I’ve been busy, if you couldn’t tell. (If you’re even still coming here—why would you?) Busy at work, plus sick. Which is not a good combo, frankly. I walked through last week with as much energy as could be mustered, and it wasn’t much. But that week (the busy one) and that sickness (medication-related, in case you’re worried about cooties) are both over.

So what do I do with all this energy and health?

I am cleaning my house. Not well, but a little. There are a couple of things, grime-wise, that I cannot ignore. Dog hair on the hardwood floors. Dirty shower. Dust I can see from where I sit on the couch. Because, you know, if I can see the dust, I can’t ignore it. I can ignore the dust I can’t see from here. La, la.

Went to the dentist yesterday. Was getting all sorts of good news about how I had no plaque build-up, etc, (Hurrah for flossing!) and then the hygienist turns me over to my new dentist, who is also my old dentist. I’d been going to a different dentist for three years because of my insurance restrictions, otherwise I never would have left this guy. But this guy is the one who gets to tell me that the dentist I’ve been going to is, basically, a charlatan, and has ruined my fillings and, oh by the way you need a root canal in that tooth back there. Because of bad dentistry. It’s been a long time since I’ve been this mad. Letter to the Better Business Bureau? Don’t mind if I do. That dude is going DOWN. And as a matter of fact, I’ll name his dumb ass, since I hope he never gets another new patient ever.

People of Chicago, DO NOT go to a dentist named Marcin (or Martin) Karwowski at Edgebrook Dental—or, after I put him out of business, any other location. He is a piece of crap dentist and is about to cause me pain, misery and expense that didn’t need to be caused.

Marcin Karwowski, DDS? You’d better start looking for another line of work.

Yeah, so I’m mad. I’m now the kind of person who has to get a root canal. I don’t like that. And I especially don’t like it since it seems I wouldn’t have had to get one if I’d just kept the fillings I had before I met Karwowski, fillings I had replaced because I believed this guy when he said I should. Should, apparently only to line his pockets and pay his expensive Edgebrook rent.

So, argh. Like I need one more thing, you know?

Today I’m going to see my friend Mary Anne and her new wee bairn and her daughter Kavi, who says my name in such a cute way. I saw Mary Anne a few weeks ago for lunch, but besides that, it’s been about 10 weeks since we saw each other. Ten weeks. Since about, hmm, since I started working.

Work, you are good to have and you pay the bills in such a lovely way, but I would like some of my life back. I will be taking some of that life back, whether you like it or not. Just a head’s up. Thank you.

So are you wondering about the title of this post? I haven’t been reading much, but what I’m reading is mostly from the collection of No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. They were starting to wear a little thin, but they’re getting charming again. They make me want to sit down and hammer out a charming mystery (a different one than the one I’m supposed to be making a second draft of). How great would it feel to just write, no matter what it was?

Anyway, these No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books have titles that sometimes don’t explain themselves. Part of their charm, I guess.

66. The Kalahari Typing School for Men– Alexander McCall Smith
67. The Kids Are All Right– the Welches
68. The Full Cupboard of Life– Alexander McCall Smith
69. In the Company of Cheerful Ladies– Alexander McCall Smith

Reviews of all the McCall Smith books: Charming. But wait, what’s that at 67?! She read something other than a charming mystery? I had read about this book in a couple of places and was able to get the Welch book from the library. It was…OK. I feel like it got talked about a lot because it was written by four siblings who, yes, lived a very hard life. They lost both of their parents within a year, and the oldest two siblings had to try to save themselves and their younger siblings, all very hard stuff. But it’s also interesting that the family started out wealthy and the kids always had a foundation of money to rely on. They mention it a couple of times, and it’s clear (to me, anyway) that their path was cleared by their having their own financial support. If they’d lost both parents and had no money, I think their story would have been harder. The writing is fine, and I like the back and forth the siblings give to the story, how their memories don’t always match up. The short and sometimes brashly honest additions by the brother break up some of the “serious writer” sections one of the sisters feels like she has to add. In fact, I like the sections written by the two non-writer siblings more than I do the sections from at least one of the writer siblings. What does that mean?