Category: LiveJournal

I’m Forty Four with Both Fumbs Down!

So years ago my dad was asked by a neighbor lady how old he was and he said that he was “four with the fumb down.” (Or at least, the neighbor lady told him that he said this as he doesn’t remember it himself.) So we’ve had the expression in our family vernacular for many years. And today, I turned forty four, with both fumbs down. 🙂

Our Wonderful Christmastime has continued to be wonderful. On Monday, mom, Amy, and I went to AAA to talk with a travel agent about going on a tour of Britain. We met for an hour and a half and left with some homework to do. And we spent much of Monday afternoon researching and reading up and trying to decide which of the various package tours we wanted to do. We scheduled a second meeting for Wednesday whereupon we’d have our decision.

On Tuesday, Amy had an appointment with a couple of folks in Columbus to film for the BMC Oral History Project she’s been working on for a few years now. Dad had volunteered to be her gaffer (and to provide the lighting equipment so she didn’t have to bring her set up with her on the plane). Since it was going to take a couple of hours, I suggested that mom and I head off to Polaris Fashion Place to go shopping. So once we had Amy and Dad ensconced in the Columbus Mennonite Church, we headed north to the mall.

Mom and I have been fans of Chico’s for a couple of years now. She had a pair of jeans which were a little baggy on her that she wanted to return, and when we got there, they were having a sale. I found a pair of jeans and a long jacket (think Bea Arthur long) on sale and she found two pairs of jeans. We then stopped into a shoe store where I found a VERY cute pair of shoes in my size. Decided they’d be my birthday present to me. Mom then found a jacket for herself at Christopher & Banks that she wound up getting for $15. We topped the successful excursion off with Auntie Anne’s pretzels.

As we were leaving the mall, Amy texted to say they were done at the church. So we returned and Amy toured around Columbus reminiscing about her days of living in the “big city.” (Columbus is huge for me, but small for someone who lives in Minneapolis. Heh.)

That night, we finally decided on which of the package tours to go on (it was basically a competition between the Scottish highlands and Ireland, Loch Ness vs Guinness brewery tour, Liverpool vs Waterford Crystal. Scotland et al won in the end). Wednesday’s meeting then was getting the tour booked and then the flights figured out. We opted for trip insurance – not something we usually do, but with the total cost of the trip and the fact that we’re not as young as we once were, it seemed like a good idea this time around.

For New Year’s Eve, we met up with Deb & Ben, friends of my folks, for dinner at Trojan Horse. Then we adjourned to mom & dad’s home for an evening of games and snacks and booze. We played Ticket to Ride where Ben managed to win instead of Amy (who’s won every other time we’ve played). Then Amy and I took on mom and Deb with a game of pinochle. We won and then the ball dropped and 2015 arrived!

This morning I made us some baked French Toast (which I’d made shortly after midnight and let sit in the fridge overnight) and bacon. And lunch was our New Year’s staple: pork, kraut, and mashed potatoes. We’d invited my cousin Patty around and the five of us had a wonderful lunch and spent most of the afternoon chatting and laughing. Then mom, Amy, and I returned to Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright and House of Cards (we managed to watch 16 episodes this week). In between episodes, we had a light supper and then I opened presents and we had cake & gelato/ice cream. Judi had gotten me a World of Warcraft game time card (surprise!) and Elsa a nifty sweatshirt with “All of the good chemistry jokes Argon” on it. 🙂 Mom & dad got me moolah to do a subscription to Big Finish. And Amy got me a 7th Doctor brolly! Whee!

So this has been a wonderful time with my sister and folks and other loved ones. Tomorrow we take Amy to the airport so she can be reunited with Curtis (her cat) and Charlotte (her godcat whose currently staying with her). Thanks all for a lovely birthday and Christmas and all that jazz. 🙂

Simply Having a Wonderful Christmastime

Although I haven’t been posting, I have been having a great end of the year. Amy arrived on Christmas and we had lunch at Waffle House* on our way back from the airport. That night was festivities with dad’s side of the family, and next day was a party at our house with mom’s side of the family. And that night I Skyped with and which was fun. But yesterday, we actually got to have Christmas for ourselves, and once again, we won at Christmas**. 🙂

We have Amy with us till the day after my birthday (so till Friday) and we intend to enjoy her company as much as we can. Yesterday, after presents, we took a walk downtown and wound up doing Happy Hour at the Caroline. Mom and Amy and I have been mainlining episodes of season 1 of House of Cards*** (the US version with Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright) while dad hides in his den. (He’s not into political maneuvering and shenanigans, and I’m beginning to see why. Heh.)

I’m hoping y’all are also having a nice end to 2014 and I hope that 2015 starts out wonderfully for you.

*Well, it was one of the few places open on Christmas day. Though we felt bad for the joint – busy as they were, their ATM, phone, and credit card machine all crapped out at the same time. Basically, the phone died and took everything with it. Thankfully we had cash as did other customers. Christmas is one of Waffle House’s busiest days. We even had a 20 minute wait before we had a seat. I decided to have second breakfast and it was yummy.

**Lots of fun stuff from the folks and Amy and others. Some new outfits, sweatshirts, books, Doctor Who DVDs, and a couple of new appliances – egg hardboiler (cuz I was envious of mom’s) and smoothie maker (cuz my blender just doesn’t have the power). We all had stockings this year, which was fun to help fill. Mom made the stockings and they’re lovely.

***Last time I had the DVD set from the library, I managed to get the first three episodes watched before my 1 week time was up. This time I have the set for 3 weeks and recommended to mom and Amy to catch up and we could watch together. Amy did her homework (she has Netflix) and mom got started on hers and finished up once Amy had arrived. We’re all pretty captivated for now.

Celebrity Kitties

Since The Doubleclicks put up a Kickstarter to make their first album, Dimetrodon, I’ve been a fan and supporter of theirs. (I think it was someone on twitter mentioning them that brought them to my attention in the first place.) The two ladies are geeks and thus write and sing wonderfully geeky songs.

Well, they recently sent a call out to their fans to help them with their latest “lyric video.” They wanted photos of cats (or dogs or other pets) with or without their owners & a word from the song. I requested a word and they gave me “want.” So I wrote “Want” in big print and then tried to get a shot with Linus and Lucy and the word all together. After several attempts (and a spat of photos I accidentally deleted from the camera before they’d been downloads – long story, bleh) I got one that I decided to send along. So now my kitties are online celebrities! They show up the last time that “want” shows up in the video, around 2 minutes and 30 seconds in. (But watch the whole video – lots of lovely cats & other pets and their loving owners.)

In case you couldn’t tell which one was them, here’s the photo that I sent along to the Doubleclicks for inclusion in the video:

want

And here are a couple of the good ones that didn’t make the cut (it wasn’t an easy decision!)

foodbin

lucygrab

Belated Halloween Post

I’ve been meaning to get a Round Tuit to posting photos that I (and a few others) took at the Halloween party that my folks and I attended that night. And as I wait in the queue to get onto World of Warcrack (they just released a new expansion), I found the Tuit and it was, indeed, Round. So first photo is one of me and the camera outfit that I used for most of the photos. The theme of the party was 1920s/Great Gatsby and many of the attendees drezzed for the occasion. (As I’m not a fan of wearing dresses, I opted more for Marlene Dietrich in drag. She looked FINE in a suit or tux. Me… well, I’m cute at least. See?)

meandcam
Me and the camera that dad put together. He’s clever. 🙂

mumanddad
The party started at The Caroline, a restaurant in Troy. Here’s mom and dad entering the restaurant.

mumandme
Here’s mom and I at the restaurant.

groupshot
A group shot of the first of our group to arrive at the restaurant. Not all who attended the party at Tammy’s were able to come to the restaurant.

flappers
Some flappers at the Caroline.

champers
Now at Tammy’s, here’s dad getting the champagne bar ready. (Tammy also had a cocktail bar, a wine bar, and a cigar bar at the party. Though cigars were to be smoked outdoors.)

parents
Tammy’s front room had the perfect backdrop for 1920s style photos. Here’s my folks. I got many of the couples in front of this window.

dadandme
Awhile into the party and dad and I relax while one of the party-goers takes out photo.

mumwins
As the evening wore on, poker and pool were the entertainment. Here’s mom winning a hand!

poolshark
My dad, the pool shark.

actionshot
I was pleased when I saw that the camera captured the movement of the ball. Our host John shoots while two of the three Mikes at the party look on.

Bridge over (Not So) Troubled Water

I’ve mentioned before that I enjoy biking when the weather is amenable. We’re very fortunate in Miami County to have a great set of bike paths for people to walk and ride upon. However, till this (late) summer, there was no contiguous path from Troy to Piqua (our two biggest cities). There was a planned bridge to go over the Miami River, but it hadn’t been built… yet.

Well, this summer, they finally got started on the project. The goal was to be done before August, but, well, they did get done before October, so that was something. 🙂 Mom and I have ridden across the bridge twice so far, with future trips across a certainty. And the last time we went across, there were quite a few people out enjoying the bridge (walker and bikers), so that was great to see.

Some day I’d like to start at the northern-most part of the path in Piqua and then go south for the whole length of the county and beyond. (I think you could actually go all the way to Cincinnati using the paths, but I’ve never gone farther south than Taylorsville Dam.) Perhaps next summer? 🙂

Anyhoo, here are some before and after photos which I took throughout the summer (and early autumn). It’s a really lovely bridge, I must say.

prebridge1
Prebridge 1:This is a shot from the Troy side of the river. They had gotten the bridge across already and had a preliminary (albeit dirt) ramp up to it. It’s now paved both ways.

prebridge2
Prebridge 2: This is a shot from the Piqua side just below the start of the ramp up to the bridge. When I took this photo, it was the first time I’d been on that part of the bike path.

prebridge3
Prebridge 3: Here’s another Piqua-side shot, but pointing away from the bridge and toward the Farrington Reserve parking lot (where my car & bike were currently parked).

postbridge1
Postbridge 1: Hooray, the bridge is done! This is a shot from the Troy side going toward the Piqua side. I’m standing in one of the two overlooks on the bridge.

postbridge2
Postbridge 2: Now I’m on the Piqua side of the river and looking back along the path toward the Farrington Reserve parking lot. You can see the paved path.

postbridge3
Postbridge 3: And now a shot from the other overlook, but pointing toward the Troy side.

postbridge4
Postbridge 4: Here’s my beautiful bike parked at one of the two overlooks on the bridge. (I’m standing beside mom at the other overlook, IIRC.)

postbridge5
Postbridge 5: One final shot, Piqua side to Troy side (I think) showing the brickwork (or rather, faux brickwork) on the bridge.

The weather’s turned a little chilly of late, but I’m hoping to get a few more bike rides in before winter turns its ugly head towards us!

That time between summer and autumn…

Once again, I have gone too far between LJ posts and mother has e-mailed me asking me when I will next update… I kept meaning to update – I wanted to tell about my lovely visit with Amy (my sis) and to go over the books which I read over break and even a post talking about The Bunny Hour. But I just couldn’t get a round tuit for the job. Perhaps this will get some of my writing urges satisfied…

I should first explain the title of this post. As far as I’m concerned, summer ended on August 15th when I reported to work (well to UVMC hospital) for the new school year. As soon as summer break is over, IMO, summer itself is over. However, we’ve got till September 20th for the vernal equinox. So this is some weird purgatory of time between seasons for me. Hot & shitty (which it hasn’t been since June, thankfully) and yet we’re in school. Thanks Nature!

I can’t complain though. I had a fabulous summer vacation. After my trip to Chicago, I headed out the following Saturday to Minneapolis to hang out with my sis. Let’s see how much I can recall…

Saturday: Left the house at 4:30am or so (bloody early), flew to O’Hare and then onto Minneapolis/St Paul airport. I had an Egg McMuffin & hashbrown at O’Hare and Amy had breakfast before she picked me up. So we started our time together at IKEA (like you do). Hey, she had a huge rental vehicle, we were in the area, it was perfect. We stopped at a butcher’s on the way back to her place and got brats & corn on the cob for supper. Home for a bit, then off to Anchor Fish & Chips for… I’ll let you guess. Had a cider with it and it was yummy. We picked up some liquor essentials (and tasted wine & liquor) at Surdyk’s. I think we did a chicken check (the rest of Amy’s Coop Co-op was on a camping trip while I was invading). And Amy’s boyfriend came around for supper, which we grilled and was lovely. Amy also roasted some root vegetables and cooked up some kale.

Sunday: Amy and I took a walk to a nearby park, had cereal for breakfast, and went to United Noodles, an Asian supermarket with a deli inside. It was quite a fun shopping experience, and the lunch was wonderful. I wound up buying a variety of candies/cookies (stuff like Pocky and some other things). I’m still eating ’em! We also had some shopping adventures, but now I can’t recall which days had which trips. See, this is why I should type it up the day of, Trina! Sheesh. I do remember that we had leftover brats & corn Sunday night.

Monday: Rachel joined Amy and I for our walk. We also went to a nice breakfast place in St. Paul (the Buttered Tin) before Rachel had to head off to work. They were also a bakery and had some lovely cupcakes. So I got some for Amy and I to share, and one for Rachel to have when she had a break at work. Supper was more grilling – I mixed up the Miss Chick marinade (similar to what is used at the Poultry Days festival in Versailles) and Amy chopped the chicken (which was finally, nearly, thawed) earlier in the day. We grilled it that evening and Rachel joined us again. It was very yummy!

Tuesday: We had another morning walk which took us by a donut shop (but as none of us brought money, we bought no donuts) and a Cuban restaurant that sounded good. Amy made us egg sandwiches for breakfast. I later suggested the Cuban place (Victor’s) for lunch, so we walked there. Amy got a cubano and I had the “love” Cuban pork sandwich. We split a tropical salad as appetizer and shared beans&rice and fried yuca. It was all wonderful, and Amy got some nice leftovers. Soon, however, it was time for me to go back to the airport. (First I had to ask Curtis, Amy’s lovely cat, to get off of my suitcase. He thought it was the perfect cat bed.)

I was supposed to get back to Dayton by 11:30pm. But before I could leave MSP, I had to have a plane. And it was 3 hours late. Thankfully, I didn’t have to worry about missing my connecting flight out of O’Hare – same plane. My parents are the most wonderful parents – despite the lateness, they came and got me! 2:30am – bleh! (And this after getting up at o’dark thirty to take me in the first place!)

It was a great way to end my summer vacation. (Well, the next morning was a pool party at mom & dad’s community pool, so that also helped with the end.) Then that Friday, I started back to work! And we just finished our first full week of school. I think this is going to be a great school year. So far, I’m actually caught up in grading – whee! And now a 3-day weekend!

Da Burbs

I’ve been having a lovely visit with (and is also here). This is likely the last visit while she’s living in the city. Indeed we were looking at condos in the ‘burbs today. First time I’ve been to Downers Grove since I was wee. Didn’t recognize a smidgen.

Anyhoo, on this visit we’ve had Indian buffet, dim sum, and pub grub at a microbrewery (Reuben, cheddar ale soup, hefeveisen). Elsa had pre-made all of the other meals we’ve had in order to keep the joint clean for viewings by potential buyers. Arroz con pollo, chicken salad & Gorgonzola roasted red pepper soup, meatloaf (with mashed taters and broccoli), and even individual servings of oatmeal or Special K for breakfast. She also baked pineapple upside-down cake and peach cobbler. Oh, and we just finished pot roast, taters, carrots & onion. Yum!

Entertainment-wise, we’ve been to see Avenue Q at the Mercury theater. Great show! Also great to see what had been going on about for years. Nifty that in the cast, the couple who marry are actually married in real life. We also went to see Guardians of the Galaxy yesterday at the Icon. Really fun flick. Tomorrow we intend to see Shakespeare in the park (with Patty). Much Ado About Nothing.

Patty (Judi’s Pomeranian) joined us on our condo hunt today and will join us tomorrow because we needed her (and us) out of the flat for viewing (and open house tomorrow). She was very good today tho I missed out on seeing two of the condos in order to dog sit. So Patty and I took walks around the blocks. I suspect she’ll sleep well tonight!

I’ve had a blast so far and figure the rest of the trip will be as well. 🙂

An Erie Trip!

Last year, my folks and I visited friends up on Lake Erie, and we all decided to get together again this summer. This time, we went Thursday/Friday/Saturday and decided to arrive before lunchtime on Thursday in order to spend the day on Put-In-Bay island. After checking into our hotel, we headed for the ferry which was to carry us over to the island.

Although cars are allowed on the island, golf carts are encouraged. The 10 of us rented the last two 6-seater golf carts for the day for $15 each (a bargain, if you ask me). This gave us the freedom to roam as well as time to walk. We started off by going out to eat for lunch. We went to Mossback’s (our friends hadn’t been before, but said it was recommended). Mom and I decided to split a couple of items for lunch, so we ordered the Perch & Perogies lunch special and the Maryland crab cakes appetizer. The perch (from Erie) and perogies were definite winners. The crab cakes were OK, but nothing special. I had a Woodchuck Amber cider (which I put in my bottle koozie which I’d just bought from a store on The Boardwalk – the koozie has a built in bottle opener!)

We then walked on to Perry’s Monument where most of us waited in the (long for a Thursday) line to go up to the top. Once we were up, the view was stunning. The rangers were very helpful, even taking a photo of those of us currently up top. After the monument, we went on to Heineman’s Winery. This is the oldest winery on Put-in-Bay (and one of the oldest in the country? or something) and they provide a tour of the Crystal Cave and their winery. Basically the Crystal Cave is a geode you can stand in, some 30+ feet in diameter. We sampled their wines and I bought a few items – a nifty set of geode bookends, a t-shirt which says “50 Shades of Grape” and an umbrella that looks like a bottle of wine. “This isn’t my wine, this is my um… brella” it claims.

We checked out several establishments on the island and then split into two parties for sitting & drinking. I went with dad and two of the guys to the brewery on the island: Put-In-Bay Brewing Co. I tried their bourbon barrel oatmeal stout and dad had their regular oatmeal stout, and we split an order of walleye bites. Once I noticed it was after 7pm, I suggested we return to the others since the golf carts were due in by 8pm.

We took the scenic route back to the golf cart place and were there in time, AND in time to board the next ferry back to the mainland. One of our party had to leave at that point, but the remaining 9 of us went to Dock’s Beach House for supper. I ordered a “peaches & cream” frozen drink and the waitress asked for my ID, bless her! I thanked her and she said they are supposed to card people 30 years or younger. My 43 year old self was pleased. 🙂 I also ordered their chicken salad wrap with couscous salad. Very yummy.

The next day was intended to be our Day at the Beach day. We’d had perfect “walking around Put-in-Bay” weather the day before, and then perfect “Day at the Beach” weather the next. The Lake was a little choppy, but the sand was much easier on bare feet this time around. For lunch, we had coney dogs, veggies, chips, etc. I had brought some Angry Orchard cider and wound up having two during the day. After our leisure day, we headed out to Mon Ami for supper. Everyone got appetizers to share (once again, I ordered the lovely baked brie appetizer, this time with just peaches) and there wasn’t a loser in the bunch. Since we were sitting on the bar side of the restaurant, all of the appetizers we’d ordered were half price. Plus I got two of their specially priced martinis – a chocotini to start, followed by a raspberry mango martini second. For my meal, I had to get that lobster bisque soup again (along with a caesar side salad). Ah, food bliss.

While we were waiting on the meal, several of us visited the gift store. I bought a cruet which holds both oil and vinegar in different compartments (the inner compartment being in the shape of a bunch of grapes) and with a balsamic vinegar and oil, it’ll look pretty darned nifty. I also picked up one of their t-shirts.

A band started playing around 8:30 and the music was catchy and easy to dance to, but rather loud. After a bit, I asked dad if he wanted to take a short walk, so we wandered the grounds for a bit, before returning. Mom danced quite a bit, even coaxing dad (and me!) onto the dance floor for a bit. We eventually returned to our hotel rooms.

Sadly, two couples decided to leave early on Saturday, but the folks and I returned to our friends’ place on the lake. We spent the morning (and part of the early afternoon) vegging on their back patio. The day was warmer than it had been the day before, so I’m glad we had the cooler day for our Day on the Beach. A little after 1pm, we then headed on out to Oregon, OH, to once again have lunch at the Oregon Inn. I had their fried perch along with fries and a side salad. Tasty, tasty. Although I had driven us to the restaurant, mom took us the rest of the way home. Then I took myself to my house and relaxed the rest of the night.

The rest of this entry will consist of photos from our lovely weekend at Erie.

Perry's Monument.
Perry’s Monument.

The View from Perry's Monument.
The View from Perry’s Monument.

Group Shot on the top of Perry's Monument.
Group Shot on the top of Perry’s Monument.

Tippy Top of the Monument.
Tippy Top of the Monument.

Wine Garden at the Winery.
Wine Garden at the Winery.

The Crystal Cave at the Winery.
The Crystal Cave at the Winery.

Getting to our Golf Carts.
Getting to our Golf Carts.

Mon Ami.
Mon Ami.

Mom at Mon Ami.
Mom at Mon Ami (she was the only one at the table to get an ice bucket with her bottle of wine).

Dat at Mon Ami.
Dad at Mon Ami (he seems in his element at the Tiki Bar).

Summer Update

Like last summer, this summer is shaping up to be a good ‘un. My main priorities are reading, biking, walking, enjoying the time off, etc. I’ll start this post with a humourous photo that I took at the Urbana Antique Show & Flea Market that the parental units and I went to. I first was drawn to the olde fashioned-e bug sprayer, but then saw what was defiantly sitting on TOP of the bug sprayer. Heh heh. Now that takes guts.

bugspray

One thing that I forgot to mention in my previous entry was that I finally bought myself a lawn mower. My lawn boy finally retired from the biz (he wanted to spend some quality time with his kids before they were grown – what’s that about?!? Heh.) I first tried to hire my cousin to mow my lawn, but with her living in two different towns (divorced parents), it wasn’t as easy to get ahold of her as you might think. So I tried to figure out what I hated so much about mowing the lawn. Apart from the heat (which I have little control over) it was probably the noise. So I looked into electric mowers and bought a Kobalt electric mower from Lowes. It does a great job and if I don’t mow when it’s too wet or too long, I can get the job completely done before both batteries die. 🙂 And I can listen to my MP3 player, too!

OK, since I think of the summer as beginning over Memorial Day Weekend, I will start my tally there for movies/books/bike rides.

Total movies watched so far: 20
Total books read so far: 17
Total bike rides so far: 11

As you’ll see under the cut, most of the movies I’ve watched were DVDs borrowed from the library. (One day I picked up 7 – most of the videos I’d requested showed up at the same time!) Books are a mix of library and owned books, paper and digital, graphic novels and regular novels, but I’ll cover them in another post.

Movies are either theatrical (T) or library (L). Haven’t watched any through streaming (S) yet.

  • Maleficent – T, very enjoyable and I prefer this telling to the original Sleeping Beauty.

  • X-Men: Days of Future Past – T, was the movie that and and I saw when they were at the Lake.

  • Beowulf – L, boring! And animated! Not what I was expecting. Big Finish’s Black and White is a MUCH better telling of the old myth. And Garundel (Grendl) is a hoot.

  • The Aristocats – L, having seen Penn & Teller’s The Aristocrats a few years ago, it seemed only fitting that I should finally see the one with the cats. Cute.

  • Becoming Jane – L, since I like Jane Austin and Anne Hathaway, it’s no surprise that I liked this movie.

  • RED 2 – L, saw RED last year and wanted to see what these Retired and Extremely Dangerous folks were up to the second time around. Fun mayhem with ladies (and some dudes) who kick ass.

  • Dredd – L, and speaking of mayhem… Excellent flick if you can stand the violence. Karl Urban was a great Judge Dredd.

  • The Wolverine – L, I realized after watching Days of Future Past that this was the only X-Men movie I’d not yet seen. So I’ve finally seen it. Pretty cool.

  • Thor 2 – L, and to complete the Avengers flicks, I figured I should watch Thor 2. I liked it much better than Thor. And they were smart to let Loki have a good chunk of the flick.

  • Ender’s Game – L, didn’t want to spend any money on this movie (Orson Scott Card is a real douchebag) but was intrigued enough to want to see the flick. I knew NOTHING about the story, so the twist was a surprise (and something I thought “what they should do is… oh, that’s what they did!”)

  • Kick-Ass 2 – L, another flick that I saw because the first flick entertained me enough. It was violent. Maybe not as fun to me as Dredd, but I liked the girl “sidekick.” (And did anyone else think about Doctor Who‘s “Love and Monsters” when they saw this?

  • Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters – L, the book series was… OK. I’m thinking I like the movie series better. I’ve not been tempted to read any of the other series by Riordan.

  • The Brother’s Grimm – L, eh… could have been more than the sum of its parts, but it was so much less. Terry Gilliam + Heath Ledger + Lena Headey (who I loved in Dredd and is wonderfully evil as Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones) + Jonathan Pryce = eh. Very sad!

  • Julie & Julia – L, Streep stole this movie away from Adams (though Amy’s awfully cute in her part) and I’d’ve loved to have just seen a movie with Streep & Tucchi about Julia Child & her hubby.

  • The Great Gatsby – L, BORING (moreso than Beowulf). I almost contemplated not finishing the movie. Maybe it was Tobey Maguire as narrator – he just doesn’t do anything for me.

  • Cloverfield – L, knew nothing about it, so didn’t know it was a (is this a spoiler?) monster movie. Interesting idea, but never truly cared about the characters. Spent most of the time playing Doctor Who: Legacy (like I did with Beowulf and Gatsby).

  • Mamma Mia! – L, love ABBA, think Streep is pretty cool, so enjoyed the flick. Much as I love Brosnan, they really should have cast Anthony Head in his role – he’s just as gorgeous and a LOT better singer. 🙂

  • Dark Knight Rises – L, I realized that I haven’t seen most of the Batman movies. Not sure why I started with the last one of the Nolan flicks. Maybe cuz I love Anne Hathaway. Should see the other two now that I’ve seen this one.

  • The Wolf of Wall Street – L, ah, decadence. And we wonder where all the money goes… 😉 Enjoyable, but man I hope this movie doesn’t convince kids these days on how to get ahead in life!

  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier – T, just saw this yesterday in the second run theater. Good stuff. Nice to see women kicking butts in movies. Need more of that, Marvel! (And, um DC????)

Dang, if I update more often, I don’t have to cover as many movies at one time!

It’s Summer!

Hello to you, longest day of the year! As I mentioned to one person today, “Welp, it’s all downhill from here!” The lady I mentioned that to said that she always felt sad to think that days will be getting shorter from here on out, but I said “that only means it’s closer to Christmas!” OK, so I’m one of those ANNOYING optimists. 🙂

Anyhoo, I’m been on Summer Break since May 30th, but have only just gotten around to posting a journal entry. Mom has mentioned a couple of times that it’s been awhile since I last posted something.

Since I last posted, I’ve been busy. Here are a few of the things I’ve been up to since May 3rd.

  • Went to our alumni banquet as I was part of the 25-year honored class. My parents also attended as it was their 50th year. The class of ’89 had 55 students, which was one of Newton’s biggest classes. When my folks’ class celebrated their 25th, at least 30 showed up. And here on their 50th, at least 25 were present. We had 6. It was somewhat embarassing. But that does seem to be the trend of late. Last year’s 25-year class had about the same number show up.

  • Went to a VFW for the first time in my life (as part of the after-alumni do for just our class). Was surprised to discover there’s usually a bar at VFWs. I had no idea. They had Angry Orchard cider, and a stranger at the bar bought it for me. Nice folks at the VFW!

  • Finished out another school year. All of my chemistry students who took the course for credit got C’s or higher, thus getting credit for the course. Yay! The final was a new one and was as much (if not more) of a killer as the prior one. I really need to prepare them better for it, but I’ve still not worked out how I can.

  • Had and over for time at mom & dad’s cottage at Lake Loramie. They came over Strawberry Festival weekend and so we went there, as well as to the Louisiana Boil that some friends of mine & the folks’ put on. My peeps had fun, as did their peeps.

  • Have gotten into my summer habit of biking/reading/walking/swimming. And unlike last year, I’ve been in the pool a couple of times before the first day of summer!

  • Have a queue of movies to watch, many of which I’ve now seen already. I requested several through the library, and, wouldn’t you know it, most arrived on the same day!

  • Bought a Google Nexus 7 tablet. I just never could think of the niche that a tablet could fill, till I bought a bunch of digital comic books from Humble Bundle. Well, two bunches, it turns out. I figured my eInk-based eBook reader (a Kobo) would be crap for colorful comics, so I figured a tablet would be my best bet. And yeah, I was right. It’s also great for playing Doctor Who: Legacy and watching Lynda.com video tutorials. Hooray for technology!

With my summer break in full swing by the first day of summer (or by midsummer if you prefer), I’m good to go for the remainder. Teachers start back on August 15th, so I have to get all of my biking/reading/walking/swimming/movie watching done by then! 🙂