Books, Gnomes, Tea and An Empty Mail Box

Despite my very best efforts in pre ordering and compulsive book buying on line my mail box has sat empty this entire week. I was starting to think that maybe the garden gnomes are stealing my books and reading them first, sadly after checking with them they too have nothing currently to read.
So that got me thinking about what to do, write yet another letter to Canada Post inquiring about what the heck is going on with my deliveries? Which is pretty much a dead end as you just get no response or a shrug of the shoulders from anyone delivering the mail or at my local post office.....very frustrated at the lack of consistency in delivery times and note that it takes currently less time for me to mail to other continents then it does for me to mail anything to family here in Canada. But I digress....

I have lots of varied interests and hobbies and one of those interests is in Gnomes. I love Garden Gnomes, Fairies, Lighthouses, Nascar, baking and tea...oh and Doctor Who..... So as I wait on the not so cozy mystery of my empty mailbox I thought I would show you some Gnomes I would love to add to my collection. I do love this one shown above and she is reading. I must find her and bring her home!

I also really liked this gnome I found on google though sadly I don't have him either! There are so many wonderful gnomes now you can find and some truly offensive ones too. But I like the more Natural ones shall we say....

Here are a few of my collection this morning. The largest one is the most special to me. When my mother died 5 years ago my sister kindly stole this Gnome from her garden and he now lives with me. He is old, weathered and wise looking and he carefully guards my Advanced Reading Copy Shelf and Tea Cozy Mysteries a very important job indeed. The next largest is Boscov, whom I purchased while visiting friends in Pennsylvania 7 years ago from a store of the same name, I loved the name of the so he then became named after that store. Cedric to the left of Boscov is a traveling Gnome we have had since long before Gnomes became popular again...the smaller ones shown better in the first morning tea photo my friend Ana bought me in Germany last year they are very small but very detailed. The larger sleeping gnome is from a home candle party company and I think his name is G'ned. I also have two Gnome Candles my mother in law found for me that I hope are never lit! It is currently to dark and to wet out to go hunting for my other gnomes but I promise I have a few more tucked away, they do get taken on adventures every now and again but they almost always return.

So my morning musings to have a basis in cozy mysteries. I wondered if there were any Gnome Themed Cozies I should be reading and well I Googled them, this was the first to pop up Gnome Affair by Amy Saunders! It is a very short story featuring Garden Gnomes pop over to read it by clicking here.

 I also found this one Pretty is As Pretty Dies by Elizabeth Spann Craig I have to admit this one has peaked my curiosity!
"No one in Bradley, North Carolina, is exactly crying into their sweet tea over the murder of pushy town developer Parke Stockard. Certainly not retired schoolteacher Myrtle Clover. Upon discovering the corpse, Myrtle is struck -- not with grief, but a brilliant idea! Solving the crime would prove to everyone (especially her son Red, the police chief) that this eighty-something-year-old is not ready to be put out to pasture just yet." I do believe this one is going on my TBR pile and one I think I may have to buy in paperback!

I am also intrigued by this series I had not heard about before! You can read more about Kathleen Bacus' Calamity Jane series by clicking here.

If you happen to know any Cozy's I am missing that have a good Gnome component please let me know.
Thank you for joining me and my Gnomies  for A Cup of Tea and A Cozy Mystery this morning. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com