The Return of Crash....

...to the compound was a happy occasion indeed. Having survived his bronchioscopy with nary a scratch (except the weeks' worth of IV holes, of course), he looks better than he has in weeks and fully enjoyed a home-cooked meal for the first time in 6 days. Armed with a smorgasbord of new meds, he now awaits the results of his test. I don't know why these things take so long. Two weeks? Really? But then, I have many customers who could say the same about ME, so I shouldn't bark too loudly. Just as tailoring customers must wait their turn, so must patients.

Today's review is All About Steve, starring Sandra Bullock. If you've not seen this movie, my recommendation is: don't bother. I like Sandra Bullock, I've probably seen all of her movies, and I think she's a great actor. But the nerdy Mary, with whom we're presumably supposed to empathize and root for, was just too annoying for words. I couldn't get past that. Mary is a crossword puzzle writer by trade (excuse me, cruciverbalist), and her parents set her up on a blind date with Steve, whom she then proceeds to stalk across the country. Sounds like it could be funny, and there are a few moments, but mostly it falls flat.

Birds are at my feeder....

...finally. I was beginning to think they ALL went south this year, chickadees and cardinals included. But today there was a sparrow on the feeder and a nuthatch on the suet. Maybe they'll spread the word. I've heard that there is a dip in the bird population this year because of the crappy summer we had, weather-wise. I don't know where that info came from or how true it is, but I guess it makes about as much sense as anything else.

As some of you already know, my dad Crash is in the hospital. Tomorrow he's having a (and pardon my spelling) bronchioscopy to see why it is that he can't get enough air. Sparky is maintaining, going down to see him every day and taking care of business at home. I'm pretty sure she didn't need anymore holiday season stress, but it is what it is. So now we just have to wait and find out WHAT it is.

Today I'm reviewing Angels and Demons, which stars Tom Hanks reprising his role from The DaVinci Code. Having read all of Dan Brown's books (except his latest release), I have to say that while I really liked DaVinci, I thought Angels and Demons was a much better book. Ditto the movies. It may not actually be the case, but I got the impression as I watched this movie that if I hadn't read the book, I would be having a bit of difficulty following the intricacies of the plot. It stands on its own as an action movie, but as is usually true of movies based on books, there is only so much that translates to the screen. Tom Hanks and Ewan MacGregor both gave excellent performances, and the machinations of the villain reminded me of "Se7en" (a really well-done movie which I liked but still found too twisted to ever watch again) I think that if you've read the book, you will not be disappointed in the movie. If you liked the movie, you should read the book. And if you've done neither, read the book first.

How do people in Florida do it?

So the other day here in southern RI, it was 75 degrees and sunny. It's RI and it's DECEMBER, and it was 75 degrees and sunny. How in the world is anybody supposed to muster any Christmas spirit under these conditions?? But today it's supposed to snow, and I've heard that if you don't like the weather in New England you should wait a minute, but this is just stupid.

Today's review is Nights in Rodanthe, based on the book by Nicholas Sparks and starring two of the most attractive people on the planet, Richard Gere and Diane Lane. I read this book several years ago, and if you liked the book you should see the movie. As far as I can recall, it stayed pretty true to the book. For the people who haven't read the book, it goes like this; Diane is estranged from her cheating husband and comes to North Carolina to get away from it all for a weekend, managing her friend's inn. The one guest, Richard (who is struggling with his own crises) arrives soon after. If you're a fan of Nicholas Sparks' work, you know that things don't always work out the way you think they're going to. That's all I'm going to say about the plot. I liked this movie, which was indeed filmed in Rodanthe and other locations in coastal North Carolina. There are several aerial shots of the inn itself, which is built right on the beach and made me want to stay there...although it did make me wonder why people go through so much trouble to build such things in a place that gets whacked by hurricanes on a regular basis. But I digress. This is, of course, a chick flick. But a good one.

What I do for fun when I'm not sewing....

...is, uh...sew. Or in this case, No-sew. I finally got around to making these banners for our band so that people will know who they're watching. Instead of making a big banner for the wall and then having the problem of trying to find a way to hang it, I decided to make two smaller ones that will hang from our speakers with velcro. These were made with heat n bond ultra hold, and then the small details of the Bleeding Cowboys font I added with paint.

Today's movie review is The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. I really liked this movie, and it's also something Sparky can watch (no violence, obnoxious language or overt sex). It's a romantic comedy, most of which is set in Alaska. It was, actually, filmed mostly in Massachusetts, and the scenery is truly stunning. The story was not as predictable as most romantic comedies, and the fact that Betty White is in it...well, it's my firm belief that ANY movie can be vastly improved by the addition of Betty White. Not that this movie needed improvement. I highly recommend it. It's very funny and a very sweet story. And getting back to Betty White, if you're browsing around YouTube you should check out the clips of her on the Craig Ferguson show. She's just got to be the funniest woman on the planet.