As promised

the floor:



As I said yesterday, it's gorgeous and it has a lot of character. I saw a modern Turkish rug for the living room that's going to look beautiful on it, I'm working on saving the $$ for it now.

Here's an action shot of Hub imparting some of his flooring wisdom on Little Big Man. We were just finishing off the last couple of boards on Monday night when Hub called him over and started telling him the ins and outs of making sure everything was all snugged up before nailing it off. It's funny how interested LBM gets when he's learning something rather than just being a gopher.

Then he decided that we all needed to watch Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I loved that movie when it came out and I still love it. The best part was listening to Little Big Man guffaw at the parts he thought were funny.

Up next in the DVD player? Girl with a Pearl Earring and Ali. I finished the pearl earring book a few weeks ago - beautifully written and very pleasurable to read. Plus, you know, it has Colin Firth in it. Who can resist?

Ali will be feeding my newly minted obsession with Will Smith. I'll let you know how they are.

Floors and Movies

We spent the weekend putting in new flooring all through the house. I had some great pictures of what we did, but they're on the Hub's new camera and I can't figure out how to get them off. Maybe I'll actually read the manual tonight. Anyway, it's been our idea for a while now to re-floor. Hub got a great deal on some gorgeous Australian Cypress that's a little lighter than our pine trim, but complements it beautifully. This is not my house, but it gives you an idea of the character of the wood.


More Movies:

The Razor's Edge
I'm kind of "eh" about this one. It's an older film (1984), based on a novel by Somerset Maugham. I have the novel, I just never got around to reading it. It's set mostly in Paris about a man who has been to the trenches of World War I and how it changed his life. Bill Murray stars as the main character. This movie has the distinction of containing the absolute worst death scene I've ever seen in a movie or on television. Hub and I looked at each other and fell out. I really expected much more from Denholm Elliott.

I didn't particularly like any of the characters, thought they were all self absorbed and despite being friends for most of their lives, didn't really seem to know each other at all. Plus, I couldn't quite get Caddyshack out of my mind for quite a bit of the movie. Bill Murray is hilarious, but that's not what I want to see in a serious dramatic role. I give it 3 stars, if only to watch that death scene and laugh hysterically.


The Last September
What the hell is it with English movies that they just start in the middle of the story and expect you to catch up with them? And why the hell do I continue to watch and enjoy these movies, patting myself on the back when I figure out who everyone is and why they're in that particular place at that particular time?

This movie is set in 1920s Ireland about a dysfunctional family (is there any other kind of British movie family?). They're Irish, living on an estate with English relations and friends. Of course, this is during the time of the "the Troubles" and even on their estate, there is much upheavel and clashing of the classes. I love, love, love Maggie Smith and she's the shrewd matriarch of this clan. Just dotty enough so that her bad behavior is excused, but you know she's lived her whole life that way.

Visually, it's a stunning movie. If you love scenes of the countryside, the movie is well worth seeing. Gorgeous greenery, wonderful costumes...I give it 4 stars and would recommend it to anyone who loves those crazy British movies.

Netflix

I joined Netflix (mostly because I hate the Blockbuster store that we used to go to). It's way cool to have the movies delivered right to your house. So, I've been watching a lot of movies these days. {I'm also doing the knitting equivalent of driving in circles - dish cloths. I know, but they're fast and I'm still doing something while watching all these movies!}

Here's what's been in the DVD:

Monster's Ball

I can't say that I really liked this movie. It was powerful and emotional and hard to watch. Halle Berry is amazing. I always thought she was a good actress and after watching this, I'm sure of it. She so deserved the Oscar for this role. Not so much a Billy Bob Thornton fan, but he was interesting to watch.

You know who amazed me in this? Peter Boyle. When he first came on the screen, all I could think of was "Hey, that's Young Frankenstein!" My mother said, "Isn't that the guy from Raymond?" I really hated his character in this film. If you haven't already seen it - go get it now.



King Arthur

Hmmm, yes, I enjoyed watching this movie...if only for the shots of a filthy dirty Clive Owen. I do love me some dirty European boys. Action scenes were good if you like that sort of thing. There did seem to be a lot of gratuitous blood splatter. Loved all the knights of the round table, somehow they seemed like real people rather than all pristine and holier than thou.

Keira Knightly? It was a little difficult to see the white, white girl from Bend It Like Beckham be so...well, blue. She was completely believable in the dialogue and seduction scenes, but the action ones? Please. Her little skinny arms pulling on those giant bows to shoot the arrows that far? I don't think so.

Over all, I liked the director's vision of the times. Again, it seemed more realistic than a film like Excalibur (which I totally loved when it came out, and actually still do). So, yea, if you're into action movies with filthy men, this one is for you.

Life Lesson

Sassy's last day of school was Friday. Since it was only a half day, I took the day off from work and hung out with Little Big Man until it was time to pick her up. Little Big Man suggested we see Madagascar on him! Being the guilty mom that I am, I tried to talk him out of it. "No, let's just go home and maybe when your Dad comes home, we'll all go see a movie."

He was having none of it. We ended up seeing the new Star Wars. Sassy thought it was too long and boring. Little Big Man and I loved it. We called the Hub as we were leaving the theater and he said, "I came home early to pick Little Big Man up and take him to see Star Wars."

"Yeah," I said, "we kinda just saw it."

"Everyone?"

"Well, everyone, but you."

Little Big Man was bummed, "I shoulda listened to you Mom."

I thought "you'd better remember that next time, boy."


So now summer is upon me. Sassy is staying with my parents and Little Big Man is pretty much self sufficient. I'm free!!! Where's the sangria?

Quilting?

I think life is a series of wanting or looking for one thing and ending up with another. The trick is to make sure you're happy with "another."

So, one of the hobbies I never wanted to try was quilting. Mostly because my mother-in-law was a quilter. She even owned a quilt shop for a while. I didn't want to do it, because I didn't want to have to ask for her advice when I got stuck on something.

After a meeting here at work the other day, a woman who knows I'm a knitter brought me her knitting to show me. She had the greatest little quilted bag made from coordinating scraps. It was a flat-bottomed smallish bag, about 8 x 11 in size with little handles. She couldn't remember the name of the pattern, but told me where she got it.

I went over to the store, but they couldn't help me because I didn't have the name of the pattern. I wander around a bit and come upon this:



I love it. I want it. I bought the pattern and I'm thinking about signing up for the class the shop is offering in August. Do I need another hobby? No. Do I love the idea of a small* fabric stash? Yes. The last time I took a class to try something out, I was convinced that I'd knit one sweater and hate it so much I'd stop. Yeah, 13 years and a couple of designs later...not so much.


*let's just ignore the huge self-deception at work here, okay?

Complicated Life

Yeah, so it's been a while. Life is more and more complicated every day. I keep expecting things to slow down and they haven't...so I must learn to deal with it better.

Long story short, I was accepted into grad school and will start in the fall. Bad news is, I have to take a Calculus class. The last time I darkened the threshold of a math classroom was June 1983. Somehow, I managed to squeak through undergrad without ever having to take a math class. Anyway, I'm in the throes of hiring a tutor and buying books to get me up to speed in Algebra, Trig, and Calculus. Send me your good math karma.

I was at a ceremony on Monday night for Little Big Man. He received High Honors from his Middle School. He kept trying to warn me that "maybe I'll only get Honors mom." I kept telling him that it didn't matter to me Honors/High Honors - I was just glad he was doing so well. When they announced his name and he got up to collect his certificate, several members of his class cheered for him. That meant more to me than the award, honestly. I was really worried that he would have trouble fitting in with these kids who've known each other since kindergarten. I got a little teary, but managed to hide it well. (Why do I never think to bring tissues to these things?)

I'm knitting (a little), not spinning. I just want my summer vacation to start and it almost has. No more ballet, hockey practice, field hockey games...Friday is the last day of dropping off Sassy at school. I'm ready!