A crappy weather week ahead. Yesterday, it snowed, then in the early evening it turned to rain, which has left us with a frozen mess. I have to go out and salt when I’m done writing this post. And Wednesday looks to be a day of significant snow.
Oh joy.
I may be stuck here for a while, as the temps are in the single digits at night, which means I have to protect the pipes from freezing.
Oh joy, again.
Maybe I’ll become one of those hermits who live in the wild and are snowed in for the winter and don’t emerge until Spring.
Anyway, enough of that. It’s sunny…that’s a good thing, right?
I had a lovely time and Rick and Doug’s yesterday, as usual. Then, when the snow started falling in earnest, I headed home. Even though I didn’t blink an eye at driving in snow when I was a young thing growing up in Michigan, I do blink an eye now. I remember driving clear across the state in a blizzard in order to get to a friend’s wedding. No biggie.
I miss that girl, but she has been replaced by a wiser woman who would much rather stay home than deal with snow and slippery roads.
Don has been urging me to watch Peaky Blinders on Netflix and I’ve tried. I’ve watched two episodes, and though the show is beautifully filmed and the acting is great, it’s a bit too violent for me and I’ve yet to connect to at least one character. I know who is supposed to be the protagonist and I also know that they young men are damaged, especially by what they saw when they were fighting in WWI, but I’m not there yet. I promised Don I’d watch the first season, which consists of 6 episodes, so I’ll hang in through #6. I just finished Grace and Frankie over the weekend. When Don was still here, we watched Godless, starring Jeff Daniels, on Netflix. Excellent. I really loved it. Also violent, but there were actual good guys.
Okay. I have to get moving. It’s time to salt. Then I have to get out of here so I can buy more salt.
Exciting, right?
Don moves to the theater today and tech rehearsals begin. Less than two weeks until the first preview. (And the release of the cast album!)
Happy Monday.
My husband and I love Grace ad Frankie. We binged on it over this cold and wintry Superbowl weekend (we live in Minneapolis). We love hunkering down in Jan, Feb, and March with books, games, and Netflix. Winter is a good time for catching up on those things. In warmer weather we play outside!
It is a good time to do all of that for sure, Carolyn Marie.
I spent my weekend watching Downton Abbey and loved it. This week Mom has a Dr/Dentist appt every day except Friday. I’m the driver and getting out even a little will be good for me this week. Happy Monday!
Take it slow, but I’m glad you’re getting out!
New meaning for “Salt, salt, salt!”, huh?
Peaky Blinders is violent, yes it is. I didn’t get into it much, but it was being watched last year, while I was in the room. I can’t say that organized crime intrigues me as much as it does Mr. Wizard. But I did enjoy The Wire when it was on—more ghetto-type organized crime. So more recently I’ve been watching The Chi on HBO. It’s a little like The Wire, which I know you didn’t like, centered on drugs and the way young people get trapped in that culture. It’s sad and it draws me in. But I do need those captions to catch all of the dialogue!
Hope your weather gives you a break soon, so you can get to the city and Don.
I have a bit of trouble understanding the actors in Peaky Blinders and I certainly did with The Wire. And I’m a dialect coach with, if I do say so myself, a great ear!
You reminded me of my younger fearless self, as well. Yes…where is she? I would like to think she’s still there….just a little more cautious. Good luck with the salting. We received fresh snow Saturday into Sunday…and more to come later today. The snow and cold at least provide guilt free tv binge watching, more book reading, and more opportunities to clean out the nooks and crannies. Enjoy your day! ;)
Cautious is a good thing! Especially in the winter!
We did a complete vacuuming and airing of the house yesterday (I usually only vacuum an area at a time. ). And washed the kitchen floor. And did three loads of laundry. Daughter baked a custard pie and lime pound cake cupcakes. I’m glad I don’t have salt duties to add to the maintenance. So, today I can visit my parents and come home to no chores!… until tomorrow… they never end, you know.
The chores never end here. Today required several hours of outdoor work. Tired.
I loved Grace and Frankie, it was over too soon. Every time you mention the musical I remember this: thirty years ago (yikes!) my daughter was in the the 3rd grade and given the task of using her spelling words in sentences….the word was cheeseburger and she quoted Buffet..”.I’d like a cheeseburger in paradise.” The teacher laughed and asked me about it, we had been playing the album at home nonstop…good times.
That’s a great story, Melissa!
Netflix must have been positively afloat with we “not-an-iota-of-interest-in-football” folks this weekend. That’s pretty much what I did too. For me it was Grace & Frankie Season 4, The Great British Baking Show Master Class, Spotlight, Michael Clayton and The Godfather. The last 3 [all yesterday] were some pretty heavy stuff, needless to say. Very well-done all, but definitely MAJOR downers. I’m in desperate need of an MGM musical – STAT. Or anything with Tracey Ullman. Going to do some cleaning & recycling today [yawn]. Have GOT to slow-down this jet-set lifestyle of mine someday [lol]. Have the best possible Monday! Peace.
#Resist
#ProtectMueller
I’ve seen all three. And all of Grace and Frankie and much of the Great British Baking Show!
I do believe that with age comes wisdom, and we are wise enough to know that there are people on the road driving like it is a sunny 75* day, or they are driving in an inebriated state, or perhaps driving on bald tires, or texting, so we are more aware. Being aware can be a blessing, and sometimes a curse. I know I drive my kids crazy. Oh, well.
We are to get more snow today. My husband was supposed to judge a music event this evening in Iowa, and, thankfully, it has been cancelled. I am so over this winter. Glad we are half way through it now. (At least by the calendar ~ as we all know it can, and usually does, last WAY past March 20).
I hope you get a very large shaker of salt to handle the ice! Enjoy the rest of your day.
I am really over this winter and they’re predicting anywhere from 5 to 8 inches of snow and sleet for Wednesday. I just want to stay in the house and avoid winter.
I’m older than you and I really would not trust the bad weather any more either. As for violent dramas, I have had my fill, seems they all are rather violent these days. I agree, back to Downton Abbey for the third time, or British mysteries, Miss Marple, Endeavour and the like. My favorites.
Love Endeavor. I wish they’d bring us a new season!
Hi Claudia, I’m a friend of Meredith’s who enjoys your blog. I would encourage you to stick with Peaky Blinders if you can. I usually can’t watch shows that are violent even if they are good (like The Sopranos). However, I think the violence in this show is an integral part of the story line and as the show develops you see how the characters relate to the violence and how they change or not. Also, the show is based on real gangsters. The theme song is another plus for the show. Amazingly it was written and recorded 20 years ago—not made for the show! As you can tell I’m a bit obsessed. I think Peaky Blinders is one of the best shows I’ve watched in a long time. Good luck with it 😊
That’s what Don keeps telling me and that’s why I’ll watch the first season and see how I feel at the end of six episodes. Thanks, Holly!
I don’t watch a lot of conventional network television anymore but I do watch a show on premium cable (which I have to let go of soon because it’s too expensive; I have HBO) called “Divorce” which I’ve liked although I think the writing was better last season.
So I broke habit, though, and watched “This is Us” last night on I think NBC(?) and I pretty much sobbed the whole time. I’ve watched this show in skips and starts over the past months and sort of know the general thread and I wish I’d watched it from the pilot. (I may see if I can download both seasons; try to catch up; it’s that good.) Very well-crafted show and it always grabs me. I like Ken Olin who was an actor in the old show called ‘thirtysomething’ in the 80s and he’s directed several of the “This is Us” episodes.
Take care of your back with that salt bucket.
Yes, I remember the fearlessness of youth; I took some chances which prompt me to often say that I must have had an angel on my shoulder.
I tried Divorce – and I love both of the lead actors – and I didn’t like it. Neither did Don.
I’ve heard great things about This is Us but, per my usual M.O., if something is hyped a lot – and the ads tell me that ‘All of American is in love with This is Us” I dig my heels in and I don’t watch it. Don’s the same way. That being said, I’m sure I’ll watch it someday.
No doubt about it, “Divorce” runs a fine line. Thing is, I know too many divorced couples (sometimes I feel like I know [and also are related to] more divorced people than married people). And “Divorce” is more often than not, at least for me, hitting the target. I got in a couple of the very-early episodes of “This Is Us” before all the hype, so I was already pretty riveted which makes me wonder even more why I just didn’t record the series and not risk missing so much of it.
You know what my husband is watching online these days? Season upon season of “The West Wing”. He missed a lot of it, back in its day, due to his work schedule. And, today, he just can’t get enough of it!
(Yeah [back to “Divorce”], I’m kinda gone over Thomas Haden Church, ever since TV’s “Wings”.)
So coincidental, my husband and I were just talking about TV series’ tonight, going back over all the ones we formerly really liked that didn’t last long. You’d have thought I was much too old for it, but “My So-Called Life” with a very young Claire Danes was such an excellent series with a limited run. We used to like “Sisters”, too, with Sela Ward who was, as well, so good in a show called “Once And Again” (going back about 20 years for that one). We seem to like all the series’ which get cancelled early. One obscure, short-lived series I liked from a long time ago was called, “Relativity” and I find that I seem to like anything written and produced by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz who sort of had something to do indirectly or directly with most everything I mention here. Which is why I should be watching Season 5 & 6 of that TV show called “Nashville” because I think one or both are producing it.
Did you see Thomas Haden Church in the movie Sideways? He’s wonderful in it.
I have probably watched “Sideways” 30 times in the past 14 years since it arrived on scene; I’m not kidding. It’s permanently on my DVR/playlist and I own a couple of copies of the DVD. It’s one of my ‘comfort foods’ and I’m obsessed with it, as I am with its backdrop, the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley in Santa Barbara County, just north of me here in The Golden State.
Are you a fan of Alexander Payne? He’s responsible for “Sideways”, “The Descendants” (love, love, LOVE that movie) which is one of the few movies I’ve ever liked George Clooney in…he also did “About Schmidt” which was, I thought, very poignant. I haven’t seen his “Nebraska” (he has a strong heritage in Nebraska which my husband appreciates as I imagine Don would) but I’m looking forward to “Downsizing” although, so far, from its debut in December, it has gotten mixed reviews. WIKI: ” His films are noted for their dark humor and satirical depictions of contemporary American society…(which) often revolve around middle-aged or older men who reach a breaking point in their lives, enter into transformative existential crises, and then emerge in the end as changed people, for better or worse…some unexpected life experience forces the central male figure to ‘crack’ and see the world in a new and surprising way…his movies also tend to involve infidelity, road trips or travel, tragedy, despair, disappointment…(they) sometimes include scenes of historical landmarks, black and white photographs, and museums, and he often uses amateur actors for minor roles…his films tend to have a strong connection to a physical environment, for instance California wine country or midwestern plains or Hawaii, and have a gentle and sedated pace to them, often aided by ambient or atmospheric music…nearly all of his films are dramas that nonetheless incorporate significant comedic elements and portray characters that are vulnerable and flawed but also likable…”
Yes, I’m a fan. My favorite of all of his movies is Election. We have it on DVD. Brilliant.
I’m glad to know that; it’s one I haven’t seen. It was an earlier film of his.
It’s my favorite.
Loved Peaky Blinders! If nothing else, watch it for costumes and music! I didn’t care for Godless as it was pretty obvious what was going to happen in the end, looked like a Ralph Lauren/Magnolia Pearl ad, and Jeff Daniels character wouldn’t have lasted a day after that situation with his arm (although I just adore him!). But….. we stayed with it, and had to have the occasion “really???” moment.
Well, of course it was obvious what was going to happen in the end, but getting there was what we loved about it. And there were surprises along the way that we hadn’t expected. Thanks, Dulcy!
Sounds like the same weather here. It snowed about 5″ yesterday, then turned bitter cold (temps below zero) and is now snowing again. We will get another 3-6″. We don’t have problems with freezing pipes in our house – well, not yet! – so we don’t turn on any faucets to drip, but I suppose we should start doing so in the kitchen sink, as that’s the one where the pipes are right by an outside wall. The only other faucets/pipes are in the bathrooms and both those are in the middle of the house, so they’re safe.
Ours are on outside walls cause this is a small house!
Oh, we have a small house, too! Only 1100 SF for the main living space (kitchen, living room, 2 bathrooms & 3 bedrooms on one floor) .
One more bedroom than we have – and we don’t have a basement. You have a lovely basement, if I remember correctly.
We do have our little den.
Yes, but I was referring to having a small house = where the faucets are. ;-)
Small house (in our case) no plumbing on inside walls. All on exterior walls.
Brrrrrr its freezing in our neck of the woods too. Hmmmm…Hermit huh…You know I think I wouldn’t mind that at all! Our furnace has been acting up and I am just praying it doesn’t completely die. Stay warm Claudia, and think “Springy” type thoughts!
Blessings, Joanne
You stay warm, too!
You have to salt so you can go buy more salt…ha…I love it…You theater people lead such glamorous lives don’t you? lol…Stay warm Claudia!
Exactly.
Hope the snow is light Wednesday. We are getting rain[I hope]. It seems it rains or snows every other day.
Marilyn
Oh, it’s not going to be light. It’s going to be 6 -8 inches with ice and sleet.
Gosh, Claudia, what do you do for prep if you’re holed up for days on end? And if power went out? You have lots of non-perishables on hand? Candles? Flashlights? Big, heavy comforters? Bottled drinks including water? It seems so worrisome to me. As you know from me saying 100 times, I don’t know anything about ice and sleet and snow!
Yes – we have canned goods, (though not a lot at the moment) candles, and flashlights. And now that we have Stella we have a gas oven that will supply some heat and cook some food!
I didn’t mind driving in the snow until we moved to the country. It’s a whole other world out there.
Same here.
I was touched by your kind response to my comment the other day about the stress of dealing with the GOP administration. Thank you for taking the time and care. For you, I am so grateful your great friends are nearby, especially as you and Don have been parted by work so often lately. And you get dogs by proxy which must be a lovely benefit. I left something important out of my comments, I think, which is how much your blog helps me cope with dark times. I’m not sure I thanked you for that. Glad you’re back to reading! Also, the way you rescue plants is a blessing to the world, one which is small but adds a big impact in hope and re-creation. You do many good things!!! Thank you.
Thank you so much, Nora. xoxo
I am catching up on your blog today. We just finished “Grace and Frankie” also. We tried “Lovesick” last night, a Brit comedy. It has a wafer thin plot “hero has to tell all the women he’s slept with that he has a treatable STD” But it is both wry funny and laugh out loud funny. Of course, funny bones may vary and the premise may wear very thin but after two episodes, we’re in!
Anything that makes us laugh, right?