“May! Queen of blossoms and fulfilling flowers, with what pretty music shall we charm the hours?” — Lord Edward Thurlow
READING:
Magazines: Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Real Simple, Outdoor Photographer, Sailing, and Milwaukee Magazine.
Blogs: Some of my favorites include Everyday Parisian, Paris in Four Months, and The Larson House. I use Feedly to curate articles from fashion, education, tech, and French blogs that I enjoy. Each morning, it’s like having my own customized magazine.
I have several books on hold at the library, but until they come in, magazines and blogs are keeping me informed and entertained.
WATCHING:
Hollywood (Netflix) ”The series follows a group of aspiring actors and filmmakers in post-World War II Hollywood as they try to make it in the movie industry — no matter what the cost. Each character offers a unique glimpse behind the gilded curtain of Hollywood's Golden Age, noting entrenched power, challenges to that power, and biases of many kinds that continue to this day. The show is described as exposing and examining decades-old power dynamics, and what the entertainment landscape might look like if they had been dismantled” (IMDb). It’s naughty. It’s controversial. It’s thought provoking. It’s weird to hear Sheldon Cooper’s voice from such a despicable character as Henry Wilson. It’s binge-worthy.
Halt and Catch Fire (Netflix): “Set in the 1980s, this series dramatizes the personal computing boom through the eyes of a visionary, an engineer and a prodigy whose innovations directly confront the corporate behemoths of the time. Their personal and professional partnership will be challenged by greed and ego while charting the changing culture in Texas' Silicon Prairie” (IMDb). We started watching this back in 2014, but because we moved in October 2015 at the beginning of Season 2, we lost track of it. Now that it’s on Netflix, we are geeking out 80’s style once again.
LISTENING TO:
I’m still hooked on The Earful Tower podcast. I’m late to the party, so I have a few seasons left to binge. I feel like Oliver and Lina are far away friends since for ten weeks, I spent a hour or so with them every Saturday playing the pub quiz.
The Paris on Air audio experience read by the author himself with the help of several characters who are featured in the book. The experience is included for Patreon members of the Earful Tower. I especially enjoy reading along in my one of a kind book with Oliver’s personal inscription to me and Lina’s lovely little “Easter egg” illustrations throughout.
Jimmy Buffett’s new album, Life on the Flipside: Despite our disappointing experience at Alpine Valley last summer, Jimmy Buffett music is comfortably familiar, feel-good music that will always remind me of sailing, summer, and boat drinks.
FEELING:
Better: I got my hair cut and colored, my eyebrows groomed, and a mani-pedi — all under very careful, safe, and sanitary conditions.
Cautious: I have gradually started to go a few places — the library, the building center, the garden center, but I have been super careful not to touch things that I don’t intend to buy, to use copious amounts of hand sanitizer, and to wear a mask. Thanks to Eric’s mom and my friend, Lisa, I have four really pretty ones. I just wish everyone else were as careful.
Hopeful: Although we are still primarily at home, I am hoping to enjoy a long weekend in Sturgeon Bay with the Larsons next month.
ENJOYING: My flower gardens — The trillium, hepatica, blood root, and blue bells in my native Wisconsin wildflower garden are already over, but the ferns and lilies of the valley are abundant. The redbud and Tina crab were blooming these past two weeks. The white anemone are gently swaying in the breeze. The sunny daisies and white bleeding hearts are just starting to bloom. The irises and roses are budding as are the hydrangea bushes. The ground covers and vines are prolific and I am eagerly watching the ants working to pry open the tight peonies.
PLANNING: Some outdoor “deckorating” — Eric has been working on remodeling our deck. It’s finally nearing completion and I’m excited to arrange furniture, plant flowers in pots. The wire rope railing makes it so much nicer to look out onto my flower garden. I am eager sit on the deck with my coffee on summer mornings, a good book later in the afternoon, and a glass or wine or a cocktail in the evenings.
