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PondTaro of Shadow
Oct. 30th, 2020 09:37 pmYesterday, the internet and cable went out about 4 pm, and stayed out until 4 in the morning. In lieu of TV, we watched a little-known Hepburn/Tracy movie from a compendium the Sparrowhawk bought. What a weird movie! It's a little bit like Citizen Kane, but with Nazis. The screenplay is by Donald Ogden Stewart, so there are plenty of lengthy dramatic monologues. This always drives me crazy because the characters are gazing deep into each others' eyes and emoting away while I'm going "HELLO! There's a prowling Nazi outside with a gun and a can of gasoline! STOP TALKING!" It has some interesting resonances for today's world--although if it had been made today, it would have been an hour longer with more Nazis, bigger guns, and more car chases and explosions. Wikipedia says that at this point, Spencer Tracy was drinking heavily. I found that interesting, because there was a moment onscreen where there's a focus on Tracy's hands. I noticed that his fingers were thick and swollen, and I thought "Wow--he must have been drinking a lot." I had a teacher once with hands like that. It's sad to see. He's still a hero in front of the camera, but inside he's poisoned and dying. It adds a real-life poignancy to a melodramatic and hokey movie. The rest of the evening we spent in a very civilized manner, listening to Beethoven piano concertos on vinyl and reading our books. There's something to be said for having no internet. I feel at times that it is making me stupid.
I had gone out to shop, even though I was tired and didn't want to, because the weather was windy, grey, cold, and not conducive to outside work. Today was supposed to be better, so I thought I'd get it done and then be able to work outside today. I lugged all the bags--and two pumpkins--home, cleaned the crisper drawer, put all the food away, and took a shower. By then I wanted a nap. But I didn't get one. I stayed awake, took a tea and writing break but did very little, then cooked dinner. I made the beef stroganoff the Sparrowhawk likes: this time, ground beef and ground pork, onions, mushrooms, some cherry tomatoes that were looking wrinkly, lots of paprika and dill, and of course, the sour cream. Accompanied by mashed potatoes and salad. I cleaned up the kitchen as well, because it was kind of a mess and I knew the Sparrowhawk was feeling tired. I ended up with over 6000 steps without even going for a walk.
Today, the weather was just like yesterday, so no luck there. We had our usual Friday Zoom with Deb and the Prussian. I thought about potential writing projects and drifted off into thinking instead of all the reasons they won't work. Not very productive.
I had gone out to shop, even though I was tired and didn't want to, because the weather was windy, grey, cold, and not conducive to outside work. Today was supposed to be better, so I thought I'd get it done and then be able to work outside today. I lugged all the bags--and two pumpkins--home, cleaned the crisper drawer, put all the food away, and took a shower. By then I wanted a nap. But I didn't get one. I stayed awake, took a tea and writing break but did very little, then cooked dinner. I made the beef stroganoff the Sparrowhawk likes: this time, ground beef and ground pork, onions, mushrooms, some cherry tomatoes that were looking wrinkly, lots of paprika and dill, and of course, the sour cream. Accompanied by mashed potatoes and salad. I cleaned up the kitchen as well, because it was kind of a mess and I knew the Sparrowhawk was feeling tired. I ended up with over 6000 steps without even going for a walk.
Today, the weather was just like yesterday, so no luck there. We had our usual Friday Zoom with Deb and the Prussian. I thought about potential writing projects and drifted off into thinking instead of all the reasons they won't work. Not very productive.
