Harmony, Twilight, and Turkey!

When you have five remotes, and each performs an essential task, it’s just a matter of time before  you try to find a remote for everything. I was that person until today. I was very hopeful but braced for partial success as I unwrapped a Black Friday deal on a Logitech Harmony remote. It wasn’t that difficult to program, and after a little while of learning to navigate it, I have found that yes, it does everything that five remotes were doing. I am one very happy entertainment center enjoying person. So awesome!

Also awesome, my favorite sparkly vampire flick exceeded my expectations. I went to see Breaking Dawn part II. I think it out performed the last one. It was really satisfying and heart warming. The battles, drama, humor, and twists and turns were all exceptionally well done. So Twilight fans, go, enjoy, love. Lots of love in this one. No spoilers here, but it was really good! 😀

Just finished my last Zumba class before Thanksgiving and bought The Nutcracker tickets for me and a friend. For me, it just isn’t the holidays without The Nutcracker. So we’ll dress in our finery, dine, and enjoy The Nutcracker as is my Christmas tradition.

I am cooking a fine turkey this Thanksgiving with my usual most awesome stuffing that began as my grandmother’s recipe and has evolved over time. Things that I have added to her three bread recipe are Jimmy Dean’s sage sausage (cooked) and chicken stock. These two ingredients will rock your stuffing. I cook it just about the entire time in a good roaster pan. Other ingredients that I like to include are walnuts, dehydrated cranberries, apples, and boiled eggs. It is slammin’! Makes me hungry thinking about it. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. May His blessings be with you this holiday season.

Pretty Terrific Summer-like Day

It was a great day to go for a bike ride. Warm, dry, and more warm. So I loaded up the bike, put on the sunblock, found a place to park on Marine Drive, and then got in a super nice ride on a lovely straight stretch of road next to the river with lots of bike lanes. There were many cyclist out today enjoying the weather and taking in the great outdoors. I marveled at the floating homes on the river and reminisced about one of my favorite movies, Sleepless in Seattle, that has a scene or two with floating homes in them. It was a really good ride and one I will definitely do again.

Then after bbqing, I took in a movie, the new X-Men movie. I really enjoy good Sci-Fi movies. This is one of my favorite Sci-Fi series. It was surprising. It was the back story of Magneto, Xavier, Raven, and Beast and such before the big face off and destruction in the last X-Men. This movie also has a face off moment that X-Men fans love so much. It had really good and visually interesting special effects that is inherently classic to X-Men movies. Terrific day!

–Patricia

Spirited Away, Another Chapter Explored, Sheyu, & Rarrr Day

Watched Spirited Away. Great story. Very imaginative. The illustrations were remarkable, too. So much to enjoy in this movie. The dvd included the bio of Miyazaki, his genius, and touches to the illustrations that bring it to life. Excellent. Very inspiring. Lots of great tips for those who like to write. I especially like how he included flight which I think is so important to children who are forever dreaming of flying. Or is it a dream?  I remember my flying dreams and still have them on fortunate occasions. They are my absolute favorite dreams.

I completed another chapter of my novel tonight. It’s coming along. I’m staying with it, and I’m interested in what happens. I’ve got a story to pursue.  Tonight I wanted to stay with it to see what happened next. It’s cool. My main character, Aisling, is a sensitive and a visionary. Tonight, she touched something and retrieved the history of a situation, and it included a tip of the iceberg whaaat moment. They don’t quite understand what it all means….just yet. But the things they will learn! It rocks. I know that’s vague, but it’s under wraps. I am loving writing this. For a first draft, it’s pretty sweet. Which means the final draft will rock your world!

Today I received an email from Sheyu, my soon to be living companion. He will be a Chinese exchange student who will live with me for the duration of the next school year. He’s quite fluent in English and is excited about coming to America. I’ve lined him up with one our best, brightest, and friendliest students. She is equally excited to meet him as well. I expect he will enjoy spending time with her. She’s Native American and enjoys culture as I do. I’m sure they will learn a lot from each other and have a great time getting to know each other. I’m hoping to get Sheyu out in the community meeting people and having some experiences with American families and lifestyle. So, invite him to dinner and things you think he might enjoy if you’re in the Glenwood community. He will be here at the end of August.

And tomorrow is my yoga/cardio/swimming/hot tubbing/steaming/rarrr day along with tea and some rough drafting at Doppios kind of day.  The whole exercise routine keeps me tuned up and fit and writing afterwards feels…wow. Like the river flows right through me. That’s it. That’s how I can put words to describing flowing chi and the benefits of exercise. It’s already into the wee hours, so I need to be brief in order to get some sleep tonight…err.. this morning. I want to read a little before bed, too. I’m reading Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris.  It’s a collection of childhood short stories told in a  way that only he can tell. Funny stuff and great bedtime reading.

Okay, to bed with me. Sooo late!

-Patricia

Monty Python & Jesse James

It’s a night with Monty Python. From the Beginning includes commentary and a variety of sketches beginning with the television show Do Not Adjust Your Set and At Last the 1948 Show. There are lots of brilliant moments to love. This includes one of my favorites, “Plain Clothes Police Women.” The Pythons are wearing mustaches, have their masculine voices, and are wearing glam evening gowns. Too cute!~

So then it was on to The Assassination of Jesse James. I’ve been very reluctant to watch this as movies never get it right where he’s concerned. I remember the stories I was told as a child as I heard them over and over. The story I heard of Jesse James is that he lived out in the country, liked a gentleman’s life,wanted to provide well for his wife and children, and robbed to live that way as he was a man of little means. Oh, and that he was my cousin. But, there were no other stories about him that I was ever told by way of the family. Anyway, I was surprised to see that this movie got some parts right that I hadn’t seen as right before. Glad I watched it after all. All the movies I have seen before have never really alluded to Jesse’s reason for robbing and his preference for living the life of a country gentleman at a very high personal cost. This was extremely well done and goes beyond shooting Jesse to the death of Robert Ford. The mannerisms and personality of Jesse were well done, too.

Well, the hour is late, and I’ve said more than enough about family here tonight. I have to be up early tomorrow for an appointment and then a work out. I’m continuing to write and am making good rough draft progress with my manuscript. That’s a bright spot in my day. It is rougher than a wash board road at this point, but I’m getting it down on paper. That’s what’s important right now.

Have a pleasant sleep and a great tomorrow.

-Patricia

Cold, Orange Juice, Into the Wild, Parent Relationships

Getting over a nasty cold…arrgh.  I’m feeling much stronger. I have drank a half gallon of orange juice today.  That has been my nutritional subsistence for the day.  No appetite to speak of.    The river that was my nose has finally dried up, and my nose has been sufficiently chapsticked throughout the day to heal it. I’m thinking by morning, I should be right as rain.

Tonight I watched a couple of movies, and Into the Wild was one that I didn’t see when it was first out.  Don’t know why. So, I watched it tonight and am so glad I did.  The literary references alone make it a must-see.  The transcendentalist writers provide some of the main character’s quotes. But I wouldn’t recommend leaving society to live in the wilds of Alaska with zero bush experience… unless you’re going there to die. To go into the wild so unprepared…let’s just say that these are the people that search and rescue find usually during Spring thaw.  There’s so much to know about living in the wilds that never occurs to those who never have, and it could cost them their lives.  Mostly where I live, it’s mountain climbing or water rafting related accidents. But I digress.  It was a good movie for many reasons. One of the most profound themes in this movie for me was the impact of a parent/adult relationship gone bad on the child.  His dying words reveal that they, his arguing parents, created a hell on earth for him… He wanted peace, he wanted happiness, and he learned in the end that happiness is best shared.  Being single and living in a remote location, his shared happiness epiphany resonated with me.  So if you haven’t seen this movie, you should. It’s beautifully, artfully done, very touching, and offers insight on the impact we have on others in our lives.  I’m adding it to the home library.

Okay, getting sleepy. Think I’m going to say g’night.

-Patricia

Power Outage, National Boards, Watchmen sans Spoilers

So it’s a windy, power outage kind of day in Glenwood.  I’m not feeling especially H.D. Thoreau-like today. Wasn’t especially interested in running the generator this morning to make my own electricity. Some days yeah, some days not so much. So I packed up the laptop and headed down the mountain to Hood River.  I passed two utility trucks and the sheriff heading up to Glenwood. So it will probably be a while before it is restored.  The power was off for an hour when I bailed out of there.  Instead of weathering the very windy storm, Chinese for dinner caught my fancy and off I went.  The restaurant, The Golden Rose, has the best General Tso ever. Based on how much they gave me and how much I ate, I can infer that there will be  Chinese leftovers for days, and these are leftovers that I will actually eat.

So today I am doing the last of the rough draft writing for National Boards. It has been a long haul, and I’m weary. Finishing is a feat in and of itself.  So here’s to the beginning of the end.

Watchmen! I went to see it last night and was pretty much mesmerized the entire time. I was actually looking at other aspects of the film.  I especially liked the cinematography. The film was especially well-shot.  Seriously. The special effects I thought were also well done. The only thing that mildly annoyed me were the many flashbacks to explain the back story. That got a little annoying having to stop and unravel and reconnect. Too much of a good thing, you know?  They made the movie skip a bit like a bad cd.  The soundtrack so rocked me!  I sang softly to myself throughout most of the movie.  Costuming was absolute perfection. It distinctly had a comic feel to it. It is very violent and a bit gory at times, and I’m squeamish, but still liked it.  (I just looked away if it started getting to me.) But it wasn’t senseless violence. It fit into the plot, and the characters would have done what they did.  It all fit.  This will become a dvd in the eclectic floor to ceiling home library. Highly recommend seeing this one.

Okay, to my writing.

-Patricia

Dresser Tossing and Big, Red Buttons

Inbetween my household  “to-do” list tonight, I watched an interesting clip on Borders web site with Neil Gaiman talking about buttons in reference to Coraline.  He wasn’t just going on about buttons without cause.  He assures us that buttons are nothing to fear.  Very cool…so back to chores…saving the biggest one for last.

Now I am an ambitious, no nonsense, get it done kind of woman.  The dresser and nightstand needed to be tossed out, and the new piece of furniture installed. The fact that it was -ex furniture being thrown out enhanced my pleasure considerably.   So, I have a go at it.  First the nightstand…no problem.  Then the huge hutch off of the triple dresser…not so bad.  Took the drawers out of the dresser…light enough for me to drag.  Once the dresser was moved out, I looked at the floor in front of me to decide what needed to be picked up, if anything, and what needed to be vacuumed.  But there was something that froze me stiff in my tracks…not easy to do by the way.

There on the floor where this old dresser once stood was, of all things,  a big, red button!  Then I saw a big, orange button!  I don’t own anything with big, red or orange buttons.  Charmed by this, I pick them up, look them over, and place them in my pocket with a crooked, amused smile on my face and finished my task.  In my pocket they will stay for now while I think about this and how finding a big, red button put a smile on my face today.  I found quarters, a paper clip or two, and buttons.  The buttons are the items that made me stop, smile at the wonder of things and circumstance, and then vacuum.  Life is so good in such small ways sometimes. So now it’s a shower to freshen up and turn to less demanding things.

Blessings,

-Patricia

Stephenie Meyer, Twilight, DreamWalker, Writing, Coraline, Neil Gaiman

The best part of today was it was Tuesday, not Monday.  It was great.  No Monday this week!!  I finished reading Twilight and have to recommend it as great bedtime reading.  It’s adventure with a little drama/romance around the edges.  It’s very nicely done.  After I finished, the author resonated with me…so I turned to YouTube and found a great interview with Stephenie Meyer.  What I enjoyed most about her interview was her encouragement to just ENJOY the writing and deal with the business end of it later and how an average person like Stephenie, the stay at home mom of three young children, is suddenly this awesome published writer!!  I’m so excited for her!!  Her life changed quickly!!  But the quality is in her writing.  It sells itself. And it’s work.

So my novel, DreamWalker…Chapter 1 is finished, and I have the idea for chapter 2.  So far I haven’t outlined or planned much…just written.  I may get to a point that I need to plan, but not now.  I’m enjoying the writing too much!

The inauguration…wow…it was splendid.  I watched it this morning with some students.  I was really impressed with the ceremony.  Aretha Franklin!  The first lady of soul herself.  That was a treat.  The speech by Rev. Lowry, I thought, was well done, and I really want to see a transcript of it.  I’ll be searching for it.  There were moments that I thought were so poignant and inspiring.

Well, January 28th is the day that Portland International Film Festival tickets go on sale for Coraline.  I will be ready/set/go on the phone as soon as they go on sale.  This is an exciting film that is so unique in its production and story style that I’m anxious to be entertained in this way…macabre and animation.  It’s visually rich in detail and so different than other production styles…the uniqueness of it really appeals to me.

Today I received two t-shirts from Neil Gaiman’s people for two of my students.  Thank you’s to Neil for the free swag for the contest.  The kids entered a contest from Neil’s blog, and what do you know…they are now sporting cool, black tees with an illustration of The Graveyard Book on one and Neil “Scary Trousers” Gaiman on the other.   I gave them to the kids today and hope to see them wearing them around soon.  Other kids are now interested in reading this book.  They are beginning to pass the books around from kid to kid.  I LOVE keeping a reader’s community active and well-fed on good books.

Okay, to bed,

-Patricia

DreamWalker, Twilight, and Coraline

Today I began my novel DreamWalker.  This is a working title and is subject to minor revisions but nothing major if at all.  I needed some Starbucks time, so with journal in hand, I began penning the first bits of DreamWalker while enjoying a carmal mocha latte.  The main character, like me, was prevented from sleepwalking as a child which later manifests as dreamwalking instead, which is so much more fun anyway. The events that follow open new worlds and a new talent to her.  She has a foot in both worlds.

The day has passed entirely too quickly.  I have continued my reading of Twilight which I continue to fall deeper and deeper in love with this book.  The love between Bella and Edward is timeless, classic, and oh so cool.  I actually go to bed earlier to make time to read it while nestled on top of several down pillows and under layers of a blanket, a quilt, and down.  The tone of the book is dark, so my dreamworld last night was dark and ominous.  I awoke this morning with a dark sensation after a night of lucid dreaming.

Back to school tomorrow, and the countdown to Coraline tickets is on!  I will be on the phone dialing and dealing on Wednesday.  I am really jazzed to see Coraline!  And it’s not media hype.  I don’t watch tv…only dvd’s at home.  The level of detail in the figures and the elements of the macabre I find especially intriguing.  I have always loved the macabre…Poe (happy birthday!), Twilght Zone, Alfred Hitchcock, Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” ghost stories, and the witch in Oz when the house falls on her (scared the snuff out of me every time!).  I imagine that I will bring a jacket to Coraline to reverse, pull up to my chin, eyes wide with excitement, and will immerse myself in the world of Coraline.  I’m going to opening night of the Portland International Film Festival simply because of this movie.  A joy!!

Okay, bedtime reading,

-Patricia

Writing, Dog Walks, Baking, Coraline, Twilight, and Bed Reading

So I’m settled into a writing project today and am making progress.  Getting focused, getting fanny in seat, and getting on with it are all part of the process sometimes.  But it’s all working together today, so on we go.  I’m no longer fretting over and tracking Neil Gaiman’s road trip out of the frozen tundra of Minnesota with Cabal as they have arrived safely.   I know what driving in blowing snow is like.  It gets intense when you can’t see the lines on the road, and it’s compact snow and ice.  But they have arrived safely and both can convalesce out of the cold. No worries.

Merlin, my Lhasa Apso, has taken me for several walks today.  He loves the outdoors, too.  The air is brisk, and a light snow has fallen off and on all day.  It’s actually quite nice out today…clean, crisp mountain air. The creek a few yards away is running swiftly with bits of ice dangling from crimson-colored branches that are leaning over the water.

So Coraline is premiering on opening night at the Portland International Film Festival.  I’m excited to live close enough to make the drive in an hour and a few minutes.  I have been known to drive ridiculous amounts of miles to attend an author’s reading.  The book is on Harper-Collins web site, and there’s also a movie tie-in version for a reasonable price.  I am so amazed at the whole process of stop-animation.  Ugh!  The time, love of craft, and dedication it takes are not lost on me.  So not only do I get all a- twitter at the idea of the book coming to the screen but also the time and love that went into this movie as well.  Tickets go on sale January 23rd.  No big secret anymore.  I’ll have to work in a trip to Powell’s Bookstore, one of the best parts of living in the the PNW, and Chinese for dinner, (probably General Tso) one of my all time favorite things to eat.   It’s stacking up to be a sparkly all over kind of evening…books, a movie, and Chinese food…so many of my favorite things in one day.  Yes, I spoil me sometimes.

I am currently reading Twight and have already watched the movie.  The book is good bedtime reading, just hard to put down.  I have always been a “lay in a comfy bed and read a good book at night” sort of person.  In high school back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, it all started with reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy this way.  This was in addition to reading after school, in school with any free time, and weekends.  I have always been book nerdy and can remember the books I have read since childhood, but that’s an entry for another day.  Alas, we are who we are.  I love reading fantasy and science fiction in bed.  Sometimes I get the added bonus of dreaming about my reading.  Another bonus for me in Twilight, the book and the movie, is the setting.  As a Washington resident, I have visited the Hoh rainforest (love Washington rainforests!) and beaches (love the beach, too) in that area many times which reveals another thing that I like beside beaches and the Hoh…books with local settings and landmarks in them.  I connect like we’re related…uncanny but cool to relate to a book like this.  Then, as an extra bonus, I have lived in the Columbia Gorge area for the past eight years…moved here to take a job.  The movie was filmed in part in the Portland and Columbia River Gorge area.  The gorgeously tall waterfalls in the movie are Multnohma Falls which are on highway 84 between Hood River, Oregon and Portland, Oregon.  I have hiked that waterfall and taken pictures!  I like to hike, too.  The restaurant where Edward and Bella dance at prom is The View Point Inn high atop a bluff overlooking the Columbia River in the Gorge in the town of Corbett, just outside of Portland.  The Columbia River Gorge divides Washington and Oregon and is chocked full of wonderful things like Multnomah Falls, Bonneville Hot Springs Spa, Skamania Lodge at Stevenson, and lots of places to hike like the Pacific Crest Trail and such.  Anyway, the author, Stephenie Meyer, has a lovely web site.  I especially enjoyed her story of how the Twilight series came to be.  Very inspiring.  I love it when authors let you into their world of process and craft.  The dvd of the movie is now on pre-sale on Amazon.  Yes, I have pre-bought a copy.  There’s no way I’m letting that one simmer.  It will be a wonderful addition to the fantasy section of my home dvd library.  The fact that the dvd libary has sections, like my book library, should say everything.  Which sections are the largest?  Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Adventure! Modestly present…romance, of course, with Sleepless in Seattle as my all time favorite chic flick followed swiftly by the timeless love affair of The Notebook.  Then, Coraline will be on dvd probably in a few months.  I’ll be watching for that one, too.

Okay, there’s writing to do and manuscripts to edit.  Back to it.

-Patricia