Working Weekend

I can't spend all my time writing even if I wanted to, and whether I want to is sometimes dependent on what else is on offer. This weekend we had decided that we needed to prepare for autumn. Of course, we made a list, and as usual, our list was wildly optimistic. We did manage to complete some of our planned jobs.
This is normally the time for harvesting fruit and vegetables, but this year due to Steve's teaching hours and a problem with my back, we have very little to harvest. I will make sure we collect both chestnuts and mushrooms in the next few weeks but neither is ready yet.  What we do have, however, is walnuts, the ground is littered with nuts. These are some that we have put on the table to dry in the sunshine for a while before we bag them for winter.

The other thing that we did achieve is cleaning out the fires ready for the time we need them. No photo but it is a messy job. ( I mean really messy) We only take them apart for cleaning once a year, and then we clean all the pipes that lead to the chimneys. We don't do the chimneys ourselves, though, we have no children small enough. There was a bit of a race for the shower once that was finished.
Then onto wood cutting. The chain saw here is waiting for me to sharpen it. (Not sure how I ended up with that job but steve insists that I'm good at it.)

For the same reason that we have not done much in the garden, we have not cut all our own wood this year. We don't have any woodland of our own anyway, although there are some trees on our property. We do try to cut some in order to keep the cost down as I am not someone who likes to sit shivering. We did manage quite a pile, including some waste wood and a couple of trees that we cut last winter.
Our wood delivery should arrive next Saturday. Sadly I am going to be on a poetry day so I won't be available for stacking duty.
We didn't get around to repairing the barn roof or the small polytunnel so I hope that we don't get heavy rain or storms before next week, otherwise, there will be trouble ahead.

One last thing. The Death of a Pilgrim is very, very close to publication. Next weeks blog will tell you more about where my inspiration came from.  Don't forget to join my mailing list for information.

Mystery Mondays

The third of my regular monthly series is mystery Mondays. This will be a book review of a mystery that I have just read.

I have thought long and hard about how to do this do I choose my top ten books? Do I write about the last book I read? Do I look for and read a mystery simply to feature it here. All of those things are good ideas and in time I might tackle each method of choosing.

I thought that I was going to go for my mystery top ten starting with book number 10. Of course, after I wrote that line I realised that the top ten would be a misnomer, there are just too many mystery books that I love to narrow it down so tightly.

 So now it ill be simply ten mysteries that I have loved. I can then come back later and offer you ten more, there are so many that I am sure I won’t run out.

So in no particular order.

The 39 steps by John Buchan

Set in Galloway, in southern Scotland, this book is a real old fashioned adventure story. Interesting characters, beautiful landscapes and a satisfying puzzle all make this a good read. I have read this several times and still love it.

I suppose that it is a bit of a boy's own adventure but John Buchan is the best type of storyteller. Definitely worth a read if you haven't read it before.

This is the book description from Amazon:

' Set during the First World War, it is the story of Richard Hannay, an ordinary gentleman who finds himself mixed up in a plot to undermine the British war effort. A fugitive from the law, Hannay must race against time to try and stop the plot. "The Thirty-Nine Steps" is an exciting adventure of mystery and espionage that will thrill and delight readers both young and old.'