Monday, October 01, 2018

Things That Are Making Me Happy







The last weekend in September our local upscale grocery store sells lobsters for under ten bucks. We always cook them with our friends, Charlie and Rita. This year they were really big (almost 2 pounds) and the corn and coleslaw, strawberries and chocolate were great too.I didn't realize how pink things were till I saw this. Even the rose wine. (Phil is in the pink sweater).

Really enjoyed IN A DRY SEASON by Peter Robinson, if it was a big too long.

Glad THE GOOD PLACE is back. One of the few nertwork shows I watch. Also a great episode of BETTER CALL SAUL.

My screen porch floor is almost in. The next to the last box was the wrong color deck tiles. It will be great when it's all in. Although I guess we won't use it much until next year.

Megan flies in on Thursday for two days. We are looking forward to that.

Happy my son and his family went to Chicago to see HAMILTON and also the Michigan-Northwestern nail-biter. 

What about you?




14 comments:

Prashant C. Trikannad said...

Patti, I watched the initial episodes of THE GOOD PLACE and gave up because it didn't leave me with a happy feeling. I also felt Ten Danson and Kristen Bell were overdoing their part. Maybe I should give it a second chance.

Anonymous said...

Good to hear you enjoyed In a Dry Season, Patti. I think Peter Robinson is really talented. Have a great visit with Megan.

George said...

Western NY is enjoying cool temperatures in the 60s. The leaves are starting to change color. Fall is in the air!

I'm enjoying my new SERTA STAYCOOL DUO PILLOW. It's like sleeping on a cloud!

Diane's sister faces total knee replacement surgery tomorrow. Diane drove down to stay with her a week since her sister has opted not to go to Rehab after her surgery.

After their shocking win over the Minnesota Vikings, the Buffalo Bills reverted to mediocrity in Green Bay losing 22-0.

Jeff Meyerson said...

Nice pictures. Great looking lobsters and beautiful table.

Never tried THE GOOD PLACE. As I said, I've found the recent Robinsons to be too long too.

Highlight of the week was the wonderful and moving COME FROM AWAY on Broadway. People in a town of 9,000 took in 7,000 strangers from around the world at a moment's notice on 9/11/01, when 38 planes were forced to land (and stay, for days) in Gander, Newfoundland. They are all so Canadian, in a very good way that I am afraid most Americans are not. It makes you want to shake and smack Trump every time he mouths off about Canada. One favorite part was when the first plane finally takes off and the twelve actors in the cast immediately morph into the Canadians left behind to get back to normal. Beautifully done. George was right. Great show.

Nothing else came close this week, though I did read three books and particularly enjoyed Jo Walton's multiple award winning AMONG OTHERS. I'm not really liking the shorter days, though I am enjoying the cooler weather. We have four concerts to look forward to in October, and we have another show on Broadway next Sunday. I must say, getting around Midtown Manhattan is getting worse all the time. The traffic, the roadwork and other buildings, and the hordes of tourists who don't know how to walk are all frustrating. Anyone who drives in Midtown is just nuts, in my opinion.

Television? There are so few network shows we watch, getting fewer all the time. Even Jackie finally gave up on the awful HAWAII FIVE-O. If GREY'S ANATOMY doesn't improve from the terrible two hour season premiere, season 16 (?) might be our last. NCIS: NEW ORLEANS is hanging by the thread of her love for Scott Bakula, but it isn't good. The MURPHY BROWN reboot was better than I'd feared, but basically unnecessary. Give me Netflix and Amazon Prime and Acorn and I'm happy, though I do like THE DURRELLS IN CORFU on PBS and (especially) LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER on HBO.

Jeff Meyerson said...

George, Jackie said Diane's sister is smart to skip rehab. She would never go through that again.

Steve Oerkfitz said...

I like the cooler temps but that just means winter is coming.
Only movie I saw this week was White Boy Rick. I'd give it a solid B.
Still loving Better Call Saul but never watch anything on network tv unless it is an episode of 20/20, 60 minutes or 48 hrs. Love John Oliver and Bill Maher. Trump sure gives them a lot to gnaw on.
Read the Man Who Went Uptown by George Pelecanos. Loved it. A lot about books and reading since one of the characters teaches prison inmates. Am now reading Lethal White by Robert Galbraith(JK Rowlings). The 4th in her Cormorant Strike series. Enjoying it a lot but it is quite long. Also finished up Nightflyers and other stories by George R. R. Martin. Liked 5 of the 6 stories. It includes 2 of the best sf stories of the 70's. A Song For Lya (hugo winner) and Seven Times Kill a Man (hugo nominee). Both are excellent stories.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I have never read a Pelecanos book. I have to say his BY THE BOOK piece in the NYT made me angry. He mentioned 24 male writers and not one female except for Harper Lee, who he dissed. Male crime writers don't seem to read women writers at all whereas male literary writers always mention female writers in that feature. I wonder why. There are many women writers whose work is as hard-boiled as men.
I despise winter and probably won't get away this one at all. If Michigan were less cloudy it would help a lot.
Your side of the lakes is sunnier, right George.
You have to have a bit of whimsy to like THE GOOD PLACE. But it also extremely philosophical. Phil isn't crazy about it. He hates whimsy.

Jeff Meyerson said...

I've read and enjoyed a few of Pelecanos's books. I didn't remember that about his NYT piece. There are male writers who read and praise women - Bill Crider certainly did, also Lee Child (I know, the joke is that he blurbs as much as Stephen King) and Michael Connelly for two. Ken Bruen.

Rick Robinson said...

I'm happy we finished the renovation of our front, curbside garden bed. We dug out about 3/4 of it, added some interesting new plants and replanted many Iris and Lilies, also adding Pansies and other color. We also got our bulbs in, mostly Daffodils this year. We get a lot of comments from friends and neighbors on how nice our front garden is, and of course we enjoy it ourselves.

The Seahawks won, though they were lucky to do so, and a major player is now out with a season-ending injury. I don't much like how the team is "rebuilding".

Baseball playoffs are about to start, and though we don't watch a single game during the season, we often watch playoffs if there is a team we like. Today Barbara will be gone to her quilt group, these's a strong chance of showers and I plan on curling up with coffee and a book, specifically, THE AGE OF WAR by Michael Sullivan.

pattinase (abbott) said...

We have had so much rain, I fear we are getting Portland's weather again.
Here it is, Jeff.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/23/books/review/by-the-book-george-pelecanos.html

George said...

I also enjoyed Megan's interview in the latest MYSTERY SCENE.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Thanks, George. Me, too.

Jerry House said...


yum, lobster...

After a perfect day at the beach yesterday, we all descended upon McGuire's Irish Pub in Pensacola for a light lunch. Turns out this place has appetizers the size of Rhode Island and entrees the size of Maine, as well as their own crafted beer. Laughed a lot, ate a lot, and pushed by diet back at least two weeks.

Watched the Anthony Hopkin's KING LEAR this week. It's my favorite Shakespearean play and they did it justice, although the storm scene was weak. (I expect an earth-shaking, bone-rattling, fury of an operatic storm; this one was just heavy rain. **sigh**) Also finish watching SCOTT & BAILEY. Enjoyable.

As we downsize, I am amazed at how much crap we have accrued.

A woman who came by to pick up a couple of chairs gave Jack $10 to buy a toy, just because he was so cute. I am going to let it be known to anyone who has money that I can be cute, too.

Have a great week and enjoy Megan's visit.

Gerard Saylor said...

Local friends are very close to opening their brewery tasting room. They are hosting what they call a "really, really, really soft opening" this Friday. My wife already paid for our beer club memberships.

Family sports seasons are half way complete and I'll have more free time in the evenings and weekends. I hope to attend the Murder and Mayhem in Milwaukee conference later this month.

I've finally gotten around to doing some reading as well and am halfway through an older Michelle Gagnon novel, BONEYARD, and enjoying it.