We still have had barely a day without rain.
Watching HACKS, MARGO's GOT MONEY TROUBLES, THE STORE (Wiseman doc about Neiman Marcus.
About to start a new book, but what?
What about you?
Monday, April 20, 2026
Monday, Monday
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Not -much rain in NJ, but you might not want to trade, as it was in the 80s/90s a couple of days ago, and is likely to be in the lowest 30s tonight, with a bit of an ice storm. May the plants and animals make it. Except maybe the ants.
Sorry about the bad soundtrack. Did anyone take it up with the staff?
Have liked HACKS from jump. I'm currently being unengaged with the season premiere of THE COMEBACK--the same joke repeated for a half hour or so.
Also, have you tried ROOSTER yet on HBO? I like it ...literary life in a smallish college/town.
Liked THE STORE decades back.
Congrats to Megan on her well-deserved recognition.
Warm April weather for most of the week, turning March coolish and drizzly only yesterday. hoping to spend much of this coming week on the patio swing with a good book and a cold beer.
Mark and two friends from work have rented a four-bedroom place much closer to work. The Gulfarium is 40 miles from our house and this new place will cut his commute by 75%. He will begin moving this week; with his schedule it will take about two weeks to get all his stuff, including books and snakes, over there. We will miss having him here on a daily basis.
Thursday was Puppy Day at Christina's police station. A local Golden retriever breeder brought eleven seven-week-old puppies to the station as a show of appreciation. Christina fell in love with all of them, from the fat little chonky one to the skinny runt. The puppies visited every department to receive the love, cuddles, and tummy rubs that were their due. Several of them went in cruisers and learned to work the lights and sirens. They were a hit with everyone there and all were cited for being good dogs.
Also on Thursday, I had an ophthamologist for testing and dilation and scheduling my cataract surgery. Like the puppies mentioned above, I was a good boy. I have come close three times in my life to losing my right eye from accidents so I am very phobic about my eyes. Actually, phobic is a very mild word for it. My fight-or-flight system instinctively revert to fight mode whenever anyone of anything comes close to my eyes -- this includes attempts to place drops in my eyes. The doctor was about half my size and I had to make a superhuman effort not to fling him against a wall. My better angels came through and, with grit and determination, I made it through the appointment without injuring myself or the doctor. Yay, me. I will be completely knocked out for the actual cataract surgery -- now scheduled for late June -- so that will help.
Friday morning, Walt had outpatient surgery on his foot, which had been bothering him for quite a while now. Everything went well and pain pills are now his best friend. He is not allowed to drive for a week, so household schedules for appointments and errands have to be shifted. Because of the surgery, we skipped Friday evening Bingo with Walt Sr. and Ellen.
Saturday was Sister Day, and Christina and Jessie went strawberry picking, followed by a yummy lunch. Ellen and Erin joined them. It was a great time until Ellen collapsed/tripped and fell flat on her face, causing a bit of panic. Ellen was fine, just a bit rattled, and the strawberries kept on being picked.
Continuing on...
Newercat Rose is beginning to accept me. Kinda, sorta. She no longer runs and hides when she sees me. She stays in one place, crouched down and stares daggers at me instead. When I lean down to pet her, she flinches but does not run. Small steps.
I was planning to finish the last hundred nor so pages in Stephen Graham Jones's THE BUFFALO HUNTER HUNTER yesterday, but Jack and Christina corralled me into a game of PHASE TEN, a marathon experience which can be likened to Monopoly for the time it takes to play. I tried to explain to Jack that all cards games should be called MR. HOUSE ALWAYS WINS, but since he did not grow up with me as a father he did not fully understand the concept. When out girls were younger, every card game with them and their friends was Mr. House Always Wins -- not because I was that good, but because they were that bad. The first few rounds, I was far behind and Jack was well ahead. By the seventh round, I had caught up, and easily won in the final round. Jack was not sure he appreciated Mr. House Always Wins, but Christina (for some reason...experience, perhaps?) expected it. when Christina mentioned the game to Jessie, Jessie said, "I love Mr. House Always Wins!" Anyway, because of the marathon card game, I never got to finish the Jones book. Tomorrow, for sure.
It was a light reading week. I read Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer novel SURVIVAL ZERO!, My FFB this week. The only other book I finished was a graphic novel of Octavia E. Butler's apocalyptic PARABLE OF THE SOWER, a large, powerful, dense book that required my use of a magnifying glass (stupid cataracts!). The artwork was deceptively primitive, often verging on woodcuts, with an earth-tone color palette that worked far better than I expected. This one is highly recommended.
For television, DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN killed off an important character, setting the scene for an oncoming bloodbath, and WILL TRENT also appeared to killed off a major character (yeah, she's dead), setting up tomorrow's final episode and carving out the arc for Season Five.
May your week be filled with Mrs. Abbott Always Wins moments, Patti, full of good books, shows, experiences, and awesome friends. Stay safe.
I moderately like ROOSTER but just can't watch THE COMEBACK. The pitch of her voice annoys me. I liked the one with Bob Odenkirk as a prof better.
As usual the House house is full of good cheer, good books and good animals. What a life.
I agree with you about Lisa Kudrow. Not a fan. Jackie likes Steve Carell so we might try Rooster.
Jerry, I love Mr. House Always Wins. Don't worry about the cataract surgery. Piece of cake. I had both eyes done, one week apart. It's fast and painless.
Busy week. Monday I had the dentist. (I have a second tooth to be done today.) Tuesday Jackie had the ENT. She also had her hair and nails done. Yesterday we took our neighbor out to lunch to thank her for picking up the mail while we were gone.
The weather has gone from the 80s to the 40s, but not much rain.
We've watched six episodes of THE PITT season two so far. Still a favorite. Also watched 7 of 10 of the latest Lincoln Lawyer. The problem is, they made the prosecutor a one dimensional cartoon. Does she really believe what she's trying to sell (he killed his client over unpaid bills, hoping to find the money and get it after death), or does she hate him that much, or does she just need to win at any cost? I'm not buying it. What jury would believe this convoluted story?
Reading James Sallis's book on Jim Thompson, David Goodis and Chester Himes, and Jill Lepore's JOE GOULD'S TEETH. Seems Joseph Mitchell has a lot to answer for, for romanticizing and normalizing the psychotic Gould, along with his "friends" and enablers, E.E. Cummings and Ezra Pound prominent among them. He stalked and terrorized black sculptor Augusta Savage for decades.
Jackie got a bug about changes to the Kindle, so we got two new ones that are a little smaller but brighter.
She got tickets for next month for the Bobby Darin show, JUST IN TIME, and we got tickets for June to see 86 year old Dion in concert. We last saw him in 2022.
And, perhaps because we used H&R Block for the first time, we got our tax refund in just over a week!
Hadn't thought about LUCKY HANK for a while! I can see (or hear) how Kudrow's voice could annoy, but it's definitely the writing which loses me...particularly in an episode so much about AI scripting and its evilness...this episode doesn't make a good case for human superiority.
Jerry, how do you deal with cataracts and reading? I'm encouraging Alice to get her cataracts done...and need an opth visit of my own. Just had a podiatrist visit...and neuropathy has done nothing to lessen the ticklishness and thus reflexive flinching when anyone touches my soles.
Well, when one is a friend of Ezra Pound...that is by itself a warning sign.
Todd, reading has slowed down just a bit. My vision is getting more and more blurry and I have to occasionally use magnifying glasses for read small type, and especially italics. I no longer drive at night because, although I can easily read traffic signs, I have a hard time making out other signs -- I don 't want to let thing get so bad that I m a danger to others. Despite my absolute phobia about my eyes, I am looking forward to cataract surgery, which I have been told will vastly improve my vision and may even reduce my need for glasses.
P.S., my podiatrist has learned to come at my feet at an angle because of my reflexes when he touches my soles.
I'm watching snowflakes fall as I type this. Yes, it's April in Western NY but the doesn't protect anyone from Yo-Yo weather. We hit the 70s last week, today it's 30 degrees with mild snowfall.
Patrick and Katie made it back from Barcelona before the jet fuel runs out because of Trump's War with Iran. What a mess!
Today we have a plumber installing new faucets in our bathrooms. Diane has wanted them upgraded for months, but our plumber had a long list of clients to work through before it was our turn. I also asked him to replace our 12 year old sump pump. Our sump pump runs all the time--we must be the lowest house on the street since the water just flows into our sump. Our ZOELLER sump pump has been reliable all those years, but lately it's been making grinding noises. Time for a new one!
I meet with my sleep doctor on Wednesday for the results of my Sleep Test. I may be trading in my CPAP for a BI-PAP. Stay safe!
So true. She ruined the season for me.
Lots of sad stories from those days sadly.
I should probably do a sleep study too. And I am dithering about how to drink safer water.
Patti, call it branch and mix it with bourbon.
Puts me in mind of the instigating character in DR. STRANGELOVE...
I keep seeing adverts for ROOSTER and by Todd's rec I will give it a try. The ads make it look like the show is all about a creepy guy his 60s buying booze for 20-year-olds and going to their parties to feel young.
Read GREEN CITY WARS. A SciFi version of a hard-boiled.P.I. hired to find a missing someone. Characters are all genetically modified animals who work as servants to humans .
Started reading PIRATES ON THE PRAIRIE which is about crime in the mostly lawless plains of 1830s Illinois.
Weather here has been a series of tornado warnings and thunderstorms. I am super close to finishing replacing a bathroom exhaust fan. It has taken awhile because I hate the dust and doing any wiring.
Also to mention, my wife and I continued to meet with builders and designers for remaking our kitchen, mud, and laundry rooms. Quite a chore to be working on but we'll be seeing a major improvement to the house. I figure we'll be in the house another 5-10 years at least.
Good luck, George! I hadn't realized till now that for some reason you're the Anonymous One here.
I've missed those ROOSTER ads! Not particularly representative, no.
Good luck with the fan!
I will repeat my warning about Miele dishwashers. My sister and sister-in-law did report their entirely-Miele makeover of their second kitchen was otherwise fine.
Say if you think you are going to post as anonymous, leave your name somewhere. I am a lousy guesser!
I am envious of all your rain. But we may get some rain tomorrow morning or afternoon. We are also supposed to have our lemon tree pruned tomorrow afternoon. We still have many plants to pot up front, and have not made any progress on working on the back area so there are still lots of weeds to get in their way. If they had given us more notice we would have made an effort to get some of the weeds out.
Today is my sister's birthday and I called and we talked about an hour. That was after we got back from breakfast and grocery shopping and is why I am so late.
Watching: Among a lot of the usual shorter shows, we watched a Columbo and the 2nd Brokenwood episode in the new season. At this rate we will be finished with watching all available Brokenwood episodes very soon. Maybe we will start from the beginning and rewatch it.
Glen is reading TAKING LONDON by Martin Dugard. The subtitle is "Winston Churchill and the Fight to Save Civilization." It is about the Battle of Britain; it is not a long book, around 350 pages and he has read about a third of it. He is liking it and I will probably give it a try because he says it is very readable.
I am still reading the same two books I was reading last Monday. Together they are 900 pages so that is not too surprising. I am almost done with the THE ROMEO FLAG by Carolyn Hougan, an espionage novel first published in 1989. It is 500 pages long, but I have enjoyed every page. No dead spots. The other book I am reading is THE IVY TREE, by Mary Stewart, and it is going slower because I am reading it on the Kindle. But I am liking it a lot.
One of my closer friends, Rose, talks to her sister for an hour every night. What do they find to talk about for that long? I have to watch more Brokenwood, which I think I can get on PBS.
Patti, an hour every night sounds like a lot. I am a quiet person, and I don't like to talk on the phone much. My sister is outgoing and she can go on for hours. Unfortunately we don't talk much, and last year when I called her on my birthday was the last time I talked to her. I hope that we do better in the future.
My brother and I don't talk often enough either. He is a great brother and will be helping me today with my Investments but we can't always think of what to say.
My wife and I have a friend whose son just joined the service. He is kinda lonely and bored where he is and calls his mom all the time. When is mom is unavailable or talked out he calls his older sister. When his sister gets tired of him he'll call his brother.
I myself need to call my mother more frequently.
My wife and I have regular Sunday evening calls to the children. Something that started when Boy #1 went to college.
My family did not call me when I was in college. That was too expensive way back then. But, in my freshman year, my father wrote a letter to me every week and sometimes enclosed a crossword puzzle he cut out of the paper.
I just checked and Megan's El Dorado Drive is not in stock at our two major bookstores in Winnipeg or in our library so I guees I will have to order from Amazon. In regard to cataract surgery, I encourage people to get it done as soon as they can. I did years ago and it made a major difference and I no longer need glasses while driving. Before my surgery, I had trouble reading the large Interstate signs. Our annual Children's Hospital Book Market runs Friday through Sunday in a large mall and I'll be working a shift in sports on Friday afternoon. The market chair was thrilled that I wrote about my finds over the years in my latest sports column. The crowds are so large on opening day that I no longer bother with the large paperback section. They usually put older hardcover fiction priced at a couple of dollars in an area away from the centre and you can on occasion find an older novel that is on your want list. That will be one of my first stops. One volunteerr has taken it upon herself to ensure there is a special section for vintage paperbacks.
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