit. In order to find the truth, Gamache will have to decide whether he can trust his friends, his colleagues, his instincts, his own past. His own family.
For even the City of Light casts long shadows. And in that darkness devils hide.

Lots of corruption, corporate espionage, fraud, murder, betrayal, doctored evidence, dirty politics, and the inappropriate, and deadly use of a chemical. I found the story confusing at times because there were so many characters it was hard to keep them all straight.

Coming Out by Danielle Steel                                  

               

 

Olympia Crawford Rubinstein has a busy legal career, a solid marriage, and a way of managing her thriving family with grace, humor, and boundless energy. With twin daughters finishing high school, a son at Dartmouth, and a kindergartner from her second marriage, there seems to be no challenge to which Olympia cannot rise. Until one sunny day in May, when she opens an invitation for her daughters to attend the most exclusive coming-out ball in New York–-and chaos erupts all around her. One twin’s excitement is balanced by the other’s outrage; her previous husband’s profound snobbism is in sharp contrast to her current husband’s flat refusal to attend.
For Olympia’s husband, Harry, whose parents survived the Holocaust, the idea of a blue-blood debutante ball is abhorrent. Her daughter Veronica, a natural-born rebel, agrees–-while Veronica’s identical twin, Virginia, is already shopping for the perfect dress. Then there’s Olympia’s ex, an insufferable snob, who sees the ball as the perfect opportunity for a family feud. And amid all the hubbub, Olympia’s college-age son, Charlie, is facing a turning point in his life–-and may need his mother more than ever. But despite it all, Olympia is determined to steer her family through the event until, just days before the cotillion, things begin to unravel with alarming speed.
From a son’s crisis to a daughter’s heartbreak, from a case of the chicken pox to a political debate raging in her household, Olympia is on the verge of surrender. And that is when, in a series of startling choices and changes of heart, family, friends, and even a blue-haired teenager all find a way to turn a night of calamity into an evening of magic. As old wounds are healed, barriers are shattered and new traditions are born, and a debutante ball becomes a catalyst for change, revelation, acceptance, and love.      I guess the above says it all.  I did find this book about on a par with a  Harlequin romance!  

That would be the end of all the books read in June. 

WATER!!!

Finally, after 26 days the indoor  water restrictions have been lifted!! That means indoor swimming pools will be refilled, hockey arenas flooded and carwashes can resume. We have been told that we can go back to normal at home but have been asked to practice restraint.  If you have 4 loads of laundry to do please try to spread it over 4 days rather than all at once as the water is still only running at 50% capacity. So I ran the dishwasher Monday night, did a load of laundry yesterday and one today. We still haven't been told when outdoor restrictions will be lifted so still no watering of gardens by hosepipe, just by rain barrels and the miraid of containers that people have been using to collect rain water, which we have had a lot of recently.  Temperatures are supposed to be in the 30s this coming week so hopefully the restrictions will be lifted soon. Also the Calgary Stampede starts tomorrow.  It is a 10 day event and over 1.4million people usually attend, many from around the world.  If you've never been it is quite a spectacular event. It also brings a LOT of money into the city over the 10 days.  The push was really on to have the water issue solved by the time Stampede starts! I'm just glad to be able to have a longer shower, flush the toilet everytime and do laundry!  Simple pleasures!!!

DH had his checkup with the surgeon.  Everything is fine, see you at 6 months! The location of the clinic is right downtown. A place we never ever go, except to the Hip and Knee clinic which is where we both had to go.  I'm sure there is more construction going on downtown than in 6 cities put together.  Because we never go down there nothing is familiar anymore and it is like gridlock due to the amount of traffic and construction.  We have been very lucky as for myself and DH our youngest son always taken us down there for our appointments and brought us home.  As well as his regular job he sometimes worked as an Uber driver so he knows all the short cuts and would get us there in no time.  This appointment he had to go out of town for work and couldn't take us.  DH was so stressed about this but we did manage to get GD Kelsey to drive us down and her husband picked us up to bring us home, phew! I think the older we get the more stressful stuff like this becomes. It's also a little annoying when you go through all this to spend 2 minutes with the surgeon, who probably asked 2 questions and the same with the physio.  We were in and out in about 10 minutes. At least everything is fine.

New Hip

 DH had his hip replacement 6 weeks ago on Thursday.  I am amazed at his recovery.  I can only compare it to my knee replacement and it is like night and day. He went down the basement stairs on the third day post op, it took me months before I could do that. He used a 2 wheel walker for 3 days and then transitioned to his cane. He use that for about 2 weeks and now he just carries it. If we go to a grocery store he will use a scooter if they have one, if not he will hang onto the grocery cart.  He also likes to walk a lap of the mall everyday as well.  I have finally convinced him that walking the grocery store and the mall in the same day is too much as he does pay for it over night. It's one or the other, at the moment. He only took Tylenol3 for 3 days and then stopped because of the consequences of the codiene.  Now he just takes Tylenol Arthritis. He's virtually pain free, which he hasn't been for 2 years. He is faithfully doing the excercises, using the ice machine and elevating the leg every day and it seems to be making a difference. He's anxious to see what they say at his 6 week checkup on Wednesday.

On June 5th there was a massive water main break in our city. It directly impacted 1 neighbourhood and indirectly impacted the entire city-1,665,000 people. The one neighbourhood had to boil water and get their water from water wagons. The rest of the city was told to limit water use drastically as we could run out of water.  This is a major water line that is 11Km long.  The pipe is 2 meters high and across. By day 5 the leak has been located and that section of pipe is removed.  By day 10 robots have been sent down the pipe and they have found 5 more leaks. So now there is a massive search across N. America to try to locate the parts to do the repairs. We have some here but not everything for something of this magnitude. So on day 11 the city is put on a State of Emergency and we are told that this will take 3-5 weeks to repair!!!!  Of course, everyone is hoping it will take a lot less time. May 25th long weekend, Victoria Day, is the traditional planting date here when the chance of frost has hopefully past.  Most people have bought all their bedding out plants and planted all their flowers and vegetables. Now we are not allowed to water anything outside.  Fortunately we got a lot of rain on the 11th day and everyone put out every container they owned to collect the rainwater.  So today we are 13 days into this, the original break has been repaired and they are starting on the other breaks. I don't think people realize how much water you actually use until you're told to conserve, conserve, conserve. Hopefully this will be resolved sooner than we've been told.  We can only hope!!

Books 16-23

 Throwaway Jane by Scott William Carter

Former FBI agent Karen Pantelli lives by a simple philosophy: never, ever care. Three years after a tragic mistake ends her once-stellar career, she drifts from one dead-end job to another, quickly moving on when she finds herself getting too attached. A new city. A new life. A new way of forgetting and being forgotten.
Until one chilly night behind a seedy bar, when a frightened girl leaps out of the back of a speeding van.
As they end up on the run in a thrilling chase that spans half the country, Karen soon realizes it's much easier to say you don't care than to actually mean it. And that unlocking the secrets in this girl's extraordinary mind might not only save both of them, but bring down one of the most sinister organizations the world has ever known.

I did enjoy this book.  It was very fast paced and therefore a quick read.  I think the main character was made to be a bit over the top with her super duper marshal arts skills.

Partners by Nora Roberts

Long before he met her, Matthew Bates loved Laurel Armand. Working with her brought both pleasure and pain, because the sexy Southern belle kept him at a professional distance. Then the rival reporters were thrown together on a case of murder and madness—where much more than love was at stake.

This book had the typical ending but it wasn't too bad getting there.

The Art of Deception by Nora Roberts

Adam Haines was an artist visiting the Fairchild mansion to do some undercover digging, and that was a problem for a man who preferred to be straightforward. An even bigger problem was Kirby Fairchild, daughter of the world-famous painter he'd been sent to investigate. She was part child, part elf, and the most fascinating woman he'd ever encountered. However, Kirby had a disconcertingly fluid sense of right and wrong -- one completely at odds with Adam's own code of ethics. Adam wished he wasn't wrapped quite so tightly around her little finger . . .

This book was so ridiculous I don't even know why I finished it.  Not a book I would recommend

I have a bunch of Nora Roberts books that I gave to the annual charity book sale that I donate to every year without reading them  The ones I kept to read I am trying to get through and then I doubt I will buy another one of her books.  It's funny because I really like the books she writes as J.D.Robb.

Something Blue by Emma Jameson

Lord & Lady Hetheridge, Book Three

Anthony Hetheridge, ninth baron of Wellegrave and chief superintendent for New Scotland Yard, will marry Kate Wakefield in three weeks. It’s inevitable–-the invitations are out, the flowers are ordered, the cake is chosen. But murder waits for no man, and no wedding.
In London’s prestigious West End, a disgraced CEO has been murdered at Hotel Nonpareil, an exclusive destination. No one, it seems, liked Michael Martin Hughes. Not his estranged wife, Thora, or his defiant son, Griffin. Not Hotel Nonpareil’s manager, its head of security, or perhaps even the other two women in Hughes’s life: his future bride, Arianna, or his other girlfriend, Riley. Still more ominously, before Hughes died, he incurred the wrath of a potentially more unforgiving foe: Sir Duncan Godington, longtime nemesis of both CS Hetheridge and DS Deepal “Paul” Bhar.
For the first time, CS Hetheridge, Kate and Bhar find themselves under tremendous pressure to uncover the killer in the shortest time frame ever. Has Scotland Yard, not to mention Downing Street, lost confidence in Hetheridge? Will the murder conviction rest on hard forensic evidence, a mountain of circumstantial details, or an impulsive theft?

I've really enjoyed these books.  There is a continuing story from book to book but there is also a different crime to solve in each book.  I really liked the ending of this book.

The Cottage by the Loch by Kennedy Kerr

The cottage stood alone on a rocky outcropping at the edge of the loch.  Standing in the garden amongst the wildflowers, shw felt the weight of the tattered envelope in her hands.  Maybe there was somehing keeping her here in Scotland, a secret waiting to be uncovered...

New Yorker Zelda Hicks has jusr lost her mother, and the only thing she knows about her father is that he was from Scotland. So a work trip tp the Scottish village of Loch Cameron couldn't

be better timed. Maybe a break in the beautiful rolling hills of heather will help her reconnect with her roots and recover from her grief.

Then, on a walk around the loch one bright morning, she comes across a tiny, tumbledown cottage, nestled on the edge of the forest.  The elderly owner, Gretchen Ross, invites her in  for buttery shortbread, and after learning that Gretchen might lose the cottage that has been in her family forever, Zelda vows to help her.  She didn't bargain on butting heads with the handsome, blue-eyed laird Hal Cameron in the process.  Zelda can't seem to forget Hal's shy smile and she soon learns they might have more in common than she first thought.

But when Zelda discovers a bundle of old letters hidden in the back of an antique wardrobe at the cottage, they lead her back to the mysterious Hal.  Pushing Zelda to examine her own family history, the letters reveal a secret that the community has kept hidden for over a generation.  Hal says he wants to help Zelda, but just as she begins to open up, she learns he isn't being entirely honest either...Can Zelda trust him, and finally come to terms with her own past, or will uncovering this secret force her to leave Loch Cameron for good?

This was a cute story.  Typical light reading and ready for a book 2.

An English Garden Murder by Katie Gayle

Julia Bird's picturesque Cotswolds cottage has everything she could want. Rustic charm, cosy fireplaces and, it turns out, a dead body in the garden...

Recently divorced and reluctantly retired, Julia Bird has fled London to enjoy idyllic rural life in the Cotswolds. Determined to have the perfect English garden, her first job is to tear down the old shed, where she unearths much more than she'd bargained for...A body, apparently buried for decades. But who could it be, and who killed them? The police draw a blank, and even the gossip-fest that is the local bookclub can't remember anyone going missing in the village.

Unable to get on with her garden until the mystery is resolved Julia decides to conduct her own clandestine investigations. So, together with her wayward chocolate Labrador puppy Jake, Julia begins a whirlwind tour of the local residents.  And everyone, it seems, has something to hide in this village. As she gets closer to the truth, Julia uncovers something even more shocking...Another body, this time of someone she actually knows.

Determined to unmask the killer and find out what connects the two dead bodies, Julia-newly nicknamed the Grim Reaper-ups the stakes and hones in on the most likely suspect. But if she hasn't deduced correctly, then there is someone else in the village who has killed twice already. Will they be prepared to make it third time lucky to keep their secret safe? 

This was interesting and did keep me guessing almost to the end.

Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy

Clara Casey has more than enough on her plate. Her daughters Adi and Linda were no problem during the usually turbulent teens. Now Adi is always fighting for or against something: the environment or the whale or battery farming; while Linda lurches from one unsatisfactory relationship to the next. As if this wasn't enough, Clara, a senior cardiac specialist, has a new job to cope with - and now her ex-husband wants something from her...

For Ania, meeting Clara is a miracle. She never intended to leave to leave Poland - but perhaps a new job in a new country will mend her broken heart?  Declan is looking forward to joining the clinic - but what should have been a straightforward six-month posting brings him far more than he expected.

Then there's Father Brian Flynn, whose life is turned upside down when his reputation is threatened; and the beautiful, cheerful nurse, Fiona, who can't leave her troubled past behind...

I think this was one of Maeve Binchy's better books. It was like a bunch of short stories that end up all connected. I had a little confusion about some of the characters because, for the most part, I have read a lot of her books out of order.

 

Books 12-15

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley 

Jess needs a fresh start. She’s broke and alone, and she’s just left her job under less than ideal circumstances. Her half-brother Ben didn’t sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn’t say no, and surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up – to find a very nice apartment, could Ben really have afforded this? – he’s not there.
The longer Ben stays missing, the more Jess starts to dig into her brother’s situation, and the more questions she has. Ben’s neighbors are an eclectic bunch, and not particularly friendly. Jess may have come to Paris to escape her past, but it’s starting to look like it’s Ben’s future that’s in question.
The socialite – The nice guy – The alcoholic – The girl on the verge – The concierge
Everyone’s a neighbor. Everyone’s a suspect. And everyone knows something they’re not telling.

This is about Ben and his step-sister Jess getting involved with a 'family' of disfunctional people that are hiding many secrets. After arranging with Ben to come and stay with him he's nowhere to be found when she arrives. As Jess digs deeper to find him she realizes she needs to be afraid. Something is not right here and now she may be next on the chopping block. Interesting but pretty weird!

The Lost Girls of Ireland by Susanne O'Leary

A story about family secrets and one woman’s escape to dreamy Sandy Cove on the stunning west coast of Ireland.
The picturesque beach of Wild Rose Bay is the last place Lydia Butler thought she’d be. But having just lost everything, the run-down cottage she inherited from her Great Aunt Nellie is the only place she can take her daughter, Sunny. Hidden away in a tiny Irish village, she can protect Sunny from the gossip in Dublin, and the real reason they have nowhere else to live…
The cottage is part of the old coastguard station and other eccentric residents are quick to introduce themselves when Lydia arrives. Lydia instantly feels less alone, fascinated by the stories they have about Nellie, and she’s charmed by American artist, Jason O’Callaghan, the mysterious man who lives next door.
But the longer Lydia relaxes under the moonlit sky, the more the secret she’s keeping from Sunny threatens to come out. And as she finds herself running into Jason’s arms, she knows she must be honest and face up to the past she has tried to forget. Has she finally found people who will truly accept her, or will the truth force her to leave the cottage for good?

Interesting story.  Light summer type read where everything falls nicely into place.  

Ice Blue by Emma Jameson

Lord & Lady Hetheridge, Book One

Anthony Hetheridge, ninth Baron of Wellegrave, Chief Superintendent for New Scotland Yard, never married, no children, no pets, no hobbies, and not even an interesting vice, will turn sixty in three weeks. With the exception of his chosen career, too sordid for his blue-blooded family to condone, his life has been safe and predictable. But then he meets Detective Sergeant Kate Wakefield — beautiful, willful, and nearly half his age. When Hetheridge saves the outspoken, impetuous young detective from getting the sack, siding with her against Scotland Yard's powerful male hierarchy, his cold, elegantly balanced world spins out of control. Summoned to London's fashionable Belgravia to investigate the brutal murder of a financier, Hetheridge must catch the killer while coping with his growing attraction to Kate, the reappearance of an old flame, and the secret that emerges from his own past.

This is the first book in the Lord and Lady Hetheridge series.  I quite enjoyed this book with some interesting characters.  I look forward to reading the second book.

Blue Murder by Emma Jameson

Lord & Lady Hetheridge, Book Two

Two Dead Men
In London’s fashionable Chelsea, a Halloween bash goes terribly wrong. Emmeline Wardle, daughter of a frozen foods baron, throws a party which results in the demise of two university schoolmates. Handsome golden boy Trevor Parsons is dead. So is pasty computer nerd Clive French. Both died on the Wardle estate within minutes of one another, and both died the same way – an axe to the skull. Given the social connections of all involved, New Scotland Yard sends a real baron to investigate: Chief Superintendent Anthony Hetheridge, also known as Lord Hetheridge, ninth baron of Wellegrave.
Two Prime Suspects
This time around, Detective Sergeant Kate Wakefield and her partner, Detective Sergeant Deepal “Paul” Bhar, have their work cut out. Bhar must contend with Emmeline Wardle, a spoiled blonde with a penchant for the finer things, including a certain illegal white powder. Kate must decide if Kyla Sloane, model-pretty and delicate, is being truthful about the events of that fateful night. And if Kyla’s connection to a former lover of Bhar’s means nothing – or everything.

This book kept me guessing right to the end.  Good read.

That's it for books for April.

May came in like a LION!!!

Monday was a beautiful day.  Neighbours were out doing yard work, mowing lawns . I noticed that I had one little crocus in my flower bed and probably about 100 tulips all in bud. Nice end to April.

Er, no!  

Woke up yesterday morning and this is what we saw!! Five inches of wet, heavy snow. Fortunately for us the neighbours had already shovelled the walks for us.  The temperature was high enough that the snow on the roads soon turned to sloppy soup and dried up.  But not before there had been many accidents around the city. All the lawns are white and will be for a while. We are expecting the same amount of snow again today.  It's times like this we are so glad we are retired and don't have to go out if we don't want/have to. 

Garry's surgery has been delayed.  It's now May 9th.  Fortunately only one weeks delay.  We were told we are very lucky it is only a week as some were delayed for over a month!  No reason given.