I know that I have been remiss in writing… BUT >>>

Sprite (our soon-to-be-sixteen year old “puppy”) has been having a bad patch of health the last few weeks. (I am pretty sure it’s 16 she’s going on, this whole change of the century makes me have to revert to my elementary school math to calculate everyone’s age!)

Actually, Sprite has been having problems for over a month. I think I have mentioned before that her metabolism forms crystals in her bladder, which of course means a lot of trips to the veterinarian, which means special diets and care.

And, as she gets older, she becomes more and more stubborn and obstinate. (I have to admit that is happening to me, also!) It seems like I am the only one in the family who Sprite wants to spend time with >>> when she’s awake! Poor little Sprite!

Unfortunately for me, when I wake up in the middle of the night, I am no longer “allowed” to use my flashlight to read. You would think that it would be my husband not wanting the light on… Nope, the light doesn’t bother him, however, not so Sprite. Her bouts with these crystals have even cut down on the reading I can do! If she happens to open one of her eyes in the middle of the night and see that the flashlight is on, she wakes up and wants to go outside… As much as I enjoy my Cozy Mystery reading, I just don’t like the hassle of carrying her down the stairs, having to go outside and watch as she sniffs around the yard trying to find out where the squirrels have been, carrying her back upstairs, ETC.

But, as my daughter keeps saying: “She’s worth it!” She has been a loved and valued member of our family for the past sixteen years -or is it 17?!?

Very Odd!! That’s just how I would describe what happened to us on Saturday morning.

I should preface this entry by telling you about an entry I wrote a while back. I called the entry “I thought I Had Seen Everything“… and I did think that! Yes, that’s right… a squirrel came down our fireplace!

You know what they say about lightening not striking the same place twice… Well, I would have thought that could be applied to squirrels also!

At 4:00 AM-ish on Saturday morning, I heard something in our attic. (Actually, I was hoping that it was our rooftop.) As usual, I was the person who went out and inspected for the cause of the noise… while my husband continued to sleep. After checking and checking, and then finally going back to bed, we realized that the noise was a squirrel in our attic, trying desperately to get out. Luckily, he did get out!

Unfortunately for us, we discovered that one of the ways the squirrel tried to get out of the attic was by climbing up the air conditioner’s drip pipe… which he managed to break apart. And, of course, as all things usually go >>> there is no possible way to access the part of the pipe that the little squirrel tried so valiantly to climb while making his escape.

Long story – short— We are going to have to have some repairs done in the attic so that the air conditioner’s drip pan can be attached to a new mode of drip pipe.

I’m starting to rethink having a bird/squirrel bath in our back yard. And also all of the evergreen oak trees we planted when we moved in 17 years ago… Between all of the acorns and the water, our yard has become a very popular squirrel hang-out!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! I hope it’s a Cozy one…

Since our daughter isn’t coming home this year, I opted out of the traditional spending-all-day-in-the-kitchen meal. I am now feeling a little guilty about that decision, but neither my husband or son are complaining.

Three days ago (Monday) I saw my first fresh-cut Christmas tree on someone’s car, a great reminder of what a lot of people will be doing this coming weekend! (As I get older, I don’t feel the rush to get the house decorated so soon)… My gosh, I’m becoming a slacker! No turkey today, and our Christmas tree won’t be up by this Sunday at 11:59 PM.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of those who live in the States, and happy reading to all of you!

I remember when the hosts of Mystery! would give us background information about the particular show that was going to air that night. This was years ago, before Mystery! became Masterpiece Mystery. Two of the hosts that stand out in my mind are Vincent Price and Diana Rigg.
 
Vincent Price is a familiar actor to most people. He appeared in movies from the 1940s (like the classic, Laura, before my time, but that doesn’t stop me loving movies from this era…), 1950s, 1960s’ scary “B” movies (The Pit and the Pendulum, The House of Usher,  The Masque of the Red Death, etc.>>> perfect Halloween fare) all the way into the 1990s (as the inventor in the wonderful Edward Scissorhands movie). Through the Mystery! introductions by Price, we were able to get a feeling for who (the author), what (the particular work on which that night’s show was based), where and when (the location and era in which the show took place). WOW!!! He was a fantastic Mystery! host!!!

If you don’t remember his introductions, just take a look at these from YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uLJo0tKObQ&list=PL7CB11B9043F35965&index=2&playnext=2
(Price starts about 50 seconds in on the clip.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfU44UT9nHk&list=PL7CB11B9043F35965&index=3&playnext=3
(Price starts about 1 1/2 minutes in on the clip.)

Diana Rigg took over as the Mystery! host after Vincent Price. Rigg is probably best known for her roll in the original Avengers… she was perfect as Mrs. Peel.  She was absolutely fantastic as the hostess of Mystery! Rigg would introduce the particular show that was going to air that night, filling the viewer in about the author, the conditions of the times, etc. (And, although I know this isn’t at all important, her outfits were some of the most beautiful, shimmery gowns I had ever seen!) Rigg was a perfect replacement for Price.

If you aren’t one of the lucky people who can remember back when Diana Rigg was the hostess of Mystery!, check out this YouTube clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGPur1vOI3g&feature=related
(Rigg starts after first minute of the clip.)

It was very bittersweet to watch these clips of both Vincent Price and Diana Rigg as they hosted Mystery! But, I will probably end up watching them again… and again…