Minions, LJ Idol and Voting - and My Day Off is Here

Chickie and I went to the cinema last night. This is a rarity for me - first of all, I get up at the pre-crack-of-dawn, and secondly, I'm not that much of a movie person. But, it's Minions, and I dearly adore Minions. So, we went to see the latest Gru and minion pack adventure at our theatre last night. The last movie Chickie and I went to see was Kung Fu Panda. I guess you get a sense of what I love in movies - LOL. 

Gru and his family are relocated to the suburbs for 
protection from an evil villain (of course), and they 
really don't fit into suburbia well - LOL. 

Anyway, we had a great time. I started laughing almost immediately, and didn't stop until the final credit ran and the lights came on. It's always marvelous to watch those dear minions, trying their best to do horrible and awful evil things, and ending up, through it all, just doing good. The villains were villainous, and the good guys were good guys and the family that Gru has built around himself works as a family. That is to say, sometimes good, sometimes not so good, but always with heart, soul and the best of intentions. Rather like an ideal life in so many ways. 

If you like Gru and his family, you'll 
love DM4. Our local newspaper gave 
it a poor review, but I adored it and the 
audience seemed to be laughing 
throughout. It's a joy to be laughing 
for more than an hour almost non-stop. 

I didn't realize that voting for LJ Idol would be open to anyone, so I missed a call-out to all of you to read and vote, but I'll try to remember that if voting is open for the next story. So far I think I'm still in the mix, although the numbers aren't out quite yet. Voting was only open for a very short window, and I refused to not give everyone votes for this, our first story in. As I warned in my "Green Room" post, however, I doubt I'll be that even-handed and kind again. It was our first shot from the gate in this new competition, and I didn't want to vote against anyone this round. Next round ... well, I won't be as kind. I will vote differently because it is a competition - not just for my writing skills, but also a competition all around. 

I'll try to let all of you know when the next 
session of LJ Idol voting occurs. I barely got 
my own votes in on time. It was a very 
quick turnaround. 

It's nice to be writing to a theme again, though. Those of us who write tend to get caught up in our own characters and plots, rarely putting our heads above water. Having assigned themes exercises the brain, and I do enjoy that challenge. I'll try to let you know when voting will be open again, though. Since our moderator is accepting votes from all directions, a call-out to all of my readers might well be essential to my getting to at least the half-way point in the competition. There are some wonderful authors in this group - very talented people - so I'll need whatever I can to stay in the competition. 

That said, it's time to head to the pool. It will be a glorious swim as the sun rises today and I'm totally looking forward to it. Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

It's Snowing! - a Good Thing - and Kung Fu Panda!

We've finally had measurable snow! It's expected to snow on and off until 9:00 am, and then shoveling will commence. It's WONDERFUL - just seeing snow again. This late in the season it won't stay for long, so we can enjoy it for a few days and then return to thinking about the garden. It hasn't gotten chillingly cold, so the few plants who have popped above ground should still be nice and cozy in the dirt. My best estimate is that we got somewhere between 3-4 inches from the storm, or at least will have that by the time it leaves the area. 

It's finally snowing! After a winter of no snow, I'm 
looking out of my windows and seeing white. I'm 
thrilled. I'm not much of a fan of snow, at least not 
in the amounts we got last year, but some snow is 
necessary for us - we're in the north - we should have 
snow in our winters. This was a green winter, and 
it's almost over. It's a bit of a relief to see snow again. 

"Kung Fu Panda 4" was a total delight, as I knew it would be. Chickie and I weren't the only people in the theater, but we were the first people in and the last people out. We always stay for all of the credits before we leave after a film. We each played games or whatever on our phones until the actual film started - we have no interest in the junk that plays beforehand, unless it's a preview for another upcoming movie. It took no time at all to be pulled back into the wonderful animation of Po and his newest friend, a perky, lovely fox named Zhen. 

Zhen was a great character - smart, wiley, 
able to get in and out of trouble like a fox. 
Oh yeah - she's a fox - LOLOL. 

The one thing I really loved was that it was established, without hesitation, that Po's two "parents" - the panda and the goose, are both male. They both consider themselves to be Po's father, and they're not shy about telling others. I'm not sure Po would have survived this latest adventure without their help. The various and sundry assorted animals depicted were fabulous, as always, and the villain was SO GOOD! I can't wait for the next Minions movie this summer. We'll definitely be back in the audience for that one! 

"Despicable Me 4" is coming into theaters this summer. I can 
hardly wait. At least I won't have to think about snow, although 
rain is certainly a possibility. 

So today I'll do some cooking and some cleaning, I'll shovel the driveway when it's closer to the end of the storm, and I need to grocery shop as well. I'm totally looking forward to some serious kitchen time, and then I'll crack open the laptop and continue working on my crystals inventory sheets so that we can actually hold our Swarovski Crystal sell-down sale - better late and done well than early and a disaster - LOL. So, this is a short post today, but there really wasn't much to report except a delightful day. A total winner. Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up the week. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

 

Snow, Snow Plows and a Movie - Rushed Today!

I actually slept until my alarm went off, and I have to get going to the swimming pool, so this will be a bit rushed today. But ... here we go! 

We've totally escaped winter throughout the season 
this year - VERY unusual. It's going to hit over the 
weekend, however - on Friday and on Sunday. 

We're actually supposed to get snow this weekend - on Friday and again on Sunday, with Sunday being in the several inches group. It's a very late snow - some bulbs are already showing their little heads above the ground! Crazy weather! The one good thing is it won't stick around for a long time. But, it will still have to be taken care of, and it'll be a messy few days. 

We love our snowplows up here in the Frozen Northlands. 
We rely on them to get and keep our roads clear for 
safe traveling. They'll be used over the weekend, for sure! 

I thought you might enjoy knowing which names won for this year's "Name the Snowplow Contest". If you're interested in the full list, you can visit the website dot.state.mn.us/nameasnowplow and check out the whole list. The top ten winners were 1) Taylor Drift with 12,027 votes; 2) Clark W Blizzwald, 6,667; 3) Dolly Plowton (I voted for this one) with 6,315; 4) Waipahinte (Dakota word for "snowplow", 6,266; 5) Beyonsleigh, 6,016; 6) You're Killin' Me Squalls, 5,922; 7) Fast and Flurrious, 5,897; 8) Barbie's Dream Plow (I wonder if they'll paint it Barbie pink instead of the bright orange they use?), 5,787; 9) Oh, For Sleet's Sake, 5,517; and, 10) L'Plow du Nord, 5,503. Did you vote for any of these? I had two that I voted for in the top ten. 

We'd be lost up here in the "Frozen Northlands" without 
our snow plows. We do have a winner in the :"Name the 
Snowplow Contest". The top eight names will go onto 
plows this year. 

Well, as I said, the plows will be out this weekend. We're supposed to get snow on Friday and again on Sunday with 3-5 inches expected on Sunday. DH may have his chance to take out the snow blower for the first time this season. 

I'm looking forward to seeing "Kung Fu Panda 4", 
although it pushes into my sleep time a little bit 
by the time I get home from the movie theatre. 

Tonight, Chickie and I are going to the movies to see "Kung Fu Panda 4". I'm really looking forward to a relaxed night with a good friend and a funny movie. I'll be exhausted, but that's usual for my end of the week stuff. At least I can sleep in until 4:00 am on Friday. Have an excellent day, and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

Le Tour de France and the Epic of "Dune"

Today is a Rest Day for La Tour de France - a seriously needed rest day after two days of stress and strain in the Alps. But the weekend was magnificent and so much fun to watch. It was anything BUT easy, but kept us watching until the end - DH on his tablet and I on my laptop or phone. The end, on Sunday, was just below the top of Mt Blanc - absolutely stunning and with a BUNCH of exhausted riders. 

It was a beautiful Alpine stage and weekend - such fun to 
see the big mountains again. They ended on Sunday at the 
"top" of Mont Blanc - not the actual top since that was 
above the comfort level for the riders and spectators, but 
it was quite near to the top, so the vistas were magnificent. 

Today we start out with our semi-annual dental appointments. That messes with everyone's schedules. I'm always first one - 7:30 am for me. DH has his appointment at 9:10 am, and Chickie hauls in there for a 10:00 am appointment. 

Chickie borrowed a trailer similar to this from a friend. 
Claire purchased the trailer hitch and wheel boot and had 
them installed onto her car. They'll be driving to Montana 
next week, so everything had to be ready to go after 
yesterday. They're building a box to fit into the trailer so 
that they can put the desk flat into the box, cushion it, 
screw down the lid and take it back with them to Minnesota. 

Chickie was going to spend yesterday constructing a large box from plywood that will fit into the trailer she's borrowed from a friend that she's driving to Montana with her next week. They've got all the bells and whistles. The trailer hitch is a locking hitch, and they have a wheel boot for security as well. They'll put blankets all around the desk to cushion it and cover it, and hopefully it won't weigh an absolute TON so that it will be possible to get the antique desk up the stairs and into Chickie's half of the house. 

The best thing about the original "Dune" 
movie from 1984 was Sting. He was gorgeous 
in the film, and pretty was all he was supposed 
to be, frankly. He didn't really move the plot 
along, but he was some nice eye candy. 

We had watched Part 1 of the new "Dune" movie a week or two ago, and felt the need to see the original "Dune" movie again, so we watched that last night. Now DH will be grabbing the paperback from our library to read it again - it's been a while. I think I own at least the first six books, maybe even more. The world that Frank Herbert built on Arrakis was magnificent. Apparently there are 22 books in the series as of now, of which 6 are his:  Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse Dune. I'm pretty sure I own at least those six, and probably some of the others that were not by Herbert. It's a huge universe that he envisioned and, he said, there simply wasn't enough room in one book to encompass it. 

"Dune" part 2 is supposed to be released 
into theaters in October this year. We'll 
see if that actually happens. I won't see it 
in the theater (DH hates seeing movies 
there - he can't hear them properly. With a 
DVD, he can enable captions.) If it does 
get released on time and if the DVD is 
available for Christmas, I'll add it to my 
Holiday Gift list. 

Looking at the original "Dune" movie again, I can certainly see why the remake was done in two parts (second part to hopefully be released sometime this year or early next). I know they originally wanted to make it in more than two parts, but the funding fell through. Still, it should do a bit better than the original movie - there's just too much to compact into a single movie. Watching the original "Dune" is like reading a Reader's Digest Condensed Book - a taste, but no depth. 

I'm pretty sure this is the set of Dune books that I own in 
my library upstairs. The original "Dune" and the sequels. 
I loved the story - loved Arrakis and the entire idea of 
the worms and stillsuits and the Bene Geseret. It was a 
world of complexities and without easy answers, and it 
brought ecology into the mainstream, a rarity for any 
fictional book. 

So, I'm heading out to my dentist and to start my day. Since it's a Monday, it will only be DH and I in the shop, which means I'll have to fight for every break from the sales floor. *sigh* He doesn't mean to abandon me, but he works on his stuff in the basement and I help customers. Half the time he forgets his phone on his desk, so getting in touch with him if I need help is difficult. It's 1000% better when it's just Chickie and I on the sales floor. We actually get things done! LOL So, have an excellent Monday and Slava Ukraini. I'll be back tomorrow. 

   

The First Part Went Well - Then Things Changed *sigh*

Well, best laid plans, etc, etc. I had my day planned out - grocery shopping, a bit of computer work, then on to the movie theatre to see Minions, then Best Buy to return one item I had purchased on Wednesday, and finally home to make Ogre Juice and dinner. The first part went well. 

I really wanted to see "Rise of Gru" on opening day. It was 
a special treat for myself. Unfortunately an idiot decided 
to use a gun and mess it up for me and other people. GRRRR. 

The second part ... well ... let's just call that one a clusterf**k. On Wednesday night (the 29th), at the last showing of the night in the multiplex, some asshole had started shooting in one of the screening rooms. Apparently it was a directed shooting, not some random thing, but still, it was guns, in the movies, yet again. But that was Wednesday night, and it was now Friday. I figured things would be back to normal. I was too busy to check my email. 

I love that Mini Gru and the Minions are 
gathered in the movie theatre and the 
poster is for Jaws. That dates it from Summer, 
1975, no earlier, because Jaws was released then. 

If I had checked my email, I would have seen that my showing was cancelled and my ticket refunded. I didn't see that, actually knocked on the locked doors until the manager came out to tell me (and the woman with two kids accompanying her who also, obviously, hadn't read her email either). So, I got a refund, but I didn't get the opportunity to see Minions on opening day. My next chance to see the movie on my own is on the 15th. Maybe I'll grab Chickie for a Tuesday showing on the 5th or 12th instead. But I'm VERY disappointed, nonetheless. 

I love stir fried Crimari mushrooms with 
onions. I added some fresh Thyme to the 
mix this time too. They're very tasty. 

So I busied myself in the kitchen for the afternoon. I made my next batches of Ogre Juice, fried up some onions and mushrooms for dinner over the next few days, and baked a cubed butternut squash I had planned to bake up two weeks prior. I'm one of those "make something, then clean the kitchen completely, then make the next thing" people, so I now have a refrigerator full of food, a clean kitchen, and I had a good afternoon with my Oladance bone induction headphone on and my Hip-Hop play list blaring from Spotify to my headphones. I was a whirling dervish, who missed her Minions; so sad, but at least I accomplished a lot. I also got the hummingbird feeder refilled, so I'll have happy birds once again. 

I'm a bit of a headphone junkie and my Oladance 
open ear bone induction earphones are my 
favorite non-swimming headphones. I love their 
fit and I love their sound. For swimming I use 
Shokz - they have one that is made for swimming 
and other watery activities and I use that for the 
pool and the treadmill. 

That's all for today. It's back to the grind now - work today then Sunday off. But I'll also have Monday off for Independence Day and it's rare to have two days off in a row. I'm already looking forward to it. I might do a minimal post wishing everyone a good 4th of July, but a serious post won't happen again until Tuesday. So have a good extended weekend and I'll be back on Tuesday. Slava Ukraini. 

Phone Apps and Minions - A Possibly Excellent Day Off

Apparently Wednesday's Samsung lessons for DH from Chickie consisted of extending the amount of time the screen would remain on before fading out, and uninstalling unwanted/unneeded apps. Today, DH said he wants to learn how to take a photograph with the phone, since what he's been trying hasn't been working. 

I know I have something similar to this that 
came with my ring light, but I'm not finding it. 
I could order something like this from Amazon 
for very little $, but I also can control my 
Google via voice control, so I might try that 
first before buying something else to lose 
and clutter up my life. I want to get going 
on photographs and I can't do that without 
a remote control shutter for my phone and 
ring light. 

In essence, I'll be doing something similar myself, since I want to try and activate my Google voice command for remote photography. Apparently I can use voice commands to activate the shutter and take the photograph, and that, plus my new ring light, might get me going on the multitude of photos I need to take for the round Swarovski crystals. At some point I need to get back to my cubes too. I missed one cube in the A/B section of the 4mm size, and need to retake three pages. I only need the splash shot (the full 3x3 cube view) for those three pages, and the detail shot for the single color. 

Happy Canada Day to any of my Canadian 
friends and readers. Enjoy your celebration 
with friends, family and good food. 

It's already July, and I "retire" in 60 days according to my countdown calendar. It's a bit frightening. I know I'll still end up working, maybe one day a week, or just for fill-in, but I have multi-day tasks that need to happen in the house and I just can't squeeze them in on my two non-contiguous days that I currently have off now. So, I'm looking forward to retirement, but I also know it's going to be a lot of work for all of us. However, if I don't stick to my guns, DH will probably putter around pushing retirement off for another decade and that, I won't tolerate. 

The lightning yesterday morning while waiting for the gym 
to open was spectacular. So beautiful. Of course it meant 
that we needed to swim indoors, but since that's where we 
swim most of the year anyway, it wasn't a huge hardship. 

Yesterday's swim ended up being an indoor swim. It wasn't raining, but there was a LOT of lightning - beautifully lighting up the sky in a fireworks display like no other. The storm had blown over and people were in the outdoor pool by the time I finished my swim. I could have joined them, but I don't like interrupting my workout. I start swimming, and I want to continue non-stop for my mile+ before stopping. Hopefully the weather next week will be kinder for the 5:00 am group. 

I'm looking forward to seeing "Rise of Gru" today. I'll see 
it again with Chickie later in the month. I haven't been to 
a movie theatre since before Covid, and I'm a little nervous 
about it, but it's the early show and I don't think there 
will be a lot of people. I'll wear a mask (probably) and 
be careful about sanitizing. 

So, have an excellent day. I'll be doing a lot this morning, and I'm at the theatre at 11:00 am to see "The Rise of Gru". I can hardly wait! MINIONS!!! Love them so much! Have an excellent Friday, July 1st, and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

A Little Bit of This and That to Catch Up Today

DH spent a miserable day at the shop yesterday, and came home dragging. He barely had energy to sit at the kitchen table and have some soup, then forced himself down to the computer to do a few things before allowing himself to go to bed and to sleep. I suspect he finally got a full night's sleep, since I haven't heard "peep" from him yet, and I'm running late. 

I offered to switch days with DH, but he didn't want 
to work three days in a row. He normally would be 
off on Saturday, but Chickie has this coming 
Saturday off for a vacation day. 

I had offered to switch days with him - I'd work his Thursday and he could work my Friday. He decided he didn't want to do that because he "didn't want to work three days in a row". A rather silly reason, all told, but that was his excuse. Chickie has this Saturday and next Saturday off (a very rare occurrence since I usually don't allow Saturday vacation time at all). She'll still end up about three days short for her allowed vacation days, but that's the way the schedules worked this year. At least we managed to get almost all of her vacation time allocated. 

I think I'll try to get the Moderna booster shot since I got 
the J&J standard vaccination in March. I'm able to get 
anything I want since it's been more than six months
since my initial vaccination. 

Covid booster shots are now available and I guess I'd better make an appointment to get mine. I want to get the Moderna vaccine, since I had the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in early March. Apparently the Moderna gives a slightly increased resistance for J&J people, and I'll take all of the extra voodoo I can get. 

It will be fun to be involved in a writing challenge 
again. I got my toes wet earlier this year with a 
small group on Dreamwidth, but Idol is a bit larger 
and has been held more regularly. Usually it operates 
more on a "Survivor" format with people voted 
off and lots of behind the scenes politics (something 
I abhor). This is Idol Light - nobody gets voted 
off the "island". Much more my style. 

I spent some time yesterday cleaning up and editing my contribution for LJ Idol Light. I still need to refine what I wrote - I do much better with drabbles than with longer texts - and I'm still unsure about my choice of theme. I want to submit it on Saturday, so I'll try and finish the deep edit today and try to do a fresh read-over tomorrow. It is nice to be writing more consistently again, even if it is not in the Tolkien universe. 

Both "Dune" and "No Time to Die" have 
an 84 rating on Rotten Tomatoes. (Candyman 
also has an 84 rating, but I have no interest 
in seeing that film). I might be able to talk 
DH into seeing "No Time to Die", but doubt 
I'll have any luck talking him into seeing 
"Dune". I think I should see it on the big 
screen at least once. Sand Worms, baby!!! 

I want to see Dune. I know it's just part one of two, and that the real meat (sand worms) don't really come into play until Part 2, but I still want to see it. I don't have time to see a movie this week, but maybe next week or the week after I can catch the first showing of the morning on one of my days off. I have my photo shoot with Rodney scheduled next Wednesday, so that trashes that "free" time, but I'll try to work it in. I'm almost 100% sure DH won't want to see the movie, but I'll double-check with him over the weekend. 

That's all the news and gossip for today. I'm running a bit late, so I need to get this up and catch up on DW and LJ. Have an excellent Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow before I head out for my swim. 

Some Good Movies Coming Up, and a State Fair Wrap-up

By the end of today, my house will be thoroughly cleaned and Sharon's visit will only be a fond memory. It didn't take me any time at all to get my Fair weight gain right back off, so now I'll finish cleaning the guest bedroom and the guest bathroom. Then I'll be ready for the next challenge. 

For a long time they were calling this "Matrix 4". Not 
an incorrect name, but now it's officially "Matrix 
Resurrection". I'll put a link to the YouTube trailer 
here. 
https://youtu.be/9ix7TUGVYIo
"Matrix Resurrected will release on December 22nd. 

Have you seen the trailers for "Matrix: Ressurection" and "Dune"? These are two films upcoming that I really want to see. I've even marked the dates they premier on my calendar. I would also love to see the LOTR epic when it comes out, but I don't stream, and I don't have Amazon Prime, so that may be almost impossible. 

OK, just saying here that this is a bad ass sandworm. Wow, 
just wow. "Dune" will release on October 22nd. If it's 
anything at all as good as the trailer, I'm totally on board 
with it. It won't have Sting as a Harkkonen, but it has 
sandworms like this one - just too amazing. Here's the 
YouTube link for the Dune trailer. 
https://youtu.be/6r-WSSbKUC8

State Fair attendance figures were 1.3 million lower than last year's record numbers. Still, the crowds came out on Sunday and Labor Day, setting new attendance records for those days. We were part of the Sunday crowd, but at the Renaissance Festival on the Monday. I think poor weather combined with fear of Covid played a serious part in the first week or so of the Fair. Our total attendance was 1,301,584, compared to more than 2 million people each of the previous two years. 

The State Fair attendance figures might have been down, 
but Sharon and I (and DH and Chickie on Sunday) 
enjoyed ourselves. See that big Ferris wheel in the 
background? Sharon and I rode it twice - one during the 
day, and a second time at night. We got in immediately 
during the day, but had to stand in a very long line 
(2-blocks long) to buy our tickets after dark. We 
were curious about how many people could ride 
at any time, so I did the math. Number of cars 
times six, because they try to put six people into 
each car, equals 180 people total. It was fun during 
the daylight, and totally magical at night. 

I should be receiving my blood test materials on Monday. I'm really looking forward to what the test results will be. I know I ate something that my body hated, hives and a rash are pretty good indicators that I ate something wrong. I have a full photographic record of everything I ate during those three days at the Fair, so I'll get the photos into a listing and start trying to isolate which foods my body objected to. I'm hoping it wasn't my Danielson and Daughter's onion rings - my absolutely FAVORITE food at the Fair. 

My love of Danielson & Daughters Onion Rings is 
over the top. I'm totally addicted to their wonderful, 
light coating and crisp goodness. I ate two portions 
on my own on Friday and Saturday, and shared some 
with DH on Sunday. If these turn out to be a trigger 
food for my skin rash, I'll be devastated. 

So that's it for today. Short and sweet. I'm going to plug in my photos and links to the trailers for the two movies listed above, then I'm going to work on my shopping list. I'm hoping I don't forget an item this time - I usually get home, put the groceries away, and remember that I forgot X, Y or Z (often the main part of my planned meal). It's far from unusual for me to be back at my grocery store later on the same day as an earlier trip. Have a wonderful day, and please be kind and stay safe. I'm holding all of you in my heart today - thanks for being good friends. 

Some Spooky Thoughts Pre-Halloween

It's my "day off" today, and the first load of laundry is already washing in the laundry room. No PT today, and it's my day off from the gym too, so I'm getting the opportunity to catch up on work and other tasks. I'm tired of cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning, and I want to give my finger a few more days to heal, so I'm going to bring some of my card components home from the shop and work on them here instead. I usually get an hour or so in the early mornings at the shop, but I should be able to get at least two hours into them today if I bring some materials and equipment home. 

What a marvelous Halloween display, from Cincinnati, Ohio. I love the
skeletal horse and the coach driver's hat really makes the display sing. 

It looks like it's going to be a cold Halloween this year - the past two days have started out in the 20's and only warmed up into the 30's. As the song says, "Baby, It's Cold Outside". On cold Halloweens we usually have minimal visitation from either small cherubs or college students, and I'm hoping tomorrow will carry out that tradition. I'd rather have a relaxing evening than get up and down constantly to answer the door and give out candy. Of course, DH purchased candy, but he specifically got ones that we enjoy eating because he knows most of it will be ours over the next few months. 

"Doctor Sleep" stars Ewan McGregor as a grown up Danny, still
fighting his telepathic monsters and his own genetic heritage of
alcoholism given by his murderous father. Watch the trailer. It
actually looks like it might have potential, although beating the
original will be hard to do. 

Among the things in my email in-box this morning was a teaser for the upcoming thriller, "Doctor Sleep" which opens nationwide on November 8th. The film is the continuation of one of my favorite scary films of all time - "The Shining". In this new movie, Danny, the small young boy from the original movie, is now grown up and dealing with his demons, both past and present, seen and unseen. Want to see the trailer? Here's a You Tube link for you to check out. I know I'll be too frightened to see this in the theater, but I might consider seeing it at home at some point. I've seen "The Shining" numerous times and it STILL frightens me, to this day. 

"The Shining" was one horror movie that still gets
me every time I see it. There are still parts I haven't
seen clearly because my eyes are closed. Yes, I'm
a fright wuss. 

Of course, "The Shining" was filmed at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. I remember the hotel fondly from my youth when we would go up to that area to visit my Tante Gerty and my cousin Miki. The hotel dominated the valley, and it's still a beautiful and amazing place to visit. I was up there about fifteen or twenty years ago for a conference, but was day-tripping and didn't stay overnight. Probably just as well. I might be in love with the building, but I'm easily frightened. 

The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, is magnificent and old. It
opened in 1909 and many have claimed various rooms and venues
within its walls as haunted. Numerous ghost hunters have stayed there, trying
to confirm or debunk the rumors. So far there is still no conclusive
proof of haunted hotel halls and rooms. 

So that's the plan for today. Work on holiday cards and give my finger a few more days to heal before diving back into major cleaning. I hope all of you have a wonderful day that is filled with sunshine and lollipops, not ghosts and haunted hotels. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Secret Life of Pets 2 - A Winner

So, "The Secret Life of Pets 2" was delightful, funny, and the time just flew by. Chickie was in sad shape - her Sunday and Monday had been spent tearing off the side wall of her garage, repairing and replacing rotted beams and struts, and sheathing the wall with new plywood. A lot of hauling and pulling by Chickie and her Mom, but by the end of Monday it was almost complete and looking good. She was hurting at the shop yesterday, though, and after sitting in the movie for 90+ minutes, just getting up out of her seat, even with the help of her walking staff, was really difficult. 

Max is so overprotective of his new
human, Liam, that he is put into a
"cone of shame" to help him with
his anxiety. 

So ... back to the movie. Three different storylines run through the film, joining at the end. (1) The dogs are part of a larger family now - their owner has fallen in love and had a baby boy - Liam. The main doggie character, Max, has fallen in love with this newest member of the family and wants to protect him from the Great Wide and Scary World. The family brings him to "dog therapy" and then leave NYC for a vacation on the farm, where Max is taught how to channel his inner wolf by the farm's watchdog, Rooster. 

Max asks Gidget to take care of "Busy Bee", his
favorite squeeky toy. She, of course, is
thrilled to help him, and promptly
looses it by giving it too much love. 

(2) The second storyline is the loss and recovery of "Busy Bee", the favorite toy of Max, who has asked Gidget to care for it in his absence. Of course, that goes completely wrong when Gidget squeezes the ball too tightly and it bounces out the window and down into the open window of the "Crazy Cat Lady". This elderly woman has cats - lots and lots of cats - a car full of cats - and after adventures galore and a training course in "How to become her inner cat" from Chloe (a VERY fat cat), Gidget is ready to infiltrate the cat lair and recover Busy Bee. Hilarious! 

Daisy is a great new addition to the
"Pets" cast. She's spunky, doesn't take
anyone's sass, and she has a heart
of gold. 

(3) The third storyline introduces us to a new dog - Daisy - a determined lap dog who is trying to save a white tiger youngling from an evil circus. There are wolves, a fantastic evil villain, and a car chase of great merit, while Gidget, the Crazy Cat Lady and all of her cats, Max and Super Bunny all chase down the circus to recover and rescue the white tiger from a speeding train. 

Rooster, the farm dog who helps Max discover
his inner core of strength, is voiced by Harrison
Ford. He was a wonderful character - very wise - LOL. 

In the end, there's a happy ending for everyone and all pets concerned. I deem it a delightful movie and well worth my time and the $5 ticket. I was delighted, and if you enjoyed the first "Secret Life of Pets", you'll probably love this one too. It wasn't super long either, so the kids in the audience didn't have a chance to get bored, and we were all laughing too hard to notice the time anyway. 

Daisy gets help from Snowball as they
all pull together in various ways to help
save the white tiger. 

I'm off to the gym, it's a very busy day off for me today with shopping errands at three different locations, not even counting the housework on my normal agenda. I'll be a very "Busy Bee" today - LOL. Have a great Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow. 

Unexpected Topics Meme - Three Items

There's been an "Unexpected Topics Meme" going around my various posting boards, and I asked someone who is NOT very familiar with me to assign three topics to me. Bleodswean complied, so here I go. 

BEARS

I really love my Spinoza Therapy Bear. It was originally developed
to help kids with asthma or who were undergoing medical
treatments handle pain and the trauma of not being able to breathe
with ease. The cassette player could play any cassette recording,
though, so Dad listened to opera on it. 

I'm actually fairly fond of bears, although I tend to like Polar bears a bit more than the more standard black or brown bears that live in my area. I fully admit to being an elder who still has stuffed bears that mean a great deal to me too - a stuffed Koala that I've had since the mid 1970's, and a larger Spinoza bear I purchased for my Dad when he was dying of cancer. The Spinoza bear had a cassette player inside. I bought it so that Dad could listen to Mozart operas while hugging the bear to help with his pain. I love that bear. 

YURTS

Apparently yurts have been upgraded and modified to become the
newest "thing". Who knew? I enjoy round houses, but they're
hell on mounting pictures or photos. Still, there's something
very relaxing about a circular living space. 

Aren't yurts rather like the tipis of the Asian steppes? Felted, portable (although felt is going to weigh a lot, especially under wet conditions), and able to hold a family plus firepit, I also think yurts are popular as a "new/old" camping option in some parts of the world. I think they're rather interesting, but I'll stick with a tipi. At least I know how to erect a tipi and have been in one many times over the years. I can't recall ever having actually been inside of a yurt. 

MEDITERRANEAN FOOD 

There are a LOT of nations that border parts of the
Mediterranean Sea, and their cooking styles are as
varied as their cultures. It seems that just grouping
them together under a single topic doesn't really
do justice to the variety of foods, spices and
cultures. 

Wow - the Mediterranean is a rather large body of water, and there are a lot of countries that open into it. The basic definition of "Mediterranean Food" is "rich in lean proteins, like chicken, fish and legumes; fresh fruits and vegetables; whole, unprocessed grains, seeds and nuts; healthy fats like olive oil; and a limited intake of dairy and red meats." I guess that's not really all that different than my standard diet, but it doesn't give much of a clue about taste, does it? It's the diet, not the food. So moving onward, I love Spanish, French and Italian food, have enjoyed Greek food when I've had it, don't know much about Turkish food, have enjoyed Lebanese and Israeli dishes, and don't have much experience with the various African foods from Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Got something to recommend I try eating? Bring it on! 

It's going to be fun to see "Secret Life of Pets 2" with Chickie
tonight. It doesn't have a great rating on Rotten Tomatoes,
but the audience response has been very high. It'll be a nice
way to end a long day. 

I realize this meme has been going around for a week or two, but if you've been wanting to play and haven't had topics assigned to you, feel free to ask me to throw three topics into the wind for you. I have a very busy day today, starting with my Doctor appointment this morning and ending with "The Secret Life of Pets 2" with Chickie tonight. I'll be back tomorrow, sleepy and hopefully with a plan of action for my arm pain. Have a wonderful Tuesday!