Week-in-Review: Happy Valentine's Day

 Happy Valentine's Day! OK, I'm late but that's how I roll...

G had his best friend over for a birthday sleepover so the fun just kept going. Lots of pizza, cupcakes, VR, Minecraft, and Nintendo Switch fun were had by all. I even got them to go outside and run around with Nerf guns for an hour so me for the win! 

One more birthday celebration this weekend with the grandparents. My mother isn't very mobile so we go to her and my father and bring the fun to them. It'll be more pizza and ice cream cake and a small game or two.

We had a freak snow storm blow in for a few hours Wednesday but it didn't stick but I know the mountains got hit with some moisture and it is sorely needed. We haven't had a drought this bad for 800 years!

Sunday we spent some time with my parents. We brought pizza and cake and sang happy birthday to G again! He's had a month-long celebration.😎

Also, happy Presidents' Day! G has enjoyed his much-needed day off. While DH and I did our taxes, got the car into the tire place, and drove through a little snowstorm...it has made it a rather cold, dreary, and gloomy day. On the bright side, we are watching my friend's two kitties while she and her family on vacation this week. More kitty time is always a plus!

We're planning on a game night this weekend with my nephew and his wife. We haven't done this since before the pandemic so we're very excited to get that going again.

I can't believe February is almost over...

Currently Reading:

Cibola Burn (The Expanse #4) by James S.A. Corey

The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory

Immune: A Journey into the Mysterious System that Keeps You Alive by Philipp Dettmer

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

The Once and Future King by T.H. White 

Serafina and the Seven Stars by Robert Beatty (with G)

The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. du Bois

Books Read:

The Dark Heart: A True Story of Greed, Murder, and an Unlikely Investigator by Jaokim Palmkvist / 2017 / 314 Pages / Audiobook / Scribd

Goodreads Summary:

In late summer of 2012, millionaire landowner Göran Lundblad went missing from his farm in Sweden. When a search yielded nothing, and all physical evidence had seemingly disappeared, authorities had little to go on—except a disturbing phone call five weeks later from Göran’s daughter Maria. She was sure that her sister, Sara, was somehow involved. At the heart of the alleged crime: Sara’s greed, her father’s land holdings, and his bitter feud with Sara’s idler boyfriend.

With no body, there was no crime—and the case went as cold and dark as the forests of southern Sweden. But not for Therese Tang. For two years, this case was her obsession.

A hard-working ex-model, mother of three, and Missing People investigator, Therese was willing to put her own safety at risk in order to uncover the truth. What she found was a nest of depraved secrets, lies, and betrayal. All she had to do now, in her relentless and dangerous pursuit of justice, was prove that it led to murder.

My Thoughts:

I first caught wind of this sordid crime during the Sundance Film Festival in January. They premiered the first three episodes of this 5 episode limited crime series called The Dark Heart. And wow it was good and it had me hooked. But as such is the nature of premieres--there wasn't a distributor yet for the rest of the series...so I looked and found...a true crime book talking about it. I needed to know what happened!

The book is a little bit dry. The TV series takes its liberties but that makes sense. But the book lays out the location, characters, and we get a tons of information on how the Swedish legal and criminal justice system works and I loved that! Fascinating stuff. And it just goes to show that dark hearts are everywhere.

Lockwood & Co: The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co. #1) by Jonathan Stroud / 2013/ 440 Pages/ Own

Goodreads Summary:

When the dead come back to haunt the living, Lockwood & Co. step in . . .

For more than fifty years, the country has been affected by a horrifying epidemic of ghosts. A number of Psychic Investigations Agencies have sprung up to destroy the dangerous apparitions.

Lucy Carlyle, a talented young agent, arrives in London hoping for a notable career. Instead she finds herself joining the smallest, most ramshackle agency in the city, run by the charismatic Anthony Lockwood. When one of their cases goes horribly wrong, Lockwood & Co. have one last chance of redemption. Unfortunately this involves spending the night in one of the most haunted houses in England, and trying to escape alive.

Set in a city stalked by spectres, The Screaming Staircase is the first in a chilling new series full of suspense, humour and truly terrifying ghosts. Your nights will never be the same again . . .

My Thoughts:

G and I overall had a fun time with this one. It's a very imaginative world but also a very confusing one. Stroud has a whole glossary in the back for all the terms of ghosts and the business behind hunting them. He just has you jump on in and hopes you look in the back of the book for context. I'm a sucker for ghosts and a good mystery.

I don't think this has anything to do with Stroud but the American publisher. They tried to Americanize the language from England and it just kind of made it weird...like I kept thinking it was in the U.S. but it wasn't. G didn't care or notice so I think it's only adults who would care about that! But it was a bit annoying.

Overall, a fun ghostly mystery with more to read in the series!

Movies Watched:

Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror (Shudder) directed and written by Kier-La Janisse / 2021/ Documentary / Horror

Plot from IMDB:

• WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED explores the folk horror phenomenon from its beginnings in a trilogy of films - Michael Reeves' Witchfinder General (1968), Piers Haggard's Blood on Satan's Claw (1971) and Robin Hardy's The Wicker Man (1973) - through its proliferation on British television in the 1970s and its culturally specific manifestations in American, Asian, Australian and European horror, to the genre's revival over the last decade. Touching on over 100 films and featuring over 50 interviewees, WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED investigates the many ways that we alternately celebrate, conceal and manipulate our own histories in an attempt to find spiritual resonance in our surroundings.

My Thoughts:

I loved this weird and very long documentary on the history of folk horror cinema from around the world. They provide around 100 clips of various movies and there are so many I need to watch now! If you love cinema and horror this is a must-see. Maybe break it up into two or three watching blocks!

They Live in Grey (2022) (Shudder) written and directed by Abel and Burlee Vang / Horror

Plot (from Letterboxd):

While investigating a child abuse case, Claire discovers that the family is being tormented by a supernatural entity. In order to save the family, she must confront her own fears and use her emerging clairvoyance to stop the malevolent force.

My Thoughts:

A very strange horror film. It was way too long and it was a basic rip-off of "The Sixth Sense." While there were some interesting twists and some horrific visuals and jump scares, overall it was a letdown. But it wasn't a bad way to cure some insomnia...

TV Watched:

Somebody Somewhere (HBO Max): This is a new dramedy starring Bridget Everett. It's brilliant! Touching and funny and those are the ones that are dear to my heart.

The Super Bowl LVI on NBC: That was a great game! I made teriyaki chicken wings, pigs-in-a-blanket, and nachos with sides of hummus, pretzels, naan bread, and a veggie tray. Our friends came over and brought some yummy beers and jalapeno poppers. A good time was had by all!

The Gilded Age (HBO Max): Just started this one and it definitely looks promising. It has all the peeps I love. I've been wanting to watch a good period piece and this looks like it will do that!

Joining up with Deb from Readerbuzz and her Sunday Salon.