3:10 to Yuma

I finally saw 3:10 to Yuma! (refer to More about movies below) I flew to Winnipeg to visit Hubby on Friday. Air Canada has a great entertainment system that allows every customer to watch exactly what she wants on her own private screen. I was sitting in the middle seat right behind Business Class, so my screen was hidden in the arm of my chair, not on the back of the seat in front of me. The stewardess had to help me find my screen, so I got started on the movie a little bit late.

I watched 2/3 of the movie on the way to Winnipeg and the last 1/3 on the way home. Oh my, how I love westerns! I haven't been a particular fan of Russell Crowe before now, but he sure is a bit hubba-hubba in 3:10!

I like movies!

I like movies! I don't go out a lot to see movies in the theatre, but I do watch them on Hubby's super cable pacakage at home.

Movies I've seen lately:

You've Got Mail - I've probably watched this movie about 20 times. I used to own a VHS copy. For me, it's a girlie romantic movie I can 'watch' while I clean or bake. Last night it was on one of the super cable channels. I'd forgotten how romantic it is. I even cried a little at the end.

Terms of Endearment - Complete tear jerker. A full box of kleenex tear jerker. Also watched on the super cable. I love it.

Miss Potter - Surprisingly a sweet and inspiring movie. Also a bit of a tear jerker because of the twist of fate that Beatrix experiences.

New Waterford Girl - Love this Canadian movie! I stayed home in my pjs on Monday and watched this instead of going out to a weekly gathering. I found out afterward that there was a birthday cake and gift waiting for me at the gathering - oops!

Margot at the Wedding - I saw this at Canada Square. Nicole Kidman, Jack Black (LOVE Jack!), and Jennifer Jason Leigh. The story is so well written, acted, and so completely twisted that it made me uncomfortable. Great movie, but I don't think I could watch it again. Other movies I hold in this category: Seven and Boys Don't Cry.

No Country For Old Men - I can't say enough about the Coen bros! Love 'em! I saw this with Hubby in Winnipeg recently.

American Gangster - I liked it, but I don't think I would see it again. I also saw this with Hubby on an earlier trip to The Peg.

I'm looking forward to watching more over the holidays. Any suggestions?

KR was right & other updates

My friend, KR, told me weeks ago that the only way to really get your boxes unpacked after a move is to set a date for a party. I've been beating myself up for the never-ending mess in the house: boxes, tools, clothing not put away, baseboards missing. The list goes on and on. I've struggled with feeling incredibly lazy and just trying to keep up with our regular life - eating, laundry, making a lunch for work.

My nephews are coming to stay with us on the first weekend in June. I want them to have a room to sleep in. Finally I have a deadline to get that second bedroom organized. I made a really good dent in it this weekend. I think I got rid of about 7 more boxes. I can probably do three more before we eat dinner.

KR was right; you need a deadline to force yourself to face the boxes.

I'm already feeling a lot better about the house than I did last week. It gets depressing living in clutter and disorganization. I just have to keep doing a little bit every chance I get.

Other updates:

I'm making good progress on a secret crochet project. I can't tell you anymore than that, hence the name 'secret crochet project'.

I'm almost done with the purse kit that Haley 'donated' to my crochet cause. Once all the crochet is done Haley will finish it up with a bit of sewing that I don't have the patience for. I think the finished project will be really nice.

I've picked out 5 skeins of Berry Red Cotton Fleece to make a camisole/T-shirt for myself. I'll start this once the secret project is done. It's going to look great!

I went to a very sexy wedding reception on the weekend at The Sultan's Tent on Front Street. The food and wine were fantastic! The decor is beautiful, red, golds, and dark wood (set up as Moroccan tents). The belly dancing was the sexiest wedding entertainment I've ever seen! It was really very nice.

Fate:

Hubby and I have been together for over four years now. In all those years. We have not had one summer vacation together. His work tends to pick up right around March or April and is going strong by June, July and August. I need to take a summer vacation every year to cope with burn out symptoms.

This year Hubby started a gig in April and told me that there would be a hiatus in June. My vacation was booked for the last two weeks of June; the hiatus, of course, was scheduled for the first two weeks. I was actually successful in getting one of my weeks rescheduled so that Hubby and I could take a week together. I made him promise to get out of town with me for a night or two. I even started researching some road trip ideas.

Happily, a week or so ago, Hubby found out that his television project is going to make it to camera! He gave notice at his job and started to have meetings about his own project. It only took me a couple of days to figure out that our vacation plans were mostly down the toilet. It seems like Hubby will actually be in Winnipeg the week that we planned to go on a little road trip.

Fate is against us. Shall I go to Winnipeg? Shall I crash the business trip, be the tag-along wife? I have mixed feelings. I can hang with Hubby's sister, whom I like very much. I'll get to go to my favourite breakfast joint The Falafel Place on Corydon Avenue and my favourite steak house Rae and Jerry's (50s flashback extraordinaire). The major problem would be the 'industry talk'. I am not exaggerating when I say that the industry talk will likely be 24-7. There's only so much a girl can take.

(If you are ever in Winnipeg, you MUST get to Rae and Jerry's. The waitresses still wear red polyester dresses and serve tomato juice in a glass on a saucer. The decor is new, but reminiscent of the original - wood paneling and red vinyl, with carpet throughout.)

A little more inspired today

My friend sent me a link to this cool retro foodie blog. I like it. There are quite a few references to Jell-O and cake mixes. Now, I don't cook or bake that way, but I dig most things retro and I like the way Jell-O mold desserts and salads look. I sometimes even like the way they taste. I understand, from Hubby, that this is a goy thing.

From retro-food.com I found my way to a reluctant housewife's archived list for shopping. (See my previous post with a tidbit about my list habit). Her blog has a lot of things to peruse. I love these pictures of herbs and flowers at her Farmers' Market - gorgeous!

I like to bake and make other homemade goodies. I make salsa, jams, amaretto cherries, scones, cakes (from scratch), banana bread, granola, tamari almonds and various cookies. I get a little thrill from spreading my homemade joys around. When I bake I always set aside enough to share. Sometimes our neighbour is the happy recipient. The gals at work often luck out on Mondays, after an inspired Sunday afternoon in the kitchen.

Here's a picture from a Farmers' Market in Winnipeg. I wish now I had captured one of the stalls with little bunches of beautiful fall flowers.

I did this!

So, I have finally started blogging! And, I set this up all by myself - no help from hubby! I even figured out how to edit the html so that I can move my photos and text around! I am impressed with myself. Marvin will likely say, "Of course you set this up on your own. It's easy." I rely on him for all the computer techie sort of things around here. He does a good job, but this also keeps me ignorant and feeling dependent on him. I have s-s-s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d myself tonight. Feels good!

What nudged me to blog? More and more of the super cool women (and one man) I know have blogs and I really dig reading theirs'. Check these out: Kathryn Rose, Mezzodiva, H-Star, Sharron Matthews and Denis McGrath.

Things I am doing in my life these days: grammar course for editors (love it!); thank you cards for Winnipeg family and friends; Amercian Sign Language course on numbers and classifiers (I can make big rain and car races now and discuss finances); crocheting shopping bags and a hemp box; catching up on Weeds and Brotherhood (hot, hot, hot shows!); enjoying the water circuit at Body Blitz (sorry, guys, this is for us girls only!); slowly reading The Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka (a lovely, lovely wedding gift from Gregor, Jo & wee Ellie).

(Wow! There are a lot of brackets in the last paragraph! A lot! I started the editing course just recently, so give me a break!)

Pot luck lunch on Monday at work. What to make... one of my famous cakes, or perhaps a yummy salad from Epicurious.com? I love this salad with prunes and fried shallots.

Check out these photos from a recent trip to Winnipeg.

Got to love the parties with your very own chip truck at the end of the drive! Very cool!


A sustainable living community that we stumbled upon. To the left of this, across a path, was a BEAUTIFUL garden which my pictures do not do justice.


This is a straw bale greenhouse in the making. The community will be able to grow food year round - in Winnipeg!