Little did we imagine when we brought our five-year-old granddaughter back with us the first week of a supposed three-week lockdown in March that we would have her almost weekly for the next five months. When Aubrey started kindergarten that fall, I thought our sleep over visits would be confined to school vacations and an occasional weekend. The pandemic changed all that, unexpectedly for the better.
The murderer in my new mystery poisons the victim using a plant that can be found in a backyard garden or in the wild in southern Wisconsin. The poison will be slipped into a food that the victim ingests.
I’d like your help in selecting the perfect poison. The following survey is the result of my on-line research into the most poisonous plants. I’ll describe their effect on humans and the amount of time they take to kill. Hopefully my research has not placed me on the radar of any government agency! My husband is not presently concerned about the nature of my research.
I’m starting to write a third ‘Gaston the Poodle’ mystery. My cat, Sheldon, hones in on the computer whenever I sit down to write. He either takes a stroll across the key board, screwing up what I’ve just written, or tries to crawl on my lap for a nap. It’s hard to write with a twelve pound cat on your lap. I appreciate his enthusiasm for the written word but I could do without the tail, or other body parts, obstructing my view —as if writing isn’t difficult enough without the added aggravation.
During the pandemic I found it difficult, if not impossible, to write except for in my Book of Joy journal, a gift from a friend. The worst year of my life documented in such an ironic title. I filled the time in isolation with much reading and binge watching PBS series and Netflix. My husband and I did take long walks, often ending up at the nearby Riverside Park. We enjoyed experiencing the change of seasons in the park. Quite often, we were the only people there, especially in the first phase of the pandemic, when all the playgrounds were closed.
