Fun With Flags

The title of this post is the name of an internet show that Sheldon and Amy host on The Big Bang Theory. I am not referring to that, ha ha!

Instead I am talking about an annual TV event that Lew and I usually don't watch, but we did yesterday: the NFL Pro Bowl Games.

This year it was a "reimagined" event made up of several small competitions (examples: longest golf drive, dodge ball, obstacle course) and three flag football games. The NFC ended up beating the AFC when all was said and done.

The players that participated in the Pro Bowl Games looked like they were having fun together, which in turn made it fun to watch. It was nice to see their faces and get a better sense of their personalities. And having the Manning brothers as opposing coaches was entertaining, too.

We'll see if the new format catches on!

My "No Labor" Day

I did pretty much nothing today. And I did it pretty well.

I could barely talk when I woke up because of my cold. Lew made me pancakes for breakfast. Pancakes for breakfast... a great way to start the day.

The remainder of the day I spent drinking hot tea, eating hot salsa, and resting. (I did manage to fit in a couple doses of DayQuil, too.)

This afternoon Lew and I watched the movie, "Christopher Robin." We both enjoyed it. Lew was even sniffling a little at the end.... I'm not sure if was from the dregs of his cold or if he was overcome with emotion. Anyway, it was a very sweet movie, and it made me feel quite satisfied about doing nothing today. If you haven't seen the movie yet, we recommend you watch it. It is available on Netflix.

"Doing nothing often leads to the very best kind of something." ~ Winnie the Pooh (in "Christopher Robin")

"The End"

Downton Abbey is over.

I'd watched it since the first season, and I enjoyed it. But I'm glad the show went out "on top" instead of hanging on too long.

My least favorite character was Lady Mary, and my favorite character was her maid, Anna. They were quite a contrast.

I always felt a little sorry for Lady Edith. I was so happy that her storyline took a wonderful turn at the end.

I know the Crawley family and their staff are fictional characters, but I feel like they are my friends. I will miss them!

Read a Book!

Although I'm not doing a reading challenge this year, I still plan on reading a lot of books.

If you want to see what I've read, please refer to my 2016 Reading List (the link is on the right-hand side of my blog page).

I plan on keeping this list updated as I finish each book, so check it often if you're looking for book ideas. I hope you will find something of interest.

I do encourage you to read a book!

I FINISHED READING IT!!!!!

At approximately 5:14 pm (EDT) yesterday, August 23, 2015, I finally finished reading War and Peace.

I have mentioned this book several times on my blog, the first time being my June 8th post titled "A Long Read."

The word "long" does not begin to describe it.

The page length depends on which hardback/paperback/ebook version you read, but it's safe to say this book is over 1000 pages long.

And how did I like the book?

I enjoyed the "novel" parts, and I plodded through the parts that were theoretical and philosophical in nature.

I am glad, however, that I plodded. Tolstoy was clearly a man of faith in the Almighty God. Good stuff.

This is definitely not a book that I will read again. It is just way too long to revisit. I am happy I read it, though, and I feel more cultured. (LOL!)

One of the best things about this experience is that I don't have to write a paper about it.

I will end this post with a quote from a Seinfeld episode. Jerry says the following to Elaine (she later repeats this later in the show):

Did you know the original title for "War and Peace" was
"War--What Is It Good For?"!

Update on 2015 Reading Challenge

Here's where things stand:

• As of this coming Thursday there will be 22 weeks left in 2015.
• I currently have 19 books to go in the challenge.
• And that, my dear readers, is an average of less than one book per week.

If you look at my challenge link (click HERE) you will see that I have already selected the possible books to complete the remaining categories.

I am about 1/3 of the way through War and Peace, have read some of the Mark Twain short stories, and am reading the Flavia de Luce novel.

I will probably finish the Flavia book within the week while I continue to plug away on the other two. But I will also start another book after Flavia.

At this rate, I should finish the challenge early!

Stunning Putting

Despite all of our social engagements this weekend, Lew managed to watch the U.S. Open on Saturday and Sunday. I even watched the end of it with him last night.

Jordan Spieth won. He's only about 12 years old (I may be off by a decade) and he's already won two major tournaments - the Masters being the first one. So he has a green jacket already, ho hum.

But back to the U.S. Open.... Lew couldn't believe what happened to Dustin Johnson, the last golfer to complete yesterday's final round. He had the opportunity to win... then tie... then MISS an easy putt?! Second place isn't bad, but it's not as good as first.

In Dustin's defense, I don't think any putt would be easy. But then again, I've never played golf. Lew must have gone on for about five minutes saying a variation of the phrase, "I CAN'T believe he MISSED that!" But he did miss, and Jordan Spieth is the U.S. Open champion.

And now I know that golf can be exciting.

"We do it for YOU, Lars...."

A couple years ago our pastor introduced us to the movie Lars and the Real Girl starring Ryan Gosling. This is a sweet story that shows the value of a loving, supportive community.

 

I watched it with my friend Donna while she was visiting last week. We ended up watching it two nights in a row because she wanted her husband and son to see it. (They both enjoyed it, too.)

 

If you haven't seen Lars and the Real Girl yet, I highly recommend that you watch it soon. It's my new favorite movie!

A Long Read

I started reading War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.

 

I am reading it on my Kindle. The book is 28,927 locations long. (My Kindle doesn't give the number of pages.)

 

I knew it was a long book, but I decided it's finally time to tackle it. It's one of those classics I've been wanting to read - just to say I did!

 

I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would.

 

Well, so far anyway.

 

I'm only up to Location 1715!

M(a)y Reading Month

March was officially Reading Month, but I didn't read as much as I had hoped. And April wasn't much better. So, because May 1st was my birthday, I am declaring May as my own personal Reading Month. Hence, the "M(a)y" in this post's title. (That's a play on "My" and "May" for those of you that are pun-challenged.)

I am actually off to a great start! In Saturday's post I mentioned how I had looked over my 2015 Reading Challenge list. I've managed to complete a couple categories since then, and I am forging ahead at a good clip. I hope to average 2+ books a week this month.

Lew is calling for me to come eat the hamburger that he just made for me, so off I go to eat and then read!

Happy Hubby

Yesterday Lew watched the final round of The Masters Golf Tournament on our new 55" TV.

The purchase of said TV was quite interesting. Lew tried to order a TV online a couple weeks ago but was unsuccessful for a couple reasons - not in stock, being one of them. We went looking for one on Saturday (two days ago) and thought we had found one at the first place we stopped. But - alas - not in stock. We found one at the second place that we liked a lot, and there was only one left. So I guarded it while Lew went to get a flatbed cart. (I was ready to go to the mat to protect our TV!)

You know what? The TV we purchased was the very same one that Lew tried to order a couple weeks ago!  How cool is that?!

Smile!

Play Ball!

The Red Sox are about to win on the opening day of their season. I doubt they will go undefeated (162-0 would be hard to do), but it is encouraging to see them get their first so handily. A total of eight runs, with five home runs! I do hope they save some offense for the rest of the season.

 

Tonight is the final game of the NCAA Tournament. I plan on watching. I hope I can stay awake long enough to watch the whole game.

 

Sports on TV.... One of life's great pleasures.

Perry Mason then Sydney Bristow then... ?

As I write this, I have only seven episodes left to watch of Alias!

I will finish the series this week, even if I have to do a binge-watching session.  I have enjoyed the show, but I am ready for it to be over. I want to know how it plays out.

Who are the good guys and who are the bad guys? I'm still unsure! But I will say that I will miss my "friends" on Alias, even if they end up being bad.

I will have to find something else to watch on Netflix while I use the elliptical machine. Any suggestions? I do need a new TV-series-to-watch goal.

It's good to have goals.

"Alias" Viewing Update

I've been watching the TV series "Alias" on Netflix.

Usually I limit myself to watching it while I'm using the elliptical machine, but today I also watched an episode during my lunch time.  The episode was the last one of Season 4.

I had finished eating and was holding a drink in my hand when the show ended. I am very glad that I was almost through with the drink, because I JUMPED during the very last scene. Not just a "tiny-ooh" jump, but a "my-butt-left-the-chair" jump.

There was a bombshell revelation immediately followed by a terrifying event immediately followed by the show's closing credits.

I did not see any of it coming -- except for the credits.

I was tempted to watch the first episode of Season 5 (the final season!), but I really need to start my other projects for the day.

I hope I can concentrate on what I need to do!

A Time to Read

I recently learned that March is Reading Month! I have not read as much as I like the past couple months, so I am excited about this special month. I am planning to read a lot during the next few weeks. So excited, I am!

This is a good time to remind you of my "2015 Reading Challenge" page. If you click on it today - March 9th - you will see that I have only six categories completed. This means I'm behind on my needed-average of one per week. Reading Month will give me a chance to catch up and hopefully get ahead! (I am about to start reading "a book with a one-word title.")

It has been fun looking for books to fit the categories. So far I have identified what I wish to read for these:

• A book with more than 500 pages
• A book of short stories
• A book based entirely on its cover
• A memoir
• A trilogy
• A book from my childhood
• A book set in high school
• A book that takes place in my hometown
• A book I started but never finished

If you are curious about the book titles, they will be listed on my "2015 Reading Challenge" page... once I've read them, of course!

What will you be reading this month?

A Jolly Good Show

Unless you live under a shell, you know that the season finale of Downton Abbey aired last night. Even my father knows this. He told me he slept through much of it while my mother watched it this morning.

Like my mother, I also recorded it so that I could watch it today. I watched during my lunch time.

I enjoyed this season of the show much more than last season's. But I do wish some story lines would finally be resolved -- the top one being the murder suspicions regarding Anna and Mr. Bates. Enough already!

My mother finds Mary annoying. I tend to agree, but apparently all of the single male characters on the show do not. They tend to fall all over her. Maybe she can finally settle down again next season.

Other questions: Will Mary ever learn the truth about Edith's child? Will Tom really move to America? Will Mrs. Crowley change her mind and marry Lord Merton? Or will she end up with the doctor? Will Lord Grantham get a puppy?

The world will have to wait and see.

Show Me the Movie

My Facebook news feed is full of articles and comments about last night's Oscars.

I watched none of the program. (Although I did look at live updates of the winners online.)

I perused the list of nominees to determine if I had seen any of the movies and came up with only three:

• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Into the Woods
• The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

There are some others I would like to see at some point:

• American Sniper
• Unbroken
• The Imitation Game

I suppose I should be interested in watching Birdman -- it did win the "Best Picture" award, after all -- but we'll see.

And that about sums up my entire interest in the Oscars.

I Recommend "Sensible Shoes"

Our women's event at church this past weekend was based on the book Sensible Shoes by Sharon Garlough Brown. The book is a novel about four women who take a "Sacred Journey" seminar at a retreat center. But this novel is more than just a story; it also describes the spiritual practices and disciplines that the women encounter at their seminar.

I read this book about a year ago at the recommendation of my friends Luanne and Laura (the visionaries for our own event). I read the book again last week so that it would be fresh in my mind. I rarely re-read books, but I'm glad I did this one. I enjoyed it even more the second time through and I learned so much. My copy of the book is now highlighted and marked up, with some pages marked with tabs.

Sensible Shoes probably would appeal mostly to women, but I know of one man in our church who is reading it along with his wife. I recommend that anyone read it given the chance!

A Roller Coaster Ride Called Super Bowl XLIX

At the beginning of the 4th quarter last night, I was pretty sure the Patriots were going to lose. They were behind by 10 points. Given the formidable defense of the Seahawks, a comeback seemed unlikely.

State of stomach:  Relatively calm.  I had already resigned myself to the loss.

When the Patriots went ahead, 28-24, with about two minutes left in the game, I had hope they were going to win.

State of stomach:  Nervous. Anxious for the next two minutes to be over.

When that Seahawks player caught the ball after tipping it in the air, falling on his back, and having to reach out for it..... UGH!  I thought the Patriots were toast. Still over 1/2 minute left in the game. A Seahawks touchdown for the win seemed inevitable.

State of stomach:  Churning, churning, churning. Couldn't believe the Patriots were about to lose their third consecutive Super Bowl after a mind-boggling catch by their opponent. Thought I would be ill. Hated football.

The Seahawks almost scored on their next running play, but the Patriots defense stopped them on the 1-yard line. But that was only the first down. Three more chances.  On the second-down play, I was confused by what was happening, but then my husband started yelling, "Pick! Pick! Pick!"  Malcolm Butler had intercepted the ball!!!!

State of stomach:  Like a volcano ready to erupt. Too much commotion. Could it be that the Patriots were really going to win after all? I didn't like where they were on the field. Possibility of a safety. Nervous, nervous, nervous....

But then, a five-yard penalty on the Seahawks! And that was it! Take a knee (or two), Tom!

State of stomach: Cartwheeling! Best game ever!

New England Patriots are Super Bowl champs.

I love football.  :)

Super Bowl, Here We Come

So the big news today is that the Patriots are going to the Super Bowl.

I am excited that they will be playing in the big game, but I also know that my stomach will probably be all knotted up in a nervous mess as I watch.

Speaking of watching.... Why, oh why, does the game have to start so late in the day? And the half-time show just prolongs the evening. I don't think the NFL and TV "powers-that-be" care about us on the East Coast. It is always a very late evening.

Lew is still lobbying for a new national holiday on the day after the Super Bowl. I don't believe his lobbying has gone further than just telling family and friends about it, but perhaps it's time to take it to the "powers-that-be."

So, whoever you are, please vote in this new holiday. The people living in the Eastern time zone need their sleep.

(Postscript: We are flying our flag today in honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King.)