Enjoying reading THE BIRDWATCHER. I am sure someone mentioned it to me but can't remember who. Really enjoyed the films streaming on PRIME: GOOD ONE and TOUCH. Also watching BLACK TULIP on PBS, which is stretched out way too long. It has been so cold here I have hardly been out of the house although I began rewatching with two friends: BRIDESHEAD REVISITED. I don't remember the Oxford students as being quite so obnoxious as they seem now. Having trouble getting into so many TV series. Lots of podcasts. Especially enjoy BACKLISTED, a British one.
What are you up to?
11 comments:
A cold, gray, and occasionally wet week. with nothing better to do than to hunker down, wrapped in a blanket. Nothing wrong with that.
After buying all sorts of furniture, Christina and Walt decided to stimulate the economy further by buying a 5,280-inch (or thereabouts). television. making Jack happy. In an attempt to save their new furniture from feline destruction, they also bought a six-foot, cat tree with scratching posts. Thus far, the cats have ignored it. Newcat has also been ignoring Sebastian the Russian tortoise, finally realizing (I believe) that he will never gain entry to Sebastian's cage.
I finally finished the jigsaw puzzle from hell. On the last day, I had seventy pieces left to fit and none of them would. Physical reality is altered when it comes to jigsaw puzzles. And then reality shifted again and I was able to finish the puzzle, but it took five hours. Like the obsessive-compulsive sucker that I am, I went out and bought another puzzle, which should keep me going until May.
On television, I streamed another three seasons of DALZIEL & PASCOE, leaving me another two season to finish this week. I also caught the latest episode of SHETLAND and the final VERA, as well as the late-night comics (my main source for news nowadays). Sad that Jimmy Kimmel had to cancel two shows because of the L.A. fires.
Although bunkering down was heavy, reading was not. Books read were Elisa Wald's THE SECRET LIVESS OF MARRIED WOMEN, John Saul's typical children-in-danger-and-abused-and-experimented-on-by-mad-scientists-big-pharma-and-the Defense-Department novel THE GOD PROJECT, and Craig Johnson's TOOTH AND CLAW. I also delved back in time and read the April 1955 issue of THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION, using one of the stories for my Short Story Wednesday review.
Jessie, Christina, and the kids have snagged tickets to see HAMILTON in New Orleans this Spring and are very excited. Christina and Erin also got tickets for HADESTOWN when it hits Pensacola.
Have a great week, Patti. Stay safe, Stay warm.
Western NY is celebrating the Buffalo Bills win over the Denver Broncos. But the Ravens come to town next week and that will be a clash of the Titans!
Snow is in the forecast every day this week! I fired up Big Orange on Saturday and cleared off my driveway. A neighbor cleared all the sidewalks off--nice gesture! Since I've been on Ozempic and lost 20 pounds, I'm feeling the cold more. Now I'm wearing a heavy jacket when I go out into the freezing winds.
Patrick is in London, England to run some GOOGLE workshops. He went to see STARLIGHT EXPRESS there last night.
Stay safe!
Hard to believe but at 4:30 this afternoon we will have been here a week. It's been mostly cool but sunny, occasionally windy, pretty much perfect January weather for us (though clearly not for Jerry). As long as it isn't too warm to wear jeans, and some days wear jackets and sweaters, I like it. We've mostly been getting settled in to South Florida, spending times most days at Publix, Walmart, Costco, Trader Joe's, Target, Dollar Tree. We go out for a late lunch (brunch once a week) every day, but mostly do what we do at home - read and watch television. We'll have to watch the last two episodes of THE AGENCY on Showtime on Demand when we get home, as we don't have Showtime or HBO here. They have a Roku TV here, so we access streaming services through my laptop, which I plug into the television. We did see the first episode of ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL (series 5) last night. We started the new series of ASTRID (France), BABYLON BERLIN (Germany), and ARCTIC CIRCLE (Finland), as well as continuing with what we were watching.
Jackie makes elaborate restaurant plans, then changes them almost daily. This week her list includes:
Monday, Mana Greek Fusion (Jupiter) - they have a lamb casserole I love
Tuesday, Carmine's (Palm Beach Gardens) - for years we shopped at the store before trying their Trattoria. They have wonderful homemade pasta.
Wednesday, Sara'a Kitchen (Palm Beach Gardens). Wednesday is Brunch Day this year as she has changed her hair appointment from Tuesdays to Thursdays.
Thursday, Frigate's (North Palm Beach). Seafood place very close to us. In fact, we could easily walk there if we wanted.
Friday, Ichiyami (Boca Raton). Great Japanese buffet is worth the trip down to the south end of the county. Yum.
Saturday, Cheesecake Factory (Palm Beach Gardens). We do occasionally eat at the one in Westbury when we have a concert on Long Island.
Sunday, Chipotle (Palm Beach Gardens). A lighter day, just a burrito bowl.
We like this apartment very much (Patti saw it last year), but though fine for the winter, it would not be big enough if we ever did move to Florida.
Jackie has always marveled at how you don't wear heavy coats in the winter, so this is a change.
Go, Bills! Looking good yesterday.
We saw STARLIGHT EXPRESS in London years ago. Not a fan.
Cold snap today in Southern WI. 5 degrees out this morning.
I quite enjoyed the Martin Limon novel I grabbed off the shelf at home. Started reading CONTORTIONIST'S HANDBOOK by Craig Clevenger. I don't know what prompted me to place the novel on hold, but it appeared on my desk at work and I started reading.
Speaking of work, my time has been spent on working toward getting a building expansion supported and funded. Our City requires an advisory referendum for City funds spent on building construction. Glad to say we'll be on the ballot for April 1; one hurdle crossed. I now need to push out information about the proposed project, the design, the cost, the benefits, so on, so forth.
I started to watch a bit of CUNK ON EARTH on Netflix but have not gotten far. Saw that the brand new WALLACE AND GROMIT is on there as well.
Boy #1 has returned to his final semester of university. We are wanting to do a family trip overseas this summer. My wife is concerned about planning and booking a trip if boy #1 has a job offer and gets start date and needs moving assistance from us..
I see my reply to Jerry vanished. Sorry, Jerry.
I did like THE BIRDWATCHER and all of his other books in that series.
I am going to my Annual Medicare Wellness appointment this morning, so my comments will be quick.
I read THE BIRDWATCHER in 2021 and have read the next two books in the series. I am pretty sure Jeff read them before I did, though. So I probably heard about the books from him.
The Pacific Palisades fire is now 14% contained and the Eaton fire is 33% contained. It seems amazing that the fires have continued for so long. I did not even realize that the fire had gone into Malibu.
Birmingham, Alabama had snow (or at least in Chelsea nearby where my sister lives) and she wisely stayed in for few days. They are not that used to snow there, but it does happen much more frequently than when I lived there in the fifties and sixties.
I read THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 by Ruth Ware last week. I haven't read any of her books before, I was curious, and I thought I would like a book about a woman on a cruise. I did not like it that much at all. Not many (if any) likable characters, stupid behavior, but it did get better at the end. Now reading THE BENEVOLENT SOCIETY OF ILL-MANNERED LADIES by Alison Goodman.
Glen is reading THE DEMON OF UNREST by Erik Larson, and enjoying it. And still continuing reading from GHOSTS OF THE CHIT-CHAT.
Sorry to not answer sooner but I had three appointments, including getting my TSA thing. They could not get my fingerprints to take. Because I filed them off, no doubt. It is incredibly despicable that Trump is blaming the fires on everyone he hates, which is pretty much every Democrat holding an office. Erik Larson is always great. SO funny, that what would be heat wave here keeps Jerry inside. It is always windy now. I think that must be very much global warming. Both my kids are puzzlers but it has never attracted me at all. The only game I do is Wordle.
You are forgiven, Jeff.
Patti, I share your relative lack of engagement with jigsaw art, while Alice has been treating herself to a splurge on puzzles, puzzle trays, and even a sadly poorly designed puzzle table (I have always preferred to see an object firsthand before purchase, something Alice has come to partially agree with of late, after a string of often disappointing online purchases). Not sure why. Am more sure about the relative lack of full engagement with Not Bad new tv series, given all the HBO/Max series I've been catching up with as the house reshuffle/repair is at a halfway point, kinda maybe. Too many at once?
I can think of two TV animated series I have watched more than once. Both on MAX are TEN-YEAR-OLD TIME and ROYAL CRACKERS.
Post a Comment