smofbabe

Watched on the plane this film about British senior citizens who move to India to a supposed luxurious retirement hotel. The cast is absolutely incredible (Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy...) but the script less so: it tends to veer to sentiment and predictability although it does have its moments, especially Tom Wilkinson's story arc about a gay high court judge who grew up in India but has not returned due to a personal trauma in his past. Maggie Smith's arc is the least believable: she turns from a racist bigot to eccentric wise woman without any real defining moments. Worth seeing for the performances, but not for full price.

Passover is done for another year. This was by far the easiest Passover I've ever had, thanks to a takeout place from which I bought some prepared meals, a cleaning service (no way I can clean an oven given my neck condition), and the fact that unlike the past couple of years, I have most of the stuff I need to make the holiday. (Somehow didn't notice in advance that I didn't have a can opener, though...) And, amazingly, I also managed to buy precisely the right amount of food for a change, with no prepared stuff and hardly any special kosher-for-Passover stuff like special yogurt left over and only three matzos left. The only thing I really have left over is matzo meal and matzo cake flour, which is inevitable, and some addictive matzo brickle candy in the freezer, which isn't exactly a hardship. I don't even want to think about my cholesterol, though: I'm a single person who didn't make any big meals or have any company over and I still went through exactly two dozen eggs!