Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
What are U doing today?
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What are U doing today? (Ongoing thread)
message 1701:
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Joy H., Group Founder
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Jan 08, 2011 02:38PM
Sorry to hear that Harley is shivering in pain too often. Perhaps in time she'll feel better.
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Oh, Sally Field would have been fantastic, although I liked Kim Darby.Harley has her moments. She's getting pain meds 3 times a day. You know how that goes. She is looking a bit perkier. I think it's just going to be a long, slow haul back to health.
We just lost power for a couple of hours. I had to get up & turn back on the heaters in the shop & tack room. It's 6 degrees out. Brrr!
Jim, losing power at those temps is frightening. Do you lose power often? If so, have you considered an automatic electric generator?
I've considered an automatic generator & rejected it due to the cost. We don't lose power that often & it's usually fixed within a couple of hours. Two years ago, we lost it for 6 days due to an ice storm, though. A generator needs to be run at least 20 minutes per month under load to insure proper operation & Energy Star appliances can be ruined by a poorly tuned generator. We have an all electric house, so by the time you figure up what the heater & hot water heater draw, that's a big expensive generator. Too big to be useful for anything else. Then I'd also have to worry about the fuel going bad or putting in a special tank for it.
So I decided on a small one which weighs about as much as a full gas can & will run one appliance plus a few lights, except for the hot water & main heater. I use it fairly regularly doing chores around the farm since it is handy. I have a small, generator that is guaranteed to deliver correct power or none. For heat, I have several propane tanks & heaters since I have to keep the shop, house & tack room all warm. We also have a Coleman stove & candles, so we're all set. There is a truck stop about 10 miles away where we can take a shower, if we have to. That's what we wound up doing last time.
Jim, it sounds like you have a good solution.
Heat i sone of those things we take for granted until we don't have it. I expect you know the feeling. nina
For any of you C.S. Lewis Narnia fans I recently read an article written by his step son, Douglas Gresham. It was a glowing account of the guidance, love and acceptance he received from his step father both before and after his mother's death. It almost brought tears to my eyes.Here are a couple of quotes from it. "When I went to England with my mother I had gone hoping to meet a knight in armor from a fairy tale. I got something far better, a father who understood that what children need most of all is unwavering love." "Instead of a knight from Narnia in shining armour I met a stout old man in a shabby tweed coat who knew exactly how to talk to a child." nina
That's beautiful, Nina.
Nina, thanks for sharing that! Have you ever watched the movie Shadowlands? That's a dramatic retelling of the story of Lewis (Anthony Hopkins) and Gresham's mother, Joy Davidman (Deborah Winger). For a Hollywood movie, I thought it was pretty well done.
Yes, Werner, I've seen "Shadowlands" (1993). It was excellent. Anthony Hopkins is wonderful!http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108101/
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Shadowla...
"Renowned children's author C.S. Lewis (Anthony Hopkins), a solemn, middle-aged university professor, becomes romantically entwined with a lively, divorced American poet (Debra Winger) 17 years his junior in this story about the couple's ill-fated love affair."
Last night I watched the premiere of Masterpiece Classic: Downton Abbey on PBS. It was excellent. It's an "Upstairs, Downstairs" kind of series, shown in 4 episodes. Episode one started with the heirs of the lord of the manor going down on the Titanic. Since there are only daughters in the family, a search for an heir ensues. The interaction between the gentry and the servants is well worth watching.TV Guide lists a replay on Friday night, with episode 2 on Sunday evening.
There are four episodes in all of the Downton Abbey story on Masterpiece theater. yes, it was good. nina
Katherine, thanks for telling us about "Downton Abbey". I see that it will be available on DVD at Netflix on 1/25/11. I'm going to try it."Downton Abbey" (2010):
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Downton-...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1606375/
"A drama set in pre-WWI England and centered on the dramas of the Crawley family and their servants."
PS-The following webpage at IMDb shows SEVEN episodes:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1606375/e...
The Netflix page says: "... this seven-part British series chronicles the comings and goings of the upper-crust Crawley family and their assorted servants."
Joy H. wrote: "Katherine, thanks for telling us about "Downton Abbey". I see that it will be available on DVD at Netflix on 1/25/11. I'm going to try it."Downton Abbey" (2010):
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Downt..."
Hope you like it.
Katherine, I usually enjoy that sort of film. The Netflix description says: "Maggie Smith plays the sneering Dowager Countess of Grantham.". Maggie Smith is always fun to watch.
I tried to order, "Shadowlands," on Netflix with no luck as it is listed as UNKNOWN. It was such a good movie I would like to see it again. Here are a couple of quotes:
"He has Van Gogh's ear for music," Billy Wilder
"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it." Groucho Marx
I just got off the tractor. Cold! The wind is whipping & it's 26 out. Still snowing, but I pushed the few inches we had off the lane so I can get out in the morning. I doubt school will be open so I can take off early & plow for Marg's bus if I have to.I did get to spend a couple of hours reading If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor. It's very interesting & Campbell has a wonderful writing style. They're most of the way done with Evil Dead 1 right now. Lots about Raimi in there, too. Apparently they were friends in high school. To put icing on the cake, my Briscoe County Jr DVD's arrived today.
Joy H. wrote: "Katherine, thanks for telling us about "Downton Abbey". I see that it will be available on DVD at Netflix on 1/25/11. I'm going to try it."Downton Abbey" (2010):
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Downt..."
The series aired originally in 7 episodes, but was made into 4 hour and a half long episodes for American PBS audiences.
Nina wrote: "I tried to order, "Shadowlands," on Netflix with no luck as it is listed as UNKNOWN. It was such a good movie I would like to see it again. Here are a couple of quotes:
"He has Van Gogh's e..."
Nina, loved the quotes!
Here are the links to the Netflix "Shadowlands" films:
1985 - (DVD available): http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Sha...
(with Joss Ackland & Claire Bloom)
1993 - (DVD not yet available at Netflix; date of availabilty at Netflix UNKNOWN):
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Sha...
(with Anthony Hopkins & Debra Winger)
Jim wrote: "I just got off the tractor. Cold! The wind is whipping & it's 26 out. Still snowing, but I pushed the few inches we had off the lane so I can get out in the morning. I doubt school will be open so ..."Schools are closed here too. We're having a snow storm.
Jim, enjoy your DVDs! :)
Katherine wrote: "The series aired originally in 7 episodes, but was made into 4 hour and a half long episodes for American PBS audiences."Yes, I figured that was the case, Katherine. Thanks.
Joy, down here, we can commiserate with you on your snow! Around the turn of the year, our snow cover was pretty well melted; but it snowed heavily last weekend, and again yesterday and today (pretty much one snowstorm that continued off and on through the night) and continues to come down. A number of area schools are closed; Bluefield College isn't (we're on a delayed schedule), but we probably might be if we weren't going to start back on our spring semester today.
Marg wouldn't let me watch any Briscoe County Jr shows while she was in the room. Meanie! She even got upset when I was skimming through "In The Woods" & "Evil Dead". She's not much of a Bruce Campbell fan. I'm back at work today. The drive in wasn't terrible. Only a few inches of snow, although it's blowing pretty badly. No school again today. The snow will stick around. It's supposed to go down into the single digits tonight.
I used to watch Briscoe County Jr. some during the 90s --I can't remember if it was syndicated around here then, or in its original run. It was rather campy and tongue-in-cheek at times; but personally, I liked it --I thought it was one of the fresher approaches to the Western genre that I'd seen. (If memory serves me correctly, Briscoe had a pretty smart horse; you'd think that might have induced Marg to like the series a little, even if she didn't care too much for the human. :-) )
This moning was four degrees when I ventured outside and made my way through the seven inches of snow crusted beneath my feet. Outside of going to the Post Office, I am inside for the day. Tomorrow is supposed to be colder. Friday we get a break; hopefully not our limbs. nina
Joy, Thanks for your Netflix tip on Shadowlands. Last time I checked it was marked unavailable. nina
Good idea on the horse, Werner. I forgot to mention that he was in it. Dumb. I mentioned a couple of other actors she knows & likes. I'll try again tonight.
Well, I got her to watch some of it. Lots of snide comments. She probably has school tomorrow, so I'll get to finish the first episode before she gets back if I'm lucky. Otherwise, this will turn into just weekend lunch viewing. That's when I'm allowed to watch what I want without comments.;-)
Snow is still pouring down here; and when I got up this morning and checked my e-mail, I learned that Bluefield College is closed today due to "extreme inclement weather." Whoo-hoo, an unexpected day off --and the start of a five-day weekend! :-)
Congrats on the long weekend, Werner! Nice bonus.Our schools are open & it only got down to 18 last night - about 10 degrees warmer than they were calling for. It's windy again, though. Cold! No snow to amount to anything, thankfully.
It was five below when I fed the birds this morning..Brrrr! I see that The Green Hornet is coming out in a movie soon. Did any of you ever listen to it on the radio? nina
I've listened to a few shows & vaguely recall the cheesy 60's show that was on. Was that Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee that played Kato? I thought it was fun as a kid, but wasn't terribly impressed with it then. It was about as good as Batman of the time, the one with Adam West.
Am busy with family this week, but am also enjoying reading the book which Jackie recommended, Beauty. It's a fascinating fantasy! I"m very happy with it.
Today is a day for news. Forest Boyce, is one of the finalists for a jockey Eclipse award. She & her siblings were in Pony Club with all my kids. We're good friends with the whole family since 3 of their kids are all the same age as ours, but of the opposite sex - we're still friends, too.http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011...
Joy, I am reading a book now that I am thoroughly enjoying and perhaps if you like "Beauty," this would appeal to you. "The Confessions of an Ugly Step-Sister," by Gregory Maguire. BEWITCHING/ Chicago Tribune; An arresting hybrid of mystery, fairy tale, and historical novel. It isn't easy to classify or to forget/Detroit Free Press and so on..nina
Joy wrote: It's a fascinating fantasy! I'm very happy with it. I'm so glad you're enjoying it. I get anxious when recommending books for fear the person won't like it as much I did.
Jim, I'd imagine it'd pretty hard to beat a computer. I was still hoping Ken would win, though.
Nina, I read Mirror Mirror by Maguire and have intentions on read all of his unique retellings of old fairytales. I only hear good things about them.
Today we are going out the eat at the new Golden Corral that opened in our recently. I generally do not care for chain-restaurants but I hear it's good so I'm willing to give it a go. Has anyone else been to one?
I think I went to Golden Corral in Atlanta once. It was good. I now know why I thought I couldn't get the movie, "Shadowlands." I can't get the one I had in mind, starring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger. It's in my SAVE secton with Unknown as far as when it is available. What I got instead, is In the Shadowlands with British actors I have not heard of before and we'll see what it's like but I am disappointed as I loved the other version. This is apparently an earlier one. Maybe I will like it also. nina
Hi all. We're having another snow storm here in Glens Falls. I'm so tired of winter... already!Nina, I did read Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister and I remember enjoying it.
Jackie, I haven't been to the Golden Corral, but I will keep it in mind.
Well, our Chinese take-out delivery has arrived. Got to go eat. (Imagine ordering a take-out delivery in the middle of a snow storm! That's optimism! LOL)
Joy, try my other recommendation. "The School of Essentail Ingredients," by Erica Bauermeister. It was interesting and entertaining. One of my year's favorites. nina
Nina, I checked out the GR description of The School of Essential Ingredients. Nothing turns me off more than a discussion of cooking, even if there is symbolism in it. The only thing domestic about me is that I live in a house. :)
Joy, The book is sort of about food, you're right, but the essestial ingredient is LOVE. It is a novel of people coping and I do admit it does involve food but it is beautifully written. There are no recipes in it. But there are hints. Didn't you have to cook for your growing family? nina
Today was nice - we almost hit 40 - so I wound up getting some stuff done outside. I got most of the gravel back into the lane. That's why I hate to plow the lane, half the gravel winds up in the grass. I never sharpen my lawn mower blades until I've mowed a couple of times. Marg got more bales of shavings, so we put those in the barn & then the dogs, goats & I declared war on more of the honeysuckle out in the woods. Even a couple of the horses helped for a while. (Actually, they were only interested in more treats & raced off after it was clear I wasn't going to give them any more. Pigs.)
I fixed the peanut feeder I made, too. The 3" diameter is too big. The birds weren't able to get to the peanuts in the center, so I put a pipe in that takes up just enough space in the center to keep it a bit over a peanut deep all the way around. I found a dead gold finch & Pixie caught a bull frog. I keep the fish pond heated just enough to keep the ice off, so I guess the frog was a bit too active. Such a pleasant present to get.
I had a rung on the back of an old, green-bent chair to fix. I'd been putting it off, although I cut out some blanks to make the rung out of beech. I made that up & had a couple of blanks left over, that I turned into the needles. I turned the needles in less time than it takes to run down to the store & back. They're fine, but I could NOT find the center thread on either skein of yarn which the instructions called for on this scarf. Marg couldn't either, so I wound up just winding both skeins into balls (I tried to keep the tension fairly loose) & put the two of them in a box. I'll see how it goes, but maybe I'll stop at 5' & start a new project with what is left.
So far, it isn't too bad although this yarn is kinked up like a pig's tail. I did pick up an extra stitch the first time I got up to 3 rows & wound up pulling it all out & starting over. I'm back up to 3 or 4 rows. The doubled yarn isn't as bad as I thought it would be & the angle I put on the needles seems to be pretty good for this. I could have made them a bit more tapered, but not much. If I do, then I wind up getting the tips too long.
We were watching "The Golden Compass" which we recorded a while back. Hard to fit in a 2.5 hour movie normally, but since we're such party animals, Saturday night works well for that.
;-)
Joy, try, "The Forgotten Garden," I can't remember if any food is mentioned but it is a good story set in Cornwall and Australia. Sort of a mystery. But not in the genre sense. nina
Nina, to answer your question, yes I did cook for my family, but I never really enjoyed it.
I posted some pictures of my knitting equipment along with the chair back that I fixed. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid...
Thanks for the pics, Jim. You are incredibly creative and industrious. I never knew there was such a thing as a tassel-maker. Lily is so cute!
Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group
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