Chat Noir & other odds and ends

What a bummer 2016 has been already. We've lost David Bowie, Alan Rickman, the man who did the voice of Disney's Robin Hood,Lemmy from Motorhead, anbd now Glenn Frey of the Eagles. I'm sure I've missed someone else, but honestly that list is too long as it is!

Amazon finally managed to get the rest of my Christmas presents delivered! I'm listening to Paper Gods now & I like it much better than Duran Duran's last album. I was going to watch Luther 4, but I'm not sure I can stay awake.

Oh yeah, I'm sick again/still. The below freezing temperatures here haven't helped, & the double I foolishly worked Saturday made things worse. I'm voluntarily going to the doctor tomorrow.

Nightshade & Boo are taking turns being cuddly when I'm on the couch. Remy is still a bit reserved. Shady & the boys haven't quite figured each other out yet- lots of hissing going on, and Shady smacked one of them on the nose for getting too close. Not bad for only living together 3 weeks. It took that long just to get Shady out from under the couch when she came to live with me!

Signed up for the Goodreads challenge again this year. The last few years have been squeaked by at the end, so I lowered the bar a bit for this year. I'm making a concerted effort to get back to doing things I love despite the CFS, and reading is the biggie. I'm off to a good start so far!

I'm not letting myself start a new cross stitch project until I finish at least ONE of the ones I already have going. Since I really want to start the Beauty & the Beast project that I got for Christmas, I've been working on Chat Noir. Here's the latest view:

I've finished the cat's body & have started the base. Not much more to go. I'm dreading the back stitching, but I think it'll look good once I'm done.

Until the next time...

Welcome To The New Year.

No, there won't be any of that "New Year, New Me" crap here. I'm not making resolutions, I'm not embarking on any drastic lifestyle changes. I'm just going to try to survive day by day and hope that this year is better than the last one.

So how did I ring in the new year? Not at work! Chuck got to take Christmas Eve off, so the bosses gave me NYE off instead. Not that it mattered- it's not like I was going to go out and whoop it up at a party or in a bar. I spent the night ensconced on the couch, watching the Inspector Cartoons from the Pink Panther series, and catching occasional cat sightings.

Oh yeah, I have two new cats. My friend Scott needed to rehome his 10 year old boys, Remy & Boo, as his girlfriend is highly allergic to them. Personally, I'd have gotten rid of her, but that may partly explain why I'm still single. Anyway, he delivered them to me at work as I was leaving that morning. They sang me the song of their people (Who The Hell Are You And Where The Hell Are We Going And Let Me Out Of This Damned Box!) on the 10 minute ride to my house, and were hesitant to come out of their travel crates once I got them inside. I took them out one at a time and showed them where the litter box was, and then they each took off for parts unknown. Since the house is still an audition tape for Hoarders, there's lots of place for them to hide. Anyway, both boys are still hiding, but have ventured out once or twice. Remy growled at me and went back behind the couch. Boo has been a bit more adventurous and even sat in my lap for a minute. So far, Nightshade is ignoring them. Good thing, too. Scott didn't tell me that they were such chunkbutts. I swear they weigh 30 lbs each, so they're easily 2-3 times Shady's size. They're declawed, but all they have to do is lie down on her and any fight that may start will be over.


First meal of the new year: Sausage & Kale stir fry w/peppers & onions over rice

First drink of the new year: Iced English Breakfast tea

First read: a chapter of Bill Bryson's The Road To Little Dribbling: More Notes From A Small Island before I dozed off on the couch.


I had bought a bottle of hard cider from Trader Joe's to toast the new year with, but forgot all about it. So I'm going to drink it tonight on my regular night off instead. At least I remembered to take the croissants I'd bought out of the freezer and put them out to rise. Breakfast was quite tasty.

While I was waiting for the croissants to bake, I stripped my bed and put on fresh flannel sheets. (oh yeah, we finally got winter temperature weather) And discovered that my bedroom walls seem to have developed rising damp. I had to go get the paper towels and bleach spray to clean up the mildew that's grown along the walls by my bed. Moving the bed out from the wall to get at it flushed out poor Boo, who had chosen that spot to hide for a while. The heating vent by the foot of the bed is quite alluring- Malkin used to like to lie there too.

Well, by the time I was done with all that, breakfast was done. I ate my croissants and watched At Last The 1948 Show for the umpteenth time. I couldn't crawl into my nice clean 2016 bed with my 2015 dirty body, so I took a long shower and scrubbed & shampooed myself silly. By the time I was done drying my hair and applying all of my lotions & potions, I was ready to call in a day/night. The cats had all disappeared again, so I closed me door and slept fairly soundly.

Last highlight of my day before I call it quits for this post. The one tradition I uphold is my Southern Good Luck dinner on New Years Day. Black eyed Peas (I prefer field peas), greens, and cornbread. I diced some country ham pieces and fried them a bit before dividing them to simmer into the peas & greens while the cornbread baked. It was quite tasty. Nightshade surprised me by going for the buttery cornbread instead of the bits of ham. She didn't get any of either, but she tried!


Anyway, I'm taking a couple of days off next week to recharge my brain and try to do something about the mess that is my house. Wish me luck!

The year is almost over- HALLELUJAH!!!

This year wasn't quite as bad as the second half of 2014, but it was by far from my favorite. I'm really hoping for a better 2016. Not banking on it, but I'm hoping.

Christmas was what it was. I worked, I got sick, we had the family celebration on Sunday. A few of my favorite presents:

Not much else to report. Been kind of a cruddy month. I'm looking forward to getting a few days off. I probably won't do anything special, but at least I won't have to be at work!

Two Shows That Made Me Cry For Different Reasons (possible spoilers if you haven't seen them)

Luther is fascinating, maddening, and heartbreaking. I was sorry for the character's grief when his almost ex-wife was killed in series one. I didn't care about her so much, but Idris Elba played Luther's grief and feelings of betrayal by her killer very well. Series 2 didn't have any main characters die, it was just grim. Then I watched series 3...and now I want to scream. I won't say who died at the end of episode 3, just that it was one of my favorite supporting characters, and it was a nasty, undeserved death. (It also hit close to home as I constantly worry about some of my favorite officers at work finding themselves in similar situations) I bawled like a baby. Happily, the 4th episode saw the killer brought to justice. He managed to take out the one character that I wanted to see killed (teach you to mess with my man, jerk) and wound another one that I was on the shelf about (wasn't sure if she needed killing or a good slap) before getting taken down himself.


So, after watching the oh-so-good, yet oh-so-depressing Luther, I needed something to boost my spirits a bit.

Season 3 of Miranda ended with her being proposed to by no less than TWO adorable men and her mother practically weeping for joy. The final episodes start with her choosing one and the usual lunacy that follows. The scene that had me laughing so hard that the cat fled the room? Miranda and her fiancee decide to practice their first dance. "But we haven't chosen a song yet!" "The first song that comes on (as her fiancee brandishes the stereo remote) will be our song!"

The song?

They stare at each other blankly for a few seconds, and then bust out their own "Hammertime" moves. I almost died.

I almost didn't watch the rest of the show after Miranda & her fiancee split up at the end of part one. Yep, more bawling on my part.
"WHY? WHY CAN'T MIRANDA HAVE HER HAPPILY EVER AFTER?!?"

Then I realized that there surely was NO WAY Miranda Hart would break her fans like that. So I watched the rest of the finale. And bawled some more, but this time happily. Miranda DOES get her HEA, albeit it a roundabout offbeat way; which is really the only way it could happen. And it was satisfying!

My only remaining question is this: When did I become such a big watering pot?!?

The Best Workout DVD Ever

So, thanks to my addiction to British TV, I discovered the lunacy that is Miranda Hart. I love this woman- she is a British me...well, sort of. Unlike her semi-autobiograpghical character on Miranda, I manage to keep my clothes on in most occasions.

Anyway, as I was searching for more to watch, I discovered that Ms. Hart had made a workout video. Not just a workout video, but one even a hopeless klutz like ME can do. So of course I had to order it...and the one bit of equipment that it calls for:

Yep! I'm going to maracasize (shut up, it's a thing) my way to fitness! Dr. B will be proud...if he doesn't laugh himself to death first.

Happy (?) New Year

I may as well start the year out complaining. 2014 couldn't leave without a few parting shots to remind me that it sucked ass.

1. Mom developed a problem with the eye she had cataract surgery on. The panicky eye doctor sent her for a MRI to make sure she wasn't having a stroke or anything like that. Luckily, she wasn't, so now she's being sent back to Dr B to be tested for a sinus infection or to see if it's some sudden diabetes complication.

2. Dad, who objects to going to PT to build his strength up, keeps trying to do things on his own and falling. Luckily he hasn't hurt himself yet.

3. I ruined the ham we had for Christmas dinner. It was mostly edible, but NOT the delicious feast we were planning on.

4. The thyroid tumor is now exactly half the size of what's left of the thyroid. I get to go see the surgeon again and we get to fight with the insurance company over whether or not we can just remove the damned thing or if I get to have a needle jammed into it again first. Dr B. decided that wasn't enough to deal with, so I also have appointments to have my boobs mashed and a camera shoved up my ass. And I'm still too fat for his taste.

5. My car started doing all kinds of not-so-neat tricks. Two days at the mechanic for them to do the repairs that it turned out were part of the recalls on my vehicle and for them to come up with enough time to find something wrong that I'd have to pay for. Bob needs a $250 part (not including labor, of course) that I just can't do until later this month. The kicker is, of course, that the longer I go before I can afford the part, the more likely it will go from the $250 repair to a $1500 one.

6. The cousin my mom was closest to, Aunt Georgia, died yesterday. There's a winter weather front moving into the Iowa area (hoping it blows itself out before it gets here) and with Daddy's shakiness and needs, there is NO WAY we are driving into a snowstorm to go to the funeral.



On the plus side:

1. I still have a job even if I hate it most days.

2. I still have both my parents, even if they drive me crazy.

3. I still have my Shady-cat, who is very cuddly in winter weather.

4. I have a ton of new books to read.

5. I have a ton of new DVD's to watch.



Let's see what this year does to me...

Happy Labor Day & New Monthly Goals

So last month's goals were set relatively low in the hopes of actually getting them accomplished. They're here if you need a reminder of what they were.

*hangs head in shame*

I only managed to get one thing done. We went to the tea parlor on my birthday. The rest of it? Zip, zilch, nada. I got some trash taken out and made piles of junk in the living room, but didn't actually get any cleaning done...or the DVD's watched. How bad do you have to suck to not manage to watch a freaking DVD?!?

I'm blaming the stress of dealing with family and Daddy's surgery. And getting sick again.

So this month's goals- hah hah hah- are:

1. Watch Thor:Dark World, Only Lovers Left Alive, and the Nut Job if it kills me. (You'd think a Hiddleston binge would be a no-brainer, but this is me we're talking about here)

2. Get 3 baskets of laundry put away.

3. Work on the Halloween & Christmas cross-stitch ornaments for the exchanges I've signed up for. (in a moment of lunacy blind optimism)

4. Cuddle Nightshade every chance I get. (I miss my cuddlebug Malkin)

5. Cook a real meal at least once a week.


Let's see if I can't manage to get something right!

Belated: Happy Birthday to Me!

So, Dad got moved OUT of the ICU on my birthday! We're very happy about this, especially him.

Mom & I went and had our tea party at Sister's Tea Shop. It was tasty. I tried their Buckingham Palace Garden Party tea blend which turned out to be an Earl Grey with Jasmine. I loved it. The three-tiered nibbles assortment we ordered was also good. 2 of my favorites from that were the Black Pepper Biscuits with Ham Salad and the Caramelized Onion/Corn scone. They also brought me a giant chocolate cupcake with a pink rose frosting that was moist & delicious.

Went back to Mom's to open my presents. She & Dad bought me the Hollow Crown miniseries on DVD- Tom Hiddleston, yay! I won't list everything else, but Mom did her usual bang-up job of gifts and gift-wrapping.

Back to the hospital to spend some more time with the old coot, and then I went home and grilled myself a steak. Watched my new DVD's- ok, mostly just my favorite Tom scenes, but I'll watch the whole thing later.

Monthly Goals- Utter Failure

So here were the July-recycled-from June goals


1. Move back into the main bedroom

2. still trying to excavate Laundry Mountain

3. clean out current bedroom

4. create order out of the 5 boxes & innumerable bags of stitch stash

5. take another box of books to Half Price Books

6. Finish the birthday card I started stitching for Uncle John LAST year so I can give it to him THIS year.

7. take 3 bags of culled wardrobe items to Goodwill



I didn't get a single damned one of them done.



Attempting a new list for August:

1. Watch Thor:Dark World

2. Get main bedroom vacuumed

3. Tidy living room

4. Watch Season one of Grimm

5. Go here: on/near my birthday

The Great Cousin Visit

So, my cousins Chad & Melissa were here for Derby weekend. We didn't go to the race- I'm not setting foot at the track unless I'm getting paid lots of money and don't have to fight the crowd. Here's a look at the 4-5 days they were here:

Thursday night: After numerous airline schedule changes, they finally arrived around 11 p.m. So of course I had an officer come in with a search warrant at 10:15 that held me up until 10:45. The parents & I all met them and it was decided we'd go to Steak & Shake for their first meal here. The service was half-assed and Mom took a wrong turn leaving the airport, so she & Dad didn't get there until 30 minutes after we did. Not that we'd gotten our food, anyway.
After eating, we got to my house to discover that A: The air mattress had deflated, and B: the new pump I'd had to rush out and buy wasn't working right. Back in the car to the all-night Walmart.

Friday: Oaks day, so I HAD to work. We took them to Empress of China for lunch and Mom took them sightseeing while I worked. Mom brought over a pot of Pigs In the Blanket (stuffed cabbage or cabbage rolls to most of the world) for us to have for dinner when I got home.

Saturday: Chad & I convinced Mel that she REALLY didn't want to take the two of us into the kind of crowd you can expect at Derby. WE compromised on going out to the track on Sunday to take pictures in our Derby outfits. So what did we do instead? Krispy Kreme for breakfast (OMG, the sugar rush)and then we went to the zoo- where the half of Louisville with small children that didn't go to the track was. We spent forever hiking around (didn't think to buy tram tickets w/admittance and nobody had cash after the fact) in full sunlight. Did any of us think to put on sunscreen? Hell no. Half the animals were hiding, the other half just gazed at us like WE were the exhibits, and we paid way too much for snacks. Back to Walmart for sunburn remedies for them and a Derby hat for me. Arby's for lunch/dinner. Went to see Captain America: The Winter Soldier which was amazingly good. (not my favorite Marvel Hero, but found myself being sucked in) Then we rented another movie (Now You See Me- awesome!) and called it a night.

Sunday: Got up and went to Churchill Downs for pictures. Mel & I dressed up, Chad was dressed down, but we made him coordinate with us. LOL. We tried on expensive hats in the Derby gift shop, bought some souvenirs from the clearance stalls, and headed home to change clothes. Helen next door was working in her yard, so we asked her to get a few pics of all 3 of us (one of the few times I have willingly posed for pics lately) and then hit Chili's for lunch. (yes, we eat a lot) We drove down to E-town & Ft. Knox, visited another Walmart, and had Waffle House for dinner- Mel was horrified and awed by the service and we had a good laugh at her expense. Rented another movie (Free Birds- amusing), again, called it a night.

Monday: Had BBQ for breakfast/lunch and then went looking for Gallopalooza horses. Wandered around downtown for a bit, hit Dairy Queen for a snack, and then drove to Bernheim Forest to see what we could. Found a great tree for climbing, if only I could. Chad succeeded. Then over to Mom's for Fleishkele, wrestling, and an epic battle of Hand & Foot. (our family favorite card game, but you need at least 4 people to play it well so we don't get to play it often)

Tuesday: The airline changed their departure schedule, so instead of noon, they left at 8 p.m. So Mom took us to brunch at Mimi's cafe, we stopped the bookstore for my British magazines and we went back downtown to tour the Evan Williams artisan bourbon distillery...where we learned that I still don't like bourbon, Mel REALLY doesn't like bourbon, and Chad will drink anything, but said bourbon was not his favorite form of alcohol. We did all agree that bourbon balls are the most acceptable form for us and bought some in the gift shop on our way out. Had our final meal together (sob) at Panera and then went home for them to finish packing and it was off to the airport.


It was a good time, and much more fun than my capsule description made it sound. I was amazed at how quickly my cats sold me out- Malkin loves everybody and thinks everybody should love him, so his friendliness did NOT surprise me. Nightshade, on the other hand...she spent the first 2 days hiding under my bed. Then she decided that they must be ok, and came out to be amazingly friendly. She was all over Chad (I'm attributing that to the fact that he's a male version of me) and allowed Mel to pet her, but not pick her up.

Chad & Mel texted me later that evening to let me know that they'd gotten safely back to Spokane. They're thinking about moving here if Chad can find a job, so hopefully I'll get to see more of them in the future!

Firsts of the year!

First person spoken to: Mom

First thing to drink: iced coffee

First thing to eat: bowl of Corn Chex w/sugar

First thing cooked: Chuck steak on Foreman grill

First contemplated purchase: a new Foreman grill (because my current one has about had it)

First actual purchase: box of Immodium (damn meds have a new side effect)

First website visited: Facebook

First game played: Bubble Witch Saga

First book read: Cat Vs Human- Another Dose of Catnip

First DVD watched: Blackadder the 3rd

First "responsible adult" activity: balanced the checkbook (and winced to see that I've been spending money like a drunken sailor)

First household chore: Washed sinkful of dishes that accumulated over the last 10 days or so. ( What?!? I live alone, so it's not like I'll run out of dishes. I tend to run out of silverware first)

First person to get a hug: My friend Trey

First person to get sworn at: The idiot in front of me on the way to work who signaled a left turn, turned right, and then drove at 10 m.p.h. while reading text messages on his phone

First phone call answered at work: Officer who didn't know his name would come up on caller ID and freaked out when I called him by name.

First blog post: done!

What I Do When I'm Not Attempting To Blog

1. Spend way more time at my job than I would like to. Yes, I get paid OT for it, but that gets old after a while and taxes eat more of it than it's worth. We've been short 2 clerks in my office for a year now and it's beginning to wear us all out.

2. Eat junk that I shouldn't. Discovered Bacon Jerky - yes, you read that correctly- at World Market last week and have had to remind myself that it's too expensive and too bad for me to buy/eat regularly.

3. Spend money like a drunken sailor on shore leave. Working on cutting that down too. Hit the DMC sale at Joann Fabrics last week and now have enough floss to stitch a battleship. Also hit sales at B&N, Target, World Market...you get the idea.

4. Play video games on my phone. I should NEVER have upgraded to a smartphone. My 3 current addicitons are Bejewled Blitz, Candy Crush, and Angry Birds Star Wars.

5. Spend time with my parents. I took my dad to an Ohio Valley Wrestling TV taping while I was on vacation and it was hysterically awful. The highlight of the evening was the wrestler in the full length pink bunny suit...don't ask. At least one of the announcers is a Monty Python fan, because he lost it when I screamed "Activate Vorpal Bunny Powers!" Mom & I spent a day at the pool and got totally sunburnt.

6. Sing songs to my cats. Yes, I'm special.

7. Attempt to do things around the house. Something else from my vacation- I hung the London print that I got for my birthday. Then I decided that my bathroom needed work, so I put in a new shower caddy tower, a new curtain rod, and a new etagere. The rest of the house is still a wreck, but my bathroom looks nice!

8. READ! I have a ton of books that I would like to post reviews for...someday. Will work on that too!

9. Listen to music- my current new favorite is Five Finger Death Punch. One officer friend borrowed my car the other day and came back shaking his head. He'd looked at the cd's in the car. In addition to the 5FDP, I had the latest Buddy Guy, a Kelly CLarkson, Rick Springfield, Halestorm, and Barry Manilow. "You are a strange woman...you know that, right?" Well, DUH.

10. Watch dvd's if I'm not reading or stitching. I just got the first season of Elementary in the mail today, so i'm looking forward to settling down with it. I may not get to watch it until next week since I'm working all weekend, but I'm looking forward to it all the same.

More later...

Cirque du Soleil- Worlds Away

I love Cirque du Soleil. I've seen several of the live shows and own several more DVD performances. I picked this one up at the library and was a bit disheartened to see that James "Egomaniac" Cameron was involved in it. Luckily, the performances made up for a lot. It seemed kind of disjointed at first, and then I caught on to what I was seeing. They filmed sections of the various shows that are currently running in Vegas and turned it into a movie. I enjoyed the bits from "O", which I have seen. There were some scenes from Ka & Mystere, which I want to see. Then they went into Viva Elvis & The Beatles tribute show and I almost turned the damned thing off because I loathe the Beatles. (this came about after being forced to listen to them ad nauseam at the bookstore  for 5 years) But I stuck it out and was rewarded with an aerial ballet at the end that made the whole thing worth it. For the record, the aerial ballets are my favorite part of any Cirque show.

My Family

I first found this show on Netflix while searching for British comedies. Sadly, only the first 4 seasons are available in the US. The first thing I did when I got an all region DVD player for my birthday last year was order the rest of the series.

The show follows the exploits of the Harper family and a few friends over the course of the series. Ben, the father, is a frustrated dentist who loves his wife and children but wants them to go away and leave him in peace. Susan, his wife, is a tour guide & rotten cook, and a control freak with a rather wicked sense of humor. Their children are Nick (useless layabout), Janey (shallow fashionista w/loose morals), and Michael (unappreciated genius).

The first few seasons focus on getting to know the family. Ben wants useless lump Nick OUT of the house and self-supporting. Susan wants everything to be perfect and will use any means necessary to preserve the illusion that it is. Janey wants her parents to just endow her with a trust fund and quietly disappear, and Michael wants respect, power, a girlfriend, and for people to stop picking on him for being a geeky little dork.

Janey goes off to university, leaving a void, so the character of Abi is brought in. She's the daughter of Ben's cousin. Also joining the series is Roger Bailey, a not-so-succesful dentist who happens the be the son of Ben's old mentor. Both characters are naive, cheerful, and irritate Ben no end. And he's STILL trying to get rid of Nick. Then Janey comes home with her unplanned baby boy, Kenzo...

Nick leaves, but is replaced by his friend Alfie. Michael is still a geek, but having slightly better success with girls. Abi & Roger have fallen in love and married, Janey refuses to tell her parents who Kenzo's father is until he makes a surprising appearance, Susan's mother becomes a semi-regular and the whole family goes on the Weakest Link...

Alfie leaves, Nick is mentioned in passing, Abi leaves Roger to become a nun, Susan & Ben try a separation, Roger tries dating, and Janey becomes a surprisingly responsible adult, working and caring for her son, but still sponging off her parents. Michael graduates college but doesn't manage to get/hold a job, following in Nick's footsteps, but does succeed in surprising his family when he comes out to them. After years of bitter sniping, the series ends with the family in a somewhat good place, showing odd moments of love and affection for each other.

Lots of fun to be had here. Some of the more amusing moments are Nick's brief foray into drag, Ben's solo dance in the living room after losing a dance contest, and the aforementioned Weakest Link episode.

Are we still here?

Oh good. I was really worried, you know. I hated to think I was going to die with bad skin and before I got to see the 7th season of Doctor Who. On the other hand, it sucks that we didn't all go up in flames because now I have to go out into the madness and buy Christmas presents. Guess that's what I get for hedging my bets....

Men In Black III

I *LOVED* the first Men In Black. It's one of those movies that I sporadically quote from, watch every time I catch it on TV, and even occasionally attempt to do the dance Will Smith does in the video for the theme song. (You're welcome for the mental image that probably just left you, and no, I won't come clean the drink you just snorted through your nose off your monitor)

The second movie? Eh. It had some funny moments, but just didn't live up to the first one.

Then, many moons later, they announced part 3 was being made. Part of me got giddy, part of me wanted to crawl into a hole and cry. The longer a series goes between sequels, the worse the movies seem to get. See Red Dwarf, the Star Wars series, and the Indiana Jones movies for proof of the depressing decline. (Digressing, I do have to admit I joined the rest of the theater in whooping wildly when the shadow of the hat rolled across the screen and you got to see that Indiana WAS back) I couldn't bring myself to go see it when it was finally released, just in case it really was bad.

Then, I was walking past a Redbox at the grocery store. Most of the time, getting a new release at that box is a no go. On a whim, I pulled MIB3 up and was startled to see it was in. So I rented it, went home, picked up an ornament I was cross stitching and settled in expecting the worst.

A couple of hours later, the ornament was forgotten, I was laughing and crying, and my fears were gone. This was a good movie. Not as humorous as the first, but very well done. The premise is that Agent J (Will Smith) has to go back in time to prevent the death of his partner, K. (Tommy Lee Jones) He meets the younger K (Josh Brolin) and the 2 don't see eye to eye, but wind up getting along and saving the world, just like they do in the future. Brolin is amazing as a younger K. He gets so many of Jones' quirky mannerisms down that you'd almost think it was him.

I suspected I knew what one of the plot twists was going to be, and I was partially right. Then, once I figured out the rest of the twist and it was played out onscreen, I cried like a baby. Won't tell what it was in case you haven't seen it yet, but I will say it explains a lot about a lot of things, especially the relationship between J & K. And despite the sadness of the plot twist, the movie ends with a smile (pretty much literally) and hope for the future.

Will they make a 4th movie? Probably not. I almost hope not, because they left it in a really good place with this installment.

One very minor gripe- I was totally bummed that there wasn't an extra scene thrown in at the end, during or after the credits. There also weren't any bloopers- you just KNOW there had to be some terrific ones from this bunch!

My DVD addiction is in full swing

No review this week. Instead, here's a look at 5 sets I've got waiting to be watched:





Ok, these 2 aren't a shock to anyone familiar with my fairy tale obsession.

MMMM, Castle. I want Nathan Fillion for Christmas, FYI.

Ok, so this veers close to fairy tale territory...

I've heard that this is the best quiz show ever. The clips I've seen on YouTube are terrific. Plus it stars 2 of my favorite Brits, Alan Davies & Stephen Fry, with guest appearances by many other favorites. Can't wait to watch it!

So, I lied. One mini review. Alan Davies as a chef?!? Ok. Sadly, only one season was made of this one. Alan is a narcissistic chef in a country hotel restaurant. Think watered down Gordon Ramsay meets watered down Anthony Bourdain meets Jamie Oliver on the skids. The supporting cast are what make this so interesting- and the talent show episode is a hoot.

DVD- Lenny Henry Live: So Much Things To Say

I love Lenny Henry. One of my favorite Brits ever, I first found him in a PBS catalog that had his series Chef! Since I was about to start culinary school at the time, and I love British comedy, I thought I'd like it. I was right. (usually am, LOL) When I find an actor/actress I like, I tend to become uber-fan and search out anything they've done that I can get my hands on.

The problem with loving British programs is that most of them are not available on a format compatible with US DVD players. However, thanks to my darling mother buying me a region free DVD player for my birthday this year, I can now go even crazier. This was one of my first purchases.

It starts out as one of Lenny's typical stand-up acts. But then he goes into new (to me, anyway) territory and throws in some character sketches. Then you're shown that the audience has a brief intermission. Now my attention has been piqued, because this is NOT typical of a comdey show. The second half of the show is where it really comes alive. Lenny fleshes out the characters you see him do bits of at the beginning. There's a shopkeeper, a soldier, an old man in a nursing home, and a lady. He switches from character to character seamlessly, and as the show progresses, you realize how they all connect and the ending will take your breath away. Not to mention, it's funny as hell to see Lenny Henry argue with figments of his own imagination.

If you have access to a region free player, this is well worth hunting down. If not, hope it airs on BBC America someday, or is released in a format compatible with your region. You really should see this.

Monday Musings- One of my favorite TV shows

Something a little different today, dear readers!  I loved this show when it first aired. The relationship between Hannah & Marty as they fumbled their way into falling in love, the interaction with their friends, loved ones, & coworkers, Hannah's wardrobe...well, it WAS the end of the 80's and cool at the time. I still love it and watch the DVD's repeatedly. My favorite episode is the 2nd one- Hannah thinks she's lost Marty's story in the computer, they have to pull an all-nighter to rewrite it, and a scheming co-worker sends in "romance expert" Anthony Amore (played by an over the top Taylor Negron) to derail their progress. You can tell that the actors were all having a lot of fun with this epsiode by the barely suppressed laughter that is clearly bubbling in them. Jamie Lee & Taylor come very close to cracking in one scene and I suspect it was probably not the first take they had to shoot. Any show that gets the entire cast singing and dancing to "Come A Little Bit Closer" is worth watching!

I keep searching online, hoping to find the later season has been released. John Ritter briefly joined the cast as a fellow journalist and rival for Hannah's affections and those episodes, along with the culmination of the love story were wonderful. Maybe I'll get lucky and find them someday...

Silly Sunday

This week's theme? 5 DVD sets that I've bought and can't wait to watch!