Take a wild guess who ended up at an Old Tyme photo place in Gatlinburg yesterday. Oh, the things you do after too many moonshine tastings.

And suddenly there is a trip to Toronto planned for the end of December into the first of January. It’s pretty exciting as this will be my first trip out of the country and the first usage of my passport (obviously). It will also be the longest vacation I have had in a really long time. We will be in the city for five days. I now have a little over a month to obsess over maps, mass transit, packing, sites to see … and, most importantly, get super duper nervous about the trip there and back (because I hate flying). I don’t think the boyfriend has any idea just what a freak I can be on a trip like this … especially in regards to dealing with air travel. Buckle up!

I have been a bit unfocused for the last several days … well, since last Friday really. Friday sucked and I haven’t been able to get back into the swing of things. Generally, I just feel un-enthused. Blah.

Meanwhile, here are some random things that have happened:
– Bought New Shoes
– Ate Pizza
– Finished Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House (more on this later)
– Hung Up Some Coat Hangers
– Bought a New Rice Cooker
– Finished Daredevil Season Three

Cold temps have arrived early here in the mountains. We seems to have skipped fall and gone right into winter. It’s been cold since Saturday and cold/dreary/rainy since Monday … and I am already sick of it. Something tells me this winter is going to be really, really, really, really long.

*grump*grump*

The big excitement for the week has been the purchase and delivery of a new mattress set. It really was time considering the old set was 15+ years old. I am pretty pleased that I finally got off my ass and got this done … especially since I have been putting this off for a few years and would much rather have spent that money on books and movies. Bowser, however, is not overly impressed with my motivation or the new mattress. 😛

With Election Day upon us, here are some very quickie thoughts about the final season of House of Cards (which I binge watched this past weekend).

Most everyone knows Kevin Spacey (who played the lead, Frank Underwood) was fired from the show after the sexual misconduct/assault allegations hit last year. It was decided to soldier on with Robin Wright (who plays Claire Underwood, Frank’s wife) at the center. And that is one of the biggest mistakes House of Cards makes. Frank and Claire were great partners and adversaries during the first five season. Frank dies off screen between seasons. And with him gone, the show really flounders in trying to find a stable story and resorts to a slew of very outlandish plot developments to keep the things moving even though Frank is mentioned in every single episode of this season. It’s like he’s still on the show but you never see or hear him. House of Cards could sometimes strain its own credibility … but this season pushes way, way past that with multiple assassinations, an out of nowhere pregnancy, the brink of nuclear war, and many more things that push the boundary of belief. Can you imagine what would happen in real life if a sitting President just didn’t leave the White House residence for three weeks straight? Seriously. That is a major plot development this season. Maybe the show runners thought they needed to compete with an already bat-shit crazy news cycle. Thankfully, season six runs only eight episodes instead of the usual 13. Five more episodes would have made this even worse and it’s really, really bad already. I don’t want to downplay Robin Wright as Claire. She’s been great in all the other seasons and is great here too. It’s just the plot for this season is so choppy and ludicrous. Personally, I hated it and wish Netflix had just killed the show off when Spacey killed his career.

Another slog through the work week is done. Yay!

The Boyfriend left today for a conference in Barcelona. So, I am footloose and fancy free for ten days. What ever shall I do with my free time?

– House of Cards Season 6 Binge
– Barnes & Noble/Criterion 50% Off Sale
– A Biltmore Visit
– Noble Cider Drinking with Shortlegs
– Movie Night with Kat
– A Viewing of Suspiria (2018)
– Chili’s and Noises Off at WCU with Mom
– Learning Lines for the January Studio Show I Am In
– Freelance Work
– Maybe a Hike
– PIZZA!!! PIZZA!!! PIZZA!!!

Next Tuesday is election day, so be sure to get out and vote!

We just finished up the second season of Mr. Mercedes (based on Stephen King’s trilogy of Bill Hodges books). Having loved the first season, I was anxious to see what they did with the second one. As expected, they skip the second book in the trilogy (Finders Keepers) and jumps straight into book three (End of Watch). I didn’t really have a problem with this as the character of Brady Hartsfield is the main villain in books one and three and is in a coma pretty much through all of the second book.

Warning … SPOILERS AHEAD!

What I did not expect was the abrupt 180 the series does in the final two episodes of season two. The second season was following along with the plot of the book. Brady is in a coma but they use experimental drug testing as a way to explain Brady’s newfound mental control abilities. They even have him take over the minds of two people. Alright. I am with you. The later we got into the season, the more I thought they were going to stretch the plot into a third season. In the book, Brady eventually mentally leaves his body and takes over his doctor. He’s hellbent on revenge against Bill Hodges and an elaborate plan to kill Hodges ensues. The series, on the other hand, waits until episode nine (of ten) to have Brady wake from his coma, escape the hospital, and feel remorse because the experimental drugs have altered his brain/personality. He eventually turns himself in to the police, is put on trial and is ultimately killed in the courtroom by Lou (his friend he stabbed at the end of the first season) . That all happens in the final two episodes of the season. WTF?!

I am not at all sure why the writers of the show even had the mind control plot going if they were ultimately throw it all out the window in the span of one episode. Was it because they wanted to make a statement in regards to the Me Too movement or victim trauma? Maybe they were unsure if the series would be renewed for a third season and decided to wrap it all up in the 11th hour? Whatever the reason, it was very unsatisfying and I feel like they ruined a damn fine show.