Sunday Synopsis - G is for Gumshoe by Sue Grafton

 

G is for Gumshoe by Sue Grafton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don't know why I put off so long reading Sue Grafton's Alphabet Series. I just finished G is for Gumshoe, and in this book, we find Kinsey Millhone, private investigator, moving back into her garage apartment after it was blown up in the previous book.

Kinsey is hired by a new client who wants her to locate her elderly mother Agnes who was last living at The Slabs in the middle of the Mojave desert. Kinsey locates her at a hospital near The Slabs and says her daughter wants her to move to Santa Teresa to live with her. Agnes is frightened and just a little bit crazy. The reader will find out later why she was afraid and why she originally left Santa Teresa.

Kinsey also learns that a dangerous criminal, Tyrone Patty, has put a hit out on her and a few other people who helped the Carson City police department capture him. Sure enough, there is a hit man on her tail. After she is almost killed the first time, Kinsey hires Robert Dietz (former PI on a case she had helped with) to be her bodyguard.

Kinsey is running from a hit man and trying to chase down the mystery of her client's mother's whereabouts, which makes for a pretty wild ride. The two cases overlap near the end leading to Kinsey solving the mystery and escaping the hitman. You didn't think she was going to die, did you? She's the main character!

I like Grafton's novels because you know what you're going to get. You're going to get wisecracking Kinsey, a detective mystery, straightforward plots with a little complexity, and vivid descriptions. In the end, Kinsey always gets her "man" (whether it be male or female). It's a good go-to series when you want something not too heavy yet entertaining.

And when you end up abandoning two books in a row (One Day and Murder at Teal's Pond), you need to read something dependable. The Alphabet Series fits that bill.

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Thursday Thirteen - Better with Age

 I've been spending some time on Pinterest to get birthday card ideas for several members of my family who are getting older not getting any younger, and it made me wonder... Besides people, what else gets better with age?

·       Cars – If kept in good condition, cars become classics.

·         Red Wine – Over time, tannins, sugar, and acidity create a richer flavor.

·         Music – It’s the nostalgia factor.

·         Movies – Nostalgia, again, and fewer distracting special effects meant the story had to be good.

·         Parmesan Cheese – Enzymes break down creating its unmistakable flavor (cheddar cheese, too).

·         Jeans – When you break them in, they get softer.

·         Cast iron skillets – Grandma’s skillet is seasoned to perfection; it makes food taste better.

·         Balsamic vinegar – The longer the fermentation process, the better it tastes, like wine.

·         Whiskey – Like wine and vinegar, the longer it ages, the richer its taste.

·         Steak – Enzymes break down the fibers over time making it tender.

·         Leather – It gets softer as it ages.

·         Friendships – The longer you’re friends with someone, the less you worry about how they perceive you and you can be yourself.

·         Technology – We used a rotary phone when I was growing up and had no remote control.  We only have 5 channels, too.  We didn’t have a microwave until I was in my teens, and the only video game system I had was PONG.  Technology just continues to get better and better, or at least, more convenient.

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Happy Random Tuesday

 Welcome to another Tuesday! I'll be linking up at Stacy Uncorked and Comedy Plus.  Join the fun!

We're finally having our version of winter here in my corner of Texas.  It's very dreary outside, and the temps are colder.  My cough is still hanging on, too.  Good thing I like to stay inside most of the time.  Lately I've been playing Best Fiends (that's friends without the r).  I kept hearing about it on several podcasts, and now I'm addicted!  It is so hard to stop playing! I'ts a match 3 game with cute fiends fighting off slugs.  Sounds silly, I know, but it's so fun!

I also discovered a show I had never seen! Did you know that there was a spin-off of The Golden Girls called The Golden Palace? Neither did I!  It was on in 1992-1993.  Dorothy (Bea Arthur) got married at the end of the Golden Girls, so Blanche, Rose, and Sophia (Rue McClanahan, Betty White, and Estelle Getty) sell the house and buy a hotel called The Golden Palace.  

Cheech Marin plays the chef, and Don Cheadle plays the manager.  He was so good in Hotel Rwanda. There have been some great guest stars, too, that really bring back memories such as George Burns, Eddie Albert, Tim Conway, Dick Van Patten, Harvey Korman,  Bobcat Goldthwait, and Ricardo Montalban.  Wow!  Those names really bring back some good memories! There's only 24 half hour episodes, but I've been binging, and I'm almost through.  It's a little predictable, of course, but the reminiscing is great!

Without further ado...

And last, but not least... Something that will make you say, "Awwww."

Have a great Week!

Thursday Thirteen - Cough Remedies

 

As it turns out, I don't have COVID (but my mom does, bless her heart). But I have this lingering cough.  I thought it would be fun to see what other cultures have used to remedy coughing.

1. Gogol Mogol -  This is a drink that starts with half a cup or heated milk.  Stir in a teaspoon of butter.  Add a teaspoon of honey or sugar.  Last, whisk an egg and pour it into the other mixture. Originated in Russia and the Ukraine.  Sound so gross to me!

2. Ai Ye - In Chinese culture,  the dried leaves of the Artemisia Argyi plant are burned in a bowl.

3. A Dirty Sock - This involves greasing the throat with lard or chicken fat then placing a dirty sock around the neck.  Personally, I think the sock around the neck was more a warning for people to stay away!

4. Lizard soup - You may be able to find this if you know a Chinese Health Practitioner who specializes in Chinese herbal medicine.  Or just go to your back yard to find a lizard and dry him completely out. The soup consists of dried lizards, yams, and Chinese dates.  Yuck!

5. Hot Cocoa - Hot cocoa contains theobromine. Researchers believe this ingredient acts on the Vagus nerve which can suppress coughing.

6. Sour pickled plum - The "plum" is umeboshi which in actuality is more of an apricot than a plum. It can be eaten plain or steeped in hot tea with ginger and honey.

7. Turnips - Can you believe it?  Turnips!  It is common to eat turnips in Iran.  They have multiple vitamins in them and are said to work as an expectorant.

8. Tallow Poultice - Yes, Tallow.  That's right... beef fat.  Add herbs like mustard and mint. The tallow is placed in a cloth and laid on the chest.

9. Onion - Not to eat!  Cut it up and place on a dish by your bedside.  This technique is actually used in Spain and France.

10. Marshmallow Root - Make a syrup of water, sugar, orange juice, dried marshmallow root, thyme, and ivy.

11. Slippery Elm Tea - Native Americans would take the bark of the slippery elm tree and add it to hot water to make a tea.

1

2. NOT Vicks Vaporub - A mixture of sweet almond oil, syrup of violets, candle wax, saffron, and nutmeg was placed on the stomach.

13. Snail Syrup - Treat mucus with mucus!  If you're ever in Germany, you may be able to find authentic snail syrup, and if you're lucky, it will have pineapple flavoring.

Bonus!  And this is one I have tried.  Rub Vicks Vaporub on the soles of the feet, cover with socks, and go to sleep.  Nah.  It didn't work well, but I can't say it didn't help at all.

For more fun list visit Thursday Thirteen.

Today's Random Nonsense

Linking up with Sandee and Stacy.

I had a horrible headache and was feeling lightheaded and dizzy all day last Wednesday, and I knew I had to take my mom to the doctor the next day, so I did an at-home COVID test.  Negative.  I woke up the next day with fever, body aches, headache, sore throat, cough, congestion, headache, and so on.  Side note:  my throat is fire engine red.  I don't think I've ever had a sore throat like this in my life!

Needless to say, I cancelled mom's appointment, and I went to take a "real" COVID TEST for which I still have no results!  I'm worried it's going to get lost.  I worry about whether I put my correct email. What if my test number got written down incorrectly?  I just worry!  I talked to the doc today (unrelated to my COVID test), and she said it could be either COVID or the flu.  It's way too late to start Tamiflu, but she did give me something for my wheezing and my cough.

Turns out, mom's assisted living facility has at least 4 confirmed cases of COVID right now, but luckily, the ones that have it are having mild symptoms. They are on lockdown, so they cannot use any of the common areas, and my mom just doesn't seem to understand why.  She was also given a COVID test, and of course, her results aren't back yet, either.  Why do they take so long? I'm going on my 6th day after my swab.  Based on the chart below, I think I have the flu, but I need to know for sure.

And as I sit here typing this, someone's car alarm is going off across the street.  Didn't people figure out that the purpose of those alarms is not to deter criminals but to annoy your neighbors in the middle of the night?

And speaking of neighbors... (These are true, but they didn't happen to me. borrowed them from Bored Panda.)

I Adopted The Neighborhood Stray Cat. My Neighbor's Cat Got Her Pregnant. Woke Up To This

This cracks me up!

Well, this is awkward...

"My sister and her husband who live in a small town came home to find this taped to their door..."

Remember this show?

And last, but not least...

Awwwww.

Have a great week!