Is anyone watching this new show on Lifetime? I have to say, I truly love Rosanne. I loved her show when I was a kid and I felt like Darlene was my kindred/sarcastic/deadpan spirit. Dan and Rosanne reminded me of my funny, dysfunctional parents. I’m so happy to see her nuttiness - literally (because she has a nut farm!) back on TV. On the first episode, she sang the National Anthem at a softball game. Her kids were like, “please don’t do this again.” And you could tell she was afraid, but she did it because she wanted to wipe the slate clean. It made me cry, it was so good. I mean, not Carrie Underwood good or anything, but still - it was good. She redeemed herself, if she even needed redeeming. Anyway, if you get the chance, check it out. She’s the funny, down to earth mom (and now grandma) that I remember, and I am happy to see her.

My favorite part of the show is the three Hawaiian guys that are like a Shakesperian chorus…or the mariachi owls in Rango.

And since this is my first non-sewing post in a while, I may as well go whole hog. In TV land, I want Ashley to choose Ben, not JP. I’m totally enjoying Switched at Birth on ABC Family - heartwarming and sweet. I’m so glad The Closer started back up - it’s been great, as usual. I don’t want Brenda to get in trouble because of this lawsuit, but it would seem she’s going to have to…it doesn’t seem that her decision to leave that boy behind can stand. I’m also enjoying True Blood, Haven, Camelot, Eureka, The Outcasts, Warehouse 13, Falling Skies, Alphas, In Plain Sight, The Protector, Royal Pains, Burn Notice, Melissa and Joey, Franklin and Bash, Memphis Beat, American Pickers, Pawn Stars, American Restoration…the list goes on and on. I’m so glad there are summer shows and fall shows. And I’m looking forward to Project Runway, which I think started tonight!

Oh! By far, my favorite show right now is called Misfits. It’s a British show - Hulu is running one episode a week. Very funny. Nathan is my favorite. I think you can watch all the episodes on e4.com, but I like it so much, I’m trying to be patient and not watch it all at once. I’m making it last.

For some reason, SYTYCD has seemed boring to me this season. I just want to watch Jess and Melanie and Marco. Let’s just move right to them as the final three. (Shoot, I hope one of them didn’t get voted off this week while it’s sitting in my DVR!)

I try not to talk about TV on here because my crazy TV mania really starts to show. You should know I’m well rounded, though. I also watch too many movies and read too many books. I’m currently reading any Scottish Highlander romance I can find. So far my favorite authors are Karen Marie Moning, Mary Wine, Margaret Mallory and Michelle Sinclair. Got any recommendations?

Hope everyone is having a great summer!

Let’s talk about some of the new shows on this summer. Memphis Beat? Anyone watching it? I like it. The pilot made me cry a little, which is always good. No characteristically funny stuff from Jason Lee, but good drama, for sure. And I always love when a show is really part of it’s surroundings - I’m looking forward to lots of good Memphis music.

Top Chef DC is off to a great start. Who else was surprised that the middle school kids loved the carnitas tacos with pickled onions?

Work of Art is awesome. Full of kooky, crazy artists. Art is SO SUBJECTIVE, I was really curious how they were going to pull this off. But when you think about it, it’s not like we can taste the food on Top Chef or necessarily ‘get’ the fashion preferences of the Project Runway contestants. I’m totally enjoying watching the little bits of the artists’ process that we get to see, and I’m especially enjoying the crazy coming out. I loved Nao’s quote in the first episode…something like, “I already feel like I won, so I’m going to be liberal with my criticism.” And Miles keeps winning and he’s the craziest of all. And I’m not even talking about the OCD. I mean, why WHY why would he interrupt the judges and critique a fellow contender’s work? Crazy is not the right word. And I love watching them shop for art supplies way more than the visits to Whole Foods or Mood. I wish someone would give me $100 and an empty bag in an art supply store.

My most favorite show at the moment is So You Think You Can Dance…I seriously love Kent. And I love ALL the all stars - I’m so happy to see them dancing again. They definitely should have kept Christina and cut Melinda, though.

What else?

Pretty Little Liars/Make It or Break It/American Teenager - mind candy. I watch them all. I like Pretty Little Liars a lot - I almost feel bad putting it in the same category as the other two, because the acting is really a lot better - and I love to see Holly Marie Combs in something new. But since it’s essentially a teen Desperate Housewives, it still falls in the mind candy category.

Lie to Me is great - I’ve missed Mekhi Phifer in the first few episodes, though. I hope he’ll be around more.

I’m also watching:

• Merlin on SyFy
• Burn Notice, Royal Pains and In Plain Sight on USA - all great
• Friday Night Lights (so awesome, always)
• Leverage on TNT
• some new shows - Persons Unknown (so far, so good) and The Gates (just Okay…I mean, how many creatures will they introduce? vampires, werewolves, succubi, witches…too many - no focus), Scoundrels (seems like a rip off of The Riches, but Virginia Madsen is good, so I’ll watch), Rookie Blue (first episode…meh. we’ll see.)
• The Good Guys - very entertaining so far, and excellent classic rock soundtrack
• Kathy Griffin, My Life on the D List - super hilarious. Start watching it today. I just wish it was for free somewhere online.
• If I Can Dream - reality show on Hulu. Gigliani is pissing me off and I want to see more Kara, but entertaining.

Lots of good stuff coming up: Rubicon, The Glades, Haven, Eureka, The Closer, Rizzoli and Isles…you see why I’m not getting any sewing done.

I just whizzed through both The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson. So sad that he’s passed away - what a phenomenal storyteller. Lisbeth Salander is at once the most sympathetic and interesting character I have read in a long, long time. I highly recommend either the regular books or the audio books. I got both books on Audible and loved Simon Vance’s reading. Wonderful! I’m a little bummed that the third book in the trilogy won’t be out until Oct 09, but I can’t wait to see what happens to Lisbeth.

I couldn’t find a website for Stieg - probably because he’s Swedish - but Random House has this site for the books, and is running this contest to win a trip to Sweden until Sept. 30, 2009.

I will say that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was one of those books I kept seeing promoted and highly rated and kept avoiding because it didn’t seem interesting. Also, because it had been translated to English, I thought it would have a bunch of foreign references I wouldn’t get. Neither of these turned out to be the case. Both books were just great stories with the very intriguing character of Lisbeth. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I also recently watched Sunshine Cleaning (awesome) and Gran Tourino (wonderful). I recommend both for your Netflix queue. Warning: both made me cry.

I’ve been looking for shows to watch, and Netflix has CSI: NY Season 5 on ‘watch instantly’ right now. I’ve really only watched CSI: Vegas since the beginning. I lasted halfway through seasons 1 of the other two CSI’s, and found them super irritating. I love Gary Sinise though, so I thought I’d give NY another try. Big mistake. It’s so corny! I just couldn’t take it. That crazy high-tech autopsy room with the floor to ceiling video screens of the insides of dead people? Even if that’s real technology, it just looks so crazy and unrealistic. I can see how that show would really make it hard for REAL prosecutors and CSI’s and detectives to prove a case in REAL LIFE court - where this Star Trek-esque technology just doesn’t exist.

This post makes number 489. I’m trying to think of something cool for my 500th post, but I’m not sure what to do. I feel a giveaway is in order - perhaps something with my very fancy new MOXYWARES tag!

That was a fun little drawstring bag I made for my niece’s 11th birthday…the blue linen was in the remnant bin at Joann’s! I got about 1.5 yards for like $6. Awesome. But I digress…maybe a box bag for a giveaway? A boxbag with some fun fat quarters inside?

Give me your thoughts.

In TV news, I’ve been watching all kinds of stuff - good and not so. On the good list: True Blood. Love it. I’m all caught up and can’t wait for the next episode. Also good: Eureka is back on - always good. And a new great show on SyFy - Warehouse 13. Crazy gadgets, funny dialogue, crime-stopping girl/boy duo.

In the not-so-good (but I’m habitually watching anyway) category, we’ve got pretty much all of the ABC Family shows. I actually think Secret Life of the American Teenager is pretty good, but I’d like to fire one or two actors and replace them with better ones. I love the little sister, though.

I think I saw the best “worst scene” ever on Make It or Break It. I think it was on the 2nd episode. If you, like most people over the age of 15, are not watching this show, it’s loosely based on the film Stick It, which I loved. Elite gymnasts working towards the Olympics, catty teen girl relationships, blah blah blah. So anyway, there was a scene where the gymnasts were at a gas station and these punk guys were coming towards them (with brown bag bottles in their hands) making rude comments. The lead girl says “follow me” and they start cartwheeling and roundoffing towards the bad guys. The guys stumble backwards, saying some crazy stuff like, “whoa, that was some superhero stuff or somethin’!” So silly. I feel everyone must watch this scene.

I watched the first episode of 10 Things I Hate About You - another show based on a movie - and thought it was pretty good. The lead girl is great.

I’ve been reading some good books also. I just finished Sarah Dessen’s latest, Along For the Ride. Cute YA book. I also finished a Nora Roberts series about witches…Charmed, Entranced, Captivated…I can’t remember the last one. Pretty good. I’m not a full fledged Nora follower yet, but her books are quick, enjoyable reads.

We also just came back from a big road trip to Montana, but it’s too late to tell that story tonight :)

Baby Ian on his owl quilt :) How cute is that plaid jumper?! I love baby clothes. And shoes!

Awesome season finales: Fringe, Dollhouse, The Office

Okay finales: Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, CSI Vegas, Survivor (Coach got robbed! ha ha ha, just kidding)

I haven’t seen NCIS, Mentalist, Unit, Lie to Me or Ghost Whisperer finales yet…so the jury is out. I did hear that CBS didn’t renew The Unit though, that’s a bummer. Although I always found the writing on that show kind of irritating - like they all took themselves too seriously, or the spoke in ways that normal people just don’t speak. Especially Army families - who I’ve been around my whole life. Still, it was a show my husband would watch with me, and they usually had pretty cool missions. I’ll be sorry to see it go.

I’m excited about Glee - I loved the season premiere or preview or whatever that was. Did anyone else see Lauren from So You Think You Can Dance (season 3) in that show choir from the other school? A few episodes in to In Plain Sight;s second season and I’m loving it just as much as last year. And there are some good things starting up…So You Think You Can Dance tonight, The Closer starting next month. Good stuff.

I also caught up on the last three seasons of Smallville. Awesome! I just loved it. I can’t wait for season 9. *spoiler alert* Although, the lack of detail on Clark and Doomsday’s final battle was annoying. I mean, they disappear and then there’s a distant fiery explosion and then Clark is okay? Clearly, Doomsday must still be alive…somewhere. And when are Clark and Lois going to finally hook up??? That tension is worse than Scully and Mulder! But I just love their relationship. Also looking forward to Ollie and the Black Canary hooking up - at least, I hope so. They’ve got to get rid of that crazy Tess person.

That’s it for the TV rundown. Oh, is One Tree Hill ending? They sure tied that finale up with a pretty little bow. Happy ending for everyone but Dan - and no one expects one for him anyway…but it sure seemed like a series finale.

As for movies, I’ve been making the most of my Netflix membership. I even got to the theater for Mother’s Day to see Star Trek. Loved it. Saw Benjamin Button the other day - didn’t love it. I liked it. I think I just couldn’t escape into it enough to stop questioning how other people were able to accept the wierdness of him, and how “the man” didn’t step in to run a million tests on him. Maybe that’s my love of sci fi talking, but it sure seems like someone would want to know how to reverse aging if it was a possibility. I’m not a particularly logical person, so my inability to just accept the premise of that movie really bothered me. I did love that in the scene where Daisy is performing in New York, and Benjamin comes to see her, the song she’s dancing to is “I Have Dreamed” from The King and I - one of my all time favorite songs in the whole world.

I just finished reading The Lost Quilter by Jennifer Chiaverini - the latest of the Elm Creek Quilters books. I have to say, it’s one of the best ones in a while. I was glued to it. I just had to see what would happen to Joanna. Highly recommended.

I think that’s it - we’ve got The Reader and Valkyrie on deck, with lots of good movies in the queue. Just got The First Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld from the library, and again, SYTYCD starts tonight! My cup overfloweth!

Anyone else sad to see the TV seasons ending? I’m going to have to start getting creative if I hope to find TV to fill the empty hours left by the lack of prime time. I especially enjoyed Fringe and Dollhouse this season…I hope hope hope they come back! I also loved watching the craziness of Coach on Survivor. What a kook. Very entertaining. I think we’ve still got some finales to go, right? Private Practice? Brothers and Sisters? We’ll see what they come up with. I’m happy that the cable networks offset their seasons…In Plain Sight is back, and I love it. Looking forward to The Closer next month. And of course, SYTYCD starts soon!!! Woo hoo!!!

I’ve been getting more comments from people who have downloaded my hex templates. (Thanks, Ida and Susan!) I hope they’re helpful! I love to hear that people found just what they were searching for at my little home on the web :) I need to add something new to the free download page, don’t I? Maybe an embroidery pattern…I’ll work on it.

I got a little sewing done last weekend. I finished up my contribution of pinwheels that will make the border around our little dresses quilt. I forgot to take a picture of my second little dress, my friend Pauline posted this photo on facebook, and I “borrowed” it. Thanks, Pauline! My blocks are the plaid dress (2nd row, 3rd dress) and the lavender dress (3rd row, 4th dress).

And here are my pinwheels…everyone is making six using scraps from our dresses.

I won’t lie…I did not find making pinwheels very fun. My centers are really bumpy…Lynn, our fab group member and long-armer will probably be cursing me when she goes to quilt these.

I also finished up my first draft of the flier for our quilt show. I drew the little applique flowers in Illustrator…my first attempt at creating new images, rather than using stock images. I am happy with the outcome. BUT, I haven’t gotten any feedback yet, so it might not fly. Last year’s flier was a lot more elaborate, but I never liked it. I thought it was way to busy. We’ll see if this one makes the grade…

In other news, William got a light saber…that was fun for five minutes. And we redid the train table yesterday…almost two hours of assembling and reassembling what must be yards of track pieces and buildings. But he’s playing quietly in there now, so it was well worth all the trouble. Have a great week, everyone!

How awesome is Hulu.com? I mean, seriously. It’s free. It’s all the shows I jump all over the internet to watch. I can watch everything on my Macbook - as opposed to some network sites (like TNT) that aren’t mac-compatible. I just finished watching Fringe and now I’m watching Heroes. Just a few commercials, but they’re mostly for good stuff - like Goodwill and world relief funds. Seriously - the face of TV is not TV for me anymore.

Thanks, Hulu! My brain is feeling mushier by the minute!

I’ve been away so long, I don’t know where to start. First of all, I just finished watching the first debate, and let me just say that I’m glad John McCain deigned to show up, and I was so annoyed with his constant assertion that Obama didn’t understand/didn’t get it/was showing naievete. Give me a break. I was proud of my main man Barack for not even acknowledging the annoying little comments. We know the truth, Barack. You understand what’s going on and where the country should be headed much better than the McCain/Palin team.

I chose CBS, and I think Katie did great, but I’m not sure what’s going on with her eyeliner. And who is T. Boone Pickens? Did anyone else see that commercial about pickensplan.com? I’m going to have to check that out.

Now, onto the important issue of fall premiers. Holy crap - ER was so good. I’m not going to spoil it for the TiVo watchers, but I was sobbing out loud! Not just tears, but noisy sobbing. Last week, I went on a trip, and I made the mistake of bringing One Tree Hill with me in my iPod. I say mistake because it was the episode before this week’s - Q’s funeral. So I was crying and crying on a plane, next to some kid who was either headed for or from Basic Training. He probably thought I was so wierd.

NCIS was great, but not on the same level as ER. We haven’t seen the Mentalist yet, it’s still in the TiVo, but I’m looking forward to it. In fact, I still have Heroes and Ugly Betty to watch. Every day I wait for my new DVR from Verizon, I’m falling further and further behind! I did watch Grey’s Anatomy online, and it was excellent. I hope that Army guy comes back - I’ve liked all of his shows that have been cancelled. I even liked the red hair. I’m also totally digging Fringe. Another excellent offering from JJ Abrams.

I mean, what kind of cable company goes digital the week before the fall season starts and then doesn’t have a good plan in place to get equipment out to people? SO LAME.

I can’t believe the fall season has already started! I’m so far behind, I haven’t even prepared my show matrix yet! Normally, I have an whole spreadsheet showing nights of the week, channels, shows, times and start dates for each of the new shows. This year, I’m so unprepared, that I had to buy the first to episodes of Gossip Girl on iTunes and I have to watch a rerun of Fringe on Saturday because I missed them. I’m going to have to buy 90210 and One Tree Hill, too.

Here’s the problem. A few days ago, my cable company, Verizon, went to an all digital signal. I thought this wouldn’t affet me because I have cable boxes on all the tvs. We have one of the Verizon bundles for cable, phone and ineternet. Anyway, so we also have a TiVo. So it turns out that because my TiVo is a dual-tuner dvr, meaning, I can record two channels at once, I now need a cable box for each tuner! That means I would need two cable boxes connected to my Tivo, all connected to my TV. That’s just crazy, right?

So, I’ve got an even better solution. The extra cable box was going to be another $10 a month, but through one of the Verizon offers, a Verizon DVR is only $15, and it’s dual tuner! So I’ve got a new DVR on the way, I’ll move the TiVo to our bedroom TV, and I can record all my shows and hubby can record golf golf golf. Definitely one of the best Verizon deals I’ve gotten.

Good news is I’ll be able to record everything. Bad news is that the DVR won’t be here for another few days…and I’m already missing shows. Hurry, DVR, hurry!

I’m particularly looking forward to Fringe. I’m enjoying Greek, Samurai Girl, Army Wives, The Closer, Monk, Psych…um, that’s all I can think of right now. I heart TV.