“Bond”-ing with Howard Ashman

So my bright husband Amster, JAMES Amster, decides to make a perfectly Covid-friendly set up for Halloween.

He set up a table outside, with a tray of perfectly spaced miniatures on a brand new disposable cookie sheet.  

(And no, there were no more Reeses's peanut butter cups..did you seriously think THEY'D last until Halloween?)

Anyway, we felt it would be safe because nobody would be ringing/fingering the doorbell, no pirates would be arrr-chooing into  our faces, but it seems like there were other..um.. living things.. interested in those confections.

I'm now on the lookout for a squirrel on a sugar high..perhaps a couple of birds as well??

Thanks Covid..it was bad enough you stole St. Patty's Day, but now you're the Grinch who stole Halloween, and you probably gave a raccoon or two diabetes in the process.

Meanwhile, Amster, JAMES Amster, and I found a gem of a documentary called "Howard", all about the life and times of the man who gave Ariel her voice, Belle her feminist views, Jasmine her pizzazz, .and Audrey Two her bite.

It was so emotional for us to be part of  the world of the brilliant  Howard Ashman.  As a  wanna be lyricist, I was in awe over what thrived in his imagination.

(And so many of his tunes have inspired some of the best that Randy Rainbow has to offer)

As a Mom/Aunt, the doc was evening more moving.  We remembered taking our nephew and niece to "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin" and playing the cassettes so often that we all knew every lyric by heart.

We remembered taking a three year old Evan to see "Beauty and the Beast" on Broadway.  He made it all through the first act, totally fascinated with the clock and candlestick.

He fell asleep during the second act, but thanked us when he woke up on the ride home--thanked us for taking him through the Lincoln Tunnel.

I miss Broadway!

I miss little kids!

And I miss Howard Ashman, but don't YOU make the mistake of missing this wonderful documentary

Karenoia, COVID and the blue wave?

I, along with most educated people I know, am experiencing such soul-crushing anxiety that I can't even sleep.

  I eat nothing but hand-crafted gelatos as I am filled with dread and sugar.

 (And I've been trying for eight months now to find the perfect way to blend two scoops of vanilla ice cream with one scoop of lime  or pineapple sorbet--I have succeeded)

Gelato helps, but quality sleep eludes me.

I wonder:  Did I defrost the beef in time to make tonight's lasagna?

Will Borat survive all of  his shenanigans?

 (Sacha Baron Cohen is due for a major ass kicking)   

Did my poodle molest me as I finally drifted off last night? 

When the cretin that interrupted my nap rang the doorbell the other day, startling me so much that I forgot to grab a mask, will he infect everyone else  on the block who has no interest in buying kitchen cabinets from him?

Oh yeah, and  the  democracy. 

 We're twelve days away from its possible demise.

I was so happy this time last year, celebrating our thirtieth anniversary in LA/Hawaii. 

 There were luaus and volcanos! 

 I watched a terrible sitcom being taped, knowing it wouldn't survive more than a season!

 I stood in Lorelai Gilmore's gazebo!

The world continued to spin on it's axis, and now, every time somebody  sends me a personal e-mail and addresses me by my first name, I have to wonder if they're being sarcastic. 

 Am I Karen or am I "Karen?"

And as someone interested in having her posts read, shouldn't I, as a grammar nerd,  realize  that quotation marks aren't supposed to be used for "emphasis?"

Time to sigh...

..and worry about celebrating holidays with just my husband and son and molesting poodle.

Because I didn't spend all these months in my bubble for nothing. I'm going to continue social distancing, even if it kills me.

TV helps.

Not garbage shows, (c'mon, "The Goldbergs"..you're not even trying anymore.  Surely you can't be serious!) but beautifully written sitcom season openers, like "The Connors" and "Black-ish."

The former addressed the economic impact of the pandemic(in a painfully realistic way) while the latter emphasized the pandemic itself, with Emmy deserving acting by Tracee Ellis Ross playing Dr. Rainbow Johnson, a hero on the front-lines.

We also watched "The Amazing Race" which is having a great season so far, taped pre-Covid, but it only got me down realizing how much I miss travel and travel journaling.

What I wouldn't do for a gnome!!

True, maybe I wouldn't be on another continent waking a tightrope while balancing a bottle of wine on a wobbly tray, but I wouldn't mind seeing The Grand Canyon of the Pacific again.

I'm having a fairly severe wave of depression.

The cure?

Seeing a  nice, big, fat, blue wave.

Like the kind I saw in Hawaii, but this time,  at the polls

The fly on the wall

A fly hasn't gotten this much attention since  one contaminated the meth lab on "Breaking Bad."

Too bad this didn't happen in the last debate, where supporters could have seen the "Flies of their Lord."

OK..I got one more, just off the fly..

The last time we saw a fly in a presidential debate was an open one in Clinton's trousers.

I have too much time on my hands..now to think of some Pink Eye one liners