Fall TV 2018, Partial

Let us begin this post with a rant about my beloved Entertainment Weekly. It's right there in the title of the magazine: weekly. And yet, I'm not getting it weekly. Mostly, I'm getting it every other week. Now, call me a stickler, but if your name is Entertainment Weekly, you should publish, oh, I don't know, WEEKLY!!!!! Furthermore, the subscription usually costs about 20 bucks for one year. That's a bargain, really, no matter how many issues you get. But the subscription page says $20 for 46 issues. And I'm all, "46 issues—that seems OK. That's still only six weeks that don't get a new issue." Yet I am not getting 46 issues. Then I see the fine print (which isn't really all that fine, but I'm just saying, it should be more prominent): "Entertainment Weekly is published by Meredith 34 times annually. ... Publishes 12 double issues ... which count as 2 issues." As they would say on The Good Place, motherforker! So I'm getting 46 issues worth of content, but I am by no means getting 46 issues.

So you may be asking, "Why rant now? Here? When all I want to know is what are you watching this year?"

Well I'll tell you why: because my motherforking Fall TV Preview issue of Entertainment Weekly has not arrived yet! In years past, that issue came out over Labor Day weekend. But last weekend came and went with nary mention of fall TV. So I figured, this weekend. Nope. This weekend, some stupid cover about a new superhero movie, as if we need any more of those. (And yes, it is a female-led superhero movie, so I am at least happy about that, but I need my Fall TV Preview issue!!!)

So you may be thinking, "So what? The TV season doesn't really start for two weeks. There's time."

Yeah, sure there's time. But this is the weekend I set up to do the fall TV blog. And you all know how well I adapt to change.

So I am sallying forth into the land of TV, with only partial information. If I get my Fall TV Preview issue of EW next week, and if I find myself with extra time on Sunday, I will update this post (or write a new one) with information from EW. But don't hold your breath. I'm mad.

Now, without further ado, let me tell you what I'm watching on network television, and then I'll add a little section about streaming services.

Sunday

• God Friended Me, or as Vic calls it, Friended by an Angel. Interesting premise, plus it has Joe Morton in it, and I like him. And Matt Roush, the TV Guide (which, BTW, delivered my Fall Preview issue exactly on time, thankyouverymuch) reviewer gives it a thumbs-up.
• Madam Secretary: I look forward to seeing whether we'll get a name change to Madam President at the end of this season.
• Kidding: A Jim Carrey show on Showtime. I love Jim Carrey, so I'll give this a try—even though Matt doesn't like it a ton.
• You: A show on, yes, Lifetime. It's getting a lot of good reviews, and it sounds different, so why not try it?

Monday

• The Neighborhood: One of five new sitcoms I'm trying this year. I want to like it, because I do like the four main leads, but I'm skeptical of it.
• Manifest: One of the shows I most want to like. It's the new Lost, which means it will either succeed wildly or go down in flames just after I get really invested in it. Both Matt and the TV Guide editorial staff recommended it, too.

Tuesday

• The Kids Are Alright: My second new comedy. I actually don't want to watch this on principle: there is no such word as "alright." It's always two words: "all right." But Matt and the TV Guide editorial staff in general recommend it, so I'll give it a try.
• The Rookie: As if I'm not going to watch a TV show (or anything, really) with Nathan Fillion. Puh-lease. (Plus it's another one recommended by Matt and the TV Guide editorial staff.)
• FBI: I love procedurals, so sue me. And this is by Dick Wolf, the man behind Law & Order. (chung chung) Plus my boss Brendan's daughter Julia has a cameo in it, so like I'm not going to watch that! (That said, it does not get a good review from TV Guide's Matt, so I've set my expectations accordingly.)
• 9-1-1: I ended up liking this more than I thought I would last year, so I'm excited for it to come back. The cast is wonderful—huge crush on Peter Krause since his days on Sports Night, and, if I'm being honest, on Connie Britton since, you know, forever—and I like a show that shows our first responders in a good light.
• This Is Us: As if I'm not going to keep watching one of my favorite shows of all time and my favorite show on TV right now (including my beloved Grey's Anatomy, which I don't consistently love).
• New Amsterdam: I don't need another hospital show, but I do like unrealistic do-gooder shows, so I'll give this a try. Matt did not give it a thumbs-up, so my expectations are low.

Wednesday

• Modern Family: It's getting a little long in the tooth, and they may have mined all the best comedy already, but as long as Phil's a character, Patty'll be a watchin'.
• Single Parents: I wonder if you have to be a single parent to think this is funny? Good cast, and a half-hour isn't much to invest to find out.
• A Million Little Things: The new This Is Us. The new thirtysomething and The Big Chill. (At least, that's what the producers want you to think. But regardless, if it's anything like any of those shows, I'll love it. I love the male leads (David Guintoli from Grimm, Ron Livingston from Office Space [and pretty much everything else] and James Roday from Psych). (I don't know any of the female leads.) What I won't love is if it becomes Parenthood: 40 minutes of angst followed by 5 minutes of crying. (Meaning—the first 40 minutes of Parenthood were so hard to watch. There was a lot of whining and "ugh" moments. But the last five minutes were almost always so heartwarming that I ended up in tears. Mind you, I love TV shows that make me cry (see: This Is Us). But I don't like paying 40 minutes to get a good cry. Anyway, this is another one that Matt and the TV Guide editorial staff recommend, and it looks good to me, so I'm all in. Expectations are high.
• Criminal Minds: A returning favorite. I'll watch this until they cancel it.
• Chicago Fire: On the fence. They got rid of one of my least favorite characters at the end of last season, so I'll watch for a few episodes to see if I can like it again.
• Chicago PD: This is Vic's. :-)

Thursday

• My beloved Grey's Anatomy: No, it's not as consistently awesome as it used to be, but I still love it.
• Murphy Brown: I loved this show when it was on. Candice Bergen is one of my favorites. I even did my hair like hers back in the day and named my cat after her character! So, high hopes.
• The Good Place: Love it—can't wait to see where they go next.
• Will & Grace: Ummmm, we let last year's Will & Grace build up on the DVR, which seems to be a sign—like, if we can't watch even one episode before the second season starts, should we start the second season?
• I Feel Bad: My fourth new comedy. I've been seeing commercials for this, and they have some funny lines, but my expectations are low, and I do not expect to add it to my viewing schedule.

Friday

• The Cool Kids: I love comedies about older people, and I love this cast. High hopes, but low expectations. Fridays? Really?

Saturday

• Catch up day!

Other

• Camping on HBO with Jennifer Garner starting on October. Not getting great reviews, but I love Jennifer Garner, so I'll give it a try.
• Escape at Dannemora on Showtime in November. I've been waiting for this one.
• The Little Drummer Girl on AMC in November. Based on a John Le Carre novel, so I'm looking forward to it. This and Escape at Dannemora are recommended by the TV Guide editorial staff.
• Dirty John on Bravo in late fall. With Eric Bana and Connie Britton, it's a must-watch.
• Other shows coming include The Hot Zone and Valley of the Boom on Nat Geo and Proven Innocent on Fox.
• What happened to Life in Pieces and the Blacklist? Are they midseason replacements?

Streaming

• Matt from TV Guide's favorite show of the year is The Kominsky Method on Netflix starring Alan Arkin and Michael Douglas. You had me at "Alan Arkin and Michael Douglas."
• His next favorite show is Forever on Amazon Prime starring Maya Rudolph and Fred Armison. You had me at "Maya Rudolph and Fred Armison."
• The First on Hulu is about our first mission to Mars. You had me at "Mars." Another Matt Roush favorite.
• Another Netflix show, The Good Cop, is not on anyone's list, but with Josh Groban, I must try it.
• Same with The Homecoming on Amazon Prime: Julia Roberts is my jam.
• We've been watching Jack Ryan on Amazon—if you haven't, and you like shows like that, give it a try!
• Things we haven't tried but I really want to: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Ordeal by Innocence, Friends from College, Marcella, Ozark and Castle Rock.

I think that's about it for this week. Stay tuned for updates!

Funnel Cakes, Tilt-A-Whirls and Harry Potter Cakes: Boulder County Fair 2018

If it's August, it must be time for the Boulder County Fair. And if it's time for the Boulder County Fair, it must be time to show off my fair entries. (Yeah, I'm just that egotistical.)

So, without further ado ...

Let's start with the Lily Pond Afghan:

I love her, but she did not do well at the fair. (I was at the judging, so I know why. Doesn't make her less pretty to me. 😊)

Next up, the Flatirons Shawl:

This is another one that didn't win any prizes. There are always a lot of shawls, so it's stiff competition. One of my other pieces in the shawl category got second place—but I feel like this one is better. Still, as my surface stitchery judge used to say "Different judge, different day, different result." So maybe a different judge would have liked this one better.

And continuing with "didn't win any prizes," this slouch hat (which I made with the leftover yarn from the shawl above):

Again, there are lots of hats, so the competition is fierce. She did like my pompom, so that was nice. (Seriously, I'll take any compliments I can get.)

This stole was awarded second place:

I saw this in my local yarn shop. It was knitted, which is a craft I don't do. But I loved the yarn (it's eight different yarn textutres all dyed in the same color scheme—so one yarn is mohair, one is wool, one is silk, one has a bit of metallic in it, etc.), so I thought "How hard could it be do do a crochet version?" Answer: Not very.

And not to brag (OK, to brag), everything else I entered in the crochet department took first place:

Those of you who work with me might recognize this hat and the previous hat as my stitch 'n' bitch hats—the ones I work on in meetings at work!

I'm particularly proud of this hat, because it received the Reserve Champion for adult crochet. (Meaning, it was the second best among adults who entered crochet.) I believe in my talent, but I'm always ecstatic to win any kind of Champion ribbon in crochet. 😄

Hard to see, but this scarf has beads on it!

I know doilies are a little old-fashioned, but I'm a little old fashioned.

This poncho can be worn with the pointy part in front or on the side, so that's cute. And I love this yarn, which I got as a birthday gift from a co-worker who apparently loves me a lot. (Thanks again, GerRee!)

This tote—I did the crochet, and I don't think the crochet part is that great. But what makes this tote awesome is the finishing. The straps and the yarn came in a kit (with a button—though not this button). I probably could have sewn the straps on (and the button), but I wanted the bag to be lined. My sister-in-law has just started quilting, and when I asked if she thought she could finish this bag for me--lining, straps and button--she did not hesitate to say yes. She discarded the boring, plain button for this beautiful green button (the judge could not stop saying how much she loved the button!), and was meticulous about doing the lining. I am sure the finishing is the reason this tote took first place. (Thanks again, Alice!)

Next, let's move to the jewelry department! Here I entered one necklace and one bracelet. Both received first place:

Finally, surface stitchery, my original passion.

First, hardanger (a third-place finisher). I don't love doing hardanger, but I love how it looks after:

Next, a sampler. This is mostly cross stitch, but it does have some specialty stitches. This is a second-place finisher:

And here is a really close-up picture of this one:

On to beading:

 

Another first-place entry, and this one received a Champion ribbon (best in advanced/professional beading).

Last but not least, needlepoint, my favorite form of surface stitchery:

Here's a close-up of the middle:

This was a first-place entry that received a Champion ribbon in the advanced/professional needlepoint category.

Overall, I am super excited about my fair results this year. By the numbers:

• 15 entries
• 12 placed
• 9 first-place ribbons
• 2 second-place ribbons
• 1 third-place ribbon
• 1 Reserve Champion ribbon
• 2 champion ribbons

Thanks to everyone who supports me (by buying me yarn or shopping for yarn with me, helping me finish things, giving me advice on patterns, encouraging me, telling me how awesome I am [no, I know, super egotistical], and fawning over my pieces), and thanks to all the people who volunteer their time to keep the Boulder County Fair running! See you next year!

P.S. I mentioned a Harry Potter cake. I didn't make one, but check this out:

 

This was done by a child. A CHILD. So impressive.

About a Dog

Let me tell you about Olenna (nickname: Ollie).

Ollie is a sweet little dog we brought into our home to foster at the end of May. She was shy and scared and anxious, and the Longmont Humane Society (LHS) thought she would benefit from a little TLC. TLC is our specialty.

When she first came to our home, she was so nervous she tried to jump over our six-foot-high fence. Fortunately, she is only knee-high, so she was unsuccessful. 😄 Patience is the key to a dog like this. We stayed outside with her as she calmed down a little bit, and all we needed to do was get a hand on her and start petting her before she realized, "Oh, these guys aren't so bad. I guess I don't have to escape." She never tried to jump the fence again.

Next hurdle: stairs. Could it be that she had never climbed stairs? No, it turned out that she was just scared of new things. She saw our dog, Bella, go up and down several times, and eventually, Ollie realized that the stairs were her portal to potty, and she became a pro. (In fact, she did not have any accidents when we first brought her home—what a nice surprise!)

Her favorite thing about our home was Bella.

Bella was a good foster sister. In addition to being Ollie's stair role model, Bella helped Ollie feel less anxious and showed Ollie that she could trust us. Dogs are Ollie's thing. She loves 'em. Here she is with our four-legged niece, Chloe:

After only a few days, Ollie was following us everywhere. She was still a little fearful—for example, if we were all upstairs, she stayed near the top of the stairs, and if we walked past her, she'd go halfway down. But she got better every day, and it became rare for her to try to get away from us.

The couch in the living room was her safe spot. She loved to look out that window, and when we came over to sit on the couch, she let us do anything to her—pet her, hug her, kiss her on the nose or the head. She loves being petted and hugged.

Ollie also loved getting treats. Any kind. We give her soft treats, hard treats, fancy treats, plain treats—she loved them all. Watch what she does when we give her a Greenie:

For us, the holy grail was getting Ollie to come into the family room while we watched TV at night. At first, she would just stay in the living room in her safe space. After a week or so, she would "dip a toe in the water"—she would walk around the periphery of the family room—but she wouldn't "jump in." We tried to entice her with treats; she would come in to eat them and then leave again. We put a bed in the family room. She sniffed it but didn't stay. We moved it next to Bella's bed. She sniffed it but didn't stay.

Finally, after about two-and-a-half weeks—out of the blue!—she jumped up on the couch between us, put her head on Vic's lap and never left again. (Just kidding—she would always get down when we got up.)

What the pictures don't show is how soft her fur is—she is just a little ball of fluff! So luxurious! I love burying my face in her fur and running my fingers through it!

Overall, Ollie was a wonderful foster dog. Eventually, LHS decided we'd done our job as foster parents—by determining that Ollie's anxiety would indeed subside when she was part of a stable, loving home—and asked us to bring her back so she could be seen by anyone walking in to the shelter. We were heartbroken—as we always are when we let go of our foster babies—but we consoled ourselves that we'd had another successful foster. (Just kidding; there's no consoling us when we let go of a foster dog. 😢)

Now, just because we've determined that Ollie will eventually warm up to her new family, that doesn't mean she's "cured." She is still a bit fearful and anxious and will need more training, patience and TLC. But for the right family, she will be the best dog in the world.

Does all this make you want to adopt Ollie? If so, please contact the Longmont Humane Society at (303) 772-1232. If you want more information about this little love, please feel free to call or text me at (303) 746-3153 or email me at (thegrammarqueen@msn.com).