Vicious

It's been years since I last watched this series starring Ian McKellan and Derek Jacobi. They play long-time partners who seem to think they are in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, as they are constantly at each other's throat. Jacobi is one of my absolute favourite actors of all time and while Vicious isn't art, it is light and fun and the barbs that these two greats trade with one another is too funny for words. 

Ludwig

I'd seen adverts for this series a month or so ago and once I signed up for a month of BritBox, I added it to my watchlist straight away. After re-watching Doctor Blake Mysteries for, I think, the fifth time, I decided to put on Ludwig. While I do like David Mitchell from various UK panel shows, I have always had the impression that he finds all Americans moronic and loathsome. Being an American, this made me not jump instantly to read his books/memoir or watch any of his shows. That being said, I think Anna Maxwell Martin is beautiful and brilliant and really loved her in Death Comes to Pemberley, And Then There Were None, and The Bletchley Circle, and so it was seeing her in the cast that made me give the show a real try. (As a side note, I desperately want the powers that be to put her and Nicola Walker in a series as sisters.) The premise of Ludwig is that David Mitchell plays twin brothers, James and John Taylor. John is a puzzler whose books/puzzles are under the name of Ludwig. He is pretty much a recluse and a genius. He and his brother and Anna's character, Lucy, were pals growing up. James becomes a cop and married Lucy and they have a teenage son. Lucy rings up John asking for help because James is missing. She cooks up a plan to have John pose as his brother, go into police headquarters and look for clues at James' desk. Things go awry when John gets roped in to solving some cases. It was a good series up until episode five of six when it got great. I gasped with excitement when the camera panned to a newly introduced character and it was my beloved Derek Jacobi! Looking dashing as ever. My love for him was instantly apparent when I had the following thought: "Oh I hope he's not the murderer, but if he is I'm sure he had good reason." Mitchell was very good and I actually grew to really like him. Anna Maxwell Martin was flawless as always, and that wretched sister-in-law from Mum (Dorothy Atkinson) plays the boss lady at HQ, and a brief appearance from Josh Bolt who was Raff in Last Tango in Halifax! I love seeing familiar faces on current TV shows; it's like the 70s and 80s all over again when every episode of every fab TV series featured players from The Rockford Files, Hart to Hart, Matt Houston, Hotel, McMillan and Wife, Columbo, and Three's Company, to name a few. Definitely give Ludwig a try. It's well worth a look.

(HQ cast photo kidnapped from bleedingcool - Anna Maxwell Martin from tellyvisions - Derek Jacobi from vitalthrills)

February 2025 Books

♥ 11/22/63 ¹ by Stephen King - Superbly, expertly narrated by Craig Wasson. Absolutely perfect. 

Amy said this was her favourite King book and so I put it on hold via Libby through my library. At thirty-one hours in length, I kept delaying the delivery and letting the next person in line take over. Finally I pulled the proverbial trigger and borrowed it this month. The story, of an English schoolteacher in, where else, Maine, who is led to a rabbit hole/time portal that deposits him in September of 1958. He is persuaded by the friend who tells him of said portal to go back in time so as to stop the Kennedy assassination, which would, they both believe, prevent the Vietnam War and save the lives of all those men and women that served. He agrees and crosses through time. Along the way, Jake Epping AKA George Amberson, our lead, finds love in a small town in Texas. I never wanted him to leave that town. I wanted the story to stop there and for Jake/George and his lady love, Sadie, to live the rest of their days simply, but so very, very happy, together, for all time. Twenty hours in and I found myself stressed to the breaking point. I didn't want to spoil the ending entirely, but I needed to know if I was going to be devastated or enraged. King doesn't have rotten endings, so I should have thought that through, but I had to message Amy and find out if I could relax a bit. Her response helped, but I was still a weeping mess by the end. An absolutely sublime piece of writing. I wish I was as gifted and imaginative a writer as Stephen King. 

♥ Eddie Winston is Looking for Love ¹ by Marianne Cronin - This book needs to be made into a six episode series with Derek Jacobi as Eddie Winston. I'd love to see Judi Dench as Bridie/Birdie. For Bella I imagined a young Kiersey Clemons. A sweet story about a ninety year old man, his past, and his friendships. As the listener, I felt I was walking beside him, watching him unseen, like a benevolent spectre, as he continued to grow into one of the best characters ever. An easy man to love. (Big hugs to Autumn for telling me about this book in one of her December letters and intuiting that it would be something I’d enjoy. xoxo)

* Sky Full of Elephants ¹ by Cebo Campbell - A brilliant concept that kept me thinking on it for days. All the white people in America walk into the nearest body of water and die. Whenever I read something from the Black perspective, I try to flip it in a way that I can understand it better. As a female, I thought about how this country would be without the oppression of men. What would life be like with no men? Funnily enough, my first thought was mirrored in the book: to be able to walk alone at night without fear. I loved the metaphor of all life's pains, anxiety, fear, and extreme emotions being like a sky full of elephants. Just floating, heavily, above us at all times. 

* A Wild and Precious Life ¹ by Edie Windsor - I saw the documentary Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement back in November of 2011 and never forgot those two gals. Somewhere along the way I learned that Edie Windsor wrote a memoir. I bought a copy of it off Audible, and even though Edie doess not narrate, it was still so good. Definitely a life well led.

¹ - audiobook

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

Music of 2021

I began tracking new artists, musicians, songs, and albums I discovered and writing them in my Bullet It! journal. Just for the halibut, here's the list from '21!

Johnny Tillotson

Kula Shaker

Troye Sivan

Gabriel-Kane

The OK Social Club

Julian Lennon

Shirley Bassey

The Faint

Icky Blossoms

The Excellents

Celeste

The Seahorses

a-ha

Tony Bennett & Bill Evans

new Greta Van Fleet 

Nemo's Dreamscapes

Ani's new album

Mathis: Wonderful.... and Up, Up, & Away albums

Henry Wolfe "Linda Vista" & "Asilomar"

Fleet Foxes "Shore"

Dirty Honey

Tokio Myers

Eartha Kitt

Bobby Short

Cam Cole

"306 Hollywood" sdtk by Troy Herion

Moody Blues

Jeff Bridges

Liza Anne

Victor/Victoria sdtk

Lukas Nelson

Lady Gaga (Chromatica)

"Les Indes galantes"

Dan + Shay

Billie Eilish

Hiroco.M

Wipers

The Mona Reels

The Coral Sea

Scream

Jonny Lang "Signs"

The Linda Lindas

Roya

Adee Roberson

Brontez Purnell

The Younger Lovers

The Strokes

Leslie Uggams

Noveller

Irvin Mayfield & Gordon Parks

CLOVES

The Raincoats

The Owl Service

Chuck van Zyl

serpentwithfeet

Floating Points and Pharaoh Sanders

Molly Joyce "Breaking and Entering"

Streisand "Where Am I Going?" 

Lucy Dacus

Lost Sky "Where We Started"

Khaled "N'Ssi N'Ssi"

Laurie Anderson "Life on a String"

Louyah

Charles Aznavour

Brian Eno

Brownie McGhee

"Rama Bauer" by Tony Lagare

"Fanfare for the Common Man"

Dry Cleaning

Zoe Boekbinder 

Alice Temple

The Brendan Hines

Jaymay

Passenger

Hannah Waddingham

Ryley Walker

The Get Up Kids

Gordon Lightfoot

Dhani Harrison

Inhaler

Breakfast Club "Right on Track"

"Basement Screams" Naked Raygun

Descendents

Jimmy Eat World "Futures"

Pedro the Lion

Eat Skull

Ariana Grande

Big Thief

Lewis Capaldi

Adele "30"

Jessie Ware

KALEO

Haley Heynderickx

Yola

Derek Jacobi & Anne Reid "You Are The Best Thing..."

Taylor Thomas

Taylor Swift

Adrianne Lanker

Marissa Nadler

May 2021 Books

* How Y'all Doing? ¹ by Leslie Jordan

Siddhartha ¹ by Hermann Hesse - Clearly I listened to this because of Derek Jacobi. It was sorta interesting but I really couldn't get into it. I am so NOT an intellectual.

♥ Tab Hunter: Confidential by Tab Hunter - I bought this book when it first came out, back when all I knew of Tab Hunter was his role in Battle Cry. (Although I only had eyes for Aldo Ray when I was a kid, rather than Tab.) Finally after years had gone by and I'd seen a few more of his films and especially the documentary on his life, I added his memoir to my list of books that I had to read in 2021. It was a fast read and made me love this fella all the more. A devoted friend, son, and brother, a damn hard worker, and according to Linda Darnell, a nice kisser. Definitely one I'll pick up again.

The Girl With The Curious Hair ¹ by David Foster Wallace - This was my least favourite of anything I'd read by DFW. The only one out of the ten short stories I genuinely liked was Little Expressionless Animals.

Let Love Rule ¹ by Lenny Kravitz - His childhood in New York was fascinating but once he moved to California it all went downhill. It just became unbearable. A high school age Lenny who was apparently so enlightened that he could intuit the inner turmoil of a fourteen year old prostitute he befriended and hid in his bedroom? He tried to seem wise and a feminist then says "chasing pussy" - ugh. Oh and all the religious stuff and mispronouncing the word incomparable. It held such promise but in the end I couldn't wait for him to just shut up.

♥ Hank Zipzer: Niagara Falls, or Does It? ¹ by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver - I first read/listened to this book back in May of 2019 and it was such fun to hear it all over again. I sincerely wish that the Wink read every one of his books because he is the perfect narrator to bring his stories to life.

* Clue Jr.: The Case of the Secret Message by Parker C. Hinter - This was one of the books I picked up at Baldwin's for Jackson (and me). Jax read it first and said it was okay. And it was cute, just a few stories that circle around child versions of the Clue characters and mini mysteries to solve.

♥ I Got a 'D' in Salami ¹ by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver

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

March 2021 Books

* Bunny Mellon ¹ by Meryl Gordon - I first heard of this woman thanks to Frank Langella's incredible memoir Dropped Names. It was the moment when a young (college-age) Frank was visiting the Mellon's home with his friend, Eliza, Bunny's daughter. He was reading aloud at Bunny's prompting and he mispronounced Descartes' name, causing the young crowd to chuckle. Later, when it was just Frank and Bunny, she asked him to re-read that passage, the one about Descartes, pronouncing it correctly. She educated him without making him feel less than. I was so struck by how regal and polished she came across and I wanted to learn more. Knowing I don't have the discipline to sit and read the book version, I bought the audiobook off Audible. I was able to finish it in a handful of days and thoroughly enjoyed it. A unique and fascinating woman.

Exuberance ¹ by Kay Redfield Jamison - I so wanted to like this but my god was it mega dull. 

* Julia Child - A Life ¹ by Laura Shapiro - I really like this woman and so enjoyed reading about her life before and after living in France. What's scary as hell is that I listened to this in June 2019 and completely forgot. A lot of what I knew this time I chalked up to having read My Life in France this past December. It was a nice refresher course on the life of Julia Child!

♥ A Season in Purgatory by Dominick Dune

* The Neverending Story ¹ by Michael Ende

♥ The Way We Lived Then by Dominick Dunne - I loved reading this mini-autobiography from Dominick Dunne with all the photographs through the years. I admire and adore him more with each of his books that I pick up. I loved it so much that when I found a signed copy I snapped it up with the quickness!

* As Luck Would Have It ¹ by Derek Jacobi - Not the most riveting of memoirs but it was so lovely to hear that Derek Jacobi had such a good relationship with his parents and that they genuinely loved him unconditionally. As a fan, I especially liked hearing the little bit about his work on Dead Again and Last Tango in Halifax. Oh and of course his relationship with hubby Richard Clifford.

* A Fine Romance ¹ by Candice Bergen - I knew very little of Candice Bergen, except that her father was a well known ventriloquist, she was married to a famous French filmmaker named Louis Malle, and she played the title character on Murphy Brown. I think the only performances  I was familiar with were her appearances on Sex and the City (and that she properly pronounced Diane Arbus' first name!) and when I was a kid I saw her in The Wind and the Lion. This audiobook is about her later life - meeting and falling in love with Louis Malle, their daughter, Chloe, her work on Murphy Brown, Malle's death, and her finding love again with Marshall Rose and their life together. It was a long-ass listen (roughly 14 hours) but it was never, ever boring. 

* The Cool Side of My Pillow ¹ by Bruce Campbell - Little brother Xavier told me about this book available on Audible and I threw down a credit and hit play. Bruce Campbell is an impossible man to dislike and this brief book was just what I wanted to hear to get in a few laughs and hear what the man himself has to say about things. 

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

January 2021 Books

Blood of Elves ¹ by Andrzej Sapkowski - This was the fourth Witcher book I read and I was so into the first three-quarters and then it veered off course and I lost complete track of what was going on and I still am not clear as to what happened with Triss. I dunno, I think eventually I'll give Time of Contempt a try and if that one's as tough to follow I'll abandon the series. It's really not my kind of genre, I'm only reading/listening to it on Xavier's recommendation.

Highland Rogue by Arnette Lamb - A historical romance novel that I inherited from Godmommy Gina. This one wasn't that great. The main guy was a bit of a jerk and the last quarter of it just got real dumb. 

* Alien Superstar 2: Lights, Camera, Danger! ¹ by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver - I actually liked this one better than the first Alien Superstar book! Henry Winkler's voices and excitement at reading his stories just make the day so much brighter. I finished this after watching The Comey Rule cause I needed something light and cheerful. This one was just plain fun!

Yours Until Dawn by Teresa Medeiros - Another book from the Godmomma that started out okay and then the leading lady just became annoyingly stupid.

* A Study in Scarlet ¹ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - I had listened to this book in February of 2019 and didn't care for it. I found it hard to follow, especially when all of a sudden we are in the Wild West of America with mormons. What the hell?! So this time I listened to the Derek Jacobi-read version and he made it all come together and make sense. I also consulted Wikipedia to refresh my memory so that when the plot turns left and heads to the US of A I would be ready and on top of it.

* Only You by Fayrene Preston

* Walk Through Walls ¹ by Marina Abramović - What an utterly fascinating life this woman has led. I loved hearing about her childhood, her early performance pieces, her love affairs, her thoughts and experiences and all read by the lovely lady herself. An extraordinary woman.

* Perfume ¹ by Patrick Süskind - I had heard of this book years ago, purchased a second hand paperback copy and always meant to get around to reading it. I liked the film and even though it's a bit of a grisly subject, I found the book to be incredibly absorbing. One can't help but simultaneously loathe and pity the main character of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille.

♥ The Duke and I by Julia Quinn - I had read this back in 2018 and what with everyone talking about Bridgerton, I wanted to give it another read. I loved it all over again. I watched the series, which I was sort of excited about. A refreshing take on casting with all different races playing all different parts. I thought of how the actors would feel, to wear the clothes, speak the words, and learn the dances of a period where they never could have existed. It was a brilliant concept that, for me, was ruined the moment they addressed the races. Saying that blacks could now hold places of power in society because a white king fell in love with a black woman just tore down the veil that let me forget that some of the actors “didn’t belong.” Bridgerton is a fantasy and it would have been better to allow the audience to be swept up in the idea of a world with equality. It was a huge mistake to destroy that fantasy. Oh and the character of Daphne bored me to tears. So blah and zero chemistry with Simon, unlike in the book. But one thing the series did right was Penelope. I loved her character in the books and she was totes adorbs in the series. In the end, I say skip the show and read the books. 

* The Marshmallow Test ¹ by Walter Mischel - I picked this audiobook because Alan Alda is the narrator. It was really interesting to learn a few tips on how to resist temptation, to not always give in to the "hot" system, but to use your "cool" system and think about things logically rather than being impulsive just for momentary happiness.

♥ Around the World in 80 Days ¹ by Jules Verne

♥ Poirot and Me ¹ by David Suchet

* Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ¹ by Lewis Carroll - I had read this as a child and loved it. It's such a short book that I was able to borrow the audiobook through Libby and the bonus is that it was read by the great Jim Dale. But I still prefer his reading of Around the World in 80 Days over anything else.

♥ In the Heart of the Sea ¹ by Nathaniel Philbrick - I love survival stories and this one was superb. Knowing in advance that the story of the sinking of the whaling ship The Essex was the inspiration for Moby Dick made me anxious to give it a listen. I was glad that the sperm whale rammed the ship and sank it, as I felt it was revenge for the horrors that whaling had on the lives of innumerable whales. But then it left those men stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for over three months, slowly deteriorating. I listened to it and was constantly refilling my glass of water, feeling so grateful for every drop when hearing of how these men were literally dying of thirst. That the thirst became all they thought about. I was so relieved when they were rescued, but then returning home, completely and forever changed, while those they had left behind at the start of their voyage will never grasp what these men went through. Took me seven years but I finally read this exceptional story.

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

December 2020 Books

♥ A Christmas Carol ¹ by Charles Dickens - I started the month off right with Tim Curry reading Charles Dickens' classic.

* The Last Wish ¹ by Andrzej Sapkowski - Xavier recommended the Witcher series and I liked most of the short stories from this first book.

* Born With Teeth ¹ by Kate Mulgrew - I've known of Kate Mulgrew since the mid-eighties when my parents saw and loved the film Remo Williams. Her career continued steadily but it wasn't until Orange is the New Black that I got to see how versatile an actor she is. Her memoir was gripping and well told but she seemed more a narrator of her life, rather than sharing it. Listening to her I felt that she was very removed from the telling, as if it happened to someone else. This was a bit distracting and odd, but still, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

* The Good Body ¹ by Eve Ensler - I'd read this book years ago and decided to listen to the audio version for a refresher.

♥ Peter Cushing: Past Forgetting by Peter Cushing - I was so sad to finish the last of Peter Cushing's two memoirs. I long for more! He was just a remarkable man. So easy to admire.

* The Hound of the Baskervilles ¹ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Now I know why this is one of the most famous stories of all time - just brilliant. Derek Jacobi's narration was stellar and sucked me right in.

Sword of Destiny ¹ by Andrzej Sapkowski - Another from the Witcher series that I am finding that I increasingly dislike.

♥ Kisses, She Wrote by Katharine Ashe - I read this historical romance Christmas book years ago and since it's more like a novella, I like to re-read it every December.

♥ My Life in France ¹ by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme - Back in 2013 I listened to the abridged version of Julia Child's memoir and this time I felt like I needed the whole story. Wonderful from start to finish.

* A Wallflower Christmas by Lisa Kleypas - Another seasonal romance that's short and sweet and perfect for the holiday.

Season of Storms ¹ by Andrzej Sapkowski - I tried like hell to like this series since Xavier really loved the books but ugh, just not my thing.

Seducing the Highlander by Emma Wildes - Another book inherited from the Godmommy. It started out okay and then went quickly downhill.

¹ - audiobook

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

I, Claudius

My love of all things Derek Jacobi continues! While deep in a search for something new to add to my must see/must read list I found that the entire series of I, Claudius was available on Hoopla. Hooray! I started watching it last month until I ran out of credits. (Hoopla only allows 12 titles per month.) Today I finally watched the last three episodes and it was really spectacular. So many familiar, fabulous faces, such incredible acting, and tons of back-stabbing and drama like you wouldn't believe. 

(photo kidnapped from medium)

Looking Back at 2020's Best Moments

Late in 2019 Ashlee told me about something she saw online - getting a mason jar and every week writing down the best thing that happened and put it in the jar. At the end of the year you open it up and re-read all the good things that you experienced in the past 52 weeks. So I got out one of my favourite Fishs Eddy jars (which sadly, due to a wee crack could no longer be used for my daily juices but I filled the hole with glue and gave it a new purpose) and jammed it to the brim with coloured scraps of paper. Here are the results:

•January•

2nd: Driving to and from the library and so admiring the stunning homes all decked out for the season - Warwick, Kings, & West End plus the little side streets across Crystal - I always look forward to this drive and day dreaming of how it would be if I lived a happy life behind the windows and doors of one of the homes, walking from room to room under the warm glow of the lamp lights.

11th: Today's hug from Fred at Baldwin's Book Barn was the highlight of my entire week!!

18th: Glad I got to visit Godmommy Gina in the hospital on Sunday and that we got one last selfie together. She will be and already is very missed by all.

24th: This week we lost dear lil' Ash Williams, one of the cutest and most adorable fur babies on the planet. So glad to have known him and been there to curl his tail around my hand and give him scruffy rubs on his bum and under his chin. He'll definitely be missed.

31st: Saw Ashlee, Avery, & Sean. Got to catch up with Ash and score some cuddles and giggles from Avery while we watched Toy Story 2.

•February•

7th: A week of fab documentary films: The Pieces I Am (Toni Morrison) • Tell Them Anything You Want (Maurice Sendak) • Mike Nichols American Masters • Billie Jean King - A Female Tennis Champion • Hal (Ashby) • Love, Antosha (Anton Yelchin)

16th: Thursday the 13th I went from WFM to 21 & stopped at the PO in Mtown. I was re-reading my postcards before depositing them (in the drive up mailbox) when a car pulled up behind me & "Rats!" - I had to stop and dump them in and drive off. 2 minutes later Mum calls me and on speakerphone tells me she's driving behind me and was the car in back of me at the PO drop box!

21st: Kay FaceTimed me to thank me for the $80 check so she can re-take her EMT test - she was so cute and all teary and emotional. So glad I could help relieve a lil' stress! xoxo to Kay!

26th: Tie: watching "It's a Living" on Prime and discovering actor Jon-Erik Hexum.  Bonus: the YouTube video (of the weatherman) "I think steel boils at this temperature..." (still makes me laugh!!)

•March•

6th: Spent Sunday with Ashlee - just running errands - Lowe's, Kohl's for returns, MOM"s for food and lunch at Naked, CVS - and talking with no interruptions, just like the old days. Bonus: seeing Sean, Bailey, Avery, Farley, and Bonnie!

13th: Spending five hours with Emily at her lovely home and adoring Ana and Adam more than ever!

21st: Too much work this week but thankful to have a job that is not affected by the Coronavirus. Loved the laughs I got from Tom Papa's "You're Doing Great".

24th: The week of fab documentaries! Becoming Bond, Ask Dr. Ruth, Three Identical Strangers (saw before), Frank Serpico, Bad Reputation. All were so good! Docs are my fave genre!

29th: Gluten Free/vegan goodie box from Xavier that he sent via Amazon! Yum!

•April•

11th: This week I watched (and loved) Voyagers!!

12th-18th: Discovering tons of yummy GF vegan recipes and I ordered fun kitchen supplies to make them!

19th-25th: The Awkward Family Photos postcards are a huge hit and I'm getting happy texts and messages from the recipients.

26th-1st: All the OT I'm working and COVID stimulus check AND that I'm spending less by staying home means I'm paying down my credit card debt!

•May•

3rd-9th: Go to see Bishop 5/04 and Terri 5/05 and score wonderful hugs from both! Also got to see Jules and Shane for a bit!

10th-16th: Emailed back and forth with Kathleen Hanna who said I was "massively adorable".

18th: Leaving 21 for home I cut through the rich neighbourhood at 11pm-ish that spits out at the cardio health building. A sedan pulls to their stop sign (on my left), they pause but then go as if they hadn't seen me. I stop in time and give two short toot-toots then keep my distance so as not to seem angry or aggressive about their mistake. They pull over and as I slowly go around I see the driver roll down his window and signal me - I stop, he pulls up next to me and apologises profusely. I explain that it's no big deal, nothing happened and I'm not upset. I'm not an angry driver. He apologises and says he's had a hard/horrible day. I lead us in a deep cleansing breath & let him drive off first - great moment! 

25th-31st: Got to see: Ashlee, Bailey, Avery, Xavier, Terri, Shane, Juliette, Dave, Amy, Anne, Marina, Aunt Berne, & Chrissy!

•June•

6th: Chat in garage at Kings AND score hugs (first time since March 14th) from Jackson, Syd, Mary, & Xavier. (Zach was asleep.)

12th: Got moved to Tech Central (formerly OHD) 12:30-7:30!! Bishop's 8pm to chat outside til 9 - really great seeing him and a hug! xoxo

20th: Little Bday package from Autumn + letter from Renee!!

24th: "In the Heat of the Night" ep "A Trip Upstate" so good!

•July•

4th: Spent a couple hours at Dave's (Stacey and Lucy in IN) - chat while he changes out the outlets - watch SGN (Some Good News) ep "Hamilton" - have a smoke, look at pix of Ronny and his huge Moscow Mule & then check my [Roark's] oil levels.

10th: Chrissy's 40th Bday party and day one of Blobfest!!!

13th: Took an external call and he asked (before I transferred him to member services) "Are you from Philadelphia?" He guessed bc of my saying "And all that good stuff" and the way I pronounce "hundred".

26th: Looks like my brush with glutenous grub was a fluke. Hooray!!

27th & 31st: Baldwin's w/Jax!! (we saw Fred!) (and 7/31 Rita's H2O with Bishop!)

•August•

5th & 6th: This week: not one but two great docs featuring Bill Cunningham "The Times of Bill Cunningham" & "Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex, Fashion, Disco"

15th: Ran errands and accomplished all my To-Do's for the day: UPS, Kohl's, Emma's for boxes, clean out the shed, 21 to drop the boxes, pick up coats.

21st: That my last texts with Mrs. Wilhelm were good ones. 

Mrs W: your thoughtfulness overwhelms my heart Love You To The Moon 

Me: Love you right back! Miss your face.

30th: Spent the afternoon w/Jax and introduced him to the first three episodes of "Voyagers!" which he really liked!

•September•

4th: Seeing and hugging Jaeden at MomMom's viewing. I had no idea he would be there.

11th: Re-watching "Rebirth" a perfect film that is touching and allows the viewer to become emotionally involved in the lives of these lovely humans.

19th: Pulling into the lot of Birmingham Road in West Chester and photographing the hills, trees, and farm in the distance on a gorgeous day!

26th: Charm City with Jax - on the way he sees the rain-mist coming from the car next to us and says "Excuse me, sir, but you've got a fog machine hanging off the back of your car!"

27th: Pulling up to 21, Uncle Phil (smoking in the garage and chatting with Mum) says "Where'd ya get that rollerskate?" lol (Roark is a Mini after all...) 

•October•

5th: Went to the library at 12ish for Contactless Pickup (prior to voting and then working at 3:30) - Ann came out to drop my DVDs (All in the Family S1-3 and The Ghost & Mr. Chicken) in the boot and said "Hello, beautiful" and we chatted a bit - before closing the hatch I got an "I love you" which gave me the warm and fuzzies! 

17th: Introduced Wayne to Grounds for Sculpture - we arrived at 9:30 and we all but had the place to ourselves! A gorgeous cool Autumn day! 

18th: Spent the afternoon with Emily, Ana, and Adam - oh I just love them all so stinkin' much!!

28th: Last week I visited twice with Kay (and Danny) to come up with affordable security cameras at the house. Tried to come over on the 26th to chat and set them up (I ordered the cameras from Amazon) but there was no bloody parking in a 10 block radius! I drove around for 45 effing minutes. (I wound up just handing them to Kayla and driving home.) Got a text today with video of one of her psycho neighbours stealing chairs from Kay's patio. She said "i swear theyre all products of incest" and I died laughing!

•November•

7th: So far so good...Biden's set to be the 46th President.

9th & 10th (it's a tie): Facetime with Natalia! •plus• Kev tells me I'm full time TC - no more phones!

15th: Watched all of S5 "Last Tango in Halifax" I ♥ Derek Jacobi!!

22nd: The Colonial for "The Santa Clause" w/Kayla - wonderful girl that I simply adore. 

•December•

5th: Books & Cooks Tour was a bit of a let-down but seeing Marina (even for only 10 minutes) and Kayla and Danny (also, brief) was the best part of the whole day! (Actually I saw Kay & Dan first, then Marina and Mateo, but whatever...)

12th: Syd's Rapid Test came back negative. Rey contracted COVID on Dec 5th & we were all on the proverbial tenterhooks waiting to see if Syd (& all of us) are in the clear.

15th: Seeing Ashlee & co for the first time since May (MomMom's viewing doesn't count.)

BONUS!! 16th: Emily gets a new liver! So grateful to the donor and thinking of their family.

21st/22nd: Touring the Tri-State area to see Christmas lights with Isabella and Kayla, two of my favourite people ever to exist. It was so much fun!!

27th: Wake up to pix from Ash of Bailey playing stylist to Avery. Oh my gosh, those two are just way too precious. ♥

And there you have it! For the worst year of my life there were a lot of wonderful moments that are all housed in this groovy jar.