A review

I've fallen out of like with TV, which I largely consider an excellent thing. I watched The Good Wife through a certain pivotal moment in season 5 but then found a lot of the juicy tension had evaporated. I keep saying I'm saving the past season for nights when Roy is at concerts, but that hasn't really happened. I dunno if it's going to.

We gave up Netflix a year ago to try Amazon Prime. It's more than paid for itself in shipping and handling, and we've had some new and different shows and movies to watch. But we haven't really used that part of Prime very much. I find the selection lacking, to be honest. I miss Netflix. 

So when I was poking around the reality TV section of Prime and stumbled across The Great British Baking Show I was pretty skeptical. But...Great British and Baking are powerful persuasives, so after a long hunt presenting nothing more alluring, I watched the first episode.

It's a scream.

I've enjoyed MasterChef marathons with Kylie in the past, but sometimes the dramatic music and obviously-scripted dialogue gets annoying. (That being said, the apple pie episode with Christine still makes me cry just thinking about it...) TGBBS is all of the good stuff of MasterChef--the amazing challenges, cooking tips, judging, and beautiful results--without the overdramatized sound effects and cattiness of the contestants. Maybe Brits are just nicer people--or maybe their accents cover up a lot of the classlessness? Anyway, I'm loving it. Roy even peeks now and then and said "this show is a riot." That's about as golden of a recommendation as you'll ever get from him.

So watch. "Awwwwww" over the sweet little old lady judge. Tolerate the two comedienne hosts, who are obnoxious, but only have brief screen time. (The way the one yells "ready, setBAKE!!!!" sounds exactly like a chicken.) Drool over the pies, sponges, breads, and candies. Savor the fact that it's all done in a tent outside on a beautiful piece of British countryside. And everybody is using THESE!

Today's 1%: I let Roy drag me outside in the 48 degree weather to run a few miles. I didn't want to at ALL, but I'm semi-determined (hah, that's a semi-oxymoron) to keep the endorphins flowing. I never would have made it out there on my own, but his insistence, plus the purchase of a double stroller this summer gets my butt out there on days when I'd rather eat bread and sip a chai latte under a warm blanket. Sigh. It's going to be a long winter.