This year, I've been forced to give a hard rethink to my former quasi-enjoyment of winter ( Read more... )

From Sat., 14 Sept. through Mon., 16 Sept., I read, via library loan, an electronic copy of the 5th Amos Walker mystery by Loren D. Estleman, Sugartown (NY: Open Road Integrated Media), 2011 (original publication date 1984); ISBN: 978-1-4532-2260-7; 221 pps.

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From Tuesday 20 August to Saturday, 24 August, I read the fourth book in the Amos Walker series by Loren D. Estleman, The Glass Highway (NY: Open Road Integrated Media, 2011 [originally published by Houghton Mifflin in 1983; 179 pps.]; ISBN: 978-1-4532-2255-3; 240 pps.); this was an e-book that I borrowed from the library.

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From Saturday, 17 August to Tuesday, 20 August, I read the third book in Loren D. Estleman's Amos Walker series, The Midnight Man (NY: Open Road Integrated Media, 2011 [originally published in 1982 by Houghton Mifflin Company]; ISBN: 978-1-4532-2254-6; 263 pps.), as an e-book borrowed from the library.

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On Saturday, 3 August, I read the second book in Loren Estleman's Amos Walker series, Angel Eyes (NY: Open Road Integrated Media; 2011 [original publication date 1981]; ISBN: 978-1-4532-2253-9; 200 pps.), another e-book checked out via inter-library loan.

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From Thursday, 1 August through Saturday, 3 August, I read my first e-book checked out from the library, on my Kindle: the first book in Loren D. Estleman's Detroit-based Amos Walker private eye series, Motor City Blue (NY: Open Road Integrated Media, 2011 [original publication date 1980]; ISBN: 978-1-4532-2261-4; 256 pps.). This was actually a re ( Read more... )

Yesterday (Sat., 4 May), the missus and I took a day trip to Port Huron, MI. While we used to pass through Port Huron quite a bit, pre-9/11, en route to Canada (Port Huron has one of Michigan's three international crossings; IIRC, it's the second busiest in Michigan, after the Detroit / Windsor one; the Ambassador Bridge, which connects the two ( Read more... )

Last night (Saturday, 24 November), we finally saw an opening band that the missus liked more than the headliner: The Infatuations, a funk / soul / rock band from the Detroit area that sounds like they've been together for years owing to their tight vocal harmonies and outstanding musicianship. They were the second opening act for the Howling ( Read more... )

On my last major grocery shopping trip, I gave in to my curiosity about a previously-spotted item at a local "big box" discount / grocery retailer: the store's upscale brand (Meijer Gold) of gourmet mustard; specifically, blueberry honey mustard ( Read more... )

Last Friday (2 November), the missus and I caught a couple of local bands -- Rio and the Rockabilly Revival and Horse Cave Trio -- at a nearby venue.

She didn't like the Horse Cave Trio when we first saw them -- IIRC, it was on a bill with these guys (who she really hated) -- but they eventually won her over when they were one of the bands at ( Read more... )