My husband and I drove up to Oregon to spend my dad's 87th birthday with him!

We live in the Bay Area, so it's a full day's drive to Portland from here. I had a few Elizabeth Peters audiobooks downloaded to my phone, so we listened to Amelia Peabody mysteryThe Mummy Case on the drive north and Vicky Bliss novel Borrower of the Night on the drive home. I've read both of those books (Borrower of the Night is one of my favorite "comfort food" books to reread), and I'm happy to report that those two books have now turned my husband into an Elizabeth Peters fan! I knew it was only a matter of time. Who can resist the allure of Elizabeth Peters?

My mom's artwork hanging next to a little bookcase

I first started reading Elizabeth Peters when I was a kid, when I found one of her books on one of my mom's bookshelves. But my mom was never as much of an Elizabeth Peters fan as I was. Still, my parents house was—and still is—filled with dozens of bookcases crammed with books across genres.

As for the walls that aren't covered with bookcases, my talented mom's paintings fill much of the wall space. I'm lucky that before she sells her work through gallery shows, I get first choice of which of her artwork I want. We brought home a few more of her paintings, but I didn't pilfer any of her artwork already hung on their walls. It was a great visit.