2010 Quotes - February

February
"Well, it's rainin' again, rainin' again
Roll up your window, honey, it's rainin' again

It's dark in the sky, dark in the sky
Makes me feel funny, honey,
It's dark in the sky

~Tom Petty~

Death of Daewoo

Years ago (and I DO mean years - quite a few of them) Scott gave me a little 13" television - a "Daewoo" for me to use when I was getting ready for work.

It ran every morning for years and years - working great - doing its job - and reminding me of Scott - every morning.

Several months ago (okay... maybe a year ago), some of the color dropped off the television screen (something about the color guns - not my area) and almost everything was red.  There were red people - red trees - even red snow.  I hung tough with it, though.  After all, Scott gave it to me.

Most of the time it was fine for everything to be red.  Sometimes, though, it was a little disconcerting - like when I turned the TV on to iron or clean - or do something else in that room and attempted to watch something other than the morning news. 

"You really do need to open up to color" Stacy would tell the women on "What Not To Wear".  And on my TV they did - but everyone chose red - for every piece of clothing - for every purse - for every pair of shoes.  I understand that red is a color, but what about not getting too "matchy matchy"?  Helllloooooo!

So, I 'd switch to HGTV in time to see a man and woman enter a living room. 
"How do you like the new wall color?" the host would ask.
"LOVE the color" the woman would reply.  "I never dreamed I'd love gold on the walls, but I do!"

GOLD????  I don't think so.  The walls are RED, darlin'!

R E D

And so is the sofa - and so are the drapes - and the carpet - and the chairs - and - and - and...

Oh wait!  It's the TV!  Riiiiiiight!  I've gotten so used to it that sometimes i forget.

But... Scott gave it to me, so red would just have to do.  I would not throw out something that Scott gave to me.

So... last night Richard came over with a 13" TV that they were no longer using at their house.  He set up the new one and unplugged my little Daewoo and dragged it by it's little chord - kicking and screaming (I heard it - really) down the driveway to the waiting trash receptacle.

I mean, he REALLY dragged it... scraping down the driveway face down - bouncing in the snow - dragged it. 

I don't want to sound ungrateful.  I LOVED seeing flesh colored people this morning - not wearing red.   And it was so generous of Richard and Julie to give me the replacement TV.  I think Richard knew that I would never get rid of Daewoo on my own, so he did me a favor and got rid of it for me.

This is all that's left of little Daewoo...

At least I still have the microwave that Scott gave me.  It got blitzed in a thunder and lightning storm a few years ago when the electric flashed off and then back on and it hasn't displayed numbers on the timer display since then, but if you're careful when you press the numbers on the number pad, you can still use it without the display (or the alarm that tells you when the timer has run out). Trivial details.

And besides... Scott gave it to me.

First Haircut!

Kate had her first haircut this past weekend!  Her Shirley Temple curls were getting long... long... long!

Crystal volunteered at Kate's 3rd birthday party, to give Kate a trim.  (Crystal can do just about anything she decides to do). 

Julie, Richard and Kate stopped at Scott and Crystal's house this weekend for the big event!  Crystal had her scissors ready.

Richard said that Kate was really well behaved (as always). I'm sure it helps that she loves her Aunt Crystal! 

Crystal did a GREAT job, as you can see from the picture below - and Julie has the remnants of Kate's first haircut for her baby book.  I think that's what's referred to as a win-win-win situation.  :)

Beautiful, beautiful Kate!  (Nice job, Crystal!)

What is it?????

Okay... I'm looking for help with this one.  Below is a picture of a... hmmm... thing that I bought at an antique shop nine or ten years ago.  I use it to hold business cards, but I have NO idea what it is.  Do you?  I'd appreciate any and all help on this one!!

The "blue thing" is 3 1/4" wide, 1 5/8" deep and it stands 2 3/4" high.  It's heavy like milkglass.  There were several colors, I think,  but the blue stood out for me.  I'd love to know what it actually is and how it was originally used.

Any ideas, anyone?

Valentine's Day

The movie... not the day.

We went to see Valentine's Day. We got more than we expected.  I'd give it 4 Go's!

While trying to decide what to see, Michael said, "If Julia Roberts is in it, we can't go wrong".  I agreed so that was our scientific and extremely thorough method of picking the movie to go see.

Surprisingly, Julia Roberts wasn't in it very much.  Scott told me that he heard that she made over $200,000 a minute for the time she was on screen.  (Good thing she didn't work for the state, she would have only gotten $194,500 a minute - that 2.75% decrease in pay we got, you know?).  ANYWAY, she's Julia Roberts and she's always a treat to see, but she was just a tiny part. 

We hadn't heard all the hype about the movie - didn't know that everyone in the world (ok.. that's figurative. You know that. Don't hassle me!) was in that movie.

We thought the movie was a little slow, but it was so much fun everytime someone else we knew came on screen that we forgot it was a little slow (except for the times that Michael dozed off). 

I have never been a Taylor Swift fan, but after this movie? Sign me up.  In my opinion, she stole the movie.  When she danced in her track suit, I almost fell out of my seat, laughing (in the handicapped section - which could have really caused a disturbance). 

Ashton Kutcher?  I want to think that IS Ashton Kutcher - that he played himself (leave me alone with my pollyanna fantasies, thank you).  And Anne Hathaway???  Hysterical. 

Every time the scene changed, we laughed again.  If you don't already know everyone who's in the movie, don't bother finding out. Just enjoy the ride!


You really have to see this one!  If there was more of a story, rather than feeling like connected vignettes, I would probably have given it 5 Go's. (or maybe if I see it again, I'll change my mind and bump it up)

Go! You won't be sorry!

Dear John

I KNOW!  3 Go's!  I mean... really... it's Nicholas Sparks.  It was good.  It really was, but I dunno, it wasn't "The Notebook" - for sure.

There were two couples sitting behind me that were teen-like (I mean, I didn't ask them their ages, but they looked young [but then who doesn't] and school WAS off for President's Day.)

ANYWAY... both of the girls were crying loud enough to hear. So either they were really into the movie or they were being tortured silently. (I'm voting for "into" the movie) Everyone I talked to who saw it said that they cried and cried.  I didn't.

I'm capable (I think).  But this one didn't do it for me.  ALTHOUGH... I was most impressed with Channing Tatum (that's old lady for "he's hot"!!!!).  I've never been a huge fan of Amanda Seyfried (except in Mama Mia) - even though she's almost a local girl.  (Which counts for a lot with me. I'm a "home team" kinda gal).

Someone told the that the book was much different than the movie which means that my next BOMC2 (Book of the Month Club 2) purchase will be "Dear John".

It was okay. I'd say... go see it.  You may like it better than I did.  After all, it IS Nicholas Sparks.

Cardinals and Violets

"As surely as cometh the winter, I know
There are spring violets under the snow"
R. H. Newell

Sitting here yesterday afternoon, looking out at the snow, I saw a bright, beautiful cardinal in one of the fallen branches behind my house. It reminded me of my grandmother - my mother's mother - Gramma Jo.  Seeing a cardinal on a cold winter day always prompted a phone call to her. 

"Hi, Gram!  I saw a cardinal this afternoon and it reminded me of you."

I have a box that belonged to her - a small silver-colored box with a white ceramic lid - two deep red cardinals on top.  I keep it on my dresser and it reminds me of Gram. 

Gram loved cardinals - and violets - and the promise of spring.

There are so many things that remind me of her.  I don't know that anyone other than Grand-daddy Mechling had such an influence in my life.

When my mother was most angry with me she would tell me that I was JUST like my grandmother.  She couldn't have said anything nicer.  :)