So many books...

I just finished Thomas Mullen's “The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers.”  The Fireson brothers are depression era bank robbers busily removing money from mid-western banks. Then they kill someone and work their way up the wanted list.  After being trapped in a gun fight with authorities they wake up, riddled with bullets in a police morgue, but alive. It's a bizarre premise but a very readable story. Mullen has done his research on the depression. 

I liked it enough that I took out his first book, "The Last Town On Earth" from the library to read. For it Mullen won The James Fenimore Cooper Prize for the best Historical American fiction by the Society of American Historians. This is his better book and takes place in Washington State, my neck of the woods.  Again his research is great. One of the characters in it is a survivor of the Everett, WA Massacre in November of 1916, as was my grandfather who was a striking mill worker and father of my own 5 month-old father at the time. At the time of the the strikes came the "Spanish Flu" and WW1. This out-in-woods mill town builds a guarded barricades to keep all comers away. The naiveté of a couple of men on an isolated road being able to protect their inhabits unravels in many ways.

Meanwhile my sister Pam and her husband are packing to come and visit me for my 74th birthday on Thursday, yes my birthday is on St. Patrick's Day and I had two Grandmothers of Irish descent. I don't drink green beer, will have a Guinness with some fish and chips, and if I see one more d***ed Leprechaun I will scream, yup, good luck with that.  I am scuttling around sweeping up dust bunnies and cleaning the bathroom today. Tomorrow I'll clean the kitchen. Thursday I will hang up my Irish flag for the day.

Waiting for spring

It was a pleasant weekend. Warm, some rain, some sun, The kind of weather that makes me want to lie on my back in the grass but it's still way too wet.  It renders me useless for intermittently.  I did get the smallest (4 & 5) grandkids out to play. The Fort Walla Walla Museum has a great playset for small children.  This where they spent the most time.  There's picnic tables and we had a snack.  The museum has large grounds, exhibit buildings on the upper level and a lower level with historical buildings arranged in a village.  Those are closed until May or so.  One big advantage is the whole place is completely fenced so any young ones that escape the grandma can't get away. Plus I volunteer here from time to time so at least some of the staff know to whom they belong. A mom showed up with her two little kids so the grands had new playmates for awhile and we chatted.

The littles loved it and then they surprised me by wanting to tour the various buildings to see what was going on. The 33 mule team was their favorite.  There were full size horse replicas here too.

Then back to the playset.

Damp and flirting with us Spring is on the way!