I offered to host Mother’s Day this year and while we were at it, we celebrated Jacob’s birthday and graduation. It was a small party–just my family. It was a nice afternoon and the weather was surprisingly pleasant after the deluge of rain we received at the end of last week. Not that we were outside–it was still too cold for that, but it was nice to see the sun shining for a change.
ozark
The final seven episodes of Ozark were released on Friday and I made it my mission to finish the series over the weekend. I really loved the show. At first it felt like a Breaking Bad ripoff, which it kind of was, but less nuanced and quite possibly more violent. It started to get really interesting at the end of the first season, though. The third season was probably my favorite.
They really went to extremes with the amount of characters that were killed off–practically no one was safe (or left by the end of the show). As much as I was looking forward to the final episodes, they didn’t really live up to my expectations. The episodes were kind of slow until the last few. They killed off one of my favorite characters in the finale and the last scene was open-ended, which I don’t like. I want everything wrapped up like a present with a nice bow on it (like Breaking Bad).
That said, I’ll probably watch the show again. It’s nice to watch the story the whole way through without having to remember what happened a year or more ago. But, it seems like everyone’s releasing new episodes right now, so it’s going to have to wait a bit.
My rating: 4.5/5
the graduate
Jake is done with college! He didn’t go to graduation and didn’t want a party, so Brian and I took him out to dinner at Tap 814 last night to celebrate.
He started working for us full-time today, but I don’t know how long that is going to last. His girlfriend is off to vet school in the fall and he plans on following her there. But, exactly when that will happen is the question. He needs to save up some money first and buy a new car. Not to mention, get a new job. So, it could be as early as this fall or as late as next spring. Or anytime before or after. Haha. My only hope is that they end up closer to the area after she graduates.
new dentist blues
I suspect this category of posts is going to get lengthy as I get older. I’d been planning on switching dentists for a while as I was still going to my childhood dentist in Portage all these years. My hand was forced this spring when he retired. I heard good things about Chestnut Hills Dental from a few people I know so I decided to give them a try (and it doesn’t hurt that they are minutes away from my house).
I had my first appointment yesterday and it was a bit of an ordeal as compared to going to my old dentist. The old dentist did not have a hygenist, so he did everything. Yesterday, I met with the hygenist first and got a bunch of x-rays and a thorough cleaning before seeing the dentist, who basically popped in for two minutes and said that I have two cavities and need a crown on one tooth. Ugh. I’m not really surprised about either as my previous dentist was pretty conservative with treatment. Well, I’m a little surprised about the cavities because the old dentist never mentioned any issues. But the tooth that needs a crown has been bothering me for a couple of years, so I suppose it will be nice to get that fixed. Not nice for my pocketbook (I do have dental insurance, but it only covers 50% for “major” services), but at least I’ll be able to chew normally again. Why the old dentist didn’t recommend this is a mystery, but I guess it’s not one I need to worry about.
weekend update
It was a busier than usual weekend for me. Yesterday, I had a bunch of things on the calendar. First, I walked dogs at the shelter, which I do pretty much every Saturday. We haven’t been having much of a turnout lately (hopefully it will pick up once the weather is nicer), so I had to leave before everyone was walked. I felt bad, particularly since my walking partner ended up staying until 1pm to walk everyone (we started at 9am).
I had to leave because I had plans to meet my friend Carol for lunch at Tap 814. I’ve seen her briefly once or twice during the pandemic, but this is the first quality time we’ve spent together since then. Interestingly enough, the last time we went out was right before the pandemic shutdown in March of 2020. Also at Tap 814.
Last night, I went to a volunteer appreciation BBQ at the shelter. They got food from Red’s Texas BBQ. It was pretty good and it was nice of them to host it.
Other than that, I’ve been doing some yard work. It’s brush pickup week in my township, so I’m trying to get the bulky stuff out to the curb so I don’t have to take it to the township’s brush pile myself.