Winter Hope

Seattle Winters blast us with rain.

It's often one of those non-stop drizzles that lasts for months. And months. And months.

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Well, it seems that 'blast' has now hit us.

It's been raining for days and who knows how long it will continue?

I caught this complete rainbow early this morning. Hope this is a sign for this winter!

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Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah or whatever holiday you may celebrate this season!

Here's to a New Year full of love, happiness and many letterbox discoveries along the way!!!

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And the movies continue...

Today, Ladies in Lavender and Napoleon Dynamite!

Yesterday, March of the Penguins.

The streak of good movies continues.

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Ladies in Lavender (Judi Dench/Maggie Smith): Definitely a chick flick! Bonus that it involves gorgeous scenery and captivating music! I kept wondering where the letterboxes were hidden and whether the villagers of Cornwall were keen on letterboxing. I'm a bit perplexed, though, never did catch the 'lavender' bit--unless the flowers he presented to the women included lavender? None of the ladies' dresses was lavender. Also, I've never seen that much sun there (except in April). Must've been a unique time, weather-wise, to enjoy so much sun over so many months... ;)

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Napoleon Dynamite: I have to admit, the only reason I even selected this movie is because Preston, Idaho, recently made the news. I remember faint 'discussion' about it way back around the Sundance festival but nothing more. It just didn't 'catch my attention' enough, I suppose. Well, when Preston made the 'big news' (i.e. AP news wire) recently about their politicians resigning because of 'dirty politics' then it caught my attention again. Before this, Preston was known as a small town without a scandal. Unfortunately, that's changed now. :(

So, I went and saw the film. Interesting! A mixture of flashbacks (good? bad? still can't say--just glad high school is over!), feeling sorry for the nerds in life (hey, Bill Gates is proof enough nerds have the potential to go far!) and celebration of the individual. The characters were unique! This film was an experience--I'm glad I saw it--it was entertaining but in a slow, vanilla, quiet sort of way. Loaded with lots of dry, almost hidden humor. Funny to think the 'bone' that grandma broke would be something only a Lamaze instructor or a midwife would know anything about. How on earth did she break that & not break her collar bone? ;) Great music! Caught myself singing many of the songs--it's great if only for the music!

Idaho is a gorgeous state and I kept trying to compare the scenery to different parts of the region we've visited over the years. The mountains reminded me a bit of Boise, the rolling grass-covered hills reminded me of the Steptoe Butte area near Spokane and the flat areas could be most anyplace. Definitely harkens one back to a slower-paced lifestyle; exile from the rat-race!

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March of the Penguins: I admit--this movie was used mostly as a 'built-in' babysitter in a pinch. Who knew that it would strike terror in the heart of a Star Wars engrossed, Lego-maniac, war-flick hardened 4-year old? My fault--I should have 'previewed' it. :( trkr may never go swimming in the Sound again! Or lake. Or bathtub for that matter. Got too attached to the birds. A trip to the zoo may trigger hysterics. Ugh! Prompted a quick review of the 'food chain' but otherwise another great film.

Common thread between these 3 movies: You may not think these 3 movies have anything in common but, indeed, they do! How, you may ask, do movies of such different genre share similarities? Here goes... The penguins that march live in the ocean. The man spared by the ladies in lavender was retrieved from the sea. He finds refuge in the ladies' quaint seaside cottage in which a 'tall-ship' is displayed quite prominently on a shelf. Napoleon's Uncle Rico throws in a 'tall-ship' as the bonus for purchasing his 24-piece set of happy-to-glad ware. Napoleon's classmates wore tuxedos to the school dance and the penguins don tuxedos permanently. Napoleon dances a 'jig' of sorts during the school assembly and the villagers of Cornwall dance their own 'jig' in the village pub. So, you see--all these films are related in their own, unique little way. ;)

3 movies left...

Master & Commander, Cinderella Man, & Catch Me If You Can