Don't Be Afraid of the Dork: Saturday in the Garden | May You Have A Week Full of Goofy Goldens!

OUTSIDE

I got my first few harvests of sugar snap peas this week - they were delicious! Sadly my lettuce is almost done - it's such a short season at least for me. One of my Blueberry bushes has a ton of berries which is awesome but the other's got nada which is sad. I haven't done the best job with fruit in pots. I think it requires babying and I don't give them enough attention. The one rose that survived from last year is starting to bloom.

Below is a beautiful Iowa dusk with a quarter moon, earlier this week when I was doing my Frog and Toad Call Survey.

WATCHING, READING and BLOGGING

Watching

Writing about the Hamish Macbeth book series on last week's Top Ten Tuesday gave me a hankering to re-watch (for about the 10th time) the BBC mini-series based on the books. I have a shameless and inordinate fondness for this show - it's un-apologetically goofy and has occasional moments where it is truly moving. If I have time, I'm going to try and do a post this weekend about what makes this show so brilliant especially compared to the books.

I've also continued to watch Doctor Quinn Medicine Women which I am finding engaging despite the fact that much of it is treacly nonsense and that it has not one but two Fabio look-a-likes.

It's the kind of show where towards the end of season 1, I'm finding, to my bewilderment, that my favorite character is Hank, the misogynistic and racist Saloon owner and pimp with the heart of tarnished bronze. I almost cheered when he sneered "What's it like to walk on water, Michaela?" after one of Dr. Quinn's more self-righteous harangues. That's him with the smart aleck expression above. Anyway, I especially like that he's the only character on the show that calls her Michaela. It's sort of inappropriately intimate and hilarious and sweet all at the same time. To its credit the show is surprisingly feminist, and tackles racism quite frequently not just with the Native Americans but also the freed slaves in the town. I wouldn't say it deals with them in a particularly nuanced or complex way but at least it tries. I need to find the place on the internet devoted to in depth analysis of this show.
P.S. Also. In the first season alone, Johnny Cash, John Schneider and Kenny Rogers all made guest appearances - it's like a country music guest-apalooza.

Reading

Finished Last Week:

Nada. Not a great reading week for some reason though I did make progress on all three of my main reads, all of which I suspect I'll finish in the coming week.

Currently Reading:

One Magic Square by Lolo Houbein: A gardening book about maximizing food production in a small space. An ARC from Netgalley (though I think it's an older title).
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood: I'm surprised I had not read it before. This audio version is read by Claire Danes who has a really pleasing voice.
A Quiet Life in the Country (Lady Hardcastle Mysteries #1) by T.E. Kinsey: Set in the early 1900s in rural England - mysteries investigated by a Lady and her maid.
Murder on Bank Street (Gaslight Mysteries #10) by Victoria Thompson: Historical mystery series set in New York at the turn of the 20th century.

Added to the TBR:

This is a list of books that I have added to my Goodreads TBR list this week. It helps to burn the books I want to read a little more firmly into my mind, maybe get them on some other folks TBRs and gives me a chance to recognize a lot of the awesome bloggers that add stuff to my TBR!

The Book Riot Get Booked Podcast exploded my TBR again this week - it was a particularly good episode. There are a couple from other sources as well.

Zeus: King of Gods (Olympians #1) by George O'Connor: A graphic novel series about the Greek Gods! I was silly and didn't record the blog where I found this one.
A Kiss in the Wind (Romancing the Pirate #2) by Jennifer Bray-Weber: I don't know where I ran across this book but I am always looking for a good pirate romance. I've literally tried like 3 or 4 and am pretty sure I was unable to get through any of them. Could this be the one that captures my heart?
Unwind (Unwind #1) by Neal Shusterman: So Elizabeth at So Long and Thanks for All the Fish has sung the praises of this book for a while now and a TTT post on Book Lovers Blog gave me the final prod I needed to add this series to my TBR.
How to Be a Victorian by Ruth Goodman: A non-fiction book that examines the every day lives of folks in the Victorian era. Get Booked Podcast.
White Trash: The 400 year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg: Non-fiction about the poor white classes in the U.S. Get Booked Podcast.
A People's History of Science: Miners, Midwives and Low Mechaniks by Clifford D. Connor: About scientists who made important discoveries but who are not well known. Get Booked Podcast.
The Black Count: Glory, Revolution and Betrayal in the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss: About Alexandre Dumas' father who was the model for the Count of Monte Cristo in Dumas' book of the same name. Get Booked Podcast.
Scarlet Devices (Steam and Seduction #2) by Delphine Dryden: Steampunk, Western, and an across the country race while falling in love. Yes, Please! Get Booked Podcast.
Gunpowder Alchemy (The Gunpowder Chronicles #1) by Jeannie Lin: Chinese steampunk romance. Get Booked Podcast.
Blood of the Wicked (Dark Mission #1) by Karina Cooper: Urban fantasy, witches and witch hunters romance. Get Booked Podcast.