Add to the talley. Cai brought a rat in at three this morning. I had to dismantle my entire room to get it back outside. At least this one didn't bite me. Please God, not a snake. I'm not afraid of them, but they can hide more places than a rodent or bird.

At first I locked Cai in the bathroom and tried to get it back outside. But I lost it. So I let Cai do the dirty work and then caught it in a pillowcase. Nasty little rodents.

Also, Milk and Honey by Faye Kellerman is quite good. I'm not much a fan of Mystery writers, with the exception of a few authors. As promised by the cover, this book goes deeper than the myster into character development and back plot. If you're already familiar with Peter Decker and Rena Lazarus, you'll want to read this one.

"Gaudy Night" by Dorothy Sayers.

I really like her heroine. Every forward and afterward declares that Harriet Vane is unlikable. She's sarcastic, unemotional, and leaves Lord Peter hanging proposal after proposal. She's favors intellect over feelings. She's quite intelligent and very witty. She and Lord Peter play quotation games in nearly every conversation. She also has occasional urges to write poetry. What's not to like?

This time around she's investigating a poison pen letter writer at a fictitious college at Oxford. Ironically, Magdalen college is mentioned fairly frequently. (Really, that's not glaring to anyone who knows the University well, but that's the college where C. S. Lewis taught.) I highly recommend anything by this author. This book is especially good for character. It doesn't have quite enough of Lord Peter. That works very well for the twist at the end. More humor comes from a group of single woman academics sniping at each other as tempers rise.

I really hate "Beth" from Matrix Direct.

Another day in paradise.

Every week they tell us this is the last slow week. The house count will be picking up. Then the new schedule comes out. I can't afford to make what I'm making and pay off my car. That was my goal for the summer.

I only have two night shifts this week; four day shifts. But daytime shifts don't make as much money. Anyway. Enough vulgarness. At least I have a job. The average farmer in India working full time makes $22 a month...

I hate not having internet. I'm so sorry for all my friends whose blogs I'm neglecting to see very often. There were rumors abounding that the Alisal was connecting to DSL, and they are, but they aren't making the service available to the employee housing -- even though we offered to pay for it. Our cable is tapped into the main line and therefore free. So, I'm bummed. But I have more time to go to the library, so hurray!

Reading "Shabby Chic" by Rachel Ashworth...I think that's her name. I'm in the direct center of another decorating urge. I recovered a wingback chair and an ottoman last night with three white sheets and two ruffled white curtains. It looks very chic. I'm quite happy with it...but I think I need to get another wingback chair. The two straightbacked ones that form my "living room" look dwarfed next to my huge dresser. Besides, this month we're saying in Country Decorating that using oversized furniture makes a room look bigger, not smaller. I also have too many focal points in that corner. Must consolidate. Back to the recovering!

The Lompoc Library is so huge! Compared to the Solvang one, that is. I've now picked up three decorating books, one French Textbook, two Dorothy L. Sayers Mysteries, and one copy of "L'Arbre au Grand Coeur" by Shel Siverstein.

On another plus side, you may sign up for an hour on the internet by phone. How cool is that?

French

My new hobby: Learning French. I took a years worth with a great teacher my freshman year. I wanted to continue with him, but my choir director wouldn't think of letting me out of his class for a semester. I, being dumb and a freshman, believed he actually had power over my scholarship. He didn't, and there were several choirs I could have switched into. So, here I am at 23 (which is a much harder age to learn a language...or so they say) trying to fit 333 verbs into my head. I need to go buy flashcards...

Work

"Is there a bartender running this bar?

"I am."

"I bet you are. After you honey."

"Can I do something for you?"

He looks me up and down. "I don't think you want me to answer that honestly. Dewars on the Rocks."

I shoot him a glance of thinly veiled disgust. His twelve year old daughter was in a minute ago buying a smoothie.

"Anything else?"

He took the hint.