is there any more pie?

After quite a long 48 hours, a snowplow returned to our driveway last night to plow us out and fix the mess that left us trapped before it all froze.  The driver was the owner of the company and wanted to see it for himself.  Hey, I could have texted pictures!

We were very relieved. 

So this morning the sun was shining, the sky was blue and I was able to plan a trip to Westerly.  Unfortunately, I had no errands to do.  No groceries to buy.  I refuse to look at clothes at TJMaxx until the dressing rooms open up.

But I needed to put a card in the mailbox at the Post Office, so there was that.

Banjo Man sensed my excitement and asked if I was going to come back.

I told him that I had a wad of cash and a Visa card and I could cross the Pennsylvania border before dark and before he ventured upstairs to see what we are having for dinner.

He laughed.  Sort of.

Yesterday I stitched 9-patch blocks together all day while streaming old episodes of EXPEDITION UNKNOWN.

I learned a lot about treasure hunting.   And watched three episodes about the Dead Sea Scrolls.  I’ll be streaming more episodes this afternoon after RI’s latest press conference about the Covid vaccinations.

Today the New York Times rated us LAST in vaccine rollouts.   So I imagine there will be some explanations/excuses from the folks on stage.  And hopefully some information as to how and where and when the over-75 folks can get vaccinated.

The state had a hard time getting it done and last Friday turned the whole process over to the cities and towns,  which was a surprise to the cities and towns.  This morning I heard that the most recent plan was to turn the process over to CVS.

Now, on to PENGUIN BLOOM.

We watched this movie on Netflix Sunday night and really enjoyed it.  Based on a true story (and a book), it tells the story of how an abandoned baby magpie helped an Australian family heal from a tragedy.  It’s a lovely, feel-good story…and I guarantee the bird will make you laugh.

We are working our way through an older series called THE TUNNEL.

There are three seasons, which should occupy us for another couple of weeks.

What are you watching?

Greetings from the cold North!  It’s 9 degrees this morning, with a wind chill of zero.  Friday morning it was 8 below.   Tomorrow we’re getting a full blown nor’easter with 4-12″ of snow and high winds.

In other words, winter.

From My Modern Met.

I’m huddled up in my office waiting for it to warm up.  I have my coffee.  And a very thick warm robe.  All is well.

It feels good to be able to type this morning.  Last Tuesday I decided to make an Irish Apple Cake, a recipe that landed in my email box that morning.  Daughter Nancy was coming for our weekly dinner and Irish Apple Cake sounded like a good idea for dessert.

It wasn’t.  The three apples I had to peel, core, quarter and slice were as hard as rocks.  The recipe consisted of a layer of cake batter, a thick layer of sliced apples and a streusel topping.

I will never make it again.

Later on I noticed my hand was sore.  It finally dawned on me that was due to peeling granite-like apples.  I thought nothing of it until the next morning, when I woke up with a swollen, red and throbbing claw of a hand.  I used ice packs all day.  Ibuprofen.  Percocet.  My lymphedema glove as a bandage.  Nothing worked.

I stuck it out until Thursday afternoon, then Banjo Man dropped me off at the local Express Care.  An hour later I’d had x-rays, been examined, given a huge hand brace and a prescription for more pain pills.

I love my hand brace.  I’ve been wearing it 24 hours a day, until this morning.  It works!  And I can type!

Clearly peeling a case of peaches in August is much easier than peeling three winter apples.  Who knew?

Let’s talk television.

RECKONING (Netflix):  this is a 10-part series about a serial killer and the police detective trying to catch him.  Sound familiar?  It actually wasn’t, because each man had a family with its own problems.  They lived in the same middle-class neighborhood, attended the same church, their kids were friends.  Their sons had real issues, one with autism and the other a budding psychopath.  I thought it went on way too long, though.  And the writers left enough threads for a season 2.  I’m not sure we’ll watch another season unless we’re really desperate.

HIGHTOWN (Starz):  It started out interestingly enough, but the drugs, drinking, sex and all around crude behavior made us turn it off after a few episodes.  Set in Provincetown, on Cape Cod, the scenery is familiar and beautiful.  But the underbelly of the Cape isn’t.  We didn’t want to spend our winter evenings there.

LUPIN (Netflix):  This was fabulous (thank you to Mary and Kathy for recommending it).  Arsene Lupin, a charismatic thief and “master of disguise” in Paris, is bent on avenging his father’s death by destroying the wealthy family who ruined his life.  Only five episodes to watch now (the first half of the series) but the other five will be released this summer.  I can’t wait!  Wonderful characters and lots of plot twists.

Ralph Fiennes in THE DIG.

THE DIG (Netflix):  My 5-star pick of the week!!!  A film based on a true story, about the Sutton Hoo dig in 1939 and the discovery of the first Anglo-Saxon burial ship in history.  A wonderful, wonderful movie.  Ralph Fiennes stars as the amateur archaeologist (he calls himself an “excavator”) who is hired by a wealthy widow to explore the burial mounds on her land.

We enjoyed it so much I think we’re going to watch it again.  The filmmakers went to incredible lengths to make the portrayal of the dig an accurate one.

The Sutton Hoo treasure is available to view virtually at the British Museum.   https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/galleries/sutton-hoo-and-europe

I’m going to spend some time there this afternoon.  There’s a lot to see.

And that’s it for now.  Stay warm, stay healthy, stay safe.

Every night around 6:00, Banjo Man asks me, “What are we watching tonight?”

As I have somehow been appointed as Covid Entertainment Director it’s up to me to find good shows to fill the hours before we stagger off to bed.

Hurray for Netflix!  We watched MANHUNT: DEADLY GAMES recently and we were captivated with this series.  It begins with the bombing at the Olympics, but as ATF bomb experts follow the forensic trail (and FBI agents ignore it), the story turns into the search for Eric Rudolph.  Absolutely fascinating.

If you think you know the whole story, I bet you don’t.

From CBS: “MANHUNT: DEADLY GAMES is a scripted true-crime anthology series that chronicles one of the most complex manhunts on U.S. soil following the deadly terrorist attack at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.”

We also watched MANHUNT: UNABOMBER, but it wasn’t as good.  Interesting, yes, but ultimately very sad.

And the Covid Entertainment Director doesn’t do sad.

Let me know what you are watching as we wait for the vaccine!