Kitty Redstone

I'm grateful for nature. Hiking and gardening are twin passions, and being able to stand in the trees, look up at the sky and feel the wind on my skin will always feel amazing. Every single time that little breeze is like being touched by God. A few years ago I was very sick and am lucky to be here. Today's spectacular weather was a reminder that for all of the small annoyances and stress and worries, life is good.

You gotta do what you gotta do. My husband likes their hash browns and frozen meals for work lunches every once in awhile. Here we are fortunate to have a large, family-owned chain of grocery stores that has prices that are the same or better than Walmart. I shop at that store and Aldi, Trader Joes and a locally-owned pet food store, and again feel fortunate to have these options. There are towns within an hour from us in all directions that only have a Walmart or Dollar General to choose from. I do have to shop at Walmart for hairspray,* as they are the only store that seems to carry it, and will pick up shampoo, cat litter, deodorant, etc., if already there. But if Walgreens or CVS or Target carried this hairspray, or if Amazon did at a reasonable price, I'd buy it there just to avoid the sensory overload of Walmart. *For some reason Aussie switched their formula to one that is absolute crap, and I had to switch brands. Thank the hairspray gods for IT Mega Freeze. I have long, curly hair and regular hairspray does nothing to keep it in line.

This is so damn funny! Though TBH originally I imagined culottes (which my mother wore in the early 80s, to my embarrassment) instead of skorts, and realized that not even Taylor Swift could make culottes trend. Even though I'm not watching I feel bad for Summer. Phyllis is a vile, horrible person for doing this to her children and the writers are awful for presenting this thing as a character to root for. I just don't get it.

Lilacs bloom on old wood so if you cut everything way back this year you may not have blooms next year. (I'm not sure how quickly lilacs set new buds after blooming.) We have a very old lilac that was straggly and struggling and did as @peacheslatour said - cut a third of the old growth back to the ground one year and the rest of the old limbs the following year. There were still thinner limbs/trunks/whatever that weren't cut back, so it continued to bloom in the years following both prune jobs. It still isn't as lush as we'd hoped, though. There is a maple tree nearby as well as a hedge of arbs, so it probably needs even more irrigation than it's been getting. Good luck with your lilac. They are such pretty shrubs.

@roseha That is very weird. PlutoTV, a free streaming service, also shows Perry Mason. I'm not sure if you can record it but they seem to show the episodes in order. It brings up a pet peeve, though: It really is maddening. I often have PlutoTV on in the background for old shows, and sometimes they will show part 1 of an episode but not part 2, or part 2 but not part 1. It's probably some AI that's running the schedule or something because why would an human do this?

Absolutely brilliant as always @NinjaPenguins! It's impossible to pick my favorite part, but this: I can totally picture in my head. If TSJ doesn't dress up as Dionysus for the Y&R Halloween party this year, then there is something wrong with the universe. Thank you so much for the laughs. I really needed it tonight.

This is good to hear. I also couldn't stand her as Abigail on DOOL (but didn't care for the recast Abby, either) so if she makes a decent Kristina that means there's one less character on this show to dislike, and that's a win!

No, no not at all! I'm so glad you came over @peacheslatour! Apparently Diane faked her death for some stupid reason and came back into Jack and Kyle's lives through Jack's granddaughter, who is sweet but so bland that I can't even remember her name. It took some time but eventually her and Jack got together, which drove Phyllis, Ashley and Nikki into an alliance which blew up in their faces. Phyllis faked her own death, framed Diane for it, and subsequently killed a man that Diane had screwed over during her dead days. It's a very aggravating story.

You should come back! There's a few of us there who aren't watching. I like to cheer on the lovely people who have more fortitude than I do, lol, and who bless us with their hilarious analyses and recaps.

Same. I go back and forth on watching, depending on time and tolerance level for stupid storytelling, but still read for the brilliant commentators there.

Same here! It was so great on a cold day. White rice with raisins, butter, sugar and a splash of milk was another favorite. A box of instant rice and golden raisins are going on the shopping list right now. Peaches, didn't you used to watch Y&R and post in that forum?

I so miss drive-ins. As a kid there were three, multi-screen drive-ins within five miles of our home. Today the closest one to me is fifty miles away on a two-lane highway known for being dangerous. My husband is tired of hearing me say that this or that dead retail space would make a great drive-in, lol. Apparently land can sit vacant here for years with crumbling buildings and overgrown parking lots and weathered For Lease signs, but god forbid an an acre of wooded space stays natural. That must be ripped out and all the creatures displaced so that McMansions can be built instead. That's my pet peeve - new home builders and commercial land owners and the councils who abet them.

A build-up to nothing is this show's motto!

Yes, this is exactly why I haven't been watching. I feel bad for missing out on all the other characters who aren't Carly or one of her disciples, but FFing through her/their scenes is more effort than I want to give this fucking show.

I haven't watched this episode, but it pains me that I may actually agree with anything that Billy says. However, pineapple on pizza is delicious. It's one of my saved favorites at the local pizza place.

I haven't watched this week because of the Carlys. It wasn't even worth the effort to FF through all the bullshit. Did catch Trina jumping into Spencer's arms and Laura's joy at Spencer being alive on YT and loved it. Why this show focuses on assholes like Carly, Michael, Willow, Drew and Joss who never face the consequences of their actions is frustrating, rage inducing, boring, and so on.

I'm shocked and so sorry to hear about the passing of Jackie Zeman. I'm sorry about your losses as well @Melgaypet and @WhitneyWhit. My dad passed away over 10 years ago and I still miss him. Also, I think he secretly liked watching GH with us kids. My favorite story with Bobbie wasn't as serious as BJ's heart or Liz's rape, but it's one I loved. I can't remember if it was before or after the original Ice Princess story, but Steve Hardy was the Chief of Staff. Bobbie and the other nurses organized and fought to be able to wear jumpsuit uniforms instead of the traditional, ugly dress. Does anyone else remember that? I just loved it as a source of empowerment through fashion and a victory for worker autonomy, even at a very young age. I whooped with joy when Dr. Steve gave in. Damn. RIP Jackie Z.

Not @shapeshifter but also an artist. Drawing and painting does take a lot of practice! For me, it was/is much easier to draw from an image than an object. The flatness makes it easier to capture dimension and perspective. Drawing and painting on a flat or slightly tilted surface is also much easier than working on an easel. Hopefully this helps. Give yourself time and grace, @ABay.

Late to the conversation, but I'm a vegetarian (not vegan) and have been for years. I'll never eat meat again but do eat eggs from free range chickens, a bit of regular cheese, and skim milk in my coffee. I dabble in keto and some vegan food. I stay away from grains because of the carbs but also because they (especially quinoa and barley) make my stomach swell up like a balloon. Sometimes kale will do it, too, so it's not something I eat a lot of anymore. Black bean burgers are an absolute no way, no how. I eat a lot of bananas but only eat grapes in moderation. Listen to what your body is telling you about what you're eating and when. I don't think it means you need to eat meat (but then I'm biased) but that you need to make some tweaks to your diet. Yes, you can get any Wendy's salad without meat. Wendy's even has a veggie sandwich for around $1 (it's the bun, tomato, onions, lettuce, cheese, pickles, ketchup and mustard). Rally's, Jack in the Box and McDonald's will also make their cheeseburgers without the burger. Burger King has the Impossible Whopper. And Taco Bell will make anything on their menu without meat. While I eat healthy 90% of the time, I know my fast food, heh.

Same. Her smug will be hard to take no matter who she plays, but as the daughter of Laura it would have been unbearable. I'm still upset that Lexi was let go regardless of whether or not it was mutual. She's been with the show for a long time. Also, the women who play Sam, Kristina and Molly look like they could be sisters. KM looks nothing like any of them, or Alexis or Sonny. KM's fan base will forever be a mystery to me, as it is with Carly, Michael, Joss, Sonny (pre-Nina), Jason, etc. She's one note, and not very good at that note either.

I also loved Cliff and Nina and Greg and Jenny, particularly the latter! That is so true about Summer. If show was smart it would delve into how messed up she is over being raised by a smothering narcissist and an ape. Contrasting her with her brother would be perfect. But given how much the writers (or the single writer?) loves Phyllis and won't hold her accountable for anything, that story isn't likely.

Thanks to y'all I felt safe to watch today. I've been reading your wonderful, funny and brilliant comments the last few weeks but have missed playing with you guys! MG/Daniel was excellent. I so hope he does the right thing and heads straight to the police about his horrible mother. I also thought AL/Summer was pretty good at playing someone who feels torn by guilt (for telling mommy dearest that she was behaving like a psychopath prior to mommy faking her death), fear (over psycho mom going to jail for staging her own death and then killing Stark) and shame (over letting Diane rot in jail for something she didn't do and lying to her husband about it). I vastly prefer AL to what's-her-name with the duck lips so perhaps I'm giving her most credit than she deserves. But overall I think she's believable as the easily manipulated, going off the rails daughter of a narcissist. <shrug> Also, regarding Nate, he deserved more than a splash of water to the face. However, I did like like how he read straight through Victoria's rationalizations. If he accepted what she was saying, then he was nothing more than a cruel coward. The truth hurts, Side Part. I agree with both the praise and criticisms of Peter Bergman. He will always have a place in my heart, though, because I loved him as Cliff from AMC a million years ago.

I wish Lexi the best and hope it was her decision. However, I equally wish GH had cast just about anyone other than Kate Mansi.

Well that's terrible news. I like Lexi and was hoping she'd get a story with her kids-at-risk charity. But I have no interest in any Kristina story with Kate Mansi. If you all thought LW played Carly as a smug asshole, just wait until you see KM at work. This really, really sucks.

After reading the comments here I may just skip watching today. I'm so tired of Carly, Michael, Willow and Joss.