The Travel Bug

Family Movie Night

by Karyn Bowman

This past weekend I finally finished a project I have been working on for about six months.

I know some of you are scoffing because you might have some project that has taken much longer to not be completed. Well, I have done that as well.

Lately, I have wanted to start finishing projects. Last year I finally put the final stitches into a needlecraft scene. Then I began cleaning out various hot spots of clutter in my house. But this project was something special.

It is a post with signs of various destinations. One of my friends said it looked exactly like something I would do. Last fall, I found various reclaimed reclaimed wood. Once they were sanded and cleaned of the dust, each one was painted on one side, and a name was written on top. Each sign has a slightly distressed look to it and I cannot wait to see how any of it stands up to a real winter.

While it reminds me of the sign post from the old TV show, M*A*S*H, the idea came from a craft suggestion pasted on Facebook. I choose places that reflect series that I am reading or my children are reading. Two of the signs are of places we have actually visited or lived.

If I had more money, traveling would be my joy. There is too much of the U.S. I have not seen and a part of me wishes to see Australia and/or the continent of Africa. Another part of my heart wishes to see the city of Petra that was carved into the mountain so many years ago.

Movies help aid my wandering desires.

Image from IMDb com

We recently watched Life of Pi and while I have no desire to share a boat with a tiger, I would like to see India. I would like to visit the set of a Bollywood movie just to see one of the spectacular song and dance scenes actually performed. Until then, I will have to settle for the excellent Bride and Prejudice starring  Aishwarya Rai in the Elizabeth Bennett role.

Movies about New York City increase my curiosity about the Big Apple. There is a part of me that wants to walk the Brooklyn Bridge as Miranda did in Sex and the City. I would love to go to the top of the Empire State building but leave the big ape from King Kong behind in the jungle. I would not mind taking in the Museum of Natural History just like in Night at the Museum or strolling through Central Park as happens in countless movies.

Image from IMDb.com

Until I can go, these movies and so many more will have to be my ticket to see lands far away – be it Taiwan in Eat, Drink, Man, Woman or Paris in Hugo or The Adventures of Tin-Tin. As for Africa, perhaps Humphrey Bogart and Kathrine Hepburn will allow me to join them on The African Queen once more. 

Where would you like to travel?

Until next week, see you in the rental aisle

I Need a Little Direction

If you are like me, you are looking at Facebook every day.

And there is a lot to see, especially if you are a cooking/crafting/gardening/decorating sort of person – which I am.

A few months ago I saw a really cool craft that could be used in the garden. It is a decorative piece that can be as personal as you want it to be.

What am I talking about?

My Brand New Sign Post.

Tada!!!!!

Now I know what you are thinking.

I want one too. That is Soooo Cute!!! Was it hard to make?

To be honest it really was not that hard to make. First off, I had the 2x4x8 already standing up in the ground. It was meant to hold up an air conditioner but stayed when the air conditioner died.

The next part was gathering the wood pieces for the name plates. At some point my neighbor was remodeling their house so some slats stayed in my yard. Another neighbor was tearing down wood siding. Some pieces came from the burn pile my husband keeps around.

The next part was even easier. I sanded down those pieces on the side I wanted to paint to make it smooth and accepting of the paint. I ran a damp cloth over each piece to remove dust from the sanding.  Then I made a list of the different places I wanted to put on a sign board.

However, how I did the next part was a part of the learning process. I lettered most of the boards. And that part was fun because I changed font styles for the different places. I used FolkArt Outdoor Acrylic Paint by Plaid for the letters. Another lucky coincidence? My son is a paper boy so I have lots of brown craft paper to use under my painting projects.

Just before making the last three name signs I realized I wanted a little color on them to make the letters stand out more. So I found some peach color paint and used my pounding brush to apply the color. After the paint was dried, I used a fine grade of sand paper to remove some of the paint to make the wood look a little distressed.

I really liked that effect. When I tried it on some of the pieces I had already painted, the effect did not turn out well. I should have sanded more of the first bit of lettering off. Instead, I soldiered on with a new coat of a pale pink and lettering in the black outside paint. Once it was all dry, I sprayed each board with a clear glaze.

All that was left to do was to have the husband pound nails into the boards while I held them at jaunty angles with the back of the boards level with the 2×4. The finished product looks great. I am not usually successful with projects like this but this time around, I have a winner.

Have you tried any of the ideas you have found on facebook or pintrest and have had success?

Supplies:

Paint Brushes

Fine Grade Sand Paper

Seven thin wood pieces the shape and size of a street sign

Acrylic Craft Paint in your choice of colors for background

FolkArt Outdoor Acrylic Paint by Plaid for the lettering

Clear Glaze Spray Paint

2×4 in the length of your choice

Nails and Hammer

Husband or willing person to use hammer and nails

 

Book Review – Cookies for Dinner

Argh!  Today has been one of those days.

Did I mean to have this review done and ready to go yesterday? Yes, I did.

Did I mean for it to be posted and not have Samantha worry that one of her bloggers was failing or flailing? Yes, I did.

Unfortunately, life and family got in the way. Baseball games, dog training,  and the need to be out of the house during this awful period of unemployment got in the way.

While my son’s team lost last night in a complete blowout, I can tell you almost every time he was at bat Sam hit the ball and managed to get on base.

I can tell you that the picture for my mother’s Mother’s Day gift is ready and the frame needs a little adjustment. I can tell you I bought a nice red dress shirt for my son’s concert in two days and that I found a cute top for my daughter on her birthday next week. And I finally bought the needed Plumber’s goop for under the kitchen sink.

Those are all stories for another time.

Image from Chick Lit Plus

Today we are talking about Cookies For Dinner  by Pam Johnson-Bennett and Kae Allen.

This collection of essays follow the very different paths to motherhood Pam and Kae took, as well as their philosophies.

That might explain why the germophobe had a cockroach wave at her or the usually punctual mom found herself getting late to class as her pregnancy wore on.

Life, pregnancy, and child rearing is seldom what you will expect it to be; there is no such thing as perfection.

Which may be the reason I found myself laughing at the cockroach story and the measles story and one of the potty training stories.

I like this book for being easy to pick up and put down. Some days, the only time I had to read even one essay was at bedtime before I passed out. But during that time, I would read one complete story. It gave me time to reflect on the story and chuckle to myself.

I understood the one about trying to get through a store without a dreaded tantrum but still buying your stuff because, yep, I did that. Child had a tantrum and I refused to give in. We have all done some of the things in this book and it is reassuring to know that sometimes, some days, we fail. But then the next morning comes and we try again.

Now the stories that might have you tearing up are the ones Pam tells about adopting her two children.  When you need comic relief, Kae jumps in with a tale of hosing off her child’d car seat in the front yard after an explosive poop. Did I mention the child was still in the seat?

Pam and Kae: Image from Chick Lit Plus

Oh, you can sit there and pretend you have never done any of this or thought about it. Truth is, too many parenting books are pompuss and filled with inane advice. I put down one book because the author’s forward was a hot air explanation of what we do wrong as parents from the perspective of someone who may have never had a kid.

That I do not need. Instead, I want to read stories of real people who have been there, done that, and can tell a damn funny story after the storm clouds have settled down. These two moms have that down. If there is no other reason to read the book, then listening to their stories about parenting in the worst of times and in the best of times is one of the few things you will actually wish to do again.

Especially the one about the waving cockroach because it is both touching and funny.

 

Want to find the book? Connect with Pam & Kae!

Facebook link: http://www.facebook.com/twoloonsandabook

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/2loonsandabook

Our website: http://www.twoloonsandabook
Buy the Book!

http://www.amazon.com/Cookies-Dinner-tales-survive-motherhood/dp/1935052519/ref=la_B001H6NUGW_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1367684096&sr=1-7

Going through a change with The Croods

Family Movie Night

 

by Karyn Bowman

 

This past weekend I put out the wind chimes out on my porch. When the winter winds are finished, I usually put them out and finally it seems the winter winds are done.

 

Image by nasir khan

While walking yesterday, I noticed a broken robin blue egg shell on the sidewalk. Such a pretty color and that is a sure sign that spring is here to stay since the Robins are starting to have babies. Finally, the husband showed me a picture he had taken this morning of goslings in the water being protected by the parents.

 

Finally, spring is here. But then news reports talk about 80 degree weather coming. We will get our one week of spring before it hits summer. So this week, I am hitting the garden and getting the mulch and weeds out as quick as possible. Wasn’t it just two weeks ago snow was flying?

 

Change is a hard thing for us humans. We like our routines, and that some people are always going to be there for us. When those routines are upset, we are off kilter until we get use to the new routine.

 

I think about this when I hear people talk about their new diet or exercise routine. I have a friend who recently quit smoking and that is one difficult habit to give up. But I know in the long run she will be happier for it.

 

I am on the change kick not just because of the season but because of some of the movies we have seen recently. Over the weekend, the family went to see The Croods at the theater. Probably its last week but we were not in the mood for death and destruction.

 

It is a tale about a stone age family whose life is about to change as their world goes through land mass upheaval. Talk about having your routine upset.

 

Image from Movies4Kids.wordpress.com

The Croods think they are the last of the humans until they meet Guy. Guy agrees to help the family find a safe place after their cave is destroyed by falling boulders.

 

It is fun, action packed, and has many interesting creatures. But what struck me was the scene in which it is explained how new ideas are frowned upon because that can get you killed. Curiosity can get you killed. Stick with the old ways that you know and hide in a cave when danger comes around.

 

It seemed to me that this theme was also central to Frankenweenie and ParaNorman. Stick with the old ideas, beat out or destroy anything that is different. New ideas or discoveries are bad.

 

All movies are about the journey a person or a group of people take during a particular episode of life. Most of the time, it is an episode that changes or transforms us or allows us to deal with life as it is right at that moment.

 

Sometimes, the journey is about accepting a new idea or being open to the wonders of the world without falling prey to the dangerous parts. That might be the hardest one of all. It will not always be successful but I can say that you will not fail to learn something.

 

Until next week, see you in the rental aisle.

Book Review – Unexpecting by Lori Verni-Fogarsi

Welcome to those on the CLP blog tour of Unexpecting by Lori Verni-Fogarsi.

After the review stay a while and find a great easy recipe for supper or walk through my garden to see what is blooming this month. As for the regulars who come all of the time, you know where the tea cups are stored. Find your favorite and let’s get into this book.

Image from Chick Lit Plus

So, some of us knows what it feels like to finally have kids out of the house or just about out of the house. You plan a great vacation for just you and the spouse. You buy a white couch. And you count down the days until that moment of peace with kids out of the house.

That is until a child shows up with no place to go, claiming to belong to your spouse. She comes along with a big drooling dog and a pregnant belly a month away from delivery.

Holy mid-life crisis not of your making.

Well, that is exactly what happens to Shelley and David who are both on their second marriage. They have been married about 10 years, raising their combined family of 4 children, the last of whom is a senior in high school.

But with Alexandra’s arrival, the finish line suddenly disappears. While she is a senior in high school, she is no where near being ready to handle the huge responsibilities that await her. Worse yet, she will drag the family through trauma they never expected.

The situation feels very real as this family goes through highs and lows from dealing with Alexandra’s issues as well as other family members who are trying to find their way. In that way, I appreciated the book for being real and honest, for not just focusing on Alexandra and what her inclusion does to the family.

Image from CLP

The other part I like was how the parents dealt – or didn’t – with the problems brought on by Alexandra. A marriage gets rocked and both sides have to figure out what is most important to them.

So here is the long of the short – would I read it again? I think the answer is yes because I like Shelley to certain extent and I feel for her in a problem that was not her making.

Shelley did not ask for Alexandra’s mother to die, she did not expect David to do some of the things he did. Nor did she expect to have to be the tough guy.  She and David have a great marriage but when the going gets rough, suddenly he is acting like a dofus, forgetting how she has been there for him through the years.

Perhaps that is what bothered me the most, characters getting a little out of character. Some of the characters went in directions that seemed totally out of their normal routines. And yet, does that not happen to all of us when life throws a curve ball? We act a little crazy and reject those around us? That I can understand while not liking it one bit.

What perplexed me the most was the emotional buffer in this book that I or the characters could never break through. I could see their pain but never touch it. Alexandra – with all of her teenage drama and justifiable but unnerving angst – may have been the truest character.

In the end, the journey was worth the ride. We watched a couple make the next steps towards redefining their lives as well as slowly accepting a new person into their lives. Life, as it turns out, is never really all that boring.

Lori Verni-Fogarsi has been an author, speaker, and small business consultant since 1995. She has been featured in major media including Lifetime Women’s Network, the My Carolina Today Show, and Boston Globe Forums Live.

 Her public speaking has occurred at many prestigious venues including North Carolina State University, Nassau Community College, and many more.

She has received two awards for her novel, Momnesia, and her nonfiction, Everything You Need to Know About House Training Puppies and Adult Dogs, continues to be one of the most highly recommended in its genre since 2005.

 Lori is a happy married mom of two, step mom of two more, and has two cats, both rotten. Originally a native New Yorker, she now divides her time between Raleigh, NC, and Lake Gaston, VA.

She is very excited about the release of  Unexpecting, and looks forward to her book tour, interviews, launch parties, and other festivities!

The One About Poetry in Movies

Family Movie Night

 

By Karyn Bowman

 

When I think of poetry, I often marvel at the way older people still remember passages that they had to memorize during the school days.

 

I studied many works, traveled through Dante, Plutarch, and, of course, Shakespeare. But I have retained little of it.

 

I might remember a line from Byron, the opening line from Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and the awful ‘tree’ poem. I can recite some biblical verses because they are rhymed or have a nice flair to them.

 

My favorite will always be “I am a stranger in a strange land” stated by Moses when he arrives in Midian.

 

Some poets like to be purposefully obscure in their writings while others lay out their feelings so that they reader can easily pick up on the emotions and physical scene surrounding the writer. Sometimes that comma that might seem like a distraction was actually purposely placed to make us slow down and feel the heart ache of the writer.

 

Image from thefamouspeople.com

One of my favorite poets is e.e. cummings who turned phrases inside out while ignoring all rules of punctuation. I am not always sure what he is saying but it sounds lovely as he tries to find new ways to describe how he feels about his love.

 

No one, not even the rain, has such small hands.

 

I first heard this line in a Woody Allen movie, Hannah and Her Sisters. The movie is about three sisters who are at different stages of life. The incredibly capable Mia Farrow believes she is happily married to Michael Caine. Barbra Hershey is living with a man who does not want any children. Actress and caterer Diane Weist is searching for something. And Mia’s ex-husband, Allen, is flitting around in the belief he is dying from something.

 

Poetry is used to seduce one sister, death knocks at the door and changes it mind while true love blossoms unexpectedly. Set in the upper middle class of NYC, it is a movie about the bond of sisters, the ability to forgive, and the fear of moving on.

 

While this movie came out in 1987, I find very few movies use poetry unless it is a historical movie. After all, nothing sets a historical scene like a good epic poem. One movie that I remember from recent years takes an old rhyme about a treasonous group.

 

Remember, Remember the Fifth of November, The Gunpowder Treason and Plot

II know of no reason, why the Gunpowder Treason, should ever be forgot.

 

Poster Image from IMDb.com

In V for Vendetta, England is now ruled by a man who looks and acts like Hitler. Anyone who defies him or stands against him disappears and will eventually be put to death. The small group of rebels disappear, are tortured, and killed. While all of this goes on, there is one man who is willing to get the revenge while we learn his story and that of the young woman he chooses as a partner after saving her from the secret police.

 

It is a movie that talks about the price of freedom, moving poetry and culture into the mix so that it is almost natural. And let’s not forget the spectacular explosion at the end of the movie. Are either of these movies family friendly? Well, they are if you have teenagers but the smaller members might have to be satisfied with a Dr. Suess movie.

 

Until next week, see you in the rental aisle.

 

What is That – Chicken and Waffles

Every time I turn around, I hear someone talking about Chicken and Waffles.

People rave about this dish and I have never had it. I looked up a few recipes and knew I could do it so my last Sunday Supper meal was just that.

My central problem was my waffle iron. It is not a traditional iron with the square pockets.

My waffle iron is a Mickey Mouse design with the heads of the six main characters. That would be Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Daisy and Pluto. However, why let a little issue like that bother you when there is is chicken waiting to be fried.

Now, I did not use a recipe per sae. That’s right, I made it all up as I went along. This could bother some people and some times it bothers me because I like to time everything.

Instead, I took my chicken breasts and pounded them a little thinner so they would cook faster. After that, I prepared a dredging pan of flour, salt and pepper. I made a skillet get hot on the stove, put the oven at 250 and took out a glass dish to put my cooked chicken pieces in and keep warm in the oven.

Meanwhile, my daughter made the waffle batter while the iron  heated up. But here is where our first snafu came up. I forgot to spray the iron with Pam before we started. The first batch stuck to the plates and would not come off. It would take practically burning the dough off of the plates in order to clean them.

However, once that debacle was over we were in waffle-making and chicken frying heaven. I put a little vegetable oil in the hot skillet before starting the chicken. The waffle iron was sprayed with Pam and all came out fairly well. What was made went into the low oven to stay warm without drying out and waited for all to be done.

Last thing that needed to happen – besides the steaming of broccoli – was to make the chicken gravy. I did a simple rue in the pan we used for cooking the chicken. Then I added chicken broth, let that simmer down for a bit to reduce before adding the milk. The husband oversaw the final part of cooking the sauce because that is what he likes to do best.

Now some people make the layers with waffle on the bottom, chicken next and then the gravy. Others add syrup between the waffle and the chicken. Some pictures showed just the chicken on the waffle.

At our table, we had people eating the components separately with syrup on the waffles. I went for the syrup between the chick and the waffle while my husband choose to have only the gravy covering his stack.

I guess it does not matter how you eat it because the leftovers were minimal. The kids kept going back for chicken and waffle pieces.  The broccoli was eaten by some and the last of that became omelets the next morning.

This is one meal I was told to “add to the rotation.”

Are you trying any new recipes this spring?

Just Another Paranormal Evening

Family Movie Night

 

by Karyn Bowman

 

Recently at a job interview, I learned an interesting tidbit of information.

 

At stores that sell DVDs and BluRAY, it is horror movies that are flying off the shelves. And then the interviewer told me that horror movies sell in greater volume in rural areas than in urban areas.

 

Image from Fishmuffinsofdoom.blogspot.com

I thought about that when I was picking out a movie the other week for our movie night at home. The racks were filled with horror movies. Even a lot of the family movies had a horror element to them. ParaNorman, Hotel Transylvania, Frankenweenie. Each one of these movies involve ghosts, zombies, vampires or some other element that we might expect from some old campy horror movie from the 30s or 40s.

 

It makes me wonder what are we so afraid that we have to explore it in our entertainment. I understand why zombie movies might be so popular. With the sluggish economy, people with jobs are being asked to do the work of three people and are so tired they might wish they were dead. Or people are afraid that they will become shells of the people they once were.

 

While that might be a mid-life crisis issue, I can see how people would think that. They wonder what happened to their passion for life, their joy in the everyday when it has been beaten down by the routine of daily life of going to work and coming home to deal with the family only to do it again the next day.

 

How can one find a passion for life when they are eating the same fried eggs (over easy) with the same raisin toast and the same green tea that they have had for breakfast for the last 20 years. Where is the joy when you are yelling at the kids or the husband for the clothes that hit the bathroom floor but not the hamper less than a foot away for umpteen years?

 

We need to see how to fight against it, how to rage against the dying of the light. No matter what our age, people want to see how a person fights against demons and other evil entities in order to survive. We want that secret.

 

Or maybe people just like watching gory movies and getting scared silly. I like my explanation better but I am sure some one out there reading this is saying “that chick thinks too much.”

 

Now this weekend, we did watch ParaNorman.

 

Poster Image from IMDb.com

The story is about an 11-year-old boy who sees ghosts everywhere. Even his grandmother visits with him because she promised to always watch over him. He is seen as weird and different, including by his own family although his mother tries to make life easier for her son.

 

Unfortunately, the anniversary of the witch approaches. The undead bodies of the seven men who tried and sentenced the witch will roam the town until the sun rises. To make things more tense, it has been left to Norman to settle the witch and help her find peace for one more year.

 

It is a family movie with some PG swearing that is dark and brooding. Norman is relentlessly bullied and tries to keep a low profile in order to be a part of the scene and not the center. When another bullied kid tries to befriend him, he brushes off the other kid, choosing to remain alone to protect himself.

 

I find it is a movie about regrets, of a past that needs to be fixed to solve the present.

 

The kids like it and I found it interesting to watch. I might watch it again just to see the little bits of good stop-action animation that I missed. Are there greater lessons to be taken away from this movie for the kids? Well, yes there are. But I will leave that to you to ponder.

 

Until next week, see you in the rental aisle.

And Now for Something Completely Different

I would like to share something with my faithful readers.

I am involved in something new,  as in a new blog.

My writer’s group graciously allowed me to be in charge of getting a blog together. Members do the hard part which is to put together a blog entry and then I do the easy part. I handle adding the pictures and do the layout.

We just got the blog started this week after a mis-step or two but I thing it looks great. Please check it and let my fellow writers know how great they truly are.

Working in the Spring Garden

This has been a tough week as I start the 13th week without having a job. I can’t believe I have been out of work this long.

Luckily the spring rains have come to make the grass green and help my flowers grow. Sunday I took the time to transplant the Evening Primrose from the front of the garden to the back. Because it grows four feet high, I feel this is a much better placement.

However, that was not the first thing I did the spring. The first thing was planting some seeds. I love Sweet Peas but for what ever reasons, they have been growing where there are not any support systems beyond other plants. So these coated seeds have been placed at one end of the porch where they can start on some lattice work. If they grow higher than the porch, I will string some twine for them to follow as well.

Seed packets

The other side of the porch was treated to the bird house gourd seeds. That side has been taken over by Morning Glories which I intend to lessen – a lot. The seeds were interesting as they were almost the shape of a butternut squash about an inch long. I see a future 4H project if they are done in time.

Last year I tried to plant Scarlet Runner Bean which was destroyed by said Morning Glories.

So here are some of the plants that are coming up now.

Chives returning for the 15th year

 

Clematis starting to vine out. Note to self – do something about that stick.

 

Look, it is the red sprouts of peonies.

 

Look, even the tulips are getting in the act.

 

Because I think the coldest of the cold weather is done, I might even remove the compost this weekend that has safe guarded all of my plants. Why, I was brave enough to trim up the rose-bush today.

Here is what I do know. Anytime that I feel like going out and playing in the garden, I have gloves, clippers, and a little rake at the ready by the back door.

Tools

 

How are you getting ready for the spring garden?