A Trip to the Movies and Other Pleasures

Hello, dear friends,
Today is my day off, and, since my girls are on vacation, it also happens to be the first day in a long time that we can spend together... So, we decided to go to the movies - to see "Wonder Woman." (Well, I decided, and they agreed to come, but that is a small detail...)
What a treat that movie was - with the inspiring story, great cast, and even - visual effects. I am not usually one to fall for technologically enhanced explosions, but 3-D views of the Sacred Island that the "Wonder Woman" Diana is from made me feel like was walking right alongside her. I was afraid that the story was going to focus on the romantic relationship (Amazon princess + American "pauper"), but, again, I was pleasantly surprised, for the "love line, " while present, did not overshadow the message of the story, and a healthy dose of humor prevented it from becoming soppy. Well, the message of the story was about love, but the view of it was definitely more realistic than I am used to seeing in the movies: a mother's love for her daughter is often mingled with fear; the love of Diana and Steve is not so much a "hot and passionate affair," but a connection of two people who are both on a mission, are very different from each other, and try to learn about each other as much as possible in a very short time, while also working on their - not quite common - goals. Diana, a woman from a different world, constantly challenges the notions of "our" society about women, leadership, and power. Finally, in her search for the villain, she discovers that evil does not necessarily look it, or, at least, not at all the way she expected. At some point, it even looked like the "hero" and the "villain" could reach an agreement, for all they had was a difference of opinion, really... (I said afterwards that, being a "sucker" for intelligent argument, I would have probably given in... to which my daughter responded, "Mom, it is a good thing for humankind that you are not a Wonder Woman.") Indeed, it is.

In other news... I treated myself to a gift recently. After a little over a year of hard work, my family is with me again; my daughters and I are reunited. During the time apart, I have learned to enjoy the simple things in life and get along without so-called "necessities," such as a car, a computer, or a DVD player. After things started getting to the point that we, as a family, agreed on as "normal," I gave myself a reward... I thought of it as a combination birthday, Christmas, and Mother's Day present....

A Simpson's House Lego set.

The "Open" view of the model - with all the details inside.

It took me about five days to put it together (not counting the breaks in between - for work, stitching, housework and life), and when the time came to connect the garage to the house (yes, it connects, so that the house can "close" and look like a regular two-story box with a garage attachment), something went wrong - and... the walls collapsed on both the garage and the house side. I cried "Nooo!" and left it to sit alone for a few days, commenting that the house turned out to be "not prepared for the earthquake". Then, after calming down sufficiently, on my following day off I sat down and devoted the morning to rebuilding the disaster. It worked - as it should have. But, to save myself the aggravation, I decided to leave the garage detached - and the model open... It is more fun to look at the details anyway rather than stare at the closed "house" box...

Inside the garage. Loved the miniature tools and broom.
The cabinet door opens.

Lisa and Maggie...

Lisa's room has a vanity and a camera...

On the wall, there are pictures of Grandpa and Maggie..

Bart's room has personality, with the poster and the comic book.

Finally, a few little details...

Ned Flanders doing the BBQ.. 

A mailbox - complete with the letter!
I loved putting it together, along with Lisa's camera, the BBQ pit, and the kitchen cabinets...

How did it end up at Homer's???

Marge with the vacuum cleaner... 

I know that to some people it may seem like I am being childish. So many things to take care of, so many serious problems, issues, worries - and here I am, playing with the... dollhouse. To these people, I would say - I have been taking care of things all my adult life, and at times I feel that I need a break. This is simply a self-care kit of sorts. I loved working on it... and that is all that matters.

Until next time,

Stitching, Watching and Reading

Hello, my dear friends! Once again, it has been a while - three months since I posted last... Thank you for not giving up on me.
What has happened in those months? First of all - lots of stitching (of course)... Since January, I have been working on a Christmas Stocking - yes, another one - and yesterday night, late - very late - I put in the last stitch! To celebrate the completion, I had a glass of champagne  cup of sparkling cider...

"Toys and Games" Stocking

Here it is - all ready and made.... I enjoyed working on it - so many details, so many French Knots! 

Jack in the Box and Teddy

I have never in my life seen a real Jack in the Box. The closest thing to it might be the one in the episode of "Twilight Zone", when the monster boy turns his neighbor into a Jack in the Box toy and sends him into the corn field. Hmmm, I am getting a bit morbid here, aren't I? 

While working on this project, I have seen a couple of shows, and I also discovered for myself books on tape. Well, to be precise, I discovered them a while ago - on the shelves of a local Barnes and Noble store... Then I also discovered their prices - and realized I would have to take out a loan to have an audio library I would want. But where is a will, there is a way... Long story short, our local library happened to have quite a few audio books on CDs. I checked out "Kiss Me Like a Stranger" by Gene Wilder - best... listen I have ever had in a long time - while also stitching. Now my goal is to listen to "Notes on a Scandal" by Zoe Heller.... 

What was I talking about? Ah, yes, shows... One of the shows I watched this year was "American Horror Story". Amazing actors (Kathy Bates as a Southern slave owner, Jessica Lange - evil power hungry woman), good script... The only down side - for me - was that I often ended up staring at the screen with my mouth open - instead of stitching.

Another good show I discovered was "Once Upon a Time" - fairy tale characters "stuck" in our world by the enchantment of the evil queen... Only, with time we learn that the queen is not so evil - just miserable... Little Red Riding Hood - not so little any more, and required to wear the red cape to avoid turning into a blood thirsty monster.. And in the middle of all - Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin. Could it get any better?

In conclusion, I want to share the results of my experiment. I have got the idea from Laura - my long distance friend and a talented stitcher - when she published a video/slide show of her stitching progress on a project, from beginning to end. So, that got me interested. I asked my DH to help with the Movie Maker program, he obliged - and... voila!

Now that this project is finished, I will have to find a new one... I think I will work on a family sampler, it has been calling my name for a while now...

Thank you for reading my ramblings! 

Alice in Wonderland

Last week we went to see the new "Alice in Wonderland" movie. It was more impressive than I expected, - good actors, great voices, and timely special effects. While Joe was admiring the Mad Hatter's costume, I enjoyed the characters' voices. I was especially impressed with Epsilon the Catepillar - Alan Rickman: "I can't help you - you don't even know who you are, stupid girl." Stephen Fry as the Chashire Cat was especially charming. The Mad Hatter's character has more depth than the original story - it explores all the meanings of the word "mad". Every character in this movie is shown from a new, often unexpected, angle, giving each character and the whole story additional depth and meaning.
My favorite lines from the movie are....
"It's the wrong Alice! He brought the wrong Alice!"
" You are not Epsilon; I am Epsilon."

I have seen a few reviews of the movie; some complain that it does not bring the magical crazy world of Lewis Carroll, that it is nothing like the book, and that it is "too logical." I have read Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, and this movie reminded me of the books, of how I felt when I read it as a child. There was a sense of danger, a sense of maddening nonsense and crazy logic. I never had that feeling when watching the classical Disney cartoon - that was just a cleaned up, pretty story, as far as I am concerned. This movie is different: it shows real connections between real life's problems and the Underland, inviting to make real choices - the ones that will affect you everywhere, in "the other world" and this one.

Anyway, I guess I am starting to ramble again. My Celtic Lady's calling - time to stitch!
Let me know what you think when you see the movie.