Book Chat - 3/30/2023

 I zipped right through a book!

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

It’s the third book I’ve read by this author, and I think I will probably end up reading all her books. The novel is about how the abandoned children of a music legend grow up. It was good.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 3/27/2023

It is now that time of year, post Oscars, that I try to catch up on all the other movies I’ve wanted to watch.

Supernova, staring Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci, is a heartbreaking story. The longtime partners are on a trip visiting old friends and places before one of them succumbs to dementia. It was good.

Olivia Colman, Michael Ward and Tom Brooke star in Empire of Light. The story is set in the 1980s in a small English town by the sea. It centers on the staff of a movie theater that has seen better days. Colin Firth has a supporting role. He played an unlikeable character and I can’t decide if I liked him in the role. The movie was very good.

I also rewatched Ruby in Paradise - an old movie (1993), in which a younger Ashley Judd starred. I liked it then, and I still like it.

Series to Stream:

Daisy Jones and The Six - Prime

Shrinking - Apple+

MK out.

Start Something Sunday - 3/26/2023

I need to spend time in the sewing studio. I have many projects planned, and some have even been started. One in particular is the sewing machine cover. It’s stalled because I need to find some coordinating bias tape, or find some fabric to make some. Oy!

A few weeks ago, I bought more fabric for two quilts I am planning:

Today, I cut some fabric to start making one of them, because I don’t have enough projects waiting for attention around here:

Have a great Sunday!

MK out.

FO Friday - 3/24/2023

No more sneak peeking. Here’s the thing I recently finished:

The pattern I used is Easy Going by Finicky Creations. The yarn is Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Mandala. The pattern is a fun and quick knit. 

MK out. 

Book Chat - 3/23/2023

I’ve only read one book since we’ve been home from NZ. It took a while to read this book. It’s a little longer than most of the books I read, but that’s not the main reason. Since we’ve been home, I’ve had projects that needed reorientation before I could proceed. There has also been the new series on Prime - the one adapted from the book Daisy Jones & The Six. Oh-em-gee! It’s really good! 

Great Circle by Maggie Shipman

The story features two timelines - the life of a female pilot and the making of a film about her life story. I loved it!

Til next time.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 3/20/2023

I have two films about which I’d like to comment.

Lena Olin, Gabriel Byrne and Claire Danes star in Polish Wedding. It’s an old one, from 1993, but I had wanted to see it for a while. It’s a bit of a madcap comedy about a Polish American family living in Detroit. It was alright.

The Swimmers is about two Syrian sisters who were being trained to swim for the Olympics, but were forced to leave their country because of the civil war. It is based on a true story and it depicts the struggles they faced on their quest to reach Germany. The acting was phenomenal. I loved it!

And, that’s it.

MK out.

Start Something Sunday - 3/19/2023

Since I finished something the other day, I’m celebrating by starting something new today!

Can you guess what it will be?

MK out.

FO Friday - 3/17/2023

Happy St. Paddy’s to the stalwart three who actually read this blog!

I have an FO today, but it needs a bath and a block. Here’s a sneak peak:

You will get to see it next week after I’ve taken glamour shots.

Here’s a few snaps taken in one of my favorite cities, for distraction and entertainment purposes. #iykyk

I may have purchased some fabric there that may be turned into something that y’all may see on this blog someday.

Have a great weekend!

MK out.

The Oscars 2023

The Oscars show us already started and I am pretty ambivalent about the whole thing. I’m taping the show to start watching after I publish this post. I’m in a mood.

But first, movies…

Cate Blanchett stars in Tár, in which she plays a world renowned conductor who is preparing for a live recording of her conducting an important classical work. She’s a powerful woman who is used to getting her way and Blanchett played the role quite well. It was good.

Women Talking is adapted from a novel by the same name that is inspired by true events. Women in an isolated religious colony ere waking up and realizing they had been drugged and raped. These women could not read or write, but got together and talked out what they should do. It was one of the best movies I’ve seen in the field of Oscar nominations. I really liked it.

Andrea Riseborough stars in To Leslie, about a single mother who won the lottery in a small Texas town and proceeded to drink the proceeds away. Six years later, still struggling, she’s out of options. It was really, really good.

In Aftersun, a girl remembers the last vacation she and her father took when she was 11. She attempts to understand her father then, from the lens of the adult she is now. It was good.

I did not watch Avatar: The Way of Water or  Black Panther: Wakanda Forever because I ran out of time. Anyway, I seriously doubt they should have been nominated for Best Picture.

I have these thoughts:

Best Actress - Ana de Armas or Andrea Riseborough

Best Supporting Actress - Jamie Lee Curtis

Best Actor - Brendan Fraser or Colin Farrell

Best Supporting Actor - Brendan Gleason

Best Picture - Women Talking

Now, to dinner and the show.

MK out.

FO Friday - 3/10/2023

 And here it is! May I present the scarf I made out of the souvenir yarn I bought in New Zealand:

The yarn is Performa RIMU DK by Zealana. It’s made in New Zealand and is a lovely blend of merino and possum. Yes, possum. 

The model in the yarn shop was made using a 3x3 rib. I liked the way it looked; so, I made mine like it.

I like the way it turned out.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 3/6/2023

And we’re back! It’s time to get serious about watching those Oscar nominated shows.

Although not nominated for an Oscar, I watched Operation Mincemeat with Colin Firth and Penelope Wilton (one of my favorites) star in it. A top-top-secret spy group is trying to work a bait-and-switch on Hitler. It was good.

There have been some very different movies this year. One of them is Triangle of Sadness. The film examines class structure, and how money isn’t the only means to power. It’s supposed to be a comedy, but while there’s a couple of funny things (and I’m not counting the seasickness and gastrointestinal distress in one scene - because that’s not funny, it’s gross), the funny isn’t clever. It was alright.

Streamers:

Morning Show Season 2 - Apple+

MK out.

Start Something Sunday - 3/5/2023

I finished my scarf using the souvenir yarn I bought in New Zealand! I’ll be showing it off this week. I gave it a bath and it’s drying right now.

Even though I have 3 things OTN right now, I started another project today. I was going to use this yarn (plus four others) in a different project, but I decided they weren’t playing as well together as I wished they would - and I was trying to force it.

It’s going to be a shawl. I think it might go in the gifts box. We shall see.

MK out.

Book Chat - 3/2/2023

We are back! I have a mountain of reentry tasks, but I’m still going to read. Here’s a couple of books I finished on the trip.

This Magnificent Dappled Sea by David Biro 

A boy in Italy needs a bone marrow transplant. His match is a rabbi from New York City. It was a heartwarming story. 

Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand

I think this book is one of her best. The story centers around the tragic death of one of the island’s year round residents and how her family and friends cope afterwards. Lots of juicy tidbits and secrets are revealed. I loved it.

MK out.