Dear Virtual Nieces, Nephews, Families of Blood, and Families of Choice
Auntie Lenora taking a hiatus from Coffee Break Escapes for a short, but undetermined, time. Things are going on in Auntie Lenora’s life that she needs to attend to. She is well, so no worries, okay?
The Brave Dog is also fine. However, now that he has his own “column” and a newly found voice, he will sulk. But Spring is coming and soon the alligators and the giraffes will come out of their hibernation, and he will probably be too busy herding them to the island and keeping the hippos out of the parking slots. Life’s hard when you have short legs, a fear of anything taller than your shadow at high noon, and you have to do all that work. But he does such great job, the management is very pleased. Just wish they’d lower the rent. Or pay for his dog food.
All is well here, but your old Auntie needs a vacation. She’s heading over to the Dark Side of the Cascades for a bit to give someone in more need a staycation for a week or two. Stay tuned, she will return. Oh, yes, there will be weather in her absence, of that, she is sure.
Photo of the week:
We have visitors. After shooting them (with a camera) and putting my camera away so I could hold the leash with my short legged friend at the other end, they started “swimming” in the pond. The water is so shallow they couldn’t paddle, so they walked along it until they got out and went to the larger, and deeper, pond. Wish I’d been able to get a video of them walking, with their knee bones coming up, out of the water with each step. Use your imagination and smile at the sight.
I will be one of the three featured readers this coming Thursday at Fixed & Free Feb 23 features Don Krieger, Catherine Strisik, Lenora Good. If you are up for a night of poetry, and even a chance to read one of yours, contact Billy at Welbert53@aol.com get your free ticket to join us. Should be a night of fun and frivolity. Bring money and buy books!
Weather in the Tries: We have high wind warnings until Tuesday. We also have fairly warm days in the mid 50s, and on Wednesday, it travels downhill in a handbasket with our lows going into the teens and our highs barely above freezing. Friday is scheduled for a sunny day and Saturday starts warming up again. And it’s going to be cloudy. Hey! This is a desert—I don’t mind the cold, but dahyamn! the clouds belong on the other side of the Cascades! Those folk over there are called Mossbacks for a reason!
Sammy Needs a Job; This is a good news bad news story. A bit of background to explain how it all happened. Housemate Dan and I share the larger bedroom as a joint office. So we each wear ear pieces/headphones when we are watching something on our computers so we don’t disturb the other person. I have a pair of Beats ear pods. I really like them, and I take out my hearing aids so I can use them. The aids have a special place on my desk—a place that is seldom messy. The other day I received a ring light for Zoom/Skype meetings and moved my computer and extra monitor a bit to get it set up. I noticed one of my aides had fallen off its usual place. I did a cursory looksee, didn’t find it and decided to wait until morning. Big mistrake. Somehow, the one aide was knocked off and onto the floor and, being a dog who is always looking for snacks, Sammy grabbed it and proceeded to chew. Yummm, this tastes like my human. Crunch. Crunch. I’m so glad she threw it away. Yes indeed, he crunched it. Thank goodness he didn’t swallow the battery or break the casing! As you can see in the photo below, he did badly dent it. I took the pieces to the nice man at Costco and made an appointment for 31 Mar to get re-tested and order new aides. Remember, I said this story is a good/bad news one. Well, you now have the bad. The good is the replacement aides are considerably better than the chewed one, and cost almost half of what I paid for the last ones! A friend has suggested I see if I can get into the VA system for aids, but I don’t hold much hope. They declined me for medical because I have too good of insurance, but I did write Sen. Patty Murray about it and we’ll see what her response is. So much for the promises to our Vets! /snark/ The upshot is, Sammy needs a job to pay me for eating my right ear aide. Admittedly, his resume is a bit thin, but I list it here in case you know anyone looking for some help. He is excellent at keeping the Humpfolumpuses off furniture, and Hippopotamuses out of parking slots. And since he started patrolling the apartment complex we have had no alligator or giraffe sightings. He is also very good at disposing of snacks and cuddling for naps. Any help you can offer is appreciated
As it is still Black History Month, but you maybe aren’t reading like you’d like to, may I suggest some music and or poetry by Avotcja (pronounced Avatcha). She’s a fascinating person, check her out. YouTube has a few hours of her and others on this page. Chances are it’s been a while since you’ve listened to Johnny Mathis too, well, fix it!
Photos of the Week:
I’m just thrilled he didn’t eat the battery! Or break the battery casing!Suet feeder? What suet feeder? I don’t see no stinkin’ suet feeder here. –famous quote by Kirkland Tree MouseBewick’s Wren. Tiny, cute, and rather rare.
Entertainment: Books Read: If I finish it, I review it: https://lenoragood.blogspot.com Slim pickin’s—haven’t finished a single book or movie or even an episode of Bab5. Colds affect me that way.
Sammy Says: I don’t know why my human is so upset because I chewed her ear toy. It tasted really neat. Just like her. If she didn’t want me to chew it, why did she toss it down for me? Now she wants me to get a job to help pay for her new one. Oh, well. I’ll snuggle up to her, batt my eyes at her, and she’ll forget. Won’t she? She doesn’t understand, I work for treats, and she doesn’t like my treats. But if treats will help her get a new ear toy…Humans are so hard to understand.
Didja notice? Friday the 13th comes on Monday this month?
Weather in the Tries: Looks like the lowest low we’ll get is Thursday with a 27 the others will be hovering around 30 and our highs are going up to 51! with most days high 40s. There is a possibility of rain and a T-storm on Friday, but that’s so far down the line, anything could happen. Let it suffice to say, we shall continue to have weather, in whatever glory it chooses to show us.
Auntie Lenora’s Excellent Birthday Skydiving Adventure: While visiting my EBOC (elder brother of choice) in Kirkland, I celebrated my 80th birthday. Yes, indeed, it’s now official, Auntie Lenora is an Old Lady. I had planned on going for my first skydive from one of those planes that aren’t all that good (why else would anyone jump from one?), but I was visiting, and it was colder than a well-digger’s bottom, as well as raining, and I’m a Devout Coward, so I didn’t. Isn’t it nice that Auntie Lenora’s birthday comes in winter? She’ll probably never jump out of a plane on her birthday, but it’s fun to dream. And plan. And now and then plot. And you just had to read about it, didn’t you? BUT I did do something every bit as exciting. I bought a Yamaha! No, silly, not a motorcycle, an electric keyboard (If I was gonna buy a motorcycle, I’d get a Hawg! /snicker/snort/). Something that’s been on my list of things since I was a kid was to learn to play the piano, but could never afford one, and when this deal came up, I grabbed it. I know I will never be invited to play Carnegie Hall, but by golly I may be able to compete with Lt. Columbo at playing chopsticks! I understand the hardest part of playing the piano, at least for those of us who are, uh, mature individuals, is divorcing the left-hand movement from the right-hand movement. I expect my instructor will be able to help with that. And daily practicing. Housemate Dan bought the tenor sax. Alas, he’s already a musician, and I am not. And he’s already eyeing my keyboard.
There is a picture window in my EBOC’s room, to the lower yard. The house he lives in has upper, lower, and side yards, and are all wonderful! In the center of the window is a shepherd’s crook with a suet feeder hanging from it. I was able to get lots of bird shots through the window. I had to figure out why they spooked every time I raised my phone. It finally dawned on me, I have a flashy, blingy, phone cover, with little moving metallic parts. The parts caught the light and flashed, and the birds left. Once I took the cover off, I got some great shots. And there aren’t just birds wandering through the yard—there are squirrels, a racoon momma and 3 kits, bunnies, and other woodland critters. Including a bobcat! EBOCs care-giver, grabbed the photo below. Wow, what a shot. And she gave me permission to use it. He has some of the most wonderful care givers to help him. And to think, Kirkland is a densely populated city; fortunately, there is enough green space for the Bobcat. S/He probably helps in keeping the mouse & rat population down. Nice kitty, nice kitty.
I hope you are all enjoying Black History month, and reading at least one book by a black author, either fact or fiction. As well as Root. No matter what genre you read, you’ll find some very good black authors there. Read poetry? May I suggest Lucille Clifton or Yusuf Komonyakaa. Science Fiction/Fantasy? How about the inimitable Octavia Butler? Literary fiction? Tony Morrison. Nonfiction? Isabel Wilkerson, Jonathon Capehart.
Photos of the Week:
Bobcat photo going up the stairs from the lower yard to an upper yard. Photo taken, and used with permission by, Mikeshia Morrison
This is a Stellar’s Jay in the bare naked plum tree. I missed the crow.
Tree Mouse says he wants some of that suet, thank you very much.
Am still reading Living the 1.5 Degree Lifestyle by Lloyd Alter. Took it with me, but not conducive to interruptions, and besides, I was a guest, not polite to tell the host I’d rather read than visit. However, I did finish a piece of fiction that was great fun: The Second Hand Cursesby Drew Hayes. A delightful collection of re-imagined fairytales. See my review when it gets posted.
Movies: We only watched one episode of Columbo this time, no movies. Couldn’t seem to find anything that looked interesting. So, I read to him (EBOC) from the new novel manuscript by one of his friends.
Sammy Says: My human is home!! My human is home!! She gave me loves and snuggles and slept with me. Can you see me do my happy dance? She said I was her good boy while she was gone, she didn’t see any humpfolumpuses marks on the furniture, or hippopotamuses in the parking slots. Oh, I’m still her good and brave dog. She did say, though, enough already with the happy dance. It’s making her dizzy (whatever that is), but I’m sooooo happy. My human is home!!!
The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions. —Ralph Waldo Emerson
Weather in the Tries: Sorry, I’m still out of town, and the weather only goes 10 days out. However, I do believe it would not be far amiss should I state that we most definitively will have weather! At least I hope we will and the world won’t end before I get home.
A Shout Out and Happy Birthday to my Ex-Boss: How many of you can state that you actually hired you boss? Yep, I hired him to be my boss. Okay, I didn’t really hire him, I didn’t go to HR to hire him, but my boss needed another boss betwixt her and me and asked me who I’d like to work for. Other than saying “Huh?” at such a request, I didn’t have to think about it, and promptly named a gentleman we both knew and had worked with on our prior job. And that silly man said “Yes” when she called. She even told him I would be working for him and he still said “Yes”—there’s just no accounting for some people;-) Today is his birthday, and because he is such a wonderful and nice person, and still a good friend, I shall forego calling and singing him Happy Birthday. I think. I shall try not to do that. After all, he is a good friend, and he might get even. Oh. Wait. He would have to wait almost another year to get even, as my birthday is just a few days before his. Can he remember a vengeance that long? Bwahahahahaha
The Root: Did you subscribe? Will you read it at least once a day during February? I hope so. (Those are rhetorical questions; you need not reply 😉
Photos of the Week:
Sea Gulls on the snow covered roof of the Marina. The brown speckled ones are teen agers.A very cold Osprey on a tree at Allen’s Point, Bateman Island, across from my old apartmentA very cold Great Blue Heron looking for lunch. These three pictures were taken last February at the old apartment on the Columbia River
Entertainment: Books Read: If I finish it, I review it: https://lenoragood.blogspot.com I have something like 650 books on that blog, and a search engine, surely you can find something to read in there. I finished Meru by S., B. Divya. It is a page burner. Read my review here.
Movies/TV: You’re pretty much on your own for this one two. I have a few reviews up on this site, and several on the old site which you can access from Movies & TV above.
Sammy Brave Dog: Housemate Dan keeps telling me when my human will return, but I don’t understand things like days and weeks. I just know my bed is lonesome without her. H. Dan gives me treats, but I miss my human. A little bit. But if she doesn’t come home soon, I may forget her, and H. Dan will become my human. There! That oughta teach her!!
Weather in the Tries: This coming weekend it’s gonna dip back down into the teens for lows and below freezing for high. But, oh this coming week, while most of the lows will be under freezing a couple of degrees we’re scheduled for 50 on Friday. Can you see Auntie Lenora doing her happy dance with Sammy Brave Dog? Close your eyes and look! 😉
Are You A Fan of Football, Professional or Otherwise? I’m talking about American Football, not European Football that we call soccer. I used to enjoy watching football, I was very excited when the Seahawks started in Seattle, I’ve seen Joe Namath play when I lived in the South. True, we had nosebleed seats, but I still got to see him. I was never quite as rabid about football as those in the South seemed to be, except when the Crimson Tide played. I did have other interests. The first time I attended a college game in Alabama, it was cold, and we had cheap standing on the back side of the field ‘seats’, so I dressed in a warm sweater, jeans, wool socks, and tenny runners along with a warm hat and windbreaker jacket. Except for dearly beloved ex, who was dressed similarly, everyone else who stood on the grass wore dress clothes. The women wore high heels, fur coats, fancy clothe to wear to a restaurant that had white cloth on all their tables. Boy Howdy, were we underdressed—and did they let us know it! But we surely enjoyed that game. If you think I’m joking about the South and football, I assure you I am not. My brother-in-law was born without eyeballs. Two things he could not imagine were photos/TV and colors. I had a postcard of Bear Bryant walking on water and took it when I visited. I gave him the postcard and asked if he knew what it was. He gently touched all over it. Put the card down, and definitively announced to all in the room that it was, “The Bear, walking on water.” I still don’t know how he did it. No one knew I was bringing it, and no one told him. And what is New Year’s day without Football, and what red-blooded American would miss the Super Bowl? Of course, most people watch it for the new commercials and half-time entertainment, right? Yeah, sure. Let’s be honest about that. I don’t remember the year I stopped watching football, sometime after 2002, when it began to be known that concussions contribute to or cause chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), and that football players are very susceptible to it. It just wasn’t fun to watch grown men concuss one another knowing they may go into an early, and sometimes violent, dementia because of CTE. Boxing, wrestling, ice hockey, mixed martial arts, rugby, and soccer are also on the list of risk factors, including the military, prior domestic violence, and repeated head banging. According to our good friend Mr. Google, more than 320 football players who were autopsied after death (I certainly hope it was after death) were diagnosed with CTE. (bolding mine) There is no way, at this time, to definitively diagnose CTE before death, though doctors can make an educated diagnosis based on history and symptoms. I no longer enjoy boxing, but then, since Muhammad Ali retired from boxing, why bother? The doctor I had in Albuquerque, and I were discussing ALS one time, and she said there is a correlation between professional soccer players and ALS. The mean age of ALS onset in the general population is 65.2 years, but for former soccer players it’s 20 years sooner. According to what she read, the medical professionals think it is caused by repeated head butting of the ball, not concussions. So, I am no longer a fan of anything in any sport upon which the head is beat. And, yes, that includes the Pee Wee games. If I may paraphrase Waylon & Willie, Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow up to Be…Football or Soccer players, Boxers or Wrestlers.
Photos of the Week:
Freezing fog. You can see where most of the birds are flocculating–on the ice. They get in the water for short doses, then back to the ice. Maybe they think they’re penguins?
Entertainment: Books Read: If I finish it, I review it: https://lenoragood.blogspot.com I’m now 80% of the way through Meru. Hope to have it finished in a couple three days;-)
Movies/TV: Am finally on Season Five of Babylon 5. Also watched Kiki’s Delivery Service, third of the Studio Ghibli movies. Review posted above, in Movies & TV. Also, I found something that said The Old Guard 2 will be released in July this year. I think it was July. I wrote it down and lost it. Sigh. Growing old is such hard work.
Sammy Brave Dog: Is liking the slightly warmer weather, especially the sunshine. He’s gone on a couple of what his human calls, “real walks” around the complex. His human is delighted to get a bit more walking in. She just wishes he’d walk for the pleasure of walking instead of reading and leaving messages at every third blade of grass. Sammy and his human both wish you a fantastically mahvelous week!
Weather in the Tries: Looks like we may have some fairly warm days, at least by comparison to what we just went through, weather wise. From 37 to 42F in the next few days. The nights may be cooler, and snow on Friday, but longer days equate to warmer days? We can but hope. Of course, it’s still almost 90 days until Spring, so who knows what we’re in for between climate change and the whims of the weather gods.
Hey, Look at the New Pages!
Didja notice there is a new picture up above. Sunset over Rattlesnake Mountain and the Yakama River. What got cut out of the picture was the Columbia River and the second sun. Yep, we in the Tri Cities are special. We get two suns and y’all only get one! And, I have photographic proof!!! Take a look at the photo below, the second sun is almost at the edge of the photo on the right and down at the bottom right corner is a splash, literally, of the Columbia River. Bateman Island has a man-made isthmus of dirt for a roadway, and on the west side is the Yakama R. and on the east side, where I lived, is the Columbia R. Sunsets were often spectacular, as you can see.
I’ve been told by those who claim they know, that Rattlesnake Mountain is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States without a tree growing on it. I’ve heard it from enough people, I think I believe it.
When you click on the Movies & TV page, you will notice text. You must read the whole of it to find the key to the reviews. Once you have the key, you have the key to the kingdom, so to speak.
And, yes, I did get my packages mailed, and mostly they’ve been delivered. Thank you, Brown. Except for the ones I’ll deliver personally. Due to the forecast of freezing rain for this weekend of Saturday and Sunday, a few did not get delivered on time. But as one friend told me, not to worry—there are, after all, Twelve Days for Gift Giving! I’m delighted she told me that, hers is one that may not get delivered in time, but it is mailed! 😉
And many packages made it to my house—a book, We Had Our Reasons: poems by Ricardo Ruiz and other hard-working Mexicans from Eastern Washington (where Mr. Ruiz lives and where I live). The even numbered pages are in English, the odd numbered pages in Spanish. What a marvelous book! Thank you, ex-Boss;-) Another ex-Boss and her husband gave me a beautiful black and red cape shawl crocheted by a lady in Cuba. And they included a photo of the lady who made it. Do I have nice ex-Bosses or what? And I’m retired, so you know they aren’t trying to bribe me. 😉 And they are retired, so it’s no bribe to keep me from coming back to work. And another SOC, who is not an ex-boss, but claims credit for me getting into quilting, gave me a Mary Engel Dark calendar, which I love, a ceramic ornament from the Lubbesmeyer sisters, a bottle of spiced honey, and a couple doo dads that will become very helpful when I get back to quilting. All in all, I got quite the haul.
Those of you of an age who are parents, probably remember Richard Scarry’s Gold Bug books. All the busy art work and the reader had to find the gold bug. My kids and I loved those books. Today, I found an online version put out by Washington Post, and hope the link isn’t paywalled. Actually, they have 6 pages up. Today was to find all 72 Snowmen. It was fun, though after 69 it got a little difficult 😉 But I hung in there, and found them all, thereby saving Christmas. You may thank me in the comment section. For the page: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/interactive/2022/snowmen-christmas-search-game/?utm_campaign=wp_news_alert_revere_trending_now&utm_medium=email&utm_source=alert&location=alert From there you can go to the other ones if you want. By the way, check out the selling price of some of the old Richard Scarry books. Wish I’d kept them!
So, on the 24th, Housemate Dan cooked lamb, and roast spuds, and steamed green beans. The beans are gone, the spuds were, well, he hollowed out my half and gave me a skin (not just my favorite part of a spud, but the only part I really enjoy) with some cheese melted in it. And the lamb. Oh. My. Gawd. Talk about an orgasmic supper… On the 25th we had turkey sandwiches. Yummm!
Photos of the Week:
Sunset Over Rattlesnake Mountain with Two SunsDuck or goose tracks on the snow covered iceBoy tracks on the snow covered ice.
Entertainment of the Week:
I’m now on Season 2 of Babylon 5. I still say it’s the best Science Fiction series ever made and aired. As much as I liked the Star Trek series, I like Bab5 a whole lot more. I’m also jazzed that a new Bab5 is coming out next year (which will be here in just a few days), and they are bringing all the original cast members back for cameo appearances. Well, all the cast members who are still alive, though with today’s CGI, they may be able to bring the deceased ones “back” too. Yes? No? It would be wonderful if Walter Koenig reprised his role as the Psi cop, Alfred Bester. Would he come back more evil than before, or would he have realized the error of his ways, and come back reformed??? He’s so good at evil (whatever happened to our sweet Star Trek Chekov?) I hope he doesn’t reform.
Books Read: If I finish it, I review it: https://lenoragood.blogspot.com Take the Sun with You and OtherStories —by Gregory Allen Mendell. And, yes, the review is posted at Amazon and Goodreads as well as the above link. A collection of 10 short stories that are fun. They are safe to read before turning out the light at night—no nightmares from these stories! But lots of laughs.
As of Sunday night, it’s wetting and snowing. At 27F out, it’s freezing is what it is! It says snow later tonight, then cloudy, and a 50% chance of snow on Thursday. It will have to be in the morning or evening, because the low is only 29 and the high 40. Tomorrow it will be up to 33, and Tuesday, it will get to 39, with sunshine. Our high for the week will be 40, but ya know what? That’s a lot warmer than 32! The nights will be freezing, but that’s ok, I have a bed, a sheet warmer, and a dog!
Auntie Lenora’s Excellent Adventure:
It seems like forever since I last touched base with you. But it’s only been three weeks or so. Anyhow, I drove to the Dark Side on 7 Nov (where we had more sun than here at home) and spent 3+ weeks with my EBOC (Elder Brother of Choice) Thomas, while his primary care-giver was on a much needed vacation. Thomas is my primary mentor for writing poetry, stories, novels. He’s not afraid to tell me where something is broke, and when I fix it, I have a much better piece of writing. He truly is a gem of great worth.
Mostly, we read each other’s works, talked writing, I cataloged his morgue (collection of his writings that have been published), and drooled over the up-coming T-Day dinner we were promised. His good friend, Carla, said she’d bring us a Greek lemon soup with lamb meatballs.
But that day dawned with some real excitement. Thomas woke and wanted to get from his recliner where he sleeps, to his wheeled steno chair where he sits to work. He’s done it a thousand times, and saw no reason, even though he’s lost quite a bit of strength, why he couldn’t do it himself and let me sleep. Something happened and as he started the transfer, the chair got away from him and he fell to the floor.
Naturally, I was sleeping on the sofa, 5 feet away, as he fell, he started hollering for me to call 911 so the medics could come and lift him back into his recliner. No way could I lift him. The sudden awakening, the confusion, the adrenaline rush–I jumped out of bed, found my phone, called 911, and unlocked the door so they could get in. I stood by his recliner and when Dispatcher hung up, I fainted. I haven’t done that in years. So, Thomas is on the floor, at the north end of the room, and I am on the floor at the south end of the room. Surely there is some sort of Feng Shui about such a symmetrical arrangement?
Anyhow, Old Auntie Lenora managed to crawl into the nearest chair. The medics came. They lifted Thomas up and put him back in his chair, then came for me. I kept telling them I was fine, they ignored me. They took my blood pressure. Well, they tried to, I didn’t have any (it was 50 over something), they pricked my finger, and I was not low on sugar, in the meantime, I really didn’t feel too good. But I was feeling better. They called the hospital, and the dr. said to bring me in. So, I had a free ride to the ER and didn’t have to wait in the lobby;-) Well, free until the bill comes.
Once I was safely in the hospital, the guys confessed, they were sure I was having a heart attack. I wasn’t. They took a quart or two of bodily fluids through an IV, and the dreaded wee cup found in all hospital restrooms, checked me out, and about 3 hours later, released me to go home. It appears I fainted. Well, dohhh…
Got back to Thomas’s and spent most of my afternoon supine on the sofa. Carla came and fed us. OMG! I simply must get the recipe. I’ve had some sort of Greek lemon soup in years gone by and didn’t care for it, but this was to die for!
Believe me, that was enough excitement for both of us. And Thomas promised not to try that transfer again without help!
When I drove over, the only snow I came across was between Yakima and Cle Elum. Snoqualmie pass was bare, dry, and sunny. In fact, when I got to the end of my trip, I had 6 feet of sunshine on top of my car! When I decided to come home, there was a snowstorm in the pass, and chains were required unless the vehicle was AWD. Alas, Big Red is not AWD, and I don’t have chains. Couldn’t put them on if I did. So, I decided to drive an extra 175 miles and go south to Portland, then east to Hermiston, then north to Kennewick. It was a nice drive, took about 7 hours, but the only snow I saw was on the trees left over from a few days earlier. The day after I got home, the pass was bare and wet. Sigh.
Photos of the Week:
Alas the photo doesn’t do it proper–the sun was on the tree and it just glowed red, like it was on fireSnow Stars
Books of the Week:
Can you believe I didn’t read a book while I was gone 😉 I did read a bit more of Travels With Charley by Steinbeck, but that’s all.
Movies/TV shows of the week:
We watched at least one movie just about every night.
PBS: Native America. This is a 4-episode series, and we watched one per night. Very interesting and enjoyable.
Netflix: Lucid Dreaming. A K-Drama (movie) about a man whose son is kidnapped, and he finds him through lucid dreaming. Great fun.
Netflix: Kingdom: Ashin of the North. Another K-Drama (movie) about a young girl who is the only survivor when her village is destroyed and all in it killed, and how she goes after vengeance. Very well done.
Netflix: The Old Guard. 2020 American superhero movie starring Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, and others. We loved this one. Four Immortal’s discover a fifth Immortal who isn’t all that keen on it, fight scenes are well choreographed, the evil dude is superbly evil, and we can hardly wait for the sequel next year. We laughed at the fight scenes. Terrific.
Netflix: Chocolat. Oh, if you haven’t seen this movie, or if it’s been a while, watch it all over again for the first time. It is as delightful as the last time I saw it. Dame Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, and others. It’s a marvelous movie, well worth your time.
Netflix: Slumberland. Primarily a movie for adults to watch with their kids, but we enjoyed it no end. A girl is orphaned at age 11 or so, and becomes the ward of her stuffy uncle whom she’s never met. She wants her Dad back. (Presumably Mom died years ago, she was raised by Dad) and in dreaming, she meets a character her dad told her about and they set out to find a secret map and the pearl that will grant their wishes. Jasan Momoa is marvelous as the Outlaw, Flip.
Netflix: Sand Storm. This is an Israeli drama about a Bedouin family living in a settlement/ghetto in Israel. The sand storm is not an haboob. It is the family. The oldest girl learns to drive from her father, she goes to school, she dreams of taking control of her life and marrying a boy from school, a boy of her choosing. The family have other plans. Father brings a second bride into the mix, mother is not happy, father agrees to marry his daughter to the son of a friend, none of the females are happy. The movie is well worth the time to see it. There is humor, there is pathos, the ending is correct.
Netflix: Mudbound. This movie is a 2017 historical drama that takes place in the Mississippi delta of the deep south, primarily just after WWII. About an African American family and a Euro American family who are tied to the same land. Two veterans, one white, one black, return from the war, each to his own family. They have served with honor; they have grown past the racism of their families. This movie should be seen by all. It is not a feel-good movie, American Noir, I think. If you watch nothing else on this list, watch Mudbound. Then watch Chocolat and feel better.
Amazon Prime: Columbo. YES! Thomas had never seen the old series, so we started with S1, E1, and got as high as E9 before I came home. This series has held up remarkably well. I have no idea how many times I’ve seen the episodes, Not sure I’ve ever seen them in order, and I shall have to continue.
We enjoyed all the movies. Even Mudbound, though it is dark, it is necessary. Things haven’t changed so much.
My Winter Gift from me to me came while I was away. I now have the complete Babylon 5 series, the movies, and Crusade all in a boxed set. I had just finished watching Crusade, again, when I decided to see if I could get Bab5. I could, and I did. Yes, I now have two sets of Crusade, a spin-off of 13 episodes. I’m so sorry the powers that be were so short-sighted they cancelled it when they did. It would have been a tremendous series.
Happy Holidays
to you all. I know many of you celebrate different holidays this winter season, and not wanting to offend any of you by mentioning one without all the others, I wish you the warmest and most joyous holidays of your choice/worship.
Beats me. I’m gonna be gone until December. Check your phone or computer 😉
Hey! I’m Higher than Tennyson or Neruda or even Bukowski!
Well, I’m on top of them, anyhow. See photo below. This is a status a friend of mine wrote about reading the Bride’s Gate. I did ask him what he does with the torn off pages—give to his wife? Fold into paper airplanes and fly out the attic window? Mail them to a friend? He ignored me. But he did give me permission to quote him, and use the photo.
“A bit more news based on my progress with your book? Bride’s Gate has become my favorite tear-off calendar. I jump around like a horny jackrabbit. It is not a book to occupy a vertical position on my bookshelf. Bride’s Gate is placed on its side atop a Pablo Neruda collection, a book of Tennyson’s poetry, partly covering Naked Lunch by Bill Burroughs. That about covers the length of your book. I wondered aloud to the Pittsburgh winds (howl, not how) Lenora likes her company on my bookshelves… I have taken a picture of your literary superiority on the shelf, as you can see. I view Bride’s Gate as a special kind of achievement, suitable for both writers and those who read, and hopefully BOTH. A piu tardí, Giulio (It just means—Later, Giulio”
Giulio is a poet of some renown, and I’m thrilled we’re friends. He has a marvelous book out, The Color of Dirt.
And, now for the news. You probably noticed this is a more or less truncated post. I’ve been uber busy the last few days as I’m getting ready to head over to the Dark Side until December. I’ve been keeping my weather eye tuned to the Snoqualmie Pass, and think I’ll be just fine going over on Tuesday. (Famous last words?) I am going to visit my Poetry Mentor or if you prefer, my Elder Brother of Choice (EBOC). At any rate, I’m hoping to get some poetry written, and help him with some projects. Which means, I probably won’t get any blog posts written while gone.
Enjoy your vacation. Go play in the snow. Write a poem. Take an extra nap. Visit a friend. Bake some cookies. Lots of cookies. You’ll have the time, now.
PHOTO of the WEEKs
And look where he placed my humble little book on his book shelf;-)
Monday, today, I will finish packing, load the car, finish baking, and snuggle extra with Sammy, who will stay and keep Housemate company.
I opened a news story and was immediately assailed with a black box in the center that said something similar to: “We notice you’re blocking ads. Do you realize that’s how newspapers generate the most income?” Yes, actually, I do. However, I believe the proper question would have been something along the lines of: “Why are you blocking ads?”
Oh, had they invited a reply, they might have had to hire someone to read them? Or send them to the junk file? I dunno.
I don’t mind ads that sit there and calmly and quietly show themselves. I frequently click on them if they interest me, and sometimes I make a purchase. But when they constantly move, flash, or get larger smaller larger, etc., I click on the little box to block it. I have tried contacting the company that puts the ads out to tell them why, but they insist I use a valid business email address. Obviously, they know they are irritating.
When I learned to drive, one of the vision tests I went through was for peripheral vision. The guy tested me a few times because he couldn’t believe how good mine was. It’s decreased a wee bit, but not all that much. And I find ads that are supposed to catch my eye by blinking and flashing and being annoying do. And if I ignore them, I feel like I’m getting motion sick. What I’d like to see is another ‘button’ to click on those ads that just freezes them. At one time, I could hit the Esc button on my keyboard. I can still do that, but it doesn’t do anything, at least not to the ads.
On a different topic, back to Ian and some sadness. One of my sisters of choice bought us matching tee shirts from Bert’s Bar & Grill in Matlacha, FL. They were printed after Charley and primarily meant for those of us who went thru it. Bert’s had some damage from Charley but was still there. Saw on the news that the only thing showing of the place now are the pilings. The owner looked around and couldn’t see where it flew, or floated, to. He said the wind went under it and lifted it, but I imagine the wind and surge worked in concert. There was nothing left of the area but rubbish. My SOC says there are no whole buildings left on the island. Many are totally gone, all are damaged.
I asked my Port Charlotte neighbor to walk by my old house and see how it survived. I’m hoping the damage was minimal. I’m really curious about the survival of the cage over the pool. The screening is gone; I hope the framing is okay. The framing was built to withstand 155mph winds.
Photos of the Week:
This is my old house in Port Charlotte, Florida, after Ian. My first thought was their solar panels survived, but I was quickly told it was the tarp, and I thought maybe I should enlarge the picture. It looks like the screen door is still there, so I’m hoping the front porch is still caged. The pool’s cage is all that screening next to the tarp on the grass. I hope the cage itself survived. I may write them and ask. Photo by Ginger AbrahamI won’t swear to it, but I believe the red leaves are Virginia Creeper. It’s a beautiful, albeit invasive and toxic, vine. Once the green leaves have dropped, I’ll pull the creeper down. Right now, though, tis a bit of color to liven the bush. And to make it fun, the Wonderful Wordy Web says it is invasive or non-invasive, that the poison is lethal or non-lethal. It’s impossible to control once it gets a root hold. Along a back fence it will be gorgeous, as long as kidlets and dogs leave it alone.
This past week, I have been fighting the Father of All Colds, and thought the cold could be put to use in binging my beloved K-Dramas. I finished the first season of The Extraordinary Attorney Woo, and now have to wait until 2024 for season two. No, that is not a typo. So I found a 6-episode series and binged it on Saturday—The Sound of Magic. I loved it. Perfect binge!! I was a little concerned that the Magician would show how the tricks were done, but he didn’t. You see, I may be old, but one of the things I’ve always loved and choose to believe, is magic. I don’t want to know how it’s done. And yes, I still believe in Santa Clause, too. 😉
Earworms:
For whatever reason, I just don’t want to listen to music. Probably because my ears are plugged, and my brain cells just aren’t functioning all that rapidly? I dunno.
Public Service Announcement:
For those of you who are calendar challenged: Christmas is coming! December 25. Time to start collecting those presents, and if you know anyone who is or was a caregiver, consider this:
The Brave Dog (that would be Sammy) and I (that would be Auntie Lenora) wish you all a really truly wonderful week. Sunny weather, unless you’re in drought, then I hope you get Seattle type rain—soft, and soaking into the ground. None of that Florida type rain where it dumps and runs and floods. And remember, when you get up in the morning, to look outside. If you’re looking down at the grass, you know it’s gonna be a good day!!!
Weather in the Tries: Looks like our week will be another gorgeous day in Paradise. Sunny most days, highs in the low 80s and upper 70s. Nighttime lows high 40s to low 50s. Air quality should be good most days, and no serious winds. BTW, back in 1962, we had a hurricane come up the northern coast of California, Oregon, Washington. and British Columbia. It wasn’t called a hurricane then (who would expect one in the Pacific NW and in October to boot). On the Pacific side, she was a typhoon named Freda and she slammed us on Columbus Day, 12 October 1962.
As you probably know, I usually write this a day or two ahead, then schedule it Sunday night for Monday morning. I started this on Wednesday and finished it in the days following.
From Charlie to Ian:
In 2004 I moved from the southern Oregon coast (Myrtle Point) to Port Charlotte, Florida. I think I moved in May. In August, Hurricane Charlie danced through town. And it was not a particularly dainty dance, as he was a high Category 4. The anemometers gave up at winds of 155 mph. Two more steady or sustained mph and it would have been a Category 5. Charlie was a skinny dude, about 35 miles wide by man oh man, he danced so fast we hardly knew he was there before he was gone. Okay I exaggerate a smidge more than a tad. Those of us who went through it, knew when Charlie came through. He was loud, he was ill-mannered, and did not clean up after breaking as much as possible. But he was fast. He travelled at 13mph, if my memory holds. He did a lot of damage, but not nearly as much as he coulda done at, say 3mph.
Welcome to Florida, he seemed to say. I remained there for one year fifty-one weeks. Yeah, one week shy of two years found me on the road heading back to the great Pacific Northwest!
Last week, I heard that Tropical Storm Ian was becoming a hurricane, heading up the Caribbean. Then the dreaded words, “It’s heading up the west coast of Florida to Tampa Bay.” No, said I to myself. The waters in Charlotte Harbor are warm and will sing its siren song. Ian will cut across Sanibel and go right up the Harbor, devastating as much as possible. I’m so sorry, I was right. He went up the coast, hit Naples, Sanibel Island, Fort Myers, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte. Ian was angry about something. He was about 500 miles across, Charlie would have fit in Ian’s eye with room to spare. And by the time he made landfall, he had slowed from 10mph to 8mph, and was thought to go even slower, to 3mph. I don’t know if he slowed that much once his eye was all on land or not.
I still have friends in Port Charlotte. My Twin let me know she was okay as she and my brother-in-law were north up in Cape May. Today (Wednesday) she let me know she’d talked to a couple of our mutual friends and they’re okay, but that Port Charlotte is a mess. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard from a couple of friends who live in Port Charlotte and hunkered down for the ‘cane.
When Charlie came, we didn’t have time to evacuate or head to shelter, we were pretty much forced into hunkering down. And those shelters that were open weren’t allowing pets. Leave my cat? Alone? While she gets carried off to Oz? Uh, no, I don’t think so. I put all her stuff—food, water, box, blanket, in my bathroom (inside room, no windows) and then my housemate and I stood at the back window/sliding doors (in the lee of the wind) and watched our world blow away.
The scariest part was when the porta potty that was outside at the neighbor’s house (being built) was picked up and blew up the street, I was concerned that it might come through my living room window, but it went to the empty lot across the street and was gently set upside down among the palms and trash pines.
The worst that happened to my house was the cage in back was destroyed. (Cages are the screened in areas usually over pools). And a bunch of junk was dumped into my pool, mostly tree limbs. I was very fortunate. We got the junk out of the pool, and out to the road where it was picked up in a couple days. Power was out, but the streets were clear. Verizon brought in a truck and anyone without power could bring their phone down and get it charged free, regardless who their carrier was. We helped each other. FEMA came through within a couple weeks. The National Guard checked on us daily, brought us bottled water and packaged food. (No Meals Ready to Eat), the Red Cross came when the Guard left. We helped each other. We got to know our neighbors, if we didn’t already know them. (One of the really neat things of living in Florida was the garbage was picked up twice a week. And people would put things they didn’t want with a sign that it was free, and if no one took it, the garbage folks did.)
Packed away in Shed 54 is a piece of Styrofoam insulation from a mobile home over a mile away. I don’t know which home, but the nearest park was over a mile away.
Insurance was reasonably priced, and I believe most people had it (if they had a mortgage, they had insurance!) when I was there. Now so many companies are bankrupt, or just no longer underwriting home insurance for hurricanes and flooding. People can’t afford it when they get it, and if one has a mortgage, the mortgage holder will get it, at a premium price. Not sure how to fix that. One of the things I think should be looked at is the barrier islands on all coasts. When they are left alone, they usually have lots of vegetation, and they act as a buffer to the mainland. As the vegetation is cut down, and homes and roads are built, they no longer serve as a buffer, just very pricey real estate.
Ian was considerably larger, slower, meaner, nastier. I’m willing to bet the streets are in worse shape, and it’s harder to check on people than in 2004. I hope neighbors are helping neighbors. People are being told to stay out of the water because you don’t know what’s in it—sewage, alligators,… And I wish my friends would check in on Facebook. In the meantime, I continue to hope they are not among seriously wounded—or the dead.
Sunday morning update: my friends checked in. She couldn’t get Facebook on her phone, but they now have power. Their house is ok, and they are ok. She’s the last little chick to check in. Mama Hen (aka Auntie Lenora) will rest easier now.
I found Love and Honor, the third of the Samurai trilogy (Twilight Samurai, Hidden Blade) online at a streaming site, LookMovie, watched it free and with no commercial breaks. Well worth the search. Then went back in to see if I could find my own copy at something less than the $95.00 at Amazon. I did. I found a used copy for under $30.00, and it should be here later this week. I will soon have all three of the movies (reviews posted above) to enjoy when I want.
In the meantime, I’m enjoying The Extraordinary Attorney Woo. A Netflix series from South Korea. This is the third k drama series on Netflix I’ve seen where the protagonist has Autism and lives in the real world and is treated like a real person. And all have been very enjoyable. The other two are: It’s OK Not to be OK, and Move to Heaven. All are full of humor, and also I think, goodness. They are not soaps in our use of the word. Speaking of, have you ever wondered where the term “Soap Opera” came from? The early radio melo-dramas were broadcast during the day for the little housewife in her domain and sponsored primarily by various soap products.
And there you have it. I was too busy last week watching Ian to check out earworms. I did find a couple of quotes that are pretty good, and I am listening to The HU.
“Remember to set out cookies and milk for Jim Cantore on Hurricane Eve, or he’ll leave you with no electricity for a week.”
“People asked when is a good time to worry? The answer is when Jim Cantore shows up.”
Those of you who aren’t from Hurricane Country probably don’t understand why Jim Cantore is such a god of bad weather. He works for The Weather Channel (for over 30 years) and always goes where the worst of the ‘cane will his. I ‘googled’ Where is Jim Cantore? the day before Ian was scheduled to hit Florida. The answer came up in a couple of seconds—Punta Gorda!
Have a great week wherever you are, do what you enjoy, learn a new song, and dance with Crow. And remember, People are to love, things are to use.
