I really wanted to like this movie. It was written and directed by the writer and director of Nine Lives, which was quite good. Plus, Naomi Watts starred in the movie, so it made it a must-see. But, neither one of us could get into it. The movie ran 2 hours, the first 90 minutes of which were pretty boring. The last 30 minutes were quite interesting–it’s where all of the stories told in the first 90 minutes intersected, but it was too little, too late for me. Unfortunately Brian fell asleep after the first 90 minutes, so he didn’t even get to see the good parts.
alone
I have the house to myself most of this weekend, so I’m trying to get some stuff done for Everyone Drinks. I started working on some beer cap magnets last night and finished them this morning. Later today, I’d like to finish up the wine cork trivets I started last weekend.
Jake went to NY for the weekend to visit his cousins. Brian is at a coopering (barrel-making) class most of the weekend. So, things are quiet around the homestead.
The weather will probably preclude me from leaving the house today, though I do have some running around to do–maybe tomorrow.
One thing is for sure–a nap is definitely in order for this afternoon. I woke up at 6:30 this morning and could not fall back asleep.
diet
So, last fall whenever my pants stopped fitting, I went on a diet. More of a new lifestyle, really. I started out simply counting calories, and therein was the problem–I was eating too much. So, I cut back and lost a few pounds, but then hit a plateau for a couple of months. The only thing I could think to do was to give up sugar. I don’t feel that I was eating too much sugar, but I do like my sweets and would occasionally overindulge. It’s not that I don’t ever eat junk food, I just try to limit it my consumption. I also cut sugar out of my tea–again not a huge amount, but both of these efforts allowed me to lose a couple more pounds, so my pants fit again. I have to say, I thought I was going to like tea without sugar (as I drink my coffee black), but it just does not taste good. Maybe I’ll get used to it eventually. But, either way, at least my pants fit again. Oh, and getting old sucks.
inglorious basterds
I like to be entertained, but not necessarily for 2.5 hours. Sometimes it is necessary for a movie to be that long, other times it is not. In this particular case, it was not. I found this movie to be rather boring for a Quentin Tarantino flick. Brian slept through the last hour, so maybe he agrees (or maybe he was just tired). Brad Pitt’s character was kind of funny. Too bad there wasn’t more of him in the movie.
the weekend
The weekend held a lot of activities. The main activity was a camping trip with the Boy Scouts, which Brian and Jake attended. They left Saturday afternoon and came back Sunday morning. While it was a bit cold out (and there was actually snow on the ground at the campsite), they had a great time and were able to stay warm.
While the boys were gone, I just did stuff around the house. My main project for the weekend was to finish painting the stairs. Mission accomplished!
I still need to paint the handrail and remove the trim around the entry way (there used to be a door there). But, I am so glad to be done with this portion of the project. We’re trying to finish the upstairs this year, so this was a good step in that direction.
I’ve also been cleaning the office. I’ve been using that room to finish the new doors we bought for the house–it was (and still is) a complete mess. But, I’ve been making good progress up there–I should be able to wrap things up by the end of the week. I’ve been using the office as my craft room for Everyone Drinks so it’s been a little cramped up there, but things will be in shape in no time.
On Sunday, we went to Brian’s parent’s house to celebrate his mother’s birthday. On our way home, we stopped to check out a property in Vintondale that looked good on paper. However, it was right off of route 22 and this proved to be a negative. The property was absolutely perfect, except for the fact that you could hear every car and truck that was going down the road. So, that was a bummer, but I’m glad we went to look at it anyway.
Our trip home was interesting. As we were driving down the road, I saw a bug on my hand. As I shook my hand to get rid of the bug, I realized it was a tick! So, I frantically searched for it and found one on my pants (presumably the same one that was on my hand). I grabbed it with a tissue and threw it out the window. Jake then started freaking out about ticks. You could tell Brian felt that we were over-reacting. Brian was showing him with his fingers how big a tick was, when Jake said, “is that one on your hand?” The expression on Brian’s face was priceless. Once we finally arrived home, we all stripped down and searched for ticks on everyone. No more were found. I’m sure this will only be the first of many surprises about the country life.