… a.k.a. my SmartPopBooks blog recap of True Blood episode 3-10 now available.

There be loads of spoilers, so don’t click unless you’ve watched (or don’t mind spoilage).

Author buddy Jaye Wells speaks in her recent post about the shame in not blogging regularly. I can only hang my head and agree with her. I *meant* to blog last week. I really, really did. But then there was work, and writing and cat acquisition and sinus migraines, and well…yeah, you get the picture. Next thing I knew, it was already a week later.

So, here I am with no excuses, just a bunch of random items that I found fun, amusing, awesome or just worthy of a look.

Best Rolling Stone cover EVER. (But I agree with Jaye’s sentiment that we can remove Sookie and add Alcide in the middle…yum!)

Hipmunk – a new way to do a travel search. I love the Gannt chart. Love the way you can sort the various trips. By agony, anyone?

A WordPress plugin update seems to have eaten, munged or otherwise destroyed code that produced some of my site pages. I fussed with it last night, but this is WAY above my not-so-l33t coding skills. I can pretty much troubleshoot ColdFusion and some .net, but .php + WordPress, not so mmuch. I’m going to have to take this to an expert.

Summer is nearly over, thank all the powers that be. DC area keeps getting hit with record-breaking weather events. I’m truly ready for Mother Nature to stop pissing on us. I mean, what did this town ever–oh wait, never mind. Uhm, just remember Nature, regular people live here, too, *not* just politicians!

The sister and I are already planning next year’s vacation. We won’t be going until sometime in early fall, probably September/October, but part of the fun is the planning. We’re going to Scotland!! Instead of hotels, we want to rent a cottage or something like that as our base of operations (somewhere in the countryside) and then drive/train to other sites. Top of our list: whisky tasting tours, Loch Ness and Orkney (for the standing stones). If any of you folks have suggestions, please pass them along. We love historical sites most of all! Oh, and we’re definitely taking the Jacobite steam train from Ft. William.

I’m going to do my best to blog more often and more regularly, but won’t make any promises. I will be doing at least some sort of giveaway nearer the BLOOD HEAT release day (October 26, mark your calendars!), so keep an eye out.

Also, look for my guest blog at the Lipstick Chronicles on August 29, where I muse about homonyms.

Wishing everyone a good end-of-summer!

This is a new addition to the Lima household, previously containing only moi.

From Kit Marlowe

Kit Marlowe came via Homeward Trails Animal Rescue, a local (DC, MD, VA) rescue agency. I found Kit (then named Darius) via Petfinder.com. He is a joy! Mellow, quiet, with a loving demeanor, Kit arrived Sunday at 11:00 a.m. and immediately made himself at home. Within a few minutes, he was up on the couch next to me while I worked on the laptop.

I think he’s going to like it here.

After a frustrating week of fighting with the Marriott Hotel and Marina about an overcharge of $796.58, this news made me squeal with joy.

Now, it will go to the Supremes and perhaps the US will join much of the rest of the 1st world nations.

History in the making, people. Real history. I’m glad this is happening in my lifetime.