We were so lucky to have Megan's airplane make it in before the floor fell out here. So nice to spend some time together, watching old movies on Criterion, watching the Sr. doc about Robert Downey Sr. on Netflix, having four restaurant meals-all turned out well. Got two new books: Shrines of Gaiety, Kate Atkinson and The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty. It was too cold to be outside at all but my building has a gym, which Megan used.
I am afraid to hear what George has been going through in Buffalo!
How about you?
19 comments:
Patti, Patrick and Katie made it to the Buffalo Airport...before it closed. The Airport hopes to reopen tomorrow! This blizzard became the star of THE WEATHER CHANNEL and most national TV newscasts. We had 70 mph winds, plenty of snow, and arctic temperatures. Thousands of Western NY residents lost power...and some of it has yet to be restored.
But, on the Plus Side, Patrick and Katie baked up a storm of Christmas cookies, honey cake, carrot cake, and other delicious desserts.
I snowblowed our driveway and sidewalks so our guests could make to our house for Christmas Dinner. Diane went with a Turkey, stuffing, gravy, white potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, and jello salad. Desserts: Christmas Carrot Cake, Honey Cake, apple pie, and Christmas cookies. A great time for our dozen guests!
Glad you and Megan had Quality Time together. That's the best Christmas present ever! Stay safe!
Sounds like you both had a good time. Yes, we've been glued to stories about Western NY and the incredible scenes from the blizzard. Some of the pictures of frozen buildings by the Lakes are amazing.
We got a pizza on Thursday so we had leftovers, Chinese food on Friday (so we didn't have to go out yesterday) and were inside for three straight days (including today). Jackie made a double thickness chocolate pudding pie that last for three days.
Mostly read and watched favorite Christmas special episodes of our favorite British TV shows - The Good Life, Death in Paradise, The Darling Buds of May, Gavin & Stacy, Midsomer Murders, plus watched Jackie's favorite LOVE ACTUALLY yesterday, along with the new Call the Midwife Christmas special. She also watched two or three Hallmark/Lifetime Christmas movies. The only dud she turned off starred Jane Seymour and was, apparently, unwatchably bad. In another, she was appalled by the amount of plastic surgery and fillers Marlo Thomas has had done. She is 85 but trying to look about 50.
We did watch THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN and will watch GLASS ONION soon.
It was cold in Michigan and windy but very little snow. Supposed to reach the 50's next weekend. Since I have a large family the logistics of getting everyone or at least most all together we are having our Christmas New Year's Eve morning (too many toddlers that get cranky in the afternoon).
Yesterday I mostly read and watched a couple of movies. Glass Onion which was entertaining. And All Quiet On the Western Front (2022) which is probably the best movie I saw this year.
Read Folk Music by Greil Marcus and Paperback Jack by Loren Estleman. Browsing through Bob Dylan's The Philosophy of Modern Song. Some very strange choices.
Going to see Babylon this afternoon. It has got mixed reviews but the only other choice would be Avatar which doesn't interest me all that much.
Maddie it to my daughter”s in Cleveland days before Christmas. So much snow, so damn cold. We are watching The Recruit and Three Pines. Three poetry presents for me _ the latest Charles Simic, the latest Ron Padgett and a collection of poems about Bob Dylan by Angel A. James.
I have been wondering about THE RECRUIT. I thought THREE PINES was so-so. Some of the acting was amateurish and they leaned too hard on eccentricities. And also too hard on Gamache's childhood trauma. My goodness, he is sixty now. Get beyond it! It's nice to have a loving couple and I know plenty, but none of them are all over each other like the two of them.
I will try ALL IS QUIET. I almost went to see it at a theater and then forgot about it.
Although there is little snow it is icy out there so I am hunkering down so I don't fall.
Had a good time watching Jack Lemmon in Bell, Book and Candle. He really stole the show in his scenes.
George, Jackie wants to know how your friends got there when the roads are still closed.
We liked THREE PINES generally, but if Gamache were really as stupid as he behaves in the last episode, he would not have lived as long as he has.
BABYLON got horrible reviews - over three hours - and BOMBed this weekend at the box office.
I'm enjoying Lawrence Block's THE BURGLAR WHO MET FREDRIC BROWN, and its connections to Brown's WHAT MAD UNIVERSE.
Patti-Loved Jack Lemmon in Bell, Book and Candle. My only problem with the movie is why Kim Novak would be interested in such a bore as James Stewart.
Did you know that there's a letter between "R" and "T"? It's true! My new computer keyboard told me so.
My niece Lauren is in the area, complete with her German Shepherd and her bunch of sugar gliders, for an extra week or so. Her truck broke down so it will be a while before she gets back on the road. It's great to see her (and a bit tiring to listen to her -- she is the only person I have ever met who can talk more than my sister). The family enjoyed an evening bonfire at her campground; I stayed homne where it was consistently warm.
Christmas was great. I got a keyboard and a DVD player, both of which had been on my list for January purchases. Spent a lot of time on my gift for granddaughter Erin -- a short story/Holmesian pastiche featuring her beloved hedgehog Pine Cone, who became the world's first consulting hedgehog in my tale. Someday I may post it on my blog. Xmas eve I made chili and Jessie and the girls made decadent hot chocolate and everyone made Rolo cookies. We also decorated cookies as a craft night. Christmas dinner included a very spicy Indonesian beef recipe that Walt wanted to try out, along with the usual turkey and fixings. He also made the world's best squash soup. I think I got fat over the weekend.
I am watching TV again. WEDNESDAY was good but veered a bit much from the Chas. Addams character. Enjoyed ENOLA HOLMES and THE SANDMAN. I've never read Louise Penny so I had little to judge THREE PINEs by; many of the characters seemed to be forced stereotypes though, and the duck was the best actor in the show.
Read too many books to count, among them: two Sam Moskowitz anthologies (THE MAN WHO CALLED HIMSELF POE and A. MERRITT: REFLECTIONS IN THE MOON POOL), the second Welcome to Night Vale novel, IT DEVOURS!, Robert Silverberg's Black Gat reprint of a 60s sleeze novel, KILLER, James Reasoner's TEXAS WIND, Tom Disch's first novel, THE GENOCIDES, Eric Frank Russell's nonfiction take on the madness of crowds, THE RABBLE ROUSERS, Bradbury's FAREWELL SUMMER, a Keller book by Lawrence Block, HIT ME, Peter Tremayne's ZOMBIE, Erle Stanley Gardner's collection THE CASE Of THE MURDERER'S BRIDE, and Carl Jacobi's collection of pulp far-East adventure stories EAST OF SAMARINDA. Currently reading Charles Beaumont and William F. Nolans nonfiction anthology THE OMNIBUS OF SPEED, the Cornell Woolrich tribute anthoolgy BLACK IS THE NIGHT, as well as making my (torturously slow) way through Rousseau's SOCIAL CONTRACT.
It is so freeing not to have to use a "_" to substitute for letters on these posts. It is saving me a lot of time -- time I can now use to wish you a fantastic week! Stay safe and warm, Patti.
How nice it must be to consider temps in the fifties as cold. Hopefully I will be able to do that in CA in a few weeks.
I think he still had her under his spell from Vertigo, Steve.
Megan had seen Babylon and had nothing good to say about it.
Every day there is one more thing to either charge or put batteries in or change the password on, or call India about. Really why do you need passwords for newspaper subscriptions?
Jeff, tell Jackie the blizzard roared in on Friday so fast many people found their cars stuck in the snow. Then they abandoned their cars--the Public Works crews are clearing abandoned cars today and so far they towed over 300 cars to various parking lots. But some people stayed in their cars...and died. The combination of blinding show and arctic temperatures also killed homeless people who didn't make it to any of the warming stations. The death toll keeps climbing. I'm sure when the power crews finally restore power to the remaining 14,000 people, more frozen bodies will be found.
Also tell Jackie that many those goof-balls who violated the Travel Ban were ticketed. The cost: $1000.
Jerry, I am glad that you got a new computer. Much as I enjoyed deciphering your comments without S's, this is better, and especially for you.
Chili for Christmas Eve sounds great to me, I need to make more chili. And find the perfect recipe for me. We had spaghetti for Christmas day (actually Glen made it) and it was really good. And a Costco pumpkin pie. Glen waits all year for pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Patti, so glad to hear that Megan made it there and you have had such a nice time together.
I will admit that some aspects of THREE PINES is disappointing. I don't think it works well to use only two episodes to cover a plot, the ending always seems rushed. Maybe because they have combined the Blue Two-Rivers disappearance and the plots from the books (sort of). And some of the character quirks are overdone. But in general I think it is fine, and I like Alfred Molina as Gamache. We have watched the first 6 episodes.
Yesterday we watched RED with Bruce Willis and Mary Louise Parker and many others, and DARK AND STORMY NIGHT directed by Larry Blamire. Tonight is FLASH GORDON with music by Queen.
I am probably being too hard on it because there are moments when I think it could be great. But it's inconsistent. Yes, rushed.
Yikes and congratulations, for the mostly happy reunions!
Alice's birthday, being on the 22nd, is as always very difficult to build a party for (I have managed it while she was still in medical school--I'm not sure, is the first as distracted a day?), but we did celebrate with a German chocolate cake (some of which still remains, and I forbid myself to have any more unless it's in danger of being wasted) and she was at a dinner with friends yesterday, while I was attempting various things, such as not quite successfully coaxing the Now Officially Problematic dishwasher through the frozen-pipe weather...we'll need the attention of pros at this point, or a new dishwasher. Somehow I doubt this Miele will make it to its promised 20 years of service.
No snow in in the Philly burbs of Jersey, we've been missing all the Big Storms, just a dusting of frozen rain a few days back. But cold enough for our cold-water pipes in one wall...happy Boxing Day, and New Year to all...
Saw Babylon and I rather liked it. It could have lost 20 minutes easily, but the cinematography, production design , music ( a bit on the loud side) and acting (esp Robbie in the Clara Bow role) were all great. Didn't seem all that long to me.
The worst review of the film came from a critic who liked Avatar, Nope and Anyway, Anywhere.... The last two being the worst movies I saw this year.
People seem to come down strongly on either side of it, Steve.
Strange to think I may never see the Philly area again, nor the Jersey shores.
I'm very glad the weather held for you, Patti, and that you had such a nice visit. I hope it all eases up soon.
Happy to hear Megan made it safely, Patti, and that you had a nice holiday! I'm also glad that George and his clan were safe. We had a low here in the DC area of about 20 on Christmas Eve, but the forecast for New Year's Day is 60. Roller-coaster weather for sure.
I was hoping we could see "The Pale Blue Eye" (the adaptation of Louis Bayard's novel about a young Poe at West Point assisting Christian Bale's detective) on the big screen. But like "Glass Onion" (which we *did* see), it was only in cinemas for one week - just not around here - and then off to streaming.
The hubster and I watched "Book, Bell, and Candle" (which he'd seen before and I had not), and I was bit miffed that a powerful witch would give up all of that for a "bore" as Steve noted above - or for any man, really. The best thing about the movie is Pyewatcket.
Hope everyone has a very Happy New Year!
Thanks, Bonnie. So glad to hear from you. She was mesmerizingly beautiful and an underrated actress, I think. Now that my brother is not in the DC area, I probably won't get there again.
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