Saturday, February 29, 2020

February 2020 Donations

Bernie Sanders

I like this man. I like him a lot. I donated money to his campaign again this month because I believe in him and I want someone like him at the helm of this country. Someone that wants equal rights for everyone, believes in a woman's right to choose, healthcare and education for all, and reflects the vision I share for this country. The US needs Bernie Sanders and his ideals and ideas to make the changes we so desperately need.

(photo kidnapped from cnbc)

Bernie Sanders is a U.S. Senator from Vermont and candidate to become the next President of the United States. In 2006, he was elected to the U.S. Senate after 16 years as Vermont’s sole congressman in the House of Representatives. Bernie is now serving his third term in the U.S. Senate after winning re-election in 2018 with 67 percent of the vote. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he attended James Madison High School, Brooklyn College, and the University of Chicago. After graduating, he moved to Vermont where he worked as a carpenter and documentary filmmaker. In 1981, he was elected as mayor of Burlington, the state’s largest city, by a mere 10 votes.

As mayor, Bernie’s leadership helped transform Burlington into one of the most exciting and livable small cities in America. Under his administration, the city made major strides in affordable housing, progressive taxation, environmental protection, child care, women’s rights, youth programs and the arts.

In Congress, Bernie has fought tirelessly for working families, focusing on the shrinking middle class and growing gap between the rich and everyone else. Bernie has been called a “practical and successful legislator” and he was dubbed the “amendment king” in the House of Representatives for passing more amendments than any other member of Congress. As chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Bernie worked across the aisle to “bridge Washington’s toxic partisan divide and cut one of the most significant deals in years.” In 2015, Democratic leadership tapped Bernie to serve as the caucus’ ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee.
Bernie lives in Burlington, Vermont with his wife Jane. He has four children and seven grandchildren.

Please join me in the Low Budget Philanthropy movement and help out your community and beyond in the simplest way - donating any amount to whatever charity or organisation that you care about!

Friday, February 28, 2020

January 2020 Books

* You ¹ by Caroline Kepnes - Pax was watching a show based on a series of books and recommended them to me, so I got the first of Caroline Keypnes books on Joe - You. I really liked it, it was well written and the narrator, Santino Fontana, was exceptional. But Joe isn't a good guy when it all comes down to it. I'm glad I gave You a shot, but I'm not really interested in reading the rest of the series. If you are into serial killer novels with a twisted but sort of likable lead, well then this book is right for you!

* Horrorstör ¹ by Grady Hendrix - Interesting plot-line of an Ikea-esque store with a dark underbelly that feels like the Upside Down in Stranger Things.

Accidental Feminist ¹ by M.G.Lord - Totally regret buying this off Audible. It had promise but aside from opening my eyes to some of Taylor's films that I hadn't seen, it wasn't all that great. At least that's how I felt.

♥♥ Absolute Pandemonium ¹ by Brian Blessed - One of the greatest audiobooks I have ever heard. Right up there with The Exorcist and John Waters' Role Models.

A Good Marriage ¹ by Stephen King - Ugh, I so regret listening to the audiobook version of this. The narrator was dreadful. She made the female lead sound soooo dumb. I could hardly finish it.

* This Is Just My Face ¹ by Gabourey Sidibe - So good!! I really only knew Gabby from her performance in Precious. I was so moved by Sapphire's novel Push and was hesitant to see the film, but Ms. Sidibe effing nailed it. Her memoir proves what a funny, cool, real, and bad ass babe she really is.

* I.M. ¹ by Isaac Mizrahi - Another great memoir this month, this time from my fave fashion designer.

Gemini by Stella Andromeda - I picked this up with Kayla when we went to that book shop near Wing's Castle last year. It was fun to see how much I'm like my Astrological sign. One of these day's I'll really get into it and work on my birth chart....

The Perfume Burned His Eyes ¹ by Michael Imperioli - What a wonderfully unique story by Michael Imperioli, who read it beautifully. A young teen in the 70s who sorta kinda befriends Lou Reed and his then girlfriend Rachel and how they intertwine in his life for a brief period. So good.
¹ - audiobook
² - abridged version
* - liked
♥ - loved
Any unmarked titles were, in my opinion, so-so.

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Revealed!

Saw the gang tonight and got a glimpse of Zach's pearly whites, sans metal but with an invisible retainer, and finally finished Dog Man - A Tale of Two Kitties with Jax. That series is just too cute for words.



Tuesday, February 25, 2020

It's a Living

I found out that the first season is available on Amazon Prime!! This was one of my favourite shows growing up and I loved re-watching them. Ann Jillian was the original Samantha Jones and played comedy with effortless grace, her timing just this side of perfection. Such a fun, fun show to revisit.

(photo kidnapped from richigallery)

Monday, February 24, 2020

Poirot Kitty!!

There are no words to describe how desperately I want this animal in my life.


Sunday, February 23, 2020

Sunday Selfie with m'Bestie

I met Amy in Edison, as usual, for our first get together of 2020 and finally we took our selfie in daylight. I am certain that no one cares about these photos or why I continue to post selfies on a blog that no one reads, but it's like a little online photo album of all the faces that I love so much.


Saturday, February 22, 2020

Saturday in Wayne with Wayne

Prior to getting together this afternoon, I researched local restaurants in Wayne that had something we each would enjoy, sent Wayne the top three choices and let him pick. We met at the parky lot and as we crossed Wayne Avenue we decided to go with Christopher's. We were seated and I thought, "this is smaller than I thought and looks totally different..." Then we got the menu which read Matador. I leaned across and told my brother that we were in the wrong place. However, they had avocado toast for me and Wayne was all into a big plate of nachos. All my research was for naught...but it was a lovely discovery in the end. Then we had to go a few stores up to Main Point Books. I restrained myself and only got a couple little things and one book on meditation. I snapped a photo of a book to add to my wish list! Maybe I'll buy it later in the year as a treat for myself.


 

I love to peer in the window of the baby store Kids 'N Kribs and this ADORABLE lion won my heart. Wayne promised to buy it for me should he win the lottery one day. We then went to Gryphon Café so he could grab a mocha and we could chat some more. On the way back to the parky lot we went in to Kids 'N Kribs to see if Wayne's guess on the price ($110) was correct. I asked the wonderfully kind saleswoman who walked to the front of the shop to make sure we were talking about the same furry fella. His name is Mustafa and he is six hundred and fifty dollars. He is alpaca fur and handmade, weighing close to 25 pounds. The extravagant price only made me love him more. So I took a pic through the window then Wayne and I got a selfie with his nose just behind us. Ain't he cute?



Friday, February 21, 2020

Package for Natalia

Earlier this month I sent a box to Hawaii with some yummy Trader Joe's treats for Natalia and the boys. It arrived just before they left for their vacay to Vegas and Natalia's fave cookies were a welcome surprise!




Thursday, February 20, 2020

TV Tie-In Must Have!!

I came across a copy of a paperback novelisation/novelization (still can't decide which spelling I prefer) on Etsy of one of my favourite favourite shows, Hart to Hart. Having this book would be like getting a bonus episode... But for now I'll just dream of the day when I can afford it - hopefully not too far off! (I also spotted a cheaper one on Amazon that I'll be keeping an eye on.)



(photos kidnapped from etsy)

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Striking Out

When I was in Dublin last year I discovered this excellent, but sadly, short-lived TV series. It was filmed in the city, so there's tons of familiar places, and my neighbour had a role as Nigel Fitzjames (a bit of a baddie). I bought both the first and second series and was super disappointed to find that's all there will ever be. Definitely a solid show to check out.

(photo kidnapped from hollywoodreporter)

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Patti Smith

The following is from a New York Times article online (How Susan Sontag Influenced Patti Smith’s Reading Life by Jillian Tamaki) that I discovered through an Austin Kleon post a while back. I so admire Ms. Smith and I absolutely love what she said.

Describe your ideal reading experience (when, where, what, how).

I read all the time, anywhere — on my stoop, in a noisy cafe, at night in my tour bus bunk. The external circumstance is not the key, it’s the book itself. I’m like Gumby; I enter the world of a book and temporarily live there, shutting all else out. Unless I’m researching, I only finish books I love. I don’t date. I can pretty much tell right away if I’m going to commit. There are also books I know I will love someday. For instance, it took me years to tackle “The Magic Mountain,” but once I did I was transfixed, wholeheartedly enveloped in an atmosphere of convalescence. If I can’t figure out what to read, sometimes I stand before my shelves and feel which book is calling for me. I have a special technique for rereading masterpieces like “Frankenstein” or “The Glass Bead Game.” I keep the book by my bed and open it at random and read from there. I do that from a new spot for several nights until I feel I have experienced the book three-dimensionally, cubistically, from several angles.

You’ve written about your love of crime dramas on TV. Does that translate to a love of crime novels? If not, which genres do you prefer?

I read mostly fiction, most often in translation. I do love detective stories. I prefer when the emphasis is on the unraveling of a dark puzzle, revealing how the detective’s mind works. When young I admired the cleverness of Nancy Drew, revered the deductive powers of Sherlock Holmes and the patience of Maigret, then gravitated toward the hard-boiled jargon of Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer. In recent years I’ve read all the books by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, who wrote “The Laughing Policeman,” and especially loved Henning Mankells’s Inspector Kurt Wallander, depicted with such depth and poignancy by Kenneth Branagh.

Monday, February 17, 2020

Sunday, February 16, 2020

Return to Baldwin's

Kay and I finally got our schedules lined up and were able to get together for the first time since our weekend at Wing's Castle back in November. Just driving around together and chatting makes me feel better. I love time with Kayla because there's no judgment and I never feel like I have to look or act a certain way. I'm super overweight and have been feeling mega depressed. Hence the large portions of food that I'm shoving down my gullet in order to fill the misery and emptiness. Kay is such an effortlessly kind and warm person and I am just apples and bananas over her. Oh! And the stars aligned as I stumbled upon TWO COPIES of the Terri Irwin book, Steve and Me. Clearly we had to have them. After my Greg Louganis book (which is fabulous) I'll be looking to find out everything there is to know about the gorgeously wonderful Steve Irwin. Couldn't have asked for a nicer afternoon!


Saturday, February 15, 2020

2020's Valentine's Received!

I haven't gotten so many Valentine's since grade school when we had to give one to everyone in class!! Check out the cuteness and love overload below: 

From Amy and Ms. Lilly at the office!

Mum and Maureen (and the envelope was the latest letter from Autumn, which I got on Valentine's night!)

Bishop & Pax and the pizza is from my Dad's childhood BFF, Greg, and his lovely wife, Carole

From Bailey, Avery, and Mama Ashlee

Friday, February 14, 2020

Valentine's with My Galentines

Tonight after work I headed down to Delaware to spend the evening/night with three fabulous ladies. We ate two types of Lucy's vegan and gluten free cookies - chocolate chip and lemon - watched Hayley Mills in That Darn Cat! and read Emily's Valentine Party. Then the wee lassies were off to bed and Ashlee and I got to catch up a bit before Sean came in and I left so he could get four hours sleep before having to be up again to leave for his next shift. All in all I scored oodles of hugs, snuggles, and Ashlee and I split a box of yummy dark chocolate covered Cocomels. A perfect evening. Oh, and of course there were selfies.





Thursday, February 13, 2020

Ideal Gifts from a Valentine

• Van Cleef and Arpels Ring (only not with diamonds - maybe onyx and pink sapphires, emeralds, or garnets and in sterling silver - I really just like the novelty of the butterfly style, not the designer or the pricetag.)

• fun or interesting old books wrapped in brown paper tied with twine or a ribbon
• perfume - SJP Lovely or Tiffany
• Open Fire, Two Guitars by Johnny Mathis on vinyl in excellent condition (photo kidnapped from musicstack)

• a mix cd of new tunes or love songs
• cigar or pencil box filled with exciting odds 'n ends such as stickers, pins/brooches, cute thumbtacks, coloured buttons, vintage or homemade bookmarkers, old photos, cute erasers, vintage postcards, old keys, 1970s or 80s credit cards (I really want an old Visa or MasterCard where the whole front of the card is the company logo), matchbooks from random hotels or restaurants, cool stamps ripped off of an envelope, pencil sharpeners, movie and concert ticket stubbs, etc...
• a Votivo Red Currant candle

• mason jar of seashells and pebbles handpicked from the beach just for me
Audrey Hepburn pin by Kate Gabrielle®

• a large donation made to one of my favourite charities (such as BUMBLEance, Shoah Foundation, Planned Parenthood, Smile Train, About-Face, or any of the other Low Budget Philanthropy faves!)

Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Be Mine


Baby Be Mine - Michael Jackson
Chances Are - Johnny Mathis
Moon River - Andy Williams
Stay - David Bowie
You're the One - Greta Van Fleet
Then I Met You - The Proclaimers
Moonlight Serenade - The Glenn Miller Orchestra
I Just Want to Be Your Everything - Andy Gibb
Because You're Mine - Nat King Cole
One Caress - Depeche Mode
I'll Close My Eyes - Dinah Washington
I Love You Says It Very Well - Ann Jillian
Wait Til You See Him - Ella Fitzgerald
A Fool in Love - Frankie Miller
Could It Be I'm Falling in Love - The Spinners
Ever Fallen in Love - Buzzcocks
You Got to Me - Neil Diamond
That's How Strong My Love Is - Otis Redding
Fallin' in Love - Faith Evans
When It's Love - Van Halen
Somewhere - Tom Waits
Love Me Tonight - Mildred Bailey
My Funny Valentine - Chet Baker

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Monday, February 10, 2020

My Wee Valentines

I can't decide which I like better, angry Avery or Bailey's perplexed "this bitch is cranky!" expression. It cracks me up. I'm so looking forward to spending Valentine's Evening with Ashlee and these lil' sweeties!!

Sunday, February 9, 2020

Cupid Strikes at Bishop & Pax's

Look what greeted me as I arrived at Bishop and Pax's for our first Saturday night together in 2020:


Saturday, February 8, 2020

We ♥ Poirot!

I am once again blown away by Helen Coldwell's generosity, talent, and kindness. This is the best Valentine I've ever received.



Friday, February 7, 2020

Harold and Maude


I first saw this film with Rachel back in my old rowhome in Philly in the early aughts. It was such an easy movie for an oddball like me to fall for. I easily identified with Harold and I longed to find a Maude to complete my life. (Not to mention a tricked out Jag.) It was such a beautifully unique love story and the music by Cat Stevens (now, of course, Yusuf Islam) is utterly sublime. I watched a documentary, Hal, about director Hal Ashby and suddenly realised that it'd been years since I last watched Harold and Maude. So after work I popped it in and sat on the floor watching it with the same joy and wonder I'd felt toward it all those years ago.


(film poster photo kidnapped from impawards --- photo of Harold and Maude, the morning after, kidnapped from minimediabites --- Maude's bday photo kidnapped from thecreative.cafe - who wrote a fabulous and in depth description of the film and why it's brilliant - follow that link to read all about it!)