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Scatterbrained

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Everything posted by Scatterbrained

  1. I enjoyed the episode and the finished product, but I have a 1,000 square foot home (so slightly larger), and I feel that my home has a better layout. Skip this part if you don’t want to read about me! Mine is a 2 bed, 2 full bath house with a 1 car attached garage. My living room is approximately 16 X 17 ft. with a wood fireplace and my dining area (in the kitchen, but dining on one side, actual kitchen on the other) is approximately 11 X 10 ft. The dining area is open to the living room, but the kitchen area is walled off from the living room. The kitchen has a walk-in pantry (small, but nice) and a small built in desk with a cabinet above. I put tall, rolling pet food bins under the desk. One for pet food, and one for charcoal for the grill on the patio outside the dining area. The top of the desk houses the microwave and toaster oven, stacked. I won’t go into all the cabinetry, but there is a mix of sizes and types to be really great for storage. And there is quite a bit of counter space. However, my cabinets are thermofoil, my floors linoleum, and my countertops laminate. So, not “show worthy”. Back to the show comments: The show mentions that all the homes in what I think of as that “country cul-de-sac” were rentals built by a former landowner. I’m curious if the parents who bought the land (from a former neighbor, it seems) have gifted all of it to “the kids”. My prediction is that THIS house will be a future rental (possibly using the show’s popularity and “tourism draw” for short term rentals (ex. Airbnb,VRBO). It might also become a long-term rental. I see it as a passive income earner. I suspect that “the kids” will live in this one for a while, then raze and rebuild another home in the country cul de sac that is slightly larger and better fits whatever their “new needs” become (a pretty predictable and relatable guess). They’ll probably make another show out of it (and I’ll be happy to watch it). This show was basically an ad for the services of their architects, the copper artisan mother, and the husband of the couple featured, who built their tiny home, as well as the plumber/laser artisan. I actually like that they feature the contributions of their fellow townsfolk and nearby artisans. I wonder if Ben and Erin are getting tired and either want to offload the show, or “share the load”. This episode also seemed like a bit of a soft audition for this married couple with the “cute, quirky wife” and “capable handy husband who knows how to build things”. I think we’ve all said, at one time or another, that some of the homes featured should just be torn down, and that it would be better and more cost effective to rebuild. It seems the audience has been heard. I don’t mind the pivot. A combination of saved homes, and razed/rebuilt lots would be watched by me. OK, this page keeps locking up and trying to kick me out. Clearly, I have written enough!
  2. Given Jeff’s intro speech (something like “at least one of you has no shot of winning ever) and what we’ve seen so far, it seems like this season wants to highlight “how people lose Survivor” and wants to focus on that, instead of “how people win survivor”.
  3. I just finished The Measure by Nikki Erlick. The plot: overnight, everyone in the world 22 yrs. old or older receives a mysterious box with a length of string. At first no one knows what it means, eventually it is understood that the string length measures the length of a person’s life. The book follows several characters, many whose lives intertwine. Each chapter follows one specific character. The storylines tell how this event changed everything from individuals’ dreams, goals, and inner thought processes, to world politics and social structures. I teared up in places. I recommend it.
  4. I felt that the kitchen was a one person kitchen because it was so small and the workspace was so confined. It might not matter if they cook on opposite schedules, and it might be helpful to someone who can’t take a lot of steps easily (Yulanda) but it would be a terrible kitchen to team cook in. The green was happy and lovely. It reminded me of jade glass antiques (but modern). I do think economics played a part. I noticed that there was only one window box outside instead of two in the proposal and the rest of the landscaping seemed less than their norm. Another consideration regarding the unchosen house might have been the worry that a basement might flood ($$$) and also that it might be too dark for a plant lover’s preferences.
  5. Antinisha just didn’t seem really happy to me. I don’t think she liked the blue living room. She did seem to like her room.
  6. I just finished One Summer in Savannah by Terah Shelton Harris. It’s a Together We Read book (national online book club) available on Libby from Feb. 21 - March 6 with no waitlists or holds. I’ve never checked out a Together We Read book before. The subject matter has always seemed too heavy or unrelatable to me. Lately, my reading life has been a series of DNFs. So, I figured I’d give the on a try. I really liked it. I will say that the dad always speaking in poetry was annoying to me in the early part of the book and I’ve always liked poetry. Most of the poets’ works quoted are very popular. Eventually, I began to appreciate how this character’s quirk helped contribute to the overall story structure. There are triggering topics that are featured, but nothing graphic, and handled in a way that didn’t feel too dark for me. This was a debut novel and I look forward to reading more by this author. She is very talented.
  7. How To Marry A Highlander by Katherine Ashe. This wasn’t listed as a novella, but I read it so quickly, that I suspect it is. Apparently, the characters 1st appear peripherally in another series, but I didn’t read those books. I think I tried but didn’t like them. Anyway, it is a historical romance that so poorly relates to the era that you might as well consider it an AU fantasy. The FMC and MMC make a bet that she will find husbands for each of his seven sisters and within each milestone of this quest is a physical favor that becomes subsequently more intimate. So their “courtship” proceeds along this path. It was ridiculous and yet charming. I loved the banter among the sisters. The bet took away the need to set a bunch of elaborate scenes, so it was “ quick and dirty”. I also loved how the townsfolk knew she was a tall tell teller, but appreciated her anyway. The Atlas of Us by Kristin Dwyer. This is a YA novel. I didn’t mind reading it. It was listed as a romance, but I’d say it’s more about the grief process with a little romance thrown in. It’s a bit angsty, but probably the right amount of angst for the target audience. I like how the characters in the novel seemed mostly ordinary. I enjoyed the non romantic relationships. I didn’t mind the romantic relationship, I just felt some of the other stuff was better. I liked how the mother and the main character struggled with their grief, but they got through it and had a nice relationship. The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren. Amazon has offered a bunch of short romantic stories by popular authors on their Prime reads (so “free”). This one is basically a “meet cute”. I liked both characters and enjoyed their banter via emails, and then personal contact. I enjoyed the story and have downloaded another one in this series.
  8. I liked the connection to the past, too. I also think the episode subtly emphasized that you don’t have to go away to a fancy place to be successful, and that there are a lot of fun times and great experiences to be had in a post high school education, with lifelong connections that can be made.
  9. I think that the new screens replacing the old windows should have been framed to mimic the patterns on the old windows, so the front facade would have a repetitive evenness.
  10. Not so much a “pet peeve” but a peeve and I want to talk about it. For several years, I’ve been shopping at a grocery near my kids schools, in the mornings, after drop off. At this time there is only one full serve line available and it has always been manned by the same lady. In the past, we have always been cordial and made pleasant small talk. In the early autumn of this school year, there was a difficult customer in front of me who wouldn’t let some issue go. It was an issue that the cashier couldn’t solve and she repeatedly stated this fact, but was nice about it to the customer, although as the exchange progressed, I could tell she was getting edgy. Then it was my turn. I had bought some gift cards in addition to groceries. In the past she would always scan the gift cards and then immediately hand them to me, so I put out my hand for them with this expectation. That day, she YELLED at me that she absolutely couldn’t hand over the cards until I paid for them. I felt her yelling was uncalled for, but figured her adrenaline was pumping due to the previous customer. So, I let it go and remained positive and pleasant to her. i figured it was “just a bad day” and that things would return to normal in the future. This has not been the case. She has been incredibly rude to me ever since. At first I thought maybe it was embarrassment over her previous behavior, but now it’s been too long. Anyway, today I bought wine with other groceries. The customer in front of me took a long time. He let her ring him up, and do all the bagging by herself, and they also conversed pleasantly at length. so, I got my store card, credit card, and driver’s license ready. And once my store card was scanned, I ran my credit card through the reader, and started bagging my own groceries to be helpful and efficient as a line had formed behind me while she was chatting with previous customer. This is all stuff I’ve done before and I’ve seen other customers do, so she shouldn’t have had any issues with it. While I’m bagging at the end, she tells me in a nasty tone of voice that she needs to see my ID for the wine. That is when I started to snap. It was still in my hand so I held it out to her but she wouldn’t reach out to take it from me, so I move to the side, and hand it to her there (gently and nicely). I moved back to bagging as I still had an item in my hand. Instead of handing me my ID back at the end where I am and where she’s putting the groceries, she places it on the side where I could very easily forget it and walk off without it. That’s when I completely snap. So, I stop what I am doing, put down what is in my hand and SNATCH my ID off the side in a way that connotes displeasure. GAH! After that, she was conciliatory, asking me how I wanted the rest of my things bagged, but she did disagree with me not wanting bags for jugs of liquids, stating they’d be easier to carry in a bags (not if they fall through the flimsy film!).
  11. In the previous episode we learn that Roman can’t whip out his male anatomy where it might be appropriate (men’s restroom) and can’t seem to keep it in reproductive working order with women who are attractive and willing. So, the pics are, oddly, a sign of trust, I think.
  12. THIS was the week for Jake’s vote heist plan!!!
  13. Didn’t read all the replies, but watching the progression of clothing and background colors go from lighter to darker and darker until the end. Logan is in his light clothing and sky blue room, and Kendall is in a black suit in a black room until the end when he enters the stage with a sky blue background! This show is a visual masterpiece! (It is really good in all the other ways, too!) I wish they’d give this kind of work to shows that appeal more to a female audience!
  14. I haven’t read all the replies, but my take on Kendall loosing interest in the actress occurred when she told him, “You talk about your dad a lot.” He took it as a criticism, which he can’t seem to handle. It might be that he realized, she might be impressed by his big gestures (flying her places, but not impressed with him). She might like his stuff, but she doesn’t really like him. So, his saying, “You say the word ‘awesome’ a lot” was him mirroring that interaction and devaluing her as much as she devalued him. He had to get his dig in, get the final word, and then he was done.
  15. We thought the blurry Oceans 11 (Survivor 6?) dream scene of Jake’s Big Plan was funny. He’s was gonna do a strong arm vote heist! He was gonna out alpha Austin! Alas, it was a Tale of Two Lawyers. It was the best of strategies, it was the worst of strategies….
  16. I’m beginning to think the blonde woman in the show’s opening is Gerri. Always sort of there, and around, observing, knowing.
  17. I just finished Wreck the Halls by Tessa Bailey. I zipped through t and thought it was sweet and funny. It’s like a beach read for the holidays. (Snowed in read? Fireside read?)
  18. I haven’t read anyone else’s reply yet. Survivor: The Quiet Quit Season! Roll eyes. UGH!
  19. I recently read Book Lovers by Emily Henry. I immediately recognized that the main character was based off of the spurned city girlfriend of the Hallmark/Lifetime small town romance movies. It was funny. The story then goes deeper (but not too deep) and fills out. It was interesting as I found it not entirely predictable. I have also read Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren. I expected the twist in this one to be different than what it was. I was able to breeze through the book, so I found it enjoyable in that way, but I find the obsessiveness of teenage love carried into adulthood a bit much. I also looked at (pictures only, I didn’t bother with the text) The Home Edit Stay Organized by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin. Sometimes, I just like to look at pretty pictures before falling asleep. If the pictures can be inspiring in some way, even better. I don’t recommend this book for its’ target audience. Pretty much ALL the pictures are of things organized in rainbow order. It looks like they went out and bought a bunch of stuff to “organize” in this manner vs. organizing what a person actually owns and uses in a useful way. In some pics there are shelves full of identical baskets, but it doesn’t show what is in the baskets, so it looks like they bought a bunch of baskets to put on a shelf and look neat, but, for all the reader knows, they are probably empty. And so on, and so forth.
  20. I just finished The Breakaway by Jennifer Weiner. I finished it, but I did not enjoy it. There were too many “issues” for my liking. Also, there was too much pointless description (technical bike stuff, barely there background people - I can’t really consider them characters, trail stuff). It all seemed like word count bumps.
  21. One Hit Wonders of Regency Romance Series Devil’s Bride by Stephanie Lauren’s (Cynster series)- This is the first book of the series and the only interesting one, IMO. The male love interest is arrogant, but charming. The female love interest is not your typical heroine. She has dreams and ambitions that don’t include getting married. They have an interesting “ruinous meet cute”. It seems rather plausible as far as these types of books go. Meeting the family and learning its’ history was interesting. The future mother-in-law who is welcoming and helpfully turns a blind eye to certain improprieties was amusing. The mystery was engaging and didn’t just feel like filler. The seduction scenes were steamy and made sense. There was interesting banter. Consent was very important to this seductive alpha-male main character. The characters and storylines in other books of the series are weak, and sometimes seem like a rip-off of other books that were popular when these were being written. Many story lines are highly improbable. Other male characters just seem dominatingly seductive and not so charming. The seduction scenes in these other books are very florid (lots of calling and answering of souls on a higher plane) and tend to have a weird staccato rhythm. Also, sometimes they don’t make sense, as in the characters are in one position, and next they are doing things not possible in that position. I’ve read the first book more than once, I’ve painfully gotten through or DNFed some the others. The Duke Who Loved Me by Jane Ashford (The Duke’s Estates) - one of the things that I enjoyed about this books is that the characters were a bit different than what you generally find in this genre. She is an independent female, but mainly because she has to be. She is mostly neglected by her dysfunctional family. He is a duke, but was the only son of a second son. He has been an orphan for quite some time. So, not raised in the lifestyle and lacking male role models. This family was also dysfunctional and the former duke left the estate in complete disarray. He (the main male character) is written as more of a”typical dude”. He doesn’t really drink, smoke, gamble, or womanize. He hangs out with his buddies, does sporty things, and is clueless about romance. The two main characters have known each other for quite some time, but are more like cordial, distant, acquaintances who sometimes feel sympathetic towards each other than true friends. The plot line involves the development of their relationship through their coming of age and increased interactions. The characters’ and relationship evolution was enjoyable to read. The seduction scenes are not particularly steamy or blatantly descriptive, but sweet. The rest of the series involves the HEA couple traveling around visiting all of the estate holdings that are in disarray while their friends and acquaintances near these other estates develop their own romantic relationships. I didn’t find any of the other characters and storylines as engaging. I will say the other books are worth a skim-through as the original couple in the first book continues to be featured and you can see how their relationship continues to grow. I need the phantom editor to come in and cut all the other characters and storylines out! Happy reading!
  22. I agree about Taylor Jenkins Reid. She’s awful. I listened to Daisy Jones and the Six during a long car ride. It was highly recommended and I saw that there was a cast doing the voices. I thought it was awful. Extremely repetitive on some points (missing the birth). And ridiculously unrealistic on others (hard drug rehab was a very short amount of time and then he was “all fixed”). I tried a few others. The writing seemed even worse when I had to read it. DNF! I just finished Trail of the Lost: The Relentless Search to Bring Home the Missing Hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail by Andrea Langford. It’s not the kind of book I normally read and I moved quickly through it. So, I feel that it is well written. I do feel the way the book is titled and officially described is a bit misleading. The reasons why are spoiler-y so, I’ll hide them: I still think it does a good job of describing the trail - it’s beauties and dangers, trail life - it’s pluses and minuses, and the people involved in the trail communities, and the people involved in these particular search and rescue operations. A lot of light was shed on these subjects. It was an entertaining read for someone like me, who isn’t even an armchair enthusiast, and would be an informative read for someone who might be considering making the trek someday. Something I realized after the fact, is that a lot of the women involved are around my age. That’s inspiring. Go Middle-Aged Girl Power! :) While I enjoyed the book, I was not happy that:
  23. My kids were in preschool and kindergarten when the pandemic lockdown began. We did a lot of reading and listening during this time. We still do, but they do it more “on their own” now, vs. a daily family routine. Here are some books we enjoyed. I’ll post more when I think of them. The Dog Man series by Dav Pilkey - I honestly think this series will stand the test of time because it is so ridiculous that it is highly appealing to children, yet there are deeper themes explored in all the books. The Cat Kid Comic Club also by Dav Pilkey it is an off shoot of the dog man series. Timmy Failure graphic novel series by Stephan Pastis . We both read and listened to the whole series. The books were great because of the pictures that enhance the stories, but the audio version was surprisingly phenomenal. Jared Goldsmith narrates and he does ALL the voices. Each one is distinct and oozing with personality. He really brought the humor to life! I highly enjoyed listening in! Spy School series by Stuart Gibbs. We listened to this one first, then the kids when back and re-read. High Five by Adam Rubin. My son’s K teacher read and recorded Dragons Love Tacos by Rubin for e-school. My son would play it over and over with tears softly rolling down his cheeks because he missed his teacher, his school, and his old daily routine so much. Then, the school year ended and the e-school K classroom was wiped. Oh, the devastation! So, we went Rubin book hunting at the e-library! High Five is fun in book form because there is a hand illustration you can high five (therefore, it is interactive). There are two different audio versions. The read-along version (visual and audio) is pretty boringly straightforward. The audio only version offers background sound effects that really bring the story to life. That’s the one I recommend. If you can have a book in real life to read along with, even better. My kids would just dance around on their beds and then high five each other at the appropriate times. The book went from a bedtime book to an “anytime but bedtime” book due to all the excitement. The author narrates. He has a really cute voice. I looked him up based on his voice. Sadly, his looks were not as appealing to me. I still recommend his books, though! :) Donut Feed the Squirrels by Mika Song. This is the first book my daughter read all by herself. At the time, it was a standalone, but has since become a series. We make sure she gets to read each one. The Unteachables by Gordon Korman. We listened to this on audio. It is really excellently narrated by a cast. I highly recommend it as a listening book. The Next Great Pauline Fink by Ali Benjamin. We listened to this one. It had a cast of narrators. Some of the kids voices were a bit manly because of this, but I still think it was good to have a variety of voices because it takes place in a school and there are a lot of characters involved. The themes can be deep and some of the subject matter veers towards depressing, but the goats offered comic relief balancing the whole story out. After The Next Great Pauline Fink, we also listened to The Thing About Jellyfish also by Ali Benjamin. The internet feels this is the better book. I disagree. It’s not bad, but if I were going to recommend a book by this author, I would recommend The Next Great Pauline Fink. Word of Mouse by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein. This was the book so nice I bought it thrice. First, we checked it out of the e-library multiple times. We missed our devices and got tired of the kids wrangling over them, that we bought a paperback version. Then the kids tussled over that one so much, we bought another so they could each have their own and we could have blessed peace! Then I bought a third copy for the classroom winter book exchange. I figured if my kids liked it so much, some other kid was bound to like it too. My kids loved quoting “mouse-isms” to each other while reading this book. OK, I’m tired. More later!
  24. I read Happy Place and finished it. I loved the gang gathering and their memories. I HATED the individual angsts of the main couple and didn’t care whether or not they had an HEA.
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