Tuesday 20070508 2215 - Up at 0630; Up at 0900 - Planting; Raking; Making the bed and facing the outside world; Lunch and Variety - "The Year of Magical Thinking"; Lunch and Variety - "Some Men"; Key lock hardware; Lowe's; Home - Planting, laundry, nap, tv watching, journal work; Books
(Web work - (Tue) 20070508-2215 / (Tue) 20070508 / (Tue) 20070508)

Cat chores. Went back to bed.

At 0900, I woke again, and grudgingly decided to face the world.

I decided I try planting the fountain grass before it got too hot.

Within about ten minutes, I discovered it was already too hot.

I tried the first one at the north end of the bed and realized it appeared to be over the PVC sewage pipe.

I then turned to south end and discovered it was very difficult to get into a position to use the shovel. But I was finally able to scoop out a hole wide and deep enough to take the plant. I started to plant the second one about three feet away but decided to place it about a foot away. That way there will be lots of overlapping.

At the end of that fun-filled hour,my lower and upper back hurt, my neck hurt, my shoulders hurt and my right arm felt paralyzed. I realized I needed some different kind of tools: a short-handled shovel and a long, narrow spade, at least.

I thought I might have enough time to do some raking before worrying about lunch. So I collected two containers from around the shed.

And I was able to place them on the street since the removal truck had yet to visit.

I've learned how to make the bed fairly quickly, so that proves helpful.

Shower, shave, gel, brush teeth, apply facial lotion, etc. Dress - Nikes, jeans, tee, short-sleeve polo. (Did you know the polo shirt was invented in 1929 by René Lacoste, the French 7-time Grand Slam tennis champion?)

I actually found myself with some free minutes, so I look through this week's, May 7, 2007, issue of "TV Guide." Just as I got to an article on "Veronica Mars" and the re-focusing of the show. Prior to it's return last week, it has dealt in stories that cover multi episodes and may overlap with other stories. The re-focusing will make each episode self-contained.

I really had to come back to the story to finish it, because just as I started, I realized it was time to wander off to lunch.

(I wonder what was the first series to have a story line that covered multiple episodes.)

This time I had the April 2 - 8, 2007, issue. Two legit reviews struck me.

The first was "The Year of Magical Thinking," based on the 2005 memoir of Joan Didion on the loss of her husband John Gregory Dunne, staring Vanessa Redgrave.

"(Redgrave) is not so much playing Didion as channeling her experience. Physically, the two women couldn't be less alike. Didion is tiny, birdlike and frail. Redgrave is tall, robust and regal, capable of generating the most turbulent emotions onstage."

"The expressiveness of Redgrave's eyes or her beautiful hands, with long graceful fingers, provide as mesmerizing a focus as her words. Like her occasional brief animation to anger or excitement, her gestures are always subtle and economical, with only an almost imperceptible slump of her shoulders conveying her final acceptance of death as intransmutable fact. Or those eyes -- febrile and alert as they seek out and engage the audience throughout the play, frequently filled with surprising humor and lightness -- drifting off to stare blankly at the back wall in sorrow."

Redgrave is, of course, one of the world's greatest performers. I've read that an evening with her can be one of the most spell binding experiences imaginable.

I remember reading years ago a novel that partly takes places in London. The participants are going to a Redgrave performance. And there's some talk of leaving before the end. One person declares the effect of Redgrave by saying: "One does not walk out on Vanessa."

(Pause - Tuesday - 20070508 - 2341)
(Return - Wednesday - 20070509 - 1430)

The second review to catch my imagination was about an off Broadway play called "Some Men" by "Terrence McNally". It appears to be a series of loosely linked, non-chronological scenes of New York City gay life from the 20s to the present. "But worthy intentions, decent actors and some funny one liners are not enough to instill theatrical backbone or emotional development into this grab-bag of stereotypical vignettes, recycled form countless gay-themed indie novels and queer lit."

One facet of "Variety" reviews is their sense of honesty. Roses are roses. Mildew is mildew.

(In - Tuesday - 20070708 - 1109: $7.51 - Cash)

I went to the hardware store recommended by the clerk at Lowe's and explained that I was changing the hardware on an old chest, and I needed hardware for the key holes. At first, this clerk said he didn't think they had anything, but we did go back to ask someone else, who said we did.

We then moved to a very long, very narrow aisle with literally hundreds of plastic drawers. He found the one he wanted, opened it, and there were some small, very bright and brassy keyhole hardware. Along with several types of locks. He said he had worked there four years, and this was only the third time he had opened that drawer. He, as the first clerk did, suggested, the web.

(Pause - Wednesday - 20070509 - 1555)
(Return - Wednesday - 20070509 - 1830)

Next stop was Lowe's for some new digging and planting tools. There were a number of short-handled shovels, and what I chose is called the "Trunk Buddy Shovel" which immediately brings to my demented mind - the perfect implement for burying that pesky dead body in your trunk. I also found a wide, deep spade, actually called a trowel. It has serrated edges and in the center a calibration for quantity up to 100 mL. Two very clever ideas, I thought. I also saw an implement with a dual head that had a solid piece at one end and three large prongs at the other. I had no idea its proper name. But it's a mini tiller.

I also picked up a fountain grass plant on sale and some all-purpose fertilizer. I'd love to see the hedge along the north property line to be bushier and thicker and provide more of a screen to the coming and goings.

(Out - Tuesday - 20070708 - 1258: $46.38 - Bank debit card)

I was able to use the new tools to plant the plantation grass I just bought. Much smoother this time.

I think I did two loads of laundry and put them in the dryer and brought them in and hung and folded them.

Then there was a nap from about 1600 to 1830,at which point I had my standard sandwich, then watched "NCIS" at 1900 followed by "Veronica Mars" at 2000. It appears that Logan and Veronica are going their separate ways, and Veronica is becoming more interested in Piz. I hope they keep Logan and his retorts, they're beyond compare.

And at 2215, I started work on the journal.

I've finished "The Back Passage" by James Lear. The book calls itself an "erotic thriller," and if you understand that it is sexually explicit, you should have no trouble. However, the person who thinks it's a send-up of Christie may be in for a surprise. It is cleverly done, and no matter what our hero, Mitch, does, it seems he can never escape the temptations of homoerotic sex.

I'm more or less through with "The Lucky Elephant Restaurant: A Detective Lane Mystery" by Garry Ryan. A contemporary police procedural in which one of the officers is gay. He has deal with his cases, his partner, his partner's nephew, homophobia, etc. And, of course, the case involves the murder of a child with the mother as a suspect. And something new to me is that it takes place in Calgary, Canada.

And this does not include about ten other books with little book marks poking out from the pages.

Solicitation from Gerber Life Insurance (junk); Parish Party invitation from St. Andrew's Episcopal Cathedral (junk); USPS solicitation for "Stamp Out Hunger" drive - May 12 (junk);

(Out - Wednesday - 20070509 - 2030)