(no subject)

I finished quite a few more books this last week probably because I had slowly worked several books up to be in striking distance of completion over the last month. Anyway, the following:

First was Osprey Fortress #52: The Fortifications of Gibraltar 1068 – 1945 which I found fascinating. A tiny piece of real estate in a strategic position, nearly impregnable with a long history. I'd recommend this one to anyone interested in military history.

Next was Osprey Men-At-Arms #51: Spanish Armies of the Napoleonic Wars, quite a bit older piece of work with lesser artwork and somewhat boring text. Not horrible, not really bad.

Then, The Dungeoneers: Blackfog Island, the first sequel to a book I read recently with others planned. Odd, a bit fun for those who are into RPGs. Enjoyable.

Next one I read then was Osprey Men-At-Arms #53: Rommel's Desert Army, once again an older Osprey with better text than the previous work but the plates aren't up to later standards. Good data on the Axis forces in North Africa.

Following that I finished Trail of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz, part of a series I've been slowly reading over some time. The books are written from the point-of-view of Isabel Spellman, a private investigator who works in the family business, and much of the book deals with her investigating almost everything except for the case in front of her. I've really enjoyed these books but there's only one more left in the canon so I think I'm likely to get to it in the next three months or so and finish it off. I find them a fun read.

Finally there was Osprey New Vanguard #26: German Light Panzers 1932 – 42 a book about the tanks that were a major part of the original Blitzkrieg, running into Poland and France. Solid work.

(no subject)

What have we been up to in the last week or so?

Sunday last we spent much of the day visiting my mother in her new digs. It's clear that she's settled in comfortably and she's getting used to the cycle of life in the building. She admits that she still drives back into her old neighborhood because she knows where everything is back there which I guess should be fine. She was glad we stopped by and I was glad to see she was safe and snug.

During the week we did walk the dogs a couple of times. brushette finds it a bit difficult to keep up with the other dogs when it's chilly out, so one day I pressed for us to take them out relatively early and she seemed better.

Valentine's Day my beloved put together a spectacularly tasty meal, the highlights of which included broccoli from the backyard garden and steak with her special rub. Thinking of it brings a smile to my face.

Yesterday we were out early to meet up with the Weinsteins, and we went to the LA Convention Center to see what Los Angeles Cookie Con was it all about. It turns out that they were pretty disorganized. They didn't open the doors for nearly an hour after they were supposed to, and then when we entered, we found that the booths rarely displayed cookies, cookie production materials or similar things. For example, why in the world would anyone be interested in a booth devoted to New York Life Insurance? Or the LA Weekly? Or various equipment for back pain? Also, my beloved was looking for experts giving demonstrations of how to perform various cookie baking or cookie decorating issues, but we didn't see any such. Heck, the guest of honor was Burt Ward, of the 60s Batman TV series (and the Batmobile was over an hour late for Ward's speech). What did he have to do with cookies? There were some pretty good food samplings; specifically Cocotutti from San Francisco had amazing samples to try and packages to buy, and I did. But all-in-all it was something of a disappointment.

Following that and once we waved goodbye to our friends, we drove down to Long Beach and had dinner at a Greek place followed up by meeting the folks from Off Kilter Kilts at the Great Society Cider and Mead Bar a few blocks from the restaurant. I had some pretty delicious ciders but we called it a night somewhat early.

Walking back to our car, we ran into Xander and Bonnie, The Library Bards, decked out in their show finery! Both sides were shocked and delighted. It was really great to see them both, and I hope that their show was a real kick! I know that their first album is out soon, so keep your eyes peeled for it!

Home, to bed early, and we've got plans for today, too..