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Downton Abbey – The Grand Finale
Saturday afternoon I had my favorite lunch, popcorn and Coke Zero at the movie theater. The movie in question was Downton Abbey – The Grand Finale. In the first film, it was a visit from the King and Queen. The second film, there was a trip to the South of France for 1/2 of the clan, while the other half stayed behind and a movie crew filmed at the Abbey. Now in this third film, Mary is newly divorced, and London society is scandalized. The effort is to keep her from being shunned from the local community as well. What else is going on? Mrs. Patmore and Carson are getting…
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Friday Randomness
It’s been a busy week around here. We celebrated Ted’s stepdad’s birthday last Saturday – no pictures, but we had a lovely time. We had bbq ribs and chicken, green salad, potato salad, watermelon, hibiscus tea mixed with lemonade, wine, and chocolate raspberry cake. The weather was perfect, not too hot, but warm enough that you could sit outside if you wanted. Speaking of weather, it seems from your posts like it’s full on fall for some of you. I remember fall coming in August when I was a kid in Alaska, and when Ted and I lived in Philadelphia, it felt like a switch was flipped in mid September…
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The Three Lives of Cate Kay
The Three Lives of Cate Kay ~ Kate Fagan Annie Callahan and her best friend Amanda Kent are inseparable. They are both involved in their High School theater, and dream of getting out of upstate New York and moving to Los Angeles in search of fame and fortune. After a horrible accident, Annie leaves town. Her shame at leaving is so great, she does not go back. Instead, she becomes… Cass Ford, a barista who dreams of becoming an author. On a whim, she audits a writing class at her local college, where she meets Sidney Collins, a lawyer who also wants to write. They become involved romantically, and Sidney…
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Black Cake
Black Cake ~ Charmaine Wilkerson Benny and Byron Bennett are estranged siblings, brought together by the death of their beloved mother, Eleanor. Eleanor, with help from her lawyer, has recorded a message for them, and she wants them to hear it together. This is the beginning of Black Cake, and from there we are taken back and forth in time, to learn the deep secrets that Eleanor has kept from her children. Listening to her recording, Benny and Byron discover that while they knew the essence of their mother, they did not know the details of how she became to be the woman they admired and loved. The trials she…
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Friday Randomness
Apparently last week’s theme was day by day (Music Monday, Wordless Wednesday, etc.) and this week was recipes. Did I plan this? Not really, but it worked. Where to start? Oh, I know. In hell. Politics Maya has been sucked into the ‘Trump is Dead’ internet speculation, and starts each day telling us the current conspiracy theories. Allow me to show you a corner of my recently cleaned out closet. Tucked in with my bulkiest sweaters…ready and waiting. It’s been there since January. Painful Things The latest school shooting, this time in Minnesota, reminded me of this poem. So frustrating, so heartbreaking, so infuriating, so avoidable. I love a lot…
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Roasted Zucchini
Diane had a post the other day that included some delicious sounding zucchini, so I thought I would give it a try. Zucchini is not my favorite vegetable (or fruit), unless it is deep friend and dipped in ranch dressing, but when the zucchini are small and it’s not overcooked, it can be really nice. So I decided to try her recipe, which we ate with chicken (Maya had leftover pasta). Roasted Zucchini Ingredients Directions Preheat oven to 375 F. This is my default roasting veggie temp, it works for me. Slice zucchini into rounds, then toss with remaining ingredients down to oregano. Roast for 10-15 minutes until almost tender.…
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Quinoa Bowls with Sweet Potatoes and Black Beans
After I made Nicole’s tacos last week, I had leftover sweet potatoes and guacamole. This is not a bad problem to have, so I decided to figure out how I could best use the leftovers. Also, I thought maybe I would add some protein, and quinoa sounded like a good way to do that. I cobbled together a bowl with mostly the same items from the tacos, though I added some tomatoes because it is tomato season. Putting this into a recipe form is ridiculous, but perhaps it will trigger in my brain next time I want something quick, easy, healthy, and delicious. Ted is the biggest meat eater in…
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Guacamole
This is not a beautiful picture, but it’s the picture I have. This is our go-to guacamole recipe nowadays, and when Maya comes home from a long day of work and finds me making this, her eyes light up. Also she always requests it for an appetizer at family parties. It’s lime foreword and delicious. We originally found the recipe buried in a fajita recipe, here, and because of that when I want to find the recipe in my binder, I have to look under beef. Stupid. Guacamole Ingredients Directions In a bowl, smash together the first 5 ingredients, then add salt to taste. The lime does a pretty good…
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Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos
I was motivated by Birchie’s visit with Nicole to try to duplicate some enchiladas tacos that they had for dinner one night. So I sent Nicole an email and asked her for her recipe, and she kindly got back to me, but by the time I got her email I had already made them. I had also sent Birchie a text, and she got back to me with some tips as well. Turns out my recipe was pretty close to Nicole’s, but she spiced her black beans and I spiced my sweet potatoes. I keep my recipes on my blog mostly for me, but also, you should know how to…
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Meet Me in Another Life
Meet Me in Another Life ~ Catriona Silvey Thora and Santi meet under a clock tower in central Cologne, and quickly feel a connection. They will be friends, they think, but then there is a tragic accident. Santi is a teacher who dreams of the stars, so when his young student, Thora, says she wants to be an astronaut, he does everything he can to encourage her. Santi is an infant, and Thora is close friends with his mother. Thora and Santi are lovers. Santi and Thora are enemies. Again and again, Thora and Santi come together in Cologne, near the clock tower, and eventually they start remembering these past…
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Chest Wrinkle Pillow
I had so many questions about the chest wrinkle pillow I got rid of the other day, so here is your quick picture to show you how it works. I wore it some, and it wasn’t uncomfortable, but it made me hot and I didn’t feel like it worked, so away it went. I’m picturing the folks at Goodwill trying to figure out what the hell it is. Apparently I was once really upset by chest wrinkles, because not only did I spend way too much on this, I also bought some kind of silicone thing to help, which also…not enough results, so I threw that away. The end. That…
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Flashback Friday
Yesterday’s post was a list of 13 things that I have given away recently. Today’s post is about something that I tried to give away, but couldn’t. Looking at the picture above, from an Easter Sunday years ago, notice the adorable hat I’m wearing. I love that hat. I will never wear it again, however, and Maya doesn’t want it, and no one on Buy Nothing wants it, and I can’t bear to think of it going to Goodwill and no one wanting it and it being used for stuffing or rags or something. It needs to remain a hat. This is our beautiful girl, Genevieve, borrowing my hat back…
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Thursday Thirteen
I remember maybe 10 or 15 years ago, there used to be a thing, Thursday 13. A blogger could make a list every week if they wanted, and go to the official Thursday 13 webpage and link, and folks would come by and see your list and say hi. Sometimes this was a way to meet new bloggers, sometimes you would just stop by once. There were hundreds of participants, I doubt anyone went and checked them all every week, but it was kind of fun. Anyway, Engie suggested the other day in a comment that she would be interested in seeing some of the items that I’m getting rid…
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Wordless Wednesday
This is the picture drawn of Mulder for the ‘Bad Art’ fundraiser. Click the picture if you want to go to the post with the original.
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TV Tuesday
No Good Deed ~ Available on Netflix I came across No Good Deed while browsing Netflix recently, and I’m glad I did. It’s the story of a couple, Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano, who are selling their home in a wealthy area of Los Angeles. Of course, things are not what they seem, and shit happens. The cast is great, the writing sharp, the characters as flawed as you would hope. The house is beautiful and I would likely watch for that alone. If you like dark humor, and you don’t want a huge commitment (there is only one season), give it a try.
