Last Puzzle Piece

When I received this wedding invitation from friends it inspired me to make them something special for their gift.

Inside: "Please join JR & Kim as they fit the last piece in place..."

That was over two years ago, and I finally got it done, printed, matted, framed and sent to them for Christmas this year. (Don't worry, I did give them another gift back then, too.)

click picture to enlarge

Some of these pictures are significant moments together on their road to matrimony. I think it went over well when JR said Kim just kept staring at it.

Sometimes it's better when I procrastinate.

Update: I failed to take a picture of it all framed up, but I found a tiny pic of the antiqued distressed frame online and so here's a tiny inkling of what it looks like.

See This Film. At Least 'Once'

Netflix. My new BFF.

I never know what is in store for me when that little red envelope arrives in the mail. My queue is so full of movies that I don't bother keeping up with it’s contents anymore. Most of the time it contains something pretty good. Sometimes it’s a real stinker, and "once" in a long, long while it contains a gem that is destined to become part of my permanent collection. Last night, 'once' made it's way into the latter category.

When I first opened my netflix last night, I had no idea how, why or when this movie made it into my queue, but I'm so very glad that it did. Luckily for me, the only thing I knew about it was the little blurb written on the DVD sleeve stating something to the effect of, 'Once' is a "charming musical" about a Dublin busker who meets a girl, and their budding romance is developed through song. I didn't know who Glen Hansard was or the band he was in, The Frames, or that he was in the movie, 'The Commitments. I didn't know anything about Marketa Irglova or the fact that she and Hansard had already won an Oscar last year for their song, "Falling Slowly", from 'Once', or that they have been touring the world together as The Swell Season. I didn’t know anything. But, if I had known, would that have made any difference? Would my expectations be higher or lower for this "little film that could"? Would I have loved it as much as I do? I can’t answer that question. But I can say that this movie will stay with me forever and I feel like a better person for having seen it, experienced it. These artists and the amazingly aching and beautiful music that brought their characters and their stories to life have raised my expectations a little bit higher for all future films I watch. They’ve raised my expectations for myself, too.

Maybe I am a little late to the party in celebration of this movie, it's music and musicians, but at least I finally found it, and in one of my favorite ways...by surprise. Something that doesn't happen very often anymore in this over-saturated media world where we know the beginning, middle and end of a movie before it's even hit theaters.

This is just a simple little story about a guy and a girl, the music between them, and where that music takes them. It illustrates the fact that, for some, it takes that one person in their life to give them the push they need to move forward. I don’t want to give the whole story away, because maybe there is someone else out there who appreciates the wonder of a gently unfolding story. Someone else who will take this movie, it’s music and it’s characters with them, and they, too, will add it to their permanent collection.

Sunday Night Masterpiece

There's no better way to end the weekend than snuggling up on Sunday night with the "new" Masterpiece Classics on PBS. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm a sucker for period dramas. Yes, I even read the books. What can I say? I'm just a girl, after all.

Somehow I missed part two of 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles' last Sunday, so I'm going to have to see if they replay it or catch it somewhere [cough] online. I'll definitely have to read the book, too.

UPDATE: Watched the rest of 'Tess'. Good stuff.

'Wuthering Heights' started last night.

I read 'Wuthering Heights' for the first time last year after wondering what all the fuss was about. Though, I did enjoy it, I couldn't help but think that it would be what we now call a "romance" novel. So, does that mean that today's books boasting paintings of a torn-shirted Fabio on the cover will one day be considered classics, too? Naw, I doubt it. I suppose 'Wuthering Heights' was really "out there" for it's contemporary readers but today, books of it's type are a dime a dozen.

I also just wanted to do a girly thing here and point out that Tom Hardy as Heathcliff, is, um, well...yummy.

Okay, I know there are others like me who love these classics. What say you?

And allow me to leave you with this most wonderful homage to the book, the amazing Kate Bush song "Wuthering Heights":

I'll see you next Sunday, Cathy and Heathcliff.

xoxo

Doodle 1: Let's Eat

My Skull In Lights!

My Skully Christmas Lights have been posted over at Skulladay.com!

Privileged To Vote. Use It Or Lose It.

One of the doctors [in my office] and I have been talking politics since last September when he saw a Ron Paul sticker on my desk.

Yesterday, this doc stopped me in the hall just to tell me he got to vote early. [I guess it's a doctor's privilege to do so because of their crazy hours.] He was very excited about voting and I asked him why he wasn't wearing his "I Voted" sticker. What he told me next just warmed my heart.

He said he put his sticker on an index card, documented the date, signed it, and gave it to his daughters. This was his first time voting in America! I had no idea! You see, he's an ESL (English as Second Language) doc from another country. I was so happy to see his genuine excitement for this special event in his life; something a lot of us take for granted.

I told him he should have kept his sticker long enough to wear to work the next day [today] and he said, "I know! Why don't you get me one tomorrow morning when you go vote."

Let me tell you. I was never so excited to get up early to go vote as I was this morning. I got up extra early (which I HATE to do), placed my vote and got a sticker for myself, the doc and another one for his wife. I placed the two extras on his desk before he came in. Less than 1/2 hour later he showed up in my office doorway with a big smile on his face and thanked me for the stickers. He seems to be walking a little taller now when I see him in the hall.

GO VOTE!!

Past, Present, Future Stories Rock.

I just saw the most amazing, beautiful, stunning movie the other night, "The Fountain" with Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. Any sci-fi/fantasy lover should check it out. I don't know why it didn't get better reviews. I thought the story was very well thought out and Jackman was amazing. I really believed his character. I think I'd never watched it before because I thought it was going to be overly sappy and romantic [Don't get me wrong, I'm all about romance movies, just not too cheesy] but it proved me wrong. Great stuff. See it.

ETA: Oh, and I am one of those geeks who loves, loves, loves the "special features" on DVD's. I love all the behind the scenes clips and seeing how movies are made. Sometimes, I like that stuff better than the movie. This one has a great "making of" from the first time the movie had to shut down filming in Australia to where they started over in Montreal. Also, they used good old fashioned special FX for budget reasons, and I think it made it that much more amazing to me. For some reason Darren Aronofsky, the director, wasn't allowed to add a commentary track to the DVD, so he recorded one on his own and it can be downloaded here.

Saying Goodbye To Your First....Car.

When I bought a new car a couple years ago, I didn't have the heart to sell my first one, a 1990 Honda Civic Station Wagon. [It really was the best, most reliable and fun car to drive, with tons of room to haul stuff around.] SO! I did the next best thing. To keep it in the family, I gave it to my parents to tool around town. And you know what? They loved it, too!

Way back in 1993, when I was looking for a first car, my Mom saw an ad for this car in the paper. She wasn't sure if I would think a station wagon would be cool enough for me, but who was she kiddin'? I'm all about practicality over pretty. So, when we first brought that baby home [with my Mom's co-signature on the loan], my Dad dubbed it "The Rollerskate" and it's been like a pet ever since.

Before giving it to the folks, I had driven that car all over the place, up and down the East Coast, through snow storms and up the mountains. It really served me well, and I was happy to see it find a home with my parents, who I knew loved it as much as I did. I'm pretty sure my Dad even got it past (or near) the 200,000 mile mark.

So, it was with a heavy heart a couple months ago that my parents told me The Rollerskate had to be "put down". It didn't pass it's last inspection and the cost of the repairs and it's general upkeep was just getting to be too much. I was heartbroken.

We fretted for a couple weeks over what to do with it when I decided we should donate it to a good cause. I told the folks I wanted it to go to Eggleston Services, an organization that educates, trains and finds employment for individuals with disabilities.

It's always difficult to say goodbye and I wasn't there when they came to take him away, so, my folks took the above pic for me. May our little Rollerskate rest in peace.

The Trouble With Revision. Trouble is right.

Okay, after posting my first blog ever, I've already come back to revise it several times. How in the world do people do this? How can you ever feel it's complete? How do you keep from editing over and over again? Because, really, it can always be better than it is.

See, this is the thing. I'm pretty much one of about a bagillion lazy people in this world. I have great ideas rolling around in my head and I need to get them out of there and make room for new ones. I was hoping this blog would help but right now it's just keeping me from doing other work. Like that appliqued monkey I'm supposed to be finishing up.

Oy. We'll see.

Going Back

In honor of my first blog, I'd like to go back a couple years....okay 20 years to be exact. I was a senior in high school. I really loved Star Trek and shamelessly pilfered from it for a Creative Writing contest. This is probably the first thing I ever won, or came close to winning. I can't remember if I won 1st or 2nd place, but really, does it matter now? Well, I guess it would to my best friend, who also won either 1st or 2nd place. Either way, we were both winners. So, here it is, my 1st or 2nd place winning entry:

"The Trouble With Revision"

Revision....The Final Draft. These are the voyages of the deadline-meeting writer. Their continuing mission...to relocate blocks of text....to seek out strange new grammar habits...to boldly correct where no man has corrected before.

Writer's Log: Stardate 1:21:1988, I seem to have stumbled upon a sentence that doesn't fit into the rest of the text. Should I abort the mission and surrender to the enemy? No! I'll use parentheses to remind myself to put the sentence in its proper location later on.

Meanwhile, on the paper's surface...punctuation in the wrong place, no capitalization. Damn it Chief! I'm a writer, not a Starship Captain! I can't just set my pencil on stun and expect my misspelled words to disappear. Please think logically sir. When the final paper is ready, I'll transport it up to you and you can judge for yourself.

There we have it. Another voyage of revision completed. Warp 10 Sulu. Get us out of here...and fast.