Reading: Last week, I finished reading The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and thought it was very interesting. I knew nothing about Botswana and thought the author did an excellent job blending a mystery (though really more of a series of small cases thoughtfully solved by the very likeable Precious Ramotswe) with a historical and cultural portrayal of Botswana. I would recommend this and look forward to reading more in the series.

Eating: Last night's dinner was 2 new recipes, both of which we enjoyed. The recipes are in a cook book I got FREE through Thrivent Financial for Lutherans (formerly Lutheran Brotherhood and Aid Association for Lutherans). It is no longer available but if you are a Thrivent Financial member, check out the other FREE things you can order. Chicken with Creamy Gravy was good and simple. We made it low-fat but couldn't taste a difference. To prepare, brown both sides of 4 chicken breasts (I always use boneless, skinless) for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together 1 can of cream of chicken and broccoli soup (I used reduced fat crm of chicken), 1/4 C. milk, 2 T. lemon juice and some pepper ("don't measure pepper", I told my husband last night). Pour the sauce over chicken, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes or until juices run clear. The Lemony Linguine (say that 5 times fast!) was very tasty too (don't tell anybody but we used spaghetti instead of linguine). The sauce was easy to make: 3 T. butter, 1 T. lemon juice, 1 1/2 t. dried basil, 1/2 t. garlic powder, 1/2 t. lemon-pepper seasoning--cook together until butter melts, then pour over 8 oz. linguine, cooked. That is it! Both recipes were so simple I remembered them without looking! Bon Appetit!