Movies and Christmas and Cats, Oh My!

I had intended to write on here regularly but life has gotten in my way.  I know I promised a review of Plain Truth by Jodi Piccoult but I finished that so long ago that I no longer remember any of the things I wanted to say about it. 

This is what I have been up to.

I reread Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (for the sixth or seventh time)  after seeing the film with my friend Abby.  We had such a good time and will be each other's dates for the next two movies.  The movie was brilliantly made.  Even though I knew what was going to happen, I was on the edge of my seat during the tense moments.  I admit that I had tears come to my eyes when Katniss gave her speech in District 11.  It was much better than the first movie.   I cannot wait to see what they do with Mockingjay especially since it deals with the dark underside of war.

As an aside, I love Effie Trinket.  Her character just makes me smile.  I loved the butterfly costume she wore in this movie.  I couldn't find a picture that made it look as spectacular as it looked on film.

We have decorated our house for Christmas.  We usually get our tree on the first Saturday of December but this year we got it a week earlier.  I am so glad we did because it was windy and in the single digits this last weekend.  I found more penguin ornaments and we finally got rid of the string of old fashioned large bulbs.  My penguins are up around the house.  I decorate with penguins because I absolutely love them and out of sheer laziness.  If I don't feel like taking down my Christmas decorations until February, it doesn't look so bad.  Penguins are more wintery than Christmasy. 

If you look closely at the right side of the Christmas tree picture, you'll notice something new.  We added to our family!  That's right.  We got two kittens.  I only intended to get one but I was having such a hard time choosing between the feisty one or the calm one.  Ken decided we should get both of them since they would be happier together.  He now claims that it was because I "would still be standing there trying to pick one."  They have been a great addition and have brought a lively element to our house.  Not to mention that kittens are absolutely adorable and clumsy and hilarious.

 

 We named them Ferris Mewler and Cameron Frye.  I had the name Ferris picked out (thanks Bloggess for such an awesome cat name) and Cameron just seemed right for his shy, timid brother. 

They are little hellions.  So much for having a quiet one.  Ferris has bonded with Ken and Cameron has decided to be mine.  So yeah, we now have five cats.  I'm still not changing the blog name.  Maybe a subtitle would be fitting.  I still maintain that I'm not a crazy cat lady because one cat lays under our bed and snores all the time and my husband decided to keep two of the four cats.  So technically, I only have two cats; my husband has two and his son has the sleepy old one.

I tried to take a cute picture of them in Ken's hunting boots but cats are not very cooperative.  I also apparently really need a pedicure.  I still may crop this picture and use it on the Christmas card.

As for reading, I haven't had a lot of time.  I know.  I have to make time.  Finding time to read is difficult when you work from ten in the morning to ten at night and still need to spend time with your family and friends.  Not to mention that cleaning is necessary so my house doesn't look like an episode of Extreme Hoarders.  I also crocheted a baby blanket for my little sister's baby that should arrive next month.

My schedule has settled down and I have picked up a book again.  I'm reading a little bit every day.  I had no idea how much I need to read until I didn't have time.  I could actually feel my brain cells shriveling up and dying. 

Oh, and I seem to be coming out of my depressive episode.  I can't describe how that feels.  I almost feel like I'm physically lighter.  There is light at the end of the tunnel. 

The Mean Reds

October is a month that is awash with the color pink and we know what those ribbons mean.

With all that saturation, you probably don't know what the green ribbon represents.

October is Depression Awareness Month.

I would love to share a bit of my story.    Please forgive the  page jump.  I hate them when other bloggers use them but I'm only doing this because this post has a few curse words.  I don't use them in writing unless I'm quoting and like to warn people before hand.

Pulaski Polka Days

I had good intentions to get things done this weekend.  In reality, I had a much better time relaxing with my husband.  Saturday was just a nice morning.  We sat outside because it was finally cool.  We grilled hot dogs for lunch and just  lazed about.

That afternoon, we headed out to Pulaski Polka Days.  I know.  It sounds like something only old people would go to.  Even Ken was not too keen on going.  That may have been more because he is dealing with sciatica right now.  He's been in a lot of pain lately.  But polka music is a lot like Mexican music.  It's not the oompah bands like most people think.  It's very lively and fun to dance to.  When I was growing up, all my cousins had polka bands at their weddings.  The dance floor was always full at those weddings. 

Back to what we did.  When we arrived, we walked down the street and looked at what people were selling.  The stuff we could afford, we didn't want or need and the stuff we loved we couldn't afford.  We did find a vendor who was selling handmade wooden toy cars for $1.50 each.  That is an amazing price.  I wish we had little people to buy them for.  We did get grilled corn on the cob and root beer floats.  Delicious!

We headed down to grounds and headed to one of the tents to listen and watch.  It is almost impossible to be unhappy when listening to polka.  I loved watching the dancers the most.  It is amazing how much energy it takes to dance.  If you think you are in shape, dance the polka and find out how wrong you are.  It was wonderful to see all ages out their dancing from little kids and teenagers to little old married couples.  People who you wouldn't think could dance all day were out there doing it.   My favorite was this very elderly couple.  He was so tall and she only came up to a little above his waist.  They were out dancing most of the evening.  So cute!  I wish I had video of the dance floor when it was full but I never think ahead like that.  The video below gives a small idea of what it is like. 

I got a handful of pictures of the full dance floor but they didn't turn out very well.  I'll let you see them anyway.  It gives you an idea of how crowded it was. 

Sadly, I only got to dance twice.  Even dancing slowly is a bit vigorous, so Ken couldn't dance with me.  So when our older son and his friends stopped by us to chat, Ken asked one of our son's friends to take me out on the floor.  He is an excellent dancer and I am not so it was a teaching moment for me.  We basically promenaded around the floor while I learned the basic steps.  I was winded after one dance so I had to take a break.  A few songs later, this man from Minnesota asked me to dance.  I only danced twice all night but still had a great time.  We were ready to head home a little after 10:00 because of my honey's poor back.

We will definitely head back next year.  We'll even dance.  We may even enter the dance contest because with a little practice, we could definitely smoke most of the contestants that were out there this year.  I'm just saying.  Except for one couple, the others were lumbering drunks. 

If you have anything like that near you, you should definitely check it out.  For now, I'll just leave you with a little video of one of my favorite songs to sing along to.

We're Having A Heatwave, A Tropical Heatwave

I wanted to put up a post today on the desk I bought at a rummage sale for two dollars.  I haven't even gotten to it at all this week.  It's been too dang hot.  There is no way in Hades I will be outside sanding when the temps are hitting the low nineties.  I live in Wisconsin because we are only supposed to get a week of super hot weather a couple days out of the year.  I've been kicking back, laying on the bed with a fan blowing on me (that's right, no AC), and watching Netflix for the last three days.

I picked up a piano off the street over the weekend and I have the feeling this is going to be a HHHUUUGGgggggeee  project.  My husband is not happy since I pushed it home while he was at work.    It needs to be refinished.   And tuned.  And it also needs two new caster wheels that cost twenty dollars a piece.  You know what they say.  There's no such thing as a free piano.

I'm working on finishing Atonement by Ian McEwan. I can't wait to finish it.  Not what I expected at all.  I also have a few books on hold at the library that are waiting for me right now.  I have no idea why the books all come at once.  And usually when I have five others that I just checked out a few days earlier.    I believe it is an evil plot to make sure I can't finish my books.

Since I'm kind of on the subjects of libraries, you should check out this website. 

Have a great weekend everyone.  It's going to cool off here so I'm sure I will.