#18: Pool Fence

Old fence removed.

We can still get amazing sushi.

40th: New Orleans

41st: Key West

42nd: Vegas and the Grand Canyon

43rd: Pearl Jam in Miami

44th: Miami and Cuba

45th: Palm Springs

46th: Austin

47th: sigh

Should we call the CDC?

#57:Cook at home for one week (3 times}

First time in over a decade.

Pulled off a two kilo job with my brother, Sean, today. Did it in broad daylight, too.

Man were we wrong. He really did love the Puerto Rican people.

#9: Complete ten nagging home repairs

Sonia spent the day cleaning the brick and priming the front before painting. I, on the other hand, spent the day trying to clean our rat infested attic enough to see why our heater stopped working.  I almost had two strokes.

#21: Read an additional 20 books

Enjoyed this one.

https://www.myheritage.com/incolor offering it for free during the quarantine. Thanks for the tip Ona.

#57: Dinner at home one full week (3 times)

A homemade smash burger to wrap up week two.

Step 1: Clear out the furniture.

Step 2: Floor treatment

Step three: Strip and patch the walls. Remove the baseboards.

#17: Convert guest bedroom into a library/study

Because writing has been a bit difficult because of the distractions, I figured now would be as good a time as any to tackle my most ambitious project to date. After watching countless YouTube tutorials, I will attempt to accomplish various electrical and carpentry  feats and convert this room into a study/library.

It was like watching the news. I think the writers are time travelers.

IMG_4627 from henry james on Vimeo.

Saturday reruns. Cubs win!

Eddie’s lyrics for Dance of the Clairvoyants are on point:

Expecting perfection
Leaves a lot to ignore
When the past is the present
And the future’s no more
When every tomorrow
Is the same as before
Numbers keep falling off the calendar’s floor
We’re stuck in our boxes
Windows open no more
Could’ve lifted up the forget-me-nots
Not recalling what they’re for

I was supposed to see Pearl Jam next week in Nashville and then a few days after that in Los Angeles. But… At least they dropped their first album in seven years. And the first one that I liked in twenty-two years. And here is a clip of when I first saw them play twenty-eight years ago at Marquette’s Alumni Theater. 

According to Hemingway and Rio.

#9: Complete 10 nagging home repairs

Paint and clean the fireplace.

When it rains it pours. Not the best time to lose our oven.

#21: Read 20 additional novels

Haven’t yet read anything from her that I haven’t enjoyed.

#9: Complete 10 nagging home repairs

Spent the weekend working on a few projects. Rebuilt and painted the above frame. Patched a two year old hole in the guest bathroom’s drywall. Weather stripped the front door. Patched a hole under the kitchen sink. Cocked a bunch of cracks. Kinda fun.

Sonia painted the dining room wall.

Sonia made her house favorite Lechon for dinner. And for lunch the next day, I added sweet and spicy pepper relish, Swiss cheese and a toasted bun.

21. Read 20 additional books

Enjoyed

#10: Refurbish the fireplace

It took a pandemic, but we finally tackled the fireplace project. It took Alex two and half days to strip seventy years worth of paint, but getting to the original wood was well worth it.

#57: Dinner at home one full week (3 times)

Well, that was easy. One week down.

#2: Grow LA Fashion Insider–will now be: Don’t Permanently Shutter LA Fashion Insider

We’ve officially been forced to shut down. We started the company twelve years ago in our apartment, built it up to a team of eleven, pared down to five, and now we’re back down to the two of us. We’ll see…

Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures.

#1: Sleep in a treehouse–will now be: Don’t sleep in a hospital

#2: Grow LA Fashion Insider–will now be: Don’t Permanently Shutter LA Fashion Insider

#6: Key West–will now be: See my Dad in person by Father’s Day

#9: Stay at a top 20 US hotel–will now be: Complete 10 nagging home repairs

#11: Sleep in the desert–will now be: Sleep in my bed

#21: Read 14 additional books–will now be: Read 20 additional books

#23: Travel with an empty suitcase–will now be: Survive 2021

#48: See 10 New Movies in the Theater–will now be: See 10 New Movies

#49: Eat at Vespertine–will now be: Don’t go bankrupt

#55: Out of State Concert–will now be: Go to any concert

#61: Eat at a top #100 restaurant–will now be: Help 10 LA restaurants recover

#72: Buy a new suit–will now be: Don’t wear a hospital gown

#74: Go to a sporting event I’ve never been to–will now be: go to any sporting event

#82: New car for me–will now be: No car for me

#88: Host a summer party–will now be: Host a Coronavirus Funeral Celebration

#95: Weigh 160lbs–will now be: Don’t weigh 120lbs

#96: Plan a 2020 trip with my mom and jim–will now be: See my mom in person this summer.

Three months in and the 20’s may go down as the worst decade ever.

May you have the luck of the Irish.

@1: Read 14 additional novels

This one was so-so for me.

Not our typical St Patty’s Day, but had a good time with the kids. Dogs we’re happy we stayed in, too.

It’s not just toilet paper. The gun store by my house.

After nearly twenty years of life, Finnegan’s failing kidneys made euthanasia the most compassionate option. He made it clear that it was time by meowing day and night over the last 48 hours. It was harder than any of us anticipated. The kids said he was the last thread to their childhood which was a punch in the gut. Finnegan was more dog than cat. He came when you called him. He ate anything and everything. He licked our faces. He even used to play fetch. When I took him out of his carrier and he saw his surrounding–which included his family–he stoped meowing and let us all say goodbye. He purred in my arms as the doctor gave him the injection, gave my nose one last lick, then closed his eyes for good. He was a lover until the end.

If I didn’t get it tonight, I’m optimistic for the future.

Brittany’s happy at least.

#21: Read 14 additional novels

Despite the controversy over what author can tell what story, I enjoyed the read.

IMG_4503 from henry james on Vimeo.

My client from Nashville sent this to me while watching the local news. South Korea and China are probably post peak, but given our level of preparedness, I’d say we have awhile to go yet. At least I’ll die laughing.

Cancel culture is for real. What’s next, Christmas?

#48: See 10 New Movies in the Theater

An entertaining thriller.

A day late, but still… Hope you had a good one.

#20. Read 4 Pulitzer winning/finalist Fiction Novels

A novel as metafiction that uses a code switching narrator and a ton of footnotes. It was quite the feat and I can understand why it won the Pulitzer.

IMG_4462 from henry james on Vimeo.

Alex made his major league debut today when he came in to pitch the ninth inning against the Washington Nationals. He only needed eleven pitches to retire the side. One pop up, one ground out, and one strikeout. Another milestone in the books.

IMG_4414 from henry james on Vimeo.

Brittany’s favorite band from the UK finally came to LA. Tears were shed.

H Club threw its one year anniversary party.