Books, Movies, & Other Fun Stuff – Page 2

by Angela

It’s the little things

I don’t pretend to have any brilliant insights to offer in our “situation,” except to say that we are all frightened, we are all angry, we all feel isolated. I would hope not only for faith and hope, but that we are all able to acknowledge our gratitude for the big things—shelter, food, family, and […]

by Angela

Time for a Hallmark Christmas movie

And just to update… a wish fulfilled. The marathon starts at noon today! And there was the headline I’d been waiting for: Hallmark will air Christmas movie marathon during coronavirus quarantine Our local paper printed this today as a “report” from another publication. I couldn’t verify it on the Hallmark website, but ironically, just yesterday […]

by Angela

Bye, bye Bootie!

Okay, that’s a joke that only Broadway musical fans of a certain age may get. Or the film that followed. Still, I couldn’t resist. After three weeks, I’ve been liberated from the boot whose daunting purpose was to heal my heel. Homonym lesson, anyone? You learn a lot when you can’t drive, safely climb stairs, […]

by Angela

Onward and upward

The first recorded blog post I wrote was on January 3, 2017. I started out writing about the impact of reaching un certain age and easing from work life into the [surely] leisurely life of a retiree. It wasn’t long, however, before I transitioned into more of what the blogosphere likes to call “lifestyle” posts. […]

by Angela

My year in books

I didn’t read the 35 books I’d pledged for the Goodreads Reading Challenge. I read 30. Except for one real dud for which I’d won an advanced copy and thus felt committed to complete, I had a wonderful reading year and thus have no regrets. But my “failure” (isn’t that silly?) has also forced me […]

by Angela

Counting down the days…

December 28… It’s uncharacteristically balmy here in Central Pennsylvania, and the first thing I did this morning was clodhop outside for a breath of just-chilly-enough fresh air. The after-Christmas calm will soon give way to the steady din of football commentary and wild cheering for our last Penn State game of the year, the Cotton […]

by Angela

Thank you, Louise Penny

Gamache is back, and he’s still sensational.

by Angela

Thank you, Anne Tyler

I try to be open to new writers and each year read a few debuts or authors I’m unfamiliar with, sometimes on other’s recommendations, sometimes at a writer’s or publisher’s request. Still, for me, there is a clear gold standard reserved for those writers who, over decades of wonderful books, always satisfy me, challenge or […]

by Angela

Thoughts on a Monday in June

Photo: Late spring at The Carrot Barn in Schoharie County, NY. New beginnings, thrill of an approaching harvest, flowers and veggies to plant, and all that. Has absolutely nothing to do with this post, but enjoy it anyway. Writing a blog is a commitment. I knew that in the abstract 151 posts ago, when I […]

by Angela

James Beard on almost everything

I received James Beard’s Love and Kisses and a Halo of Truffles as a gift about a decade ago, when I was deep into Julia Child and M. F. K. Fisher. All this time, it had sat there patiently on the shelf. About two weeks ago, in search of a change, I picked it up, […]

by Angela

Start-of-March miscellany

Apart from wishing away what is hopefully the last of the cold weather, I can’t say that I’ve been full of ambition in the last few weeks. I can say with reasonable reliability, however, that I have hit this same slump every year of my adult life. I expect I’m not alone. On the bookshelf… […]

by Angela