New Book: “Q” IS FOR QUARRY

Laura: Back in the 1980s, I became acquainted with Sue Grafton’s alphabet mystery series (“A” is for Alibi, etc.). I remember enjoying the books of hers that I read so I decided to once again enter the alphabet mystery realm with “Q” is for Quarry.” Unfortunately I did not care for this book as much as I remember liking the first few ones I read. But the experience was expanded in that I learned a few things from reading about the author – and they were (1) sad, (2) interesting and (3) disturbing! The sad fact was that Ms. Grafton made it through “Y” is for Yesterday but then died before writing her “Z” book. How unfortunate! The interesting fact was that she had always been fascinated by series that followed themes, such Harry Kemelman’s Rabbi Small series, which included a day of the week in each book, and by John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee series, which had a color in the title. But the disturbing fact – outrageous really – was that there is a picture book with an alphabetized list of ways for children to die. Naturally I had to see what this was about so I looked up Edward Gorey’s The Gashlycrumb Tinies on Amazon. It’s a picture book that rhymes so it’s not quite as ghastly as I had imagined but still!

New Restaurant: DILLA’S

We both love Quesadillas, so how fitting that we found Dilla’s – a great place for primo quesadillas. With nine varieties and custom-made choices, you can’t go wrong with getting a Quality meal at a great price – a regular portion plus a small drink typically costs less than $10. The food was delicious. We shared one Gordo (ground beef, bacon, fries, pico de gallo, cheese blend and ranch dip) and one vegetarian Bluebonnet (portobello mushrooms, zucchini, roasted peppers and onions, spinach, cheese blend and creamy churri) and were stuffed! But they were worth every calorie. We will definitely be returning!