The loving husband and I embarked on a new and daring marital experiment. We decided to plant the big flowerpots on the deck — together as husband and wife. We wanted to design, purchase and pot in one joint effort. I cautioned the loving husband early on in the project that this might end up in divorce. I reminded him of another couple that had a close call when they remodeled their bathroom together. Apparently he was willing to take that risk. I activated the design portion of the project by examining some library books on container gardening. I love flowers and I have an excellent flower garden, but I do not have a natural talent for pots. To me a geranium with a couple of marigolds stuck in the side makes an excellent planter. The loving husband has a better eye for arrangement and I’m willing to admit it. Still, I wanted to go into the design phase with some knowledge. We needed plants for height, plants to drape over the edge, and some big and flowery units in the middle. The actual design-phase began at George’s greenhouse, where we meandered around for about 30 minutes. The loving husband picked out things he liked and I would say, "Oh, that’s lovely." Occasionally I would give him advice on what can and can’t grow in full sun. It went semi-smoothly and we proceeded to purchasing. The loving husband paid for the selections, so that went extremely well. The final stage was potting. Rather than pot each planter together (way too stressful) we went with a division of labor. I took one pot. He took the other. We deliberated. We arranged and re-arranged. We agreed and disagreed. We dug, planted and watered. Finally we placed the pots in their pre-designated spot on the deck. His looked better than mine and, as of Tuesday, June 8, we are still married. A word of wisdom for marital experimentation: Start on a small project, like going to the library together. If it goes well, advance very slowly to remodeling the bathroom. Lots of new books are coming in for your summer reading pleasure. You might like "Till Death Do Us Part," by Kate White. When Bailey Weggins receives a phone call from Ashley Hanes, she assumes Ashley needs a fashion or publishing related favor. After all, Bailey only met the woman once when they were both bridesmaids in a wedding, and they had nothing in common. It turns out that two of the bridesmaids from the wedding have died in what appeared to be freak accidents. One was electrocuted in her bathtub and the other had a fatal reaction to antidepressants. Ashley is sure there is more to it and convinces Bailey to investigate. Then, Ashley's lifeless body is found at the bottom of a flight of stairs, and Bailey realizes that she easily could be next on the killer's list. Also new on the fiction shelf is "Memorial Day," by Vince Flynn. Seven days before Memorial Day, the nation's capital is buzzing with last-minute preparations to unveil the magnificent new memorial honoring the men and women who fought in World War II. Despite the energy of the city, Mitch Rapp senses trouble. A spike in CIA intelligence has pointed to a major terrorist attack on the United States. Rapp immediately leaves for Afghanistan to lead a Special Forces unit on a daring commando raid. Their target: an al Qaeda stronghold. Within a subterranean room, they discover a treasure trove of maps, computer files, and bills of lading for multiple freighters heading to the U.S. — all pointing to plans for a nuclear attack on Washington, DC. Information is relayed to CIA headquarters, and a nuclear emergency support team scrambles to the scene. In a few hours, the freighters have been located and disarmed and the danger has been averted. Mitch Rapp can't shake the feeling that the operation seemed just a bit too easy. Rapp follows his instincts on a quest to unearth the whole truth. What he finds is truly terrifying, and Rapp must find a way to prevent a disaster of unimaginable proportions.
