Unconscious Mutterings #332

hockey: puck
twirling: baton, Nancy, band
Montreal: AGAIN
better: good
new: better
rally: cars
Stanley: tools
USB: port
scouted: actors, college sports
cough: uh oh

Family Fiesta Day at Franklin Park

Two years ago my mother in law moved to DFW from San Antonio, from a house she had lived in for over fifty years. She chose to take up residence in an almost brand new retirement community for active seniors. Every year they have a summer family get-together with a theme. This year the theme was "Fiesta" which is something we are all familiar with being from San Antonio. My husband and I went and had lunch outside and watched all the festivities -- there were children, teenagers, and even an almost brand new baby. There was an adorable long-haired daschund and a very lovely bischon friese. There were pinatas! They were most unusual -- bags with a fragile bottom in them. They were filled from the top and the children would pull streamers at the bottom to release the goodies. They had a wonderful time and it was much better than bludgeoning some poor "animal" or cartoon character into giving over the goods.

It was a beautiful day -- a little too warm and the serving line wasn't set up as well as it could be but we found a shady spot, enjoyed our fiesta food and declared it a good day. I think the only real problem was that the Margarita machine wasn't freezing the fiesta concoction fast enough!

#127

1. Lucy, I'm home!.

2My favorite thing for dinner lately has been something somebody else cooked -- especially if that somebody else cooked salmon.

3. When Toto saw the flying monkeys, he went bark, bark, bark!

4. A nice long walk would be a really nice thing.

5. Tell me some good news.

6. When all is said and done, who said it, who did it, define all.

7. And as for the weekend tonight I am looking forward to a Netflix movie and watching AW make kolaches, tomorrow my plans include Family Fiesta at my MIL retirement community and Sunday I want to just hibernate and wake up on Thursday -- I said hibernation, not coma.

June 4, 1947

Today is AW's birthday! I don't know why I am excited about it -- perhaps because it isn't MY birthday? I even bought him a gift -- something we haven't done for each other for years -- and a card -- a mushy card! Even though I had a funny one picked out -- something about REAL MEN and maps -- you can see where that is going -- but I opted to be nice. So, nice dinner and a gift -- he will be happy! Celebration with children to follow later -- tonight it is just us. So, Happy Birthday, AW!

Booking Through Thursday

Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you -- in 15 minutes.

1. The Bible

2. The Bobbsey Twins at London Tower

3. A Woman of Substance

4. To Kill a Mockingbird

5. The Good Master

6. Bunnicula

7. We Have Always Lived in the Castle

8. The Diary of Anne Frank

9. Flowers in the Attic

10. Blue Willow

11. The Little House books

12. Fingersmith

13. Star Girl

14. The Wizard of Oz

15. The Bumper Book

Hmm...lots of children's books on this list -- what can I say -- I liked to read when I was a child and I read to my children -- it is a good thing!

"Taken"

I have had "Taken" with Liam Neeson on my Netflix list since it was released with a "long wait" notation. Well, I discovered that it is now available on VOD with our cable company so I ordered it tonight. We started it early so we wouldn't be falling asleep which was a wise idea but probably unnecessary because I don't think I would have fallen asleep -- it was action packed but not draggy. It seems some action/adventure movies have more action than necessary to drag things out -- this one didn't.

It was a great movie! Of course, everybody on the planet knows that I am partial to Liam Neeson and that had a lot to do with my opinion but it was good and I would recommend. However, it deals with a particularly nasty subject -- abduction on foreign soil. In this movie, Neeson's daughter, 17, begs to go to Paris with her friend. Dad had doubts about the whole thing but allows her to go even after he found out she had been lying about the nature of the trip -- museum hopping -- NOT -- more like being a band groupie. In any event, she wasn't even in Paris for twenty four hours until she and her friend found themselves in a very uncomfortable situation. Well, retired government agent dad came to the rescue and all was well but there was a lot of drama getting there.

I would recommend this movie -- it was well done, went fast, was not over bought on action, not hugely gory and, of course, it had Liam Neeson in it. What more could there be?

Unconscious mutterings 331

1. nursery --- rhyme, baby, plant

2. medicine -- ugh

3. heart to heart -- talk

4. try -- try, try again if you at first you don't succeed

5. hog-- wild, motorcycle, Dennis Hopper

6. symptom -- see #2

7. collide -- planets, cars (this is DFW!)

8.. fury -- of a woman scorned -- nothing like it!

9. incorporated -- blended

10. summer -- hot town, summer in the city!

This is my first post on this meme. Been reading them over at JLSHall and think it looks like fun.

The book I am taking an excerpt from is "The Shroud of the Thwacker" by Chris Elliott

Here goes:

"I pray, good sir, repeat yourself, for the tempest rages too clangorously to allow me to hearken to your needs satisfactorily," replied the hot dog vendor in pretty much the way any hot dog vendor in New York City would reply today. So that told me nothing."

I am only a third of the way through this book but it is hysterical -- not a serious read by any stretch of the imagination!

It is Tuesday

I have never seen such a nondescript day in all my life. It isn't good, it isn't bad, it just seems to be Tuesday. The day started out with well intentioned plans -- a trip to the car place to get my inspection sticker, a trip to the store to pick up a couple of things, and then a day of ironing. As I got ready for the jaunt to the car place I heard the rumblings of the storms in the West -- I thought that was supposed to happen tonight -- did I really sleep through the weather last night. Hmm. So, off I went and arrived at the car place just as the bottom dropped out of the sky. It is a nice car place and they provide you with various hot drinks, cookies and a quiet reading room to wait out your stay -- I was there at 7:45. I got my hot cocoa -- not bad considering it comes out of a machine -- no cookies -- and settled in with my book to while away a couple of hours. The storm hit --- I settled deeper in the chair -- but it was all over in a second -- my wait not the rain. Apparently nobody else was there and I was the first in line and they got done with the car in record time! Yippee! So, I drive my newly washed ride out into the pouring rain through muddy puddles of standing curb water. Ugh. As I head for my house I realize I am looking head on at somebody coming toward me -- in my lane -- trying to pass someone who was going too slow. Uh, hello, it is flooding out here -- slow down. She missed me by inches and looked a little flustered to see somebody coming toward her but, hey, I was where I was supposed to be! After that I was even more anxious to get home. Had to stop at the store for a couple of things and finally got into my garage, looked out the door at the sunshine and blue sky! Couldn't they have washed my car a little slower? Darn.

Evening

Last night I finally watched our latest Neflix offering. It was entitled "Evening" and had a big name cast -- Vanessa Redgrave, Natasha Richardson, Glen Close, Meryl Streep and Claire Danes. With a cast like that you would expect it to be good and it did not disappoint.

I can't really tell you much for fear of spoiling the plot but suffice it to say it involved a terminally ill mother (Redgrave) and her daughters (Richardson and I don't know the other one's name). The movie is a series of flashbacks with Danes playing the young "Ann". It was very well done but you had to watch it closely because you didn't want to miss any of the references to the past that impacted the present.

The movie didn't strike me as being sad although it should have -- a terminally ill mother could bring back personal memories but it was so well done that you didn't really think about that part of it so much. The thing that was completely bittersweet was the aged, ill mother leaving her daughter (Richardson) when, just a couple of short months ago just the opposite happened in reality.

It was a very good movie, I would recommend it and I would watch it again. I might would even purchase it for my personal collection.

Outside my window I see a peaceful, quiet street.

I am thinking about the errands I need to run today.

From the learning rooms I am learning that maybe I am NOT cut out to be a handquilter.

I am thankful for my family.

From the kitchen I tried Christeans's pineapple pie on my family and they loved it!! Thanks, Christean! Also, I have learned that privately raised cattle makes really good meat -- thanks Burgundy Beef of Grandview!!

I am wearing -- pj's from last night -- it is a slow morning.

I am reading three books at once! Not easy for me. They would be "The Shroud of the Thwacker" -- very funny; "The Night Watch" -- so far pretty good; "Revolutionary Road" -- just started so I am not sure.

I am hoping that next week goes by quickly.

I am creating a couple of easy peasy quilts.

I am praying for safe travel, new jobs, preemies, comfort and freedom from illness.

Around the house I am looking at a pile of magazines that need to be passed on to others!

A few plans for the rest of the week include ironing, party planning (happy birthday, AW), quilting and reading.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you: