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Had another Don' Wanna Get Up day because everything hurt so much, especially elbows, so stayed in bed till noon, drifting in and out of sleep. Got up to find the snow that was to start midday had already fallen and my Good Neighbour had shovelled my sidewalk and walkway, which was nice of him. Was still a grey cold dank day that I've spent on the couch. My physio wants me to do sit to stand exercises, three sets of ten reps, but that is certainly not going to happen today.

Good neighbour didn't do my steps so I had to when I put my garbage out mid-afternoon, because for sure am not doing it tonight in the dark. I seem to have misplaced my broom so had to manhandle the shovel with my twinging elbows. Broom may be on the back porch, though I can't think why it would be.

Physio's mom flew back to Korea yesterday, just in time for that attempted coup. Physio was perplexed as to why Yoon wanted to stick his neck out to ban online comments. I'm a bit perplexed myself.

Books finished?

Lorac, Fell Murder
-- nicely done though a bit landscape-heavy. There was actually a reasonable reason for the murderer being who it was

Nicholas Blake, Thou Shell of Death
-- very nicely done mystery. Surely I've read Nigel Strangeways before, but though various of Blake's titles sound familiar, none tweaks the memory

Allingham, The Allingham Casebook and The Allingham Minibus
-- Campion shorts in the first, Campion shorts and weird tales in the second. Phone reading

Reading now?

Derleth, The Chronicles of Solar Pons
-- Holmes pastiche without the Holmes. Fun stuff

Blake, The Beast Must Die
-- another Strangeways

Next up?

Two more Nicholas Blakes in transit from the library, more Holmes pastiche on the Kindle. Really must start something heavier than whodunnits but will probably go for a reread of Thief of Time or The Hogfather instead.

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I was just thinking of rereading Hogfather!

Ooh, Solar Pons sounds fun.

The better Solar Pons stories are quite fun. (They're set in the thirties, and the character is supposed to be a direct student of Holmes. He also has a roommate who's a doctor, a cheerful housekeeper, and an older brother somewhere between the civil service and the Secret Service.) However, some of the more recent pastiches (ones not written by August Derleth) can get a _little_ heavy on the throwing in contemporary fictional references (Belgian detective friend, etc.)

Still, a fun read if you feel like some sort-of-Holmes in the thirties.

That sounds very entertaining!

Conveniently, Belanger Books has been republishing them, along with a whole load of Holmes pastiches, other pastiches, and so on - so there's quite a lot available on Kindle if you feel like trying them. I suggest trying some of the original Derleth anthologies first, though, rather than the later homage anthologies, as they can be a little variable.

I actually like Poirot showing up in the story I read, but that was Derleth himself IIRC.

Derleth kept it under control. When you have references to Christie characters, Sayers characters, Thorndyke, and Original Holmes all within a couple of pages, it begins to feel a little "author showing his work".

Derleth kept it to a walk-on, quite rightly. Your list of dishonourable mentions reminds me of something I read in the past but have blotted from memory. Might have been Kim Newman though.

Hogfather is Christmas reading, certainly.

Thank you very much indeed for the chocolates! They arrived today, and I was expecting an Amazon package anyhow, so I ripped it open . . .

Greatly appreciated. Haven't started them yet, but I imagine I will have to struggle if I'm going to keep them till Christmas. :)

Incidentally, I was going to send you a card today, but the lady serving me at the post office explained that due to the Canadian postal strike, it wouldn't even start moving from the UK until the strike was over, so I might want to hold onto it and wait. So I'm crossing my fingers that the strike ends soon.

I wasn't sanguine about delivery even after amazon said "handed to recipient" so I'm glad they actually did. They aren't your actual Christmas present, just a lagniappe until the posties and the guvvmint come to an agreement.

Yes, people will be getting my xmas cards round about Lunar New Years. If we're lucky, says Eeyore.

They are a lovely lagniappe and will be very much enjoyed. Thank you.

You're very welcome. After a year like this, chocolate is the least we deserve.

Hear, hear.

Glad your neighbour helped. Sending you wishes of hygge XX

Thank you. It's looking to be a very hygge winter this time. Snow so early is a rarity.

I actually don't mind E.C.R Lorac being a bit landscape heavy, so I'll look out for Fell Murder.

I don't mind landscape if I can follow it but a Canadian city child is at a disadvantage when it comes to visualizing the ups and downs of Lancashire topography in Lancashire vocabulary.

That is a fair point. However I was born in Manchester and grew up there. The Pennines were always visible in the distance, so it's kind of home territory.

You may or may not know- and if not I can't help myself from pointing out- that Nicholas Blake was the pen-name of Cecil Day-Lewis, the not-very-good poet who became British poet laureate and was the father of a now more famous son who has won several Oscars.

The French like him. The Beast must Die was made into a classic movie by new wave director Claude Chabrol.

I knew he was C Day-Lewis, being of the generation when he was poet laureate. Didn't know about the Chabrol film though. I can see why the French might like him.