Oh my but that was fun

Seducing Dr Lewis
French Canadian with English subtitles

Between the laying out of the cricket pitch (?) and Dr. Lewis fishing, I thought I'd wet my pants laughing..... E

Amazon.com:
Seducing Dr. Lewis makes a pleasant addition to the quirky subgenre of what might be called "village comedies"--movies in which the oddball residents of a small village must work together to perpetrate some mild scam or bit of mischief (examples abound, from Waking Ned Devine to Saving Grace to Local Hero). The isolated Canadian community of St.-Marie-La-Mauderne desperately needs a new industry, but the factory they're trying to win requires a resident doctor. When a young doctor from Montreal (David Boutin) gets blackmailed into spending a month in the village, the prickly inhabitants go overboard to woo him--they learn to cook Beef Stroganoff, form a cricket team, and tap his phone. It's all a bit preposterous, but that's part of the charm; this kind of movie thrives on being just a tiny bit over the top. The daffy doings keep one foot on the ground thanks to a combination of skilled character actors (like Raymond Bouchard, who plays the town's struggling mayor) and mysterious girls (like Lucie Laurier, the beautiful postmistress). Fans of The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain will find much to enjoy here. --Bret Fetzer

Tomorrow is Friday

John Marsden, The Tomorrow Series

From School Library Journal: Australian teenager Ellie and six of her friends return from a winter break camping trip to find their homes burned or deserted, their families imprisoned, and their country occupied by a foreign military force in league with a band of disaffected Australians. As their shock wears off, the seven decide they must stick together if they are to survive. After a life-threatening skirmish with the occupiers, the teens retreat to their isolated campsite in the bush country and make plans to fight a guerilla war against the invaders. Writing in a distinct voice and showing rare intelligence and sensitivity, Ellie recounts their courageous battles against the Goliath in control of their land. She also records her feelings and observations about the romantic partnerships that develop within her small circle of friends, and shows how they mature and blossom during this time of crisis. Though readers are left wondering whether these heroes and heroines will survive (one is severely wounded at the end of the novel), Ellie's uncommonly honest and clear narration makes this coming-of-age adventure a story they won't forget.

.....

I'm now on book 6. They read quickly, lots of action to keep you turning pages and there's a true desire to know what's going to happen next. Having received the first 3 books from my Australian visitor, thanks Matt, I just had to get the rest and since matching covers aren't a big issue with me, I was happy finding them here.

******

Paris, Je T'Aime: thanks to Stainless Steel Droppings review I tracked it down. Worth it.

Failure to Launch: Just had to see this one seeing as my 25 year old is still at home.

..........

We had our second major snow storm of 2008 yesterday. Today it was truly beautiful watching the sun turn the ice on the trees into diamonds.

...........

Stephen, with a little help from his dad, changed the back breaks on his car.

and she finally appears with more

I haven't read any of Grisham's latest lawyer novels but this one appealed to me because it was different. I quite enjoyed it and once again I'm dreaming of an Italian holiday. I thought it ended rather abruptly but I guess we can just imagine what happens next ourselves. I handed it over to Paul and he gave it the thumbs up as well for a fun quick read.

From Publishers Weekly: Third-string Cleveland Browns quarterback Rick Dockery becomes the greatest goat ever by throwing three interceptions in the closing minutes of the AFC championship game. Fleeing vengeful fans, he finds refuge in the grungiest corner of professional football, the Italian National Football League as quarterback of the inept but full-of-heart Parma Panthers. What ensues is a winsome football fable, replete with team bonding and character-building as the underdog Panthers challenge the powerhouse Bergamo Lions for a shot at the Italian Superbowl. The book is also the author's love letter to Italy. Rick is first baffled and then enchanted by all things Italian-tiny cars! opera! benign corruption!-and through him Grisham (The Firm) instructs his readership in the art of gracious living, featuring sumptuous four-hour, umpteen-course meals. The writing sometimes lapses into travel-guide ("most Italian cities are sort of configured around a central square, called a piazza") and food porn ("[the veal cutlets are beaten with a small bat, then dipped in eggs, fried in a skillet, and then baked in the oven with a mix of parmigiano cheese and stock until the cheese melts"), but it's invigorated by appealing characters and lively play-by-play. The result is a charming fish-out-of-water story.

*I quite liked the travel-guide side of it and tended to fast read past the football plays.

-------------

Once again a fun little book from the library shelf. Certainly something I wouldn't have gone looking for but I flipped through reading the bits that interested me, and that turned out to be most of them. The type of book that you can pickup and put down just as easily as reading front to back in one sitting.

From Publishers Weekly: In 2006's The Pedant's Revolt, Barham focused on the false information and bad advice in well-known folk wisdom ("starve a cold," one human year equals seven dog years, etc.), but in this follow-up she takes the opposite tack, examining old wives' tales and famously outlandish anecdotes that are actually true. She tackles literature, nature, food, history, medicine and famous figures, among other topics, putting the facts to stories like Virginia Woolf's affinity for writing while standing up (in emulation of her older sister, a painter). Other stories, like the origin of Saint Nicolas's gift-giving tradition, get shocking makeovers: as it turns out, the jolly fat man began his career by buying children out of prostitution. Surprisingly true legends also include the skin-coloring effects of eating too many carrots, the absence of the resurrection in the original version of Saint Mark's gospel and the fact that the "S" in Harry S. Truman doesn't stand for anything. Imminently browsable, this volume should provide the trivially inclined with lots of fun (and perhaps some late nights worrying, for instance, about bugs living in one's inner ear).

----------

On Monday we went to see Juno and really enjoyed it. It's one that I'll watch again when it comes out on DVD.

We opened and enjoyed our second bottle of wine. It was the McWilliam's Chardonnay link from Australia. I'm not really a chard. drinker but this one has my approval. It didn't have the harsh first sip I get from other chardonnays and it stayed light and crisp through the meal. I served it with salmon the first night and finished it with pasta the next. It goes on my buy again list.

Last and first

This finishes books and movies: 2007



I'm still enjoying B. Cleverly's Sandilands series and hope she continues. Light reading but a damn good story.
From Booklist: Scotland Yard commander Joe Sandilands is finally going to take a vacation, escorting his niece to visit her father in the south of France. Of course, the British military authorities have other ideas, and Joe's trip becomes an inquiry to establish the identity of a shell-shocked veteran of World War I. The glamorous widow who owns a Champagne estate outside Reims is sure that the soldier is her missing husband, but four other people have claimed him as a family member, too. Sandilands must sort through the various motives to find out whether the soldier is British. In the process, he uncovers a well-concealed murder committed during the war. Cleverly continues to present fine historical mysteries with complex plots, well-developed characters, and colorful settings. Whether Sandilands is solving crimes in France, Raj-era India (The Damascened Blade, 2004) or jazz-age London (The Bee's Kiss, 2006), he is emerging as one of the most engaging heroes in the history-mystery genre.


....

Interesting because I'd never work as hard as she does and Prince Philip continues to make me laugh.

Book Description: What really happens when the most powerful man in the world invites the most famous woman in the world to dinner? What is life really like in the 650 rooms beyond the gates of Buckingham Palace? Who are the 50 people in the line of succession to the throne? What does a Lady-in-Waiting do? What do you actually say when it's your turn to meet royalty?
A Year with the Queen tells the story from the inside. No Monarch in history has travelled as far and met as many people as Queen Elizabeth II. And no book has revealed the workings of the Monarchy like this -- with members of the Royal Family and world leaders telling their own stories, too.
Like the brilliant television series it accompanies, A Year with the Queen shows the extraordinary world of the Monarch and her family -- from sacred constitutional talks with the Prime Minister to the razzmatazz of a stay at the White House and from a seaside stroll with the Prince of Wales to a weekend in Iraq with Prince Philip. Equally extraordinary is the work of the Royal Household team -- the man who carries the Crown around in a box, the team who counts out the medals, the chef who paints the chocolates, the in-house royal agony aunt....
The result is a book packed with fabulous photographs, important insights, wonderful anecdotes -- and plenty of advice, too. Ever wondered how to reply to a royal invitation? Or how to get one...?

........

A total and happy surprise seeing as this was a quick pick off the library shelf. Thoroughly enjoyed every page.

Quirky: adolescent angst meets metaphysics, screwball-comedy trysts with the underpinnings of reality. It's funny and tender; it's a chance to see Scarlett O'Hara and Emma Bovary off duty."
-- Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife ( I totally agree and refuse to spoil it with any more information )

.......

Finished this one yesterday so technically it's my first 2008. Wonderful. Look for this one.

From Booklist*Starred Review* : Her granddaughter's wedding should be a time of happiness for Marina Buriakov. But the Russian emigre's descent into Alzheimer's has her and her family experiencing more anxiety than joy. As the details of her present-day life slip mysteriously away, Marina's recollections of her early years as a docent at the State Hermitage Museum become increasingly vivid. When Leningrad came under siege at the beginning of World War II, museum workers--whose families were provided shelter in the building's basement--stowed away countless treasures, leaving the painting's frames in place as a hopeful symbol of their ultimate return. Amid the chaos, Marina found solace in the creation of a "memory palace," in which she envisioned the brushstroke of every painting and each statue's line and curve. Gracefully shifting between the Soviet Union and the contemporary Pacific Northwest, first-time novelist Dean renders a poignant tale about the power of memory. Dean eloquently describes the works of Rembrandt, Rubens, and Raphael, but she is at her best illuminating aging Marina's precarious state of mind: "It is like disappearing for a few moments at a time, like a switch being turned off," she writes. "A short while later, the switch mysteriously flips again." Allison Block

......

And just to finish off with a movie list:

Vanity Fair .. Better than I had expected, a typical period piece

American Dreamz .. totally unknown to us but we laughed in more than one spot

Premonition .. not what I had expected from the reviews, better actually

Call me crazy

...but I did go to the Boxing Day sales at the mall.
I needed something to do and Paul wouldn't let me start de-decorating the house so I went shopping.
I pulled into the first open spot I saw, not bothering to even try to find anything any where within shouting distance of a door.
It was crowded, but people were smiling
There were great discounts, but there was a lot of pure junk.

I started my Christmas shopping for 2008.


Recent viewing:

The Place Promised in Our Early Days here Anime. Takes some thinking about. Interesting

Silent Hill here Only watched bits of it. Made more sense once I learned it was based on a game. Some filmed in my city.

The White Countess here . I would have enjoyed it more if Ralph Fiennes had used a different American accent.

The Gift here. I enjoyed it. Scared me a few times.
.....

Reading:

Axis here by Robert Charles Wilson. Sequel to Spin, mentioned earlier this month. It was interesting enough to hold my attention although at times I just wanted it to wrap up and end.

...on Monday

I went out to the library mid afternoon, stopped for a few groceries and when I got home my stove was missing a side.
Why?
Because the door squeaked and I had been making nasty comments about giving up cooking.
See the yellow X?
Paul had to file down some worn spots ( no surprise after 33 years ), do some lubricating and I think he said something about the spring.
I can report that all is quiet now when I open the oven door and food will continue to flow.

We went to see The Golden Compass after dinner, the dinner that went into and out of the oven without a squeal. Paul and I enjoyed it. It was entertaining and visually interesting. Stephen made a few comments about the poor script but he did like the bears. Fussy boy!

Worth a visit

I have been enjoying this blog over the last month and realized I should share. The photos are great. The recipes mouthwatering. A view into life on a working ranch in the USA through the eyes and words of a very amusing woman.

Make sure you scroll back to past entries.....it's worth the time.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/

Books:

The Empress of Weehawken by Irene Dische, was a "give it a try" from the library and I really enjoyed it. Worth watching for.

Terminal by Andrew Vachss was a tad intense but I will continue to follow Burke and his "family" at least for now.

Movies:

Pan's Labyrinth, I wasn't as impressed as I had expected to be.

The Prestige, started slow but captured my interest partway along. Decent enough for a movie night at home.

Latest books and movies

The Stars My Destination . This older science fiction book was one in a list reviewed by Stainless Steel Droppings, who has provided me with several interesting books and movies.
here . I had to track it down through an intercity library loan and it was well worth the wait.

..............................

I've been bringing home more non-fiction lately. This one caught me eye and even with the odd spot of boring..please move on sections I found it really interesting. The Verneys

Synopsis
The remarkable story of one English family during the tumultuous seventeenth century, as revealed through their original letters and documents, which paint an extraordinarily accurate and detailed picture of life in England, Europe, and even the American colonies.
"To know the Verneys is to know the seventeenth century," Adrian Tinniswood writes in this brilliant new book. The Verney family's centuries-long practice of saving every piece of paper that came into their possession-amassing some 100,000 pages of family and estate letters and documents-resulted in the largest and most complete private collection of seventeenth-century correspondence in the Western world to date.
Given exclusive access to these documents, Tinniswood draws a sweeping portrait of the Verneys and the world among Buckinghamshire gentry in which they lived. In vivid detail Tinniswood introduces us to generations of the family: We meet Edmund Verney, King Charles I's standard bearer, who died in battle during the English Civil War in 1642 (his hand still clutching the king's standard). Edmund's son and heir, Ralph, struggled to hold the family together after his father's death, but lost the respect of his brothers and sisters because he alone of the family supported the Parliamentarian cause. Parliament, however, suspicious of his royalist connections, hounded him and his family into exile. Ralph's sons fared both better and worse than their father: Jack went to Syria and made a fortune, while Edmund married a girl who was rich, beautiful, and deeply in love with him-but within months of the marriage she succumbed to insanity.
Rigorously researched, intensely insightful, and alive with drama, TheVerneys is narrative history at its very best: fascinating, surprising, and enthralling.

.....................................

Recent movies

Superman Returns I'd have turned it off but Paul wanted to see the ending.

The Prize Winner Of Defiance, Ohio A movie I'd never heard about until it I saw it on the shelf at the library and liking Julianne Moore decided to it bring home. Not great but not bad family story of a woman in the late 50's who entered contests as a means of providing for her family. info

Sunday bliss

A perfect day for a Sunday drive. We stopped at an art fair and admired all the handmade glass, jewellery, fine prints and clothing, had lunch out and on the way home stopped at a roadside parking lot for a walk along a section of the Rail Trail. info
Some day we plan on taking our bikes back and travelling further along.

This farm and field is at the start of the segment we walked today.
The berries are about this size in real life. The trail. Wide enough for walkers, runners and bikes.
..................................

Current movies watched:

Conversation(s) with other Women. This one was recommended by my librarian friend and was a real surprise. Split screen, dialogue important, enjoyable. Worth viewing. I'd have called it a chick flick but Paul was equally impressed. http://www.conversationsthemovie.com/


Total fun. We knew it was going to be good, it was great. http://www.hotfuzz.com/

New stuff

Took Paul to the movies on Monday night to see Across the Universe. We had seen the previews when we saw Stardust, he doesn't remember, and I knew it was a movie I wanted to see on the big screen. It was wonderful. The story is told in Beatle music and great visuals. I am not a huge fan but the way the songs were used and the cast singing them made it sparkle. I highly recommend this movie........true entertainment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Across_the_Universe_(film)On Tuesday we went to the LCBO ( Liquor Control Board of Ontario ) store to pick up some beer for Paul. I saw this on the shelf and bought one. I'm not a beer drinker but couldn't resist. My almost $4.00 bottle of raspberry beer formed a pink head and did taste like fresh raspberries. Interesting. Perhaps next year when they make a new batch I'll have another.

Since my last post I...

... read three books, went to the movies and traveled downtown to the Mustard Festival. Not bad for one week.

Savage Garden by Mark Mills
An enjoyable light read.

Publishers Weekly:
Two murders separated by centuries make up the heart of this excellent literary mystery. Set in the beautiful Tuscan countryside during the summer of 1958, Mills's novel tells the story of Adam Strickland, an art history major researching the 16th-century garden on the grounds of the Villa Docci. As Strickland studies the intricate sculptures and inscriptions in the garden, he deciphers a series of clues that hint at a murder committed more than 400 years ago. He also discovers evidence of another murder, this one only 14 years in the past. Unraveling the former mystery will find him a place in academic history, but solving the latter will place his life in danger. Stuart brings just the right touch to his reading of this intelligently written story. With an excellent use of his vocal talents, he moves easily from one character to another, never overplaying the accents or gender. His descriptive narration uses Mills's prose to sweep the listener into a classic world of intrigue and suspense. Fans of P.D. James and the like will enjoy

Mary Modern by Camille DeAngelis
I liked this one a tad more.

From the Publisher
Like the New York Times bestseller The Time Traveler's Wife, this compelling debut novel weaves an old-fashioned love story with modern science—and leaves us wanting more.Lucy Morrigan, a young genetic researcher, lives with her boyfriend, Gray, in her crumbling family mansion. Surrounded by four generations of clothes, photographs, furniture, and other remnants of past lives, they are strangely out of touch with the modern world— except in the basement, where Lucy works in the hightech lab she inherited from her father. Frustrated by her unsuccessful attempts to win tenure and bear a child, she takes drastic measures to achieve both: She uses a bloodstained scrap of apron found in the attic to successfully clone her grandmother.Naturally, Lucy is hoping for a baby. Instead, she brings to life 22-year-old Mary. Alive in a home that is no longer her own, amid reminders of a life she has lived but doesn’t remember, Mary is trapped in the strangest sort of déjà vu, and Lucy must face the truth about love, longing, and the ties that bind.

Last but not least on this weeks reading list, Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson. I read about it on bombastic bagman's blog here and was intrigued enough to get a copy from the library. It was a good choice. Very original and I found it highly entertaining. Add it to your reading list.

Library Journal: Bizarre images and bawdy laughter galvanize this splendid English farce about a prodigious giantess and her explorer son in 17th-century London. Jordan fetches the first pineapple to the court of Charles II, while his mother, The Dog Woman, wreaks vengeance upon Puritans in a brothel. The plague; the flying princesses who defy laws of the courts and gravity; Jordan's travels to the floating city and the botanical wonders of the New World -- the tale nips easily in and out of history and fantasy. The two characters eventually merge into the grievously polluted life of modern London. Metaphors abound with polemics on environmental concerns and politics of past and present .

We had a girls afternoon out on Friday, my sister Catherine, my niece Beth-Anne and me. We went to see Hairspray. It was top tapping fun. You are always aware of John Travolta as John Travolta playing the mother but that adds to the laugh. Good bunch of singers and dancers. Worth seeing in the theatre.

A short hour downtown Saturday afternoon to visit the 10th annual Mustard Festival. Paul wanted to try some different mustard flavours only to discovered he already has the ones he likes best. We wandered into a few shops while we were there and once again discovered there is little to bother with downtown.

With Stephen away for the holiday weekend we decided it was time to have lamb. Paul found this recipe in the cookbook he won at the hardware store. We were trying for the new BBQ but hey, it's better than nothing.

Lamb Loin Chops with Orange Zest

4 to 6 thick lamb loin chops
1/4 teaspoon - 1.25mL garlic salt
1 tablespoon - 15mL brown sugar
2 tablespoons - 30mL fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon - 15mL olive oil
fresh ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon - 15mL grated orange peel


- Trim any fat from lamb.
- Combine garlic salt, brown sugar, pepper, orange juice and olive oil in a small bowl
- Preheat BBQ to medium-high
- Lightly brush one side of the chops with 1/4 of the mixture
- Place chops on hot grill orange juice side down
- Close the lid and grill 2 minutes
- Brush the top half of the chops with a light coating of mixture and turn over
- Close the lid and grill 2 minutes
- Repeat two more times brushing with the remainder of the mixture for a total cooking time
of about 10 minutes for medium rare or until desired doneness
Sprinkle the grated orange peel on top when serving

I used lamb shoulder chops and served them with a pasta salad, grilled yellow zucchini and a bottle of French Beaujolais.

We are having perfect weather on this last long weekend of the summer.

Movies

Paul and I went to the movies this afternoon. I had wanted to see Stardust after seeing a trailer for it earlier this year. It opened in very few theatres here, sadly not at the one I usually attend, so fearing a short stay I decided to see it today. I hadn't thought it would appeal to Paul but he seemed keen.
Stephen won't be happy as he wanted to go with me but he's a big boy and perfectly capable of going alone. If he does happen to find the time to see it before it closes and wants company, he can always buy my ticket and I'll watch it again.
It was fun. It was enjoyable. It was easy to watch, made us laugh out loud and we left with grins on our faces. It did what a movie was suppose to do, it entertained us.

Speaking of movies......Stephen is involved in a short film project with the improv group at The Staircase Theatre and last Sunday needing some extra extras, he cast his parents. See how well trained I am. I found my mark and stayed there. This is probably the only time I'll let him boss me around.

It was interesting watching him work. He sets the lights, sorts out the blocking, gives the directions and films. He's rather good at it that boy of mine.

Books

the beautiful miscellaneous by Dominic Smith
This was a "just take it home, it's free" find at the library. It is not a long book and is what I call a nice read. Well written, good characters, a satisfying feeling when you turn the last page. From Booklist*Starred Review*

At 17, Nathan Nelson has no idea what he wants to be. His particle-physicist father, however, has already made up his mind: Nathan will be a genius! The boy, who considers himself only slightly above average, has his doubts. "Being less than brilliant with a genius parent," he notes, "is like being the bum who stares, midwinter, through the restaurant window." But things change dramatically when--as the result of an accident--Nathan develops synesthesia; he begins seeing, tasting, and feeling words. He also develops an encyclopedic memory. Filled with new hope, Nathan's father enrolls his son in the Brook-Mills Institute for Talent Development, a research facility that Nathan's blind pianist roommate calls the "Taj Mahal of weird." When his father develops a brain tumor, Nathan's struggles to satisfy the man's great expectations before it's too late become increasingly poignant. This unusual, gorgeously written novel is filled with pleasures: among them are richly imagined supporting characters, including Whit, the astronaut and improbable best friend of Nathan's father, and Teresa, the medical psychic with whom the boy falls in love. Best of all, though, is the book's invitation to wonder--about the imponderables of life and death, the nature of intelligence, and the ultimately inexplicable relationships of fathers and sons. Michael Cart

......................

Fleshmarket Close, now I am current with the Rebus novels and will watch for the next to be published. I read his latest, The Naming of the Dead first and have brought myself up to date. Again a decent read, this time exploring immigration, racism, rape and of course, murder.
(photo shows the renamed American release cover)

.............

Rebus's Scotland. Lots of black and white photos. A good chance to understand the author of the Rebus series. How he views himself, his character, his use of music in the books and his home country of Scotland.

.......... PS, we went to see Transformers yesterday. Not terribly impressed with the story but I'm glad I saw it on the big screen for the military and the transformer scenes.

What we did on Friday the 13th

Every Friday the 13th the sleepy Lake Erie town of Port Dover, Ontario becomes biker heaven. Paul loves going to see the bikes. This is just a fraction of the crowd heading in. They estimated that well over 100,000 people attended this year.
I wasn't one of them.

I stayed home and rented two movies.

The Holiday: Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black.
It was like watching a romance novel. Not great but not bad.

Keeping Mum: Rowan Atkinson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith
Only the English can make movies like this. It had me laughing out loud from the start. Worth a look if you haven't seen it.