This is a really interesting look at getting your life streamlined and everything in a manageable way so that you can perform at your best. I found quite a few useful tips in it, as well as some ideas I had not thought of before.
Rosie with An Edited Life by Anna Newton
Watched
Madam Secretary
1×05 Blame Canada
1×06 The Call
1×07 Passage
1×08 Need to Know
1×09 So It Goes
1×10 Collateral Damage
Arrow 5×18 Disbanded
Shazam!
I love this movie. Not just for the concept of found family, which is something I love seeing in popular culture, but because one of the leading characters has a disability. A double whammy of awesome!
Wynonna Earp: 2×12 I Hope You Dance
Legends of Tomorrow: 2×16 Doomworld
Rizzoli and Isles: 7×12 Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
The Blacklist
4×21 Mr Kaplan (No.4)
4×21 Mr Kaplan (No.4) Conclusion: Holy cow, Ressler killed Laurel Hitchens! I did not see that coming. Also, the Samar and Aram scenes were very cute and they are adorable together.
Black Lightening 2×03 – The Book of Consequences: Chapter Three: Master Lowry
Kommisar (Inspector) Rex
1×04 A Perfect Murder: I absolutely loved this episode. Rex taking Moser to the pet shop and choosing out all the things he needs, including a lot of toys and naturally a giant bone to chew on.
This is a great book that looks at all the daily rituals from some of the most creative people. This includes writer, artists, composers, philosophers and more. I really enjoyed reading it – it is something that you can use to discover what would help you in your own creative pursuits – whether it is a rigid schedule, or a peculiar one.
The Soul of an Octopus – Sy Montgomery
Not knowing much about octopuses, I found this an intriguing read. These creatures are so intelligent that in aquariums they are given complex puzzles and Lego’s to play with so they don’t get bored. I was shocked to find they only live four or five years – a male dies directly after copulation and a female dies when her eggs are hatched.
1, 342 QI Facts
Rosie with 1,342 QI Facts
I love fact lists and the geeky researcher in me loves that in these QI books they are all backed up by actual information you can access yourself. I only wish they’d done more of these books!
Watched
Inspector Soneri: Fog and Crimes 3 – Hard Times: The introduction of the little girl is a new twist. I’m also intrigued by Soneri’s new love interest, because a) Angela annoyed me and b) this one might give him a run for his money, but he was just a tad forward with her – seriously, going to kiss her in the elevator – take a woman to dinner first!
Grimm
6×06 Breakfast in Bed
6×07 Blind Love – Hank was HILARIOUS in this episode.
6×08 The Son Also Rises
Arrow 5×17 Kapiushon
Wynonna Earp 2×09 Forever Mine, Nevermind
Legends of Tomorrow
2×15 Fellowship of the Spear – Ray cackling in the German’s cannon and spinning around to make it face them was just GOLD. I hope they are all going to be nice to my boy Rory now – he’s one of our favourite characters!
Rizzoli and Isles
7×11 Stiffed – As the series comes to an end, I’m finding myself missing the earlier seasons. Something has shifted and although I love the Frankie/Nina stories, I miss those old seasons.
Kommisar (Inspector) Rex
1×03 The Body at Schonbrunn: As someone who has been to Schonbrunn in the middle of winter – NOT MY IDEA – I almost didn’t recognise the place without it being covered in snow.
Elementary – 6×03 Pushing Buttons
The Blacklist 4×20 The Debt Collector (No.46)
The Flash
3×18 Abra Kadabra: Ah, Barry? Travelling through time never ends well with you. I feel this is a monumentally bad decision
Double shot this week because I had a migraine last week.
Read
When Everything Changed – Gail Collins
Rosie and Everything Changed by Gail Collins
A fascinating look at the way women’s rights have changed over the years.
Drop Dead Healthy – AJ Jacobs
This was an interesting read, but it’s hard to find any relevancy when you have chronic illness. Chronic illness makes it difficult to do any of the things recommended.
Pachinko – Min Jin Lee
This book was interesting, because it kept you engrossed even though it was not a happy story.
Watched
Grimm
5×15 Skin Deep: It was like watching an episode of Botched. Also, Eve turning into Renard was beyond creepy
5×16 The Believer
5×17 Inugami
5×18 Good to the Bone
5×19 The Taming of the Wu
5×20 Bad Night
5×21 Beginning of the End Part 1
5×22 The Beginning of the End Part 2
6×01 Fugitive
6×02 Trust Me Knot
6×03 Oh Captain, My Captain
6×04 El Cuegle
6×05 The Seven Year Itch
Elementary
6×01 An Infinite Capacity for Taking Pains
6×02 Once You’ve Ruled Out God: I love this show. And their episode titles
The Blacklist
4×18 Philomena (no.61)
4×19 Dr Bogdan Krylov (No.29)
The Flash
3×16 Into the Speed Force
3×17 Duet: I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this episode and how much I didn’t expect to. Cisco can sing! Loved “Dads” Martin and Joe. Also, why is Kara awesome in every show except her own?
Inspector Soneri Fog and Crimes 3 – The Secret Room
Wordsmith’s and Warriors – David and Hilary Crystal
This book was a travel through Great Britain looking at how the English language formed and the famous (and not so famous) places that are associated with this formation.
1,234 QI Facts to Leave You Speechless
More facts! I love random facts.
Notes on a Nervous Planet – Matt Haig
This is a book about living with anxiety in the modern age.
Dinner with Churchill – Cita Steltzer
Churchill did his best negotiating and dealmaking over food, and this is a great look at some of the important meals he had and the favourite foods and drinks he liked.
Watched
Grimm
5×07 – Eve of Destruction – No joke, she is far more interesting and fun as Eve than she ever was as Juliette
5×08 – A Reptile Dysfunction
5×09 – Star-Crossed
5×10 – Map of the Seven Knights
5×11 – Key Move
5×12 Into the Schwarzwald
5×13 Silence of the Slams
5×14 Lycanthropia
Hawaii 5-0
3×1 La O Na Makuhine
3×2 Kanalua
Wynonna Earp – 2×07 Everybody Knows
Arrow – 5×15 Fighting Fire With Fire
Legends of Tomorrow – 2×13 Land of the Lost
Rizzoli and Isles – 7×09 65 Hours
Kommisar Rex (Inspector Rex)
1×1 Pilot – We are watching this show from the start again because we really love it. Only the seasons in Austria – we tried the seasons in Italy and didn’t like them – they killed a dog so that was it for us.
It’s a special double issue this week because the ankle surgery has left me feeling a bit worn out. Enjoy.
READ
Rosie, Lamb Chop and Astrid Lindgren by Jens Andersen
Astrid Lindgren by Jens Andersen
The Durrells of Corfu – Michael Haag: I really liked this one because we got more information on things that Gerald didn’t write about. I had no idea that Gerry’s friend Theo studied radiology with Madame Curie! However I did not like that the author was so graphic with what happened to two of their dogs.
Himalaya – Michael Palin: Normally I love his travelogues, but this one bothered me. Not only did he ride on an elephant he watched a mahout hit an elephant with the front end of a bullhook. I really, REALLY hate that.
The Scarlet Pimpernel -Baroness Orczy: I mainly know this book from the mini series with Jane Seymour which I absolutely loved, but it was fun to finally read the book.
Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin – David Ritz: I had no idea what her life was like so this book was a real eye-opener.
Domino 1 – Gail Simone: Any comic written by Gail Simone (a redhead!) is a plus for me, so I knew I had to try this one out and I’m glad I did!
WATCHED
NCIS LA
9×13 Cac Thu Nhan
9×14 Goodbye Vietnam – having two episodes with Hetty’s friends was such a gift and I love that Linda Hunt got a great personal storyline
9×15 Liabilities – Hetty’s back! YAY!
9×16 Warrior of Peace – Nell continues to be awesome, but I found the story morally uncomfortable. Reminds me of an episode where they killed two Iranian security guards even though they didn’t have to.
9×17 The Monster
9×18 The Vendetta
9×19 – Outside the Lines: Nell’s in the field again! Rejoice!
9×20 Reentry
9×21 Where Everybody Knows Your Name: I’m glad Deeks finally got his bar. I think this will be great.
9×22 Venganza
9×23 A Line in The Sand: I’m totally with Deeks here. Mosley’s out of control and is going to get someone killed.
Hawaii 5-0 2×23 Ua Hala: The minute I saw Chin checking out Doyle from jail, I knew there was going to be trouble, and I was right. Also, Dad goes “I thought Steve’s mother was dead” and I said “Yeah, well when you see what she does, we’d probably all have preferred she was.” Plus, did Rachel really think Danny wouldn’t fight for Grace? The man literally uprooted his entire life to move to Hawaii just because she was there!
Grimm
4×4 Dyin’ On a Prayer
4×5 Cry Luison
4×6 Highway of Tears
4×7 The Grimm Who Stole Christmas
4×8 Chupacabra – we fast forwarded past the dog getting killed (why do people find it necessary to put this in shows?) but we enjoyed Wu finally finding out that Nick is a Grimm.
4×9 Wesenrein -Well there’s a terrifying parallel with the Ku Klux Klan if there ever was one.
4×10 Tribunal – Dear Wesen Council – stay away from Monroe and Rosalee. Also, I loved Juliette going all Hexenbiest on the Manticore – I hope she does the same to Adalind.
4×11 Death Do Us Part
4×12 Marechausse
4×13 Trial By Fire
4×14 Bad Luck
4×15 Double Date
4×16 Heartbreaker
4×17 Hibernaculam: Well that was weird
4×18 Mishipeshu: This is just getting really weird. And Juliette is out of control
4×19 Iron Hans
4×20 You Don’t Know Jack: And this is just bizarre
Black Lightning
2×1 The Book of Consequences Chapter 1 Rise of the Green Light Babies: Look if Jennifer wants to glow and float in her sleep, let her. And what would she tell a therapist? “I can self-immolate and I like to create growing protective bubbles?” Lynn annoys me.
Lego Masters
1×4
1×5
1×6
1×7
1×8 Not commenting on that final choice. David and G should have won.
Rizzoli and Isles
7×8 ZM7258-100: I know where this show is heading, and I’m not too happy.
I like looking at the ads in the really old National Geographic magazines. There is an ad on one of them for telephones – before they were mainstream in everyone’s homes.
Sahara – Michael Palin
Funnily enough I like reading his travel stories but I find his diaries very boring.
Unladylike – Cristen Conger and
Caroline Ervin
This is a great book full of great ideas
The Annotated Pride and
Prejudice – Jane Austen
I love this story so much. I’ve always loved it and I enjoyed reading it again. It was good to have the annotated version because it let me understand a few things that I hadn’t before. For example, I always thought that traveling by post was related to the mail, but in fact it is about traveling with hired horses that change at “posts”. I also didn’t realise the significance of Darcy calling her “Elizabeth” in their walk together – because Darcy is so formal and it was not a done thing at the time between people who were not intimate. I cannot recommend the novel enough, and I really enjoyed the annotated version.
My black poodle Rosie sitting with The Annotated Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Watched:
NCIS Los Angeles
8×21 Battle Scars – Hetty’s friends are awesome. I especially love AJ Chegwidden and I wish he was permanent.
8×22 Golden Days – More of Hetty’s friends and I loved the toast to Owen at the end.
8×23 Uncaged – Could tell they were going to kill off Michelle as soon as she appeared in the episode. Haven’t seen so much of her since she went up against Sidorov
8×24 Unleashed – more badass Nell! And the thumbs up and the grin – so glad that went into the Season 9 credits
9×1 Party Crashers – Hate Mosley. Sort of indifferent to Harley – I can’t work out what her job is apart from being a PA for Mosley? Also so glad they’re letting Linda Hunt flex her acting muscle
9×2 Se Murio El Payaso – LOVE that Jeff Kober is playing the imprisoned CIA officer in Vietnam, especially after watching him as an American sergeant fighting during the Vietnam War in China Beach
Black Lightning
1×11 Black Jesus: The Book of Crucifixion – loved watching Thunder and Hologram!Black Lightning getting applause as they ran down the road. I feel that was really awesome for the people of Freeland to experience.
Arrow:
5×13 Spectre of the Gun – Liked getting the backstory to Rene’s life.
Rizzoli and Isles:
7×7 Dead Weight – Really liked this episode. I even liked the FBI guy that asked Jane to come to give the talk to Quantico
Wynonna Earp:
2×4 She Ain’t Right – No joke she ain’t right. And now Wynonna ain’t right. This should be interesting.
Legends of Tomorrow
2×12 Camelot/3000 – Sara Lance, flirting her way through history.
Inspector Soneri Fog and Crimes 2:
False Papers
Grimm:
3×11 The Good Soldier
3×12 The Wild Hunt
3×13 Revelation
3×14 Mommy Dearest – I cannot begin to say on how many levels I disagreed with the characters to not tell Sergeant Wu about the Wesen. The man has checked himself into a mental health ward – that’s EXACTLY the time to tell him about Wesen and that he isn’t crazy.
I realised my National Geographic pile was getting out of hand, so I thought I better start and tackle that. Strictly speaking, all my “to read” piles were getting out of hand, but I had a migraine earlier this week and for some reason the only thing I can read is magazines – so National Geographic it was.
I really enjoyed the January 2019 issue because it was about the Future of Medicine. As someone with various chronic illnesses, it was interesting to see where medicine is going. Naturally the high-tech medicine is something we are already seeing, but I was particularly interested in the possibility of tailoring treatments to an individual’s DNA.
Revolutionary Ride by Lois Price:
This was an interesting book, in the style of Dervla Murphy, of a woman who rode her motorcycle through Iran (published in 2017).
Watched:
We’ve been watching Grimm at lunchtime – getting kind of sick of the “I can’t remember you” drama, but I do love Monroe and Rosalee. Also saw a movie this week – Shazam was awesome!
Shazam
Grimm:
2×10 The Hour of Death
2×11 To Protect and Serve Man
2×12 Season of the Hexenbiest (getting really sick of the relationship drama here!)
2×13 Face Off
2×14 Natural Born Wesen
2×15 Mr Sandman (the entirely most gross episode I’ve seen so far)
2×16 Nameless
Elementary: 5×19 High Heat (Love this show. So sad it’s ending in Season 7)
Rizzoli and Isles 7×6 There Be Ghosts
NCISLA:
8×06: Home Is Where the Heart Is
8×07: Crazy Train
8×08: Parallel Resistors
Criminal Minds:
13×19 Ex Parte: Tara was so good in this episode – really quick off her feet
13×20 All You Can Eat: Nice to finally meet some of Garcia’s family
13×21 Mixed Signals: Again, we get more backstory on Tara and how awesome she is.
