My new addiction

I have discovered Tetris. Bill and I always bicker when we travel because his driving bothers me (if I drive, we bicker, also, because my driving bothers him). So I went to Wal-Mart and got a recommendation from a kid to try Tetris.

It works like a charm. I sit with my nose glued to the game and never notice when he drives off the road. He won't play it when I drive though. Probably too hard for him.

But, you guys, I think I'm getting pretty good at it. Like I can get up to six without even trying. I've never made it past nine, but at first I never got past zero.

My grandson says he's been to 30, but I think he's fibbing. Imagine fibbing to your own grandma so she won't know she's better than you.

I take it everywhere and I'm like a snotty teenager, ignoring everyone and playing my game. It's wonderful to watch TV with because I can't just sit and watch TV.

Well, I like technology.

You cannot get a man to say another man is cute. Mostly.

I had the coolest talk with Daniel Bartholomew today, it's fun to "meet" people you've met on the blog. Let me see, I've met Heather Pitts and Sarebear in real life, and talked to two Lisas on the phone. FMH Lisa and Lisa's Rambling Lisa. Awesome.

But this is funny. to me. Daniel and I discussed a mutual acquaintance on the blog, a guy, and I asked, "what did he look like?" He said, "tall."

I said, "is he cute?"

He wouldn't answer. I laughed and said "woman totally notice if another woman is beautiful. If a woman goes up and bears fervent testimony, we will notice her clothes and hair."

Bill won't tell me if another man is cute, either. He literally can't describe another man except in terms of height. Sometimes weight--skinny or chubby, that's it.

I will say, "give me a break, he was standing right in front of you. You can't tell if he's homely or good-looking?"

"My mind doesn't work that way."

That's what Daniel said, too. Yeah, right. Go, girls.

Movie Reviews

Bill and I have gone over to Netflix. I quite enjoy it because I hate shopping and being in a video store makes my brain numb.

I've seen some good ones lately.
I thought I would become Roger Ebert. If John Mellencamp can do it, so can I.

The Painted Veil - The best movie I've seen in a long time, also the saddest. I can't remember anybody's name, but a good man (Edward Norton) falls in love with a rather vacuous, although lovely (Naomi Watts). They live in China and the photography alone makes this movie worth watching. Or maybe somewhere in Asia.

I don't want to spoil it, but this is a very good movie.

Venus - They use the F word all the time, perhaps there's other cussing. Peter O'Toole's performance redeems everything objectionable in this movie. I think everyone acts well, but Peter O'Toole, he's hot at 87. This is such a sweet movie. Although I haven't seen the end yet, so if it ends badly, not my bad.

DreamGirls - I don't think you really can sue somebody for telling your life story or even an event from your life, if it's public, but if you can, Diana Ross and Barry Gordy have a case. This is blatant Supremes. DreamGirls tells it like the Diana Ross person (Deena, I think) didn't have near as much talent as the (Mary Wilson?) person.

I actually think Beyonce Knowles was pretty good in this, not Oscar good, but pretty good. Eddie Murphy was good, I heard he sang his own songs, and he did well. The music was enjoyable, but didn't rise to the level of my two top soundtracks: The Big Chill and Phenomenon. This movie was okay, not over-done with the musical numbers and I thought the ending was sweet.

Little Children - Well, I thought this movie was something else entirely and I recommend against it. Way sex, way. Naked bodies. Adultery, perversion. Skip it.
Although, the ending was actually the best part of the movie, because the guy who'd persecuted the sex offender, to the point of causing his mother to die of a heart attack, shows genuine remorse and apologizes and it does end with hope.

Well, I know it was awful, but I wanted to see how it ended, thus I fast forwarded quite a bit.

Catch and Release - This movie was so much better than the reviews led me to believe it would be, Jennifer Garner is really a wonderful person and I guess that's what comes out in her acting. Although, it could be acting.

Diane Keaton has made these quasi-comedies and there have been several others that promise to be funny and they're not funny or entertaining, so I was prepared to be disappointed. But this movie was just right in so many ways, sweet, funny, profound, lovely.

The fat guy, I'd go out with him if I were 25 years younger. I liked him the best of all the guys in the movie. I just enjoyed his personality.

That's it for now! Next, I'm getting The Office, Season 1, The Good German and Letters From Iwo Jima. Bill always gets two and I get one because all present evidence to the contrary, I don't watch movies that much LOL.

Would anybody recommend The Woodsman? I rented The Departed and Bill sent it back before I could even watch it and Sarah told me not to, although my hairdresser loved it. Bill knows me though, excessive violence bothers.

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This n That, playing with picture card :)

Princess Buttgold has turned 21. She's officially an adult. Her sister is taking her out "clubbing and dancing" tonight, which makes me nervous. But not too. Sarah is a good kid. I laughed and asked her husband if he was okay was that and he said, "I trust Sarah." She celebrated her birthday with our little granddaughter, Rhiannon, aka "Beannie."

Her mother started calling her "the bean" when she was a newborn because she was so tiny and skinny and long. Now everyone calls her Beannie. She has this mass of curly hair but some bald spots so for her birthday we gave her a blue wig. She was in heaven. Beannie is a little snot, she's very busy and stubborn--she's so our relative :). We celebrated her third birthday and Sarah's the same day. We spoiled her rotten and we were all exhausted when her dad finally took her home.

AND, Rowan graduated kindergarten! She had her final dance review, Maddie's voice review is next week and Max is done with the Scout-a-Rama. The last week has been so peaceful at my house.

When Sarah graduated from pre-school, they wore caps and gowns, no lie. Rowan's teacher scaled it down a bit and it was pleasant and short.

And the only thing I can think of is how peaceful my life is going to be with no lessons to truck kids to.

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Home Sweet Home

I've been in St. George for the last couple days, dentist and doctor visits and the like. I enjoy the get-aways by myself. I always stay in the same modest clean little motel and I feel sort of free being all by myself. I give myself permission to wander, to window shop and relax.

Although St. George isn't very relaxing this time of the year--it's so hot! It was sure nice to come home to this homey little house after two days of navigating the traffic and enduring the heat. It's always nice to come home.

We have a small family room downstairs, but we seldom use it anymore. This is our "front room." There's a small antique (but working) wood stove in the corner. It's a cozy room with lots of fishing pictures. I call it Bill's room, because I wanted him to have a place to be comfortable in and I can be near him.

My office is always cluttery--I would like to say I know where everything is, but I frequently lose things and forget what I'm doing. Bill has a shop out back with a full size fridge (kept stocked with his favorites), a work bench, a TV hooked up to satellite, and all his fly tying stuff. It's very neat and organized.

Don't tell Julie I poached her idea :). I'm figuring out my digital camera and the stuff you can do with it.

School is almost out, Thank God

My former, much maligned, sometimes unfairly--by me, daughter-in-law moved back to Cedar City last summer. She flies by the seat of her pants, everything is at a high drama level and the resulting chaos and messiness drive me crazy. She's a sweet mama, though, and she loves the kids. I started out the year by volunteering in kindergarten (Rowan) and 2nd grade (Max), and trucking the kids every Wednesday to their lessons.

My Wednesdays went like this:

1:30 Drive 2 miles north to pick up the younger kids at school (Rowan always shouts "I knew you'd come!")

1:30-2 pm Drive 4 miles south to Maverik for a very important part of our day, treats at Maverik. I started out spending $20 a shot, but we're down now to a thrifty $2.50, $1.25 per kid and they are serious about their choices.

2:30 pm Drive 2 more miles south to pick up Madison at middle school, take her for her treats, while Rowan and Max sit in the car and argue politics. Rowan never shuts up and Max can't resist arguing with everything she says.

3 pm Drive 2 yet more miles into the center of town to drop Max off to karate, he usually changed in the car.

3-3:45 Drive 7 miles home home, listen to Rowan read, and discuss politics with her while Maddie eats all the doritos and watches TV and surfs the web.

4 pm Drive back into town (4 miles) to drop Maddie off for voice.

4-4:30 pm Run errands, then wait in the car outside Maddie's voice lesson till 4:30

4:30 Drive 4 miles back to my house to drop Maddie off to veg, eat and watch TV (we have satellite, and the internet, they don't, she's 12--guess why she likes to come to my house)

5 pm Drive 5 miles back out to Enoch to drop Rowan off to dance, she changes in the car

5:15 pm Drive 7 miles back into town to pick Max up from karate

6 pm Drive 5 miles back to dance to pick up Rowan

Sometimes I have dinner on in a crockpot, sometimes I take them for a hamburger before taking them home.

But you young mothers, I have so much respect for you. This is one huge reason I'm exhausted and have much less time to blog.

Come June, lessons will end, recitals will be over and I won't be trucking kids. I paid for their lessons and I knew they wouldn't make them unless I took them. I resent this a little, only because when I have to drive them, etc. and have them all the same day, I don't enjoy them. I don't get to rest with them, read with them.

But they know me. They feel totally comfortable and welcome in my house. I have become what my grandma was, a port in the storm, because although their mother is sweet and loving, their home life is so chaotic and my stepson so unpredictable, going between abuse and kindness, these children need some stability, something they can count on to always be the same.

And you know, it's worth it every time Max looks up from his schoolwork, sees me waiting in the hall and the kids say ("Max, it's your grandma!") and he gives me that shy smile, trying not to look excited. And Rowie runs up to me in the middle of the story her teacher is reading and throws her arms around me and says "I knew you'd come." I knew you'd come. Please, God, let me have the strength to always be there for these children.

And thank you for June and the end of school.