As you can see, it’s slow going on the puzzle. To be honest, I’m easily distracted these days and I suspect that has a great deal to do with it. I also think that will change over the course of the next week – basically, as soon as we get Biden/Harris safely installed in office.
We had to take a break from Rachel last night. I may listen to the podcast today. There is so much information about QAnon and the insurrectionists that we are digesting. It’s awful and frightening. So we took control and didn’t watch anything news related last night.
Instead we watched Pretend It’s a City, the 7 part documentary about Fran Lebowitz by Martin Scorsese. Actually, we’ve been watching it for the past few days. I’m a huge fan of Lebowitz. I identify with her take on things. She’s brilliant, a great observer of human nature, an acerbic commentator on society, and she sees the absurdities of daily life. Famously known for not having a cell phone or a computer, she walks the streets of NYC with her head up, observing it as only she can. She’s also a bit of a curmudgeon, which I love. (So am I.)
If this seems like a promo, it isn’t. But I am an unabashed fan and have read much of her commentary. Scorsese filmed an earlier documentary in 2010 about her called Public Speaking. I’d love nothing more than the opportunity to sit down and have a chat with her. Or walk the streets of NYC with her. Pretend It’s a City is on Netflix.
We’ve also been watching a series called Occupied. It’s a Norwegian series and it’s excellent. We had to take a break, however, because it hit a little too close to home when the assault on the Capitol happened. We’ll get back to it soon.
Other than that, we’re hanging out. Don went to pick up our groceries yesterday and we have a full larder again. But all of that – driving there, picking them up, bringing them home, disinfecting, and putting them away takes a big old chunk of time. We don’t always disinfect these days, but Don watched the guy putting everything in the trunk and felt we should disinfect this time. So we did.
Yet another gray day here, with a bit of rain. I’m over it. I miss the Christmas tree.
He’s been impeached. Now he needs to be imprisoned.
Stay safe.
Happy Thursday.
that puzzle’s border would be tough to start for being all one color, but you’ll get it done!
and we will get through the next six and a half days and beyond, hopefully with no more crimes, violence and nonsense from pino. it is nerve-wracking, though, for sure. glad you have sources that are trustworthy when you want more news and things to enjoy when a break is needed.
since my back broke, i’ve been falling asleep from 7:00 or 8:00 at night until 7:00 am (when i have to get up to go to work) so no knitting or painting, etc. has been done in a long time. and after sleeping that long, i’ve missed some pain medication and move very slowly in the morning … but that’s improving so hopefully i can do some of my favorite things again soon. i miss them!
always appreciate your sharing titles of movies and books and your thoughts on them. i am not familiar with fran lebowitz, but will add her writings and those documentaries to my list. it is a very long list, thanks to your suggestions and those of other people here (and my ongoing short attention span).
we are supposed to get snow flurries today, then have a chance of measurable snow sometime between 6:00 tonight and 6:00 tomorrow night (ugh). hope that weather doesn’t head your way. if i counted it right, we are 67 days from the first day of spring and i am ready for it! i know we could still get snow after that day, but then it doesn’t tend to stick around like it can in january and february.
hope you all have a good day. happy thursday!
and always stay safe.
kathy in iowa
ps: i see so many people handling items at the stores without wearing gloves or masks only to put those things back on the shelves. i see others sneezing or coughing without covering their maskless faces. and i know it’s all been handled by so many people before that in the prep and shipping, etc., so i definitely continue to disinfect things. my family does, too, thankfully.
Kathy, I hope your back is healing well. Never easy to recover from a back injury, but in the midst of winter, a pandemic, and precariously peaceful transfer of power, it must be triply challenging. Stay safe.
hej, nora in ct …
scroll down a bit if you want. that’s where my reply to you is at. :)
kathy in iowa
May God bless you, Kathy. Wishing you the speediest of recoveries!
hej, mary scott …
He already has and i know He’s not leaving me or any of us. :)
thanks for your support!
hope you and your family are well, safe and stay that way.
kathy in iowa
oops … posted without proofreading again …
may God bless you and your loved ones, too, mary scott!
kathy in iow
Well, no one is maskless while grocery shopping here, so it isn’t an issue. And the FDA has said that there really isn’t a chance of the virus living on food and packaging. But I do believe that everyone has to do what they’re comfortable with. Frankly, we go back and forth on the whole thing.
I hope your pain is easing a bit every day, Kathy.
Stay safe.
The puzzle edges look very hard since it’s all one color. You have a good start though. I always find getting started is the hardest.
As we learn more about the insurrection it is very frightening.
I am very worried about Biden and Harris. I will breathe easier once they are in office.
I don’t generally disinfect anything anymore. I just try to be really careful to use hand sanitizer when I leave the store and wash hands after putting everything away.
Have a good day, and stay safe.
We always use hand sanitizer and we wash our hands like crazy!
Stay safe, Marilyn.
While I am a great admirer of Rachel, as things get darker I can’t watch her at 9PM and then go to sleep – the news is just too upsetting to be my last thoughts of the day. Now I ration the amount of news as well as when I consume it.
Better days ahead,
Anne
I know. Same here. Very close to my bedtime.
Stay safe, Anne.
A tricky puzzle for sure! I had one similar but the edge was all solid blue, I had to start in the middle with the colorful picture and work my way out to the edges. I had never done a puzzle that way before. Good luck, you are doing great!
I just finished the edges – finally. Now I may work on the design and then fill in the white.
Stay safe, Ellen!
Claudia, hope the puzzle continue to be a distraction. I have a puzzle of the Beatles White Album….I don’t think I’ll ever get desperate enough to assemble that one…it’s all white except for “the Beatles” in black lettering in the corner.
I get Rachel Maddow during my dinner prep time. Sometimes, I have to turn it off, especially if I feel over inundated.
California just announced that those 65 and over are now eligible for the COVID vaccine. I’m going to see if I can sign my Mom up.
I wish she was on earlier here – but she’s on at 9 pm on the East Coast and that’s awfully close to my bedtime. Sometimes I just can’t watch.
Signing up here in NY is not easy!
Stay safe, Wendy.
I waited over an hour on the Kaiser phone line, but I not only got an appointment, I got one of the first appointments at the medical center near me. That’s kind of a surprise, but a good one. I’ll get my first injection next week.
They seem to be impossible to get here, unfortunately. And we’re both over 65!
Congrats!
Claudia, your puzzle is making me think of one of my favorite songs: “A Whiter Shade of Pale.’ I have had an unrelenting voice in my head for the last week, ruminating, fulminating, spewing fear, anger, and outrage onto/into all my thoughts. I try hard to shut it up but so far am unsuccessful. We all need some peace and quiet.
Don and I go back and forth between wanting quiet and peace and being full of anger about all of this.
We do need peace and quiet.
Stay safe, Nora.
I’m kind of like that with food. I do. But I might not be doing it quite so thoroughly as before.
Big tree is down. I’ve been enjoying “Criminal UK” — talk about understated acting but so very well done. Definitely not a big scene design budget! I need a break from Rachel et al these days too. I’m not sticking the head in the sand or cutting myself off — but I’m needing less screen time with news.
We do it sometimes and not others. Depends on where we shop. We checked with the FDA again and they say there’s no need, but to do it if you feel you want to. Makes sense.
Stay safe, Jeanie.
Am now scheduled vaccine Monday
Closest about fifteen miles in traffic
Stress and worry to stay well with these not masked in building…just taking trash and getting mail
Sounds ludicrous after isolating since last March I know
Still teaching online…and then the politics…prayers
Good for you, Brenda!
Stay safe.
You have such patience! That puzzle would have been back in the box and given away about 20 mins after starting if it were me putting it together. Great job!
So much happening. Learning there possibly (probably) was some inside assistance, and the number of people in that crowd who are police officers from across the country who thought this was the right thing to do. So much for which we are unprepared. Seems we were watching the despicables from lands far away, and not admitting or understanding what we have going on here.
We are supposed to get 2-4 in of snow later today. ugh to that. Of course it could be worse, so we will get through it. We had to buy a new snow blower, so hubs is happy to be able to use it for the first time…. so there is that. We still do the wipe downs with everything that comes in the house. Too many people who disregard all respect for this virus and seem to need to touch everything in sight and return it to the shelves. It does take time, but I know we don’t have much on our calendars anyway!! Take care.
What we’re learning about all of this is terrifying. I’m glued to the news and to Twitter, though I did manage to vacuum today and work on the puzzle.
Stay safe, Chris.
hej, nora in ct …
thanks for your good wishes. :)
we are all dealing with a lot. hope you stay safe, too, and are well, have plenty of fun and relaxing things to enjoy as well as all the supplies you need.
as for my back, the pain is less and i am so grateful for that. as a result, i am sleeping much better, longer (as said above). i am very grateful for that, too. i have a call in to my doctor because nothing’s been said ):( about follow-up x-rays, wearing the brace less (looking forward to that) and starting physical therapy (i have mixed feelings about that … i want my old freedom of movement and all that means back again, but the idea of bending my back, without knowing what kind of movement – along with the osteoporosis – might have led to the four compression fractures, is scary to me. i have four months worth of appointments for bone-building shots (not the cement injections, not doing them) and i’d feel a bit better if they starting working before pt). i could grumble on about this whole thing, but i won’t because it could have been so much worse and it wasn’t. because God could have left me as i was, but He is healing me. i am so very grateful to God for those and all His other blessings!
hope you are having a nice, easy day.
and thanks again for your support.
kathy in iowa
I knew there was something I liked about you, and it’s our shared admiration of Fran Lebowitz!
Although, I must admit, I hadn’t figured you for a fan.
I like to think of myself as Fran without the wit or the style. : )
Oh, I’m very sarcastic and I comment on the absurdities of behavior all of the time. And I always go for the laugh. The blog only shows you a part of me – I wouldn’t want you to know everything!
Stay safe!
hi, Claudia — I am also ‘puzzling’ today — recd 3 new puzzles as gifts (gchildren know me so well, HaHa!!! can lose myself working on them — what time is it?? what day is it?? LOL!! hoping/praying for a safe installation for Biden/Harris — can we be too careful, I don’t think so. bought ‘extra’ stuff at grocery this week — Ky has big problems, not only covid. not planning to be out for quite awhile. pls stay healthy, safe. p.s. love your ‘houses’ — you are truly gifted!!
I love losing myself in a jigsaw or crossword puzzle. It’s very Zen!
Yes, be careful, Linda Get what you need and stay home. We are doing the same.
Thank you so much for your kind words. Stay safe!
Claudia- Just a couple of generic items. Each day when I read the title of your posts, I can’t believe it. Day 307. At the beginning of this I never dreamt it would be such a long nightmare. It seems like a lifetime ago when all this started. I think a lot of us are different people coming out of this. I know I am.
Secondly, in one of your posts you mentioned Jessica Yellin’s Instagram. Thank you for that. I have really enjoyed following her and getting news, not noise!
Stay safe and well.
Almost a whole year, Melanie!
So glad you enjoy Jessica Yellin. Just what we need during this craziness.
Stay safe!
Ack! The puzzle is all the same color!!!! Enjoy it!
I swear, we watch the same tv shows so frequently! we loved Fran Lebowitz’s show. So entertaining. Rachel is SO intense & some nights I just can’t listen..BUT she’s so right on & has given us such a civics lesson. It’s hard not to watch & listen.
Stay warm & safe…we’re getting to the finish line.
Fran is the best.
I love Rachel, but yes, sometimes I have to take a break!
Stay safe, Priscilla.
Thanks for recommending “Pretend It’s a City.” I wasn’t familiar with it and started watching. Wow! Love it.
So glad you’re enjoying it, Brenda!
Stay safe.
Happy New Year, Claudia! I haven’t commented in a while. Just going through the horrors with everyone else, I suppose. I can’t wait until all of this is just a very bad memory once Biden is safely in office.
The Christmas decor was put away last week. I actually went through each of the boxes and organized, re-boxed, and set aside many things for goodwill. It was nice to accomplish all of that. Once that was done, I started on the livingroom bookshelves. I have four floor to ceiling built in shelves that line one wall in the livingroom. There is a french door to the kitchen that passes through the center. It has been much too long since I have organized that area and I have to say that it looks so inviting now that it is freshened up.
We finished The Crown and Bridgerton then went right into Pretend It’s a City. Very nice change of pace. We enjoy her wit.
The weather has been lovely. Sunny, warm and clear. The roses are fluffy and the oranges bright. Perfect time for planning the spring garden and organizing the garage. We are expecting rain next week and I am looking forward to curling up with a book (starting Miss Read for the first time!) next to the fireplace as soup simmers on the stove.
Enjoy your beautiful winter days. I look forward to your progress on the dollhouses and your commentary and pictures on instagram!
Hugs to you and Don! Stay safe (and sane!)
Christy
I envy you your weather right now, Christy! Ah well, that’s the choice we made when we moved East.
Enjoy that soup and the books you’re reading.
Stay safe.
Hi Claudia,
Did you receive your expected delivery of books? I am interested to know which of the D.E Stevenson books you ordered. I have been a D.E. Stevenson fan for many years. I am slowly collecting all her books in hardback. My favourites are the the three set in Scotland: Vittoria Cottage, Music in the Hills, Shoulder the Sky/ Wind and Rough Weather. I hope you enjoy her books as much as I have. Another author of books about people set in England that I have collected is Elizabeth Goudge.
I got Mrs. Tim Carries On, Miche. I’ve heard a lot of good things about that series, but the first book wasn’t readily available.
Stay safe!
Well, I’m hot; it was 90 degrees outside at 4pm PST; more Santa Ana wind condition (although I love the exceptionally-clear skies; so blue, so much sun; feels ‘optimistic’ and, I dunno, cleansing for the soul). We’ll be in the high 80s temps throughout the SoCalif weekend in my neck ‘o the woods.
I haven’t watched (or done any reading of) a lick of news all day; as have said so many others here, I’m craving a break. I couldn’t believe I slept nine hours, but I did (maybe sleeping is better right now than having to deal with reality).
Keep on plugging away at that puzzle, Claudia. It’s a good thing to do right now. I feel like I’m in a fog; level of concentration is really poor. Just have to keep on working at it. FOCUS!! We’re all too distracted with what’s going on in our larger world.
I notice on blogs that a lot of women are already dipping into their Valentine’s/Easter crafts & plans. It somehow feels bright, light and innocent, welcoming, so I hope I can get immersed in some of that myself, soon. (It’s like “Life Before Jan 20” vs “Life After Jan 20”; how soon can I feel normal. Or something akin to normal.)
I’m having trouble with concentration, too. I think we all are.
I cannot wait until that man is out of the Oval Office and embroiled in legal battles. Biden’s words yesterday were so compassionate and honest. I love him.
Stay safe, Vicki!