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76%The Movie Quiz

FilmCritic.com - Movie Reviews

 

So, I’m not sure where to start.  Charley, Alex, Norma, Thelma, Louise and I packed our bags and drove to Wisconsin.  It took us 17 hours to drive there.  I was so happy to see my family and friends and so sad to return to NY. 

The kids finally got to see where and how I grew up.  Alex was very funny saying that the house I grew up in was like it was out of a movie.  I think that’s a good thing.  The ping pong table got a really good workout and Alex’s flip flops have been lost somewere in the void.  :-)  We all went to the Wisconsin State Fair and ate cream puffs, watched pig races, and then in the evening went to see Drake Bell and Corbin Bleu.  Norma was vibrating with excitement. 

My brother came to visit too…with his wife Kris and four kids: Jackie, Jennifer, Jasmine and Colin.  Jim was very kind to my kids, telling them all about coins and giving each one of them a few.  He also confirmed that Alex’s prize necklace that his mother brought back from Europe was a fake….a good fake, but a fake all the same.  We told him to please not tell her…I hope she doesn’t read my blog!

We also spent time with my childhood friend and her kids.  It was so nice to see her.  To be so comfortable with someone who shares so much history.  And a sisterhood…we were both in AOII in college and exchanged our secret handshake.  That was special to me.

Before going on vacation I had a job interview.  I emailed the HR guy while I was on vacation and he encouraged me to call back when I returned home.  I did, went in for another interview…and landed a new job!  I am very excited about this firm…and the growth potential they offer.   I start September 4th, 2007.

Last weekend Lily fell again.  This time she cut open her forehead.  Her worker, Gary, put a bandaid over it as she refused to go to the clinic.  But, when she was still bleeding I encouraged her in a very kind way that maybe she had no choice BUT to go to the clinic and get a few stitches.  She agreed.  I almost couldn’t believe it.  I didn’t have to argue or fuss, I just said very calmly…I’m sorry Lily…I don’t think you have a choice….unless you want to sit here and keep bleeding.  She kept the nurse and PA in stitches as she was getting her stitches.   She can be very funny when she has an audience.

So, needless to say, it’s been an adventure since getting back from our Wisconsin adventure!

It was a typical Saturday Morning at Lily’s house.  I got up and took the dogs out to the back yard.  We are lucky that she has a big back yard with a double fence; hurricane and wood.  Thelma, the huntress, who is usually the first one to find any form of life invading HER yard…ran up to the fence and started sniffing.  The week before she had found a dead baby bird inside of a tree….I was hoping it was not the same.

So, I walked over to where she was fixated on the fence and found a poor turtle stuck on a branch up against the fence.

Charley thinks someone must have thrown the turtle over the fence as he says turtles don’t climb.

I was able to get the turtle unstuck and back on the ground.  However there were no places were the turtle could get out under the fence.  So, I decided to wake Charley up to both help me free the turtle and to take some pictures

I grabbed one of Lily’s big stock pots to put the turtle in once I caught him.  I dug a path under the wooden fence and had to grab his shell to get him out.  I never knew how strong a turtles legs were!  He fought but I was able to get him under the fence and in the stock pot. 

We walked across the street and took a few pictures, then deposited him next to the river…and watched him scamper, then swim, away.

I got up early this morning and took the dogs up to Ft. Tryon Park.  The first Sunday of the month the Local Dog Group holds what is called the “Coffee Bark” at the dog run.  I have never participated in this and the weather was very nice today…so I ventured up there and alas…no coffee…and the small dog area of the run was wet, muddy, and full of this purple berries that were staining everything.  Fortunately, there were not too many big dogs and I just hung out in the run with the girls for a little while.  Then the desire for some coffee and my own home took over and I headed back home.  It’s about a half hour walk (at a leisurely pace — allowing for stopping and sniffing) from the apartment to the park. 

I spent the rest of the day hanging out and watching movies.  HBO on Demand is offering the first three Star Wars Episodes: which I began to watch until the tiling of the digital image was just too much to bear.  I ask myself why we pay so damn much for cable if we can’t enjoy it!  So, I turned to my stack of Netflix movies. 

The first movie we watched was “The Painted Veil“. Ed Norton and Naomi Watts are featured as a married couple that venture to China during a cholera outbreak.  Ed Norton is a bacteriologist and Naomi Watts is his wife who finally discovers herself as a result of this experience.  I would give it 3-4 stars on a 5 star scale. 

The second movie we watched was “Water”  An absolutely georgeous film from India.  It is the story of Indian widows.  It starts with an eight year old girl who has become widowed (yes, child marriages and subsequently child widows were very common in the first half of 20th century India)  and is sent to an ashram.  She befriends another young widow who eventually meets a tragic end.  However, the movie ends with hope for the young Indian widow.   The movie is subtitled and worth a viewing.

And, yes we watched a third movie.  “Because I said So“…staring the incredibly talented Diane Keaton.  Now, this movie is the epitomy of the “chick flick” but, with wonderful twists and turns….motherhood, sisterhood, the quest for love…and lots and lots of laughter.  And, Diane Keaton is wonderful…wacky…heartwarming…and takes a few cakes in the face!

I love hanging out on Sundays with the dogs on my lap and my husband next to me in his big chair. 

Tonight Charley and I were watching a set of Johnny Carson DVD’s that we received from my mother-in-law last Christmas.  It was the first time we had gotten around to watching them, and what a treat.  I grew up watching Johnny Carson with my Dad and didn’t really understand his  humor like I do as an adult…of course.  It was wonderful to see Johnny crack himself up, along with the rest of the world.  And to see some stars when they were very, very young….not to mention Bill Clinton while he was still the Govenor of Arkansas.

Anyway, one of the guests said;

“I sometimes feel like the world is wearing a tuxedo, and I’m a pair of Brown Shoes.”

I have never heard the feeling of not fitting in described in such a wonderful way.  Charley and I laughed so hard.

I myself— am a pair of Teva sandals…

My husband loves finding gadgets on the internet. We have been very annoyed by the presence of flys in our apartment. We should have known this would be a problem as the previous owner had left a fly swatter behind in the kitchen

Anyway, we bought some of those gross sticky fly strips you see hanging in take out restaurants…and that helped a little. And then Charley found the “electric fly swatter”. And it works!!! We often laugh at the translated instructions that come with gadgets we order from the internet. Here are the directions for the swatter….

INSTRUCTIONS

1. INSTALL TWO 1.5V BATTERIES AS INDICATED ON THE BATTERY CASE.

2. TO KILL THE INSECT, HOLD THE HANDLE, TURN ON THE SWITCH AND WIELD THE SWATTER TO MAKE THE INSECTS TOUCH THE NET SURFACE.

3. AFTER TURNING ON THE SWITCH, THE LAMP LIGHTING BE CAREFUL NOT TO TOUCH THE NET SURFACE.

4. INSECTS KILLED ON THE SWATTER SURFACE CAN BE BRUSHED OFF OF SHAKEN OFF IMMEDIATELY. DO NOT USE WATER.

5. CHANGE THE BATTERIES WHILE THE VOLTAGE IS LOWER

6. CHILDREN BELOW 8 YEARS OLD NOT USE THE SWATTER.

It was only $9.95 and can be found HERE

I bought the cube sets for my husbands birthday. 

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/cubegoodies/722a/

 He has put them together on his desk and his boss has labeled each to match one of the members of the IT Department.  Then depending on the mood of the day, or the happenings in the department—the figures get moved.

 I guess today was a pretty fun day.

In the word’s of Pat McCurdy ”Hey sister, whatcha doin?”, “Hey sister, bbq’in”

“Hey sister, it’s Memorial Day!” 

“Hey IT, whatcha doin?” “Hey IT, play’in TWISTER!!”  “Hey IT, it’s Memorial Day!”