I was awake far too early for a Saturday - 7:30am. Yuck. Still this did not help the general craziness of the morning because we went to the vetrinarian for our yearly check-ups.
This was not fun. Chaucer and Dante howled all the way to the vet, from the minute they got put in the carriers. I had to make a side trip to pick up some breakfast and make a deposit at the bank; the howling was so awful the bank teller asked if my child was OK (yes, the fur-baby is fine, just mad). When we arrived at the vet, I realized that someone furry had peed in the car; luckily I have a thing for extra napkins so that soaked up most of what leaked out of the carrier. Still, ewwww. The kitty-boys have gained weight this year (again) - one pound each - bringing Chaucer to 14 pounds and Dante to 18 pounds. My kitties are spoiled. The vet and I talked about trying a different diet formulation next time I need to buy cat food.
Back in the car the cats didn't utter one peep (smelled a little, since Dante not only peed on the carrier but also himself). They didn't even start crying when the interior of the car got cold - my driver-side window went down when I stopped at the mailbox to send something, made a clunking noise, and then refused to go back up (#@yqe*rt&w$eti&t aka black cloud). Did I mention that it was snowing and blowing today? Fun. Thankfully, I was able to get the car into my go-to mechanics at Boubin Muffler and they got the window back up (changed the oil, too, but I'm going to need to replace the window motor in the door).
I knitted a lot on my scarf today. I'm almost ready to start the last skein (finally); that scarf is really taking me a long time and I don't know why. It's just plain knitting (it is a lot of yardage, though).
I finished John Adams last night; it really is a remarkably well-put together mini-series. I've been having a chuckle at the number of actors playing "Americans" who hail from the British Isles (Tom Wilkinson as Ben Franklin, Rufus Sewell as Alexander Hamilton, and Stephen Dillane as Thomas Jefferson, to name a few); it does make sense since at the time all our "Americans" were British subjects and more likely to sound like the mother country than the current accents we all have. The acting is quite well done; Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney especially give very moving performances as the two lead actors (Linney also reminds us how tough Abigail Adams was for her time, holding her household and family together sometimes through sheer will and faith). Sarah Polley gave a beautiful performance as Nabby, particularly the scene where Nabby tells her father she is dying (Abigail "Nabby" Adams Smith died of breast cancer at age 48, having previously survived a primitive mastectomy to attempt a cure). Tom Hollander also appears, for less than ten minutes, as King George III and does a marvelous job of looking both unbalanced and regal at the same time; I think it was the eyes. I've not read the biography John Adams by David McCullough but I understand from a few sites that the mini-series' creators shifted some scenes and dates. The production worked well from a purely entertainment point of view, so for that I give it five stars, but I think the producers should have tried for more historical accuracy as to correct persons, places, and dates.
I've now got Guns, Germs, and Steel in the player. I quite liked the book by Jared Diamond, so I think I'll like this National Geographic presentation.
Current book-in-progress: Death Comes for the Archbishop, an ARC for First Look, and I just got Drood
Current knitted item: I will finish that scarf!
Current movie obsession: I recently received DVDs of two Royal Ballet productions - The Sleeping Beauty with Viviana Durante and Zoltan Solymozi and Mayerling with Irek Mukhamedov and Viviana Durante; I've had these on VHS since high school and haven't been able to watch them due to the age of the tape - eeeeee, ballet, fun!
Current iTunes loop: old "All Songs Considered" podcasts (last week iTunes just downloaded like 80 old podcasts, sweet)
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