Sorry for the delay folks - I could have sworn I drafted and posted this blog entry on Thursday or Friday but apparently not. So this will be a quick post to get caught up. And for those waiting on tenterhooks to find out if I went to Victoria last weekend - no I didn't but it's planned for my next trip to the Olympic Peninsula. Onto this weeks (last week's actually) puzzle. Name: Four Quarters Size: 15×15 Entries:...

Greetings from a place where I can see Canada, and I may actually visit. I'm in Sequim, WA just across the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Vancouver Island. We're thinking of taking the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria, which I haven't visited for at least 15 years. Check back next week to see if that trip came off. First, we need to get to this week's puzzle. Name: On a Roll Size: 15×15 Entries: 76 Difficulty: Very...

We're finally getting a little rain here which we need as my grass had pretty much turned brown again. This past weekend was quite nice, so I spent a lot of time working in the yard but not as much time as I wanted sitting on the deck. Let's take a look at the puzzle and maybe I can get this blog posted at a reasonable time. Name: The Very Hungry Crossword Constructor Size: 15×15 Entries: 68 Difficulty: Medium Easy...

Mid September already... I knew it was going to be a quick month as I have something to keep me busy or traveling every week. I was in Maryland's state capital, Annapolis, most of this past week, so that entailed long days and events in the evening. That's my excuse for the lateness of this blog post - weak, I know. Next week is a big meeting in Washington, DC and then a personal trip to Connecticut and a work trip...

September is here! September is here! And man, the weather here the past few days has been glorious - clear skies, low humidity, cool nights. I hope it stays this way for a few weeks then gradually cools as we transition to autumn - don't need the hot sticky summer heat any more this year. In any event, it's a great day to sit outside on the deck and solve a puzzle, so let's get going. Name: One for All Size: 15×15...

Way behind schedule this week - apologies for those who were waiting eagerly for the blog. Just another busy week and September is shaping up to be very busy for me as well, with several important meetings and travel for both work and leisure every week. I'll try to get the blog done as soon as I can but please bear with me. On to this week's puzzle... Name: Just Cuz Size: 15×15 Entries: 72 Difficulty: Very Easy...

I'm back from my road trip - I packed a lot of activity (and a lot of miles) into 5 days. The weather wasn't great, but it didn't interfere much with my enjoyment (though the boat ride in the pouring rain would have been better were it a tad drier). As part of my whirlwind tour, I attended an event where the grandson of US President Jimmy Carter was in attendance. He spoke of his grandfather and mentioned one of...

Greetings all. I hope you weren't affected by the remnants of Debby that came through late last week. We got a day of overcast with intermittent rain, but otherwise not too bad. I'm hoping for good weather the next few days as I head out on my road trip to Port Huron. Which I need to pack for so let's get straight to this week's puzzle. Name: One Plus One Size: 15×15 Entries: 78 Difficulty: Easy (my solve time:...

Happy first full week of August, I guess. As I mentioned last week, there aren't any holidays (at least not national holidays) in North America the United States in August, so we just have to make our own special days. I had a nice weekend with an unexpected crab feast in Annapolis last Saturday night. However, when we returned home we found we had no power - a strong thunderstorm had come through while we were...

Happy August everyone - can it be September now? Actually, despite the hot and often stormy weather, August is one of my favourite months. I'm a little biased, as it's my birth month, but growing up I liked that my birthday was in a month when school was out and there were no holidays to steal attention from me (I always pitied my cousin Noel - guess when he was born). More recently, it's become the month I do a...

It's still hot but at least we got some rain in the past few days, though I'm not sure my lawn will ever be green again. My workload has returned to near-normal so I may actually get this blog posted Wednesday afternoon, shortly after the puzzle arrives in your inbox. Fingers crossed for that, and for a smooth solve of this weeks offering. Name: High Fashion Size: 15x15 Entries: 72 Difficulty: Medium Hard (my solve...

The heat goes on... it's too hot for me to spend any time out on my deck - the most time I've been spending there is to water my plants and try to keep them alive. We may get a bit of a break this weekend, but I'm already longing for the pre fall days of September. We've got a cool puzzle this week so let's stick our toes in and see how we like it. Name: The X Factor Size: 15x15 Entries: 74 Difficulty: Medium Hard...

I wished you all a belated Happy Canada Day last week, and this week my post itself is belated. I'll blame my tardiness on the heat - it's been roasting here with no letup in sight. I hope wherever you are you are able to keep cool, and maybe even take time off to go to the beach or mountains (or both). Wherever you go, I hope you enjoyed the puzzle, and were not too disappointed that I didn't have the blog entry...

Belated Happy Canada Day! And greetings to you all from US Independence Day! I used to live in Detroit and I loved that they had a week-long celebration of both holidays call Freedom Festival. The ship I was on would go out and anchor in the river to help enforce the safety zone for the fireworks, and as a result we had front row seats for the show. I hope however you are celebrating these holidays you are doing so...

Well, summer is definitely here - officially with the Solstice last week as well as meteorologically with the temperatures we've experienced recently. And we're getting our usual summer weather pattern with heat and humidity during the first part of the day, developing thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening. We could use some rain - I haven't had to mow my lawn for nearly a month and it's turning mostly brown....

Happy Juneteenth everyone! I like this holiday for several reasons. First of course, is that it is a celebration of a truly happy event. Second, it is on a fixed date, so it will fall on a different day of the week each year. I kind of liked having my work week split into two 2-day parts this year. And finally, it makes for a nice string of early summer holidays, with Memorial Day just a few weeks ago and...

I've had a bit of a whirlwind few weeks - a short but fun trip to the midwest last weekend to visit a dear friend, went to my niece's high school graduation yesterday, and keeping busy with plenty of work. I'm looking forward to taking a break, and completing this puzzle is part of that - come join me as we solve. Name: Growth Spurt Size: 15x15 Entries: 74 Difficulty: Very Hard (my solve time: 11:34) As often...

Happy June everyone. We all know how quickly time is marching on, so I won't mention it, but we're entering my least favourite time of year for the weather - hot and humid. There will still be a few periods of lovely, sunny, clear, dry days and cool evenings, but I will soon be pining for late September. I apologize in advance for the upcoming complaints. Let's take our minds off of the weather by turning to this...

Sorry for skipping last week - no travel or anything interesting - just several extra long days at work that kept me from even looking at my personal email until Friday. I hope everyone was able to enjoy the recent holiday weekends and get your summer off to a fine start. My weekend included a barbecue with friends, time at the swimming pool, a baseball game, and lots of relaxing. So I'm all rested and ready for...

Well they're making progress in removing the bridge wreckage and reopening the port, which is a huge relief. It's really been an amazing effort and fascinating to watch. Now we have many years of work to rebuild a new bridge, and lot of work to make sure it doesn't happen again. Spring showers are here, which is great for my garden and lawn, except if I want to do some gardening or mow the lawn. I was able to get...