The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV

November 2013 Mystery Book New Releases

The following Mystery Books will be released in November 2013:

David Baldacci: King and Maxwell (This will be the 6th in the Maxwell & King Mystery Series.)

Heather Blake (aka Heather Webber): A Potion to Die For (This will be the 1st in the NEW Magic Potion Mystery Series.)

Helen Bran: Silent Night (a Robert B. Parker Spenser holiday novel)

Ali Brandon (aka Diane A.S. Stuckart): Words with Fiends (This will be the 3rd in the Black Cat Bookshop Mystery Series.)

Anne Canadeo (aka Katherine Spencer): Thomas Kinkade’s Cape Light: Songs of Christmas (not a mystery)

Bailey Cates (aka Cricket McRae): Charms and Chocolate Chips (This will be the 3rd in the Magical Bakery Mystery Series.)

Chris Cavender (aka Elizabeth Bright, Melissa Glazer, Casey Mayes, Jessica Beck, & Tim Myers): The Missing Dough (This will be the 6th in the Pizza Mystery Series.)

Nancy Coco (aka Nancy J. Parra): All Fudged Up (This will be the 1st in the NEW Candy-Coated Mystery Series.)

Susan Rogers Cooper: Gone in a Flash (This will be the 11th of the E. J. Pugh Mystery Series.)

E. J. Copperman (aka Jeffrey Cohen): The Thrill of the Haunt (This will be the 5th in the Haunted Guesthouse Mystery Series.)

Patricia Cornwell: Dust (This will be the 21st in the Scarpetta Mystery Series.)

Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler: Poseidon’s Arrow (This will be the 22nd in the Dirk Pitt Mystery Series.)

Kate Ellis: The Shadow Collector (This will be the 17th in the Wesley Peterson Mystery Series.)

Janet Evanovich: Takedown Twenty (This will be the 20th in the Stephanie Plum Mystery Series.)

Mary Anna Evans: Rituals (This will be the 8th in the Faye Longchamp Mystery Series.)

Charles Finch: An Old Betrayal (This will be the 8th in the Charles Lenox Mystery Series.)

Beth Groundwater: A Basket of Trouble (This will be the 3rd in the Claire Hanover, Gift Basket Designer Mystery Series.)

Victoria Hamilton: Freezer I’ll Shoot (This will be the 3rd in the Vintage Kitchen Mystery Series.)

Betty Hechtman: For Better or Worsted (This will be the 8th in the Crochet Mystery Series.)

Kay Hooper: Hostage (This will be the 5th in the Bishop Special Crime Units Mystery Series.)

J. A. Jance: Deadly Stakes (This will be the 8th in the Alison Reynolds Mystery Series.)

Mary Lou Kirwin: Death Overdue (This will be the 2nd in the Librarian Mystery Series.)

Joyce and Jim Lavene: Perilous Pranks (This will be a Renaissance Faire Novella.)

Joyce and Jim Lavene: Murderous Matrimony (This will be the 6th in the Renaissance Faire Mystery Series.)

Ada Madison (aka Camille Minichino & Margaret Grace): The Quotient of Murder (This will be the 4th in the Sophie Knowles Mystery Series.) (This is a winter break/intersession mystery theme.)

Jenn McKinlay (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence): Read It and Weep (This will be the 4th in the Library Lover’s Mystery Series.)

Catriona McPherson: Dandy Gilver and the Bothersome Number of Corpses (This will be the 7th in the Dandy Gilver Mystery Series.) (This is the USA release.)

James Patterson: Cross My Heart (This will be the 21st in the Alex Cross Mystery Series.)

R. T. Raichev: The Riddle of Sphinx Island (This will be the 8th in the Antonia Darcy & Major Payne Country House Mystery Series.)

Ruth Rendell (aka Barbara Vine): No Man’s Nightingale (This will be the 25th in the Inspector Wexford Mystery Series.)

Diane Setterfield: Bellman & Black (This will be a Stand Alone Mystery.)

Sarah R. Shaber: Louise’s Dilemma (This will be the 3rd in the Louise Pearlie Mystery Series.)

Alexander McCall Smith: The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon (This will be the 14th in The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Mystery Series.)

Julia Spencer-Fleming: Through the Evil Days (This will be the 8th in the Clare Fergusson & Russ Van Alstyne Mystery Series.)

Aimée & David Thurlo: Ghost Medicine (This will be the 17th in the Ella Clah Mystery Series.)

Rebecca Tope: The Ambleside Alibi (This will be the 2nd in the Lake District Mystery Series.)

Elaine Viets: Fixing to Die (This will be the 9th in the Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper Mystery Series.)

Penny Warner: The Mystery of the Pirate’s Treasure (This will be the 3rd in the Code Busters Club Mystery Series for children.)

Livia J. Washburn: The Fatal Funnel Cake (This will be the 8th in the Fresh-Baked Mystery Series.)

To go back to the Cozy Mystery New Book Release page, click here.

Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for October 2013

Here are the mystery movies I was able to glean from TCM’s Now Playing for October 2013. (TCM stands for the Turner Classic Movie channel.) I didn’t list all of the Halloween-type movies they will be airing, but if you’re interested in the likes of Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and/or Christopher Lee, make sure you check the TCM listings for October. You will be able to find a lot of their movies, some of which are campy enough to make them fun.

Recently I have noticed that TCM is including more movies that don’t come from the Golden Age of Hollywood. (I think of this era as being the 1930s and 1940s, so I guess I ought to call it My Golden Age of Hollywood.)  From this month’s mystery movies below, you will see that there are quite a few movies from the 1960s and some that are from even more recent years. [I’m not sure I like this TCM trend, so I’ll be interested in knowing if it continues. Even though the Golden Age (as I define it!) was before I was born, I still am MUCH more interested in the movies from the 1930s and 1940s. Either way, since I’m not on the TCM board of directors, it really doesn’t matter.]

I’m listing the movies in Central time zone. If you know of any other mystery movies that are going to be aired on television during October 2013, please post a comment.

***** ***** ***** *****

Tuesday – October 1, 2013

THE OUTRAGE (1964) 3:15 PM
A Mexican bandit’s crimes receive wildly different interpretations from four witnesses.
Dir: Martin Ritt Cast: Paul Newman, Laurence Harvey, Claire Bloom
BW-96 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944) 9:00 PM
An insurance salesman gets seduced into plotting a client’s death.
Dir: Billy Wilder Cast: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson
BW-108 mins, TV-PG, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Wednesday – October 2, 2013

THE BIG SLEEP (1946) 3:30 AM
Private eye Philip Marlowe investigates a society girl’s involvement in the murder of a pornographer.
Dir: Howard Hawks Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Ridgely
BW-114 mins, TV-PG, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Thursday – October 3, 2013

DR. CRIPPEN (1963) 2:00 AM
The real-life story of a doctor who was hanged in London in 1910 for poisoning his wife.
Dir: Robert Lynn Cast: Donald Pleasence, Coral Browne, Samantha Eggar
BW-98 mins, TV-PG

BEWARE, MY LOVELY (1952) 2:00 PM
A widow discovers her handyman is an escaped mental patient.
Dir: Harry Horner Cast: Ida Lupino, Robert Ryan, Taylor Holmes
BW-77 mins, TV-PG, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Saturday – October 5, 2013

MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY (1993) 1:00 PM
A middle-aged couple suspects foul play when their neighbor’s wife suddenly drops dead.
Dir: Woody Allen Cast: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Jerry Adler
C-108 mins, TV-14, CC

HALLMARK MOVIE CHANNEL
MARY HIGGINS CLARK’S THE MYSTERY CRUISE (2013) 8:00 PM
Cast: Gail O’Grady, Larry Miller, Michelle Harrison
(Carol Higgins Clark appears as the rich woman whose dog’s collar is lost.)

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – October 6, 2013

KEEPER OF THE FLAME (1942) 5:00 AM
A reporter digs into the secret life of a recently deceased political hero.
Dir: George Cukor Cast: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Richard Whorf.
BW-101 mins, TV-PG, CC

IN A LONELY PLACE (1950) 7:00 AM
An aspiring actress begins to suspect that her temperamental boyfriend is a murderer.
Dir: Nicholas Ray Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, Frank Lovejoy
BW-93 mins, TV-PG, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Wednesday – October 9, 2013

DEAD RINGER (1964) 3:30 PM
A woman murders her rich twin and tries to take her place.
Dir: Paul Henreid Cast: Bette Davis , Karl Malden , Peter Lawford .
BW-116 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

MURDER BY DEATH (1976) 8:30 PM
A criminal madman invites the world’s greatest detectives for a night of dinner and murder.
Dir: Robert Moore Cast: Peter Falk, Truman Capote, Alec Guinness
BW-95 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

***** ***** ***** *****

Friday – October 11, 2013

DANGEROUS MISSION (1954) 12:30 AM
A woman flees westward after witnessing a mob killing.
Dir: Louis King Cast: Victor Mature, Piper Laurie, William Bendix
C-75 mins, TV-G, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Saturday – October 12, 2013

MYSTERY STREET (1950) 7:30 AM
Criminal pathologists try to crack a case with nothing but the victim’s bones to go on.
Dir: John Sturges Cast: Ricardo Montalban, Sally Forrest, Bruce Bennett
BW-93 mins, TV-PG, CC

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT (1935) 11:30 PM
A young student murders for money then tries to escape his guilt and a brilliant detective.
Dir: Josef von Sternberg Cast: Peter Lorre, Edward Arnold, Marian Marsh
BW-88 mins, TV-14, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – October 13, 2013

RAFFLES (1939) 9:00 PM
A suave thief falls in love again with his high school sweetheart and finds temptation and a detective on his trail while visiting her family.
Dir: Sam Wood Cast: David Niven, Olivia de Havilland, Dame May Whitty
BW-72 mins, TV-G, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Tuesday – October 15, 2013

BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING (1965) 3:00 PM
A distraught mother searches for her seemingly non-existent daughter, bringing her sanity into question.
Dir: Otto Preminger Cast: Keir Dullea, Carol Lynley, Lucie Mannheim
BW-107 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

***** ***** ***** *****

Wednesday – October 16, 2013

GASLIGHT (1944) 6:30 AM
A newlywed fears she’s going mad when strange things start happening at the family mansion.
Dir: George Cukor Cast: Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten
BW-114 mins, TV-PG, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Thursday – October 17, 2013

WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS (1956) 7:00 PM
Reporters compete to catch a serial killer.
Dir: Fritz Lang Cast: Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming,  George Sanders
BW-100 mins, TV-PG, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Friday – October 18, 2013

THE NITWITS (1935) 9:00 AM
Two cigar-stand attendants get mixed up in a murder investigation.
Dir: George Stevens Cast: Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Fred Keating
BW-82 mins, TV-G

***** ***** ***** *****

Saturday – October 19, 3013

THE LEOPARD MAN (1943) 2:30 AM
When a leopard escapes during a publicity stunt, it triggers a series of murders.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur Cast: Dennis O’Keefe, Margo, Jean Brooks
BW-66 mins, TV-PG, CC

THE WINDOW (1949) 3:45 AM
A boy who always lies witnesses a murder but can’t get anyone but the killer to believe him.
Dir: Ted Tetzlaff Cast: Barbara Hale, Arthur Kennedy, Paul Stewart
BW-74 mins, TV-G, CC

MIRACLES FOR SALE (1939) 11:00 PM
A magician turns detective to investigate murder and a phony seance.
Dir: Tod Browning Cast: Robert Young, Florence Rice, Frank Craven
BW-71 mins, TV-G

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – October 20, 2013

*** Neither of these two movies are mysteries, but they have the Rock Hudson/Doris Day duo, with Tony Randall thrown in for good measure.***

LOVER COME BACK (1961) 7:00 PM
An ad exec in disguise courts his pretty female competitor.
Dir: Delbert Mann Cast: Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall
C-107 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format

SEND ME NO FLOWERS (1964) 9:00 PM
When he mistakenly thinks he’s dying, a hypochondriac tries to choose his wife’s next husband.
Dir: Norman Jewison Cast: Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall.
C-100 mins, TV-G, Letterbox Format

***** ***** ***** *****

Tuesday – October 22, 2013

CAST A DARK SHADOW (1955) 11:00 AM
A wife-killer marries an innocent barmaid and plots her death.
Dir: Lewis Gilbert Cast: Dirk Bogarde, Margaret Lockwood, Kay Walsh
BW-83 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

THE LADY VANISHES (1938) 5:15 PM
A young woman on vacation triggers an international incident when she tries to track an elderly friend who has disappeared.|
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas
BW-96 mins, TV-G, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Thursday – October 24, 2013

BARRICADE (1950) 5:00 AM
Two fugitives try to prove the head of a mining camp is a murderer.
Dir: Peter Godfrey Cast: Dane Clark, Raymond Massey, Ruth Roman
C-75 mins, TV-PG

***** ***** ***** *****

Friday – October 25, 2013

THE RUNNING MAN (1963) 9:15 AM
A man fakes his death to get back at the insurance company that denied an earlier claim.
Dir: Carol Reed Cast: Laurence Harvey, Lee Remick, Alan Bates
C-104 mins, TV-PG, Letterbox Format

THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS (1954) 11:15 AM
A wrongly convicted man takes a young woman hostage while fighting to clear his name.
Dir: Edwards Sampson Cast: John Ireland, Dorothy Malone, Bruce Carlisle
BW-74 mins, TV-G

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1962) 9:45 PM
A crazed, aging star torments her sister in a decaying Hollywood mansion.
Dir: Robert Aldrich Cast: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono
BW-134 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

***** ***** ***** *****

Saturday – October 26, 2013

SISTERS (1973) 12:15 AM
A small-time reporter tries to convince the police she saw a murder in the apartment
across from hers.
Dir: Brian De Palma Cast: Margot Kidder, Jennifer Salt, Charles Durning
C-93 mins, TV-MA, Letterbox Format

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – October 27, 2013

THE BAD SEED (1956) 1:00 PM
A woman suspects that her perfect little girl is a ruthless killer.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy Cast: Gage Clarke, Jesse White, Joan Croyden
C-129 mins, TV-PG, CC

MR. SKEFFINGTON (1945) 7:00 PM
A flighty beauty marries a stockbroker for convenience and almost ruins both their lives.
Dir: Vincent Sherman Cast: Bette Davis, Claude Rains, Walter Abel
BW-146 mins, TV-G, CC  *** This is not a mystery, but it is one very good movie.***

***** ***** ***** *****

Tuesday – October 29, 2013

MIAMI EXPOSE (1956) 1:45 PM
A police detective uses the only witness to a gangland murder to smoke out the mobsters.
Dir: Fred F. Sears Cast: Lee J. Cobb, Patricia Medina, Edward Arnold
BW-75 mins, TV-PG, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Wednesday – October 30, 2013

CHINATOWN (1974) 1:00 AM
A Los Angeles private eye unwittingly sets up an innocent man for murder, then joins his seductive widow to unearth the corruption behind the crime.
Dir: Roman Polanski Cast: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, Perry Lopez
C-130 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

SHADOW OF DOUBT (1935) 6:00 AM
Murder charges threaten an actress’s marriage plans.
Dir: George B. Seitz Cast: Ricardo Cortez, Virginia Bruce, Constance Collier.
BW-74 mins, TV-PG, CC

WHISTLING IN THE DARK (1941) 11:00 AM
A radio detective is kidnapped and forced to plan the perfect murder.
Dir: S. Sylvan Simon Cast: Red Skelton, Conrad Veidt, Ann Rutherford
BW-78 mins, TV-G, CC

UNDERCURRENT (1946) 5:00 PM
A sheltered woman realizes that either her husband or his mysterious brother is a psychopath.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Robert Taylor, Robert Mitchum
BW-116 mins, TV-PG, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Thursday – October 31, 2013

THE CONVERSATION (1974) 12:15 AM
A surveillance expert uncovers a murder plot within a corrupt corporation.
Dir: Francis Ford Coppola Cast: Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield
C-114 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

BLOW-UP (1966) 2:15 AM
A photographer discovers a murder in the background of a candid photo.
Dir: Michelangelo Antonioni Cast: Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, David Hemmings
C-111 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

***** ***** ***** *****

If you know of any other mystery movies that are going to be airing this month, feel free to post a comment.

(All of the above descriptions were copied from the TCM site. I hope they don’t change their line-up!)

If you would like to see more Television and Movies ideas, click on this link.

Cozy Mysteries Recommendations – September 2013

Happy Fall! I hope you are all enjoying the beauty of autumn, or at least some cooler weather. It is the time when some of us have to start playing tricks to “get us in the autumnal” mood. One of my tricks is to immerse myself in mysteries that take place in either cold locations or during the holiday seasons. With Halloween right around the corner, it’s easy enough to find some cold weather books to set the mood. Another one of my tricks is to start using scented wax that “smells like fall.” Even though I don’t bake, that doesn’t mean I can’t fill the house with the aroma of cinnamon apples.

It’s also that time of the month when I ask you all to tell us about your monthly favorite Cozy Mystery books. Please tell us about the one Cozy Mystery (or possibly more than one) that you read during September which you enjoyed so much you want the rest of us to know about. Of course, if you read more than one great mystery book this month, tell us about the others, too. Please include why you enjoyed each book so that we can read your reason and then determine if it sounds like a good book for us to try reading.

[As usual, I ask that you don’t tell us about the books you read that you didn’t like.]

[Also, if you click on the author’s name (blue) link, it will take you to their page on the Cozy Mystery site. Their page has all of the author’s books listed chronologically.]

What Cozy Mystery book (or author) have you read during September 2013, and why did you enjoy it (or him/her)?

Here are the current recommended authors who some of you have read this past month:

Ellery Adams (aka J.B. Stanley, Jennifer Stanley, & 1/2 of Lucy Arlington): Books by the Bay Mystery Series

Ellery Adams (aka J.B. Stanley, Jennifer Stanley, & 1/2 of Lucy Arlington): Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery Series

Isabella Alan (aka Amanda Flower): Amish Quilt Shop Mystery Series

Robin Allen: Poppy Markham Culinary Cop Mystery Series

Margery Allingham: Albert Campion Mystery Series

Annie’s Attic Mystery Series

Kate Atkinson: Case Histories (Jackson Brodie Mystery Series) 

Lori Avocato: Pauline Sokol Mystery Series

Ella Barrick (aka Lila Dare & Laura DiSilverio): Ballroom Dance Mystery Series

Jessica Beck (aka Elizabeth Bright, Melissa Glazer, Casey Mayes, Chris Cavender, & Tim Myers): Donut Shop Mystery Series

Mike Befeler: Paul Jacobson Geezer-Lit Mystery Series

C.A. Belmond: Penny Nichols Mystery Series

Laurien  Berenson: Melanie Travis Mystery Series

Cindy Blackburn: Playing with Poison (Cue Ball Mystery Series, book #1)

Rhys Bowen: Her Royal Spyness Mystery Series

Mollie Cox Bryan: Cumberland Creek Mystery Series

Leslie Budewitz: Death al Dente (Food Lovers’ Village Mystery Series, book #1)

Ellen Byerrum: Crime of Passion Mystery Series

Kate Carlisle: Bibliophile Mystery Series

Erika Chase Ashton Corners Book Club Mystery Series

Laura Childs: Cackleberry Club Mystery Series

Barbara Cleverly: Joe Sandilands Mystery Series

Philip R. Craig: Martha’s Vineyard Mystery Series

Bill Crider: Dan Rhodes Mystery Series

Ellen Crosby: Multiple Exposure (Sophie Medina Mystery Series)

Mary Daheim: Hillside Manor Bed & Breakfast Mystery Series

Lila Dare (aka Joanna Campbell Slan): Southern Beauty Shop Mystery Series

Diane Mott Davidson: Goldy Bear Mystery Series

Krista Davis: Domestic Diva Mystery Series

Julianna Deering: Rules of Murder (Drew Farthering Mystery Series, book #1)

Jana DeLeon: The Accused (Mystere Parish: Family Inheritance Mystery Series)

Caroline Dunford: A Death in the Family (Euphemia Martins Mystery Series, book #1)

Carola Dunn: Daisy Dalrymple Mystery Series

Kaitlyn Dunnett (aka Kathy Lynn Emerson): Liss MacCrimmon Mystery Series

Dawn Eastman: Pall in the Family (Family Fortune Mystery Series, book #1)

Joanne Fluke: Hannah Swensen Mystery Series

Daryl Wood Gerber (aka Avery Aames): Cookbook Nook Mystery Series

Marni Graff: The Blue Virgin (Nora Tierney Mystery Series, book #1)

Sue Grafton: Kinsey Millhone Mystery Series

Ellie Grant (aka Joyce and Jim Lavene & J.J. Cook): Pie in the Sky Mystery Series

Kerry Greenwood: Phryne Fisher Mystery Series

Jane Haddam: Gregor Demarkian Mystery Series

Victoria Hamilton: Merry Muffin Mystery Series

Carolyn Hart: Death on Demand Mystery Series

B.B. Haywood: Candy Holliday Mystery Series

Hazel Holt: Mrs. Malory Mystery Series

Maddy Hunter: Passport to Peril Mystery Series

Julie Hyzy: Manor House Mystery Series

J.A. Jance: J.P. Beaumont Mystery Series

Diane Kelly: Tara Holloway Death and Taxes Mystery Series

Allison Kingsley (aka Kate Kingsbury & Rebecca Kent): Raven’s Nest Bookstore Mystery Series

Kylie Logan (aka Miranda Bliss & Casey Daniels): League of Literary Ladies Mystery Series

Molly MacRae: Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery Series

Carol Ann Martin: Weaving Mystery Series

Catriona McPherson: Dandy Gilver Mystery Series

Gladys Mitchell: Mrs. Bradley Mystery Series

Liz Mugavero: Pawsitively Organic Gourmet Pet Food Mystery Series 

Clare O’Donohue: Someday Quilts Mystery Series

Sharon Pape: Portrait of a Crime Mystery Series

Louise Penny: Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery Series

Leigh Perry: A Skeleton in the Family (Skeleton in the Family Mystery Series, book #1)

Barbara Ross: Clammed Up

Connie Shelton: Samantha Sweet Mystery Series

Paige Shelton: Country Cooking Mystery Series

Denise Swanson: Scumble River Mystery Series

Charles Todd:Bess Crawford Mystery Series

Betty Webb: Gunn Zoo Mystery Series

♦To access more Cozy Mystery Books Recommendations, click on this link♦

Nine Hundred Miles, but Who’s Counting?

I’m busy getting ready for another trip up to Colorado Springs. My sister has visited my mother two times since I went out the last time, so it’s my turn to hit the trail.

Our son will be taking care of our house, so at least I don’t have to worry about that. But as usual, there are a lot of things to get done before we leave in a few days.

We have been very fortunate that my father thought to buy long term care for my mother many years ago. A few years ago I was able to hire an agency to come in for a few hours two days a week to take her to doctors’ appointments, shopping, etc. From there, the hours and days have increased. She now has someone with her all of the time. This has certainly helped assuage my guilt about not being able to talk her into moving down here. (Her response to that is always that we should move up there to take care of her. When I remind her that would mean we would have to leave our home and not be able to live near both our son or daughter, her response is always that we could visit them.)

Here I go again >>> off topic!

I wish time hadn’t passed so quickly, and that we were getting ready for the four of us (my husband, son, daughter, and me) making our yearly summer trip up to Colorado to visit my father, mother, and younger brother. We would always leave early in the morning so that we could stop by late afternoon. Our son and daughter always looked forward to swimming in the hotels’ pools.  We would wake up the next morning, really early, so that we could make it to Colorado Springs as early as possible, since both our son and daughter couldn’t wait to see Gramps and Maya, Uncle Stephen, and Aspen (my dad’s Cocker Spaniel). Our yearly trips would always include a trip to up to the Denver Zoo, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, putt-putt golf, swimming at the neighborhood pool, and barbecues. In short, fun!

Our trips these days are very different, in many ways. Time has a habit of changing things whether we want them changed, or not.

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