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Barbara Fritchman Thompson Diary Week of 23 August 2004 Latest Update: Sunday, 29 August 2004 13:57 |
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Monday, 23 August 2004 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
| A happy Monday to everyone. Over the weekend, both
Saturday and Sunday evening, Bob and I watched the four episodes of Foyle's
War we had taped up. The series is one of the best on Masterpiece
Theater starring Michael Kitchen as Christopher Foyle and Honeysuckle Weeks
as Samantha "Sam" Stewart his driver. Set during the early years
of WWII, Foyle solves crimes brought on my the stress and politics of war.
If you have not seen this series I highly recommend them. The first
episodes of the series aired back in 2002. Last night I sat up until 12:15 to finish the Sarah Andrews book so Bob could have it when he finished the book he was currently reading. We discovered another new author who writes mysteries about bloodhounds. I found four on the shelf at the library and brought them for Bob to try. There are six in the series. Unfortunately, the author, Virginia Lanier, died in 2003. She did not start writing the series until 1994. I plan to start the first book in the series tonight. Guess I better wrap this up. I did the 6:30 body pump class which means things are already running late and I yet to finish checking my mail. [Top] |
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Tuesday, 24 August 2004 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
| Short post tonight. When I got home from the gym at 7:30
Bob was talking on the phone to our friend Alison who lives in Jackson,
MS. She lived here in Winston up until the mid 80's sometime. We actually
her through my folks who got to know her from volunteering at the
hospital. Since Alison was from England, we started inviting her over to
our house for holidays and other events. We keep in touch via phone a
couple of times a year.
Not really much else going on. I am enjoying the bloodhound mystery. Lanier is a very good writer. Her main character, Jo Beth, is a bit of a feminist with a tendency toward being nasty at times. She breeds bloodhounds, runs kennels, and works as a rescue/searcher for the local law enforcement agencies.
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Wednesday, 25 August 2004 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
| This afternoon I had the usual bank, library, and store run
to make. Although for August the temperatures are really very mild, mid
80's with low humidity, I am in my "I do not know what I want to
eat" mode. Late morning I took my usual 20 minute walk up town
passing by several eating places along the way. I thought I might pick up
something to eat for lunch. Nothing appealed to my palate so it was a pack
of peanut butter crackers and a package of trail mix for my lunch.
I had told Bob last night I would pick him up some deli type stuff for dinner tonight from the store and get some wings at the new place beside the grocery store for me. By the time I did the shopping the wings did not sound good so I came home a fixed me a salad. After dinner I gave Bob from having to walk the dogs and instead took them down to play with Emma while I visited with Mimi. As I said, the temperatures are really pleasant for late August but with the dogs running around playing ball their tongues were soon hanging out and I was sweating from just being outdoors. I need to tend to some things on my desk and check my mail. [Top] |
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Thursday, 26 August 2004 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
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I worked straight through lunch today and went in at 7:45 so I could leave at 3:15 to head over to dad's to help him put out his weed and feed. It has to have 24 hours without rain. With the possibility of rain on Saturday evening I decided we might as well go ahead and put it out this afternoon. It has not rained a drop since I put my stuff out last Saturday. No rain in sight either. It took about an hour to do dad's yard. Weed and feed has to go down on wet grass so dad watered ahead of me doing the spreading. After we finished up Mom had dinner ready. I got home around 6:30, feed the dogs then we walked them. The weather for this time of year has been unbelievable. Temperatures during the day in the mid 80's with low humidity. Normally we are sweltering in high 90's with high humidity. I am sure somewhere down the road we will pay for this cool weather. Most likely a hot or warm fall. [Top] |
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Friday, 27 August 2004 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
| No update.
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Saturday, 28 August 2004 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
| Good afternoon. It has been a busy morning. First off, last
night, after dinner I watered in the seed and fertilizer real good mainly
just to settle it in good to the soil. We have not had a drop of rain
since I put it out a week ago.
This morning we were up at 8am. Bob started the laundry while I cleaned the bathrooms and vacuumed and dusted the house then he started working on his wireless networking chapter. After the house cleaning I ironed a shirt and some pants. After switching from jammies to shirt and shorts, I took the dogs out while I shook the rugs then gave them a walk down the street and back. After a quick lunch it was outside to mow and edge the lawn followed by the sweeping up. I brought the dogs down for a quick playtime in the back then washed the car. After a shower and fixing a cold drink it is now just approaching 2pm. As I said, it has been a very busy morning. The white and dark loads are up and waiting to be put away while the bedspread is washing. Once it dries I still have to put clean linen on the bed. While I rest, as in sitting down at my desk, I will check my mail and clean off my desk. The bloodhound mystery is wonderful. Lanier's descriptions of Jo Beth's rescue efforts put you right in the scene with her. In one of the rescue efforts Jo Beth is using one of her tracking dogs named Susie. Susie is afraid of heights. As they are setting off down the woods on the trail of a little three year old who has wandered away from her mom, Jo Beth remembers there is a bridge to cross. Jo Beth always has a second set of dogs and tracker back at base camp just in case she needs rescued or another team is needed. Her back up tracker is a young deaf, nineteen year old named Wayne, who lives with his mother Rosie in a house beside Jo Beth's on the kennel property. Rosie helps with the kennel and takes care of both Wayne and Jo Beth. Coming to the bridge she sees the water is too far down for Susie to comfortable cross the bridge. Had the water level been higher creating less of the gap between the bridge and the water, she may have crossed. Jo Beth must decided whether to back track for an hour and get her second team or leave Susie and take Bo on to look for the girl. Deciding she needed to find the little girl she tied Susie up to the rail at the bridge and she and Bo took off down the path. This is one example of Lanier's excellent story telling abilities: Jo Beth and Bo get hundred yards or so down the path when Susie starts howling and crying the most pitiful sounds Jo Beth has ever heard. She and Bo take off back to the bridge to comfort Susie as Jo Beth promises never to leave her again like that ever. Then Lanier describes the next scene where she has Susie crawling on her elbows inches at a time across the bridge with Bo encouraging her all the way. I was close to tears while I read the scene. Once Susie got all the way across the bridge she stood up, shaking and drooling. After giving her a treat and letting her wade into the river they once again take off after the little girl. Not far down the path the find her curled up asleep. As they are making their way back to base camp a horrible thunderstorm blows up. As the rain and winds are pelting down on them, Jo Beth makes a shelter out of her rescue equipment of plastic bags. Once it blows over, they make it back for a successful reuniting with the little girls mom. I still have about 100 pages left to the end of this first book. I can't wait to find out how it all turns out. I bet you are trying to figure out what part is the mystery. Jo Beth lives in a small southern town in Georgia. Everyone is corrupt from the local judge to the sheriff. Jo Beth's husband served time in jail and has just been released at the start of the book. He once almost beat Jo Beth to death just before he went up. He is now stalking her with hang ups and threats. The kennel is completely surrounded by wire fencing with alarms and gates. She knows one day her will come get her. There are some other minor plots going on that I will not tell you about in case you decided to read the book. Some of those do involve Jo Beth's personal life and her job as a tracker.
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[Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
| Not much in the way of news for today except we may get
some much needed rain. Tropical storm Gaston came on shore right around
the NC/SC border this morning. Depending on how far west it travels before
turning north will determine our rainfall amounts.
Dad and I played golf this morning then lunch back at the house. I have had my shower, read part of the paper, and put the towel load in to wash. Once I finish up here, I need to pay some bills, do the Friends newsletter, and catch up on some mail. I did finish the bloodhound mystery last night and started another one of the Jane Austen's.
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