Category: TV

Sony Bravia 65″ LED TV

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On November 22nd we got a new tv for the living room.

Back in January our Samsung 55″ TV started showing purple spots which have since multiplied and indicate the LEDs are going out. I watched a video on how to replace them and it’s a ridiculous process, so we decided it would be better to buy a new TV instead. We originally planned to wait until the Samsung died completely, but with the upcoming tariffs expected in January, the cost of electronics is going to increase, so we made the decision to purchase now instead.

I did a lot of research and based on how bright our living room is, and that sunlight hits the screen directly sometimes, an OLED was out. They’re pretty expensive anyway, and Joe didn’t want to spend more than we spent on the Samsung, so we kept our budget to $1000-$1200 and settled on a Sony Bravia XR 65″ (X90CL) for $999 at Costco.

We decided on Costco instead of our preferred retailer, ABT, because Costco was offering a free extended warranty which will now cover the TV for five years.

Due to its size, it wouldn’t fit with the stupid legs on our existing TV stand, so we also had to buy a new tabletop stand for it which we got from Amazon. We like our TV stand and didn’t want to spend another $500+ to get a new one. I’m not necessarily regretting that decision, but I am a little bummed that the TV sits higher than I would have liked and because of how it hangs from the stand, it’s tilted ever so slightly back to keep it from toppling forward. The stand also allows you to swivel the TV which makes getting it to look straight a bit of a challenge, but the swivel makes access to the back of the TV easier. There are always tradeoffs.

Why these TV manufacturers almost exclusively use ugly feet on smaller TVs that can handle a middle stand is beyond me, but I hate it, because you either have to buy a wider TV stand or mount the TV on the wall or a middle stand like we opted to do.

And you can also tell from the photo that the TV is now blocking the shelf we had above the old TV that held the center channel and two speakers for our audio system. It looks stupid to me and I’d like to remove it and push the TV back a little more.

I’m having trouble adjusting to the larger screen size. Apparently 55″ was ideal, at least for me (Joe doesn’t find the bigger screen overwhelming like I do). I’m just glad we didn’t get a 75″. We considered it until measuring out how much that would cause us to have to spread out the furniture surrounding the TV console to accommodate it.

I’m still working on adjusting the TV’s picture settings to get things how I like them. I feel like the color in particular is too warm with a green cast to it. As it stands now, I feel like the Samsung has a better picture/resolution than the Sony even though the Samsung only has a 60 Hz refresh rate whereas the Sony has 120 Hz. I’m hopeful that once I get the settings to our liking I will no longer feel that way.

I do like that the Sony uses Google’s Android TV for their OS. It was one of the reasons we didn’t get another Samsung or an LG, although I still don’t understand why they all put the streaming apps in one ridiculously long row instead of using a grid system like Roku does. Sure, you can rearrange the order of the apps, but it’s still cumbersome having a single row of every app you use. It’s annoying having to scroll through so many apps to get to the one you want, especially when Sony put a bunch of their proprietary apps in the list. Couldn’t those at least been placed in a separate row beneath the streaming apps? And don’t get me started on how I can’t even delete certain apps at all, like Disney+ and YouTube Music.

Because the OS is powered by Google, I was able to set up a screensaver to display photos directly from Google Photos. It’s really cool watching some of my best photos cycle through on such a large screen. It even inspired me to go back and re-edit older photos so they are displayed in a higher resolution and look sharper now that I have better editing software and have learned new photo processing techniques. You can also play Spotify through the TV while watching the screensaver which is fun.

The sound, which is Dolby Atmos, is much richer than the old TV, I will give Sony that. But by the same token, the richer sound is weird to me when watching TV shows in particular. I guess I’m used to, and prefer, a flatter sound, particularly when watching sitcoms where dialog is the focus. This explains why I rarely turned on our stereo system or felt the need for a sound bar. There is a dialog sound setting on the TV but it still doesn’t sound right to me. I’ve been waiting to see whether I’d adapt to the richer sound before tinkering around with it, however.

I just hope as time goes on I adjust to the TV. I am very sensitive to change and it sucks to be excited for something new but then not like it at first. That seems to happen a lot with me, however, so I’m trying to remember that and not feel disappointed by how I feel.

July Recap

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We didn’t do too much this month thanks to the crazy hot weather most of the time, but the things we did do were pretty significant:

07/11 (Thu) – Saw Strangelove, The Depeche Mode Experience at Addison’s free concert in the park.

We sat as far back from the stage as possible and even then I felt my ears were being blasted. My phone’s decibel meter was registering the sound as being in ear-damaging territory. I was getting ready to suggest to Joe that we leave when I suddenly remembered putting high fidelity concert earplugs in my fanny pack about a week before. Not even sure why I did it. I believe at the time I was thinking it probably would be a good idea to always have some ear protection easily accessible because of my sensitive ears.

I bought them back in April 2019 but got sick shortly thereafter so never had an opportunity to use them. They felt weird at first, but were pretty comfortable after awhile. I could still hear the music perfectly fine and no extra tinnitus after the concert. I consider that a win! I don’t think I’d risk attending an indoor concert, though, but would feel ok outdoors with these ear plugs. Wish I had been aware of them years ago and maybe my ears wouldn’t be damaged now. I haven’t attend many concerts compared to a lot of people, but I do remember having tinnitus after them which didn’t go away until I went to sleep.

Anyway, the venue was way more crowded than we were expecting, but I’m glad we decided to check it out anyway because the band sounded just like Depeche Mode and played many of our favorite songs. This one family sitting in front of us was annoying, though, letting their kids run around everywhere which was rather distracting, but overall it was still a nice night out. Weather was perfect too. We don’t really go out like that much so it was a nice experience.

What’s funny is if it hadn’t been for us trying to find the second location of this little seasonal garden called Murphy’s Farm a week beforehand, we wouldn’t have even known about the concert. We went to the farm’s usual location and it was empty, so we decided to try and find their main location which we had never visited. It was closed too (apparently they only operate in the spring), but there were signs on the main street nearby advertising the free concert.

07/13 (Sat) – Adopted a dog – a Schnoodle named Olive

This is her sleeping on my lap.

Spoiler alert – it didn’t work out thanks to my broken right ear. :(

07/21 (Sun) After more than a month of eating through the food in the freezer, it was finally empty enough for a big Trader Joe’s trip. Look at all that yummy food!

07/24 (Wed) – Found this bat wreath at Home Goods. I didn’t need another Halloween decoration, but it was too cool to pass up.

07/26 (Fri) – Joe took the day off work so we went to Peck Farm Park to visit their butterfly tent. Afterwards we went to another park to walk around, then stopped for a little snack at Andy’s Custard. Joe had seen an advertisement for a key lime pie custard mixer, so we shared a medium which was delicious, but pricey (nearly $9). We grabbed some lunch on the way home and then decided to go swimming in our complex’s pool. It’s literally been years since we were last there, but we arrived shortly after they opened so it was pretty empty and peaceful. We spent about an hour there. I was a little concerned about getting burned, which would be ironic, since we just had our annual skin checks at the dermatologist the day before, because the sunscreen we have for the pool expired years ago. Luckily it still worked, but I did buy some new sunscreen a few days later.

07/27 (Sat) – Went to a shelter to meet a dog named Penelope we were interested in. She was being fostered, so we had to arrange a time for the foster to meet us at the shelter. She was listed as a Yorkie, but we quickly found out from the foster mom she was part Dachshund, which the shelter should have listed since they themselves had rescued this dog’s mom too! So they knew what she was mixed with and still didn’t disclose it. Had we known, we wouldn’t have wasted anyone’s time. As soon as I put the dog on my lap there was white fur all over my pants. So aggravating! We are specifically looking for a small non-shedding dog similar to Wookie, but these places often don’t list enough information for us to determine if they are a good fit before having to meet with them which is such a waste of time and effort for everyone involved.

This shelter does some pretty annoying things in general –

1) They neglect to post any photos of some of the dogs even after being asked to do so. Everyone has a phone with a camera these days so there’s no excuse for not being able to a single photo of a dog, if not several.

2) They put a general message about coming to the shelter to meet the dog even when the dog is being fostered and isn’t at the actual shelter. If you don’t notice the small section that lists the location as Foster Home, you will end up visiting the shelter for nothing.

3) They don’t disclose any information about the temperament of the dog even when it’s been with them or in a foster home for weeks. At that point they should have information about it. Why not post what they know to help people decide ahead of time if they even want to meet the dog? When I’m on Petfinder and Adopt-A-Pet I will often see a dog that is listed as having separation anxiety, for example, so I know to skip past them. It saves everyone time, not to mention reduces the chance of someone having to bring a dog back, so I don’t get why this shelter doesn’t care about giving out as much information as possible. People should have an idea of what they are getting into when adopting a dog. Do people just go blindly into a shelter, pick a dog based on looks, and take it home? That seems like a recipe for disaster.

If it wasn’t for the fact that they seem to get more of the breeds we’re looking for than the other rescues in the area, I wouldn’t bother with them anymore. It sucks to have to drive a half hour to the shelter just to quickly learn something about the dog that, had they listed it, we wouldn’t have pursued. They currently have another dog on their site listed as a Yorkie but no photos or a description even though it’s been posted for weeks. It’s so aggravating!

07/28 (Sun) – Visited my friend, K. She was dog-sitting two Schnauzers who were cuter and had softer fur than other Schnauzers I’ve seen. Apparently the owners get all their dogs from the same breeder so they have good genes. Surprisingly, their high pitch barks didn’t bother my ear, which I was expecting after our experience with Olive (who was half Schnauzer, which I was told is a breed with a very high-pitched bark).

Later in the afternoon we were invited to visit K’s brother’s house. They recently got a new puppy – a Maltese Shih Tzu mix. She is adorable! K’s parents were there with their poodle too, who we hadn’t met before but came right up to us and was friendly. K said she’s never like that, so that made me feel special. In fact, K said she is a lot like Wookie was – very standoffish with other people and dogs. She still was that way with the puppy but I’m sure will warm up to her with more exposure. We were invited to stay for dinner but decided not to accept, then regretted that later. Oh well, hopefully we’ll have another opportunity soon. I love K’s family, whom we’ve met before at K’s birthday parties. They are warm and welcoming. I wish they were my family!

Anyway, that was July. I don’t know why the universe is hating on me right now when it comes to finding a dog, but it sucks. I miss Wookie so damn much and I don’t expect a new dog to ever replace her, but I do think it will heal my heart a little.

Notable movies and series this month:

The Beekeeper starring Jason Statham (DVD) – Borrowed this from the library. Was pretty entertaining, and had some funny parts, but I feel like they had some bee-related missed opportunities.

Mike & Molly (Max) – Back when this series first aired I was in my Melissa McCarthy hater era, but I’ve since gotten over that. Glad I did, because this show is good!

Young Sheldon (Max) – I never had a single desire to watch this show, but we just finished re-watching The Big Bang Theory, so we decided it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try, and we both like it much more than we anticipated. Every character is interesting, and I didn’t realize the actress who plays Sheldon’s mom is the real-life daughter of the actress who plays his mom in TBBT. How cool is that?

January Recap

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01/02 (Tue) – Purchased the lifetime subscription to UpNote and moved all my notes over.

01/03 (Wed) – Made some delicious homemade chicken noodle soup. For years this was Joe’s specialty, but when he got COVID the first time I decided to take his recipe and tweak it. Now we can’t go back to the original because my version, while more time consuming, is so much more flavorful.

01/06 (Sat) – My friend came over for us to celebrate Christmas and my birthday.

01/07 (Sun) – Visited Morton Arboretum

01/09 (Tue) – Finally got around to trying this spiced chai (tea) we got at Trader Joe’s last year. It’s very good! One of the best teas I’ve had, in fact.

01/10 (Wed) – Nearly got run over in two separate parking lots while shopping.

First at Costco was an old lady backing out right as we were walking behind her car. Joe had to punch her trunk to get her attention. Luckily she wasn’t going very fast.

But the scarier incident was merely ten minutes later at Aldi when a lady in a giant SUV literally started peeling out of her spot, almost turning right into us as we were walking alongside her vehicle. She must have stomped on that gas hard because when she heard us yelling she ended up skidding in the spot trying to stop.

What the hell is wrong with people?

01/12 (Fri) – Did a major paper declutter/filing which was overdue (when isn’t it?)

01/13 (Sat) – Purchased Nintendo Online membership for the year so I could play some of the old Nintendo and Super Nintendo games. Namely, F-Zero and the Japanese version of Planet Puzzle League. What can I say, I like simple games.

Also installed a new Apple Watch screen protector after realizing mine had disappeared from my watch without me noticing right away.

01/14 (Sun) – Joe installed the new corner shower caddy, which we got from Costco for $60, in the upstairs guest bathroom.

I like that the shelves cannot slide down the pole like the old one that was using a rubber ring to keep it in place. It also looks nicer, and hopefully will not rust like the previous one. The thing I don’t like, however, is how the lowest shelf cannot be installed all the way at the bottom so that it sits on the corner of the tub. It holds the heaviest products, which makes it sag a bit, so all the bottles want to slide to the front. I find that irritating, and didn’t realize it would work that way until everything was put together. When Joe renovates the master bathroom, he’s going to put a large cutout in the shower so no caddy will be necessary.

01/17 (Wed) – Recycled and donated multiple items and did some shopping.

01/18 (Thu) – Joe works across town so we took advantage of that and met up at our village hall to check out a small bimonthly indoor market where we purchased tacos, salsa (verde), egg rolls, and cupcakes. All items ended up being underwhelming except two of the cupcakes.

The flavors from top left to bottom right are vanilla bourbon, whatchamacallit, chocolate malt, and cannoli. We’d only get the first two again.

01/20 (Sat) – Joe did some more work on our dryer. The slides keep deteriorating, so earlier in the month he replaced a piece on the top inside portion of the door that had worn down and put in new slides. The dryer was still squealing a lot, so he replaced the bearing in it as well. They no longer sell dryers like ours so we’ve been really reluctant to replace it as not only would we lose precious space in the laundry room, which is already cramped enough, but most of the dryers we’ve looked at have sloped tops on them. Why, I do not know! Our laundry room is also the entrance into the house from the garage so the dryer is a makeshift table for us and needs to be flat (we have a liner on top to protect the surface).

01/23 (Tue) – I had a colonoscopy and upper endoscopy. One polyp was found and removed, and even though the doctor thought I had issues with my esophagus, the biopsy results indicated otherwise. It’s a bit confusing, and I’m planning on making a follow up appointment with him to discuss everything further.

01/24 (Wed) – Cancelled Amazon Prime. It’s gotten so expensive at $140 annually, we rarely watch shows on Prime, and packages tend to get delayed so you’re not getting them in two days anymore. The breaking point came when they announced they’d be adding commercials to their Prime content unless you paid them $3 more per month for ad-free viewing. WTF? Even though, like I said, we don’t watch much Prime, it’s the principal of the thing. They keep jacking up rates and giving you less in return for your money. I think this will save us even more money in the long term since we won’t be placing orders until we have multiple things we want to buy.

01/27 (Sat) – Went to Woodfield Mall. It had been nearly a year since we’ve been in any malls at all (and the last time was Woodfield too, in fact). We no longer shop out of boredom (or for “fun”) and only when we need something specific.

They added a new anchor store called Primark which is based out of Ireland. I picked up a cheap pair of sneakers for walking on the treadmill since my old ones are literally falling apart. Was crossing my fingers they fit well (spoiler alert, they didn’t); these are the fourth pair of shoes I’ve tried. Not sure what is going on, but finding a comfortable pair of walking shoes has been difficult lately. Even the more expensive ones have been duds (such as the Pumas I got from Costco that I ended up returning). I did learn that I need the shoe to fit snugly (so even though I wear a size 8, I’m better off with a 7 or 7.5) and one that has a shape similar to an hourglass instead of just a wide toe box but narrow everywhere else.

The mall got pretty crowded by noon so we high-tailed it out of there and back to the safety of home, but not before picking up Bibibop. Luckily that location made everything as ordered!

Enjoyed the following movies and series in January:

Leo (Netflix) – An animated movie about a lizard (voiced by Adam Sandler) who talks to school children and helps them with life’s issues. Super cute and funny.

Self Reliance (Hulu) – Starring Jake Johnson and Anna Kendrick, this was a pretty unusual movie that had you guessing what was really going on the whole time. Truthfully, the main draw was Andy Samberg’s cameo, which was a bit disappointing.

Interstellar – I’ve been meaning to watch it for years and after a recent discussion with a friend, who said it was one of their favorite movies, I felt it was time. Was it good? Yes. Would I ever watch it again? Doubtful.

Hijack (Apple TV) – Starring Idris Elba, this drama mini-series had enough intrigue and drama to keep my attention, although I didn’t find his acting in particular all that engaging.

Queenpins (Netflix) – Kirsten Bell is entertaining, which was no exception in this comedy about a pair of women who create a fraudulent coupon empire.

Ted (Peacock) – I wasn’t sure at first how I felt about this limited series, but after two episodes I really got into it. It’s amazing how far we’ve come with CGI these days. Ted looks amazing and blends in seamlessly with the actors. Plus the show is just funny.

School Spirits (Netflix) – What a unique premise – Maddie, a teen stuck in the afterlife, investigates her own disappearance with the help of her fellow dead schoolmates whose souls are also stuck on school grounds. It keeps you guessing until the last episode which still leaves you with questions, hopefully which will be answered in season 2.

December Recap

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12/01 (Fri) – I woke up at 12:28 am to the faint sound of hooting. Excited, I ran to the bedroom window and opened it. Sure enough, the great horned owl was back! I could see it across the courtyard at the top of the same pine tree as back in mid October.

I ran downstairs to get my camera and got a few photos from the bedroom window. There’s no detail thanks to distance and darkness (although thankfully there was some decent moonlight), but the silhouette is pretty clear.

It also made a squawking sound I’d never heard before, which I was able to capture as well. I later learned it’s likely a female trying to find a mate. I was so excited it took an hour and a half to get back to sleep. I hope it comes back again soon!

12/02 (Sat) – Saw a Cooper’s hawk trying to hunt the neighborhood birds, but unsuccessfully.

Went to K’s birthday party which was even more fun than last year because 1) her extroverted neighbor wasn’t invited (she dominated the conversation) and 2) I felt more comfortable around her family and friends having already met most of them before. I particularly enjoy talking to her brother and his wife. They have similar interests and are so nice! K set me up with her heated blanket too so I was much less cold than last time which helped me stay relaxed. There’s nothing I hate more than being cold.

12/03 (Sun) – Sometime in November I was watching a TikTok where the person was showing how stirrup leggings are back in style. My eyes zeroed in a pair of adorable black leggings with dogs on them, however, and I could tell the person was at Walmart. I immediately went to their site only to learn the leggings were sold out both online and in store. Fast forward to us needing to visit Walmart for specific grocery items. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to look for the leggings anyway, and wouldn’t you know it, there was a single pair all by it’s lonesome, that just happened to be my size! Obviously I was meant to have them. They are so stinkin cute!

They do fit a bit tighter than their other leggings, which is a bummer, but I still love them. They are ridiculously warm too, so they are best worn when lounging.

On the same Walmart trip I picked up two boxes of Christmas Tree cakes, plus two pints of the Christmas Tree Cake ice cream. Yum! Also decided to try these gingerbread ice cream sandwiches, but was not overly impressed.

The flavor was definitely gingerbread, but the size for the price ($5 for a box of four) made them not worth it (and I believe there’s still two in the freezer at the time of this post).

We also received a shipment of Monin Syrups I had ordered.

Verdict – I do not care for the French Vanilla (will be sticking to regular vanilla moving forward) and the Toasted Marshmallow has a weird aftertaste that I do not love. The Pistachio, however, is good, as is the cane sugar, although I might just try liquid sugar from the store once it runs out.

12/05 (Tue) – Had a very frustrating experience with America’s Best in an attempt to get an eye exam. Part of the review I left online is below:

When I first called to confirm whether they accepted my vision insurance, I asked whether I should make my appointment online or with them on the phone. The woman I spoke with said she could do it. I made my appointment for 5:30 pm, and the woman said everything was set up in the system, including my insurance info. Shortly thereafter I received a text confirmation as well as an email. So far, so good.

Fast forward to the day of my appointment and I received two emails – one asking me to confirm my appointment, and another asking me to fill out some paperwork online. I completed both requests in the early morning hours.

Mid morning I received a call from them asking me to confirm my appointment and for my insurance information. I explained how they should already have that because I was told they set up my account during my initial call. The woman claimed there was nothing in their system for me, so I gave them my insurance information again and told her I would be there that evening at my appointment time.

At 4 pm I received another call from them asking if I could come earlier, at 5 pm. I told them I could not and the girl replied, “ok, see you at 5:30 then”.

I arrived at 5:20 and there were three woman at the counter. One asked me if I was using vision insurance, which was quite annoying. Why did they keep asking me this but never take down my answer?!?

Then some other women asked me what kind of exam I was there for. Once again, why did I fill out the form online if they weren’t going to retain that information?

I informed her that I was there for a glasses exam and also needed to have my eyes dilated. This woman SIGHED at me and said they probably won’t have time to do that because it takes an hour.

(Note: I had noticed when I came in the hours posted on the door say they are only open until 6 pm despite the website saying 7 pm).

I got fed up, told them to cancel my appointment, and left.

Honestly, it was difficult enough with Joe’s vision insurance to even find a place who could confirm we had coverage. His medical insurance is awesome, but the vision is total crap because it’s as if none of the chains (which is mostly what it covers) has never heard of it, despite them being listed as being covered in the plan.

We also got an updated tax assessment which means higher taxes next year, ugh!

12/08 (Fri) – When Joe got home from work we went to Cosley Zoo to see their Christmas lights. They were about as meh as always, unfortunately. Then we went to the decorated park by the Wheaton library. It was cute and mostly peaceful besides one screaming kid. We also drove to a nearby house that always puts on a good light show for Christmas. We just haven’t felt like driving too far to see Christmas lights this year, so it was a relatively short outing that ended with us picking up food from the Mexican place near our local library. We recently discovered they make some really delicious chicken fajitas at a reasonable price and can’t get enough of them.

12/10 (Sun) – Decided I was fed up with T-Vision streaming device in the bedroom, so we got a Roku from Target.

We installed it in the living room and then put the older Roku in the bedroom. Unfortunately, the new Roku remote was having issues, so we ended up exchanging it for a new one a few days later. Other than that, I love it! The new Roku remote has the ability to control the TV power and volume which makes it even more convenient than the older one.

Joe put up the Christmas tree and added lights.

12/13 (Wed) – Found out Andre Braugher passed away from lung cancer at 61.

This one was a gut punch. Celebrity deaths don’t usually make me cry, but this one did. I’ve been obsessively watching Brooklyn Nine Nine recently and it’s sad to think there will never be a reunion. There probably wouldn’t have been one anyway, but now it’s certain, because it’s not B99 without Captain Holt, one of the best comedic characters EVER, and definitely my favorite character on the show (followed closely by Andy Samberg’s Jake Peralta).

12/14 (Thu) – I finally got around to decorating the Christmas tree. In a stroke of good timing, I received a package from my cousin of a custom ornament featuring our late grandparents on their wedding day. Such a thoughtful gift! I immediately added it to the tree.

We also received two gift baskets from my parents which is not something they typically send. One was all Ghirardelli chocolate and the other a combination of things. My mom later asked me to review them and I was honest that I think they’re overpriced for what you get, particularly when the chocolate one is mostly milk chocolate and I prefer dark.

12/23 (Sat) – Placed a mobile order with Bibibop and ended up with entirely different ingredients than we asked for. I don’t know what was going on with that, but apparently I need to check the entire bowl moving forward, and not just glance at the part you can see through the lid since the proteins were the only things they got correct. They did end up issuing me a full refund when I complained, but that didn’t change the fact that my lunch that day, and the next day (they give you enough food for two meals) was ruined. I can’t wait until they open up a closer location so it’s not an hour round-trip.

12/24 (Sun) – We went to my parents for Christmas Eve. Brother #2 (B) didn’t come, so it was just me, Joe, my parents, and Brother #1 (J). We had a good time, even played a round of Aggravation before leaving at 8:45 pm.

12/25 (Mon) – A Cooper’s hawk visited us in the morning.

We exchanged gifts and then enjoyed leftovers from my parents (and into the following day). Joe got me a Cure t-shirt (A Forest), a monocular, some candy, and a few items from my Amazon wish list (screen cleaner, the Pink Stuff, and a protective wrap for my camera). I got him a Star Wars poster, LED gloves, and some candy. Lame, I know. He’s very hard to buy for and luckily doesn’t really want anything, so he wasn’t bothered by the gift inequality, but I still felt bad.

12/26 (Tue) – Headed to Target to see what after Christmas sales we could take advantage of. Sad to say they had nothing in terms of reasonably priced Christmas cards, which we needed, so we found ourselves at Meijer where everything was marked down 50% and the selection was great. Got three boxes of Christmas cards and some gift bags, so we’re set for years to come.

We also went to Bath & Body Works to check out the semi-annual sale where everything is 75% off. It was crazy crowded and we didn’t see anything worthwhile, so we left empty-handed. Other than the foaming hand soaps, I don’t really love BBW like I used to, and I have enough soaps to last me awhile.

12/31 (Sun) – Received an email from Nintendo about a sale on a game I haven’t thought about in years – Lumines.

I used to play it on the PS2. Since it was only $4.50, I decided to buy the digital copy of the Switch version. I immediately lost two hours playing it. Just as addictive as I remember! I love puzzle games.

New Years Eve isn’t really exciting, so we went to bed before 11 pm. Of course all the fireworks going off had us awake again at midnight. Bah!

Enjoyed the following movies and series in December:

Violent Night – This was on my watch list since last year because I heard about it after Christmas, and I just can’t watch Christmas movies once Christmas is over. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting – it was better. Fun movie!

Spirited

I forgot how good this movie is (saw it for the first time last year). It’s too bad it’s only available via Apple TV because a lot of people are missing out on the fun. Do I like musicals now? Because I love this movie and there is a lot of singing! Who can resist charismatic Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds though? I would buy this on DVD if it was available.

Obituary

Turn Dexter into a woman and take away his meticulous research and planning, and the need to dispose of the body, and you’ve got this show. It’s so good! I am sad we blew through the first season as quickly as we did but am looking forward to a second one.

October Recap

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10/01 (Sun) – Picked up some mums for $6 each at Meijer. Only got two this year – orange and “purple”, which really ended up being more of a magenta color. Between my neglect, the squirrels, and the cold weather, they didn’t do well this year. I think next year I will get one orange one and leave it at that.

Later in the day I added a new bird to my life list – a Belted Kingfisher!

10/02 (Mon) – Had a very unpleasant experience at Dollar Tree where the cashier shoveled some candy into her mouth, practically licking her palm, right before fingering my merchandise. Gross!

10/03 (Tue) – Got freaked out by the cans of Wookie’s wet food I had recently purchased. Luckily it was just a weather related thing that had made the fat rise to the top and congeal and it wasn’t spoiled. I did end up exchanging the unopened cans with new ones though.

10/04 (Wed) – Decorated for Halloween inside

10/07 (Sat) – Bought a 50 lb bag of black oil sunflower seeds at Menards and set up a hanging platform feeder in the hopes to draw in birds. The squirrels have been relentless trying to get into it, but it’s also attracted sparrows and house finches, as well as two woodpeckers thus far. The dark-eyed juncos won’t go inside it, but they do hop around underneath looking for scraps.

Had to end our 30 day streak of not needing to run the HVAC at all and turn on the heat. It was good while it lasted!

10/08 (Sun) – Finally saw warblers at the arboretum!

10/10 (Tue) – Was washing my hands in the kitchen sink when I spotted a red-tailed hawk in the tree right behind our house. For a split second I thought it was an owl, but it was exciting nonetheless. Luckily I’ve been keeping my camera on the dining room table so I was able to quickly grab it and take a ton of shots before it flew off. Our new patio door is so nice and clear. I never would have been able to get good shots through the old one.

10/12 (Thu) – Picked up a new delicious dip from Costco – Buffalo Style Chicken by Good Foods.

10/13 (Fri) – Tried McDonald’s new limited time sweet & spicy jam. It’s delicious! It’s just flavored corn syrup, though, so I probably won’t get it again anytime soon.

10/14 (Sat) – Went to Trader Joe’s for the first time in quite awhile and went a bit crazy. We’re really loving sautéing peppers with cubed potatoes for breakfast, amongst other things.

10/17 (Wed) – Great horned owls in the backyard.

10/22 (Sun) – Toured 8 Halloween decorated homes in Carol Stream. We decided to forgo the Gallery of Ghoulish Homes Tour in St. Charles this year. It’s a lot of driving that we were just not up to, especially with how much energy we expend during the day hiking forest preserves.

10/25 (Wed) – The neighbor in the building perpendicular to ours finally turned off his patio light for the first time in weeks. It is so bright at night and since I’ve yet to choose a blackout shade for our new windows, the drapes I have up were not stopping it from making the room rather bright. My sleep seems to be improved since he turned it off.

Also found out Bibibop will soon be opening a location way closer to our home than the one we go to in Oak Brook. Yay!

10/28 (Sat) – Finally saw a Great Horned Owl thanks to a new friend I made who frequents many of the same spots we do. She was kind enough to meet up with us at a local forest preserve and show us where it and its mate like to roost.

10/29 (Sun) – Jolted awake at 12:30 am by someone popping off fireworks. Why are people so inconsiderate?!? Lately if I wake up in the middle of the night I cannot go back to sleep easily. I was up for an hour and a half after that. Thanks, shitty neighbor.

10/31 (Tue) – Got a group of 10 trick-or-treaters at 4:30 pm and not a single kid after that. Joe had run to Target on his way home from work to buy another bag of candy that we never ended up needing. We later returned it and learned they have to throw all returned candy in the trash, so we won’t get freaked out next year and if for some crazy reason we run out of candy we’ll just turn off the light. The kids were really psyched about the microwave popcorn we gave out with the candy. One kid exclaimed “yay, movie night!” and it was adorable.

(Costco sells their Kirkland brand popcorn for $15 and you get 44 bags. It’s a steal, and way more popcorn than we can ever eat before it expires.)

Enjoyed the following movies and series in October:

Meg 2: The Trench – I hadn’t heard good things about this movie, but I’ll watch anything with Jason Statham in it. Well, I’m glad I did because this was so funny! I’m not sure if it was meant to be, but you couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the plot.

Spree – Kurt Kunkle is a rideshare driver who has figured out a deadly plan to go viral. Kept our attention and had some good laughs too.

Sprung – Not sure how I missed hearing about this comedy, but I’m liking it. Stars the two actors who played the parents in Raising Hope and has that kind of humor.

Totally Killer – Back To The Future meets horror comedy. Yes please!

Kath & Kim – A New Zealand based sitcom that should have had more seasons. “Look at me, look at me, look.at.me”.

Haunted Mansion (2023) – This updated version was done quite well. I prefer it to the Eddie Murphy one.

Deadstream – I plan to watch this every spooky season. A YouTuber decides to spend a night alone in an abandoned house that’s said to be haunted and live stream it. He has cameras in other rooms as well and interacts with his viewers as things go down. It was both scary and funny. There were jump-scares, one of which made us scream, and scenes so ridiculous we were in tears.

Strays – This movie, along with Barbie and Deadstream, all came in at the library at the same time. I assumed Barbie would be the breakout star, but it was the worst (although still enjoyable), and this was the funniest. I’m usually not a fan of the CGI talking dog schtick, but here it just works. It’s vulgar and not meant for kids, and people who get offended by cursing and poop jokes won’t like it, but I thought it was fun and plan to watch it again.

The Fall of the House of Usher – If you liked The Haunting of Hill House or The Haunting of Bly Manor, you’ll love this since they’re all created by Mike Flanagan and star many of the same actors.

Slotherhouse – This is labeled a horror comedy but it’s less horror than it is comedy. It is hilarious because of its ridiculousness. A killer sloth that can drive a car and has a social media account? Ok! Definitely watching this one again.