My backyard, which is waiting for some TLC. Most of it will be filled with hostas and ferns soon, but it needs some color too. Don't know what it will be this year. The nurseries are open, as of Thursday, but I have no way of getting there until my cleaner/driver comes back.
Finished the Maigret and am going to try LEAN ON PETE by Willie Vlautin, I think.
Things I have ordered this week: a pulse oximeter, a safe--which I cancelled when I saw how much it weighed (80 lbs) Doubt I could haul that in from my porch. Headbands to cover the gray, although it turns out they are for kids or else I have a big head, loose tea in tins, books, unsalted mixed nuts from Costco, an orchid. I am still probably spending less than I would have if I was going out to a meal and the movies several times a week. But I had better be careful. Don't know what will happen to the economy. They may come after social security and medicare. Will pensions survive if states go broke? I wish I understood all of this better.
Watched BAD EDUCATION on HBO. I liked it with the caveat, I am not sure why they saw it as a comedy. The writers, I mean. It was about a school superintendent and his underling who stole millions from the Roslyn, NY school system. Perhaps the original story in New York Magazine (I think) framed it like that.
Watching JEAN BAPTISTE on PBS. I like the character more than the story line. And I love seeing Amsterdam. We spent six months there in 1997. It looks exactly the same 25 years later, which would not be true of NYC or Detroit.
It is possible that east coast and midwest cities have a different strain of this virus than the west coast and a much worse one. One coming from Europe, and the other from Asia. That makes a lot of sense.
What's new with you?
14 comments:
That's a beautiful 'photo, Patti. Thanks for sharing. My husband and I want to see Bad Education. I hear it is really good, so I'm glad you liked it.
I think it was partly Allison Janney, the way we see her even when she is being vicious. Certainly there wasn't humor in the Hugh Jackman character. It did make me think a couple of times of her role in I, Tonya. We've been rewatching The West Wing - we just had the re-election landslide episodes - and everything about that show was just so good.
I like your stone path a lot too. Houses take a lot of upkeep, and for one person it is just too much to do.
Not me so much (though I did order - and receive in less than a week - a book by Gerry Boyle in his Jack McMorrow series that I'd missed, that the library did not have), but Jackie has been ordering a bunch of stuff from Amazon. Masks (a box of 50 came in a couple of days, a group of three still haven't arrived weeks later), two different thermometers (one was "lost" and cancelled, then arrived a day or two later), a two quart Farberware saucepan after she burned one cooking chicken on too high a heat), a 40-pack of storage containers (I think they are mostly one quart size), nail files, drip pan replacements for the stove (these came together with the nail files), Acetaminophen and Acidophilus and Benadryl, 1000 packets of Splenda, a makeup mirror, and CDs by John Prine and Petula Clark (coming from England). She also ordered from Costco online (paper towels, saline solution, etc.).
Patti, there is NO legal way for a state to declare bankruptcy, as McConnell wants, undoubtedly to destroy our pensions. It isn't going to happen.
We started BAPTISTE. Hard to judge from one episode. We liked him in the two series of THE MISSING, which you might want to look for if you haven't seen them.
Diane plans to bake some zucchini bread today. We're still enjoying the Chocolate Banana Nut muffins she baked a few days ago.
It finally stopped raining--for one day!--on Saturday so I fired up our lawnmower and Diane mowed our lawn. Her Fitbit said she walked 17,000 steps that day! Our landscaping crew was scheduled to come out in early May, but the coronavirus crisis is going to delay that event.
Jeff is right about the States not going bankrupt. Moscow Mitch was just throwing "red meat" to his conservative base. Of course, there may be fewer members of his base and Trump's if they're injecting Lysol.
I'll have to check out Baptiste. Not on my radar. Binge watched the 6th season of Bosch and the second season of Afterlife. Binge watching a Finnish show on Netflix's called Bordertown. Finished Broken by Don Winslow. It is 6 novellas, many bringing back characters from his other books such as Neal Carey from his early P.I. novels, Frankie Machine, Bobby Z and the characters from Savages. I really enjoyed this book. Now reading War of the Maps by Payl McAuley.
Turned 72 on Sunday. It was the first time in years my oldest daughter couldn't take me out for lunch.
Missing baseball.
The only things I have ordered online recently have been movies, books, cd's and some vitamins. Everything else I get from the store.
Was Afterlife any good? I thought the first season was okay. Have you tried THE FRENCH VILLAGE on Hulu and Prime. People keep recommending it. Happy Birthday, Steve. I am three months older than you.
Glad to be assured about state bankruptcy. But what about lowering ss and medicare?
It is too much, Jeff, you are right. But I have the feeling this is not going to be a good time to sell a house.
17,000 steps. Your yard is bigger than I remembered.
Patti, I like the look of that side yard, the walk is very nice, nd Hosta and ferns is a wonderful pairing. I'd think you could add a begonia or two for color. I don't think you have to worry about Social Security going away, or state bankruptcy. You worry too much!
@ Jeff: you really need all that stuff?? Forty 1-qt. storage containers? Really? Those masks are disposable, right? So into the landfill they go. How about you get a couple of cloth ones you just wash and re-wear? The only things being delivered here are a couple of old paperbacks I got from eBay and a couple of ink cartridges for the printer, from Office Depot. Does Jackie always shop that much?
@ George: All the gardeners and landscapers here are still working, since they stay outside and don't interact with the homeowners, it's okay. Our neighbor's guy is here this morning.
Rick, believe me, it was NOT my choice. My sister is sending us some homemade, reusable masks from California. We also got ten reusable ones, but Jackie said it you can see through them they are too thin, so she uses two layers when she wears them. Personally, I think she is being paranoid, especially considering how rarely we got out. As for the storage, we are cooking a lot more and always have plenty of leftovers. As long as we have the room, I have no problem with that. I think sitting around is making her more antsy, hence more shopping. She is not buying her usual clothes or shoes so I guess when she gets an idea from something she sees or reads about, or someone mentions, she just buys it. It seems like a lot when all together, but isn't that much. For instance, we haven't been able to go to Costco in over a month, and a lot of the stuff is things we'd have bought there.
We watched the two seasons (so far) of BORDERTOWN. I think it is dark enough for you, Patti. AFTER LIFE we watched only the first episode so far. It was pretty similar to season one.
We started DEADWATER FALLS with David Tennant as a small town doctor in Scotland whose wife and daughters were killed in a house fire from which he was the only survivor. (ALl of them, including Tennant, had been sedated.) It's a 4 part miniseries on Netflix. Cush Jumbo (GOOD WIFE/GOOD FIGHT) is the co-star.
Jeff-Deadwater Falls is on Acorn not Netflix. Afterlife is okay. I liked Ricky Gervais's Extras better.
Except for one violent storm I slept through the weather here as been beautiful -- all sorts of great sunlight to kill the coronavirus. On my daily walk to the trash and the mailbox, I've been keeping my mouth open to get as much of the healing sunlight into my body as possible. Thank you for the medical advice, Mr. President.
I was also going to inject myself with disinfectant by then I learned that the medical term for that is embalming.
My buddy and oldest grandchild Marl celebrated his 2Oth on Saturday with drive-through Whataburgers. Part of me is resisting picturing him as an adult, but part of me is also resisting picturing myself as an adult. Mark's birthday present (and Erin's) will be coming along whenever Jeff Bezos and his cronies decide to ship it; I'm patient, I'll wait.
I find myself sleeping a lot during the isolation, both a morning nap and an afternoon nap as well as a good night's sleep. Does anyone else find this to be true? I'm not complaining, just wondering. Incidentally, the mantra that kept christina sane while in college was, "It doesn't matter; take a nap."
Kitty remains beautiful, the family remains healthy, Jessie finally got all the branches littering her lawn removed after she had six trees taken down, Christina and Walt put up a small pool to keep Jack busy and it is working, we watch a lot of televsion (some of it good), Kitty has been trying YouTube recipes with great success, and I've been reading a lot of old books, which makes me happy.
Your back yard looks lovely as it is. I doubt you have a big head. Don't worry about any gray -- all of us love you just the way you are. Stay happy and healthy and we'll all meet up on the other side of this.
I realized that after I wrote it.
Immediate hassles (half the electric circuits in the kitchen failed day before yesterday; the day before that, my laptop's trackpad refused to Click and I'm back to using a mouse, a readjustment) of the nibbled by ducks kind, and more distant depressing facts (the death of my friendly acquaintance Reed Andrus the other day; today being my father's birthday but he in relatively uncommunicative state and the staff of his residence a lot too eager to wake him up when my sister or I call, despite requests not to). My broken fingers best addressed by wearing splints that won't allow me to type. No.
So, all told, the dumps I'm down in keep getting a bit deeper, despite trying to reason myself past up and out. I've rarely had such a personal piling on coupled with world events not really turning any good corners. Sorry to complain to y'all, not a few of you facing even worse.
Running through the HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL episodes, most decent, most of the worst ones written by a tyro scripter Gene Roddenberry. A quick shot of moralistic drama in the mornings.
PENNY DREADFUL: CITY OF ANGELS starts reasonably well, and it's Almost amusing that this is the second short-term cable series in as many months with fantasticated basis and Nazis foregrounded. But, then again, what could be putting Nazis to mind in H'wood of late? A certain ham-handedness is not avoided, but given it's branded as a part of PENNY DREADFUL, that's not too surprising.
Third episode of MRS. AMERICA brings it closer to Oliver Stone levels of ineptitude, with a Shirley Chisholm and Bella Abzug lecturing each other in Politics 101 just offstage at the 1972 Democratic convention. Nope.
Thanks,Jerry. I always veer toward insomnia. And I love all of you . Can you imagine explaining that to someone in 1980. I can’t even explain it to my friends.
Well, blogs (as well as other social media) remain the descendants of personal newsletters, amateur press association contributions, and personalzine fanzines...those might seem eccentric to your friends made in other ways, but goodness, it's not as if people of similar interests and temperaments haven't been making non-face-to-face acquaintances in a lot of ways throughout human history. We are your committee of correspondence, your fellow ham radio operators.
Love you, too, Patti. Stay kind, if you want to. Definitely stay whole and engaged as long as you may.
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