Actually Two Medici Princesses Got Murdered

I'm on page 246 of This World We Live In, and I have every intention of finishing by Monday, since Marci and Carol have invited me out to a birthday lunch on Tuesday. I know just where I am in the book, and exactly where I'm going, and I would think four or five days of steady work should allow me to complete the first draft.

But in my never ending struggle to find new ways to procrastinate, I took my mother clothes shopping for the first time this century. She wanted a new dress to wear to my cousin Danny's wedding.

The trip was a great success. She tried on three dresses, and bought two (the black and the red). She intends to wear the black one to the wedding (Marci and my sister-in-law both approved her choice; my cousin Fran favored the unpurchased pink dress).

My mother's outfit will be completed by a pair of shoes my sister-in-law found for her in Rome. And I'm going to see if I can get the clasp on the pearls replaced, because I think the black dress will look even better with a pearl choker (which my father bought many years ago).


I don't seem to be willing to spend time reading before getting to work, and as a result, my reading has fallen far behind. But a couple of nights ago, I finished The Murder Of A Medici Princess.

The victim was quite the Medici princess. She was related to both of Henri IV's wives (someday I've got to read a biography of him; he's my absolute favorite king). She and her sister-in-law got murdered within about a week of each other by their respective (if not respecting) husbands, which is not a strong argument for marriage (I don't think I'll mention it at Danny's wedding).

Also, thanks to the glory that is American Idol, I read Sunday through Wednesday's New York Timeses while learning the identity of the 36 semi-finalists last night (confirming their identity, really, since the list had been leaked, which I find pretty darn interesting in and of itself). There is much despair over at Television Without Pity that Newly Widowered Danny will knock out the Charming Intelligent Anoop in the first round next week.

There is no reason to believe that Danny's late wife was a Medici princess.

I don't want you to think I'm lonely or anything, but I've posted a poll concerning your reading habits, and I'd be delighted if any of you feel like commenting about how much you read or what you're reading now or which of the three dresses you like the best. Remember, I answer every comment, just about, and every time I do, it takes away time from B3, while leaving me feeling all righteous and self-satisfied, because answering comments on the blog is a socially acceptable reason not to work. Just like shopping with my mother, and watching American Idol, as long as I'm slogging my way through newspapers simultaneously.

All right. I'm off in search of 32 time consuming errands that simply have to be run before I can even think of getting to work. Maybe I should take those shoes my sister-in-law bought in Rome and exchange them for a different pair. That should keep me busy until my birthday!