Staying Home, Week 44

I've got a "counter" on my phone that has been counting the days since we first entered any kind of lockdown for Covid.  Today is day 310.  We have had many varieties of lockdown...

-Stay in if you can, kids doing home learning, working from home

-Small gatherings permitted inside, with distancing

-Only outdoor gatherings allowed, with masks

-Kids back to school, with masks

-Kids grade 7 & up stay home & do Zoom classes

-No indoor or outdoor gatherings

Now we are in the weirdest one for me.  The kids are back at school, but no indoor or outdoor gatherings have been permitted for the past week.  So I have lots of time to myself, which is really quite nice after 5 weeks of the kids being home from school, but I'm not supposed to go anywhere.  I've been shopping about once a week, which is my only outing.  Wearing a mask is almost second nature now, but with the weather being cold I've been wearing a toque when I go to town, so all that shows is my eyes.  I call it my "incognito" look.

Thankfully, we are still encouraged to go outside & exercise, and I've got a local friend who I've been going Cross-Country Skiing with.  We have lots of trails just past our backyard that go through the campground, so it's been fun being able to ski so close to home. Chancery comes with us sometimes, & she really enjoys it too.  I declined an invitation to go xc skiing this weekend, & Chancery was quite upset that she didn't get to go, thankfully we were asked again for Sunday afternoon, so it wasn't a total bust!

I've watched lots TV, read quite a few books, sent out Christmas cards, drank gallons of coffee, moved to a new house, unpacked (still haven't hung our pictures yet!)...  It hasn't been all bad, but I'm eager to see people again! And DO things together!

Summer TV Drought

Summer is both a good time & bad time for TV shows for me.  It's good because there are less shows I like during the summer, so I can get caught up on the shows I have fallen behind on, but it's also bad because sometimes in the evenings I feel like there is nothing good to watch at all!  After I go on holidays I always have a look through my SideReel tracker & decide what shows I don't think are worth trying to get caught up on, & I pare down what I watch.  When it seems like there's just nothing good to watch, I'll start a shows that didn't really interest me initially, but I have heard a lot about, which is how I came to watch 13 Reasons Why.

What I had heard about it before watching was that it was dark, & it was about a girl who committed suicide.  That's all I knew.  Now, after watching all of season 1, I have to say it's a really well written show that is a pretty accurate portrayal of high school.  Not every high school has all the same dynamics, but there are a lot of things going on in the students' lives that they just don't feel they can talk about with any of the adults in their lives, or even some of their peers.  Some of the issues they face could have been avoided had they just told an adult, or talked to their friends about them, but instead they all felt like they were alone, & because of that, they had to face many of their problems alone.  Also, you see the kids refusing to acknowledge things they may have done, & repeatedly make the situation worse by trying to cover it up, or bully others into denying it as well.

Would I recommend it?  Yes.  Now there is swearing, & there are adult themes, & the last episode is a bit graphic, but I'd still recommend it.  It's not fluffy, mindless TV.  Watch it more like a documentary.
Now, for who I'd recommend it to:

-If you know your children have watched this show, you should also watch it.
-Watch it if you work with kids.
-If you have kids who are heading off to University or College, watch this show with them.  Even if they seem well adjusted, a lot of things go on at college/university that they have not encountered before, & them knowing you are aware of what is going on with their peers can open up some amazing dialog.

Don't pretend it's not happening.  It's way more prevalent than you can imagine.  Watch it, & talk about it with your kids.

As We Wait For Gilmore Girls....

In a few short days the eagerly anticipated Gilmore Girls returns to our screens for four 90 minute  episodes.  But as I look forward to these new installments, I also know that it will be over too soon.  I have been waiting for Chancery to be old enough to watch Gilmore Girls with me, so I did not re-watch all the old seasons in preparation for the re-boot, but I have been thinking of all the other shows which have tided me over in the last several years & have some connection to Gilmore Girls.

   If you have not allowed yourself the pleasure of the fast-speaking, coffee drinking Gilmore Girls, I advise you to start there.  It's where it all began after all.

Now, I have not actually watched Parenthood (I don't know what was going on in my life at the time, but I didn't really hear much about it when it was on) but I have heard all kinds of good things about it in the last year & I intend to go back & watch it.  One of the main characters is Lauren Graham (Lorelai Gilmore on Gilmore Girls).

Hart of Dixie is the story of a female doctor from New York city who is bequeathed a small town practice, or half of it anyway.  The show deals with her adjustment to small town life & the quirky characters who are her new neighbours.  Hart of Dixie uses the same sets at Gilmore Girls.

Bunheads is a story about a Vegas showgirl played by Sutton Foster, who moves to a small coastal town, & begins teaching ballet.  It's written by Amy Sherman-Palladino, who also wrote the first 6 seasons of Gilmore Girls, & the upcoming Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.  Many of the actors from Gilmore Girls also appear in Bunheads, such as Liza Weil (Paris Geller), Kelly Bishop (Emily Gilmore), & Sean Gunn (Kirk).

Younger also stars Sutton Foster as a recent divorcee who is on the hunt for a job.  When she discovers that she keeps getting turned down for being too old (over 40), her friend encourages her to pretend to be in her 20's.  She is now trying to maintain her younger identity & keep up to speed on all the technology, fashion & slang she should know!

I've heard that This Is Us is the new Parenthood.  If you liked Parenthood, you will probably like This Is Us.  It has a great cast including Milo Ventimiglia (Jess from Gilmore Girls).  It follows the lives of triplets (one who's adopted), who are trying to figure out adult life, & also flashes to their growing up years, giving us some perspective on what they are struggling with.

And we're back around to Gilmore Girls!  There has been some discussion on whether the show will return for more after these 4, or if it will really be over.  I'm excited to see what the people of Stars Hollow have been up to over the past 9 years, but I won't get my hopes up for more episodes.  After those are over, I have lots of other shows to get caught up on!

So Broken

So this video is a few weeks old, but it has been my favourite routine on this year’s SYTYCD.  Sonja Tayeh works her magic again!

 

St Paddy’s Day

Thought this was a good one for today!

Happy St Patrick’s Day!

He Knows Me Well!

PChad just walked into the room a few minutes ago & asked, “What are you watching?”

 

Me:  “The U.K. Christmas special.”

 

PChad:  “Is that Robbie Williams singing?”

 

Me: “No, it’s Gary Barlow.”

 

PChad: “They sound the same.”

 

Me: “Well, they were both in ‘Take That’.”

 

PChad: “He sounds a lot like Robbie Williams.”

 

Me: “Robbie already performed.”

 

PChad: “I thought so!”

Impersonations

Celebrities impersonating celebrities can be very entertaining, especially when Ellen is involved!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!

Stealing the Show

The kid in this commercial just couldn’t keep it together…  It’s pretty funny!

 

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

If This Was Real…

I might be able to tolerate Dora!

 

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

Weird Weather

I rarely watch the news, but if this kind of thing happened more often, I just might!

 

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

Mind = Blown

After dinner the other night, the kids were preparing to watch some TV.  Chancery was helping PChad with the popcorn, & Asher went into the TV room.  He came back out holding my large bag of Hot Tamales & announced, “I found candy!  I found a big bag of candy!”

 

PChad: “Those are Mummy’s.”

 

Me: “Oops, I guess I forgot to put them away the other day, but you can put them in the candy drawer for me.”

 

Asher went back into the TV room…

 

He came to the doorway, his eyes were opened wide with wonderment…

 

Asher: “And a PLATE!  …WAS SOMEONE EATING IN HERE??  Did someone eat a SANDWICH in here?”

 

I guess we’ve got him so well trained, that it boggles his mind that someone would dare to eat in the TV room!

Five By

I always enjoy it when famous people are on Sesame Street.  This is a guest appearance from the band “Train”!

 

 

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!

Too Awesome For Words

I loved this routine from the finale of SYTYCD…  Animation at its best!

 

 

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

Travel Weary?

We were driving back from bringing Asher to school this morning, when Chancery informed me…

 

Chancery: “We flied in an airplane once.”

 

Me: “Where did we go?”

 

Chancery: “To Grandma Toots’ house…  No!  To Grandma V’s house!”

 

Me: “Yes, we flew to Grandma V’s house, then she drove us to Grandma Toots’ house, then we flew back home from there.”

 

Chancery: “Yes, & I watched TV on the airplane to refresh myself, because it was such a long ride on the airplane.  And I really like to watch TV!”

 

Me: “What did we do when we were at Grandma’s house?”

 

Chancery: “We had a bath, and I liked it!  And we ate there… and that’s so funny that I can’t even laugh!”

Childhood Memories…

…shared across the pond.

 

And if you don’t know who Graham Norton, or Gary Barlow are, time to do some research, folks!

 

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

The Best Part

…of the Superbowl is the commercials.  I’m not sure why, but a lot of them seem to be online.  It’s good for me, that way I don’t have to sit through hours of football to see them!

Here are a few of my favourites…

 

 

 

Doritos

Doritos has a contest every year for picking the best commercial to air during the Superbowl.  I thought this one was awesome.

 

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Ever Had A Bad Dream?

Pchad’s on holidays for a few weeks, so we’ve been busy going here & there, doing fun summery stuff.  I’ll catch you up on our activities once we’re back to normal around here…

 

Here’s an amazing dance to tide you over!

 

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

Piñatas

Dairy Queen has always had good ads.  I think this one is particularly good.  It brings back the 80’s, doesn’t it?

Makes you start to wonder, what else could you fill a piñata with?

 

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

Turn Around…

This is a routine performed by Katie & Matt, 2 of the final 4 dancers on SYTYCD UK.  I just thought it was an amazing routine & they performed it so well.

Jump ahead to 1:55 to skip all the practice shots & view the actual routine…