Wow

I'm at a loss for words (almost)

Pia brought home "Drive" for our viewing pleasure.  The girls love Ryan Gosling.  I don't love him but he seems kind of harmless and cute.

Then this movie.  Most violent thing I've ever seen.  Plus it has car driving, a "genre" I hate almost as much as the circus genre.

And it's not even on my Oscar list, so I didn't get to knock a film off.

I'm going to have to watch Stewie say "Whheat Thins" about 200 times to cleanse my mind of the picture of Christina Hendricks getting her head blown off.

This Makes Me Laugh

Every Time.

A Date With Al

Friday night my man Alex and I went out for a fun date.  I had originally intended to take him to Beauty and the Beast (Broadway show), but missed out on tickets for that.

We settled for dinner at Chili's and "Hugo".  He was full of chatter, including regaling me with a little hijinks where he and some pals took those plastic bags of chocolate milk (the kind they serve in the school cafeteria instead of cartons) and threw them against the walls of the school.  They didn't get caught (yet), hope Principal Skinner doesn't read my blog.  He had a corn dog, pineapple and a Slurpee type drink.  He was super stoked about the pineapple, weird kid.

We then fueled up for the movie with Skittles and popcorn.  After the film, we dropped into Game Stop and got a Bakugan game for their XBox.  Lucky for Lavs, he only looked at the sale table, and didn't ask for something rated T.

I don't get to see my little men very often anymore, so it was a fun evening for me.  And I think it was fun for Al to get a special evening with no brothers.

Watching the Oscar Nominees

I'm trying to watch all 9 of this year's nominees for Best Picture.

"The Tree of Life" directed by Terence Malick.  We watched this yesterday.  Not "Bridesmaids", for sure :-)

"Malick, a deeply thoughtful director who studied philosophy at Harvard and Oxford, reflects on the interconnectedness and interdependence of all living things, no matter how miniscule or magnificent. The death of a brother lingers profoundly in the life of his emotionally damaged sibling just as the Big Bang reverberates throughout the cosmos, and a relatively small meteorite crash instigates a cataclysmic ripple of death for the dinosaurs."

 "The Artist".  My favorite so far.  Loved everything about this movie.  Charming!

 "The Help".  Loved this too, mostly for the performances by Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis.  This was a movie that stayed pretty faithful to the book, and didn't disappoint.

 "Hugo".  I took Alex to see this on Friday, and it was still good the second time around.  The sets are amazing, and there were some good knitted costumes (always a plus for me lol)  I really enjoy the history of film, so the scenes showing the making of early silent movies was fun.  But maybe a tad long for little kids (though Al liked it)

"Moneyball".  I was amazed that a good movie could be made out of this book.  Brad Pitt is very good in this one, as is Jonah Hill (does anyone else like him better chubby?)

So that's 5 down, 4 to go:  The Descendants, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Midnight in Paris and War Horse.  I'm not too excited about the 9/11 movie (the previews are kind of annoying) and I don't love Woody Allen.  But War Horse is World War I (one of my favorite eras) and The Descendants has Cloons, so I'm up for seeing both of those.

And why didn't Tin Tin get a nod for Best Animated Film?  I liked that one.

Saturday Morning

Saturday mornings around here tend to be rather lazy affairs.  We've watched all of the HGTV shows we can handle (and yet we haven't managed to clean anything in our house today).  We are all still in our PJs. 

And while channel surfing, we came across the 80s classic "Ski Patrol".  Which was exciting, as Katie and I had just been discussing this movie, and how it was one of the seminal films of her tween  years.  And that one of the stars of the movie is BEVERLY LESLIE from "Will and Grace".  Who was the only "star" I saw when I visited Katie in LA.  Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon...

God this movie is terrible.  I may have to go clean something.

The Latest Fashion (in 1890)!

Here I am, doing my best Queen Victoria imitation.  Wearing "The Barrister's Wig" I just finished for My Year of Weldon's.

It's warm and cozy, also lightweight.  But maybe not my best look.  Still, it was fun to knit.

You're Never Too Old To Learn Something New

My daily learning generally involves The New York Times Crossword Puzzle, or something I've seen on The History Channel (well it used to involve the History Channel.  Since they've gone to airing nothing but Swamp People and Ax Men, I'm not learning too much).

But yesterday, I taught myself to crochet.  I've been avoiding crochet for the nearly 50 (ack) years I've been knitting.  I think being a lefty bolluxed up the instructions for me, and anytime I tried to crochet, I ended up going backwards and upside down or something.

But so many of the Weldon's projects I want to do this year involve at least a little crocheting.  So last night, I dug this 1946 booklet out (and it has instructions for the left handed -- sort of.  Basically it says to put a mirror in front of the page and follow the reflection).  And within a few minutes, I was merrily chaining, single crocheting and double crocheting all around my Barrister's Wig! 

I'm sure experienced crocheters would wince at my speed (though I did get faster) and I'm pretty sure I am not holding the yarn quite right, but I produced a decent looking lacy edging so I'm pretty happy.

And I can say that I learned something new.  That wasn't about a Real Housewife, Heidi and Seal's breakup or what those crazy Brits are doing at "Downton Abbey" (though I learned about all that stuff too)

He's Back!

Karl Pilkington is back!  We watched Episode 1 of "An Idiot Abroad: The Bucket List" yesterday.  Genius.

I was relieved that Karl refused to bungee jump, though.  He's smarter than he looks.

A Couple More Piccies

 Could these two goons look any more alike?  And PLEASE tell me your dad does not have that sweater any more.  Though knowing him, he does.

Here's a cute picture of Grandpa Tony and Grandma Gay.  These two really loved each other. 

Oh Sad!

I just read that Heidi Klum and Seal are getting divorced.  :-(

Presh!

My new Sorel boots!  I seem to have lost my trusty Uggs so I guess it was time for some new snow boots.  And these were on sale at Nordy's yay!  Until we checked Escape Outdoors in the same mall and they were on sale cheaper.

Hoping good ole Nordy's will match the price.  Even if they don't, I love my plaid boots!

A Little Inspiration

Cara and Tony started Weight Watchers this week, yay!  That will spur us fellow fatties to get back on WW.  Katie found these pix, which we thought would inspire you Virginians to give up the pork rinds and head cheese in favor of Lean Cuisine:

PS, Cara is that Andee Schmick on the right? If so, there was a nice "where are they now?" article with her in this week's Spokesman.

The Hooligans

Jon dropped off RJ, Al and Liam today while he's working on the South Hill.  They came dressed to play outside and brought their XC skis.  So far, they are trying to stay inside.

Not much luck getting these three buffoons to pose nicely for a picture.  We are going to head over to Manito Blvd. with Lulu and the skis.  Should be wild.

Snow!

Our first real snowfall of 2012.  Glad I am inside today!  It's coming down pretty seriously.  Lulu and I shoveled the back sidewalk so I could empty the trash.  She enjoyed the romp.  I did not enjoy the shoveling.  Pretty sure I am going to be found face down in a snowdrift one of these days.  Us olds hate shoveling snow.

Of course, our stupid TV weather people are predicting Snowpocalypse, but I imagine we will survive.

Our Day O Beauty

Yesterday Katie talked me into going to a Health & Beauty Fair at the local CC (my condition for going was that she had to go with me to visit Jon and Mike P.  So we each got our way)

Now, if you know me AT ALL, you know I'm not much for beauty :-)  My Katie, however, is ALL ABOUT the beauty.  And I hate paying $ to get into these sales events, but I went along with it.

We actually had a pretty good time.  She got her eyebrows waxed, I got a paraffin hand treatment, we both got a little massage on our extremely tight necks and shoulders, and we both got "Gelish" manicures.

We got our  manis from two cosmetology students for $12.00.  And got what we paid for :-)  These gals are definitely still learning and our local Korean manicurists have nothing to worry about in the way of competition.  But they were very sweet and I now have pretty "canasta nails" as Katie calls them--kind of that orangey pink color us old ladies love.  My girl wasn't able to get polish on the left edge of any of my nails, but from a distance they look fine.  And Katie got a dark purple, which is very "her".  She also endured about 30 minutes of her girl trying to chip off her previous Gelish polish.  Apparently this stuff is bullet proof (or it is if you are a Spokane Community College cosmetology student who tried to pry it off with an orange stick)

So, now I'm beautiful!  Or at least my hand are.  And I have a 15% off coupon on hair extensions.  Yay.

Cara's New Hat

Cute model Katie wearing Cara's new hat, "Struan" by the talented Ysolda Teague.

I think it's adorable!  It has a little brim/bill which Cara requested and no buttons (also requested by Ms. Cara).  Hope you like it too, Car!

Here's World's Longest Scarf!

The only place I had enough room to lay this sucker out was my inventory room in the basement.  It's long!

Who Doesn't Love This Gal?

• "I look just like the girls next door, if you happen to live next door to an amusement park."
• "It's a good thing I was born a girl, otherwise I'd be a drag queen."
• "I modeled my looks on the town tramp."
• "You'd be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap!"

Dolly.  Gotta love her.  

World's Longest Scarf!

Finally finished my Advent Calendar Scarf!  Since we are now in Epiphany, it's a little past due.  And man, this sucker is long.  I'll take a picture as soon as I've figured out where I'm going to lay it out for blocking.  I wonder if the city of Spokane will allow me to block off the sidewalk for a few days, because it's about as long as a city block lol.

It's very pretty, and I will definitely be able to wrap it around a few times.

Aaaaahhh

Just got home.  Not leaving for a long time.  It's SO nice to be back in the peaceful surroundings of my own place :-)

We got all of Mom's stuff moved over to her new home (except her pillows and toothbrush, which will go with her on Monday).  The family home she will be living in is absolutely gorgeous, with the nicest people to care for her.  Rada and Marius are delightful, and Rada speaks Italian (she also says Mom is like all the ladies she knew in Italy, which is true for good or ill lol). 

It's going to be difficult for her to adjust to a new place, as it is for anyone when making a major life change.  But it's a relief to know that she will be in a clean, lovely home with caring people.  I am thankful that my siblings made it possible for her to stay in her own home for as long as they did, but it was definitely time to make this change.  And whether she understands it or not, it's a healthier environment for her.

Tomorrow, I'm going to be lazy and just bask in the peace and quiet of home!

The Hostess With The Mostest

This Girl...

So Zaids and I stopped over at the Prentice's abode for a brief visit today.  Carsie was already down for his nap, but Miss Hadley was still up.

And she had a load of stuff to tell her Auntie Lowdie.  First I got to meet her new Bitty Baby, or "Pepper Candy Cane" as her mama has named her (today anyway, I suspect the name is a moving target).  She showed me the sweater I knit for BBPCC, which she had hung neatly up on the coat rack.  Evidently BBPPC had just gotten home.

Then we headed up to her bedroom to check out all her Xmas loot.  We both agreed that bedmaking is for those people who don't have better stuff to do.  She showed me her new Cinderella Leap Frog computer and we each played a game.  She showed me her new Cinderella Purse/Gloves/Jewels set and I opened it all for her to put on.  No tiara though, boo.  She showed me all of Bitty Baby's new clothes and equipment.  That baby is SET.

Then we headed back down to the living room for a tea party.  And a grand party it was.  Even though  her teapot lid was broken, she put on a festive party for the two of us.  With mints, a plastic hot dog bun for BBPCC, a plastic cookie for Hads, and a wooden sushi roll for me.  YUM!  Mama chipped in with a bagel and cream cheese.

The party was topped off with Hads demonstrating some of her gymnastic moves (first class tonight. I'm sure you killed it HJP), and plenty of chit-chat about all the stuff she has been up to.  Plus Frank P. nibbling me with his tiny needle-sharp puppy teeth.

A perfect time was had by both of us.  I need a Hadley in my life, please!

Bring Em Home 2.0 continued

We have an Apple Store now, Car!  It's right downtown!  You can practically drive right up to it!  And no mean DC salespeople!