2019
Books
- The Dutch House – Ann Patchett
- Virgil Wander – Leif Enger
- Olive Again – Elizabeth Strout
- We Must Be Brave – Frances Liardet
- The Gown – Jennifer Robson
- The Other Einstein – Marie Benedict
- The Feather Thief – Kirk Wallace Johson
- The Golden Hour – Beatriz Williams
- Chelsea Girls – Fiona Davis
- Elizabeth Street – Laurie Fabiano –
Movies/ TV
- Ford vs. Ferrari
- The Good Liar
- Rocketman
- Yesterday
- Downton Abbey
- Mrs Maisel – Amazon
- The Catcher was a Spy – Netflix
- Shetland – Britbox
- Gentleman Jack – HBO
- The Crown – Netflix
- Honorable Mention – Renee Zellweger in Judy
Theatre/Arts
- Hugh Jackman Live in Boston
- Hadestown
- SIX
- Come from Away
- School of Rock
- Carol Burnett, an evening of laughter
- Imagine Van Gogh @ ACA Montreal
- Cole Porter’s Piano @ NYHS
- Ida O’Keefe @ The Clark
- Waterloo Bridge @ WAM and The Art of Winnie The Pooh @ MFA
Podcasts
- Under the Influence CBC
- Revisionist History
- Saw Bones
- Stuff you missed in History Class
- ModernLove
- Kind World
- The Moth
- Radio lab
- Stage door Sessions
- Open Ears
Spotify Playlists
- Classical Music for reading by Filtr Legacy
- Rosie’s Top 50 by Vsn0105 (from my 60th)
- Ella Fitzgerald Complete Collection
- Keb’Mo’s Top Tracks
- This is Julie Andrews
- James Taylor and Friends
- Classic Show Tunes
- Ocean Waves with Piano by Piano Peace
- Sentimental Journey by Kelly Stewart
- Rosebuds PlayList by R LaBonte (Midd Tunes)
Memorable Meals/Road Trips
- Manoir Hovey
- Waterlot Inn – Flaming S’mores Baked Alaska
- Resto de la Plage @ Ile D’Orleans
- Wicked Tulips
- Bridge of Flowers
- Nantucket Book Festival
- Partners Village Store
- Blithehold – Beehive Cafe
- Marblehead Gingerbread Festival
- Dowager’s Cottage @ Salter’s Point
2018
I have been embracing escapism in all forms under the current administration. What follows is a selection of some of my favorites for 2018 – limited to Top 10
Top Books 1-The Library Book – Susan Orlean 2-Kingdom of the Blind – Louise Penny 3-The Overstory -Richard Powers 4-Fashion Climbing – Bill Cunningham 5-Born on Third Base – Chuck Collins 6-Woman in the Window A.J.Finn 7-Happily Ever Esther – Steve Jenkins 8-My year with Eleanor – Noelle Hancock 9- The Collector’s Apprentice – B.A. Shapiro 10 – A piece of the world – Christina Baker Kline
Top Movies 1-Won’t you be my neighbor? 2-RBG 3-Green Book 4-The Post 5-A Star is Born 6-The Leisure Seekers 7-Puzzle 8-Our souls at night (Netflix) 9- Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – Netflix 10 – Mary Poppins
TV 1-Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon) 2-Body Guard (Netflix) 3-A Place called home (Acorn) 4-God Friended Me (CBS) 5-Designated Survivor (Amazon) 6-Good Witch – (Hallmark) 7- Home Fires – PBS 8 – The Rookie – ABC 9- The Minimalist – PBS 10- The Crown – Netflix
Theatre/Arts BOH 1- Hamilton 2-Waitress 3-Fun Home WAM – 4-Winslow Homer & 5-Flora in Winter MFA – 6-French Pastels, Treasures from the Vault 7-Winnie the Pooh 8- Ansel Adams PEM 9- Georgia O’Keefe NYC 10- Mean Girls
Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks Things I tried for the 1st Time & Liked 1-Sweet Green Salads 2-Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt Bars – Coffee Chocolate Chip 3-Vaseline Pink Bubbly Lip Therapy 4-Apple Street Bees Raw Honey 5-Growing Tulip Bulbs in Water 6-Answering Letters to Santa 7-Making Cards for Children Detained at the Border 8-Salter’s Point 9-Kaleidoscope Photography 10 – Waterless Amaryllis
Favorite Dining 1- Knickerbocker Club Birthday 2- The Breezes 3 – Oregon Club 4- Smith & Wolensky – Wellesley 5 – Bar Taco 6- Sonsie 7- Inside Park at St. Bart’s 8-Earl’s Kitchen 9-Wishing Well 10- Farm & Coast
Due to circumstances beyond my control , I missed a few adventures in. 2018 – Looking forward to making up for it in 2019.