Peanut Shells on the Floor

As a kid, my dad was always worried about appearances. He always sat in the back row of church, a theatre, a meeting, anything. When I asked him why, he told me he didn’t want anyone sitting behind him in case he had a dirty neck. Ok. When we’d go to a hotel, we always had to make the bed and completely clean the bathroom, folding the towels neatly and hanging the washrags up to dry, as if someone else were going to use them! My Mother would explain to him that it wasn’t necessary, as they would change the beds and put in fresh towels and washrags. He thought that was ridicules because we had only slept on them once! No matter, the work was to be done. I’m sure that if we stayed more than a day or two, we would have had to rent a vacuum and wash a few walls, just so the maid wouldn’t think ill of us! In a restaurant, we had to wad up our napkins and straw papers and cracker wrappers and stuff them into our glasses and put our silver and whatever else neatly on our plates and scrape whatever crumbs or debris onto our hands and into the aforementioned plate!
At North Woods Inn, for any of you who have been, know that when the waiter greets you, he throws peanuts on the table. I love that! It right away makes the whole event kind of casual and like home. Not that we throw things on the table at home, but, well, you know what I mean….Anyway, as you walk into North Woods Inn, there is sawdust on the floor. As a kid, I always thought it was ground up peanut shells, because as you know, you are suppose to throw the peanut shells on the floor. There is even a sign that tells you to do this. Right there in plain sight! For all to see. Oh no, not us! How would that look?! We had to pile our shells in a neat little pile. I would point out the sign on every wall around us, but, alas, ours were in a neat little pile next to our Root Beer mug. Each time the waiter would come, he would shove them onto the floor. I’m sure he was thinking, what a bunch of Rubes! But when we’d leave, our last pile of shells, our paper-wadded glass and our silver would be all neatly sitting ready for inspection!
Maybe that’s why I’m such a slob. Tho I don’t throw peanut shells on my floor at home, there are a few other things on the floor, that I seem to just toss like those peanut shells at North Woods Inn. Hummmmm,….. Dr. Phil?

Men and their Trucks

Men think of their trucks as tools. And they use them as such. Steve had the day off, so he decided to take out an annoying palm fron-y thing in the front circle. We both hate it, and it just is out of place in our ‘woodsy’ landscaping. He tried to eliminate it once before by cutting it way back. Now, we gardeners know that that was just pruning. He didn’t and was quite surprised to find it grew back even stronger than before. He thought it was some kind of miracle. I don’t like to shake his faith in God, so I just let him believe it was, indeed, a miracle. Now two years later, that miracle has caused a sight issue in the driveway. Meaning, I can’t see to get out of my own driveway. So, this bright sunny Sunday was the day to destroy the thing, miracle or not! ‘One good pull with the Ford F150 and that puppy will be outta there!’ Hummmm…me thought! One good pull, he thinks…

As he got into the truck, I could just picture my Dad doing the same thing. In fact, I thought my Dad was the only man who used his vehicle for everything. You see, my dad was a kind of ‘I do whatever I want, when I want, don’t follow the rules, make them up as I go, inventive’ kind of guy. His way was better, and what was the argument? And, he was usually right, darn it! He was, in truth, the only person on the planet who had a cast iron vice mounted on the tailgate of his utility van. He also had one of those change things you push the lever and coins come out the bottom, screwed to the dashboard. You know, the kind that has a slot for pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters? When I asked him about this, he stated as if only his genius could figure it out, ‘In case I need change for a pop or something’. OH…He also decided it a good idea to have paper towels at the ready, so he installed a paper towel holder. He only snag came when he inadvertently screwed it into the gas tank. But it was a good idea because you never know when you might spill that pop you just bought with your change from the change dispenser!

As Steve put the chain on the back of the F 150, my mind went back to the day my Dad drove up to my house on W. Lime to take out a tree trunk that had been apparently bugging him for some time. He attached a chain to the tree trunk and back to the vice on the back of his Van. In one good pull, it came out and he just drove off with the vegetation trailing behind him as he rounded the corner to W. Lemon and up the very same driveway Steve is now attempting the same thing. It was this very same van that Steve inherited that he had the brilliant idea it would move the 14 Foot Lumacraft Boat full of dirt. (I was using it as a planter, another story, another time!) All I needed was for it to be lifted up about 4 inches on one side and I would slip a rock under it to level it out. He attached some clamp kind of thing to the boat and the other end to the vice on the van. No go. Not even a breath of air under the offending side....Do you know how heavy a boatload full of dirt is? Well, it will just remain a little lopsided!

So the truck is ready for ‘one good pull’. I sat on the porch in my rocker and just watched my he-man at work! I love to watch him do stuff! I guess I should preface this by mentioning that it’s Sunday and the Mormon Church is full as is the street with big, ol Mormon family cars. Right next to the palm fron-y thing. As they exited the church, a few at a time, they looked a little worried about their big, ol family cars in the path of sure destruction. Steve just diligently went about his task at hand. Well, I got board, so I came in and sat at my computer to write this story. I’d love to tell you the ending, but he’s still out there pullin’!

...An hour later he came in dirt from head to toe, sweat dripping from his brow, proud look of manliness and stated, “That puppy is outta there!”

Men and their trucks…just another tool!

The Final Season

For what it’s worth...a movie review

My scale: 1 through 10; 1 being Istar and 10 being Gone With The Wind


OK, I’m a sucker for a baseball movie, I’ll admit it. I’m always hoping for another Field of Dreams or For the Love Of The Game. Well, this is neither, but I still liked it.

Norway, Iowa is a baseball town. After 19 Championships, Norway High is being merged or rather swallowed up, by a bigger school for ‘the good of the town’. Coach Jim Van Scoyoc, played by Powers Booth, has taken them to the last 12 titles but is let go before the final season. In comes newcomer, Kent Stack, played predictably perfect by Sean Astin (whom I’m also a sucker for). He, of course, is met with the usual obstacles of this kind of feel good film.
Tom Arnold, who I think is under rated and under used as an actor, is a former player for coach Van Scoyoc and the Norway Tigers. He brings his rebellious son, Mitch, portrayed by Michael Anganano, to live with his grandparents for a little small town comeuppance! The grandparents were perfectly cast, James Gammon and Angela Paton. Wouldn’t you know the boy is a gifted baseball player. Who whoulda thought?!
The merge doesn’t set well with the team or the town though Marshall Bell as the heavy Harvey Makepeach is determined not to be swayed.
As you can guess, there are ups and downs to the final season, but they do, in fact win the last game with our little Mitch making the winning play....

I went into this film wanting so to love it. Well, I didn’t love it. But I did love many aspects of it. There were characters I thought were spot on perfect small townies; the janitor/bus driver, the town priest, even the little girl who sings the National Anthem. The look, the feel, the innocence of Any Small Town USA was great. The people of Norway were just as determined to keep the high school open and the team together as the antagonist was to see it be gone. I would have loved to see more character development with the members of the team. You really didn’t know any of them well enough to root for them. The romance between Astin’s Coach Stock and School Board Member, Polly Hudsen (Rachel Leigh Cook) , was very believable. Just enough to make you think those two crazy kids will last forever in Norway, Iowa.

Should you see this film? Sure, why not. It’s a Sunday afternoon, feel good, root for the underdogs (well, except they really weren’t underdogs...), and share popcorn with the one who brung ya kind of movie. In the immortal word of the great Steve Johnson, ‘it sure wasn’t no Rudy!’ Well, no, Steve, it wasn’t Rudy...but then, what is....

I give this film a generous 6.7...I gave Rudy a 9.999. I gave it the extra .7 because I recognized Sean Astin’s brother Mackenzie as his assistant coach. Way to keep the fam alive, Sean! It would have been great to see mom Patty Duke as an extra in the stands, but I guess that would have been a little to much hokum, even for this film...but I did like it.....I am a sucker for a baseball movie.....if you see it, let me know what you think.....

Daddy's Candy Jar

My mother was pretty strict when it came to our eating habits. We always had meat, potatoes, vegetable and salad. Never dessert unless there was company. Tho, we always had 2 or 3 half gallons of ice cream in the freezer. Black Walnut was Daddy’s favorite, but mine was Fudge Ripple! 59 cents on sale. It was always Jerseymaid in the blue stripped container and we got 3 small scoops. That was another thing about my mother, everything was always served the same. 3 scoops of ice cream, 2 strips of bacon and 2 eggs, 1 pork chop, 6 oz. of orange juice for breakfast. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday we had bacon and eggs for breakfast. The other days, we had cereal. Puffed Wheat, Shredded Wheat or Post Tosties. I just figured there was a book somewhere that had the rules for the amount of food you served your family. When I got married my husband wanted more bacon and I was floored! His mom apparently didn’t read the book! Anyway, I digress………I don’t remember going to the frige or cupboard for snacks. We had ’meals’. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. If ever we did have a snack, it was fruit. Well, what kid wants an apple at 2 in the afternoon! (however, we did have a Satsuma Tangerine tree I visited regularly.) Around 8:00 in the evening, Daddy would say, ‘Ma, how about some ice cream?’. We’d all act like it was an idea we had never thought of! And out would come our 3 scoops. The ice cream was the only treat we could count on. But……in the pantry…way up high on the shelf...second from the top, were 2 glass jars. In them was Daddy’s candy. In the one on the right were gumdrops. The big ones. Red, yellow, orange, green, purple and the yucky black ones. But on the right, Brach’s Chocolate Stars!!!! AAAhhhhhh! Whenever Daddy came in from his shop in the back yard, you hoped he would go the pantry! You see, you couldn’t ask for the candy, you had to wait to see if he offered you one. Yes, one. One or the other, never both. He always did offer, but you always wondered if this time he might forget. He also kept Tootsie Rolls somewhere. Because his Grandfather always had candy in his pockets for his grandkids at church, my Dad decided to carry on the tradition. They would rush up to their Papa after church and just stand, waiting for him to offer them a treat. He would always pretend to not know why they were being just a little too attentive. ‘Oh!’ He would say. ‘I think I might have some candy in my pocket this morning!’ And out would come 2 Tootsie Rolls each! The grandchildren, and a few others who had caught on to the ritual, would run off as if they had gotten gold from a mine!
Now that I look back on it, geesh! It was kind of like torture! Maybe even Child Abuse! I gotta go journal………………….

Beautiful Nathan

Beautiful Nathan

As you know Nathan’s wife, Betty Jo, passed away on Wednesday. My first instinct was to go to Santa Monica and gather him up and bring him home. Steve suggested we wait until we heard from him so we could set up a meeting place, as we never really know where Nathan is living. So he finally called on Friday afternoon and we decided on The Broadway Bar and Grill as our spot. We drove down 5th and turned onto Broadway and just before 3rd St. Steve would drop me off and he would go park. It was Friday night and the place was already buzzin’. So just before we reached the corner, I was about to open my door and Steve stopped me, cautioning to wait as one of the many homeless was walking right by my door. I looked up at this disheveled soul walking past my window. I caught my breath at the familiarity of the man and his dusty belongings. It was my son. My mind raced to find a safe place……………..

We had left not quite 2 ½ year old Ryan at home with Gramma as we raced to the hospital for the second time in 24 hours. I feared I’d waited a bit too long this time and the 15 miles to the hospital seemed endless and much bumpier than the time before! Our second baby was now 8 days late, and it was the latter part of a very hot June in 1977. I just wanted it out of there and into my arms where it belonged! Well we did make it on time, barely. I had desperately wanted a girl this time, but don’t remember one whisper of disappointment when Nathan Jon-Lee Van de Wetering was cradled in my arms for the first time! He was undoubtedly the most beautiful baby I’d ever seen! He was 8lbs 14oz and 20 ½ inches and was perfect! Not like his brother Ryan who was born with a lop-sided cone head and scratches and his face from his very own fingernails with eyes puffy and all but closed. No, Nathan was perfectectly beautiful. All of the nurses came to see my treasure.
He was the kind of beautiful child that people stopped to admire, commenting on his bright blue eyes or curly brown hair. When he was about 6 years old, I would find people staring at him and my pride told me they too, thought he was beautiful even without a word spoken. He had a stocky little body and a curious gate when he walked. He developed quite a vocabulary and had an unusually deep voice for a child as he described things in his very own way. I was putting groceries away one day and there was a line of cans waiting for a place in the cupboard. He stared at them for a moment and said with joy, ‘look, Mama, it’s a parade!’ He could entertain himself so well I ’d get complacent and forget he was in the room at times. At one point I looked over at him at 2 year old, and he had taken all of the labels off the fruit and vegetable cans! But not just the labels, the glue as well! For weeks I’d open a can of green beans and it would be peaches!
At four years old, he was hit by a car as he and several children were playing in the yard. As I heard the car screech and knew something dreadful had happened, I knew instinctively it was Nathan. He had run into the street to retrieve a Frisbee and been struck by a drunk driver. He had been thrown 12 feet into the air and was completely under the car with his little head resting just in front of the rear tire. When I got to him, he was not breathing nor did he have a heart beat. I immediately prayed over him with all of the fervor and memory of everything I had learned over the 30 years knowing God was the answer to all around me. He began to breath with a rasp and his little heart raced. I yelled out numbers to call and took control of the stunned faces around me. The paramedics arrived and whisked us off the Santa Theresita Hospital. Nathan and I spent a week there and both of us recovered with the only scars being on my beautiful boy.
He baffled his teachers with his artistic approach to test takings! Instead of answering the question and filling in the appropriate dot, he made designs with the dots. Not an accurate measure of one’s ability on any level! He loved to take a bath and would go to bed when he was tired whether it was bedtime or not. If he needed to be scolded he would cry as if you has broken his heart, and I would cry too. He named all of his stuffed animals of which there we many. He seemed like he was always contemplating something more important than any one of us could possibly understand.

This was the boy standing outside of my car window. Broken and in shock from his loss. We did gather him up and bring him home and are dealing with this one day at a time. He is homeless, but must be in Santa Monica for court ordered classes. He seems not to be able to grasp what life is suppose to be about. It is hard for me to imagine him being able to pick himself up and lead life in a normal way, whatever that may be for him. Somewhere along the way, my beautiful little boy got lost and can’t find a way back. I pray for him daily and only survive this by knowing God has His hand out waiting for Nathan to grab on……………

Knitting

After one of the best Thanksgivings we’ve had in a long time, the day after was upon us. Dishes done (well almost) and the kids off and Steve gone to Tahoe with his mom, my sister, Dienna, and I got up to drink in the day. So many options, such possibilities! So many places we could go. So many stores open, so many people we could visit. It was a beautiful day, we could go for a walk. We could go for a bike ride. We could….Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. Here’s what we did…

We got up about 8:00, not bad. Had our coffee and a bite or two. Watched a little of the morning news. Then, we each picked up our knitting and began to create wonderful things! We never got out of our pajamas or combed out hair or even washed out faces. We were barefoot and comfortable in front of the TV all day. My sister at one point realized she had eaten 3 meals and it was only 1:00 in the afternoon. Oh, those leftovers.

Now as I was knitting for the 7th hour in the day and on my 3rd scarf, I began to examine this knitting thing. What is it about knitting that is so fascinating? My sister is a journeyman when it comes to knitting. She follows complicated pattern, and uses interesting yarns. I, on the other hand, am an apprentice, knowing only how to knit and pearl. That’s it. On my first scarf, half way through I realized I hadn’t a clue how to take my scarf off of the needles. I had to suck up my overly creative self and take my almost completed project into the knit shop and ask for help. I hate when I have to do that! But it was worth it. I guess…

Anyway, to have to describe knitting to someone who doesn’t know a thing about it is odd, at best. It sounds monotonous. At best. In my mind as I knit, I say the following phrase; in, over, tuck, push. In, over, tuck, push. In, over, tuck, push. In, over, tuck, push. In, over, tuck, push. In, over, tuck, push. In, over, tuck, push. In, over, tuck, push. In, over, tuck, push. Over and over and over and over and over and over and over again! How boring does that sound?! And yet, it is addicting. In, over, tuck, push! In, over, tuck, push.! In, over, tuck, push! Fascinating! For those knitters out there, you know exactly what I mean! Don’t you?! Right now, those of you who haven’t knit in years are trying to remember where your needles are. You’re getting out the old pattern magazines, realizing that they are out of style and you MUST get some new ones. You’re wondering where the neatest yarn shop is. Don’t worry; you’ll always remember how to knit. In, over, tuck, push! In, over, tuck, push! In, over, tuck, push!

That’s what my sister and I did all day long, the day after Thanksgiving. And loved every minute of it. She finished a scarf with complicated stitches and measured every 5 minutes hoping it was finally long enough! ‘Bout 2:30 it was long enough. Then she got out the sweater she’s been working on for 3 years. Don’t think I’ll ever be up to that complicated pattern! I’m just sticking to my scarves today! Maybe tomorrow I’ll try something else. Like a potholder or something.

My scarves have been a hit. I sold somewhere around 40 of them and gave the rest as gifts. Kept some and tucked the not so great ones in the drawer. I’ll figure something to do with them someday. Pot holders, possibly?


I’m working on a sweater. My first ‘real’ project. I don’t know how to follow a pattern, but I think I can figure it out. It’s pink. And soft. ¾ sleeves. Off the shoulder. It should be done around July. I’ll wear it anyway.

On a recent trip to Boise, my daughter-in-law asked me to teach her to knit. Oh! It’s easy! Just In, over, tuck, push! In, over, tuck, push! In, over, tuck, push! In, over, tuck, push! In, over,……..

Fascinating!

That Very First Day

As I looked in the mirror, I thought my white, flowing dress and jacket hid the extra 100 pounds or so I was always trying to pretend no one notices. I gathered my white purse with the pink roses and looked at the door and knew there was no backing out of the luncheon I so wanted to avoid. I had waited until it was too late to cancel. I had been taught by my mother, that if you couldn’t attend a function you must RSVP as soon as possible as to be courteous to your hostess. I had waited too long. I had to go. How on earth would I make it through? What excuse was going to be the right one to get me out of joining this group so many were pushing me into. I’m perfectly fine at home doing nothing. I like it there. That’s what depression tells you. Just stay right where you are. It may be dark, but you’re there and it’s what you know. The unknown has to be worse. It has to be…
Well, I did get into the car and drive myself to the League. I can’t even imagine driving here 3 or 4 times a week. That’s too much to ask. That would mean I would have to get up every morning and get dressed. Shoes and everything. There are days I don’t even know where my shoes are! The thought of getting dressed and putting makeup on and doing something coherent with my hair everyday, just seemed unthinkable. And, I would have to pretend everything was just fine and dandy with me, and that life was grand. I don’t know if I can do that convincingly for days at a time. I may implode!
I read my directions to the League and found it. Even though I had been to the theatre a few times before, this was the first time driving myself. It always surprises me when directions pan out. I was so hoping this time they wouldn’t. It would be my first excuse, I got lost. But, no, I found it…
I hate the parking here…. and it’s a creepy neighborhood…Hummm, but the League building is nice. Kind of like a jewel among rocks…whatever….
I made my way into the lobby and felt lost, as I really didn’t have a clue where I was suppose to go. Arlen said I’d find it when I got there. She’s always so optimistic. I hate that…. I wonder if she always knows where her shoes are….whatever…
I kind of recognized that little lady over there. I think her name is Dorretta something. She seems nice…I guess that’s where I’m suppose to be…I hope so…I don’t want to look as lost as I feel…so I’m goin’ in. Deep breath, smile, confident walk. I think that’s all I need…God, I want to go home. Come on brain, think…excuse…excuse… SOMETHING!!!! Nothin’…sigh…. come on, breathe, smile, confident walk, you can do it. You’ve perfected it. That’s it!
I think Doretta greeted me and told me something important. I think. I just wanted to sit down before my wobbly legs gave way and I was found out. I sat. Phew…that part is over…
Others joined us and they all seemed to fit right in. Be perky, Jannie, it’s what they expect. Perky…breathe and smile…breathe and smile. Why does everyone else know what to do? I though they were new, too. Whatever…the waiter asks me if I’d like a glass of wine. Gosh, no! It will make me cry for sure! Diet Coke, please. Gosh, does an elegant place like this have Diet Coke. Please let someone else order Diet Coke! Thank you, whatever your name is in the blue suit…
The meeting began and people spoke. I haven’t a clue what they said. I was trying to do that breathe, smile thing and it took all of my energy. I was handed a packed of stuff I’m sure I’ll need for something or other, but I’m sure didn’t want it. I didn’t know there was going to be stuff. I’ll just put it with the stuff I have at home. Where it’s safe…
I think the meeting is about over, because I was given coffee. I don’t really drink coffee, but everyone else does, so I guess I’d better. Coffee is always a good sign that it’s almost over and they want you to go home…
I don’t know when, but at one point this beautiful, elegant lady sat down beside me. She was like Grace Kelly, the later years. Kind of regal, yet approachable somehow. She looked right at me and said, ‘I’m so glad you’re joining us, you’re going to be fabulous!’. I couldn’t help but be fascinated by her gentleness of spirit. She sort of made me feel important. She must know I’m not. She must see that I’m scared out of my wits and just want my blankie and Dr. Phil! But somehow, she seemed to see beyond the darkness that covered every space I filled. She told me she liked my purse. She liked my purse! My homemade, $2 purse. She liked my purse. Wow….And I liked her. She is going to be safe, I think. And she’s so pretty. And she likes my purse….

That was the first time I met Ottilie. She was the beginning of the long journey out of the darkness. I didn’t fool her, by the way. She knew. And that gentle spirit she shared with all who knew her, guided me just a step at a time. Pretty soon, I didn’t have to remind myself to breath. Just to smile. Then after awhile, I would smile because I wanted to.
Thank you, Ottilie.
I will love you and miss you everyday of my life…

The Brave One

For what it’s worth...a movie review

My scale: 1 through 10; 1 being Ishtar and 10 being Gone With The Wind

The Brave One

My husband has a crush on Jodie Foster, so when a new Jodie film come out, we must be the first in line to see it. So off we went.

Erica Bain, brilliantly portrayed by Foster, is a New York radio host who shares the sounds of the city with her listeners. With a very mellow voice, mild, soothing, and sometimes memorizing sounds come from Jodie and it struck me as sort of odd, in a way. Wondering what kind of kook is this. She is madly in love with and planning a wedding with fiancé’ David Kermani, played by Lost’s Naveen Andrews. Foster is young, sweet, vulnerable, happy and enthralled with life as she and Andrews take the dog for a walk in Central Park. In a random act of violence, they are both severely beaten, he to death and she nearly.
Overwhelmed with fear, she no longer feels safe in the city in which she used to collect sounds to share with her listeners. In desperation, she buys a gun. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time, she kills or is killed. So begins her vigilante therapy.
She befriends Police Detective Sean Mercer, played by Terrence Howard, who is trying to stop New York’s Vigilante. Too soon, in my opinion, he figures out it is the radio host, and is out to stop her. Or is he?

Jodie Foster is at her mesmerizing best in The Brave One. However, I think the title is wrong. I don’t think she was brave at all, but driven by fear and revenge. This film is edge-of-your-seat gripping. Once it evolves into an action piece, it never lets up. With each act of revenge, there was a spattering of nervous applause. But like in Charles Bronson’s Death Wish, you really are waiting to see that villain blown into oblivion, no matter how PC it isn’t! By the time she reaches the line; ‘I want my dog back’, the applause is no longer a spattering, but all out cheers! Mine among them!

There were flaws in the film; such as Det. Mercer figuring out she was the vigilante way too easily. With quite a wound on her forearm, she effortlessly lifts and carries a heavy box without even a grimace. The ending, though very satisfying, was a little out there. But, again, cheers from all. This film didn’t get good reviews for the most part, but I thought it was great! I give this film a 9. I gave Death Sentence an 8.5. Seems to be the summer of revenge films. I figure if we put Jodie Foster and Kevin Bacon together, we could annihilate crime all together!
If you see this film, let me know what you think.

Once

For what it’s worth...a movie review

My scale: 1 through 10; 1 being Ishtar and 10 being Gone With The Wind

Every time I see a foreign film, I come away with the same feeling. Those poor people! They always seem depressed, sad, and just a little off.
Once is billed as a musical, but not the usual Broadway style, but more, I don’t know, Hard Days Night? Maybe....
Glen Hansard, frontman for the rock band Frames, plays a street performer who I don’t think ever has a name....but plays guitar for change and fixes Hoovers with his Da. He meets a girl, again, no name, played by Marketa Irglova. There is an instant connection between the two musicians, he a guitarist and songwriter and she a pianist. You immediately love these two characters. Tho, so brilliantly played by both, I was never really sure they were acting, or we were just peering into their lives on the streets of Ireland. The production value of this film was not existent, but somehow, I didn’t care. I found this almost relationship so endearing, I just wanted to bring them home and give them a good meal and tell them everything was going to be alright!
Each one with baggage; he, pining over a lost love, and she, an unhappily married immigrant from the Czech Republic, with a 2 year old little girl...who, oddly had a name; Ivanka.
Director John Carney, also from the rock band Frames, never entered my mind. Like I said, it was as if we were just watching them walk through life. I guess that makes him a great director.
The music was haunting and, well, sad. Good music, great, I suppose, if you like the genre. I believed the immediate connection with these two nameless people, whose love for each other’s music was real and binding. There is a scene where he is playing one of his songs for her and she joins in, and it is so unrehearsed and raw, I can’t imagine they even knew the camera was on them. It was just two musicians joining each other’s gifts for the first time.
However...........the ending was such a disappointment. It was abrupt and we deserved better! It felt as if they just ran out of film and stopped...if only that were true, I’d send them some more film and tell them to finish the story!!!!
As in La Vie En Rose, I left the theatre not sure if I liked this film or not.... it took me a few hours to decide. I think I did.... I know I thought about it all afternoon...still wanting to bring the two nameless ones home...ask them how they would have ended it...yes...I liked it. I didn’t love it, but I liked it....

It’s a good film. I give it a 6 for story, but an 8 for the endearing couple who I have named Michael and Ilsa.....and they lived happily ever after....in my version....
If you have seen it, let me know what you thought....

The Shooter

For what it’s worth...a movie review

My scale: 1 through 10; 1 being Ishtar and 10 being Gone With The Wind

I’m not wild about conspiracy films because they totally confuse me....as this one did in the beginning. Mark Wahlberg is at his stellar best as retired US Marine sniper Bob Lee Swagger. His is disillusioned after being betrayed by his commanders and losing his best friend in a firefight. 36 months later a group that leads him to believe they are Federal Agents using him to entrap an assassin who may attempt to shoot the President approaches him. He is framed for the attempt on the president and hunted by every law enforcement around. The actual assassination of an archbishop, he discovers, is a cover up for genocide by an American Corp. with oil interests, headed up by Senator Charles Meachum, and played by Ned Beatty. He then must rely on his marine training to survive and clear his name.
Danny Glover as Col. Isaac Johnson and Elias Kateos as Jack Payne are perfect foes in this fast paced piece of espionage.

Mark Wahlberg has become one of my favorite action heroes, as it were, and is perfect in this role. He is sullen and angry, but still a patriot thinking he is protecting the president. Another standout is Michael Pena as Nick Memphis, a rookie FBI agent who knows things just don’t add up and becomes Bob Lee’s ally. Together they take out all involved! Boy, do they take them out!!! There is one scene in the snow that is awesome!!!!

This is a good film. After I figured out what the heck was happening, I was riveted! I give this film a 7.5. It’s no Bourne series, but it is worth seeing.

Death Sentence

For what it’s worth...a movie review

My scale: 1 through 10; 1 being Ishtar and 10 being Gone With The

in.tense (in tens’) adj. Strained to the utmost, earnest, zealous, very strong, violent, extreme, vivid, firm purpose, strong emotion. Those are just some of the definitions Webster gives for intense. Not even close!

Nick Hume helplessly watches as his son, Brendon, is murdered in a random gang initiation and his life changes. That, too, is an understatement. The next 90 minutes takes you places you don’t think you could ever go. Or could you...

Re.venge (ri venj’) To inflict damage, injury, punishment in return, avenge, a chance to retaliate or get satisfaction. Kevin Bacon as Nick Hume is out for so much more than revenge. Kevin is brilliant as a mild mannered father of two sons who takes on the gang responsible for the murder of his oldest son, Brendon, played by Stuart Lafferty. Kelly Preston is equally at her best as the grief stricken wife, Helen.
John Goodman as Bones Darley will surprise you as the father of one of the gang members. Truly evil and just a tiny bit of comedy relief, much needed in this rough film.

This is a good film. It will make you think and really wonder just how far you would go to protect your family. Director James Wan did something I appreciated; the film was shot a little under color. It made the necessary violence not so vivid. It is a truly violent film, but the filming technique made it tolerable for us who aren’t really into such things! I’m not sure I really knew the ‘F’ word had quite so many applications as it apparently does, but I assure you that each and every one was covered in this movie! At one point you will think the end of the film has come, sadly, to a close. Not so much. It goes on and comes to the only appropriate end possible.

We saw this Death Sentence because there was nothing else we thought worth seeing. It was worth it. I give this piece an 8.5, as there were some flaws in the screenplay and one bit of corny dialog. But it is worth seeing.

Becoming Jane

For what it’s worth...a movie review

My scale: 1 through 10; 1 being Ishtar and 10 being Gone With The Wind

Let’s get it over with...I’m in love with Anne Hathaway...She is delightful to watch and I’m just mesmerized by her face. Now that that’s behind us, I continue....

Becoming Jane is your typical period piece. Not one thing out of the ordinary, well except Anne, in this piece. The late 1700’s is about the same as it was in every other late 1700’s film we’ve ever seen. I wanted it to be more for my Anne, but, alas...it wasn’t.

Anne Hathaway plays Jane Austen perfectly, I guess. Really, how would we know exactly? But I love to watch her do anything. She was what I think Jane would be like. Again, how would we know.... anyway.... James Mc Avoy was cast as love interest Tom Lefroy and was adequate. I wouldn’t have fallen for him, but then Ashley Wilkes wasn’t my cup of tea either. Julie Walters and James Cromwell were delightful as Jane’s Mum and Dad. Maggie Smith was her evil, stuffy, mean, upppercursty self as Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Not much of a fan... Anna Maxwell Martin as Jane’s sad sister Cassandra, I liked. Loved her hair... But I loved Lucy Cohu as Eliza De Feuillide, the sister-in-law. I thought she was just fascinating to watch!

There were many things wrong with this film.... the first half was so boring I wanted to hang myself.... if it weren’t for Anne, someone else would have had to write this review, as I would have done myself in.... It was a little confusing, too tedious, drawn out and just blah.... but I have to say, looking back, it did show what life was probably like in the late 1700’s... if that was the point, well done. It did pick up when Jane and Tom met and began the flirtations. But a love story? Not really.... Not enough story to peek my emotions. I didn’t know the story of Jane and the lack of love life, so I was rooting for a Jane Austen happy ending.... sorry, it didn’t happen....

There were a few real goofs in this piece.... in one scene, I’m sure I saw a bra strap, which Anne was definitely wearing as her bust was too 20th century and not the corset-flat of the period. And in another scene, as she bent over in her nighty, I know I saw she was wearing a thong!!!! And I do believe I saw a crane in the beach scene.... shame on you, Mr. Editor... And one more thing.... the casting for the Austen family.... Everyone in the family was blond, blue eyed and plain looking. Where the heck did Jane come from? Did they have mailmen in those days??? If so.....

All in all, I’m glad I saw Becoming Jane, but it wasn’t very good.... the boring beginning almost didn’t get me through to the end. The love story didn’t have substance, for which anything having to do with Jane Austen is almost a crime, don’t you think?

I’m giving this film a sad little 6...and a 6 only because I love my Anne.... otherwise it would be a grim 4.5..... See it if you must...sorry to all of the English students who are required to visit this film...I hated English......

Boy's Town

For what it’s worth....a movie review

My scale: 1 through 10; 1 being Ishtar and 10 being Gone With The Wind

Boy’s Town

OK, I know this film was made in 1938, but, gosh it deserves a review!!! A true story of Father Flanagan’s heroic gathering of wayward boys in Omaha, Nebraska. Spencer Tracey is wonderful as the warm, caring, thankfully stubborn Father Flanagan who took all homeless, motherless, lost boys into his embrace. He is the epitome of what we want all caregivers to be, clergy or not.
I think Micky Rooney as Whitey Marsh is at his best. Whitey is rough, mean, clever and lost. Put under Father Flanagan’s care by his prison bound brother, Whitey fights it all the way. Standouts are Sidney Miller who shows the diversity of Boy’s Town as Mo Kahn, with Bobs Watson as the mascot, Pee Wee, everyone’s favorite!

What I love about this film is every time I watch I find one more favorite scene that I didn’t notice before. This time, I watched each boy pray for his own meal in his own way. What incite the Father had to life and what boys needed. Me thinks these boys were safe in his care.....I’ll not continue with the rest of that thought......

This is a great film! I encourage every one to catch it next time it’s on....
I give this film a 10! It makes me wonder if we had a modern day Boy’s Town, we might just be able to eliminate the lacking Foster system....(OH! Did I write that out loud?)

More Shoes...

The other day I was shoe shopping. I hate shoe shopping because I have dumb feet that are wide with short toes. I love open toe shoes, but it always looks like they are too big. Someone once told me it looked like my toes were just visiting! Anyway, I knew that I was going to be on my feet for some time during rehearsals, and if I didn’t get a comfortable pair of shoes I would be very sorry. I decided to get tennis shoes. Now, I’m not a tennis shoe person. My theory is, it goes back to what ever was popular when you were in High School. What ever was nerdy then stays with you till death! When I was in High School, tennis shoes were only worn for P.E. It took me years to buy a pair for regular wear, and still…… And, I feel like Minnie Mouse. I look in the mirror and all I see is shoes! Anyway, I decided to buy tennis shows. Now, this decision took a lot of thought because, I mostly wear dresses, and frankly tennis shoes with dresses is dorky! But, remember, I’m almost 50 and I just want to be comfortable! So I went to Famous Footwear to buy tennis shoes. I was willing to forgo my usual $12.99 Payless budget for this, as pain was a factor. So I wandered in and told the clerk I was just looking, in other words, leave me alone; this is not going to be pretty! I looked at every shoe in the store, thinking, ‘no, too Minnie Mousy, no, to colorful, no will clash with my pink dress, no, too hard to get on, no, gosh, too heavy!’ I tried on 20 pair at least! I finally decided on one. And it was buy one, get the second pair half off. Hum…..Dare I buy 2 pair? I thought I’d try on regular shoes, just in case something I find I can’t live without. I tried on a pair of yellow (my favorite color) slide heals. I loved them, but the toe thing was happening, and they were a bit high. Gosh, they come in Periwinkle, too. They were so cute, but, 10 minutes was about as long as they would be comfortable and, well that’s just not practical! I tried on pumps, moccasins, loafers, thongs, sandals, heals, flats, mules, slippers, boots, Mary Jane’s and more tennis shoes. Then I tried on some suede sandals in a neutral color. They were SO comfortable I couldn’t believe it!! Eureka!!!! Comfortable shoes! They would go with everything! Even my pink dress! Bosh! To the tennis shoes! These are it!!! I put the tennis shoes back, added a pair of basic camel pumps and I was out the door! I brought my treasure home and couldn’t wait to wear my new comfortable shoes! I put them on and went in to the mirror and guess what I saw? My mother’s feet! OH MY GOSH!!! I had bought my mothers shoes!!!! The ones I said I’d never wear! The ones she said she didn’t care how they looked, they were comfortable! I can’t believe it! But, to tell you the truth, I don’t care how they look, they are comfortable! I have worn them everyday. Not one of the other tennis-shoe-wearing actresses has even mentioned my mother’s shoes. They either are afraid to, or they just could be jealous of the sheer comfort I am experiencing! Who knows……….

Comfortable Shoes

The other day while walking from the car into a favorite restaurant, I noticed my shoe was rubbing a little on my left pinkie toe. I hate when that happens. I immediately began to think about the day I had coming up. My only thought about the day was ‘what shoes will I wear?”. Not for a fashion statement, mind you, but for shear comfort sake. Which ones will not hurt, pinch, smother, slip, steam or otherwise be a distraction and still look like I care what I look like? It was the only thought as I walked with my left little toe yelling for help.
When was it that we went from “I don’t care how they feel, I just want them to be cute,’ to, “ I don’t care how they look, I just want them to be comfortable!” I don’t know. As a fashion plate myself, I always scoffed at my mother’s shoes. “I will never wear old lady shoes. I don’t care how uncomfortable they are, I will always be in fashion!” I said those very words to my own, Sainted Mother! Her reply was always the same, “I don’t care! They are comfortable” Bah! I thought. Never will I utter those defeatist words, “I don’t care, they are comfortable!”
When was it that we turned into our mothers? Somewhere between Go Go Boots and Dr. Scholl’s we slipped into the dark abyss of only wanting Comfortable Shoes. I hate when that happens!

Daddy's Candy Jar

My mother was pretty strict when it came to our eating habits. We always had meat, potatoes, vegetable and salad. Never dessert unless there was company. Tho, we always had 2 or 3 half gallons of ice cream in the freezer. Black Walnut was Daddy’s favorite, but mine was Fudge Ripple! 59 cents on sale. It was always Jerseymaid in the blue stripped container and we got 3 small scoops. That was another thing about my mother, everything was always served the same. 3 scoops of ice cream, 2 strips of bacon and 2 eggs, 1 pork chop, 6 oz. of orange juice for breakfast. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday we had bacon and eggs for breakfast. The other days, we had cereal. Puffed Wheat, Shredded Wheat or Post Tosties. I just figured there was a book somewhere that had the rules for the amount of food you served your family. When I got married my husband wanted more bacon and I was floored! His mom apparently didn’t read the book! Anyway, I digress………I don’t remember going to the frige or cupboard for snacks. We had ’meals’. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. If ever we did have a snack, it was fruit. Well, what kid wants an apple at 2 in the afternoon! (however, we did have a Satsuma Tangerine tree I visited regularly.) Around 8:00 in the evening, Daddy would say, ‘Ma, how about some ice cream?’. We’d all act like it was an idea we had never thought of! And out would come our 3 scoops. The ice cream was the only treat we could count on. But……in the pantry…way up high on the shelf...second from the top, were 2 glass jars. In them was Daddy’s candy. In the one on the right were gumdrops. The big ones. Red, yellow, orange, green, purple and the yucky black ones. But on the right, Brach’s Chocolate Stars!!!! AAAhhhhhh! Whenever Daddy came in from his shop in the back yard, you hoped he would go the pantry! You see, you couldn’t ask for the candy, you had to wait to see if he offered you one. Yes, one. One or the other, never both. He always did offer, but you always wondered if this time he might forget. He also kept Tootsie Rolls somewhere. Because his Grandfather always had candy in his pockets for his grand kids at church, my Dad decided to carry on the tradition. They would rush up to their Papa after church and just stand, waiting for him to offer them a treat. He would always pretend to not know why they were being just a little too attentive. ‘Oh!’ He would say. ‘I think I might have some candy in my pocket this morning!’ And out would come 2 Tootsie Rolls each! The grandchildren, and a few others who had caught on to the ritual, would run off as if they had gotten gold from a mine!Now that I look back on it, geesh! It was kind of like torture! Maybe even Child Abuse! I gotta go journal………………….

Vacations, part 6

OK, by now you know that vacations are oddly weird for me. From backpacking, hotel cleaning, wall washing, driving in San Francisco to visiting stepchildren. Oddly weird.
Now, our 25th Wedding Anniversary is coming up next May and we want to do something special and we thought maybe a trip to Hawaii would be nice. We’ve always heard raves from those returning from their tropical paradise and decided to cave in and to the tourist thing in Hawaii. How bad could it be? But then, we thought, we have the money now, and we may not have it next year, so why not go now. So we called a wonderful travel agent and a great friend and booked the trip for April. We booked it in November, so we had lots of time to anticipate and wonder what it would be like. A real, live vacation; just the two of us! As the months rolled by and the weeks came around, we grew more and more excited! We shopped for just the right clothes. Not too ‘touristy’, not too boring, just right! We packed our swim suits (yes, even me), sunscreen, hats and flops and off we went! The flight was long, but the anticipation kept us from dozing off. We landed in Honolulu and were met by our Pleasant Holidays monitor and whisked off to our hotel and our Ocean View room. The first room they tried to give us had a Double bed and the view only came if you leaned over the railing and stretched your neck and squinted. Not what we were promised and not what we were going to accept! The next room had a King bed and an ocean view! Thank you very much! We spent the afternoon at the pool bar drinking drinks with little umbrellas and it promises to be a grand day! We booked our trip to Pearl Harbor for the 3rd day and shopped and ate that second day! I sat by the pool and Steve swam and swam. I forget how much he loves the water as he tells of wonderful memories of summers in the pool! Personally, I don’t like the water so much. I almost drown in the ocean as a kid, so, water...not so much.
We went to Pearl Harbor and the Missouri and it was amazing!! Our tour guide on the Missouri was a perfect combination of Mary Martin and Carol Onofrio! (Carol is my wonderful friend who designs and draws the pictures of the costumes I make for NOP) She had us all in tears recalling the signing of the surrender on the deck of the Battleship we had just toured. After the tour, we were driven to a cemetery overlooking Diamond Head. This cemetery is the resting place for many Hawaiian military as well as their sons. Quite touching. Again, our tour bus driver was fascinating. It was a great day in Honolulu!
That night we decided to walk on the beach as we had promised the kids we would at least put our toes in the ocean. So just across the street from our hotel is the Mauna Hotel. It is the oldest hotel in Honolulu built in 1903 and is beautiful. So we decided to walk through the hotel lobby and out the back to get to the beach. As we walked through, we saw that people were eating on the wraparound porch. Could this be open to mere mortals like us? We asked, and by gosh, it was. It was a Victorian delight! The porch wraps around the side of this grand old hotel with such grace and elegance, I couldn’t believe it was real! It overlooked the ocean and was just a dream! We are lobster and drank wine and shared dessert! It was the perfect prelude to our moonlight walk on the beach!
After 3 days in Waikiki, we were off to Maui. I couldn’t imagine it being any more wonderful than the first 3 days of our very first real vacation!
We landed in Maui and rented a convertible and drove to our Hotel. It was magical! Just like we had heard, but really didn’t quite believe. Of course we were greeted and given a lei. The grounds were gorgeous! The pools and waterfalls, the lush greens and reds and pinks of the flowers, the flamingos! Flamingos! So far, fabulous! We checked in and our room was on the 5 floor of 10, with the now infamous Double bed. She graciously changed it and we wound up on the 8 floor and a King bed. Our room had a view that took our breath away! Not just the 5 pools and gardens but the ocean was just stunning! We dropped our bags and went to eat by the pool. Fabulous! The next four days were spent sunbathing, walking, shopping, laughing, picture taking, and lots of romantic dinners watching the waves splash onto the beach. Truly, truly paradise!
Hawaii had actually lived up to and surpassed anything we could have dreamed of! It was a sad drive back to the airport and give back our convertible. We are such homebodies and really love to get back home no matter where we’ve been, but we could have stayed on in Hawaii forever, or at least another few days! It is a trip we will always remember and hope to go back someday. It was magical, just magical.....sigh......Gosh, don’t you just love vacations?!!!

La Vie En Rose

For what it’s worth...a movie review

La Vie En Rose

I knew nothing about Edith Piaf except that she sang La Vie En Rose. That has changed. Marion Cotillard’s portrayal of Edith Piaf is extraordinary to say the least. And I say that having never seen a picture of Edith. But she mesmerized me with every frame.
The look of the film is depressing. The times were depressing. Her life was depressing. I wasn’t sure I was going to like this film for the first few minutes. It was nothing like I imagined, though I can’t really tell you what I imagined. I went just to be entertained, but left wanting to know everything I could about Edith Piaf. I felt as though I were peering into a life for just brief moments. I was puzzled at times, confused many times, and intrigued most of the time. I left the theatre not knowing if I loved the movie or hated it, to be honest. The film leaves out so much of her life, you really don’t understand why she was as famous as she was. She was portrayed as shy, skittish, drunken, odd, ill, seeming crippled by who-knows-what but not as the star she apparently was. I wasn’t sure if I liked her, pitied her, was indifferent to her or just plain didn’t like her. But one thing I knew when I left the theatre, I was going to know all I could about her...
After reading all that was available on the web about Edith Piaf, I now know the film didn’t do her justice. There were so many layers not uncovered by the filmmakers. So much more to her life, untold. I had to read about her to understand the film. I’m not sure that’s a good thing or not. The film did its job, I guess. It made me want to find out all I could about this once unknown to me, Edith Piaf, the Little Sparrow.
I encourage you to see this film; it’s intriguing, I think...

I give this film a 7, I think....go and see it and let me know what you thought....

The Bourne Ultimatum

For what it’s worth...a movie review

My scale: 1 through 10; 1 being Ishtar and 10 being Gone With The Wind

The Bourne Ultimatum

Woooo!! What a ride!!! The Bourne series is one of my favorites of that genre. I say I’m not an action flix kind of girl, but truth is, I guess I am! As always, the Bourne films are fast, smart and definitely keep you on the edge of you seat! I must remember to go potty before these movies starts so I don’t miss a thing! Anyway...

Matt Damon as Jason Bourne seems much older in this 3rd in the series. More focused, more determined and driven by sadness. He always makes me wonder where he’s been sleeping and if he ever eats! There is certain innocence about Matt Damon in this role that I don’t think any other actor could bring with such honesty.
David Strathairn’s Noah Vasen is brilliant. You just want to cut him off at the knees and say ‘you think you’re so tough!’, and walk away with his palm pilot!
Julia Stiles is back as Nicky Parsons who hints of a past with Jason Bourne, hoping he’ll remember just a moment of their past. We hope right along with her...
Dr. Albert Hirsch is played by Albert Finney. He is at his evil best. To be honest, I thought Albert Finney died....sorry Al...
Joan Allen is Pamela Landy once again and I still don’t like her. I guess you’re not suppose to, she just give me the creeps...Her lips are thin and she wears her lipstick past her lip line. Come on, Joanie, they do close ups, do you think we won’t notice? Whatever.....
Director Paul Greengrass and Editor Christopher Rouse are either brilliant or insane!!! The camera work would in any other film drive me nuts, but the choppy, bumpy, jerky movements are the look this piece. It keeps you trying to focus on what’s going on because honestly, you have no idea!!! That’s the beauty of Bourne; you never really know what’s what but you don’t ever want to admit it!!! There I just admitted it, I never really knew what the heck was going on, and I didn’t care!
The car chase is the best ever filmed. Driving home down Lemon Ave. I found myself looking around every corner making sure Jason wasn’t dodging bullets from Monrovia’s finest! I was glad to reach home safely to my very own driveway!

This is not the best of the Bourne series, but it is the best edge-of-your-seat in the series. Bourne Identity is still my favorite. And Julia Stiles hair? I loved it!!!!!

I give this film an 8 ½...Bourne Identity a 9 and Bourne Supremacy an 8 ½. I gave the new Die Hard a 9 ½. They say this is the last of the Bourne series....but is it? I don’t think so...............

The Man In The Moon

While coming home late last night from the Ahmonson Theatre (Jersey Boys, thanks for asking), I had not taken my glasses off as I usually do. I only wear them to the movies or the theatre or to drive at night. Occasionally to watch TV. I always say I don’t really need them, but it is much nicer with them on. Well, yes! But, anyway, I had left them on out of sheer laziness. We were driving along the winding 110 toward Pasadena when I noticed something wonderful! The man in the moon!!! He was perfect in an almost full moon on this beautiful summer night. I always look for the man from my childhood book that I can never remember the name of, and tonight he was just as illustrated so many years ago! Perfect! I’ve seen him many times before, but tonight he was so clear!!! I said to Steve, ‘look at the man in the moon!’ A mistake as he was driving on the winding 110, so he so brilliantly ignored my exuberant request! Thank you, dear! I just kept thinking about how clear the man was! Was it because the sky was clear? Was it the time of year? Was it just because I was with Steve and enjoying the afterglow of a romantic evening? Was it the pull of the tide? Was it just a gift from God? No....I had my glasses on! I always forget that I do see better with my glasses. When I have them on, just to make sure there is a difference, I take them on and off and see the difference. I don’t know why, I just do. Like I said, I can see alright without them, but it just makes it a little brighter; like my man in the moon! So, I took them off and looked up into the night sky, and low and behold, the man in the moon looked just like he had in years past without my glasses! Just a little hazy. Who knew?!!! Does this mean I’ll wear my glasses more? Probably not...just on nights when the man in the moon is winking at me...

Vacations, part 4

There was one vacation I remember fondly. The year I graduated from High School, 1969, my Dad actually asked me what I wanted to do for vacation that year. I was stunned! I could choose where we went and what we did! I chose San Francisco and I wanted to stay in a hotel, not a motel and certainly not in the camper! I asked if my nephew Dale could come along as a companion and he did. Let’s see, if I was 17 then he must have been 11. He was more like a little brother as they lived next door and was just a great friend. So off to San Francisco we went. I really don’t remember much about San Francisco for some reason, but I do remember stopping in Sunnyvale to see my favorite teacher, Mrs. Varnum who had recently moved to the area. She was my homemaking teacher and was proud to see that I was wearing a dress that I had made! It was a lavender gingham sundress. All I remember about that dress was that I couldn’t get my bra not to show! It was good to see her and I knew I would probably never see her again and that made me sad.
Our next stop was the Winchester Mystery Mansion in San Jose. It was absolutely fascinating! I’ll never forget that tour and the odd things Mrs. Winchester did to keep the ‘spirits’ happy. If you ever get the chance to see it, it is well worth the detour from where ever you are headed. We took the tour again just last year, and I could have given the schpeel right along with our tour guide, as I remembered it as if we were just there the week before! Those two things are the only memories I have of that vacation to San Francisco. OH! One more thing.... We did, in fact, stay in hotels, but we had to make the bed and clean the bathroom! Mamma told him that the maid would have to change the sheets and clean the toilet herself, but he would have none of it! I remember him saying to Mamma, ‘Why, Dolly, we’ve only slept on them once, there’s no reason to put clean sheets on our beds!’. She would just bite her bottom lip in disgust and shake her head and give that bed hospital corners! It was my job to fold the wet towels and Dale folded the washcloths. OH!OH! OH! You’ll love this! My ex-mother in law was even worse with this one! After I was married, we would rent a beach house at Seal Beach for a week in the summer. She was a neat freak! The day we were to pack up and leave, we had to clean the apartment. Now, I know everyone does this as you pay a cleaning fee that is refundable if the place is left as you found it. That makes perfect sense! But...she made us wash the walls in the kitchen and bathrooms! WASH THE WALLS!!!! Man, Daddy never even thought of that!
I think that trip to San Francisco was the last vacation I went on with Daddy and Mamma. After that is when they started going around their anniversary time and I was relieved of the duty! I wouldn’t go on another vacation until my honeymoon to, oddly, San Francisco. It was so unmemorable I’m not even going to bore you with the details! Ta for now!

For what it’s worth...a movie review

My scale: 1 through 10; 1 being Ishtar and 10 being Gone With The Wind

Hairspray

Having never seen another version of Hairspray, I consider myself unbiased and of fresh opinion! All I knew of the story was a chubby girl does good!! Well, Hairspray is so much more than that!

Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnbland is absolutely adorable!!! She lights up the screen with energy and 60’s naivety. A perfect match for Tracy is best friend Penny Pingleton played by Amanda Bynes. They were my best friend Diane Evans and I dancing in the elevators in Bullocks in 1963!

Michelle Pfeiffer as Velma Von Tussle, was perfectly evil as the overdressed, over coiffed, over made-up, over the top villain in this piece. Though I did think she was a bit thin and her eyes were a little blood shot....hummmm......whatever....Christopher Walken as Wilber Turnbland was his quirky self, James Marsden’s Corny Collins was the quintessential dance show host of the 60’s and Zac Efron was dreamy as Link Larkin, the heart throb.

But let’s face it...we all are going to see Hairspray to see John Travolta as Edna Turnbland. He does not disappoint!! He wasn’t like a guy in drag; he was an actor playing a mother with issues. He is awkwardly feminine and endearing and makes me laugh just thinking about him...er her....I would say he steals the film, but it’s too good a cast to say that!

Costume designer Rita Ryack was spot on! From head to toe it was the early 60’s, still fresh and innocent. I know I still have some of those patterns around here somewhere!
The set decoration was equally authentic, from the knick-knacks to the look of the streets. Though, there was one bug-a-boo...TV’s didn’t come on instantly, but rather took several seconds to ‘warm up’. Something the director might want to jot down for future reference....

This is a great movie, in my opinion. From the moment it started until the end, I was enthralled! It was sweet, laugh-out-loud funny, had a message and made me feel like dancing! Take the kids from ages 6 and up, though there was a 3 year old next to us who loved it. It’s a musical for even those who hate musicals (Ryan!). Stay to see the credits, we all did! And the hair is to dye for!!!

I give this film a solid 9.9! I gave Chicago a 9.5. As raunchy and fun as Chicago was, Hairspray is equally fun and clean! Gosh I love a good musical!!! I consider this a must see for all!

part 3, Vacations

Thankfully, the back packing vacations only lasted a few years. On the last trip I went on, Daddy had what he thought was a brilliant idea. He had done some work at Cal-Tech and came across these discarded ‘tubes’. They were made of a heavy plastic and about 5 feet long and about 2 feet in diameter with these silver bands to close them. I remember hearing they were used for chemicals and such, so they were airtight. He had the idea that if we could somehow store our stuff up in the Sierra’s, it would be just a quick jaunt with only our food and clothes to carry up. So, he rigged up a toilet and shower out of these tubes and some PVC pipe and packed all of the tents, sleeping bags, cooking supplies and whatever else he could think of that would make Camp Ellingson the envy of all who hiked by. The pack mules never had such a load as they did with those yellow tubes strapped to either side of them! What a sight they must have been to those who weren’t familiar with the antics of the Mayor of Shadow Lake! Those tubes were the talk of hills! We did have the camp to envy. People would stop by and ask for a tour of the camp they had heard about from the bottom of the mountain and from all those along the trail coming from Camp Ellingson. There were about 12 in our party that year, as we had collected friends and family alike to join us. We had 2 showers and a Men’s room and a Ladies room! In the backcountry!!! Unheard of! I have to admit, that year was uniquely fun and memorable! My nephew, Dale, who was 6, (that made me 12) came and he could run around without a shirt and the mosquitoes didn’t even know he existed! He didn’t have to wear spray or anything! Whatever....
On the last day is where Daddy’s plan had it’s brilliance! He had found a cave and buried the 6 tubes filled with all our camping gear underground and planted bushes in front of the opening. Gosh it seemed like a good idea, even to me. We walked out with just the clothes we brought. We sailed down the hill to Agnew Meadows, our stuff just waiting for the next vacation! Well......gratefully, Daddy made a trip up alone the next Spring to check things out. All of our stuff was gone. Either it was stolen by one of the dozens Daddy bragged to about the ‘idea’, or those bears I never saw are living the life of Riley somewhere!
Mamma and I never had to backpack again, Thank the Lord! Daddy would go himself a few times, but we were never forced us to participate in the ‘fun’! As a side bar, he had once decided that when it was his time to die, he would just go back up in the Sierra’s and never come back. He thought that would save a lot of money in the funeral costs, as he was disgusted at the cost of Mamma’s funeral! We finally convinced him that the cost of searching for his lifeless body in ‘them thar hills’ would far exceed the cost of a pine box and a fern cover! He had a funeral!
In the later years of their life, Mamma and Daddy vacationed in the fall as their anniversary was November 3. They would go camping, but in the camper and stay in a motel one or two nights for a shower. How magnanimous of him! They would go to the Tetons and Sedona, Mamma’s favorite spot in the world! He always took the pictures and each picture was Mamma pretending to point to whatever picturesque spot Daddy chose. He always had her wear her most colorful outfit as to contrast the scenery! They always had wonderful stories of those trips, Mamma talking about the food she ate!
On the trip in 1977, as I sat playing with Ryan and Nathan on the floor, the doorbell rang and my brother-in-law Leon was at the door. Odd, I thought. He said his usual ‘Hi!’ and then gently told me he had my mother in the car. ‘WHAT?’ I queried. My mother was on vacation. Well, it seems there had been a little accident and Mamma had broken her leg. Here’s how the story goes....
On about the 3rd day of vacation, they had stopped for dinner in one of those little cafes along the roadside. You know the ones, little hole-in-the-wall place with food to die for. They had dinner and boysenberry pie alamode. Mamma was in a particularly playful mood having had a great meal and the promise of a hot bath! The camper was on the other side of the road and she, being in that playful mood, ran across the street ahead of Daddy. As she crossed the road to the other side, before Daddy could cross, a big truck drove by. As the truck passed, Mamma was nowhere to be found. Where could she have gone? He had the awful thought that she had been struck by the truck, but he knew he had seen her safely on the other side of the road before the truck passed. Where on earth could she have disappeared? He looked and called and yelled. Nothing! It was pitch dark by now and he had a terrible feeling of dread come over him. ‘Dolly!!!! Dolly, where you at?” ‘Dolly!!!’ He finally came across a crevice just a few feet from the spot she ran to across that highway. ‘Dolly!’ he yelled again. He heard just a hint of sound coming from the deep crevice by the side of the road. He knew instantly she was down there. He climbed down the 6 feet or so to find her lying in a heap. She had broken her left leg and hurt her right arm. She was helpless. The sides of the hole were slimly with a moss and he had no idea how he would get her out. The next few moments, he says, he has no memory of. But they were out and on the side of the hole. We know that God in His own way lifted the both of them out. Now what? He laid Mamma gently down and ran for help. The break in her left leg was high up on her chin, but they put the cast as low as they could so she could bend her knee to get on a plane home. They flew home, and that’s how Mamma landed on my doorstep that afternoon.
Daddy had to fly back up to Acadia in Northern California, the sight of the fall, to drive the truck home. The next few weeks were hard for Mamma as the leg break was one thing, but the sprain in her right arm kept her from doing anything for herself. With the left leg broken and her right arm hurt, crutches were useless. So, my husband and the boys and I moved in and took care of her and Daddy, much to Daddy’s dismay! He didn’t like to have his routine dislodged. He kind of lost a bit of control. That coupled with the fact that Mamma made his lunch everyday, which consisted of about 8 separately packed little bits of this and that. I didn’t quite coddle him the way she had done for 40 years. He got a hearty sandwich, fruit, a thermos full of chocolate malt and whatever else looked like it would be good for an afternoon snack. He certainly wouldn’t starve. Mamma did a lot of things for 40 years that just wouldn’t even occur to me to be even in the realm probability! Let’s keep in mind that she worked full time, made breakfast, that jam packed lunch and had dinner on the table every night at 6:30. After she died, he had no idea how to even turn on the washer and used the dishwasher as storage. What was she thinking? Whatever...don’t get me started.....
Well, after a few weeks, she was on the mend and we went home. From then on, they stayed in motels. Finally, a vacation for Mamma!

Vacations, part 2

OK, the next summer torture fix came in, I don’t know, 1959. We no longer had the ‘shop’ and now backpacking was the rage for Ol’ Dad. OK, again, sounds fun, right? Camping, yeah!!!! Well, not so fast. As we know, Daddy doesn’t do anything quite like everyone or anyone, for that matter. We didn’t pack a little back pack and take the camper up to the mountains and sing Cumbiya (?) by the fireside and roast marshmallows. Not us. We packed only the absolute necessities of existence and went way back up in ‘them thar hills’! The High Sierras. Where there is nothing. You know what I mean. Nothing! Not even the hint of even a ‘Johnny-On-The-Spot’. We would have the pack mules carry up our food and tent and sleeping bags and we schlepped the rest. My sister and I hiked bare-foot. Don’t ask. It was about 5 miles to Shadow Lake. I think I was about 8 the first time I went. And I was a chubby kid, whose only activity was walking to school a block and a half down the road. It was a long 5 miles up the trail, when we actually used the trail.
Mamma hated camping. She had Asthma and the altitude about did her in. Her eyes would all but swell shut and her hands looked like mitts! She would spend all year walking 5 miles every morning before work to build up her stamina for the week of ‘vacation’. Her description of camping was this: Camping, for a woman, is doing everything you do at home without ANY conveniences. And you don’t get to take a long, hot bubble bath when the dishes are done!
We would take day trips from our base camp along the banks of Shadow Lake to places that weren’t even on the maps. Places that only the hunting guides had found mostly by accident. Places without trails to or from them. We would just trudge up the side of the mountain, blazing trails of our own. But that gave Larry, the unofficial Mayor of Shadow Lake, as he was know by the guides and trails guys, to name any lakes he found after his girls. Let’s see, first was Lake Dienna with the tree trunk ‘dock’, pretty little Lake Betty June, Big Lake Dolly and, oh yes, that little mud puddle creek, Lake Jeanette. If I thought going up the side of a mountain was tough, coming down was just plain freaky!! I did those hikes with my shoes on!
We were so high up, that even in August there was still snow on the ground in some shaded spots. We would all bare-foot ski, even Mamma! Well, she kept her shoes on as she did nothing bare-foot! I have to admit, that was bordering on fun. Bordering. The water was always way too cold to even think about swimming. The lake was for fishing only, I guess. And keeping the butter and eggs cold. And we had to eat the fish that Daddy caught that day!! UHHHHHHHHGGGGG!!!! That’s the only thing that Daddy cooked. Fish. Thank God for the butter! The only saving grace on a camping trip for me was the fact that Mamma always brought candy bars. One each, each day. That never happened at home! And I got to drink tea. At home it was forbidden. I’ll never forget that hot tea in those tin cups. It seemed like it was never really cool enough to drink when it was in those tin cups!.
Now, I never actually saw a bear, but the food had to be kept ‘away’ from them. Sometimes we would come back from our daily torture-hike and the Mayor would say, ‘Dolly, it looks like we’ve had bears!’ Great… It was so cold at night that you had to sleep with someone. In a sleeping bag. Another torture device, if you ask me. A sleeping bag on the hard ground. Who thought this stuff up?
With the week coming to an end, one would think I would be looking forward to freedom. One would think. But the trip back down the hill was just plain awful! You know those pack mules that brought our stuff up? They didn’t bring our stuff back down. We did that. You see why we only bring the absolute necessities of existence. We were all loaded up and down the mountain we’d go. ‘Just one foot in front of the other, Jannie,’ I’d tell myself. ‘Just one foot in front of the other. And the other. And the other’….At least on the trip down, we followed the trail…Sometimes…When we had to…Sometimes. I’ll never forget that clearing up ahead looking like Heaven itself! Agnew Meadows!! Agnew Meadows meant that the Pack Station was just one mile away! One mile! Agnew Meadows was one of those memories that will be one of the things that will always make me smile at the thought! It was a beautiful, open, green, well, meadow that was edged with flowers and trees and I’m sure the birds sang 24/7! Like a scene from an old movie. An oasis. A place that Julie Andrews might sing! And it meant one mile to civilization and a bed and pillow and a bath with hot water and a real, live, working, modern toilet!!!! Yes!!!! There suddenly was a quickness in my step and a hint of a smile on my dirty, chubby little face which was always covered by mosquito bites, as was every other place on my body not covered by some piece of uncomfortable, itchy clothing or stinky bug spray! But freedom was just ahead! At this moment of ‘vacation’, I was usually way ahead of everyone else on the trail. You see, being the baby, my pack was unusually lighter and I could move faster. That and the fact that I was so excited to be almost home! So my moment in the meadow was my own to treasure. My own to run through and laugh and play! I picked the wild flowers for Mamma and took a sip from the brook. It was my moment to be thankful I’d lived through another vacation! The last mile wasn’t nearly as bad as the other 4. And soon I could see the truck! Hello truck. Remember me? ….freedom…for another 51 weeks…. until next year…freedom….I wish Dr. Phil had known about this…..

Vacations

The word vacation is not really one I hold in my brain as particularly wonderful. I know that sounds odd. But let me explain:
As a kid, we took a vacation every year. Every year. One week. I don’t remember one being longer, and I’m sure I’d remember it if it happened! Keep in mind all of the things you’ve read about my Dad and ‘his ways’. So here’s how vacationing went for the Ellingson Family….
Daddy had a Sportsman’s shop. That’s what I remember hearing it referred to as growing up. It was called Sportsman’s Paradise. He sold fishing boats, fishing equipment and the like. In fact, when you see a boat on top of a car, as we did in the 50’s and 60’s, my dad invented the contraption that put said boat on top of your car in the late 40’s. Another fact, for those who have been to my home and wondered why I have an Alumacraft boat as a planter in my yard, it’s because that is the original boat used to demonstrate the Quick-n-Easy Boat Loader. And once you’ve filled an Alumacraft boat with dirt, it ain’t goin’ anywhere! Aren’t you glad you know that? Anyway, vacations. Being a ‘sportsman’ we had to do ‘sportsman’ stuff on vacation. …Apparently that’s in the handbook somewhere. Did you know that the advent of the infomercial is not as modern as you may think. When the Quick-n-Easy Boat Loader was ready for production and sale, my Dad took her up to Lake Shasta along with my planter and did a ½ hour commercial. They were almost like little documentaries, I guess. Advertisement. I don’t know, I wasn’t born in the 40’s. Quite. By the time I came along, everyone had his own Quick-n-Easy Boat Loader and boating was the thing for the Ellingson’s to do on our one-week vacation. Now you might think, how fun!!! And I suppose many did enjoy their week. However, I was little and they didn’t want to lose me overboard and certainly didn’t want me to get wet. So me in my big ol’ orange Mae West went under the hull of the boat. I can remember my Dad saying, ‘Dolly, does she have to stay down there?’ And Mamma answering, ‘yes! She’s dry and out of the way’. That, apparently, was important. Mamma was a practical woman. Now, think about what a boat does when you go screaming through the water at break neck speed pulling your skier to new heights of thrills and spills!!! The hull of the boat slams into the water about 57 times a minute! Slam!!! Slam!! Slam!!! All of those in the rest of the boat are laughing with the wind rushing through their hair, little droplets of Lake Shasta cooling their sun-drenched brows, basking in the remembrance of the thrill of their last turn behind the Alumacraft! But not Jeanette. Noooooooooo! She is being slammed!!! But…I’m dry and out of the way. Again, apparently important.
In the days in which I was born, it was a belief that you should put your babies in the sun everyday for their daily dose of vitamin, I don’t know, K maybe? Whatever. Well, my mother would laugh and say that she could never get me past 2 minutes without burning me! How endearing….so, we know sun was not my friend. Still isn’t. So, water was out, sun was out. Mosquitoes looooved me!!! So I was covered with clothes from head to toe and those parts unclothed were either covered with bug spray or Calamine lotion for those spots the mosquitoes found exposed! It really seemed like everyone else was having a good time. I just don’t see how. I just wanted to be home with my Gramma! In the back bedroom. In my pajamas she had warmed in the oven. After I’d brushed my teeth with Pike-O-Pay tooth powder on my very own little yellow tooth brush. After my Lack-to-Pine bubble bath in the big tub with the feet. After she had tucked me in and kissed me goodnight and told me she loved me and couldn’t wait for me to wake up in the morning. Now that’s a vacation……

To be continued, because the trips to Lake Shasta only lasted until I was 7. You won’t believe what they called a vacation after that! Stay tuned…

Tammy Faye

July 22, 2007

Tammy Faye Baker, or Mesner, died yesterday. Tammy and I go way back. I remember sitting in my orange and green couch in the W. Lime house watching PTL every morning. Jim and Tammy Faye like little characters from days gone by even then. I loved Tammy Faye! When I started watching them in the early 80's, her now outlandish make up was, well, sort of normal. Sort of. I couldn't wait to see what soapbox she would be on on any given day. I loved the chemistry between them and I loved watching Jim grin at every word out of her mouth. She couldn't really sing, but sang with every ounce in her body! You could never question her devotion to Jim or her love for the Lord, that's for sure.
The late 80's, as all of us know, brought an end to PTL and Heritage USA. I have my thoughts on the whole thing, but that's for another time. I followed Tammy's career over the next years and just found her fascinating. Her talk show with Jim J Bullock was a hoot! What a pair! Her divorce from Jim kind of ticked me off and her marriage to Roe Mesner was puzzling and made me wonder how long that has been brewing!
I missed her on the Surreal Life but can only imagine how odd that was!!! I remember her saying she never took off her pantyhose the whole time she was there! Now, that's funny!
I heard a few years ago she was battling cancer but wasn't worried about my Tammy Faye as I knew she had Faith in God and knew cancer is no match for God!
The other night I was flipping channels and came across Larry King. I always check to see if he's interviewing anyone important to my world. He was, in fact, interviewing Tammy Faye. I was absolutely stunned to see her at 65 pounds!!! I honestly have never seen anyone look that horrible, ever!!!! She was like a bad caricature of her drawn made to make fun of her. Fully made up, eyelashes and all, she spoke with a definite halt in her speech. She still had her little giggle and unique bubbly personality even in her depleted state. My heart broke for her, but was impressed by her courage to want this interview to give Praise to God for her life and family.
Just 2 days later, she died. I'll never forget you, Tammy Faye Baker Mesner! The mascara business will never be the same!

July 19, 2007

Dating in the 2007's....

OK, here's the deal.....
My daughter is 24, tall, thin, GORGEOUS, and a great catch!!!! However, no one seems to want to go the the effort to catch her!!!! Now, I'm not trying to marry her off, but I just don't get guys. We have a saying in our house....'boys are stupid'...(brother Ryan is not included in that, but brother Jake is on the border!) This started the morning she got up, came downstairs wrapped in her comforter with 'that look' on her little face. Oh, oh...I thought. What's wrong....'boys are stupid'.....that only means one thing....the latest guy has broken her heart...once again.....
Now here's the deal....In my day, oh, gosh, I said it....but, in my day, boys knew how to wooooo a girl. They would actually come to your house to pick you up, something that no longer seems to be even a possibility. They would come to the door, knock, and even have a flower or two in hand, shake hands with dad, great mom and sit a moment. Not so much any more! Most of Ashlee's 'boyfriends', and I use that term lightly, we've never even met. We really only saw 'Ryan-the-boyfriend' a total of maybe 10 times the whole 6 years they were together. I know she likes us and isn't, to my knowledge, ashamed of us, but nonetheless, we rarely meet them. That's good, I guess, as I tend to get attached. Not so much to Ryan-the-boyfriend however...whatever...
Now I have a theory. You knew I would. I blame texting. Texting is the bane of dating. They now longer talk, they text. Ashlee's little thumbs just go like fire! Here's the problem with texting....if I text the following phrase, 'did you see her dress'. OK, did I like her dress or not? You have no idea, because with texting there is no inflection (oh for spell check...) in the 'voice'. I 'heard' her have arguments with a guy while texting and she 'heard' one thing and I another. I think she's had whole relationships over texting and actually never really met the person!
And dating...there's another thing. They don't date any longer, they hang-out. What's that????
Here's the deal as of late....She has 2 guys that are, in their words, 'madly in love' with her and will do whatever it takes to win her back. O h, r e a l l y.......where are they????? I don't see them sitting on the porch waiting for her to get home from work to talk to her face to face, you know, communicate?.....I don't hear them calling on the real phone to talk to her.....I don't see any flowers delivered to the door....I don't see them picking her up to whisk her away to a romantic dinner on the beach.....'do anything to win her back'?????? Boy could they take a few lessons from good, ole' dad on this one!!!! AND, none of this new dating ritual seems to bother her in the least!!! How the heck did that happen??? We certainly didn't raise her that way.....
So to those two guys, and you know who you are, what are you thinking?????? Put your stupid phones away and get over here!!!! Woooo, damn ya, wooooo!!!!!!
One mother's opinion....

July 17, 2007



Tomorrow is July 18th....that is my mother's birthday. Now, my mother has been gone since 1985, but July 18th is still a day I remember her fondly. I still think of my mother almost everyday. I wonder what her life would have been like if she had lived longer than my dad. I wonder if she would have felt free for the first time in her life, or would she think she had to live life just as she did with him hovering over her. I wonder if she would have met someone wonderful and lived happily ever after or just lived life to the fullest alone, which I'm sure would have been just fine with her!

Every time we eat at Mimi's Cafe, I think about how much she would have loved it. I think it opened the year after she died. It was just her kind of place. However, my dad would have hated it, so it would have been a place she and I would have gone for lunch, something we did oh so seldom.

Some people have funny mom's like our cousin Cathy. Some people have really nurturing and caring moms like, well, I'm not sure I knew any nurturing moms but I'm sure they were out there. OH! OH! OH! I know! My Grandmother was nurturing and caring.....And some people had adventurous mom's like the lady down the street who had the bike made for 3 who rode down the street with her kids laughing on the back. Some mom's wore gloves and hats and took their daughters shopping. Well, my mom was practical. Nuff said on that.....

My mother was zaftig.....zaftig...like the naked ladies in the paintings hanging over the tables at North Woods Inn....Zaftig and practical...hummmm

Well, she would have been 88 tomorrow. It's funny how life just goes on when someone dies, just like that. Weddings happen, babies are born and others die. Just like that.

Anyway, that's what I was thinking about today, July 17th.....

Sunriver, Oregon!

Here we are in Beautiful Sunriver, Oregon!!!! David is getting married and Ryan is convinced that our David will faint on the alter!!! We'll keep you posted!!!!