James had his IPMS meeting today and instead of traipsing about wasting gas, I started a long-neglected project: trimming the physical bulk of my pre-recorded DVD collection. These are either in two-DVD or three-DVD cases, both the same size as a regular DVD case as might come with a pre-recorded movie. I am first trying to arrange the DVDs so that more of them are in three-DVD collections. I consolidated three double collections of The American Experience into two triple cases, and about five double cases of various Christmas things into three triples. This involved making new covers for each of the DVD cases, which took the longest, and then updating the DVD list in Paradox. I was also able to toss one DVD, my hideously snowy copy of Eleanor and Franklin: the White House Years.

Once I've "compressed" as many DVDs into triple cases as appropriate, I will then transfer to slim-line cases all the sets that will pretty much stay as double-case sets, like my Brooklyn Bridge episodes. Since there are four disks, I can't consolidate them into triples. The two slim-line cases will take up the space of one regular case.

Hopefully when I get done I'll have a lot more room since my pre-recorded Christmas DVDs are beginning to overflow! :-)

When James came home we went to Sweet Tomatoes for supper—lots of nice salad! Then we hit Bed, Bath and Beyond. I bought the dryer balls as planned and also one of those wire shelving units that mount on the back of doors. We want to store more groceries downstairs.

(James pulled out the older microwave from its shelf on the baker's rack before he left for the meeting and I wiped it out thoroughly, although it was clean. We will take it to Goodwill the next time we go to the hobby shop. We can't use it and it's just taking up room. We put the breadbox in its place and it's amazing what a nice empty space that makes. Now there's more room for food prep.)

Made a few other stops, then went to Sears at Town Center to see if they might have any converter boxes. No dice, and the clerk told us they were hoping for a shipment Tuesday but weren't holding their breaths, because the manufacturers of the boxes are having a hard time keeping up with the demand. Nevertheless, we went home by Walmart, which had had converter boxes a few weeks ago, but not the analog-pass ones that James wanted. They were out and had a sign talking about the manufacturing delay.

We even went by the WallyWorld closer to our house. They did have one in stock, but it was the display unit and they wouldn't sell it to us.

So we were finally home and watched the first part of John Adams. Wonderful performances! Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney give me a real sense of a colonial married couple. But I am most staggered by the sets...the first scene with John riding into a snowbound Boston sets the whole mood for the series; it really looks like Boston in 1770. The seaport scenes are stunning. Plus I noticed things like the Adams house; usually these sets are so picture perfect and untouched. In this the paint is worn on the doorframes and the doors and along the baseboards, there is soot around the part of the chimney that soot would be on, the wainscoting is worn...it looks like a home, not like a set. The townspeople have bad teeth.

And tarring and feathering is shown as horrible as it really is.

Some Remember WENN regulars are in the cast. In the first part (and I assume in future parts) Tom Beckett (Mr. Foley) appears as Elbridge Gerry, the gentleman that "Gerrymandering" is named after. John Bedford Lloyd (Victor Comstock) plays a small but pivotal role as a witness at the Boston Massacre trial in which Adams defends the British soldiers. Hugh O'Gorman (Jeff Singer) appears in a future part.

Labels: DVDs, home improvement, shopping, television

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