Angela Law

animal lover, gardener, knitter, and gourmet cook
 
live entertainment

sebastian maniscalco

This is one of our favorite comedians, so when I told Jake he was coming to Pittsburgh, he said, “we’re going”. We got to enjoy a beautiful sky on our way to the show last night and didn’t hit any traffic until we were right outside of PPG Paints Arena, where we sat for quite a while. Once we got through that, I was hoping to find street parking, but it didn’t look like that was going to happen so we parked in a garage (Duquense Forbes Avenue garage) that was a couple minute walk to the venue.

We had to wait outside a bit before we could get in. By that point we were running a little late, but thankfully the show didn’t start until 30 minutes later than scheduled.

The opener was Pat McGann and he was funny, but not hysterical. About what you’d expect from an opening act. He was on for about 20 minutes. Not sure if his set was cut short due to the late start or if that’s how long it was supposed to be. Sebastian Maniscalco, however, was hilarious. Definitely worth the exorbitant ticket price. And this was the first comedy show I’ve been to in a venue that large, so it was a different kind of experience. Maniscalco’s set was about 1:20, so I feel like I got my money’s worth. We didn’t hit much traffic on our way out of town so we were home well before 11, which was nice since it was a school night.

holidays

feeling the pinch

I saw on Facebook yesterday that Westwood Garden Haven has a limited selection of Christmas trees this year due to the tree shortage. Exactly why there is a tree shortage, I don’t know (especially since we live so near the Christmas tree capital of the world–Indiana, PA). So, Jake borrowed his dad’s truck and we went to pick out our very expensive (because with the shortage comes higher prices) tree yesterday afternoon. Between having to borrow Brian’s truck, which won’t exactly be an option once Jake moves out, and the tree prices (I thought they were too expensive before), I think I’m back on the artificial tree bandwagon. I’ll have to check around to see if I can get a good deal on one after the holidays. I’m definitely going to get something on the smaller side. The tree we had before (which now lives with Brian) was kind of massive.

movies

sicario: day of the soldado

While not as good as the original, I did enjoy watching this movie. Benecio Del Toro is always amazing. The plot was so-so, but the ending kind of set itself up for a (probably unnecessary) sequel.

My rating: 3.5/5

books

joyland

You know how when you read books from a bunch of other authors and then read something from Stephen King you start to question why you read anything from anyone else? Well, that was how this book was. He is such a fabulous author. And it’s not just the story I’m talking about–it’s the writing. Though this story was good, too. It was published by Hard Case Crime. Crime novels are a genre he loves and he’s written a few for that publisher.

This book was published in 2013 and I’m not sure how it escaped my radar until recently. When organizing my library last year, I discovered that I was missing this book. The only thing I can figure is that maybe it came out when the Stephen King Library dissolved and that’s how I missed it (because I didn’t get the memo about that).

My rating: 4/5

holidays

thanksgiving 2021

Another one in the books. I hosted this year, so I took Wednesday off work in order to prep for the day. It was our first major holiday get-together since the pandemic. This year’s lineup was my family (parents, grandmother, brother’s family) and Jake’s girlfriend. It was a nice afternoon, but I was exhausted by the time everyone left. I’m not sure why–maybe I’m out of practice?