We have officially come down with our first colds of the season. Such a bummer. We spent part of Saturday outside at a very blustery tailgate for the Mizzou vs. Alabama game, and woke up on Sunday not feeling so hot. Needless to say, it was a mostly uneventful weekend — which was fine, because it literally rained the whole time. Aside from the tailgate, we spent most of our time reading, playing games and watching movies on the couch.
On Saturday, we finished No One Left to Lie To by Christopher Hitchens. We’ve both read quite a bit of Hitchens, and although I typically stay away from political non-fiction (especially during election season), I was intrigued by his thoughts about the Clintons. They were in office throughout our teenage years when we were both obviously a little less aware of what was going on, and other than the Monica Lewinsky business, neither of us had a lot of knowledge or memory about most of his presidency. Without giving too much away, there’s definitely a lot to learn, and in typical Hitchens form, he tries to cram as much in as possible. It was impossible not to come away with a diminished view of both Hillary and Bill, and it left me wanting to read more about them both — from a multitude of different perspectives.
I then opted to pick up something a little lighter, and have had Death Comes to Pemberley on my list for some time. If you’re an Austen purist, you might struggle to really feel any of the characters as you know them, especially Elizabeth. It’s lacking some character oomph perhaps? She does a good job of building scenes and stories, but seems to poop out when it comes to really making the characters live in them. However, it is an easy read and the mystery is somewhat entertaining, so not all bad.
On Sunday Neil made a big roast in the crock pot and we finally got around to moving our old TV stand into the guest room and the displaced dining room buffet in its place to house the TV. We weren’t sure how it was going to play out, but it’s the perfect fit and we love it. Here is the “before”:
And now the “after”:
What do you think!? It has plenty of room to hold all our music/cable/gaming devices neatly with plenty of room to add, and it hides all the cords, which was our biggest gripe about the old metal/glass stand. We’d still like to replace and minimize some speaker equipment, but it’s worlds better than it was, and fits the rest of our furniture. For now I can focus on hanging some things and finding some curtains.
It was a nice low-key weekend, but we’re ready to shake these colds and get back to life.
How was your weekend?
Love the buffet in the living room! It looks so much cleaner with the cords hidden, and it’s an amazing piece of furniture. Definitely deserves to be in the middle of the room!
I couldn’t bear the thought of getting rid of it when we inherited my grandparents set. It’s so authentic to the time the house was built and matches so well. I’m glad we found a way to use it. I also like having the TV higher up, it’s actually easier and more enjoyable to watch now.
1: I listened to an NPR show about a month and a half ago that diminished my view on Reagan. Not that he was ever high on my list of presidents, but the interview was based on a book that had come out and the author was on so he had all sorts of good information he’d got from FOIA requests. I’m sure all political figures would be diminished if we knew more about them.
2: Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife….worth reading, its sequel too.
3: Love the angel trumpet painting in the background.
Thanks! I really need to get that painting framed, like yesterday. I really want to finish up the hangings for that rooms, so we have just one room that looks finished haha.
Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking. It’s easy to find faults, and things that they did during their presidency that I didn’t agree with. I have to remember they serve more than just me. In this case though, there were some things I think EVERYONE would have a problem with — like straight-up rape allegations with solid witnesses and complaintants. Just really threw me for a loop.
Thanks for the book recommendation, I’ll add it to my GoodReads list. I’m a pretty big Austen fan.
I was not into Death Comes to Pemberly. Mr. Darcy was a bit…too pliable? I’m not sure what I mean other than that his conscience seemed to not fit with his original character. Too concerned for people (I don’t want to give anything away) that he would not normally give two cents for. Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife is FABULOUS! I’ve read it and reread it and reread it again!
I think I’m just going to go ahead and buy it based on both yours and Misti’s recommendations. I get what you’re saying about Darcy completely. I felt that way about both him AND Elizabeth. They just seemed so different compared to their original characters. Elizabeth barely seemed there, almost like supporting cast.