Hi, there...

Overcast, -13, one inch of new snow, a light breeze.

Good morning! It's awfully quiet around here. I'm not alone. Maggie and Trudy are here, but Louise is in Montreal about to catch the train to Toronto in another 40 minutes. So, I'm in charge. Michael's in charge.

Which means six dinners waiting for me in the frig for four nights and lots of free cell on the computer. Well, and I'm in charge of the Blackberry, erasing all the spam over the weekend and responding to requests when instructed to. Yesterday, while Louise was in Montreal, overseeing the installation 0f our new flat screen TV, I did a little seasonal shopping in Knowlton and Cowansville (for her). But I won't tell you what I got.

What I will tell you is my opinion of Louise Penny, mystery author. I think Louise writes the best murder mysteries ever written, clear reflections of her marvellous self (except for the murder part). She writes beautifully, her characters are unique and unforgettable, her settings are to die for and I for one never succeed in finding the killer (until I'm told), being led astray time and again by her crafty red herrings. And I'm told Chief Inspector Armand Gamache resembles me. Makes my head swell. I just can't stop talking about how brilliant she (and her books) are. And you have this skinny from an experienced and totally unbiased critic; her husband. (There, I've used a semi-colon; hangover from my scientific writing).

Anyway, I'm probably preaching to the choir. But you don't have to take it from me. Before you head out again for more seasonal shopping, with more relatives in need of reading Louise's unique mystery series in mind, please be informed that Louise received an email from her Editor, Hope Dellon, at St Martins Minotaur Press, yesterday, congratulating her on a great review of 'A Fatal Grace' by Tom Nolan in the - are you ready - The Wall Street Journal. Whoopee! The Wall Street Journal. Unbelievable!

Here's the link (I hope): http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119637721856508620.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

If this doesn't work, I can copy the review into this blog later.

At 73, this is my first blog ever. Who would have believed it. Maybe I'll tell you about my own mystery novel tomorrow...