Yosemite Thriller

I'm trying to decide if I want to pull the plug on Netflix, and looking around to see what's worth watching. I also want to watch some new Western productions because I am pretty biased against them these days. Although it was pitched as a one-run mini-series, the outdoor cop thriller Untamed has been renewed for a second season, and with good reason. It's the best crime show I've watched in a long, long time.

The premise: In Yosemite National Park a federal agent still grieving the loss of his young son in the park must solve the inexplicable death of a young woman while coping with a new, inexperienced partner who has her own troubles. This case leads to drug running and murder for hire, and reopens several wounds of the past for almost everyone involved.

Set in Yosemite the series is visually beautiful (most of the time) and very different from the usual cop thriller. Eric Bana, who plays Kyle Turner, the grieving federal agent, is almost unrecognizable -- we're all getting so old! -- but is absolutely stellar in his complex and gruffly sympathetic role. He really delivers a performance worthy of a second season. Rosemarie DeWitt, who plays his ex-wife, was just as wonderful. Man, she had her hands full with that character. I think my favorite member of the cast was Lily Santiago as Naya Vasquez, the rookie cop who steals every scene she's in. She's lovely without being a beauty queen, funny without being over the top, and just one hell of an actor.

There are some graphic scenes of victim injuries, but for me the scariest parts of the series were the understated/non-graphic ones. Most happen to Vasquez, and one terrifying notable scene involves her getting stuck in a narrow mine shaft tunnel with rain water pouring in. I was just as scared as the character, I swear. I saw the ending coming from a mile away, but most won't. Available on Netflix and totally worth the watch.

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Love Means This

Invested in a couple of hand-dyed bundles from one of my favorite fabric artists. This one said "Make me into something for Valentine's Day." So I went for a quilted and embellished tote. I kept thinking about what love means to me as I worked on it. Here's the finished tote. Although I was tempted to embellish with beads and pins, I got sick and only felt well enough to do a little stitching every night. As I worked I thought about how often love seems disappointing to us, especially when it fails to live up to our expectations. But now that I've experienced love in many forms, I can say that it's made me a better person than I might have been without it. Love is a precious thing, and should be appreciated in all its forms. I am very grateful for the love of my guy, my child and my friends who have stuck with me all these years. That's you two, in case you're wondering. :) Also finally found something to do with a ve...

Other Stashes

Along with clearing out the spare bedroom and tidying my office and our guest bedroom, I decided to reorganize some of my stashes. This is all the yarn I have on hand, sorted by color. It looks like a lot, but lately I've been using up a minimum of half a bin every month, so this is approximately a year's supply. All of my solid color cotton perle thread. I go through a lot of this every year, too. I need a container in which I can fit all of it together, but I haven't found the right one yet. I won't show you all of my fabric -- I'm still reorganizing this stash -- but I went through everything and donated two bins of fabric I won't need to the local quilter's guild.

Store Closing Haul

The mega Books-A-Million store over in Sanford is closing, and offered an extra 20% off on their current stock -- all sales final -- so I went over to do some shopping. Safely but sadly there was no one in the store but me the entire time I was there. The Holly Jackson novel is for Katherine, the Halloween board book is for Oliver, and the copy of Garden Spells is to keep on hand because I give that book to everyone. The rest of the books are for me. I love Anne Cleeves, and the Galbraith novel sounded interesting (the first couple weren't, but I'm willing to take another chance.) The Escape Room is by a new-to-me author, plus it was cheap. The GreenCraft mag is just a guilty pleasure. Hopefully the smaller BAM nearer to me won't close. I don't buy many books from brick-and-mortar stores these days, but that's really the last one within reasonable driving distance.

Valerean

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