krimimimi

Oh, Princess Lucky, I was right there with you. (Ok, I didn't actually like naggy teacher Tom, but I did like Spy!Tom2.0.) I do think part of the reason his scenes were so good is that he was free of Liz, and by contrast, her presence dragged down Red and the FBI's SLs. But I, too, sat there thinking it would be nice to see him freed of her permanently in his own show. Unfortunately, I just can't see this thing they've come up with doing it for me at all. First, in the blessed absence of the Lizbatross, I've really enjoyed Tom as the Agent Keene 2.0. I even like his interactions with Aram. (It's one of the problems the techies/support staff have in shows like this, that they are too isolated and don't have enough character interactions, instead just mostly info dumps. That leaves them underdeveloped, which is a pity as I like Aram.) So I'll miss Tom when he leaves. Additionally, he brings some humor and actual kick assishness (it's a word if I say so?), which the show can use. Second, apparently some idiot has decided the show Tom needs to have is a crappy variant on Leverage. Except (unlike Leverage) the characters (other than Tom) should be completely loathsome and impossible to root for. Further, and also unlike Leverage, apparently the team pulling off the good ol' Mission Impossible schtick should be doing so for Evil!Corp as opposed to the little guy. Yeah, that sounds appealing. (Not in the least.) I currently hate Scotty (and why did she have to be such a Red rip off?), Solomon and Rowan, and I'm not fond of the computer guy either, so it seems like the spin off would be pretty hard for me to watch. My only hope is that "redemption" means they're about to do a 180*, but then why bother setting up such a repulsive group to begin with? That's a deliberate choice. They had a largely blank canvas - these characters could have been anybody they wanted (except Tom, I guess). Honestly, I wish they'd keep Liz dead, Tom on Blacklist, and just wind Spader up and let him run. Run, Red, run. That could make for some prolonged enjoyable viewing. (imho, ymmv)

Add me to those that liked the MI6 guy ok, and won't mind if he returns. Hated the female FBI lady, although it's partially the actress. Reslly disliked the "sexy" (huh? what? make it stop...) interrogation. Don't need to see her ever again, unless it turns out *she's* actually the bad guy and Kort's back to grey (not black) hat. Don't see it happening though. Really liked Coast Guard lady (Borin?) back in the day. *That's* how to introduce a strong female character. Don't understand why they have such problems with that. (*cough* little bitty baby Abby *cough* or even Bishop) If they need a strong lady, (what am I saying? yes, yes, they do) they should figure out ways to have Sec Nav pop up more often. She had class. Or mend fences with the actress and bring back Borin. She was energetic and competent and not weirdly inappropriate or developmentally stunted. Wish they wouldn't burn Kort as a character. Hope they aren't burning Fornell, too. *sniff* While I understand the circumstances might warrant some OTT behavior from Emily, and I liked that it was used to remind Gibbs/us of her mom, this was the first time the actress didn't really sell me on it. I am not usually a fan of the kids of characters popping up in their stories, but Emily has managed to not annoy me in the past (which is basically what passes for high praise from me for family characters). Of course the writing is the biggest reason, but the actress has done well with it in the past. Didn't feel that was the case this week, although I, too, liked the delivery of "pedi-threat." And finally: far too little Tony. I certainly don't want a clip show send off, or the equivalent of that god awful over done slog of a SL that ruined Ziva for me (ymmv), but I found these eps just a confusing (possibly because also: kinda boring, and my attention drifted) bunch of names and narration, and way too much time spent on any- and everyone else. I'll miss MW and Tony when he's gone, and would have appreciated more of him as long as he's (theoretically) still here.

That stuff is the only reason I was able to sew the last set of curtains reasonably "accurately." Thanks for the various suggestions, guys. We bought some curtains (that I don't actually particularly like, but it turns out I like shopping even less, which is pretty sad), and now I need to figure out how high to mount the new curtain rods before I can sew them. Oddly, I find myself unmotivated to make that decision, as it will be followed by the dreaded sewing orgy and ~meh~ curtainage. *sigh* Another detail I don't like about the curtains is they have a tunnel seam, and until now, I have used the curtain rods to hang seasonal decor. We haven't got a lot of horizontal space to decorate, and even if we did, it's just hard to dust when decorated. Hanging decorations was a nice and easy solution that will no longer be possible, and I'm bummed. (Not bummed enough to completely transform the curtains by redoing the tops, mind, but still...) I hate change. *grump* @Kate the Great - that paper is amazing! The drawer lining is a good idea (although it will probably quickly be so obscured by stuff as to be moot), as is framing it. If you aren't fond of the background color, you could consider cutting out the design and pasting it onto a background better suited to your decor (and then framing it...). I could picture the green? bit (trees and bee hive etc.) as a nice mat for a family picture.

I think you're right, they've really gone out of their way to show that *everyone* is flawed. Alice, btw, repeatedly put other people at risk in her quest to find/contact her brother the first few episodes. That resulted in the death of at least one prof, the maiming of the perfectly lovely dean, and the near drowning of a couple of psychics. Could easily have been worse if others hadn't intervened. And when she and the others were being interrogated as to who was responsible, she and Q weren't willing to cough to their part in the situations (although I view her as primarily responsible) even at the risk of getting Kady and Penny expelled.Bizarrely, Penny seemed to come out of that looking worse than either Alice or Q because he "ratted" Q out. I thought Alice was a complete toad, and she's had to work hard all season to regain some ground with me. I think it's kind of funny that Julia gets way more flak for having done less damage. (Otoh, whiny addict definitely made for annoying viewing.) Even Penny seems to be seen as pretty rotten (bookgate, anyone?) compared to Alice, and I can't recall him getting anyone killed. In fact he's risked his own well-being a couple of times for others (the dream asylum, Q's knife attack, the female traveler in the dungeon). Particularly nice is that all of those examples were for people he either didn't know or like, because it's easier to risk something for someone you care about. And that's something I like about this show. They have all been jerks and heroes by turn. It's a nice change. There was a lot of discussion early in the season about whether Q *or* Julia were in the wrong in some of their interactions, and I thought at the time they *both* were. That actually paid off here (somewhat surprisingly), in as much as it's canon that they both feel they were sometimes in the wrong and sometimes in the right. They've apologized and moved on, and I *really* like that. I'm used to shows framing a lot of the heroes as always in the right, so this is refreshing, but there is a danger of viewers accepting statements made or actions taken at face value, and forgetting there might be another side to what we're being told or shown. So I'm also inclined to believe that this is another bit of misdirection, where we're supposed to think Julia's screwed everyone over, but is actually trying to save even more people. (Also there's no way she's remotely even keeled after the recent and brutal unblocking of that slaughter and rape.) stillshimpy's idea with time manipulation seems highly likely. Ultimately, if Martin/the Beast had been killed at this point, it wouldn't help the freetraders at all, or leave the core group in a position to go up against Renard. (Not saying it's their job, just that they currently can't do it, and maybe Julia saw a different solution. Also doesn't make her not a bitch for completely leaving them out of the decision making process.) There was a suggestion upthread that she/they could have used the magic fountain/well/ whatever, but I thought that was revealed as the thing that burnt the humanity out of Martin and created the Beast in the first place. Julia and Martin already have too much overlap.

Well, the idea was a good one, DeLurker, but now that I've had a poke around, it seems sadly the whole thing would be so expensive that I guess I'll end up doing it myself and putting the money for alterations towards the curtains instead. I guess this has gone the way of the kids mowing yards. Nobody seems to just do odd jobs anymore. I can afford a professional seamstress about as much as I can a gardener... If I take my time, I shouldn't do too badly. (Think snail's pace, and that comes close.) Not looking forward to it at all. Also, we can't seem to find something we both like. The old curtains have obviously been discontinued, because that would have been too easy. It doesn't help that we're both change averse. And neither of us likes shopping. I'm getting used to the splotchy curtain look. Maybe it's not as bad as I originally thought...

Welp, *I* wouldn't leave my mobile lying around at my desk, and I know Mr. Mimi doesn't, because the damn things are expensive and have a way of magically sprouting legs and walking off. Uber-peeve - why on earth apple decided to make it possible to enable airplane mode from a locked screen??? (Being able to do so means that in seconds a thief can make it impossible for you to activate anti-theft software. Assuming, of course, you noticed it was gone that quickly (as you foolishly left it behind at your desk...), and were able to gain access to said software. You can deactivate that possibility by turning off all your locked screen options, but that means sacrificing quick access to the camera, timer, calculator and flashlight, all of which I probably use several times a week, if not daily. I think the timer was the only weird thing (unexpected) on that list, and I use it for the ridiculous amounts of tea I make. Ergo bibamus!)

Worse, her whole Reade's "never been happier" spiel, when we could hardly tell he was dating Wellerette at all... Made me seriously roll my eyes. She had no idea who he was dating, and it seemed to come out of nowhere. Agree completely about the Nerdmuffin, and that's despite surviving the horror that was ghost sex on Grey's, so I wasn't inclined to like it, but did. Fully half the people they've killed off here I like better than most of the regulars.

forumfish, the idea of gathering with those you hold dear to watch a show you all love over a bowl of soup sounds *wonderful.* I had a really weird experience the other night, while we were watching a documentary on an incredibly poor part of Wales (50% unemployment rate), triggered by their handling of food. At some point they showed a room full of people who had gathered together to support each other while losing weight (and staying on budget), and the lady holds up a can of spam, on sale this week, and is telling them they can make sandwiches out of it. And Mr. Mimi looks over and catches me tearing up. (I swear it was dusty.) For less money, you could make a tuna based spaghetti sauce that would have been healthier, lower calorie, and fed more people, except you might need to know how to cook a bit. That you might need someone to explain how to make a simple sandwich strikes me (as a foodie) as incredibly sad (not as in "pathetic," but genuinely *sad*), especially when it's *spam* on bread with onions. And at the same time, they were so marvelously supportive of each other that I was downright *envious*. I don't know when I've last had that combination of pity and envy simultaneously. (Had the aforementioned bargain tuna sauce just last week.)

Re snoring, we both sleep with ear plugs (the last dog snored), and have trained the dogs to wake us in the event of weirdness. (Mostly smoke alarm battery change beeping, butcha never know.) Mr. Mimi used to snore, but had a sinus operation that thankfully pretty much did away with that.

Thanks for asking :-). Short answer: yes.It *really* helped me to know that I wasn't being completely unreasonable, and I took the suggestions you guys made and had a friend bring fruit.* (And then he didn't respond in a timely fashion, so I panicked and sent Mr. Mimi to the store (again :-p) for grapes and a melon.) Our friend brought (actually yummy) strawberries, and we were swimming in fruit in addition to Mr. Mimi's favorite carrot cake. Served with a side of cream cheese frosting. Menu sorted. I very firmly believe in being a gracious(ish) hostess. I think I have the right to refuse people admittance to my home, but having decided to allow whomever to enter, I need to suck up whatever is roiling inside me and get my manners under control, because that's on me then. That extends to people Mr. Mimi invites as well, because it's his home, too, and I sure as hell expect him to treat my company with respect, so I damn well need to do the same. Zero wiggle room for me there. (ymmv) However, reinforced by the knowledge I wasn't being a total nutjob, I took the bull by the horns and actually *talked* to people in advance. (Novel concept.) I explained to Mr. Mimi that I was looking so forward to the visit with friends because I hadn't seen anybody that week. He didn't get that at all, responding basically with a "more the merrier?" which I think explains how Mrs. Officemate ended up feeling "welcome." But he did apologize for his contribution to the situation, which I'm taking as a win, and when I pointed out that all the people *I* had invited actually invite each other to their homes and to birthday celebrations and the like, whereas the Officemates do not (and vice versa, including our guest of honor), he actually finally got the distinction, so win again. Next, I staggered the times people were invited, and then *told* them I was doing so. I am fairly certain that if you arrive punctually and discover people have been at the cake for a while, you won't feel very welcome, and that violates my concept of hospitality, so that needed explicit explaining. Further, with the death of one of the guest's dad this week, I was reasonably certain there would be some weirdness in the conversation that (knowing the parties involved) wouldn't be explained, and didn't want Mr. and Mrs. Officemate wondering what the ominous pauses were. So I told them about the death, and that the gentleman in question would be arriving with our out of town friend an hour and a half earlier (and Mr. Strawberry a half an hour before the Officemates) and it gave us a chance to catch up, and conversation normalized by the time they got here. And I asked them not to mention it if he didn't, and it worked out fine, and didn't turn into a wake. I was right that seven people meant at least two conversations, and that I ended up speaking more to the Officemates than the others once they arrived, but Mr. Mimi had seen the "error" of his ways, and for once actually made a good host, and swapped seats with me at some point, so I could talk to the others. My assessment of the various relationships between the people was also correct, our guest of honor hadn't seen Mrs. Officemate in years, the others had never met her, and apparently even Mr. Officemate hadn't met the guy whose dad passed. All of which left me feeling vindicated and less "unreasonable." Oddly, that made it easier to take. It wasn't bombproof. I'm assuming that if you hear there's been a death in the family of a circle of friends, and you realize you don't even know the guy, you may ask yourself if you should have invited yourself in the first place. The answer is "probably not," and I can't change that fact. I *could have* not highlighted that aspect, never mentioned anything and had everyone arrive at the same time, but it would have been at the expense of myself and the friends I had originally invited and the quality of our conversation. As it was, I think it was a happy medium. The communication was honest, I wasn't an ass, and I made sure that they felt welcome (which they were) and not too weird once they were here, and that people weren't left uncomfortably guessing what those weird pauses and allusions were. And I think I got that nailed this time, so I was reasonably pleased. Everyone seemed to have a good time, and the Officemates even thanked me for "allowing them to invite themselves," so... ;-) * Thanks again for everyone's input. It really helped me to arrive at what I think was the best solution for me and *all* my guests.

@backformore (or anyone else with an opinion on this), I was looking at your chili recipe (and thanks for posting) and wondering about the ground meat & onions. I *always* cook the onions before adding the ground meat, because I think that helps give the meat more flavor (and also seems to make it easier for a lot of people to digest the onions, given the fodmap mentions, although I gather if you really have an acute problem, they're taboo anyway). So I'm genuinely curious: why would you cook the meat first (and without the onions)? Dinner: enchiladas with creamy jalapeño sauce and pinto beans. Yesterday, broiled fish with mustard seed breading and creamed spinach with gorgonzola sauce. (I love the way mustard seeds crunch when you bite on them, and I could happily swim in gorgonzola sauce. Portion control keeps that from negatively outweighing the benefits of the spinach. *sigh*)

Unfortunately, I kind of *need* Solomon to die, because I have had more than enough of him. I wanted him gone before the Alphas guy, which is saying something given he came in later. His treatment of Dembe alone "demands" it. Not looking forward to more of him in any form, except as a mutilated corpse. (Ok, that sounds harsh. Not directed at the actor, who probably is a charming person (based on nothing).) But the character also made less sense to me as a cabal member than CIA dude did. I agree Tom and Lizzie were getting old, mostly because Lizzie is such an un-self-aware idiot and detracts from pretty much all things/ characters/ storylines she touches. Expect her spawn to do much the same. By contrast, all loathing there is actually directly aimed at the actress. Her SLs & the writing aren't helping matters for me, but most people on this show do so much more with less. And the rest who are actually given stuff to do really do great things with it. (Red is nothing *but* cheese and clichés, yet Spader makes it an art form and absolute joy. And to this day I remain impressed that they were able to get me to enjoy Tom. He (both the character and actor, afaiac) really deserves a shot clear of all the Lizzie crap.) She really is a stand out here in the worst possible sense. As always imho, ymmv and probably does. There were brief moments where Ressler was less of a tool, and the show almost set him up as an interesting alternative to Tom. Wish they could go back to that characterization of him, but I suspect the ONS with Samar ruined all that for good. They really don't seem to have the best handle on his character either.

Wow, this last ep was really hard to watch. Just *way* too much blood and violence, and not enough of the stuff I actually enjoyed about the show. What are they doing? Also, sort of tired of the whole Trudy playing Hap dynamic. Had enough of her either way. Time to put your faithful pal Leonard first, Hapikins. Glad Switch is fine. but annoyed the other dogs are locked up waiting to get hurt by that nutball Soldier. Who thought this was a good storyline?

Well hush my puppies, I actually *liked* parts of this ep for the first time in, well, basically ever. At least I didn't *dislike* most of it, which is an improvement. (And no, I really don't know why I'm still watching beyond: there's not much else on.) This proves what I've always suspected, that Jane sucks so much less, or even not at all, as soon as she's away from Agent Neckbeard, who pretty much ruins all scenes for me always. And it's not that the writers can't do engaging. I instantly liked the mechanic gun runner. I know I'm in serious trouble with a show when the lead gets injured, and I'm *hoping* for their death. (That was the moment I finally quit Bones.) Either I'm an idiot (hush now) or a hopeless optimist, but I was genuinely hoping they were course correcting there. Would appreciate *all* Wellers off the screen ASAP, tyvm. Do not appreciate a single one of them. And I've clearly got even bigger problems with the show when I care more about the death of thumbnail characters (mechanic gun runner and the brain-washed soldier recently both immediately spring to mind, even LDP) than the lead. Hell, I was in denial about the mechanic's death, hoping it was a manipulation, until the first aid scene with Cade made that highly improbable. Would probably happily watch flashbacks of the mechanic, BLID/tree tat guy and Jane though. Zappata has never really been a character (good or otherwise), and I don't like what they're doing with Reade, so if they can work out a way to put Patterson in the flashback show, I'd probably be sorted.

Thanks, guys. I was wondering if I was being too unreasonable; you have reassured me I was not. backformore, I did actually have fits of giggles when Mr. Mimi first told me the wife would be coming, too, because I was trying really hard to picture how *that* conversation went, and completely failing. (I still can't picture it.) I assume that's because Mr. Mimi isn't accurately relating his part in this debacle. Somehow, this seems like a guy thing - both the inviting yourself in the first place and the not deflecting on Mr. Mimi's part, but that's probably unfair. Still, I just can't help thinking if women had been involved less tangentially in this exchange, it wouldn't have happened. (And I apologize, because I also know that's totally sexist.) I texted one of the guys to bring some fruit. Thanks also for that suggestion, it's absolutely perfect! Store bought baked goods sadly aren't much of an option, because *I'm* the one with the severe egg allergy. (Which I guess is why I don't just blow off their allergies. It has a way of making it seem the person with allergies is unwelcome (which, um...) if you do, that I just can't bring myself to do.) There's basically no way buying something won't end up "poisoning" me. And even if it's just on the table for the others, I'll end up spending the whole time making sure nobody cross-contaminates instead of relaxing. (I really really hate food allergies.) Not to make things too gloomy, but I realized that other than my husband and a doctor +assistant, I have only spoken to one other person face to face this week (a neighbor, for five minutes, whose mail I collected while her family was on spring break), which I think was part of why I was really looking forward to the time with my friends. And sadly one of them just lost his terminally ill parent this week, and I figured that, too, would require some TLC, and the kinds of conversations you just don't have in front of complete strangers. (Three of the rest of us have been through that recently enough that that's a really... fruitful topic. But also stuff that probably won't get discussed in a stranger's presence.) We phoned, of course, but this is the first time we'll have seen him since, because he doesn't live in town. Boy, I hope I stop being annoyed before they get here, or this is going to be really painful. Or develop a game face, whichever.

Having a bit of a wobble, decided to vent before I take it out on someone. (And this isn't even a "pet" peeve, because I didn't even know I had it. But I'm now well aware.) Apologies for the vitriol in advance. A good friend of mine took a limited run, couple of year job in a foreign country last year when the last kid finally left the house. She's back in the country for the first time since Christmas, and will be in town for less than 48 hours. Social person that she is, she's trying to make sure she puts some face time in with a whole bunch of people, and her schedule is mad. This time we could only squeeze a 4 hour window in there tomorrow, and we invited two other non-work friends of hers/ours (who also happen to pretty much be the "his" and "her" best friends of the Mimi household) to join us for cake and coffee. And I was really looking forward to it, a small gathering of good friends. Years ago, when his company was hiring, Mr. Mimi recommended her for a job there, which she got. (Then management changed and made everyone miserable, so she cleverly moved on last year.) As a result, she knows plenty of people at his office, and is visiting them this afternoon. While Mr. Mimi was finalizing plans (either with her or me) on the phone, the colleague who sits across from him (who doesn't work Fridays) overheard, and decided to invite himself over to our place on Saturday. It's a colleague, whatcha gonna do. Oh-kay... Well alright then. What difference does one more person make? Mr. Mimi neglects to remember that Officemate has a couple of food allergies, and I start looking for different recipes. *sigh* Yesterday, Officemate *tells* Mr. Mimi he'll be bringing his wife. (Apparently she didn't like the idea of being left out.) Mr. Mimi just passes that along to me, too, again spacing that Mrs. Officemate has a completely different set of food allergies. Additionally, this brings our number up to seven, and she knows half the people not at all, and the rest barely. Five people mean you can have one conversation. Seven people mean you have at least two going. And this is how it'll play out: I'll get stuck playing hostess and chatting with the person I neither know nor actively wanted present so they don't feel left out, and miss the conversations with my actual friends. This is the reason I stopped throwing birthday parties a couple of years ago, and started just inviting a few friends over for dinner, because I never get to talk to people I care about otherwise. Currently, I'm trying to find two cake recipes (because now I need an extra cake, too) with no eggs, dairy, gluten or nuts, despite not feeling the least bit experimental and cursing up a storm. (Spoilers: nothing in my usual repertoire meets those requirements simultaneously.) I feel grumpy, and miserable, and not the least bit the gracious hostess I normally manage to (sort of) be. Honestly, at this point, I just want to serve cardboard. And to top it off, I'm handicapped, cleaning is a massive PITA, and if it were just good friends here tomorrow, I wouldn't sweat it as much. But because it's someone from the office plus a near stranger... *sigh*

Mr. mimi went looking through the flyers from our local Costco/BJ's/Sam's equivalent, because he said Easter meant they'd have sales on lamb, and he was correct. Having spotted the affordable cuts, none of which I've ever cooked, he then went researching ways to grill it, and seems to have found a recipe that made him happy. Last thing I remember from last night was him reading that grill book and chirping about Uzbekistani marinades. Or maybe it was sauces. Never had anything like that, so looking forward to trying it. Plus him cooking. He does chunks of meat and the grill in our household, I take care of the rest of the food. I like not having to know everything.

Here's a link to the Wikipedia page. The company that makes them is AVM, and the thing is super amazing. I'm not usually an asshole, or at least I try not to be, but it tickles me greatly to think about those horrible cold callers dialing my number and wasting their time just listening to it ring while I am completely undisturbed. (And now I feel guilty for saying that, because they're just trying to make a living, too...)Our local telecom company put out a router that was essentially a hobbled fritz!box in a custom color, so we were able to get it (used) *very* cheaply and then flash it back to full functionality. *swoon* It was definitely worth doing a bit of research there. I always assumed "Do Not Call" lists were just a way to voluntarily put your name on a higher value call list that (at the least) some underpaid employee would sell for a profit, if not the company itself. (My inner cynic is thriving.)

/me makes mental note never to cross Hecate7... Yikes. But you're not wrong. ;-)

Ha! I got Mr. Mimi some for his birthday. Nice to hear I'm in good company. (I put together a gift basket (via an amazon marketplace spice shop) of stuff to make rubs with for his grilling obsession.) Also, some red Himalayan salt and super fancy sea salts. I'll be honest, though, I'm not sure I really can taste the differences. But they look snazzy.

We've got a fritz box that's hooked to our home phone system, and I can block any number that annoys me. We also can send all callers with a blocked ID directly to the spam voicemail box (we have different inboxes), and the very best, any blocked numbers that call the phone number we have listed (aka people we do not know personally)? Those folks just get a ringing phone sound, while ours doesn't ring at all. They can keep calling till they're blue in the face, and I have my peace and quiet. Love that box. Um... topic: yeah, those callers annoy no end, and I really hate the ones that keep calling and never leave a message.

Seriously??? Now *that* sounds sexy. And it will end up on my list of "love to haves" that I probably won't get anytime soon because I'm wasting money on curtains. *sigh* (Still wrestling with that. It's going to take some time.) No, we have a simple, only one button to push, idiot proof machine, but to be fair, it was incredibly cheap. (I've paid more for movie tickets. (Those, otoh, strike me as incredibly expensive.)) And I can still get it to make fancy stuff, so not bad at all, really. Speaking of, I know *why* I'm supposed to stir my risotto painstakingly on the stovetop, but like I said, nobody noticed the change. But realistically part of that will be the non-discerning chowhounds I'm feeding. Anybody with a more refined palate want to weigh in for good or ill?

Unfortunately, the standard store size is at least half a yard too long no matter where I hang them, which is way too much pooling, even for me. (Plus with the dog, that will end in tears. And fur. Probably plenty of both.) We're going to have a hard enough time finding something we both like as it is to be able to limit ourselves to a non-standard size (that I don't think exists anyway). So I'm going to have to shorten the damn things, which on the up side does leave me free to do whatever I like. Yay. :/ That freedom is proving sort of a mixed blessing. I am not a very good seamstress. If I go slowly enough, it will look okay, but this will probably end up being two weeks' worth of work. (Washing, pressing, measuring measuring measuring, cutting, folding, pinning, ironing, sewing at a snail's pace, pressing some more... I hate the cutting most of all, because it will show if light hits it, so I can't afford to botch it.) Or a lot of money to get it professionally done, which on top of unexpectedly buying new curtains and rods, is more than I want to spend. I just keep thinking about all those things on my mental list of "love to haves" that I could be buying instead. (But wasn't because I didn't even want to spend the money on them. *sigh*) Um, but the painting looks good, so... *repeat*

So DIY happened, and paint (somehow) magically got on the living room curtains. In the attempt to remove it, the curtains were torn (no clue how that happened, and I'm probably better off that way), so there is no way they are getting salvaged. *deep breaths* ommmmm (try very hard not to think about just having pressed them. took for freaking ever, too...) I'm trying to look at this as an opportunity to finally get rid of the super ugly curtain rods we have, because I wasn't about to replace them and mount new ones at a height dictated by the current curtains, peppering the wall with holes, only to move them again when we eventually replaced the curtains. And lo, eventually is now. So now that the curtains need to be swapped out, I may as well sort that, too. Anybody got any thoughts about what height to go for? The ceilings are normal height, roughly 8 foot 4. These are 8 full height windows and curtain panels, and I've heard suggestions ranging from right above the window to right below the ceiling to mounting them on the ceiling itself. (Not sure about that last one, because I like to let the curtains pool a little, and every once in a while somebody (maybe the dog) steps on them, and I'd be afraid a ceiling mount could get yanked out.) Poking aroung the web, it seems like anything goes. And no matter what you do, somebody's shaking their head disparagingly. So you apparently can get this neither wrong nor right, so I guess that means there's a certain degree of freedom involved. Still, it would be nice if it looked good. Random thoughts - I like to hang decorations from my curtain rods. Currently it's just a bit above the window, and I can reach the rods without a ladder. It doesn't have to stay that way, but it is kind of nice. Certainly makes decorating easier. (Swapping out snowflake decor for Easter/Spring stuff this week.) But the paint job came out well, so there's that.

Except that if Mary Drake and Jessica DiLaurentis are identical twins, if Mary's madness *were* heritable, then Kenneth's wife Jessica and children are also problematic. Making Charles/ Charlotte/ CeCe the cousin (who was adopted) still leaves her as Jason & Ali's genetic half sibling if the mothers are identical twins. But I guess there's always the explanation that a prejudice against mental illness could have overriden logic and driven his actions back when he institutionalized Charles/ Charlotte. And/Or he was playing favorites because of a (believed) genetic link between him and the other two, whom he thought were both his offspring, whereas Charles/ Charlotte (apparently) clearly wasn't.But I'm not sure why I'm supposed to care about this anymore, when it seems like everyone involved doesn't. Otoh, if this lays the groundwork for a legitimately BSC Ali next season, because it *was* genetic, then I'd be happy to see SP/Ali run with it. Not sure it would outweigh all the rest of the crap, but it could make for interesting viewing.