Weblog 322

April 15, 2012~ 12:00 am
Today is BILL'S 9TH BIRTHDAY! We celebrated Saturday evening, and Holly baked a cake with a 'wrestling theme'-- (Bill loves 'WWE Smackdown', and watches every week with his buddies.)



She put two of his little wrestler figures in the ring (though I think one is a ninja...lol) and Bill just grinned and grinned the whole time we were there, anxious and happy and chomping at the bit to open his gifts. There were 'cards with cash'



and boxes to unwrap...



(of course my 'signature style' of wrapping includes a finger-punishing ligature of ribbon, which frustrates even the most determined, till finally scissors are called for. LOL!!) Kay was very sweet, patiently watching the opening of gifts and looking forward to her own party in August.



Looking at these pictures of him, I can see the 'little boy' disappearing from his features and the 'young man face' with more distinct planes already appearing...what a very short time these small ones keep their early, cherubic looks. We blink... and a much more mature look has already stolen in, but with Bill- bless his soul -there's a sweetness that will never be totally lost. Of that, I am certain.



Bill was dismayed because he forgot to make a wish when he blew out the candle... and AGAIN when he cut the cake. "Ah... gees," he said-- looking disgusted. LOL!! Pizza was via 'Domino's'- (and they really have re-vamped their recipes. The crust was FABULOUS, puffy and seasoned with garlic and spices... they really have committed themselves to improved taste.) We had a lovely evening, did our weekly grocery shopping afterward, and even the severe storms they were predicting showed up merely as pleasant spring showers.

Friday evening we watched



and LOVED IT. (That is..... until the DVD caught about 3/4 of the way into the movie and wouldn't budge... the damn DVD player just making a 'click-click-click' sound.) Wayne gave up and went home, but man...... I was so INTO the story, I was DETERMINED to see the rest of it. An hour later, after looking online and trying various 'remedies' like blowing into the disc drawer with a straw to remove dust and dirt, WASHING the DVD and drying it to remove grease or fingerprints.... trying OTHER DVD's I knew could play in my machine- (Friday night, they wouldn't. Not ONE of them... until FINALLY, John Lennon's 'Imagine' worked!) I popped 'The Descendents' back in the player and VOILA! It played right to the end!

Turns out, there are a LOT of complaints about Netflix and these barcode stickers they've been putting on their discs. The damn things render some machines unable to read the discs because of the different thickness due to the stupid stickers. I truly believe that's what made my own disc stick suddenly, with that spinning sound coming from the player and the 'click-click-click'....'I'M STUCK' sound coming from it. NETFLIX...... PLEASE DO NOT PUT STICK-ON LABELS ON YOUR MOVIES!!!! It PISSES PEOPLE OFF to have their evening ruined with a bum disc.

That being said, 'The Descendants' surprised me in every way. I had no prior knowledge of the story, and to have one of the main characters comatose and known ONLY through the eyes of her family was a unique plot twist. George Clooney was terrific, but the young lady playing his older daughter knocked my socks off- she was that good. Totally believable. It's a movie about betrayal, about loss, about finding the depths of love and discovering what we truly value in being alive.



I loved seeing Clooney struggling with his anger, his awareness of all the ways he had failed those he loved, and only after being tested by some of life's thorniest challenges, the depths of commitment of which he was truly capable. I loved this movie. (And I'm GLAD I persisted in wrangling that damn disc to cough up the whole story, not just part of it.) I can be ONE TOUGH COOKIE when it comes to bullying electronic equipment. Thank God in this instance I didn't take a HAMMER to the works or throw it across the room. I've been known to do that as well. That story was well worth the aggravation to see in its entirety. If you've not seen it yet...... RENT IT.




April 19, 2012~ 5:30 pm
It's been a busy week. I've been struggling to get as much work churned out as possible because I've scheduled tomorrow off.... and you know WHAT FOR??.



YEP! Tomorrow Wayne and I will take a bus ride downtown to the City County Building and get our official MARRIAGE LICENSE! (We're a bit more shopworn than the young couple in the Norman Rockwell painting) but I assure you, the devotion and excitement is the same, no matter the age.

Then we'll go back to Wayne's place and take an inventory of what he'll eventually be bringing to this house in the near future. (It'll be a question of 'what will FIT'.... and what I can throw out. LOL!) But I anticipate a lovely day. The weather is supposed to be a balmy 77, slight chance of rain, but I have a handy fold-up umbrella to slip in my purse and a good pair of walking shoes.

Saturday we'll be traveling to 'Slickville, Pa'- (yep... that's the name) --for a day studying the medicine of the Civil War, hearing Civil War music and eating foods of that period. The event is called "Advances In Medicine And Anesthesia - The Role Of The American Civil War" presented by the Herb Society of Historic Saltsburg, music by 'The Yankee Brass'. (I have to say that's right up our alley when it comes to common interests.) My boss is a member of the Herb Society and I was delighted to hear of this event, so we bought our tickets as soon as they were printed.

Should be a terrific weekend. The most important part of it is that we're together enjoying these things.....



and just like this other Rockwell image above, it's all we need. (And perhaps a dog. Or a cat. Or a pot-bellied pig.) :)





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