lately, or damn that zipper, or, humble pie tastes good

today, the baron is thinking about zippers, about how they are tricky little buggers, about how- even with the fabled zipper-foot-that-will-ease-your-sewing-grief - they are still RATHER DIFFICULT to apply to a, any, every sewing project. the baron is currently working on a skirt (too many seasons of 'project runway' has led her to believe that she, too, can create!) and spent the better part of yesterday evening adding a zipper - a hidden one, no less - to the waistband. the baron is kind of 'meh' about elastic, but reader? after this zipper agony, elastic is looking very, very attractive to her.

the bummer? that after adding the zipper, she still has more to do! it seems to her that the adding of the zipper should be the final step, not the penultimate one (for there is still finishing to be done). penultimate is bollocks, she is thinking.

also.

those of you who know the baron know that she doesn't actually watch that much television, especially during the week. she misses out on a lot of stuff, even stuff she likes, but alas. she'd rather end her day with a book than with more looking at a longer-than-it-is-tall screen. because, you know. SHE DOES THAT ALL DAY LONG.

anyway.

she misses out on a lot. some of it's good, too; television, it's true, is getting better all the time. see for instance, '30 rock', and 'gilmore girls', and 'veronica mars'.

see, also, 'friday night lights'.

reader, the baron cannot believe that she enjoys this show, what with the football and texas and all, but SHE REALLY DOES. by way of explanation:

shortly before leaving for ireland, the baron and the husband went thrift shopping; the baron wanted something to read since they'd be traveling for A VERY LONG TIME. and reader? it was a boon day at the thrift; she found: 'encore provence: new adventures in the south of france' (she already had 'a year in provence' and 'toujours provence') and 'chasing cezanne', both by peter mayle; 'under the tuscan sun' and its follow-up 'bella tuscany'; 'the life and times of the thunderbolt kid', by bill bryson; and 'friday night lights: a town, a team, and a dream' by h.g. bissinger.

ahem.

the baron has been to both provence and tuscany. she's a fan. so you, reader, can see why memoirs extolling the virtues of the european lifestyle might appeal to her.

on a previous trip to the thrift store, she found 'a walk in the woods' by bill bryson, remembered his name from some almost-forgotten holiday gift, and decided to take a $.60 chance. 'a walk in the woods', it turns out, is good. and bryson's writing is great. so, from there, 'the life and times of the thunderbolt kid' did not seem a stretch, right? the baron believes that good (engaging, interesting, lively, entertaining) writing can transcend subject matter.

so.

'friday night lights'. she's not a football fan, not in the least. she doesn't get it, not any part of it. however, the baron believes that good writing can transcend subject matter, and she had heard praises sung in the name of this book. the flight abroad would be long, she would have time to kill; she took a $.65 chance.

'friday night lights' was the first book she read on their trip; she started it shortly after getting on the train that would take them to the plane that would take them to the other plane that would take them to ireland. at first, she hoped that she would not regret carting a 400 page book around ireland; she hoped that it would hold her attention for a little while at least.

reader. for real. the book grabbed her right away - it's an amazing, well-written non-fiction book about small-town texas football. it is depressing, and - yes - heartwarming, and shocking, and shot through with racism, and dreams (intact ones and broken ones too), and football. it's good business. it is, in fact, the opposite of a bollocks zipper.

she finished it before they even got to ireland. over the course of their trip, she reread parts of it. (the baron would like to mention that the book was published in 1990, so it's a little dated. the epilogue, however, makes up for that a little bit, and you know what? she'd like to amend her previous statement about good writing to say instead: the baron believes that good writing can transcend subject matter and era.)

so.

18 months ago, the baron found that a note had been left at her netflix account, from her friend lalee. it said, in part:
"football + texas = who cares, right? kids, let me tell how good this show is: it's good. give it a chance and you'll be surprised. honest. "

the baron's response (in part):
"it turns out "football + texas" does in fact =who cares. i just can't get behind it..."

now, 18 months later, the baron is forced to admit that, YES, LALEE, YOU WERE RIGHT, THIS IS MAYBE THE BEST SHOW EVER. I WAS VERY, VERY WRONG. YOU WERE VERY, VERY RIGHT. I AM EATING HUMBLE PIE, AND IT IS TASTY. and also, go panthers.