Happy Halloween!

Here are some of my favourite kids making the most of a very different Halloween, starting with Ana and her baby doll that's covered in purple glitter nail polish, making it the scariest thing I've seen in years.

The Castle

Man, oh, man, would I love to snap up this gorgeous beast of a home and restore it to perfection. Just look at this place! Cheap Old Houses Instagram page is nothing if not totally day-dream inspiring.

The Secret Garden

My parents bought me a copy of this book when I was in grade school but I never got around to reading it. Then I saw the audio version available through my library and oh how I wish I had read this way back when. It was such a wonderful escape.

September 2020 Books

*Beloved ¹ by Toni Morrison - Another incredible story from Toni Morrison. This one I was grateful had a couple people be kind to the lead character. I really am on the fence with whether Sethe did the right thing by killing Beloved, to keep her from becoming a slave, sold, kidnapped away from her family, raped, beaten, tortured, and to live a half life filled with more pain than love, a life where you are not even recognised as a full human. Or is it no one's right to take a life, even if it is to be a life in an unimaginable Hell. Sethe acted in mercy to a child she loved, so there is no blame cast from me, but I wonder which is right?

Taking On The World ¹ by Ellen MacArthur - I have had this book since 2010 and I just knew I would never sit down and read it cover to cover, so I picked up the Audible audio book and just barely struggled through it. 

* Across That Bridge ¹ by John Lewis - I knew very little about Congressman John Lewis prior to his death, so when this popped up as a suggestion in Audible I was intrigued. Sadly, it is not read by the author but it is read by Keith David. Score - I would listen to him recite the phone book. Lewis was an exceptional man and I am looking forward to seeking out more of his writings in the not-so-distant future.

♥ Pride and Prejudice ¹ by Jane Austen - Another knock-out performance from Rosamund Pike. I absolutely loved this book and wish that Ms. Pike read the entire Jane Austen catalogue. Just a fantastic book that was beautifully read by a talented and gifted woman. I will definitely listen to this again and again.

*Rebel ¹ by Nick Nolte - This was a really good memoir. The narrator had the sound of a young Nolte so often times I forgot it wasn't Nick reading to me. He was so honest about his life, his ups and downs and perspective on things. A purchase I do not regret.

♥ Fatal Charms and the Mansions of Limbo by Dominick Dunne - My love for Dominick Dunne grows with each piece I read. I've purchased all but two of his books and I plan on delving in to "People Like Us" very soon.

¹ - audiobook
² - abridged version
* - liked
♥ - loved
Any unmarked titles were, in my opinion, so-so.

Halloween Across the Pond

 Man, I so wish I was in Dublin. Look at how they have embraced the true spirit of Halloween!

(cookie from The Cake Café and donuts from, where else, The Rolling Donut!)

Schitt's Creek Halloween

Lauren Mancke on Instagram has the best costume ideas for her kids. This one was beyond adorable.

Grounds with Bella - Then & Now

The last time Bella and I went to Grounds for Sculpture together was June 9th of 2012. We hadn't seen eachother since our trip to Baldwin's back in February so tonight started with a much needed hug in the parking lot. It was 5pm when we met there and it was drizzling a bit. We wandered around snapping photos of some of the places we had visited last time (recreating two moments almost exact and it wasn't even planned!). Then when night snuck in, we wandered through the dimly lit paths until the rain picked up and we sat in Roark to chat and eat cookies. It was so great to see Bella after so long and especially fun to show her my favourites that she completely forgot all about.

(I love how vibrant the trees are and I never get tired of seeing this piece and of course, Heart's Desire, which is pictured a little further down.)

(This photo of Bella reminded us both of a high school graduation photo shoot!)

(It was so cool to see this piece all lit up!)

(It's Heart's Desire as seen from above and glowing through the trees!)

(I saw this piece for the first time about a month ago, but it looks so beautiful at dusk!)

Halloween 1979

Here's me and Dave in the old neighbourhood in our homemade Batman and Batgirl costumes. I still have mine.

Music of the Moment

Thanks to my Apple Music subscription I am able to listen to lots of albums from artists, past and present. Here are the albums in heavy rotation at the moment: 

Gracie and Rachel - Hello Weakness, You Make Me Strong

Edith Piaf - Platinum

Florence + the Machine - High As Hope

Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher

Daniel Knox - Half Heart: Songs from Twin Peaks

St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Sea of Noise and Young Sick Camellia

Vera Sola - Shades

Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension

Mogwai - Atomic

Death Cab for Cutie - The Blue

The Freddy Jones Band - Waiting for the Night

Gus Glasser - The Gus Glasser Lofi Mix

Miel - Tourist Season

Ani DiFranco - Do or Die (singles)

Christine and the Queens - Christine and the Queens and Chris

Fake Nudes - Adult Field Trip

Le Butcherettes - Cry Is for the Flies

Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures

Ariel Pink - Pom Pom

Vum - Wild Enclosures

Father John Misty (singles)

Prince & the Revolution - Around the World In a Day

Outlaw King

(photo kidnapped from pinterest)

A handful of years ago I saw an episode (season 24 episode 4 to be exact) of The Graham Norton Show that featured Sally Field alongside Chris Pine and Rami Malek. I've always really liked Sally Field, which is why I was watching it, and I knew Chris Pine from movies he made that I never intended to see, and Rami Malek was that cat from the Robot TV show that I didn't care about. No disrespect to either of the fellas, they were just never flying near my radar. I knew who they were and that was sufficient. Anyways, Sally Field was talking about her memoir, In Pieces (mentioned here), and while she spoke I noticed that Chris Pine was really listening to her. He was engaged, asking questions, drawing her out to say more, and was genuinely interested in hearing what she had to say. So often men, particularly young men, ignore women that they see as old or unattractive. If they view the woman as un-fuckable then that woman simply ceases to exist in their presence. I was really taken with how Chris Pine behaved, the care he took in really letting Sally Field know that what she had to say was relevant and fascinating. He didn't over-compliment or do that thing where young actors call anyone five years or more older than them a "living legend" or any of that other ass-kissing garbage. He just looked her in the eye and paid attention. I never forgot that. What a genuinely nice guy... I thought to myself. I added Outlaw King to my list of What To Watch and finally got around to it today. A solid performance from Pine that has me checking out his other work like Hell or High Water and I Am the Night.

(ps - To be clear I am NOT saying that I think that Sally Field is anything other than perfection, I am merely pointing out that because she is over the age of thirty that many ignorant young men would dismiss her entirely based just on her age. Also, Rami Malek seems like a sweetheart but I still don't wanna watch Robot-something or the Freddie Mercury picture.)

Evil

This TV series popped up in Netflix and, intrigued, I kept on watching that mini-trailer that auto-loads sometimes. "Oooo...." I thought to myself, "Is that the Luke Cage guy???" Oh it sure is. It's October so after finishing Alan Cummings' book I decided to test drive this series. It's very good and just the right amount of spooky, plus I like the diversity in the three leads. A while back I asked Bishop about a show I was watching and he said he didn't have any interest in it because everyone in the cast, and peripheral characters as well, were all white. He didn't want to give his time (and Nelson ratings) to a show that never considered his or any other non-white race. Ever since then I tend to see things in the same way and try to be more aware of the races and genders and sexual preferences of the characters. This show is just what I needed this month to keep me in a creepy frame of mind.

(photo kidnapped from cinemaholic)

(ps - Really liked this but gotta say, it really went off the rails in the last two episodes...)

Not My Father's Son

A staggeringly honest memoir from Alan Cumming. I hesitated listening to this one, knowing it was not going to be a story of a happy-go-lucky childhood set in Scotland, but a boy tormented by a sadistic father. I gave it a try, as it was available through Hoopla for freesies. Immediately I became enthralled with his magically calming voice and his intersecting stories from his youth with the present. It was so good that after work I went for a long drive so I could listen to more and more. 

Charm City Truth

Reunited with Emily & the Kids!!

This afternoon I got to see Emily, Ana, and Adam for the first time since the pandemic began. It was so great to catch up and chat with Em and then to sit outside and watch the kids play. Emily told me that not too long ago she saw Ana with scissors about to cut her hair but before she could reach her...CHOP! off went a big chunk from the side of Ana’s shoulder length hair. So her grandmother (my Aunt Vicky) took Ana over to a hip salon and the little lady scored a totally rad 1980s asymmetrical 'do! I flipped out over it as she has never looked sweeter or cooler. Adam was a ball of energy and whenever there was a crash in the other room it was instantly followed by an "I'm okay!" Jackson was parting with some of his stuffed pals (most of which I had given him!) and so I snagged the bestest ones for these two. The longnose sawshark was a hit with Adam: "I'm gonna name him Mr. Sharky Alligator." Hope to see them all on a way more regular basis.

Another Saturday at GFS!

This time around I took Wayne and tried to focus more on being in the moment then non-stop photographing of everything. We had such a nice time since we went at 9:30 in the morning, when it was (oo-la-la) members only. I did take these two shots when it was just us two in the Water Garden. 

Messages from Across the World

Halloween cards were received by David and Michel and like the wonderful gentlemen they are I got a sweet text from both of them. I love that even though it's been years since we saw one another we still stay in touch.