A lazy Saturday...

We had a late night last night and so, a slow start today.

Basically, we've pretty much vegged out for the whole day. Did some competitive sodukos (It's a "couple thing" we do.) and I did some painting while The Big Guy napped a bit.
Late in the day, we managed to catch the Sandra Bullock movie, The Blind Side on HBO. This is something we wanted to catch when it was in the theaters but just didn't make it. I should really have referred to it as the Quinton Aaron movie because he did an absolutely fantastic job !! The movie is based on the true story of the Ravens' Defensive Tackle, Michael Oher's transformation from homeless (read "family-less") child to star football player for Ole' Miss and valued member of a leading NFL team. We were even more interested in this as we are big Ravens fans and Michael has proven to be an integral part of this years action. The story itself is extremely touching as a wealthy couple, Leigh Anne and Sean Touhy, played by Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw, take an interest in a quiet gentle giant of a child from the streets. Leigh Ann takes the time to discover a very intelligent and sensitive young man hiding behind a serious reading deficiency that, along with life's cruel circumstances, has caused this young man to attempt to quietly fade into the woodwork. Turns out, he is a force to be reckoned with once you place a ball in his hands and turn him loose on a playing field, although he needed a bit of encouragement to overcome his gentle nature to fully embrace the action of a tackle!

Have tissues handy, this one will touch your heart.

We were hostages in our own home, today!

We decided yesterday we'd have a date night tonight with dinner and a movie, something we hadn't done in a while.

Well, things went along fairly well until mid-day when we noticed a lot of police activity in the apartment complex across the street from us. It was hard to tell what was happening but there were a lot of police cars, unmarked cars and dozens of uniformed officers just standing around one of the buildings and parking lot. We hid inside and watched from behind our curtains.

After several hours, the SWAT team and other tactical units came on the scene. Dozens more police vehicles filled our street and blocked all access in and out of the community. We couldn't get out at all. Time for us to head off to dinner came and went and we were still blocked from leaving the community. Neighbors that had gone out early in this action were now stuck on the outside. Some parked several blocks away and walked in to their homes when they came home from work.

Finally, the officers came out of the building, congregated in our court and began taking off their armor. Someone finally gave us a hint of what was happening. It seems they thought a suspect from a murder in a neighboring community on Sunday was holed up in that building. Turns out, he wasn't. Kind of makes you wonder why it took at least 6 1/2 hours to figure that out!


We finally set off for dinner over 2 1/2 hours later than originally planned. We ended up waiting for 40 minutes for our table! (When we arrive before 6 there's almost never a wait.) We had a great meal and then waddled our full bellies across the street to the movies. At that point, we had to settle for whatever movie was starting near that time, not necessarily what we set out for. So, for our romantic date night, we saw Karate Kid!! (When you've been together as long as us, just being out together qualifies as romantic.)

It's a good movie but, like the other Karate Kid movies, there is a lot of violence (Hey, it is "karate".) Although I am a Jackie Chan fan, I'm still partial to the original with Pat Morito. Jaden Smith (Will and Jada's son) does do a fantastic job as the kid and shows the great depth of acting talent he has at such a young age. He's also adorable!! That kid'll certainly break some hearts along the way! While it won't be in the running for an Oscar, I do recommend it. I'll give it 4 out of 5 stars!!!

Hope you had a little calmer afternoon than I did!!

Something Normal

Amid the snow and ice, we did something normal today!! We met another couple for a movie and dinner.

The guys thought this one up for themselves. Believe it or not, they actually picked what could be classified as a chick flick. So you think maybe they just wanted to score points?

Yep, they took us to see Valentine's Day. This one features a lot of well known stars from various age groups, Ashton Kutcher, Shirley MacLaine, Kathy Bates, Patrick Dempsey, Julia Roberts, Emma Roberts, Hector Elizondo, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Garner, George Lopez, Jessica Alba, Jamie Foxx and more.

The basic premise is celebrating Valentine's Day through the eyes and actions of a variety of couples and singles living and working in L.A. The whole movie encompasses just one 24 hour period. Ashton is a florist who, on the busiest flower day of the year, takes a major step forward in the name of love and finds his world thrown for a loop. Shirley MacLaine and Hector Elizondo are an old married couple (51 years) caring for a young grandson (a 5th grader who's in love with his teacher) but who, ultimately finds a Valentine closer to his own age. There are high school sweethearts, young marrieds and even a lonely hearts club group involved. Some of the relationships are solid as granite, some crumble as the day progresses and a few surprise us but, all in all, it's a light-hearted, feel good flick. We all enjoyed it and left smiling.

Then we crossed the street to a favorite pub. We used to eat there every Tuesday for years but in the last year or two, we haven't gotten there as often. We miss it and it felt good to be " back home."

We had a great evening. What a nice respite from dealing with the weather.

Hope y'all had a good evening, too.

Julie & Julia - A Movie Review

Sorry there's no Working the Shows Wednesday feature today. I did attend an event Saturday where there was supposed to be a few crafters exhibiting their wares but I found none so I have nothing to report on this week. I am hoping for much better luck this week.
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I do, however, have a movie review for you today!

I've had a friend visiting for a few days and we took advantage of matinee prices today and went to see Julie & Julia. We loved it. It is really a chick flick so leave the guys at home and go with a friend. Basically, Nora Ephron has taken two true stories, Julia Child's memoir of her life in France in 1949 and Julie Powell's account of blogging about cooking her way through Julia's famous cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and blended the two into one truly entertaining movie.

The movie flips back and forth from Julia's life in Paris in the late 40s to Julie's life in Queens, New York in 2002. Meryl Streep does a fantastic job of portraying Julia. If you are old enough to remember watching Julia Child on TV, you may forget this really isn't her. Meryl's that good! As the movie opens, Julia finds herself accompanying her diplomat husband to Paris. She's absolutely thrilled to find herself among the beauty and mystique of the famous city but she is also quite bored and needs to find something to occupy her time.

Critics have not been kind to Amy Adams in this role but I liked the character and I feel Amy definitely did it justice. (Okay, so maybe I was a bit sympathetic to start with. She does play a blogger!) Amy plays Julie Powell, a frustrated writer, or at least she wants to be a writer, only she's stuck in a stressful job that keeps her on the phone in a tiny little cubicle, dealing with very trying callers. She wants to find an outlet for her creative juices and eventually finds her way to blogging. As bloggers, we've all reached that point early in the experience where we wonder if we're talking to ourselves and Julie asks her readers early on, "Is there anybody out there?" (I can identify with that moment!)

Both women find their way to cooking as the solution to their doldrums. It gives them a creative outlet, a goal in life and it definitely adds some zing to their existence. Both women eventually reach their goal and bask in the thrill of completing a job well done.

We left the theater hungry. After all, we had spent 2 hours at that point watching the characters eat some fantastic looking food that they and their companions raved over, making almost orgasmic sounds as they savored the meals. My friend has vowed to go home and make Julia's Boef Bourguignon as they showed it at least four times throughout the last half of the movie. You could almost smell it in you mind. It did look wonderful!!

Celebrating --

Well, today is our anniversary, so I sort of took the day off. I lounged around most of the day enjoying the warm sunshine. Then, when The Big Guy came home we went out to celebrate. We don't usually make a huge thing of it - just sort of have a quiet "date."

We went to see the new Star Trek movie and it is fantastic!! They did such a terrific job of casting the young Kirk, Spock, Scotty, McCoy, Sulu, Uhura and Checkov. Yes, Leonard Nimoy is there, too, in a surprising role. You can honestly picture them growing into the characters we knew so well. The special effects are awesome! If you can possibly see it in the theater, you should. While it will still look good at home on the TV set, it is really impressive on the big screen. We actually sprang for the extra couple of bucks and saw it on the IMAX screen.

The evening was completed by a stop at our favorite micro-brewery (which just happens to be right across from the theater) where we had a couple of brews and a few appetizers for dinner. (They've got a nacho platter with chili that could count as a full meal!)

I think I'm just going to keep the mood flowing and call it a night.

See y'all tomorrow!!!

A whiff of Spring!

What a weekend! The sun was out. The mercury climbed. It was WARM - well, we at least hit the 50s on Saturday and the 60s on Sunday! It was rejuvenating. I know winter's not over but it was a fantastic break for most of us.


Those weeks and weeks of cold had bred a little distrust. When we woke to comfortable weather on Saturday we were a little leery. The phrase, "this must be a trick," lurked in our minds. We did the usual winter thing and went to the movies. (Okay, we are motivated by cash flow to some extent. Weekend morning movies in our neighborhood are really cheap so we saw the 10 a.m. showing.) When we emerged from the theater at noon, the sun was shining. People were out and smiling. It felt good. Saturday turned out to be a great day!


Sunday was even brighter, considerably warmer and really invigorating. We got out and walked in the sunshine. There were no splotches of ice to worry about. We had company in the evening and everyone was happy and in a great mood. I think we all needed this little shot of Spring!!

Movie Review: Taken

The movie choice this week was "Taken" starring Liam Neeson as a former government (CIA-type spy) "preventer." You're left to your own definition of what a "preventer" keeps from occurring but it appears he and his colleagues knew of worldwide threats and terrors that the masses are quietly protected from. He is torn between keeping his most prized possession, his teen-aged daughter, safe where he can see her or being the benevolent parent she wants who allows her to see the world on her terms. When, against his better judgment, he goes with the latter he audibly witnesses her kidnapping via a transatlantic phone call and his almost super-hero skills kick in to save his little girl. The action is riveting and fast moving. The premise of two young pretty girls traveling alone in a foreign country with limited language skills being kidnapped by powerful men who wish to sell them to the highest bidder is believable. It does happen in part of today's real world. Most of us can identify with Neeson's parental need to "save his baby at all costs." We can only wish we would have his "specialized skills" should such a situation ever arise in our lives. This one gets a full five stars.

CPSIA

As expected, there is constant news coming in concerning the CPSIA. As previously announced, the CPSC has issued a 1-year stay regarding enforcement of some portions of the new law. While products must meet the new lead and phthalate levels as of tomorrow, the certification and 3rd party testing requirements have been delayed. Basically, we can only market children's merchandise that we know or can reasonably deduce meet those standards. In my personal case, I believe my products are safe as they are made using only previously tested components. I have not introduced any unsafe or non-tested materials in the act of embellishing these commercially manufactured and marketed garments. Those garments had to be tested by that manufacturer before being sold to me on the retail market. The paints I use have been tested by their manufacturer. At this time, I will continue to produce and market the safe, quality merchandise I am known for.

On Friday, the Commission issued a lengthy press release which further clarified a number of items that they are now deeming "SAFE" as those products are extremely unlikely to contain any hazardous levels of either lead or phthalates. There will be further clarifications forthcoming as more products and components are reviewed and analyzed. There was a bill introduced in Congress last week suggesting revisions to the law as passed this past year. That bill has been referred to Committee for review at this time. One of the suggested revisions pertains to the use of previously tested and certified components.

I will try to keep my readers updated as information becomes available. I am also trying to only convey information issued directly by the CPSC or Congress so as to avoid all of the confusion and speculation circulating at this time.

So, until next time, enjoy the sunshine and live creatively.

This week at the movies...

Okay, it was so cold while we were hanging out in South Carolina this past week, we did the usual winter activity - we went to the movies, twice! I enjoyed both movies but if you can only see one - go for Clint!

The first day, we went to see Gran Torino. Clint Eastwood plays his usual tough talking, strong-willed and opinionated character as Walt Kowalsky, a recently widowed, retired auto worker who still feels like he's fighting the Korean War. Obviously, he's not too thrilled to see Hmong (Vietnamese) neighbors move in next door. Cheerful determination and persistence on the part of his teenage neighbors cracks that hard exterior and Walt's humanity leaks out. There is a fair amount of language throughout. If you are highly offended by various racial and ethnic slurs and labels (he doesn't just pick on one ethnic crowd), then sit this one out. There is also gang violence throughout the movie. Ultimately, it's pure Clint and the actors do a superb job. He is well supported by the performances of Bee Vang and Ahney Hu, playing his teenaged neighbors, Thao and Su Lor. I'll give it 4 stars.

The next day wasn't any warmer, so we again turned to a nice cozy theater and saw Last Chance Harvey. As Harvey Shine, a fading jingle writer from New York, Dustin Hoffman is having a bad week. His career is definitely on the skids, his daughter is getting married - in England, his ex has made his hotel arrangements for him - away from the rest of the wedding party, his daughter tells him her step-dad will be giving her away instead of him and the job situation worsens over a long-distance phone call. The light at the end of the tunnel appears as a conservative, spinster, played by Emma Thompson, when she approaches him at the airport carrying a clipboard and attempting to take a survey about the airline's customer service. It's a little slow moving, sentimental and predictable - definitely a chick-flick. It does, however, subtly state it's never too late to find love. I liked it but it won't win any awards. I think its appeal to the younger audience (under 30) will be limited. I, on the other hand, am over 30 and I'll give it 3 stars.

CPSIA Update :

I think there may be a little reprieve, at least for a little shile, for folks like me. I've just seen an opinion, dated 1/15/09, written by Cheryl A. Falvey, General Counsel for the Consumer Products Safety Commission, that explains the differences between the General Conformity Certification required as of 2/10/09 and the certification based on 3rd party testing required by August of 2009. In part, she states Section 102 of the CPSIA indicates that if the manufacturer (me as a crafter) is confident with the results of lead tests done on components, that my product does not necessarily require tests of the final product -until August! She uses an example of jewelry to illuistrate this point. I believe this would also pertain to my handpainted clothing. Check this out at http://www.cpsc.gov//library/foia/advisory/323.pdf .

This does not permanently solve the problem but it does buy some time for folks like myself. Maybe I will still be in business after 2/10/09!!

In the meantime, stay warm, keep creative and live happy!