Darrow & Darrow vs Sherlock Holmes

Darrow & Darrow is a Hallmark mystery movie and the Sherlock Holmes I'm talking about is the 1954 Sherlock Holmes TV series starring Ronald Howard (son of Leslie Howard) as Sherlock and Howard Marion Crawford as Dr. Watson.  I like Leslie Howard's portrayal of Sherlock the best in terms of all the "old" versions of Sherlock on British TV.  My husband checked out a DVD from our local library that has a number of the episodes from this TV series and we enjoyed watching them together.  For the most part they portrayed Holmes in a very positive manner and some of them were even light hearted.

I had been waiting for some time for the library to have a copy of "Darrow & Darrow" available for me to check out and I was finally rewarded with a DVD to view.  This movie has three generations of Darrows - Joanna who is the mom and grandmother who shut down a practice she shared with her husband when he died.  Her daughter, Claire, was away at law school and when she graduated, she returned home and reopened the firm while her mother was off making money practicing law in New York.  She, too, became widowed and is raising her daughter, Louise, on her own.  Since Louise is brilliant (having skipped two grades), raising her presents its own challenges.

When Joanna returns to town in disgrace and wanting to rejoin the firm, family differences are highlighted between Joanna who is always in pursuit of money and Claire who is in pursuit of justice whether she makes money or not.  As you might expect, clashes ensue between mother and daughter making Claire's involvement in defending a former felon (and friend) a little more challenging.  In the meantime, she finally decides to accept a date with the assistant D. A. after turning him down repeatedly in the past.  Life is about to change for all the Darrows!  This was another feel good Hallmark movie but the mystery was a little higher quality than some of the others I've viewed.  pazt

"Constantine" - the DVD

I'm not sure who or what I read that recommended the DVD, "Constantine," to me but I requested it from the library and, when it finally arrived, they only gave me a week to view it because it is in such high demand!  Perhaps it was the stars, Keanu Reeves and Rachel Weisz, that interested me but, by the time the DVD arrived, I'd forgotten.

I didn't know John Constantine (played by Keanu Reevesj) was based on a comic character who sees demons who are walking the earth and does exorcisms!  Rachel Weisz portrays Angela, a cop whose twin sister supposedly commits suicide while locked up in an insane asylym and that leads her to Constantine.  Together the pair are formidable.

If you like dark fantasy, this may be for you but it probably wouldn't be something I'd watch again.  pazt

Addendum:  Watch to the end of the credits for more scenes!!!!

"The Hanging"

"The Hanging" is a thriller authored by a brother and sister team of authors - Lotte and Soren Hammer.  Lotte trained as a nurse and has worked all over the world from Greece to Greenland.  Soren was going to become a teacher but is now a programmer and lecturer at Copenhagen University College of Engineering.  Before this book was published in Denmark, its rights had been sold to 16 countries around the world which is the first time that happened in their Danish publisher's long history.  It has been published in 20 countries around the world and has sold over 120,000 copies just in Denmark.

Detective Konrad Simonsen is on vacation with his daughter, Anna Mia, in a villa belonging to one of his team known as "The Countess."  However, before he can enjoy his vacation he is called back to Copenhagen to head up a team (with unlimited resources and answerable to no one) to investigate a gruesome murder.  Five men (later it is learned they are all pedophiles) have been hanged, had their hands cut off, and mutilated in the gym of an elementary school.

As the team tries to identify the victims and their murderers, Denmark is in an uproar and ready to have their lax sexual molestation of children laws strengthened.  People also are not very inclined to assist the police and their anger at the victims leads them to lash out at other known pedophiles making it even more difficult for the police to do their work.

This is a well written thriller and this team has written 4 more books in this series -- I am waiting for the next one to arrive.  pazt

"The Sneaky Chef"

"The Sneaky Chef" is a New York Times bestselling cookbook by Missy Chase Lapine.  However, it is more than just a cookbook because it is full of ideas for making your children's food healthier ranging from what foods it is important to buy organic to staples to buy.  She has "Make-ahead recipes" giving you clever ideas how to hide healthy foods in regular dishes that your children won't even suspect are there and will eat eagerly.  She concludes with breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack recipes as well as beverages.

Since I have no children at home and my youngest grandchild is 11 and pretty set in his eating ways, why did I check this book out of my local library?  In August of 2018 my beloved husband of 57 years was diagnosed with a malignant esophageal tumor and the medical community has told us that there is nothing they can offer other than palliative care.  We are fighters and refuse to accept that finality.  We began eating plant-based over a year ago but I was looking for ways to sneak healthier veggies into our meals without being too obvious about it.  My husband has no problems with eating and loves both vegetables and fruits but he is not eating as much as I'd like so he can maintain the healthy weight he reached just before his diagnosis.  We certainly don't want him losing any more weight at this time.

He love ice cream but dairy is a big no-no to our way of eating and I'm just beginning to figure out how to make "N'ice" cream with frozen bananas which was just made easier yesterday with the discovery that Sprouts (new to our area and close to our home) carries frozen bananas!

"The Sneaky Chef" has milk shake recipes in which frozen bananas can be incorporated and there are other recipes using frozen bananas to make ice cream so I'm looking forward to making my hubby healthy "ice cream" treats he can enjoy that don't include dairy.

As plant-based eaters, we do not eat meat, dairy, eggs, cheese, or added oils so I will be adapting recipes in "The Sneaky Chef" to replace oils when I saute with vegetable broth or water.  In baking oils can be replaced with applesauce or prune puree,  etc.  I replace milk in recipes with non-dairy milks and replace eggs with "flax" eggs.  I'll omit cheeses or use purchased plant-based cheeses.  Wish me luck - my  first experiment making "ice cream" with bananas will be tonight!  pazt

"The Good Witch's Wonder"

In "The Good Witch's Wonder" Cassie has her hands full.  Although she has completed her term as mayor and Martha has been elected as her successor, her stepson is getting married and Martha has asked for her help with a town fundraiser and she still has her business to run.  Luckily for Cassie, Audrey comes to town and Cassie hires her to help in the shop but she also helps with the fundraiser and anything else Cassie needs.  They quickly become friends having some similar histories but, what Cassie doesn't know....Audrey is hiding some secrets from her past and those secrets have the potential to hurt a lot of people including Audrey and Cassie.  pazt

"The Constant Gardener"

"The Constant Gardener" is a film I read about in a newspaper billed as "a widower determined to get to the bottom of a potentially explosive secret involving his wife's murder."  It's based on the best selling spy novel of the same name by John Le Carre and, since I usually like his spy novels, I decided to watch the movie starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz.

It is well done but we know from the beginning what has happened so there's less mystery to solve than usual  - just a matter of following the threads to their conclusion.  I would recommend the movie if you like Le Carre's work.  pazt

"Die Tiwce"

"Die Twice" is a thriller authored by Andrew Grant and is the second in his David Trevellyan series.

Although he was supposed to head back to London after his New York assignment, David has been called to Chicago to flush out and take out a rogue agent.  He is summoned to the British Consulate in Chicago where Richard Fothergill, a former agent who has transitioned into embassy work (something David didn't realize was possible and gives him some food for thought for possible future career opportunitites!) briefs him on his assignment and acts as a liaison between his supervisors and David.

When David is almost killed himself several times in pursuit of the rogue agent, he begins to question what is really going on and does some research on his own trying to decide who really needs to be terminated.  I enjoyed this book as much as the first one in the series and I'm ready to move on to the next one!    pazt