Angela Law

animal lover, gardener, knitter, and gourmet cook
 
movies

green book

This movie, starring Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen, was quite good. Based on a true story, it told the story of a black concert pianist (Ali) and his driver/security person (Mortensen) who were on a concert tour through the south in the early 1960s. Mortensen, who is of Danish heritage, is such a good actor he convincingly played an Italian in this movie.

The movie’s title comes from an actual guidebook that was published so that black travelers knew what businesses were safe to visit. It’s kind of ridiculous that this had to be a thing and it’s also unfortunate that racism is still a huge problem in America.

My rating: 4/5

do-it-yourself

mini kitchen remodel

I’m in need of new kitchen countertops, so I decided to do a mini kitchen remodel. It all started in the fall, when I bought new cabinet hardware. I swapped out the old black chrome ones for some really nice brushed nickel Mission-style pulls. Before installing the hardware, I cleaned the cabinets inside and out and attempted to repair the water marks that developed on some of the cabinets. They got a coat of polish as well. I also took this opportunity to rearrange a few cabinets and get rid of things I don’t use.

Last week, I ordered a new range hood. I installed a really nice one in there when the kitchen was originally remodeled, but after years of use, it broke and I bought a new one at Home Depot, which I never really liked. There’s not anything wrong with it per se, but I ordered a new one that’s going to do a better job. I bought a new faucet and garbage disposal, too.

As soon as this week, I plan on going to a kitchen design place to get a quote for new countertops and a sink. I’d like to have the backsplash tiled, too, but I don’t know if I have the budget to do that. I have to take measurements to the store so they can give me a quote, so I guess I’ll know soon enough. If not, no big deal. It’s still going to be nice to get some new countertops. I’m planning on going with quartz this time. Last time, I wanted solid surface, but I didn’t have enough money for that, so I ended up going with a laminated solid surface material (basically 1/8″ thick solid surface material was applied over a wood substrate). It held up pretty well for a long time, but in recent years developed some issues.

Once the countertops are in, I’m going to paint the kitchen and the project will be complete. I hope I don’t have to wait long for the countertops because I’d like to get everything wrapped up before it’s time to garden again. I only do home improvement projects in the off season (unless it’s something that has to be done to the exterior of the house).

out and about, relationships

the westmoreland museum of american art

I had a first date at the museum yesterday. The museum was pretty cool, as was the date. He’s from Pittsburgh, though, so I’m not sure how that will pan out. It seems like a lot of running around, but maybe it would be worth it? Time will tell. We’re still texting but haven’t made any more plans yet, so maybe it’s a moot point.

tv

mr. mercedes (tv)

Finally, a good adaptation of a Stephen King story. Not that there aren’t a lot of other good ones, but so many are disappointing. This series was based on the Mr. Mercedes trilogy, but you could probably glean that from the title. Each of the three seasons was based on one of the books, though, interestingly, they were not presented in the same order as the books. It all worked out, though. I really liked it!

I had to rent it from Netflix’s DVD lineup because it was on some other streaming platform. This streaming stuff is starting to get like cable. We only have Netflix and Hulu and that gives me plenty to watch. Sometimes I feel like I’m missing out on some shows I’d like to see, but I refuse to subscribe to any additional platforms. In fact, Jake’s been getting Hulu for free with his student Spotify subscription so I’m not sure what I’m going to do when that expires. I guess either pay for both or take turns subscribing to the two.

My rating: 4/5

books

the scarlet gospels

This was the latest story in Clive Barker’s Hellraiser series. It’s about hell, demons, ghosts, and all that. I’m kind of past that genre at this point–I’m not even sure how I ended up with this book. So, while there wasn’t anything inherently wrong with it, it was not to my liking. As such, it took me forever to read. Barker is a hell of a writer, though.

My rating: 3/5