Tag Archives: tv

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British Isles Friday & Acorn TV

 This is a meme hosted by Joy Weese Moll found here.  I really find it a nostalgic meme for me as someone who spent her early childhood and later periods as well in Britain with my family and whose mother is British, but now is living in New Jersey.

My entry for this is based on my absolutely favorite TV channel.  I have  a roku and stream my TV, the number one reason being that I watch a ton of Acorn TV.    It is without a doubt the best source for British TV here in the US.  They have fantastic customer service and are quickly responsive to any issues that arise and the shows…an amazing assortment of great TV to watch.

Here are just a few shows I watch on Acorn:

Midsomer Murders  Wonderful detective mystery series, multiple seasons worth of shows, great characters, I really couldn’t ask for anything more.

Pie in the Sky  Starring the amazing Richard Griffiths RIP.  Wonderful show for cozy mystery lovers.

Jack Taylor  Based on the great books by Ken Bruen, this is a darker, grittier detective show.

Blue Murder A single working mother detective.  A great character and well done cases in a more police procedural style.

Prime Suspect  Helen Mirren, enough said.

Dirk Gently A quirky different kind of detective show, fans of the American show Psych will really like this.

Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries  The incomparable Miss Phrynee Fisher based on the series of books by Kerry Greenwood.  Great books which were very well adapted for TV.

And there are so many more, not all mysteries either.  Mysteries are just my particular favorite in books and TV shows.  There are historical dramas, documentaries and comedies as well.  Acorn TV is a great place to get a little piece of Britain, even sitting on your couch in New Jersey.

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Deb Baker Books; Cooking & Evernote; SOA & Broadchurch; Dewey’s Readathon

    

Finally have a moment to breathe…I came back from vacation and then got immediately into getting ready to go back to school.  I moved schools so I had tons of unpacking to do and then setting up new classroom.  My room is in pretty good shape so I just wanted to stop in and talk briefly about two books I read on my kindle.

These books are both by Deb Baker, but they are two different cozy mystery series.  Both of them are cute, quick, cozy mysteries with interesting characters.  Out of the two of them I will say that I enjoyed Murder Passed the Buck more.  The protagonist is a feisty grandma named Gertie Johnson, who eagerly pursues her criminal investigation activities to the dismay of her son. The book has moments of laugh out loud humor.   The second book, Dolled Up for Murder, is also well written.  It is a cozy with a theme involving doll collecting and restoration.  The protagonist, Gretchen Birch, is younger than Gertie Johnson and as such is a more physically active sleuth.   Dolled Up For Murder is less humorous and slightly darker than Murder Passed the Buck.

In other book news, I signed up again for Dewey’s Readathon coming up in October.  I am sooooo excited. I really had fun with the last one and found lots of great book blogs and books.  I highly recommend joining in if you can!

In cooking news, I’ve been culling my cookbook collection and have found Evernote an invaluable tool.  I had lots of books and back issues of Woman and Home, BBC Good Food, and Olive, so I was able to scan in recipes I used from them and then get rid of the original sources.  I also am able to clip from my favorite recipe websites:  BBC Good Food, Woman and Home, and Delia Online and make them Evernote pages in my recipes notebook.  Even better I can share it  with the rest of my family.

In TV news, Sons of Anarchy will soon be on again!  I am also really into Broadchurch on BBC America. Not much else, I am doing in terms of TV viewing.

Finally, in movies – I have a guilty pleasure :

I really want to go see this, but I have to convince my daughter to come with me.