So cold, grocery shopping was a horror show. Ice is terrifying, big hulking chunks of it everywhere. And yet I was out three nights because in June it seemed like it didn't snow much in December or get this cold (-2). Did I mention I do not do well on ice.
Saw the worst movie of the year, Ella McCae. Poor James Brooks. who financed this mess?
Very disappointed in the Dick Van Dyke American Masters. Couldn't they use better talking heads to weigh in on his contribution to television than his co-stars who mostly said, he was a nice guy. What about using TV critics instead of Martin Short? People who study it.
Still loving PLURIBUS but it is not for everyone, I think. I can watch anyone go through their day in silence. I find it endlessly fascinating. And the guy crossing South America is going to save us all.
Still looking for a great novel to read.
What about you? Hope you are keeping warm and dry.
NancyElin.blog I read your updates on every Monday, love the "streaming" suggestions, Reading a novel that I've avoided for years, no decades.."Lost Illusions" by Balzac. Just a captivating story by a great writer !
ReplyDeleteCousin Bette was the last Balzac I read. Good for you for going for the classics. Will seek it out.
DeleteGetting cool and gray here on the Panhandle. If this keeps up I may have to start wearing trousers instead of shorts. While I admit Florida does not have the brightest bulbs in the pack, at least we are smart enough not to have ice in the winter. Stay safe!
ReplyDeleteBecause it's cold and because my family sometimes has no sense, this weekend marked the final camping trip of the year for the gang, which included everyone except for Mark and myself. This time they went to Hurricane Lake (who would trust a place with a name like that?) at the Blackwater River State Forest; Christina said that it looked beautiful and peaceful there but her photos showed the lake to be cold and choppy and the group huddled around a blazing campfire. Wisely, I stayed home in a warm house with Duncan the phlegm-inducing allergen as company while Mark worked.
Speaking of Mark, we have a new addition to the household...another black widow spider. (He had already brought one, named Charlotte, with him when he came back from Albuquerque.) Now comes the problem of naming him/her/? Some suggestions were Elizabeta of Wilhelmina (both names from DRACULA), Morticia, or Arachne; Mark is thinking Obsidian. I have suggested TOAST, because that's what it will be if I get my hands on a flame thrower. Hate spiders. Hate 'em, hate 'em, hate 'em. Mark has also changed his Facebook profile picture to Chompers, a gnarly old alligator from his workplace. I love Mark,ut he's a strange guy.
I have been bragging because I finished all of my Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving, but now comes the dreaded part -- wrapping. I have been putting it off and putting it off, but we're getting closer to the deadline. I plan to grit my teeth and gird my loins and get on with the Christmas present wrapping later this morning...unless I put it off. Any wagers on what I will do?
I may have some book suggestions for you. Explanation as I continue...
Back again.
ReplyDeleteErin has decided to start a family book club, to begin in January. Participants will be herself and Trey, Christina, Mark, Jessie, Amy and her beau Gavyn, Kaylee and her husband Ivory, and myself. (Walt and Jack are excluded because they are Walt and Jack.) Each of us gets to suggest two books month, and Erin will do a random number generator to select that month's choice. Each of us, that is, except for Ivory because they don't trust him. I have been warned to choose "normal" books or I. too will be banned from making picks; they know my reading choices all to well. We'll have our choices by Christmas for a big reveal. Erin is excited. If you like, Patti, I'll pass the choices on to you to give you an idea of your nest big possible read...
Speaking of books...My FFB this week was THE JOHNNY MAXWELL TRILOGY, an omnibus of three YA novels by Terry Pratchett: ONLY YOU CAN SAVE THE WORLD, JOHNNY AND THE DEAD, and JOHNNY AND THE BOMB -- clever, funny, and entertaining, and -- as with his Discworld series -- with a lot more going on under the surface. It's also been a Basil Copper week. I read BASIL COPPER: A LIFE IN BOOKS, a large collection of articles, stories and scripts by the British horror and mystery writer. A fascinating look at the career ofa most talented writer. I also read his THE DARK MIRROR, ,which was the first (of more than fifty) novel about LA private eye Mike Faraday. the Faraday books are an homage to Raymond Chandler and to the old movies that Copper loved (he had one of the largest collections of old films in England). The Faraday books take a bit of getting used to by American readers because Faraday, supposedly a native-born Angelino, uses British terms, phrase, and spelling throughout -- something that actually becomes endearing ass you read more and more of the novels. I had a hard time with Oakley Hall's Hard Case Crime novel SO MANY DOORS. I just could not get into the characters or the way the book was constructed. The fault is entirely mine and the book itself was extremely well-written but I found it a slog to finish it. This was the only book in the Hard Case Crime line that i really did I not care for. One book I did care for was THE NECESSARY DEATH OF NONIE BLAKE, the fifth book in Terry Shames's Samuel Craddock mysteries. This series is very addictive; luckily, I have seven more to go. I also finished three graphic novels. David Micheline's VENOM; SEPARTION ANXIETY has portions of the Marvel character stolen and used by another big bad. Mariko Tamaki's ZANTANNA: BRING DOWN THE HOUSE focuses on the origins of the DC magician and her relationship with her father, the Magician Zantarra. The best of the three graphic novels was Jeff Lemire's FISHFLIES, about a shunned little girl who makes friends with a killer turned giant "fishfly," a regional Canadian term for a mayfly. Well-written and poignant.
After I use the flame thrower on Mark's new spider, I'd be happy to send it to you so you can use it on that pesky Michigan ice, Patti. Let me know. In the meanwhile, have a great week.!
Jerry, I love the idea of a family book club. And it is good that you all read. If I could, I would join you. I want to know what "normal" books you suggest for the book club, and what book you guys actually read.
DeleteJerry--I still can't comment on your blog. True for anyone else?
DeleteGood luck with black widow wrangling!
Please pass them on Jerry. Hopefully better than what my book group picks, which is also a terribly depressing book about the follies of man. I hear someone recommending Terry Shames every day.
ReplyDeleteAnother few inches of snow is on tap today. I don't plan on going anywhere. Driving will be risky until the streets get plowed.
ReplyDeleteDiane is hosting her Book Club (for the third time this year) and she's invited some of her friends to lunch on Friday. I'll be sent to pick up the take-out food.
Patrick and Katie will be flying in next week. Stay away from ice!!!
There are all of these inventions to deal with ice. Such as a band of snaps that go around your boot. But I can't understand why snaps wouldn't slide on the ice.
ReplyDeleteI also don't understand how a humidifier running all night and using a gallon of water would only raise the humidity four degrees in a bedroom with a shut door.
Cold air leaking in and thus keeping all the vapor around the floor?
DeleteAs my hours are somewhat out of whack, I woke up and watched the comedians' monologues over the last hour (while using Alice's computer I'd watched THE DAILY SHOW's correspondents' discussion of the year in the afternoon, and noted such examples as THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS and Pat Paulsen's "editorials/commentaries" on THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS COMEDY HOUR of US television (though TWTWTW was based on David Frost's UK series, of course) in the 1960s taking on events of the day in comedic newscasts (Ronnie Chieng seemed to think THE DAILY SHOW was the first program to do this in the US)...so, awake now, and not having heard of those boot attachments, the ones I found online were pretty much like less elaborate cleats, with somewhat sharp metallic or hardened plastic circles and similar shapes that allow for more traction on ice than even typical heavy soles have...but do take them off before walking across a wooden indoor floor...
DeleteAnd those examples before the likes of SNL's "Weekend Update" and SCTV's (albeit that's Canadian, with US cast-members mixed in) Melonville newscasts...as '70s examples.
DeleteWe know three friends who have fallen on ice and were badly injured. If it's icy, I'm staying inside. I don't know much about humidifiers, but Diane and I boil a lot of stuff on our stove--pasta, vegetables, etc. That pumps a lot of humidity into the air. When I lived in an apartment in Madison, Wisconsin--and water was paid for by the owner--I ran the shower for an hour and my rooms felt like a sauna!
ReplyDeleteWe check the (awful) weather report and make sure we have food in the house so we can stay in when the weather turns nasty like it has. Of course, you don't drive. We stayed home yesterday, also today and tomorrow. We only had a little snow here by the water, thankfully, but we're waiting until it melts on Wednesday to go out. And we could always have food delivered.
ReplyDeleteOnly watched two episodes so far but I agree on PLURIBUS. So far, I like it too. It's certainly different. We started watching WIRE IN THE BLOOD (2002-2008) on Britbox, but will probably only watch until Hermione Norris (who was great in MI-5) leaves after the third series. We finished series 3 of THE INSPECTOR LYNLEY MYSTERIES. Did anyone really think Helen was going to have that baby? Not me. Sharon Small is the star as Havers. Finished series 9 of The Great British Bake Off. I'd say so far Jackie likes THE MORNING SHOW more than I do. I quit watching SUITS but she is watching two episodes (up to series 4) each afternoon. We still have 4 or 5 French shows we're watching, plus a few other foreign language shows.
If you want something lighter, a short, fast read, try Lee Goldberg's Eve Ronin series. I also read the latest Karen Pirie book by Val McDermid (the books are way better than the TV version), as well as William Shaw's THE WILD SWIMMERS, latest in his Sgt. Alexandra Cupidi series.
We've been running the humidifier in the bedroom at night too, but I can't understand it and why it does/doesn't work, let alone how. I try and drink a lot of water this time of year too, not just in the warm weather.
ReplyDeleteThe only novel suggestion that comes to mind is Siegfried Sassoon's autobio trilogy. For some reason it just popped into my head.
ReplyDeleteI listened to WARRANILLA by Jason Summers. New crime novel set in small town Australia. Pretty decent but with some plot holes and the ending was a bit so-so. Strong narration by Rohan Campbell. It always seems weird to me when a brand new novel is listed as #1 in a series.
The cold here was not too horrible and has been in single digits. Not much wind though. I was outside yesterday when it was about 2 degrees and sunny and my fingers were regularly exposed. When I got back inside my fingers hurt.
Heard from Boy #1 that his first week at work went well. He never has much to say, but from his responses I could tell he was happy with the week and the work.
Meanwhile, I got a fair bit of cleaning and purging done over the weekend. Started tackling a bookcase that has spent 15 years turning into an upright junk drawer and archive. Lots of vacuuming. Then lots of shredding of old paperwork. Plenty of old electronics.
I found several old pairs of glasses and need to donate those. A local lady did a mission trip to Central America where they brought along a thousand or so pairs of refurbished glasses. They perform eye exams and then match the best existing pair to patients who never had eyeglasses before.
Thanks for the idea re: glasses. I have half a dozen I could donate. Val McDermid is one of the best plotters around.
ReplyDeleteI had the laser procedure on my left eye last week and it went fine except the visit was long and I could not do anything all day with dilated eyes. I am glad it is not terribly cold here, because we have plans to go the bookstore and also to get a smog test on the car sometime this week.
ReplyDeleteMostly we are still watching our police procedurals, ELEMENTARY, CSI: NEW YORK, and MENTALIST. We watched a MIDSOMER MURDERS episode; we are rewatching season 15, and I read that Season 25 had just started airing. Amazing that it is still going, almost 30 years now. We are watching Season 2 of POKER FACE so that we can drop Peacock.
Glen is finished reading CRIMSON SNOW: WINTER MYSTERIES, a short story book edited by Martin Edwards, last night. He liked about half of the stories, which is pretty good.
Last week I had started rereading THE SHANGHAI MOON by S.J. Rozan, the 9th book in the Lydia Chin & Bill Smith series. I am still reading it now. I am liking it a lot, although it is very different from the rest of the series. Don't know why it is taking me so long, maybe because of reading more short stories lately?
How in the world does Martin Edwards edit so many books. And write them. And I think still practice law. Such energy. It was worth doing it for me, Tracy. My vision is clearer.
ReplyDeletePatti, I agree with you on Martin Edwards. He always has some new book coming out.
DeleteMy eyes are clearer now, too. The right one has a problem with the retina and will always be worse than the left one, but overall my vision is good. Except for having to use readers for reading and working on the computer.
We made it to our daughters in Cleveland on Lake Erie for Thanksgiving and remembered why we moved South - it was cold and icy. Watch your step!
ReplyDeleteMy co-authors and I held a book release party at our active community center, a mock play featuring the book characters and two small excerpts read. It went very well, we sold out the books on hand. Five of us from our writing group collaborated on a just released cozy mystery - Auroras of Deceit (in print and ebook format from Amazon and Barnes and Noble) - set in an active adult community not unlike the one in which we reside.
Reading some Best of collections - SA Crosby selected, the Michael Bracken best PI anthology, Jess Walter’s So Far Gone, and TheWax Children by Olga Ravn.
Watching The Gone on Acorn (digging the New Zealand setting), Derry on HBO, Landman season 1, and too much soccer.
My grandson is a soccer addict-mostly European. Sounds like you have a good writing group. Mine write in too many genres to collaborate. But I like hearing their work. Happy Holidays!
ReplyDeleteIn re: the Dick Van Dyke AMERICAN MASTERS item: I agree some of the actor-colleague comments were lightweight, though DVD himself was in many incidences self-critical, either as he saw himself at the time or still...perhaps they thought a bit of fannish celebration from co-workers was called for. I very much liked Van Dyke's assessment of the Rob P. character on THE DVD SHOW as being well-meaning, intelligent, self-aware...and rather more immature than he probably should've been (not so much as critique of the series as perhaps making the stories "work"--the blithering idiocy of so many sitcom characters did still help THE DVD SHOW stand out).
ReplyDeleteListening to Zadie Smith's I/v on FRESH AIR as I cook...both kind of but also not so surprising how similar our childhoods were. Surprising due to circumstances, unsurprising given the experiences and comforts we could find and the other discoveries about life.
White Teeth is one of the great first novels.
ReplyDeleteMaybe there is air coming in from the floor. Mine is a corner appt on 11th floor.
Shall go look up ELLA McCAE, also new to me...a very cute family photo. Unsurprisingly, the murder of Rob Reiner and Michelle Singer Reiner, apparently by their troubled son Nick (his sister was the one who found their corpses and called it in), and Drumpf's asinine senile ramblings about how rude RR was to him, was heavily in mind even when not discussed directly. Michelle Singer, as a professional photographer, apparently took the cover photo for TRUMP: THE ART OF THE DEAL all those years ago..
ReplyDeleteAlissa Wilkinson in the NYT more bemused than offended by ELLA McCAY, but she is not recommending it except to those who want to see how strangely out-of-touch it is. Between you both, I'll believe it. (One has to wonder if the young lead actress's name being so similar to the protag's is accidental.) https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/movies/ella-mccay-review-emma-mackey.html
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