Did you miss me?
I'm back from the sunny Caribbean! The two snow days turned out to be a blessing, because I just barely got my house cleaned and my bags packed, etc. before it was time to pick up my mom at the airport. In fact, I still had one more load of laundry to do, but I just waited and did that yesterday when I got back. It was so nice to come home to a clean house, too! And it's very sunny out and a lot of the snow has melted, so the transition from the sun and heat to Minne-snow-ta hasn't been too rough. It sure was fun to wear sandals and bare legs again, though.
I'm too lazy to look at my pictures and post about the trip yet. It was fun, though. I could get used to the life of leisure, that's for sure. I had a mani/pedi on board and the manicure lasted the whole trip. When all you do is sit around eating, drinking and reading, you really don't have to worry about chipped nail polish. Now I know how the ladies who lunch always have such perfectly manicured hands. I quite enjoyed the spa treatment, although she talked me into buying some rather expensive beauty products that I really don't need. Oh well, I was on vacation!
I didn't get very much knitting done. Since I wasn't carrying a handbag, it wasn't very convenient to carry knitting around for those moments where we were sitting the bar having a cocktail and listening to music or just sitting by the pool area. When I had a block of time to just sit in a lounge chair, I chose to pick up a book, instead. I did finish this mystery:
He's a local author writing about a Minneapolis police detective, so I thought I should check out the series. I've got sort of mixed feelings. I did enjoy the plot and the writing - I was very engaged in the story. I'm not sure about the main character though. He's your sort of "manly man" who has a million girlfriends and isn't afraid to step outside the lines to get his man. Not the type of character this lefty admires. I may read the next one just to see where the series is going.
Before I left, I also finished up this book:
I've been sort of obsessed with the "Up" documentary series, so I had to check out the companion book to 42 up. It includes a couple of short essays about the films (including one by the director, Michael Apted) and the rest is sort of excerpts from the films. The excerpts from the previous films are pretty short, but there are some excerpts from 42 Up that aren't even in the film. I really enjoyed reading the words, which gives me more time to think about them. If you haven't seen these films, I highly, highly recommend them. It's fascinating to follow the lives of these people and see what course they have taken. You can't help but think about your own life and your choices. The latest, 49 Up, is just brilliant. All of these people are now so thoughtful and wise, it's just amazing. I can't wait for 56 Up!
Speaking of film, I did see one before I left on my trip:
I really enjoyed it. It's the true story of the infamous Zodiac killer who terrorized San Francisco in the 70s. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a SF Chronicle cartoonist who sort of becomes obsessed with figuring out how the killer is. He ends up writing the book that the film is based on, giving a theory of who he thinks the killer is. The whole cast is just stellar and everyone does a great job. There's surprisingly little gore for a film about a serial killer directed by David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club). In the first part of the film, he does show the Zodiac killing a couple of times, which is pretty gruesome. But the rest of the film is really about trying to figure out the clues. It's very suspenseful. It's quite a long film, but I never felt bored or wished it would just hurry up.
I'm too lazy to look at my pictures and post about the trip yet. It was fun, though. I could get used to the life of leisure, that's for sure. I had a mani/pedi on board and the manicure lasted the whole trip. When all you do is sit around eating, drinking and reading, you really don't have to worry about chipped nail polish. Now I know how the ladies who lunch always have such perfectly manicured hands. I quite enjoyed the spa treatment, although she talked me into buying some rather expensive beauty products that I really don't need. Oh well, I was on vacation!
I didn't get very much knitting done. Since I wasn't carrying a handbag, it wasn't very convenient to carry knitting around for those moments where we were sitting the bar having a cocktail and listening to music or just sitting by the pool area. When I had a block of time to just sit in a lounge chair, I chose to pick up a book, instead. I did finish this mystery:
He's a local author writing about a Minneapolis police detective, so I thought I should check out the series. I've got sort of mixed feelings. I did enjoy the plot and the writing - I was very engaged in the story. I'm not sure about the main character though. He's your sort of "manly man" who has a million girlfriends and isn't afraid to step outside the lines to get his man. Not the type of character this lefty admires. I may read the next one just to see where the series is going.
Before I left, I also finished up this book:
I've been sort of obsessed with the "Up" documentary series, so I had to check out the companion book to 42 up. It includes a couple of short essays about the films (including one by the director, Michael Apted) and the rest is sort of excerpts from the films. The excerpts from the previous films are pretty short, but there are some excerpts from 42 Up that aren't even in the film. I really enjoyed reading the words, which gives me more time to think about them. If you haven't seen these films, I highly, highly recommend them. It's fascinating to follow the lives of these people and see what course they have taken. You can't help but think about your own life and your choices. The latest, 49 Up, is just brilliant. All of these people are now so thoughtful and wise, it's just amazing. I can't wait for 56 Up!
Speaking of film, I did see one before I left on my trip:
I really enjoyed it. It's the true story of the infamous Zodiac killer who terrorized San Francisco in the 70s. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a SF Chronicle cartoonist who sort of becomes obsessed with figuring out how the killer is. He ends up writing the book that the film is based on, giving a theory of who he thinks the killer is. The whole cast is just stellar and everyone does a great job. There's surprisingly little gore for a film about a serial killer directed by David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club). In the first part of the film, he does show the Zodiac killing a couple of times, which is pretty gruesome. But the rest of the film is really about trying to figure out the clues. It's very suspenseful. It's quite a long film, but I never felt bored or wished it would just hurry up.
rdladd@arnan.com
