I fought the vine....and I won?

I had a productive but tiring weekend. Now that the weather has decided to behave, I decided it was time to take over my deck. I'm not sure if the drought had anything to do with it but this weird vine took over almost one third of the deck space. Who knows what might have happened if it had rained more. Covered the whole house!?!??!

Anyway, with my neighbors loaning me various implements of destruction, I started out to tackle the monster. I got in the mood by trying to cut down the hummingbird vine on the side. That thing grows faster than kudzu! After I managed to win that battle, I started in on the monster. I have no idea what kind of vine it is but by the time I got through it to the main stem, I was worn out, scratched and itchy. The stem of the monster was about four inches around. No wonder it took so long. I guess I won--at least I can sit on the deck and read now. I still have to clean the furniture. That vine had wrapped itself around the table, umbrella and chairs.

I did finish Strip Search when I took breaks from my battle. Talk about a hair-raising ending! Yep--it's a good one.

Also read Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs. For those familiar with the TV show, BONES, this series was inspired by the lead character of her books. For Temperance Brennan the discovery of a young girl's skeleton in Acadia, Canada, is more than just another assignment. Évangéline, Tempe's childhood best friend, was also from Acadia. When Évangéline disappeared, Tempe was warned not to search for her, that the girl was "dangerous."

Thirty years later, flooded with memories, Tempe cannot help wondering if this skeleton could be the friend she lost so many years ago. Follow Tempe and her sister Harry as they delve into a mystery that gets more and more involved and dangerous as they search deeper and deeper into the past.