Life As We Know It

life right now

 

Well hello!

I've been a very neglectful blogger lately, so here's a quick catch up:

 

:: After a 5 year (yes, year!) discussion, we have decided to bring the PC into the main house. That makes me a very happy camper since it means I will no longer have to freeze my butt off in the workroom (which is on the other side of the back garden) just to use the computer. I'm hoping it'll make me a more regular blogger (and blog visitor) too. So very, very happy about that one. The only downside- they can't come out and move the broadband until December 17th. Boo!

:: Kirby started crawling "properly" and cruising on the same day a couple of weeks back.

:: He turned 10 months a few days ago. I can't believe how quick this year is going! He also recently discovered the joys of emptying kitchen cupboards...

 

 

So I'm giving him free reign to the plastic container cupboard.

:: We found a lost pet rabbit on our way to school on Thursday. After knocking on several doors and being led on a bit of a wild goose chase, we eventually found the owners. They seemed less than impressed that we had brought it back.

:: I have been humming "Little Cabin in the Wood" ever since. Grr!

:: After being at constant logger-heads for a month or two, Aoife and I have finally made peace. I am so relieved. It was weighing heavily on my mind.

 

 

:: Speaking of Aoife; after several months of itchy hell, she's finally lice and nit free. I'm very relieved about that too! Should your precious one ever get them, please take this advice from someone who tried just about everything to get rid of the nasty so and sos; don't bother with chemical head lice shampoos or homemade remedies, just get a metal nit comb and comb, comb, comb (and vacuum/ wash everything in sight) every day till they are gone. They are pricey, but worth it.

:: After I was rushed to hospital back in the spring, I said I'd take more pictures of myself with the kids and not always be the one behind the camera. It seems I haven't. I had to trawl through my archives to find the one above. I so want to get better at this. It's important. I would like more pictures of me and Alan together too.

:: I'm thinking lots about fire lately and think I will have to post on the subject soon.

:: At last count I had 17 posts in draft form. Mostly written, painfully slowly, on the Kindle. Yup, I definitely need that broadband moved!

:: I'm considering taking on a new role within the church. My first reaction was "no" because I felt ambushed by the person asking me, but I decided to sit with it for a few days anyway. I'm now pretty sure I'll do it, I just want to pray on it a bit more. I'll tell you more when I make my decision.

:: I haven't done any art journaling for a couple of weeks. I'm starting to get withdrawal symptoms.

:: Alan and I went to see "In Time" on Saturday. It was ok. I liked the concept and wanted to see what they made of it, but found the film a bit bland. It could have pushed boundaries, but it paled in comparison to films like "the Matrix" or "Inception". Still, it was a nice enough movie.

:: I'm working on Kirby's Christmas stocking whenever I have a quiet moment to spare, and am nervously watching the calendar as I stitch. I have chosen a way too detailed pattern for the time I have left. I still have to finish the other ones too. They are all at various stages of completion.

:: I'm pretty much all done with the Christmas shopping though!

 

Right, are we caught up? I think so.

 

Great films you may not have seen: Leon

 

I'm so pleased to be writing about this film today because it is one of my most favourite movies ever.

 

 

 

Leon

(1994)

"He moves without sound. Kills without emotion. Disappears without trace."

 

In this fantastic movie, Jean Reno plays professional hitman Leon, who takes in his 12 year old neighbour Mathilda (Natalie Portman) after her family is killed over drugs. When Mathilda finds out what Leon does for a living, she pleads with him to teach her his trade so that she can take revenge on the people who killed her little brother, the only family member she cared about.

At first glance, this film has all the trappings of a Hollywood production (drugs, violence, a British baddie...), but what really makes this movie is the tender relationship that develops between the solitary Leon, who has spent his whole life supressing his emotions so he can do the kind of job that he does, and the young, troubled Mathilda.

Reno and Portman are both brilliant in their roles, and Gary Oldman is fantastic as the corrupt (and psychotic) cop they're up against.

 

Go, watch!

 

Great films you may not have seen: Being There

 

Alan and I are great movie-buffs. But some of our favourites are not that well known, so I thought I'd share them with you here (I'd love to hear your recommendations too).

 

Being There

"Getting there is half the fun; being there is all of it!"

 

 

In this very touching comedy-drama from 1979, Peter Sellers plays Chance, a simple-minded middle aged man, who has spent his whole life tending the gardens of the man who took him in when he was just a baby. When the old man dies, the lawyers throw Chance out on the streets to fend for himself. Having little to no knowledge of the outside world except what he has seen on TV, Chance's future looks doomed.

However, that night Chance gets knocked over by a car owned by the wealthy and influential business man Ben Rand (Melvyn Douglas). Rand's wife Eve (Shirley MacLaine), who is in the car, invites him home to recover from his injuries. Through a series of misunderstandings and assumptions, the Rands think Chance says his name is Chauncey Gardener and that he is a highly educated, but down on his luck, business man. So Ben Rand takes him under his wing and soon Chance is his unlikely political advisor.

 

I LOVE this movie. It's slow-paced and subtle, yet full of surprises. Sellers blank tone of voice and understated demeanour suits the role brilliantly (and must have been a complete shock to the majority of movie goers after the Pink Panther movies). If you haven't seen it before, I highly recommend it.