Feeling It

All that yard work I did yesterday, yeah, I'm feeling it today. Even so, I managed to get out early this morning and spread the fire ant treatment stuff.  I was supposed to water it in, but I decided to pray for rain instead. 

Before I get into all the boring garden stuff, let me show you this:  

It was such a lovely day outside, I sat in my chair and knit a bit before the bugs found me -- which didn't take long.  Then I came inside and watched TV for the rest of the day. 

Now, on to the boring garden stuff.  As I had hoped, my plants have perked up a bit, 

especially this little marigold.  

I suspect it just needed a good drink of water.  I'd been watering them, but I must have missed its cell.  To prevent such things from happening in the future, I found an old tray and put the others into it, so I can bottom water them all. 

I had watched a video on YouTube about mistakes gardeners tend to make in April, and one of the big ones is overwatering or underwatering.  They recommend deeper, less frequent watering, so what I did  was to get my moisture meter out and measure the soil a few inches down.  It was good, so I didn't water the ones already in the beds.  

On a similar note, I noticed that some of the basils I still had in the hydroponic sponges had died, so I stuck the remaining ones into my empty planter.  

I still have 14 of them that I'll need to do something with.  Some of them will go into the tomato bed, but I don't know what I'm going to do with the rest.  Any locals want some sweet basil plants?   I don't know what I was thinking planting so many.  I guess I did it because I expected most of them to die.  Now that I know more about how to start seeds, next year, I won't plant so many.  And I'll start my tomatoes earlier.  

Right now, three of the four cups have germinated something.   

I'm not going to give up on the fourth one just yet, but if it doesn't germinate by the time the others are ready to put into the beds, I'll just buy one.  Provided there are any left in the garden center.  If there aren't, maybe I'll just roll with three plants. 

I was also pleased to see that my little zinnias don't seem to be suffering any from being pinched. 

I don't know how well you can see in this photo, but some of them are already starting new branches. 

In the midst of all of that, I finished reading In The Heart Of The Sea.  It was pretty good, which makes me think the other book was an anomaly.  I might try to read some more of his works, provided some of them end up on a daily deal or something. 

And finally, if you haven't watched Mercy on Prime Video, I highly recommend it.  It's edge-of-your-seat intense, and focused on telling a story, not on cramming as many obscenities into a two hour period as possible.  In fact, it's so intense, I need to watch an episode of Great British Sewing Bee to relax my brain.

That's just what I'm going to do.  

Laters...

 

Two Down

I'm almost done getting this fence line cleared.  I got out this morning before it got too hot and cut down the second of the three privet trees.

I still need to move some of the detritus to the brush pile, but that's going to have to wait.  I was already whooped. 

By the time I got this much done, I was so soaked with sweat I had to come in and take a shower before I could even do the housework.  If I hadn't, I think the clean sheets would have been dirtier than the dirty sheets before I'd even gotten them changed.   But I think I have enough cleared to call the surveyor and get the property lines marked.  Then I can call the Fence Guys...and I'm sure you're tired of hearing about my fence.

In fact, I was kind of wavering on even getting my fences replaced due to the economy being so bad and all. What if I spend all that money on the fence, then get laid off or something and wish I had it back?  I don't think that will happen, but even so.  However, this morning when I was out clearing this stuff out, I heard a car door and instantly went on high alert and my first instinct was to hide.  That just solidified my desire for a privacy fence.  I can piddle in my yard without feeling like I've constantly got to look over my shoulder. 

After all that, since I'd already taken a shower, I couldn't really work outside any more, so I watched movies and knit. I finished this headband 

after having to start completely over on it.  I don't know what I did, but somehow I miscounted my rows, or didn't move a stitch marker, but they two sides weren't coming out even.  No biggie.  Two episodes of The Office and one of Time Team and I was right back to where I started. 

Even better, I've got the pattern worked out for an 88 stitch cast on, and I like the results.  Now I can make them in two sizes. In the meantime, I cast on another hat.  

It is Red Heart, obviously, in the colorway celery. I think I have enough for at least two hats, and maybe a headband or two.  

I watched Saving Private Ryan again, and I wasn't any more impressed than I was the first time.  I mean, the opening sequence about D-Day was the best part.  The rest was pretty meh.  Then I watched Miracle -- about the 1980 Olympic hockey team.  

Even after all this time, hearing Al Michaels call

Do you believe in miracles?

Still gives me goosebumps.  

Say, here's a fun bit of trivia for you.  When Al Michaels was recording the audio for the movie, they gave him a script of what he'd said.  However, he just couldn't replicate the emotion of that line, so they cut in the actual audio from the game broadcast.  Here's another fun bit of trivia for you.  Buzz Schneider, a member of that hockey team, was played in the movie by his real life son Billy.  

Pretty cool, huh?

Let Me Introduce You

To my new favorite t-shirt ever.

Yes, it was kind of expensive, but I really wanted it.   After looking at it for several weeks, I finally broke down and ordered it, and it arrived today.  In fact, I got the text saying it had been delivered, and actually put off a necessary errand to get home to it more quickly.

As soon as I took the picture, I promptly ran and put it on.  And almost as promptly, dropped a big glob of butter on it, leaving a greasy spot.  I wept and wailed, "Oh, my new shirt!  I've stained it already!"  And the shirt seemed to mock me.

But did you die?????

Sigh...

Let me also introduce you to what may be my new favorite movie:  Tombstone. 

I'd heard a lot about this one, and FB is replete with memes from it, but I'd never watched it.   A few weeks ago, I rented it from Amazon.  And watched it twice.  Then I knew I had to have it.  I found it on the $5 shelf at Wal-mart, and promptly tossed it into my basket.  A real one.  Not an online one.

The bad news is, I made it out of Wal-mart and realized I'd forgotten to buy a flag pole.  Hanging my new Texas flag will have to wait.

So will that hat that's been given me fits.  I just couldn't figure out the decreases, so I did what any red blooded American would do.  I tossed it across the room, cursing the day I was born, and cast on something else.

Yes, it is another hat, and I'll probably make a hurricane hat pattern.

One last thing before I go, I finally signed up for that Global Penpals site, but my profile isn't activated yet.  See, I got stuck on this one spot -- tell us a little about yourself.  It's like a horror movie for introverts.  I wonder if I could get away with just posting a link to the blog.

Now, if you will excuse me, I must go google how to get grease stains out of t shirts that mock their wearers.

No, I didn't die, but you might if you don't stop laughing!!!

Stupid shirt.

Like Dealing With Children

I know I said I didn't want my blog to be just griping about work, but sometimes things happen and you have to just let loose and complain a bit.  We've got this person who recently came to day shift, and is sub-brazing with me.  I've posted about her before.   She calls herself Queen, but I snidely refer to her as Her Majesty The Queen, because she thinks she's better than the rest of us.  I hate to break it to her, but while she may be a queen in mommy's basement, here in the real world, she's just a peon like the rest of us. 

I got to work this morning, and found out one of my coworkers had to rush her five month old baby to the hospital.  I'm not sure what's up with the little guy, but they had to do emergency surgery on him.  I'll let you know when I find out more.  In the meantime, keep the baby in your prayers, would you?

Group Leader Theresa asked me to go fill in for her, which is no problem for me.  I don't mind helping out where I'm needed.  However, Her Majesty The Queen decided she wasn't going to braze by herself all day.  So she didn't.  She crossed her arms, poked out her bottom lip, and pouted and sulked like a two year old all morning long. 

Now, don't get me wrong.  She is perfectly capable of brazing by herself.  She did it the whole time I was subbing for the coworker who was on maternity leave.  She just didn't want to.  She just stood there and stared at me until Group Leader Theresa and Supervisor Calvin talked to her.  Heh, Theresa asked me what was wrong, and I said, "Oh, she's just spoiled and selfish."  I wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying, but she finally started brazing.  For about 30 minutes, she worked pretty well, then her Daddy came over and she cried to him, then started sulking again.  And exactly what you think would happen happened.  The line ran out of headers. 

Group Leader Theresa sent me back over to my brazing stand to get some headers on the line.  Well, Daddy came back over and I heard him say, "Good for you!  You got them to send someone back over here."  That really made me mad.  It also told me he'd been encouraging her to be a sulky, pouty brat.  But you would have been proud of me, I kept my mouth shut.  What I really wanted to do was turn around and tell him he needed to pull that belt off his waist and give her the whipping he should have given her as a child. 

After I'd built up a few headers on the line, I pulled Group Leader Theresa aside and said, "We need to have a conversation."  I told her she needed to put me back on the line, or Her Majesty The Queen would pout and sulk every time she doesn't get her way.  I pointed out that she had already proven she could keep up with the line by herself, so she was doing this on purpose.  Then I told her what Her Majesty The Queen's daddy had said.  That made her mad, too, so she put The Queen on the line for the rest of the day -- where she sulked and pouted for the rest of the day, but at least she worked while she was doing it.  Theresa was easier on her than I would have been.  I'd have written her up, then moved her to the floater pool. 

The good news is, I came up with a really good character introduction for a story:  She was as spoiled, and as selfish, and as arrogant as you would imagine someone who named herself Queen to be.

How's that?  Anybody want to take that intro and run with it?

After work, I had to run into town, so I stopped by Walmart and bought Rogue One. 

 
Then I came home and watched Rogue One.  I probably need to watch it again when I'm not so tired.  I thought the first part seemed really disjointed and jumped around a bit, but the last part was really, really good. 

I texted Cody that picture, and the first thing he asked was "Are you putting it on your VUDU?"  Yep, as soon as I got home.  I watched the Blu-Ray, though, because on my player, I'm still logged into Cody's VUDU account, and I don't want to log out until I finish watching The Dark Knight Rises. 

I probably ought to do that this weekend. 

Going To The Store

Normally, I go to the store on Fridays, when I have to go into town to do all my payday errands anyway.  This past Friday, I didn't go because...well, I can't remember why, but I didn't go.  No worries.  I had plenty of milk.  I'd just go Saturday after work.

Saturday was a beautiful day.  Sunny, blue skies, cool breezes.  I left work, got into my car and started driving.  I got almost home when I looked around and said, "What am I doing here?  I was supposed to go to the store."  Oh, well.  I'll go home, change clothes, then go to the store.  But, you know me.  Once I'm home, I'm home.  Needless to say, I didn't go to the store Saturday, either.

Today was one of those Murphy's Days at work.  Whatever could go wrong did.  We had a lot of people out, and Group Leader Theresa came and asked me, "Are you going to need [the other sub-brazer] over here?" 

"YES!" I replied. 

"Well, I'm going to move her over there," Theresa said.  Um, why'd you even ask if you weren't going to listen to what I said?  She's bad about that. Saturday she asked me if I knew how to do such and such job.  I told her no, and she told me to go down and do the job I'd just told her I didn't know how to do. 

Back to today, stuff just kept going wrong, which meant they had to skip a few orders.  That put the sub brazers behind from the get go.  I jokingly told Theresa, "This is how you give your brazers gray hair!"  Not much she could do about it, though.  We can't send bad parts out the door, you know. 

Eventually, Murphy's day finally came to a close.  I went out to my car and just sat there for a long time debating whether I really needed the things I said I needed from the store -- mainly milk.  My life seems to revolve around when the milk jug and the dog food bag runs dry.  Did I have enough milk for breakfast?  Maybe I'd just skip milk with my breakfast.  Maybe I could go tomorrow.  Maybe tomorrow would be a better day at work.  Then again, maybe tomorrow would be worse. 

I finally told myself that I might as well go and get it over with.   Off to the store I went. 

Sunday afternoon, I watched Captain America: Civil War on Netflix.  I was watching it, and some things just weren't jiving for me.  There were a couple of new characters, and some story inconsistencies that just weren't making sense.  Where did those people come from, and what was going on here?  I asked on Facebook if I'd missed something, and sure enough, some of my friends told me I needed to watch Age of Ultron first.  Well, that explains it.  I hadn't seen Age of Ultron. 

I checked Netflix, but they didn't have it.  I checked Amazon.  They had it to buy, but not to rent.  Since I like to have the physical copies of my movies, while I was at the store this afternoon, I wandered over to the electronics section and found the two movie set. 

I promptly added it to my collection. 

I had several of the Marvel movies, but when Cody left, he took most of them with him.  Now I have to start over.  I have these two and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. 

I think I'm going to turn in early tonight.  I was up late last night watching a documentary on the six wives of Henry VIII. 

Marvel comics and Henry VIII -- that's just who I am. 

Cranky

My internet is being cranky this evening, so this may or may not post.  Nevertheless, we must persevere.  I'm determined to get back to blogging regularly, once I get all moved and stuff.

Speaking of, I'm just a bit aggravated.  Someone was supposed to let me know today whether we would for sure be able to close on Monday, but I haven't heard a word from anyone.  I hope we can, since I already took the day off work.  People just don't understand how difficult it is to get a day off on short notice.  Oh, I can just call in, but then I'd lose my attendance bonus for the month, and that's a lot of money.

Well, well, well, funny thing.  Just as I was typing that, my phone binked.  It was a message from the mortgage person letting me know that we still plan on closing Monday.  She's just waiting for the termite report, but thinks it should be ready by Monday morning.  So, disregard all the previous griping. 

Now, on to some fun stuff.

I've always loved this movie, Mrs. 'Arris Goes To Paris.  I used to have a copy on VHS, but haven't been able to watch it since my VCR crapped out. I was thinking about it the other day and decided I would try to find it on DVD. 

Off to Amazon I went, and lo and behold, there it was.  I had to buy it from a third party seller, which made me a bit leery, but it arrived today, and was a real DVD.  Not a pirated copy filmed from someone's phone or anything like that.   

It arrived today, and I've already watched it.  It was just as good as I remembered.

What with all the house hunting and stuff, I'm afraid my poor flower bed has been rather badly neglected.  It's over run with grass and weeds, what hasn't died from lack of water, that is.  I was in the store yesterday, and they had some garden mums in pots.  I thought, what the heck, I'll pick one up.  I can always take it with me when I move.  They weren't but $6, and here it is.  

I love the cute little burlap bow.    It ought to be pretty when it blooms.  I've already hollered at Jesse for peeing on it.  

Number 7385 on the list of things I never thought I'd hear myself say, "Don't pee on my mums!"

All this week, I've been waking up in the 3 AM hour, and not been able to get back to sleep.  Tomorrow, I have to wake up in the 3 AM hour.   I have the feeling I won't be able to wake up.  
Figures...

 

All Things New

I've got good news, and bad news.  First, the bad news.

That other house I was going to look at is already under contract.  I'm not surprised.  It was a very nice house at a very good price.  So, that one is off the table, but we've got plenty more to look at.  We're going to go look some more tomorrow.

Now, the good news.  We went to the bank and talked to the loan officer.  Contingent on my selling the trailer house, she can get me qualified for up to $140,000.  I said, "Well, all right, then."  But I don't want to go that high.  I'm still looking in the $80-90K range.  Once I'm done here, I'm going to go back to the website and look around a bit.

So, yesterday, while I was waiting on my tire to get fixed, I was wandering around Wal-mart.  I just so happened upon the clearance aisle.  Yes, I bought it, despite having 2857 other journals. 

It was on clearance.  That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Today I had to go back to Wal-mart, because I forgot to buy dog food.  Yeah, they wouldn't have been too happy with me if I'd made them wait until Friday to eat again.  While I was there, I happened upon the drinkware aisle.

You know I had to get it, because Independence Day is coming up, and I'm all about 'Merica. 

Once I finally made it home and checked my mail, I got the fiber I ordered. 

Yep, two pounds of it.  By the time I get all this spun, I ought to be pretty good.  Now, I just have to empty my bobbins so I'll have something to spin it onto. 

And finally, a co-worker of mine asked me to order some pepper sauce for him, since he doesn't have internet.  Really?  In this day and age, there are still people without internet?  Since I can't order just one thing, I threw one on my favorite books into my basket.  This is the one that made me want to work with blind people.  I kind of gave up that dream when I realized I didn't have the temperament or patience for it. 

And I got a couple of movies.  A double feature.  I used to have Shanghai Noon, but lent it out and never got it back.  I don't loan movies any more.  I've lost too many of them that way. 

Anyway, Shanghai Noon is hilarious. Shanghai Knights is funny, too, but not quite as good.  It's still worth a watch, though. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go browse the Coldwell Banker website a bit.  And eat ice cream. 

Knit One

I finished the first one, and started another washcloth.

These are the smaller size I like to use for my face.  The yarn is Peaches & Creme and the color is Pink Lilacs. 

Yesterday morning, I woke up at 5:20.  You know it's sad when your first thought is, "Boy it feels so good to sleep in until 5:20!"  I got up and let the dogs out, then I laid back down.  I thought they'd want back in soon, so I'd just relax until they got me back up.

Next thing I know, it's 8:30.  I must have needed that sleep.

I have an alarm set for 6:30, and I honestly don't remember it going off.  I was just that tired.  These 3:30 mornings are starting to catch up with me.  I can't turn down the overtime, though.  You've got to get it while you can, because one day -- just like that-- we'll be back to working 4 days a week. 

Needless to say, I didn't make it to church.  I'm so glad they started putting the sermons up on the church's website.   

I spent my afternoon watching the last Hobbit movie.  I must honestly say I was disappointed in them -- all three of them.  First of all, when you stretch out a single book into a trilogy, you have to add a lot of filler.  In this last movie, the filler was so trite and so cliche, it had me rolling my eyes more than once. 

Secondly, the CG -- which had been so masterful in the LOTR trilogy -- was very fake and cartoonish.  Most of the battle scenes looked like cheaply made anime cartoons.  In one of the battle scenes, you can see several groups of characters making the exact same movements.  It looked like a bad copy and paste job.  I really expected more from Peter Jackson. 

Finally, Legolas (what was he doing there in the first place?  Oh, yeah, filler) looked completely fake.   Did they even have Orlando Bloom there, or did they just animate him? Seriously, he looked plastic.

All in all, they were entertaining movies, but I'm not going to rush out and buy them.  I'll wait until they get tossed into the $5 bin at Wal-mart. 

Yesterday's Post

This was supposed to be yesterday's post, but I was waiting for the FedEx guy.  I was expecting a package, so I was waiting on the FedEx guy. 

While I was waiting, I checked my mailbox.  There was a package in my mailbox.  It was the last Christmas present.

Beverly and James collect bird ornaments for their Christmas tree.  Back in November, I was looking in the Avon book, and saw this one.

 "What a great gift!"  I thought.  When I went to buy it, though, it was unavailable.  I clicked the link to have them notify me when it became available again.   Christmas came and went, and I never received the notification.  I bought them something else, and didn't think about it any more. 

About 10 days ago, I got the e-mail.  The ornament was back in stock.  Fat lot of good that did me, but then I thought, "what the heck, I'll buy it anyway.  At least they'll be able to add it to their collection."  And that is what I did. 

I was still waiting for the FedEx guy when the UPS guy arrived, bringing me my new movie.

I haven't watched it yet.  I'll probably wait until the weekend, so I can relax and really enjoy it.

I was still waiting for the FedEx guy, and getting a little aggravated.  I wanted to go take a shower to wash the day's sweat and grime from my body.  I figured it'd be just my luck that as soon as I got in the shower, he'd show up.  So, I waited.  Waited for the FedEx guy...

Finally, at 7:00 PM, the FedEx guy showed up.

"Had you given up on me?" he asked.

"Just about," I said. 

He explained that they had gotten so far behind because of all the ice and snow, and the airports being closed and the roads closed...they were just now starting to get caught up.  It's been rough, he said.

And just what had the long awaited FedEx guy brought me?  A new phone!

Yep, I was due for an upgrade.  I debated on skipping straight to the iPhone 6, but when I realized I could get a 5 for less than $100, my Luddite ways won out.    Besides, I figured, what do I use a phone for, but to check Facebook and play Hay Day?  Yeah, my issues run deep. 

I'll wait a few weeks before I give my opinion on it.  I'm still in the I don't like it!  It's new and I don't like new!  stage.  I'm sure I'll like it fine once I get used to it. 

Or as well as I can like any phone.  Like I said, my phone issues run deep. 

Busy

Bought the new Star Trek movie.

Currently swooning at the sound of this man's voice.

Sigh, why can't men sound like that in real life?

I Didn't Do Anything

I didn't do anything today, so why am I so tired?

Well, it could have something to do with staying up to read my new book.

Yes, a real book with those weird paper pages that you have to ummm....turn.  Yeah, that's the word. 

It was recommended to me by someone on Facebook, and since they didn't have a Kindle edition, I ordered the paperback.  Since they were going to have to ship it to me anyway, I threw in two of my favorite Christmas movies.

Christmas With The Kranks is based on the short novel Skipping Christmas, by John Grisham.  Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis play Luther and Nora Krank, whose only child Blair has joined the Peace Corps and has gone to Peru for two years.  They decide to save all the money they would have spent on Christmas and go on a cruise, much to the chagrin of their neighborhood.

It didn't get very good reviews, but I really liked the movie.  I liked it enough to buy it, obviously. Of course, the book was better, but then, books usually are.

Seasons Of The Heart is one of my all time favorite movies.  I've checked it out from the church library so many times that I told the library chairman that I might as well just buy it.  So, I did.  It follows the story of Jed and Martha Richards back in the 1800s who leave their home to settle the American West.  Along the way, their two little daughters die, leaving a big  hole in their lives.  Then one day the preacher brings an orphaned boy, Danny, to see if Jed and Martha can take him in and give him a home.  Jed soon comes to love the boy as his son, but Martha just can't accept him.  She constantly compares the boy to her two golden haired girls, and he can't seem to do anything right, until a miracle happens one snowy Christmas eve.  I can't recommend this movie enough.

*Warning, have the tissues handy. 

In other news, I did manage to clear enough space in the refrigerator to get the turkeydactyl in.  Doing so, I discovered that my whole crisper cabinet came out.  I knew the drawer would come out, but I didn't know the casing around the drawer also came out.  It sure made cleaning it a whole lot easier. 

I also took the time to go pull all the dead stuff out of my flower bed, but I haven't raked up the mulch yet.  I'm going to take it up and spread it around my back steps, where it stays perpetually muddy all winter long.  I'm hoping I can build that area up a bit so it won't be quite so gloppy. 

And I spent the rest of the day watching football and knitting.  I watched the Arkansas /Mississippi State game, then the LSU/Ol' Miss game.  About halfway through the second game, it hit me.  Football season is almost over.  College football is, at least.  Next week is LSU's last regular season game.  The Army/Navy game is December 8th, then that's it until bowl games start.  How could it go by so fast?  It seems like it just got started. 

I try not to think about things like that.

It makes me sad.  

So I'll just show you my new hat:

I've got a contact in New Jersey, and I sent her all the charity hats I'd made up until now.  She found a church on Staten Island who is distributing things to people who lost their stuff in the hurricane.  I had to send them to her work address, since she didn't have her mailbox back up yet.  Yes, she'd been affected by the storm, and was without power for 8 days. 

Anyway, one of her buddies at work wanted a hat, but she told him no.  I said I'd knit him one just for him, so I cast on this one.  I didn't do it on purpose, but I chose my go to hat pattern:  The Hurricane Hat. Ironically appropriate, don't you think?

And Beverly's cowl still continues apace:

Maybe I'll get it done by Christmas after all. 

Good News And Bad News

The insurance lady came by yesterday and looked at my roof.  She said that she didn't think it would cost that much to fix it.  It would probably actually be less than my deductible.  On his way to work later that day, James stopped and climbed up there himself.  After looking at it, he said that he didn't think the shingles were actually damaged.  The wind had just pulled the tacks out and rolled them back.  So, today, he and Cody got up there and straightened them out.

You can hardly even tell where they were peeled back.  Tomorrow after church, they are going to tack them back down, then spread some kind of sealer over the nail holes so that they don't leak.  So, it just will cost me the price of the nails and sealer.  That is a relief!

The second monkey sock is still creeping along.

I'm about halfway through the gusset decreases, but had to take a break because the Arwen Wrap was calling my name.

 This is after completing Chart A.  It's knit in DK weight, which after knitting with sock and lace weight feels a bit like knitting with rope!

I rented a movie from Netflix called Mississippi Masala.  Now, the movie itself wasn't that great.  At least I didn't think so, but the fun part is that the hotel it is filmed in was right here in Grenada.  OK, the movie was set in Greenwood, which is just up the road, but they filmed at least part of it here at the old Monte Christo.  The hotel was torn down several years ago, but it brought back some fond memories.  Well, not of the hotel, since I never actually went there, but of what Grenada used to look like.  It was fun seeing the Penny Pincher gas station in the background, and the fire station, and the empty space where the Kangaroo gas station is now. Vanessa and I were talking about it at work, and she was telling me how all the people in Grocery Basket gasped and stared when Denzel went in there to buy orange juice.  I was still overseas at the time, so I missed out on all that.  Such is life.

Now for the bad news.  Former Group Leader Rod's mama is in the hospital.  I don't know what is wrong with her, though, other than that she is just getting old.  I asked him this morning how she was doing, and he just said, "pray".  So, my fellow prayer warriors, I'm calling on you once again.  It's time to go into battle, this time on behalf of Rod's Mama.

I know I can count on you.

Ten On Tuesday

This week's topic was a tough one for me.  It is

What are your 10 favorite Oscar winning movies?

Now, I know there are a gajillion Oscar categories, but I think the intent was to choose from among the Best Picture winners.  What is so hard about that?  Well, I'll tell you...I had to go all the way back to 2004 to find a movie I'd even seen, much less liked.  So, it's likely you will see a lot of classics in this list.

Here we go:

1.  Lord Of The Rings: The Return of The King-- 2004.  There are those who say that this award was meant to encompass all three movies of the trilogy, and since you can't watch one without watching the other two --well,  you could, but you wouldn't know what was going on-- I'd suggest that they are right.  This is by far my favorite.  Nothing else comes close. 

2.  Gladiator-- 2001.  I went to buy this movie as soon as it came out, and some fool in Wal-Mart (another customer, not an employee) kept trying to shove Major Payne into my face.  I had to leave the department and come back later, just to get my movie.  I eventually watched Major Payne, and it didn't hold a candle to Gladiator.

3.  Braveheart-- 1996   FREEDOM!!!!  What more need be said?

4.  Schindler's List-- 1994  A difficult movie to watch, but one I believe every adult should see. 

5.  Dances With Wolves--1991  A beautifully made movie about one man looking past what the politicians have told him and learning to love a people for who they truly are.  Would that more of us did that today.

6.  Driving Miss Daisy--1990  A totally fun story, with two of the most masterful actors of our day-- Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy.  My favorite line:  "Yes, I got the air condition checked.  I don't know why.  You don't ever allow me to turn it on."

7.  Out Of Africa --1986  A good show, despite having Robert Redford (whom I can't stand) and Meryl Streep (who is almost as bad).  It is Farah, and Kamante that make this movie for me.

8.  The Sound Of Music-- 1966.  I knew many of the songs before I even knew there was a movie with them in it.

9.  Ben Hur--1960  A nearly naked Charlton Heston is totally worth an Oscar.  (Oh, did I just say that out loud?)

10.  This was a tough one, since there are about 5 or 6 more that I could add to this list, but in the end, being somewhat of a history buff, I chose The Last Emperor --1988.  

So, there you have it.  My ten favorite Oscar Winning films.  But wait, you say.  There is something missing!  One glaring omission!  A movie that is supposed to be everyone's favorite!

What movie is this, you ask?  Why Gone With The Wind, of course.  No, it did not make my list, and there's a reason why.

I've never seen it.  I've tried to watch it a couple of times, but just can't seem to make it through the whole thing.  The closest I've come is Carol Burnett's version, Went With The Wind.  Now, that is a truly good movie!

Movie Review--Disney's A Christmas Carol

The story is one familiar to all of us.  Cold hearted miser Ebeneezer Scrooge wants nothing to do with happiness, charity, good will, and least of all Christmas.  One Christmas Eve, an encounter with his long dead business partner Jacob Marley changes his life.  Marley's Ghost tells Scrooge that he will be visited by three spirits, The Ghost of Christmas Past, The Ghost Of Christmas Present, and The Ghost Of Christmas Yet To Come.  These encounters produce such a profound change in Mr. Ebeneezer Scrooge that I once declared him the fictional character I most wanted to be like. 

This Disney version is only the most recent in a long line of movies and TV shows chronicling Scrooge's ghostly encounters, and his subsequent change.  It features the voice talents of Jim Carrey as Scrooge, and Colin Firth, Gary Oldman, and Cary Elwes -- who each voice several characters in the film.

Let me start off by saying that the computer animation is simply stunning. Instead of being cartoony, many of the characters --especially the background characters-- were so lifelike that in a few scenes, I thought I was looking at a composite between computer animation and live action.  And the level of detail is much greater than one would expect in a movie thought to be made for children--especially for children accustomed to Japanese anime.

That being said, I have a love/hate relationship with this movie.  It started off really good.  I liked the beginning, the scene showing them opening a copy of the book, and the story proceeding from there.  As the story progressed, I thought, "This is really good.  I'm going to love this movie."   However, I was soon to be disappointed.

When the movie sticks to Dickens' original story, it is really, really good.  But when it strays, it is really, really bad.  There are some moments that will probably be too frightening for younger viewers, and other moments that will be too --well, dumb-- for older viewers.  Let's discuss a few of them.

First off, Marley's ghost.  It starts off good when the door knocker appears as Jacob's face, but then it does this weird, ghoulish jumping out at you thing which will likely send small children into a screaming panic.  Then, a few minutes later, when he is delivering the "chance and hope I got for you" speech, the ghost throws in some lighthearted, almost slapstick humor which is totally inappropriate for the scene and the character.  It left me rolling my eyes and thinking, "oh, good grief."  It was actually pretty funny, just not right for this scene.

The Ghost of Christmas Past is portrayed as a candle, which is a pretty big departure from the original story, in which it is described as an androgynous, ageless, human like being.  As if that weren't bad enough, it's not obvious that this is what the ghost is.  I didn't realize that, "Hey, that's supposed to be a candle"  until just this morning, when I was looking at the cover of the DVD box.  While watching the movie, it just looked like a weird blob with a disembodied, floating, flaming head.   I found this to be a very disturbing image, and am not sure I'd want a small child to see it.

Towards the end of the movie, The Ghost Of Christmas Yet To Come reveals his face, which never happens in the book.  I've seen this done in other movies, showing him to have a skull like face.  This is done for shock value, I think, so I don't really have a problem with it.  However, in this movie, he looks more like Darth Vader than The Grim Reaper.

On the other hand, The Ghost of Christmas Present was simply stunning in his beauty and simplicity.   He's always been my favorite, and this movie is no exception.

Other than this, the biggest problem I have with this movie is some of the transition scenes.  At the end of the first ghost's visit, Scrooge has seen enough.  He tells the ghost to take him home, then grabs the cap and forces it down over the spirit's head, snuffing out the light he gives.  At this point, the movie takes a serious departure from the book, in that the cap turns into a rocket, blasting Scrooge up and into outer space.  Weird.  And he goes up and up and up and up and up and up and up.....And just when you are thinking, "when will this end?", it does.  But then you have to watch him fall, and fall, and fall, and fall for just as long, until he finally lands on his bedroom floor.  This entire scene was utterly ridiculous, and could have been completely eliminated.

But this one wasn't the worst.  During the third spirit's visit, there is actually a chase scene!  Between the scene in which Scrooge sees his own deceased body lying on his bed, and the scene in Old Joe's shop, Scrooge is chased through the streets of London by a ghostly hearse drawn by two glowing-eyed demon horses.

And the demon horses chase him through the streets, and he slides down icy sewers as if they were waterslides, and belly whops across the snowy roofs of London, and it just goes on and on interminably until I was thinking, "Good Lord, this is the awfullest thing I've ever seen!"  But finally, mercifully, it does end, and the movie goes on.

There are a couple of other scenes that were held a bit too long, but these two were the worst.  They could have shortened or eliminated these, and included some of the wonderful Dickensian prose that they left out.  The movie would have been stronger if they had. 

Now, the end of the movie left me with a warm glow, and thinking, "Boy that was good!", but I think this has more to do with the strength of Charles Dickens' masterful story, than anything this movie had to offer.   If you're looking for a version to introduce your children to this wonderful story, you're better off going with The Muppet Christmas Carol--still one of my favorites. 

Overall, this movie was a disappointment, and if I'd watched it first, I probably wouldn't have bought it.

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Just a Quickie

I watched the new Star Trek movie tonight, and --though I think the word is overused in this pop culture, I have to say it, just this once. IT WAS AWESOME!!!!

Still working long hours, so I need to head on to bed.

I got one Christmas present done, and I'll try to get a photo up of it soon. The recipient doesn't read this blog. In fact, I don't think he even knows it exists. Then again, I have made mention of it, so he probably knows it's here, but doesn't know how to get here. All that to say, expect hat photos soon. When I was picking out the yarn for it, Cody said he needed a new hat, too. So I got enough to do him one, as well. I cast on for it this evening.

Conversations with Cody:

Me: I slept all night last night.

Cody: Stranger things have happened.

Never a dull moment with that one...

Sunday Sky

I know it's not Saturday, but the sky this afternoon was just plain photo worthy. So instead of being a Saturday Sky photo, I present to you the

Sunday Sky. I prefer skies like this over the cloudless blue. They are so much more interesting.

Other than the sky, it's been a rather uneventful day. I don't quite know what to do with myself without football to watch.

I love watching the special features on DVDs. All the making of documentaries, the cast bios, and the commentaries...I just love them. B doesn't. She doesn't care about any of those extras. She says she just wants to watch the movie and be done with it. Even when the movie is playing, she doesn't pay attention to half of it. She is trying to carry on conversations or clean house, or talk on the phone. Now, me, if I'm going to watch the movie, I want to watch the movie. No interruptions, no distractions, nothing.

But I digress...I was watching the latest Pride and Prejudice with the director's commentary playing. At one point, he said something to the effect of, "That must have been a very dull existence back then. All they did was sit." And I thought, "How is that so different from today?" Whether it is sitting with a book, or letters, or playing cards as they did back then, or sitting in front of the TV, or computer, or playing video games like we do now, it is still just sitting.

Yes, I know people today work, but they worked back then too. Just a different kind of work. But in our leisure hours, we still just sit.

Good news, I found my copy of Emma. It's next on my reading list.

Bad news, I still haven't gotten my Amazon.com mess straightened out. They are still saying I don't exist. Sigh...

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Musings

As most of you know, former President Gerald Ford passed on a couple of days ago. I mentioned this to Cody as we were going into town because I had noticed that the flags were at half staff. We discussed briefly that when some one important dies, the flags are flown at half staff as a sign of mourning and respect. He then said, "And when you're in trouble, you fly it upside down."

This reminded me of a story I read as a child. It's about a young girl and her mother who live alone on an island, but I forget where. They don't have a telephone or radio or any form of communication other than the mail plane. Why they are living there is not explained in the story--or at least I don't remember the reason.

One day the mother hurts herself. She doesn't know what to do, as the mail plane is not due to land on their island for several more days, though he flies over daily. They had to try to think of some way to signal the pilot of the plane. The girl knew what to do, and went outside for a few minutes. She returned to the house, and together they waited for the mail plane.

A he flew over right on schedule, then they heard him circle, and come back and land. They were saved. But what did the girl to do attract this male pilot's attention? She hung the shirts on the wash line upside down. Now, tell me, what man would have noticed that? Sheesh, most women wouldn't have noticed it.

While at Wal-mart, I spent some of my Christmas money and bought the newest version of Pride and Prejudice on DVD. Sigh...Darcy...Why don't they make men like that any more?

Cindy is coming for a visit tomorrow. Yippee. I'd better get to bed so I can get up early and clean house!
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