Bloggy Update 2/26/22

Is it March yet?

February 1, Charlie had knee replacement surgery. He’s doing pretty well, which is great! However, the past 25 days have basically been a game of “time tetris”, fitting in PT, ice, walking around, doctor appointments, moving from walker to cane, and tending to needs that most folks don’t readily think about on an average day. Totally worth it by the end of this, but neither of us could remember how time consuming the process was from his FIRST one (done 15 years ago). They (meaning the medical community) also do things somewhat differently now (no machine that moves your leg for you, the addition of the hated compression socks!, etc).

During a downtime, I’ve managed to contact someone here (in Normal!) who knows more of the behind-the-scenes of WordPress! They are coming over to the house in early March to help me “reconfigure” the blog and hopefully make it more user-friendly and easier to navigate. I’m hoping to give each interview its OWN page so folks can comment directly to the individual (and visa versa). There might be some other improvements too that I am not even aware of, so stay tuned for some positive changes coming!

I’ve also had the opportunity to do an Author Book Signing/Meet & Greet right here in Bloomington/Normal! Bobzbay (local bookstore in downtown Bloomington) will be featuring local authors this spring/summer. I’ll be showing my wares on Saturday, May 14! (time yet to be determined) I am planning on doing some giveaways/raffles and am thinking of other possibilities as well. Check the EVENT section of the blog to stay updated regarding the times/dates/specifics of what’s coming up.

I’m hoping that once Charlie is able to drive, I’ll be able to start the second draft of my latest novel (still unnamed). So, if I had to ballpark a time? Probably late March.

We have watched a few movies:

The French Dispatch (2021) – Uh, yeah. We just couldn’t get into it. I know lots of people thought it was amazing, but it didn’t click for us. A bit TOO art-house and “trying to be clever” feel for us.

Horse Girl (2020) – Good, solid movie that was kind of surprising. I wish it had a better title because this makes it sound “simplistic” or, perhaps a bit YA (which isn’t bad, but it’s not necessarily YA). I recommend this if you want a more serious, emotionally toned movie.

Minari (2020) – Solid film about an American-Korean family making it as farmers in the Ozarks. Quality piece for sure.

Adrift (2018) – Decent movie, but a tad heavy-handed. I liked the film Open Water better in this “category”.

No One Gets Out Alive (2021) – Fair horror movie. I had to go and look it up again because there’s so many movies with similar titles these days. (lol) Yeah, I gave it a 5.2 (out of 10). A little forgettable, but could be okay for a few hours of basic entertainment.

14 Peaks (2021) – “Fearless Nepali mountaineer Nimsdai Purja embarks on a seemingly impossible quest to summit all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks in seven months” This is one of those docu-entertainment films that I would recommend IF you like that kind of thing. If not, steer clear. We enjoyed the movie, but it’s kind of up our alley.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) – Old school horror with terrible visual effects and a very emphatic and young Kevin McCarthy. Gotta love it.

Okay, there you have it.

Hey – I’m still looking for musicians/artists (and authors) to feature on the blog! Please send folks my way! Have them send a brief email to srovens@yahoo.com. Thanks! 🙂