August Musings

The first day of school is finally here. For the past couple of months the sounds of little ones on the playground have been silent. Each year, at the beginning of the school year, I’ve forgotten what they sound like. The first day comes with the sounds of children playing, chirping, yelling, whooping, all happy sounds, then the chimes for school to start, and not long after, playground recess starts. In the afternoon there’s physical education and to wrap it up in a bow, there’s after school care when the coach’s voice can be heard over the sounds of youngsters learning how to play a sports game. There’s a lot going on at the playground. How lucky the youngsters are, and how full of life the sounds are.

I don’t know how I’ve missed Deborah Crombie novels. I’m reading A Bitter Feast right now. It’s the 18th in her Gemma Jones mysteries, but the series starts with A Share in Death. I want to read the whole series, but time gets in the way. I’ll have to chip away at it. Take note: Acorn has a fun, cozy, series with two unlikely partners in Australia. Darby and Joan has its 3rd episode starting tonight. I love it.

Our August novel is Murder in the Manor, a Lacey Doyle mystery by Fiona Grace. Again, this is number one in a series of nine books so far. The ninth is A Catastrophe in a Cloister. These are easy reads and satisfying. Lacey is a bit older than many of our heroines, kind of gutsy in that she gives up a very well-paying career to jump into an entirely new enterprise and establish herself in a new country. I’m jealous. I think about where I’d go, but ties are here.

My attempt at rereading all the Agatha Christie novels and short stories is moving along. I’m rereading the cozy mystery Sad Cypress. I’m only halfway through the book; however, the Poirot version on television seems to be very close to the book, I’m glad to say. Next on my list is The Thirteen Problems which are short stories. Read, read, read – such pleasure!