When books get wet.......

 A few weeks ago, my mom and I were cleaning the basement and I discovered that some of my books that I had stored down there had gotten wet. How and why that happened I will spare you the details. Just know that they were wet and starting to mold.

I immediately went into recovery mode with LB2 as my assistant. We covered the damp books in baking side to draw out the moisture and we wiped the mold away with a paper towel soaked in warm water we put castile soap into. When the books covered in baking soda showed signs of drying some, we used an old toothbrush to brush off the damp excess soda before we used the blow dryer on them. 

We have gotten the majority all taken cared off. We intended to place the mostly dried books in the sun so it could finish them off. Sadly, our weather has been either rainy or cloudy. It'll get done eventually.

As always, feel free to leave me a message below.

Second lead syndrome

 I caught Second Lead Syndrome again. I watched A Shop for Killers last week and Lee Dong Wook's acting was just that good. I loved the character he played. It left me wanting more. So, I searched through his filmography and found a series that was close another to fix that little case of SLS (Not Sodium Lauryl Sulfate). 

I chose Bad and Crazy. I got three episodes left and by the time you all read this, I will have finished my series. I will not give you blurbs for this series as I just know I will end up giving spoilers.

I explained Second Lead/Second Male Lead Syndrome to my mom and LB2 a few days ago. They started laughing uncontrollably, saying that it sounded like a full fledged disease. I was not amused.

For those who don't know, Second Lead Syndrome is where the actor who played said role did such a wonderful job that you want to see them in a similar role again with more screen time. They brought their role to life. It is a testament to the skill of the actor. 

Second Male Lead Syndrome is where the writer made the second male lead so lovable and perfect, you start questioning the female leads eyesight. Like, why are you falling for this dude who is still hung up on his ex? There is a man right next to you who would give you the world if you asked! FL will choose the hard route and leave the second male lead alone in the world. Not all the time does the storyline look like this because there are many variations of this theme. Girl has two options.  She chose one we knew the story needed, while our hearts yearned for the other one. Anyway, end result is that the audience feels like taking the second male lead for themselves. Or finding another series that has him in it as Male Lead so we can feel satisfied with the outcome. 

As always, feel free to leave me a message below.

A baby blanket.......

 My dear Cousin E is expecting her second child soon. I am almost finished knitting her a baby blanket. It is my gift for the new little girl who will soon join our family.

The first picture is how the blanket looks. And the second is how much yarn I have left. I am using Bernat Baby Blanket yarn in the color Raspberry Kisses. It is so soft and plushy. I am actually concerned that Baby's mom, dad or older sib might use it more than her. Oh, well. As long as someone gets use of this blanket, I think I would be happy.

I used a loom to knit as I am challenged when it comes to knitting needles. I can cast on but that's it. I don't know what I am doing wrong.

I think I will be able to have it off the loom by the end of this week. As always, feel free to leave me a message below.

Gardening stress......

 My mom has planted a whole bunch of seeds for her herb garden and today they all got knocked down. LB1 is all "this life, you can't call yourself a gardener unless you feel this pain" and (to the one responsible for all this)"you don't care about anything and that's why you weren't careful". Honestly, I feel like I should've stayed in bed.

This drama happens every year, a couple times a year. It's draining. Also, I do believe Mom put her plants in an unstable place. I can't wait until they get outside.

As always, feel free to leave a message below.

P.S. Yes, LB1 can be that Intense. He's mainly pretty chill, though. He does his thing and don't you dare mess with his plants.

My Dad is a Bridgerton fan...... This is not awkward at all

 Since my post last week, my father has watched season one and two of Bridgerton. My mom got him to watch Queen Charlotte a few months ago and he finally got around to binge-watching the rest of Bridgerton. E in now eagerly waiting for season three.

While I am so happy that he has a show he enjoys, I also find it uncomfortable. I read some of the books as I wanted to know more. I have shared book spoilers with my mom and brother but I will not do that with my Dad. I can't. Awkwardville is big enough. No need to expand it further. LB2 knows I can be a romantic sap at times and my Mom knows the identities of all my crushes. But this is a subject that has never been brought up around my dad, who once told me I couldn't date until I was 30. We don't go there. 

So, mom will have to be our go between for this. Sorry, Mom. As always, feel free to leave me a message below.

Eurovision 2024!!!!!!!!!

 It's Eurovision time again! This year's competition will be held in Malmö, Sweden. Our lovely Queen of Eurovision, Loreen, will perform the opening performance. I can't wait to see what she will do. Her last one was *chef's kiss*. 

But enough of that, we need to get down to the contestants for 2024. Please note that the following comments are my opinions and they may vary from other people.  ⭐ means it is my pick for the finals.

1. 5Miinust & Puuluup - (Nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi - Estonia - I can see this being a crowd favorite. Such a bop.

2. Aiko - Pedestal - Czechia - Punk rock vibes. I can see this being something teenage me would rock too. Well, I can rock to it now.......⭐

3. Alyona Alyona & Jerry Heil - Teresa & Maria - Ukraine - The way they spit bars...... 10/10⭐

4. Angelina Mango - La Noia - Italy -Vacay vibes! I should make a summer vacation playlist and put this at the top of the list. ⭐

5. Baby Lasagna - Rim Tim Tagi Dim - Croatia - uhhhhhhh, what? A little mind trippy....

6. Bambie Thug - Doomsday Blue - Ireland - Well, that happened.....

7. BESA - TITAN - Albania - Can't wait to see the fan Choreographies for this song! I feel faint echos of Flash Dance. 

8. Dons - Hollow - Latvia - Such a strong voice. A beautiful song. 

9. Eden Golan - Hurricane - Israel - Movie soundtrack ready? That romantic drama where tears are going to be shed. Use it there.

10. Electric Fields - One Milkali (One Blood) - Australia - Funky House Music. I wonder what their semifinal performance will look like. I can see this making it to the finals. I would be surprised if it didn't go far.⭐

11. FAHREE feat. Ilkin Dovlatov - Özünlə Apar - Azerbaijan - This song is making me sway. I love the little ethnic touches that make this song yours and not a generic pop song cranked out by the industry.

12. Gåte - Ulveham - Norway - Rock, Girlie, rock! I mentioned before that my parents were on a whole Vikings binge. This is now giving me Viking Rock music vibes, but in a good way.

13. Hera Björk - Scared of Heights - Iceland - A bouncy fun song! The type you can sing into your hairbrush at 3 am on a girl's night in.

14. Iolanda - Grito - Portugal - Why is this song so beautiful? It made me tear up before the chorus. Her voice is simply stunning.⭐

15. Isaak - Always On The Run - Germany - I love it! I going go break my replay button on this song.⭐

16. Joost Klein - Europapa - Netherlands - LB2 hates this song so I am going to sing this song often. It is so catchy and fun. ⭐

17. Kaleen - We Will Rave - Austria - Glow sticks! We got a club-ready song here. I had glow stick somewhere.......

18. LADANIVA - Jako - Armenia - It makes me want to dance and spin in a circle. The live performance of this is going to be so fun! Can hardly wait!

19. LUNA - The Tower - Poland - The 80's aesthetic is so good. It's a catchy song that should be on a Road Trip playlist.

20. Marcus & Martinus - Unforgettable - Sweden - Yes, they are twins and they came to make you dance. So, just dance already. Be unforgettable on that floor. In a good way.⭐

21. Marina Satti - ZARI - Greece - Jam Time! Get those hips moving and dance!⭐

22. Megara - 11:11 - San Marino - Wow, just wow.  80's Rock.

23. Mustii - Before the Party’s Over - Belgium - Epic Jam! ⭐

24. Natalia Barbu - In The Middle - Moldova - Epic Violin!  

25. Nebulossa - Zorra - Spain - I can see this being another crowd favorite. More 80's vibes.

26. Nemo - The Code - Switzerland - A musical journey. To where? No clue.

27. Nutsa Buzaladze - Firefighter - Georgia - The urge to dance will hit you! Also, loving that faint tribal vibe there. ⭐

28. Olly Alexander - Dizzy - United Kingdom - Another club-ready song. Are your feet sore yet?⭐

29. Raiven - Veronika - Slovenia - Hello Epicness. Just slam into my life and make me wish I knew modern contemporary dance. ⭐

30. Saba - Sand - Denmark - Another Road Trip song. It has just the right amount of jamable and epicness to keep you awak at the wheel.⭐

31. Sarah Bonnici - Loop - Malta - This song is saucy! This one is giving Saucy Summer Vacay Vibes.  

32. Silia Kapsis - Liar - Cyprus - The breakup song is here. This is one for the Breakup with Confidence playlist. Because you don't need a liar, honey. 😘

33. Silvester Belt - Luktelk - Lithuania -  We have a bopping jam here! 

34. Slimane - Mon Amour - France - Him, I want him to win. Slimane for the win! You can hear that this man is putting his soul into this song Why does no-one sing like this to me?🌟

35. Tali - Fighter - Luxembourg - Ahh, those vocals.... 

36. Teya Dora - Ramonda - Serbia - So soothing. It feels like a deep cleansing breath.⭐

37. Windows95man - No Rules! - Finland - What was that?!?!? I can't even process it. I don't think my brain is wired for this song. LB5 wants this song to win. 

So that is this year's lineup. If you're interested in hearing any of these performance, check out the Semi-finals on May 7th and May 9th. The Finals will be held May 11th. As always, feel free to leave me a message below.

Scatterbrained

 I am feeling a little scatterbrained today. I can hardly get all my thoughts in order. I have a to-do list that feels a half mile long and can't focus on it. So, I am just going to leave this here instead of giving you something truly lackluster.

 As always, feel free to leave me a message below.