Sunday, November 25, 2012

Sunday Salon: The Thanks Without the Cooking

Hi there!  Have you come out the other side of this holiday unscathed?  I have for sure.  I do see all the posts about the family gathering to cook meals together and such, and worry that I have deprived my kids of this tradition this year.  But I'm not sure they care.  My daughter cringes at anything that was once breathing and is now on our plate.  My son will not allow any form of a potato pass his lips.  So we used a gift certificate for the Marriott World, escaped to a place that felt like vacation, and ate our big dinner out at a restaurant.  See my Un-Thanksgiving post here.

I'm not sure what happened before we got to the resort though.  A run or two?  Some Andre time?  Oh yeah, I took the kids to a corn maze!  Whatever.  Our eyes were on the goal, and that goal was escaping reality for several days.  The way we did this, beyond going to a hotel and eating out every meal, was to see movies.  Holy cow, the movies out these days!  So many to choose from.  So I picked my top three, convinced my family that they needed to see them too, and we went for it.  On Wednesday night, we all saw "Skyfall", being the Bond lovers that we are.  On Thursday, after our Thanksgiving meal, my hubby and I saw "Life of Pi" and the kids saw the last "Twilight".  (My son wasn't pleased, but has to do these things to keep the peace with his sister.)  On Friday, we were determined to see "Lincoln".  We actually had to go to three theaters to find one NOT SOLD OUT.  At 3:00pm in the afternoon.  But we did find one.  All three movies are worthy of the effort.  I have labored to write all three of them up for you over the next three Mondays.

We are drawing near the end of kids' sports for a little while.  My daughter is going to run a Half Marathon next Saturday with her track coach, and should have no trouble.  Oh, to be 14.  She ran 10 yesterday and wasn't even tired.  My son has one more track meet next Saturday, and has been doing much better than last year, thanks to Andre.  After that, we will have some time to get back to basics with Andre-training before my daughter's track season and my son's volleyball season.  Oy.  But I've learned that keeping them active is the key to many issues.

After months of whining about my lack of time for reading and writing reviews, I've come up with a plan.  I'm going to take Friday's off in December, as well as Christmas week.  This should give me time to catch up.  I'm always nutty-busy in December and so is everyone else, so I don't think it should matter.

So, reading.  I've been really dragging my way through "The Light Between Oceans" in print for my book club, which meets next Wednesday.  I doubt I will have it finished in time, but am enjoying it nevertheless.  On audio, I've been listening to Linda Castillo's "Gone Missing" (the Kate Burkholder Amish crime series) and should be through it soon.  Did you know that Neve Campbell will be playing Kate Burkholder in a two-hour TV special production of "Sworn to Silence", the first in the series?  

I've been so taken with the movie trailers of "Les Miserables".  I get all emotional and weepy every time I see it.  I've seen the stage play in London, which blew me away, but have never read the book.  Should I?  I know some of my blogging buddies have.  Please weigh in.  I realize this would be a project of sorts.  I'm just so tempted.  

So today I have committed to taking my daughter holiday shopping AGAIN (we dabbled yesterday and it was chaotic and awful) but whatever makes her happy.  I will go for a run this morning once it gets out of the 40's.  And I will get my head around another busy week, in which starts with some repairs to my car, continues with a banquet for my daughters Cross Country season, a haircut, and ending with a few days in NYC.

Before I sign off (I know this is a long one, I SO apologize, really), I just want to pay homage to a woman who has been a part of my family since the mid-1980's.  A woman who has been a stand-in grandmother to me and a great-grandmother to my kids.  She died the day before Thanksgiving at the age of 97.  She was a fighter, a cancer-survivor, and someone who never let any moss grow under her feet.  Honestly?  We all thought she would live forever.  Up until just a year or so ago, she lived on her own, drove a smoking-hot red Cadillac sports car, and loved to pull in a Big Mouth Bass now and again.  While I am at peace with the idea that her body just ran out of steam the last few months, her presence in our lives will be missed.  May she rest peacefully today in God's loving arms.      
   

14 comments:

Beth F said...

I'm so sorry for your loss.

rhapsodyinbooks said...

Sorry for your loss as well!

bermudaonion said...

We went to see Lincoln on Thanksgiving and the theater was packed. I'll be writing my thoughts soon but I have a feeling my thoughts will be different from most people's.

I'm sorry for your loss. It sounds like your friend was a real gem - someone for us to emulate.

Jenny said...

I started reading Les Mis and then forgot about it.. it's just so long and I wasn't sure where it was going. But I didn't get far so I'm sure it'll get better.

I didn't realize how popular Lincoln was! I really want to see that. I look forward to your review for Life of Pi.. I just read the book and I'm not sure if I want to see the movie or not.

I am sorry for your loss. Sounds like she was an amazing woman!

Unknown said...



I loved Les Miserables, every one of the 14,000 pages or whatever the length of it was. It's divided into six 'books,' so I read one a month a couple of years ago. That way I could handle the task and I got six blog posts out of it, too.

Peppermint Ph.D. said...

I have Les Mis on my nightstand...still marked with sticky notes marking the intervals of a read along I signed up and then immediately got behind on :( I too am struggling with whether to try and tackle it or not before seeing the movie. I'm usually a stickler about that sort of thing but I don't want to set myself up.
Lincoln is on my list as well...I've heard so many good things about it already!
I'm pretty sure I'll wait for the DVD on Breaking Dawn 2...I'm about ready for all that to be done.
Very sorry for your loss, Sandy...I lost my grandmother a couple of Christmases ago and it was the weirdest holiday for us all. Hold on to your memories :)

Alyce said...

What a sweet tribute. I look forward to seeing your movie reviews.

Marie Cloutier said...

I'm sorry for your loss. It sounds like she had a great life.
I don't blame you for going to a restaurant for Thanksgiving. It's tough to please lots of different tastes, and then someone else does the dishes, right?

Unknown said...

I hope that I'm still going on that strong into my nineties. So sorry to hear that she died. What a lovely tribute.

Natalie~Coffee and a Book Chick said...

I also saw Les Miserables in London years (two decades ago)! I fell in love with the music and the story and always meant to read the book. I doubt I'll be able t oread that chunkster before the movie is released, so I'm going to throw the guilt out the window and just go see the movie, and enjoy every doggone piece of it. It looks fantastic!

And I'm so sorry to hear about your friend/stand-in grandmother. It sounds like she had an incredible life and my thoughts go out to you.

Don't feel stressed about the blogging. Take your time and blog when you can.

Zibilee said...

It sounds like you had a very nice week just relaxing and soaking up the fun, but I am sorry to hear about the passing of your stand-in grandmother. I lost one of those two months ago, and I am still overwhelmed by the loss. I think you have a good handle on it though, and the fact that she is with God, as is my stand-in Nana brings joy to my heart. Relax and have fun this month, no stress, no pressure. I think your idea of a break is a good one.

JoAnn said...

Your Un-Thanksgiving sounds pretty wonderful to me! As far as Les Mis, I read it nearly 25 years ago and while I loved some parts, other just dragged. I can't give it a whole-hearted recommendation, but you should give it a shot if you're feeling motivated.

caite said...

"Les Miserables"
CAN.NOT.WAIT

Julie P. said...

I have to laugh. Wait until it's out of the 40s to run. Up here, I've been waiting for it to hit 32!