In the winter, Jace and I would see at least a dozen ducks each day--many on the pond closest to us.
We've seen much fewer ducks recently and only a few females. In the last few days, we've seen some mamas with babies. One with one baby, another with four, and a third with six or seven. It's adorable watching them try to keep close to their mothers.
It makes me happy every time to I see them. Are baby bunnies next?
We have two Little Free Libraries on our street, and I picked up this book there. I had read Coma years ago and liked it. This was quite a change from my last book.
Egyptologist Erica Baron, a specialist in New Kingdom hieroglyphics, is on a long awaited dream trip to Egypt. On her first day in Cairo, she is shown a priceless statue of Pharaoh Seti I and then witnesses the murder of the shopkeeper who showed her the statue. Erica finds herself caught between black marketers, a director of antiquities, and a charming Frenchman who wants to stop the export of Egyptian treasures.
Unfortunately, Erica is a Mary Sue. All the men she meets lust after her, they're particularly fascinated by her legs. But, she's just not that interesting. It was only when she is locked in a tomb that I became more interested, but I wasn't interested enough to not fall asleep. Twice.
Overall, this book was disappointing.
This book was fascinating. The author Philippa Langley was the historian who led the Looking for Richard Project and discovered the grave of Richard III. That discovery upended accepted historical dogma as myths.
In this book, Langley turns her attention to what traditionalists consider Richard's most horrific crime--the disappearance and presumed murder of the Princes in the Tower (King Edward V and Richard Duke of York.) The Missing Princes Project treats it as a cold case missing persons investigation.
Looking beyond English sources (under the control of Richard's successor Henry VII) in the Netherlands, Ireland, and elsewhere, the Project uncovered evidence that both Edward and Richard survived their time in the Tower and attempted to regain the throne from the Tudors.
Langley and her team aren't done. Phase Two of The Missing Princes Project will continue its original research and search of international and private archives. I can't wait to read what it finds.
All good holidays to celebrate.
Ten years ago we picked up Lola from DAWS. It's hard to believe it's been that long. She was a good girl, and I'm happy we got to live with her, take care of her, and love her.
How appropriate was it to adopt a beagle on National Beagle Day? I doubt we knew that at the time. It was just just serendipity or synchronicity or something.
As for Earth Day, I'm discouraged; surprised Trump didn't issue an executive order banning it. There has been so much damage to environmental initiatives and programs. It makes me sad. We have really fucked up.
Yes, we have an actual dining instead of a storage room. Our neighbor Diane is moving tomorrow, and we bought her dining room set and coffee table. For the past four days, I've been unpacking, cleaning, and moving things around. It was worth it. The dining and living rooms look nice.
I also moved two small bookcases. We're using one (with a scratched top) as a temporary "entertainment center." I placed the other on the other side of the room and put out some books. I managed to recycle four storage boxes.
I'm happy with how things are shaping up.
Last Friday morning, I was excited to see a bald eagle. It was soaring too high for me to even attempt a photo. I immediately grabbed my phone to verify that they're native to this area. Of course, it reminded me of Glory from NCNC. On our afternoon walk, I saw a crane on the pond closest to us. I took several pictures, but none were worth keeping.
The same day, the three of us tried a new restaurant Bowleys. Jeff and I had been there for drinks before. We sat at a table on the beach right on the water. We had sandwiches, fries, and beer. Jace was pretty good. We'll continue to explore the area restaurants. We've been to Carson's Creekside three times, Schultz's three times, and Loonasea twice. More to come.
We'll be getting our dining room set and coffee table from our downstairs neighbor in one week. Yesterday, I started moving things our of the dining room. I can always put stuff back in there later, but I want to see how the room will look as a traditional dining room. I've been looking at an end table in the living room online; it's different from what I would normally get, and it's fun. We also need an entertainment center for the sitting room. Slowly, but surely.
