Reading: 5 (!) books in September (all reviewed during September on this blog):
- The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
- American Carnage by Tim Alberta
- Up Beaver Creek by Sue Fagalde Lick -- our GW book club pick for September. (Sadly, this was likely the last GW book club discussion, as there haven't been too many people participating.)
- She Said by Jodi Kantor & Megan Twohey
- The Vagina Bible by Dr. Jen Gunter
Current read(s):
(Some) recent purchases/additions to the TBR pile (that I haven't read yet):
Listening: To the Stingray classic rock channel we get as part of our TV package. The other day they were playing "Black Water" by the Doobie Brothers. Not a song I especially loved, growing up, but one I heard a lot of... it was there, like the wallpaper, lol. There is something very comforting about the music of your youth, I think. (Even when it's something less mellow than the Doobie Brothers -- like Led Zeppelin, lol.)
Following: The unfolding impeachment drama in the U.S. Funnily enough, I think my memories of Richard Nixon's impeachment investigation (1973-74, when I was 12-13 years old) are much clearer than Bill Clinton's, when I was in my late 30s. Maybe because the Clinton inquiry unfolded throughout 1998/early 1999... when I was (cough) otherwise preoccupied.
Drinking/Eating: (Canadian) Thanksgiving turkey dinner with my family, soon!
Smelling: What I thought was a skunk... but apparently is more likely pot (especially since we're smelling it in the hallways as well as through the open balcony doors...!). I didn't realize until chatting with my sister this summer, but apparently today's pot does not smell the same as the stuff that used to waft through the halls of my university dorm, 35-40 (*cough cough*) years ago. (And we've been smelling "skunk" a LOT more frequently since cannabis was legalized here in Canada earlier this spring...! "Thanks, Justin!" dh says, rolling his eyes.)(So THAT explains why there seem to be an awful lot of skunks hanging around our building lately, lol...)
Buying (besides books, lol): Birthday & Halloween gifts to take for the Little Princesses, and adorable outfits for my soon-to-born (as yet unnamed) great-nephew. My most recent find: I couldn't resist a red & black flannel lumberjack-style onesie and tiny matching plaid flannel-lined jeans with the cuffs turned up, both from Baby Gap.
Wearing: I managed to get through September without having to put on my long jeans, socks & shoes (remaining in my beloved capris & sandals). (Loving that!) Sadly, though, I think those days are coming to an end very soon... if not here in southern Ontario, then definitely when I head home to Manitoba to visit my family shortly...!
Trying: To avoid the current federal election hoopla, lol. Counting the days until it's over (on Oct. 21st)! It seems like it's dragging on forever, and yet the entire campaign from start to finish is 40 days (which is pretty much the average for Canadian election campaigns -- I found this Wikipedia entry on Canadian elections, which says, "The length of election campaigns can vary, but under the Elections Act, the minimum length of a campaign is 36 days and the maximum length of the campaign is 50 days." ). I don't know how the Americans do it...!!
Wanting: All the roadwork & construction hereabouts to be DONE, ALREADY!!! It's been dragging on almost since the day we moved in 3.5 years ago, and we are SICK OF IT!!! (See also "Reading," above, lol.)
Feeling: Excited to be heading "home" to see my family soon, albeit slightly anxious to be doing it solo (my first solo trip in a long while).
Wondering: How it got to be October 1st and where 2019 went?? -- it's already 3/4 over!! Yikes!!
- The Education of Brett Kavanaugh by Robin Pogrebin & Kate Kelly
- Unfortunately, roadwork outside of our building (& changing schedules) meant access in & out of our driveway was blocked last night starting around 7 p.m. -- which meant I was unable to leave to attend my library book club at 7, as planned. :( (Actually, I probably could have left -- just not sure we would have been able to get back in again!) We were discussing "Everything I Never Told You" by Celeste Ng, which I'd already read earlier this summer & reviewed here.
- October's selection will be "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro, which I bought & read 10 (!) years ago for Mel's Barren B*tches Book Tour (my post from then here). Debating whether to do a complete re-read or just a skim to refresh my memory?
- "Kate Hardy" will be the next read for my online D.E. Stevenson fan group, before we move on to the final book in the Mrs. Tim series, "Mrs. Tim Flies Home." Both books share the setting of "Old Quinings" in post-WWII England.
(Some) recent purchases/additions to the TBR pile (that I haven't read yet):
- Truth Be Told by Beverly McLachlin (the first female Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada)
- Inside Out by Demi Moore.
- Had it Coming by Robyn Doolittle
- Downton Abbey (if you loved the TV series, you will love the movie).
- Judy with Renee Zellwegger as Judy Garland, near the end of her far-too-short life. If you know anything about Judy Garland's life, you'll know this movie is not exactly cheerful stuff. But Renee's performance is amazing (she sings, too -- she's no Judy Garland in that department, but she's not bad either...!).
- The final season (#5) of Poldark began this past weekend on PBS. This season is straying beyond the material in Winston Graham's books, picking up where the last season of the TV show left off (which covered up to the end of book #7, "The Angry Tide"). Book #8 ("The Stranger From the Sea") takes a leap in time of 10+ years -- a gap the producers apparently felt was too big for the current cast to take -- and so they've used the screenwriter's imagination to continue the story (this article explains). We'll see how it all works out...!
- We both thoroughly enjoyed Ken Burns's recent series on the history of country music on PBS. I wouldn't say I'm a huge country music fan, but I've gained an appreciation for it and some of its artists (Patsy Cline, Roseanne Cash, Dolly Parton...) as I've gotten older. I surprised myself by how many of the artists I knew & how many of the songs I could sing along to...!
- I am beyond thrilled that CBC has brought back Battle of the Blades! -- a reality competition show, which pairs hockey players (both male & female) with figure skaters, skating for their favourite charities. One pair gets eliminated every week, through a mixture of public voting and judging decisions. Outside of Canada, you can't view entire episodes, BUT, apparently you can view individual performances on YouTube, and vote for your favourite team each week! (It's still early in the competition, but I am thinking Ekaterina Gordeeva & Bruno Gervais are looking like the team to beat -- and I have a soft spot for Manitoba-born Sheldon Kennedy & Kaitlyn Weaver!)
Listening: To the Stingray classic rock channel we get as part of our TV package. The other day they were playing "Black Water" by the Doobie Brothers. Not a song I especially loved, growing up, but one I heard a lot of... it was there, like the wallpaper, lol. There is something very comforting about the music of your youth, I think. (Even when it's something less mellow than the Doobie Brothers -- like Led Zeppelin, lol.)
Following: The unfolding impeachment drama in the U.S. Funnily enough, I think my memories of Richard Nixon's impeachment investigation (1973-74, when I was 12-13 years old) are much clearer than Bill Clinton's, when I was in my late 30s. Maybe because the Clinton inquiry unfolded throughout 1998/early 1999... when I was (cough) otherwise preoccupied.
Drinking/Eating: (Canadian) Thanksgiving turkey dinner with my family, soon!
Smelling: What I thought was a skunk... but apparently is more likely pot (especially since we're smelling it in the hallways as well as through the open balcony doors...!). I didn't realize until chatting with my sister this summer, but apparently today's pot does not smell the same as the stuff that used to waft through the halls of my university dorm, 35-40 (*cough cough*) years ago. (And we've been smelling "skunk" a LOT more frequently since cannabis was legalized here in Canada earlier this spring...! "Thanks, Justin!" dh says, rolling his eyes.)(So THAT explains why there seem to be an awful lot of skunks hanging around our building lately, lol...)
Buying (besides books, lol): Birthday & Halloween gifts to take for the Little Princesses, and adorable outfits for my soon-to-born (as yet unnamed) great-nephew. My most recent find: I couldn't resist a red & black flannel lumberjack-style onesie and tiny matching plaid flannel-lined jeans with the cuffs turned up, both from Baby Gap.
Wearing: I managed to get through September without having to put on my long jeans, socks & shoes (remaining in my beloved capris & sandals). (Loving that!) Sadly, though, I think those days are coming to an end very soon... if not here in southern Ontario, then definitely when I head home to Manitoba to visit my family shortly...!
Trying: To avoid the current federal election hoopla, lol. Counting the days until it's over (on Oct. 21st)! It seems like it's dragging on forever, and yet the entire campaign from start to finish is 40 days (which is pretty much the average for Canadian election campaigns -- I found this Wikipedia entry on Canadian elections, which says, "The length of election campaigns can vary, but under the Elections Act, the minimum length of a campaign is 36 days and the maximum length of the campaign is 50 days." ). I don't know how the Americans do it...!!
Wanting: All the roadwork & construction hereabouts to be DONE, ALREADY!!! It's been dragging on almost since the day we moved in 3.5 years ago, and we are SICK OF IT!!! (See also "Reading," above, lol.)
Feeling: Excited to be heading "home" to see my family soon, albeit slightly anxious to be doing it solo (my first solo trip in a long while).
Wondering: How it got to be October 1st and where 2019 went?? -- it's already 3/4 over!! Yikes!!
I completely agree with your Wondering. October? How??? Also related, it's been 3 1/2 years since you moved in already? Wow. Time is really flying.
ReplyDeleteOMG, the lumberjack onesie and the little jeans are adorable. Enjoy buying for him. That's been one of the joys of being an aunt/great-aunt. I get to indulge for fun. And as I told a SIL once, "I don't have to worry about how to wash the clothes!"
Finally, I definitely recommend re-reading "Never Let Me Go." It is a book worth a second look.
I have packed it for my trip!
DeleteUm...marijuana is legal and people are choosing skunk weed on purpose?! (I work in a crime lab, and we all get very cranky when they bring the skunk weed in to be tested. It's terrible.) Must be the cheap stuff... Yikes.
ReplyDeleteLOL... I'm not very "up" on this subject ;) but I understand there are (still) only a limited number of legal outlets that have been licensed by the government, both storefront & online outlets, & they can't keep up with demand... so there are probably a lot of people still getting the "cheap stuff" from illegal dealers. :p
DeleteCurrently going back to check out all your book reviews (you really do such a great job with that and when I'm in search of a new book, this blog is often one of my first stops). Ugh to construction, skunk smell, and election stuff. American and mostly I get through it by designating a time each day to read political news and then just watch stuff on net.flix (thus avoiding the commercials) but yeah, I hear you about getting tired of the politics. No fun.
ReplyDeleteBattle of the Blades sounds like a good show! Will have to check it out. I'm about to date myself here, but it reminds me a little bit of the movie "The Cutting Edge" ;).
Oooh, good luck with Hamilton tickets! I saw it in April when it came to Rochester, and even though we had the FURTHEST AND HIGHEST possible seats, it was still magical. The lighting and sets are incredible.
ReplyDeleteHa, I can't believe it was skunk weed! You made me laugh so hard. I had a family of 7 skunks (1 momma, 6 babies) in my yard earlier this year, but I live in the woods -- to smell that where you are would definitely be suspicious! I forget that weed is legal in Canada.
Look at your book mojo! Holy crow, you're killing it! And you read really heavy, hefty books, too.