Things That Make Me Happy

We have been enjoying Escape to the Country on Netflix. If you like to look at the English countryside and watch couples explore houses, this is a great series. The houses are so much more interesting than the ones on similar U.S. shows. You don't hear repeated use of the words "open concept" and no one is big on stainless steel or cookie cutter kitchens. Although these are pretty pricey houses on the whole. Don't get me wrong. We are not looking at semi-detached houses in Manchester.

Been reading RUNAWAY by Alice Munro, which I read before but after seeing the Almodovar film Julieta I wanted to see how they used three stories for the narrative. Always amazed how she can tell a novel's worth of a story in a few thousand words.

Kevin and two of his friends were here on Thursday. So interesting to see how instead of playing a game they take it apart and film the game playing itself, adding dialogue and movement. Or instead of playing football they film each other catching the ball and them make it go backwards or in slow motion. They used two ipads and two iphones hooked together to get the effects . Pretty amazing but they don't know where India is on a map. Theirs is going to be a different world if there's a world left for them.

So kind of the Oakland Press is going an interview with me. The two Detroit papers have been singularly uninterested in doing this sort of story for years and in fact, have never responded to an email from Polis Books or me. Or even done a feature on Megan. But this smaller paper responded right away when the MWA contacted them about the Edgar nomination.

The movie A SENSE OF AN ENDING. It wasn't quite  as good as the very difficult book. But what I loved about it was seeing older people treated seriously, Older people who were not ill. And I loved seeing the faces of Jim Broadbent, Harriet Walters, Charlotte Rampling and several others still carrying a movie. Rampling is as mysterious as ever. Did she ever play an unambiguous person?

The fabulous soundtracks on so many TV shows now. Have really enjoyed the music on BIG LITTLE LIES lately. (Also ATLANTA, THE LEFTOVERS, THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE)

That I have a friend like Mary who went to Ulta with me to pick out makeup. Sounds like a small thing but I have never really learned much about it, coming from the hippie tradition. She's been my closest friend for 25 years and I love her. (As does Phil).

I know the things that make me happy tend to be books, movies, plays, music rather than personal relationship-related things. But you can just assume that my family always makes me  happy.