VACATION

Well, going on vacation Saturday, 2 weeks on Vancouver Island to visit Mom. If TS Fay doesn't screw up the airline schedules, since it doesn't seem to want to leave. So you won't be hearing from me for a while, but hopefully when I get back, there'll be some new beers to chat about.

So see you in a couple of weeks or so...

RIP: SANDY ALLEN

At 7FT, 7IN, officially the world's tallest woman, dead at 53, which is surprisingly old for someone so tall.

But now her pain is gone, and she can be a spirit of any height she wants.

DID YOU KNOW...?

In the late 1970s, confiscated bales of marijuana were so numerous in Florida, that the police couldn't store them all. So what did they do? Why, they gave it to Florida Power & Light to burn in their generating stations!

 

So it turns out that 736 pounds of marijuana = 1 barrel of oil

 

Perhaps something we should look into, with the price of oil being what it is these days...

BEER NUMBER 577

While nothing special, it turns out to be Miller High Life Light. A good beer to dring while grilling burgers and dogs outside on a hot summer day. And it was cheap, being as Albertsons is closing their doors and beer was marked down 20%(and it was only about $5.00/sixpack to start with!). But it also reminded me of a beer story.
Back when I first met Phyllis,1973, her Dad always kept beer in the fridge, not sure why since he never seemed to drink any. For some reason his beer of choice was Miller High Life ('the champagne of bottled beers' as the ads said), so I drank it for quite a while(if it's free,it's for me!)
and had no problem with it. Perhaps a year later, Miller must have changed the formula, since the taste of the beer changed(for the worse), and after beer from a different case, I asked Ernie if he wouldn't mind switching to a different brand, and so for many years Budweiser was the king of beers in the House O Heathcliff (at least until many years later when my taste for better beer developed).
So now I'm going to visit Mom in Canada soon, and looking forward to trying out some new fine brew from Mooseville...

3 BOOKS BY KEN FOLLETT

World Without End: Which starts us out in Medieval England, being the further saga of Kingsbridge and it's Priory. The sequel to The Pillars Of the Earth has only two returning characters; the Town & Priory of Kingsbridge. The story picks up 200 years after the first book, and follows the descendants of the original characters throught the Black Death, the Battle of Crecy, religious intrigue, and raising families. A fascinating story, with well researched background and an interesting look at life in the Middle Ages, as well as an an insight as to the origin of family names. Even if you haven't read the first book, this is a worthwhile read anyway for readers who enjoy medieval historical novels (or even medieval history).

The Eye Of The Needle: Saw the movie version back in 1981 with Donald Sutherland as the villain. I remember it as being a good movie, but of course the book is better. Back during WWII, before the invasion of Normandy, the Germans were unsure as to where the actual invasion was going to take place. This book postulates that a German spy was able to find out the truth, but was (of course) defeated in the end. It's how this all comes about, and the changing points of view that make this book a classic thriller, even today.

Lie Down With Lions: The third book bring us up to the almost present, as the story takes place during the Russian/Afghan conflict during the 1980s (a harbinger of what was to happen in the 2Ks with the U.S.). Jane finds out her boyfriend works for the C.I.A, and leaves him to marry a French doctor.Off they go to set up a hospital in Russian occupied Afghanistan, and finds out her husband works for the KGB! Ex-boyfriend shows up to help the Afghan freedom fighters, meets up with Jane, and more adventures ensue. A fast paced adventure, and probably a different read now that the Afghans are part of 'them'; when the book was originally published, they were part of 'us'.

IF I HAD MILLIONS OF $$$$$$$$...

...My music room would look something like this...

CHEESING UP HISTORY...

Nice looking house, eh? The historic Baynard house in downtown Auburndale (Arburndale if you're a native). But it was fixed up nicely years ago and kept up as a historic home, at least for down here, since it's nowhere near as old as houses that people still live in in New England!

But to the chhesy part...as part of the park beautification and general improvements, they just put a nice white picket fence. Oh, wait, make that a nice white vinyl picket fence. Yup, nothing like cheesing up a historic house;

I hope they put peel 'n' stick tiles in the kitchen next.