Positive stuff and some updates
Some positive things which have been shared with me recently:
People doing positive things during the crisis.
People recreating famous works of art with anything they have on hand at home. My favorite: "The Persistence of Memory" (the melted clocks) done in ... lunchmeat. :D
Andrew Lloyd Webber will be releasing a full version of one of his musicals every week, for free. I missed last week's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat but this week's offering is another favorite, and very timely for the season: Jesus Christ Superstar. Looking forward to it! (I was actually singing JCS's soundtrack to myself while mowing the lawn over the weekend, lol.)
And if you haven't seen this yet: The original cast of Hamilton came together to perform the opening song - and by "coming together" I mean "all performing from their own homes" - for the benefit of one young fan who wasn't able to see the live show due to the virus closures.
As for regular news:
a) MiniPlu got officially furloughed from Levi's yesterday. However, given that they paid her for three weeks' worth of shifts she didn't work, there isn't really anything to complain about. Her manager told her that those employees who received benefits (ie health insurance) would still receive it. That doesn't apply to MiniPlu, but it's still nice to know that, like Disney, Levi's is trying to do their best for their employees.
b) I finally caved and made myself a mask today, having gone shopping yesterday and only seen a bare handful of people without masks. I know there's still tons of conflicting info on whether it helps or not, but I figure it probably can't hurt.
c) I finished two books recently: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, which was the last library book I checked out before it closed. In short: very cute HP-spoof H/D-type story. Took me a little bit to warm up to it, but I enjoyed it overall. It didn't occur to me initially that the Humdrum was created from Simon's accidental overuse of magic. I was saddened to realize The Mage was actually not that great a guy, that his devotion to revolution - and, honestly, his idea of making the school available to everyone wasn't a BAD one - had caused the whole mess that resulted in Natasha's death and Baz's turning, and that he'd been responsible for making sure Baz was kidnapped and not available for his mother's ghost's visit. I did catch on, when Simon went to talk to the goatherder, that her "Nicky" was the actual Nicodemus - realized it about a page before Simon did, and since I rarely realize anything in advance, I was pretty proud of myself, lol. And, of course, the eventual romance between Simon and Baz was adorable. I liked all the alternating viewpoints, between different characters, too. Good story overall. Debating whether to borrow Fangirl via Libby and see what lead to Carry On.
I also indulged in some brain candy reading: a m/m Regency romance called It Takes Two to Tumble by Cat Sebastian. It was very sweet and romantic (and, yes, hot at times), but I had some quibbles with the ending. So, it's 1817 England, and all the repressive society that brings with it. The two men in question are understandably nervous about getting found out and, you know, thrown in jail. Plus, one is the town vicar (although he steps down by the end of the book). The end of the book feels like it comes together a little bit quickly, as each man decides NOT to continue the career they thought they would be doing for life (sea captain and vicar), and that they WERE going to commit to being together, essentially married - and yet there is absolutely no indication of how - or whether - they plan to tell the captain's three children, the housekeeper, etc, who surely SHOULD be made aware if there's going to be a long-term relationship. They can't be forever afraid to get caught in the other person's bedchamber. The three children clearly adore the vicar and are not remotely likely to be fussed about tradition, but still - I felt like that should have been addressed as part of the story. In fact, it would have been a very sweet way to end it, to have the children feel like they had two parents again, instead of zero (dead mother, father at sea).
Another frustration is the plot talks about blackmail which threatens the vicar, but that plotline ended up being VERY minor and basically fizzled and resolved itself without any drama whatsoever, aside from the vicar discovering something rather distressing about his younger brother (who stars in the next book). It was just ... what was the point of even mentioning it, otherwise??
One thing I DID like was having the captain be functionally illiterate due to severe dyslexia. To have someone in a position of power, with a well-to-do background that ensured he'd been educated, NOT be able to read more than a handful of words or write at all - it made for a nice change in the story. And it gave him a chance to bond with one of the children, who was similarly afflicted.
It was interesting how both men clearly deeply craved stability, but wanted it in such different ways, at least at first. Shows how there can be more than one way of wanting the same thing. Anyway, yes, there were some complaints, but it's not like I was reading it for high literature, you know? Comfort reading.
d) The weather's been really nice lately, and I've started doing some preliminary spring yardwork. Clipped all the dead rose branches that didn't survive the winter, and then Two and I fed the roses (all 55 of them - normally there's 60 but we lost a few). I did some cleanup of plant skeletons and remaining trellises/cages/etc in the veggie garden, removed two trees that had self-planted in the garden, and similar tasks. Also mowed the lawn for the first time.
e) I've been meaning to share this for, like, a month, but kept forgetting. If you like peanut butter, this is a delicious PB frosting for cakes. Not too sweet, either. Oddly enough, my husband didn't like it, and he LOVES pb. But I thought it was fine.
People doing positive things during the crisis.
People recreating famous works of art with anything they have on hand at home. My favorite: "The Persistence of Memory" (the melted clocks) done in ... lunchmeat. :D
Andrew Lloyd Webber will be releasing a full version of one of his musicals every week, for free. I missed last week's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat but this week's offering is another favorite, and very timely for the season: Jesus Christ Superstar. Looking forward to it! (I was actually singing JCS's soundtrack to myself while mowing the lawn over the weekend, lol.)
And if you haven't seen this yet: The original cast of Hamilton came together to perform the opening song - and by "coming together" I mean "all performing from their own homes" - for the benefit of one young fan who wasn't able to see the live show due to the virus closures.
As for regular news:
a) MiniPlu got officially furloughed from Levi's yesterday. However, given that they paid her for three weeks' worth of shifts she didn't work, there isn't really anything to complain about. Her manager told her that those employees who received benefits (ie health insurance) would still receive it. That doesn't apply to MiniPlu, but it's still nice to know that, like Disney, Levi's is trying to do their best for their employees.
b) I finally caved and made myself a mask today, having gone shopping yesterday and only seen a bare handful of people without masks. I know there's still tons of conflicting info on whether it helps or not, but I figure it probably can't hurt.
c) I finished two books recently: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, which was the last library book I checked out before it closed. In short: very cute HP-spoof H/D-type story. Took me a little bit to warm up to it, but I enjoyed it overall. It didn't occur to me initially that the Humdrum was created from Simon's accidental overuse of magic. I was saddened to realize The Mage was actually not that great a guy, that his devotion to revolution - and, honestly, his idea of making the school available to everyone wasn't a BAD one - had caused the whole mess that resulted in Natasha's death and Baz's turning, and that he'd been responsible for making sure Baz was kidnapped and not available for his mother's ghost's visit. I did catch on, when Simon went to talk to the goatherder, that her "Nicky" was the actual Nicodemus - realized it about a page before Simon did, and since I rarely realize anything in advance, I was pretty proud of myself, lol. And, of course, the eventual romance between Simon and Baz was adorable. I liked all the alternating viewpoints, between different characters, too. Good story overall. Debating whether to borrow Fangirl via Libby and see what lead to Carry On.
I also indulged in some brain candy reading: a m/m Regency romance called It Takes Two to Tumble by Cat Sebastian. It was very sweet and romantic (and, yes, hot at times), but I had some quibbles with the ending. So, it's 1817 England, and all the repressive society that brings with it. The two men in question are understandably nervous about getting found out and, you know, thrown in jail. Plus, one is the town vicar (although he steps down by the end of the book). The end of the book feels like it comes together a little bit quickly, as each man decides NOT to continue the career they thought they would be doing for life (sea captain and vicar), and that they WERE going to commit to being together, essentially married - and yet there is absolutely no indication of how - or whether - they plan to tell the captain's three children, the housekeeper, etc, who surely SHOULD be made aware if there's going to be a long-term relationship. They can't be forever afraid to get caught in the other person's bedchamber. The three children clearly adore the vicar and are not remotely likely to be fussed about tradition, but still - I felt like that should have been addressed as part of the story. In fact, it would have been a very sweet way to end it, to have the children feel like they had two parents again, instead of zero (dead mother, father at sea).
Another frustration is the plot talks about blackmail which threatens the vicar, but that plotline ended up being VERY minor and basically fizzled and resolved itself without any drama whatsoever, aside from the vicar discovering something rather distressing about his younger brother (who stars in the next book). It was just ... what was the point of even mentioning it, otherwise??
One thing I DID like was having the captain be functionally illiterate due to severe dyslexia. To have someone in a position of power, with a well-to-do background that ensured he'd been educated, NOT be able to read more than a handful of words or write at all - it made for a nice change in the story. And it gave him a chance to bond with one of the children, who was similarly afflicted.
It was interesting how both men clearly deeply craved stability, but wanted it in such different ways, at least at first. Shows how there can be more than one way of wanting the same thing. Anyway, yes, there were some complaints, but it's not like I was reading it for high literature, you know? Comfort reading.
d) The weather's been really nice lately, and I've started doing some preliminary spring yardwork. Clipped all the dead rose branches that didn't survive the winter, and then Two and I fed the roses (all 55 of them - normally there's 60 but we lost a few). I did some cleanup of plant skeletons and remaining trellises/cages/etc in the veggie garden, removed two trees that had self-planted in the garden, and similar tasks. Also mowed the lawn for the first time.
e) I've been meaning to share this for, like, a month, but kept forgetting. If you like peanut butter, this is a delicious PB frosting for cakes. Not too sweet, either. Oddly enough, my husband didn't like it, and he LOVES pb. But I thought it was fine.