Monday, August 19, 2019

THINGS THAT ARE MAKING ME HAPPY





A friend has invited me to share an apartment with her on Treasure Island (FL) for a few weeks in Feb-March, which is very nice and I am certainly considering doing that. Getting out of Michigan that time of year is great. We have spent a lot of time together in Traverse City so we know we are compatible. We are both movie-goers, concert lovers and readers and walkers. I have even got her reading Jussi Adler-Olsen after seeing a movie from his work in TC.

Saw LUCE and really admired it. So seldom a movie tries to confront as many issues as this one did. Naomi Watts is such a great actress. I am reminded of my favorite movie with her, THE PAINTED VEIL.

Started MINDHUNTER on Netflix and am not sure I am interested enough. It seems even more like a documentary this year. And sadly these serial killers don't differ much one from another.

Has anyone watched ELEMENTARY? Is it worth the seven seasons?

I have a great brother who is helping me decide what to do with a pretty large amount of money. I was ready to invest it but last week changed my mind.  There is no point putting money in the market just as it is about to go down. Jeff is about all the family I have from my generation. And now it turns out we are only half-siblings so even nicer of him to help me.

Having lots of allergy-sinus problems. Instead of being nasal it goes to my sinuses. And then I am dizzy and now that I am alone here, I have to be more careful that I don't fall and crack my head or hip on all the stone floors. The police here suggest you install a box outside your house with a house key and your medical cards in it. Has anyone done this?

Great weather here. The first half of the summer it rained but the last six weeks or so has been terrific. 

What are you guys up to?




17 comments:

Margot Kinberg said...

I think it's great that you might take some travel time, Patti. It's something nice to look forward to. And you're wise to really think about what you want to do with the money.

Jeff Meyerson said...

Great news about Florida, Patti. We were in that area (though not the islands) at the Bouchercon last September, and though we prefer the East Coast, you really can't beat Florida in the winter.

My father did have a box like that outside his house for his key. He seemed to have to call the Fire Department too often his last year or so, and my sister was an hour away. It worked.

Loved the cooler weather last week (though we are back in the heat for most of this week). Any time I can comfortably wear jeans in the summer, I'm happy. We enjoyed John Fogerty's 50th Anniversary Tour, not least because it was at the wonderful Radio City Music Hall. We had terrific seats too. My history there goes back to my mother and grandmother taking me to the movies there as a kid. (I could be wrong, but I remember it as A MAJORITY OF ONE, with Rosalind Russell, which I didn't like all that much.) When we were dating and then first married, it looked like the Music Hall was going to close, so we went to movies there as often as possible, even though many were not particularly good. And, of course, both of us had our separate experiences with the Radio City Christmas Show as kids. If you went early, it was only 99 cents admission! You'd sit through a crappy movie, see the show, and you could stay and see it again if you wanted, moving down to better seats.

OK, I'm old.

ELEMENTARY has no interest for me, though obviously other people like it. Let me warn you (all) off the new HBO show, THE RIGHTEOUS GEMSTONES. Maybe it's just me, but I have never found Danny McBride funny in anything. He created this, wrote it, stars in it (despite the publicity about John Goodman), and even directed the first episode about this family of sleazy Evangelical preachers (Goodman and his sons and daughter). Frankly, 15 minutes were more than enough to see it was not for me (I disliked VICE PRINCIPALS too). I assumed Jackie was more interested, but by the half hour mark she told me to turn it off. Your mileage may vary, but I don't recommend it.

Patti, I am sure that your brother is still your brother and if you asked him, he would say so too.

George said...

GOOGLE sent Patrick to New York City to teach a class. Diane decided we would book a flight and meet him in the Big Apple. What a whirlwind trip! Katie joined us.too. We don’t see our kids much anymore with one in Boston and one in San Jose. But they plan to attend Bouchercon!

Saw MAIDEN, the documentary about an all-female crew who races around the world. Incredible!

Jerry House said...

I hope you do make it down to Florida. It would be great to have another sane person in the state, even if only for a few weeks. Plus, you will be with other sane people in Pinellis County. Me, I'm many, many miles awy in Redneck Central.

School started this week and we have been busy carting kids and things back and forth. It looks to be an interesting year with Erin a senior and Jack a second-grader. Mark and Ceili are back in college and Jessamyn has started taking classes online. Amy is taking a gap year. (Amy, BTW, has changed her name to Ammy. Ceili changed her name about twice a week it seems. Is this a thing with kids today?)

Amy/Ammy is leaving the nest. On the 28th she'll be moving up to Boston to room with her best friend and another person. She already has an apartment lined up on Tremont Street, and she also has a job lined up. She's pretty much packed and has culled all her unwanted/unneeded items. She has even gifted one of her two snakes to her sister -- the other snake and two cats will be going with her. She and her friend Haley are trying to buy a 9-month-old dog that has been calling to them. The dog, which came from a puppy mill, has not been spayed or wormed and has had no shots. In addition the dog has not been house-broken and has had no training. The owner wants over $1,000 because he's read that puppies of that breed can sell for that or more, not realizing that those dogs have papers, have their shots, have been spayed, and have been crate-trained. The girls are offering $500. They have been at loggerheads with the owner for some time now, during which he has had no other offers. Time will tell.

Kitty got a text from Mark asking how to make her peppermint brownies. Evidently Mark followed Kitty's instructions because he texted the next day that all of his friends loved the brownies. I suppose this falls under making "brownie" points with your grandchild.

We beached yesterday morning and it was glorious. The water was a bit rough, though,and the waves were strong. Jessie and Christina were knock on their backsides by one wave while Ceili and Amy just ahead of them were shot up into the air by the same wave. Jack spent most of the morning being knocked down, then being picked up by either Christina or Amy before he was dragged out to sea. He loved that game. Beach time on Sunday morning allows all of us to center ourselves for the coming week.

We'll be celebrating Ceili's birthday this week. She was first thinking of a high tea but was afraid we might get too raucous (a distinct possibility) so it looks like we may be pottery painting again, which is great fun and allows to be as guilt-free raucous as we like. Whee!

Kitty and I started looking into new apartments. We like our current one but there a number of items that need repair and building management is just not following up. We saw one Saturday that we really liked, about a block from where we are now. Our fingers are crossed.

This week we binge-watched Season 1 of TRAPPED, an Icelandic crime series. We started Season 2 last night and it promises to be as fascinating as the first season.

It is good to have a great brother. I have one (but don't tell him I said that). I hope your allergy/sinus problems improve quickly and that the coming week be as joyous as you deserve, Patti.

Steve Oerkfitz said...

Yes. Loving the great weather we have been having here. I'll take hot over cold anytime.
I did not go to a movie all week which is unusual. Although I intend to see Blinded By the Light. Haven't even watched much tv. Have a ton of stuff DVR'd. Did watch the first episode of The Terror season 2 and it has possibilities. It takes place in the Japanese internment camps during WW2. I recorded The Righteous Gemstones but have little hopes for although I did like Vice Principals (mainly for Walton Goggins character.
Read Heavy On the Dead by G.M. Ford and am now reading The Darwin Affair by Tom Mason.
Went to Radio Center during my high school senior trip ,in 1966. The Singing Nun was playing. What a nightmare for teenage boys. We bailed out early and went to Greenwich Village and got into trouble.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I'd like to see BLINDED BY THE LIGHT, Steve. Maybe we can figure out a time to go together.
Jerry-I always had the notion that people that lived near the beach seldom bothered and am glad to hear your family does.
I will try the Icelandic show.
My brownie troop traveled to Radio City for the Rockettes at least once. I was mesmerized.
Hoping to see MAIDEN, George.

Steve Oerkfitz said...

Patti-I am pretty much available anytime, so what ever is convenient for you. No big rush. It should be around for a few weeks yet.

Scott D. Parker said...

As I wrote on Facebook, Look, I was in the bag for ELEMENTARY from day one because I enjoy Sherlock Holmes. But the depth, the humanity, the deep love for the source material and the willingness to evolve beyond made the show something truly extraordinary. The cast, anchored by the wonderful Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu, took this show beyond what I expected. Miller was phenomenal while Liu made Watson so much more than merely Holmes’s partner. Wonderful series I will truly miss.

You should give it a chance.

Rick Robinson said...

Patti, happy to hear of the planned vacation to FLA. Sounds like fun. Nothing much happening here, reading, a little gardening work. The real garden work comes in a couple of months with Fall pruning and such. I finally got through my batch of library books, and have only one thing left on hold, a book not yet published. We discovered a great little hole-in-the-wall food joint Saturday, which was cool.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I am! Thanks , Scott.

George said...

Patti, you will enjoy MAIDEN. See if you can take Steve into seeing it, too. I think he would like it.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I think I have another friend who might like it.

TracyK said...

We have enjoyed all the seasons of Elementary very much, and after watching the last episode last week, we purchased Season 1 on DVD. We will purchase them all gradually. There might have been a couple of seasons in the middle that I did not like as well but the first few and the last few were very good. I agree totally with Scott's comments, I just can't say it as well.

I have had problems with vertigo all my life, well at least since my early twenties. Some years (decades) it was worse, now it is more under control. It is one of the reasons I stopped driving in my mid-thirties. I had not thought about the difficulties it causes when being alone and we have two floors, but I have gotten used to handling it over the years.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I should probably go to an ENT guy and see if it's anything that can be fixed. So far, I have enjoyed the first three episodes.

Todd Mason said...

I always found ELEMENTARY pleasant and easy to watch, though I've never made a regular habit of it. My media crush on Liu hasn't abated, and the rest of the cast is good. Glad you're enjoying it.

Yes, please do consult on the dizziness.

Todd Mason said...

CITY ON A HILL's short first season wasn't as good as I'd hoped it might be, but it was certainly good enough. I hope to see more of it.

Todd Mason said...

And the second season of I'M SORRY is finally getting to Netflix for Netflixers...

And BLOOD AND TREASURE was surprisingly fun, and CBS is renewing it...