Desert Magnolia

Wow. Seriously good movie. Love the young heroine. Hate the manipulative older man. Really can't stand him. The plot isn't a new one, the young impressionable bored brilliant young woman seduced by the shady handsome compelling interesting older man. It's a classic coming of age story done very very well. They did a great job of it. All of them. And the writing was fabulous. Carey Mulligan is an amazing young actress who is clearly destined for greatness. Alfred Molina plays her overbearing father who manages to maintain a charm in spite of his fear for his daughter. IMDB plot summary: A coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age.  This movie is worth seeing, ideally with friends. The wardrobe and hairstyles were classic 60's (I love that era for some reason), and the shoes were fab.u.lous!

Some weeks fly by. They literally begin one moment at Monday morning, and the next thing you know it's Friday afternoon and the week is g.o.n.e. Others are like cranky snails, taking illogical turns, feeling most unproductive, and leaving one rather on the cranky side as well. This has been a cranky snail week for me. I'm really not sure why, but I choose not to over analyze at this point. It's nearly over, and is wheezing out much like it staggered in. My afternoon coping mechanisms will include: a steaming hot cup of java; a Lindt truffle (I know, big guns here as I reserve these for moments when a teeny bit of dark chocolate simply isn't enough, when a rich, creamy, lovely dark chocolate shell around a smooth, bittersweet dark center is all that will do); and a dash up and down the stairs (or a few times, maybe a dozen or so). Cuz some weeks simply don't deserve any more energy than they've consumed along the way, and one must comfort, then fortify,

Last night Hubby and I watched The Men Who Stare at Goats. It reminded me of the style of Brother Where Art Thou, and Clooney did a fine job of playing a soldier in the New Earth Army with paranormal powers. It was fun, it was silly, it was touching and gentle and quirky and wholly enjoyable. We also watched The Informant. So, the idea of corporate corruption and price fixing isn't new; weaving that into a plot where the main character is ridiculously bipolar and seemingly delusional in a sociopathic and rather confusing and terribly annoying way is new to me. I didn't really like it, probably because my cinematic preferences fall into appreciating the absurd more than the overdone (fine line, I know, but there you have it). Matt Damon did a great job of wrangling a bizarre character. He always does a good job, but I simply didn't like the movie much. I'm not sure how we crammed two movies into a week night, other than it's still Hubby's Spring Break and

Spring in New Mexico can bring just about any combination of weather. It often snows unexpectedly, dropping 40 degrees in just a few hours and surprising us all with a big, wet, heavy snowfall. Sometimes it rains, like late last night. Big, fat raindrops falling hard for about a half hour. Our new peach tree out back got a lovely drink, and we're hoping will pull that fresh water up into itself to sweeten the essence of peaches to come. And the wind, well, the wind blows whenever it's not snowing or raining, which is most days. A fine layer of sand tends to settle, a layer full of allergens, so those who suffer (like my family...), have a difficult time avoiding the pollens that tend to bring on the hay fever. Remodels. This one, in spite of the terrible, parenthetical plumbing crisis that occurred right after Hubby and brotherinlaw demolished the bath and before actual reconstruction had begun, is finished. The tile looks amazing. The 4" white, shiny, Subway tile th

So many decisions go into a remodel. Fortunately we made many of them last summer when we decided to remodel the Master Bath first, but buy enough stuff for both baths so when we saved up enough to do the second bath we'd have matching tile and toilet and fixtures and stuff. But the Master doesn't have a tub, and the hall bath does. And we're currently remodeling the hall bath. It's a well known fact that my Hubby puts up with quite a lot of shenanigans from his bride, and usually does so with aplomb and grace. This time he actually initiated said shenanigans (after much thought and I suspect a shot of tequila with my brotherinlaw). I love baths. Love them. They represent all that is relaxing and well and nurturing and calming and warm and soothing in the world (ok not all but a lot ) to me. They're a place to go with a lovely beverage (read martini or glass of wine) and a book and just 'be.' For awhile. Often quite awhile, involving draining cold wate

You don't often see that stuff together, do you? If you're lucky, you never will. See, when in NY, a person sees and hears jackhammers. They're everywhere. Along with trash trucks abusing dumpsters in the wee hours. But jackhammers should NEVER be found in one's living room. Particularly when they're there because a hot water pipe decided to leak. In the middle of the evening. On Friday night. After a looooooooooong day of preparing the house for the hall bath remodel. Hubby and I were watching Up in the Air on Friday night, when all of  a sudden, during a quiet moment in the movie, we heard a sound. Like someone had left the water on outside. But nobody had. Or inside either. There's no terror like that struck by the prospect of yet another plumbing crisis. Our trauma of December still lingers in spite of our attempting to will it away, so when we heard that plumbing sound, we both panicked a bit. Which is no way to spend a Friday night. So we turned