Happy Birthday and Blogoversary

Yesterday was my birthday--Jace's too. Today is my 16th anniversary posting here. Jeff and I are in the process of getting a financial plan including wills and health care power of attorney. And, of course, Jeff's sister died in April. So, I'm thinking a lot about time, i.e. the time that I have left. 

I want to use some time to revisit my Merwinsville book. Over the last few days, I read about the Merwin and Gaylord families and double checked some dates. For a few minutes I wondered if I was wrong about Sylvanus Merwin and Peter Gaylord being half brothers. Luckily, I was right. 

I was surprised to see I hadn't written or edited anything in over a year. (Although I believe I journaled about Merwinsville a few times.) I'm trying to get into that head set and think about the people. I need to develop the rivalry between the half brothers and add details. I'll probably lose the original scenes between Syl and Flora. Beef up the conflict. Figure out the ending.

Mellow Monday Morning

I'm feeling mellow today. Jim and Liz were visiting Thursday afternoon to Sunday morning. We had dinner with Annette and George at their place, lunched at Bowleys and Loonasea, and went thrifting. Otherwise, we just hung around. I cooked one night and we got pizza a second night.  

I took it easy yesterday too. Jeff and I had gin and tonics on the balcony, I read, and I journaled. As for today, Jeff has a PT appointment at 1. I'll go food shopping while he's there and figure out tonight's dinner. I have several things to do but don't have to do them all today.

It's my birthday week, and we're heading into unofficial summer. The weekend doesn't look very good now, but things can change. Regardless, I'll just try to hold onto the mellow. 

More from TCM--Starring Bette Davis

Lately, I've really been into old movies from the 30s (mostly) and 40s. Some are classics, some not so much. 

One of my top five films and favorite Bette Davis movie is The Letter. I've written about it here. I ended up watching it in bits and pieces as I made dinner, etc. In this last watch, I was shocked that I didn't remember one scene. Leslie (Davis) and her attorney (James Stephenson) go to retrieve the incriminating letter of the title in a store. Leslie handles an ornate knife. The knife appears in one of the final scenes of the movie. I really need to rewatch this film with no distractions to truly appreciate it. 

The most recent film I re-watched was Bordertown; here's my post about it. I don't have a lot to add, but it struck me on this viewing is how unlikable all the characters are. 

At the beginning of the film, Johnny (Paul Muni) is lauded for his hard work ethic and escaping a life of crime. But Johnny is unbelievably arrogant as well as hot-headed, and prone to violence. He takes all the wrong lessons from his failure as a lawyer and from his interactions with snobby socialite Dale (Margaret Lindsay.) Dale is cruelly oblivious to Johnny's feelings. 

Marie (Bette Davis) is a murderer who falsely accuses Johnny. Johnny's mother (Soledad Jimenez) is slightly more than a stereotype because she didn't believe in him. She prays for him to win his first case. Padre supposedly supports him, but might as well be singing, "stick to your own kind" a la Anita in West Side Story.

Only Charlie Roark (Eugene Pallette) Marie's husband and murder victim and Johnny's boss then partner, is remotely likable. And he is portrayed as a drunken clown.

I still enjoy watching this film. 

Visitors

My brother Jim and his girlfriend Liz are coming to visit tomorrow. Jim helped us move and has been here a few times. But this will be his first time as a visitor. We had expected to have a few visitors before this, but things changed. 

We don't have many plans, but I've got some restaurant ideas and Annette invited us to dinner one night. It should be fun. 

Ducklings!

In the winter, Jace and I would see at least a dozen ducks each day--many on the pond closest to us.

We've seen much fewer ducks recently and only a few females. In the last few days, we've seen some mamas with babies. One with one baby, another with four, and a third with six or seven. It's adorable watching them try to keep close to their mothers.

It makes me happy every time to I see them. Are baby bunnies next?

Book Eight: Sphinx by Robin Cook

We have two Little Free Libraries on our street, and I picked up this book there. I had read Coma years ago and liked it. This was quite a change from my last book.

Egyptologist Erica Baron, a specialist in New Kingdom hieroglyphics, is on a long awaited dream trip to Egypt. On her first day in Cairo, she is shown a priceless statue of Pharaoh Seti I and then witnesses the murder of the shopkeeper who showed her the statue. Erica finds herself caught between black marketers, a director of antiquities, and a charming Frenchman who wants to stop the export of Egyptian treasures.

Unfortunately, Erica is a Mary Sue. All the men she meets lust after her, they're particularly fascinated by her legs. But, she's just not that interesting. It was only when she is locked in a tomb that I became more interested, but I wasn't interested enough to not fall asleep. Twice. 

Overall, this book was disappointing.

Closing Out April

It seems like just the other day that I wrote a post closing out March. And here we are. 

This year I'm going to agree with  TS Eliot. Jeff's sister Melissa died on the 15th.Cancer. I'm so glad we got to see her in March. We spent more time with her than we expected so that was a bonus. 

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The weather has been crazy: 90s to 50s to freeze warnings. Parts of the country are still experiencing heavy snowstorms. We've broken the climate. 

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On a more positive note, Jeff, Jace and I returned to Bowley's after Jace's vet appointment. We had drinks and listened to a two-man band. It was relaxing and fun, and we plan to go back. 

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Hoping to get organized and get some of those little annoying things done this weekend.