Monthly Archives: December 2010

Another auld lang syne

Happy Birthday (yesterday) to my baby boy Lars, and Happy Anniversary to the Thriller and me this day. ‘Tis a weekend to celebrate, so after coffee and letting out Helen & Lars’s pups, off to Detroit we go, for a day trip.  Why a day trip? Because I won’t be caught dead in downtown Detroit on New Year’s Eve. Well maybe I actually would be

We’ll see how crowded everything is. Yipes.

Happy New Year, my fiends — after the last two, we all need one in 2011.

FO

Review: Elizabeth R

As many of you know, I am an ardent fan of Tudor history. Ever since watching The Six Wives of Henry VIII as a 13-year-old, I’ve been fascinated by their ascensions, reigns, and the lasting influence their policies exacted on the western world.

For those who may not know, the whole of Europe was ruled by the Roman Catholic Church until Henry VIII broke ties forever with the Pope by declaring himself Supreme Head of the Church in England (translation: Pope wouldn’t grant him a divorce, so he took his toys and went elsewhere). Think on what might have happened had the rift not taken place: the pilgrims who stepped off the boat at Cape Cod might have been Catholics — which could also mean that there quite possibly would have been no pilgrims. Hmmmm. Ripples in a pond…

Anyway, get to the point. I’ve been carving out some time in my evenings to watch Elizabeth R, the highly-acclaimed 1971 BBC miniseries. Featuring Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth, the second daughter of Henry VIII, it traces her reign (the  longest of all six Tudor monarchs) from 1558-1603.

I wanted to watch it because of its high praise for being the most historically accurate portrayal ever of the Virgin Queen (classified as such because she chose not to marry, as opposed to choosing to remain chaste, although there is no real proof that she was or wasn’t). After having viewed four of the six 80-minute plays, I must say I am delighted.

Don’t expect the expected. There are no special effects; no epic jousting or fighting scenes, no zooms on the beheadings, no slash and gore. Save a few outdoor shots of people on horses or traveling a country road, the production could easily transfer to a stage without alteration. The tasty parts are in the acting.

Obviously, this is a one-woman show, so Glenda Jackson bakes, takes and eats the cake. She successfully portrays the inner struggle — yet outer victory — of a woman sworn to be a good and benevolent queen, in spite of having been largely abandoned and neglected by her father and the court as a child. (Her mother was Anne Boleyn, and as we all know, that didn’t end well.)

I found myself transfixed during the long scenes of dialogue. This series is definitely not an amalgamation of  fluffy, pretentious and unintelligible Britspeak. Rather, it’s a riveting, dramatic history lesson for the British people about their own royal line. Fortunately, thanks to syndication and whatnot, the rest of the world gets to learn, too.

So, fellow Anglophiles, bibliophiles, historiophiles, Tudorphiles, and any other philes — don’t miss this. It’s a stimulating, informative and heartbreaking peek into the world of a woman whose reign inspired a great flourish in the arts, literature, science and foreign relations. It’s available streaming on Netflix, so get bizzy.

On the Rat-O-Meter scale of five cheeses, I give Elizabeth R:

OK. Off to get ready for breakfast with Finkville fiend Meg, then a sleepover with the Js. Vacation = good.

Catatonic; in a stupor

Yep, that could just about describe me.

Bakery boxes at wholesale; imprinting or not? Are the box measurements right? How many Doodles will it hold? Inserts have to be food-grade. How does this stupid shopping cart software work? Ah, we don’t have to charge sales tax since it’s food. Praise Jesus, Mary & Joseph. Comparison shop. We need a good caricature artist for our logo. Gotta call the ODA today to schedule the inspection. Need to open a bank account. Business license form all filled out; just need Mavis’s signature. Must call Hannah to see if I can grab the boys for an overnighter this week.

Yep — saved the most important detail for last. :-)

So, are we back to work today? I must say I’m happy to have this week “off.” Shyeah right. OK, back to it. Happy Monkday, fiends. Get at me.

RNF XLIII

Random Neuron Firings

This never fails to crack me up:

He’d stay out there all morning. And yet, this is the same dog that commandeers my electric blanket if it happens to slide to the floor, and tries to lie down on people’s feet. Bizarre animule.

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The day after Christmas is sometimes a downer, because it signifies the work in front of me for Dinner Theatre. Don’t get me wrong: I love doing it. I just don’t know for how much longer…

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The Do Not Go Here site of the day. I mean it. Your wasted morning will not be my fault.

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Welp…the Chocodoodle recipe is locked down and locked away. I must say it is mighty tasty. All that remains is the inspection next month, and we’re cookin’ with gas. Then I build the website, Mavis gets started with stocking and prep, and we both start marketing like our lives depended on it. We *should* be ready to take St. Patrick’s Day orders come late January — if we have any customers to place them. Stay tuned.

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Today is shop for new music day for my middle school choirs. Much work to be done. But first, I smell Dunkin’ Donuts vanilla coffee — thank you Hannah & Seamus!

FO

Buon Natale

Blessed Christmastide to all my fiends this day, and for those observing the liturgical calendar, every day until the 6th of January.

I hope you derived great joy from giving and receiving gifts this year at Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. A special treat for me this year was watching my grandsons disappear into their own quiet little world on the living room floor, playing with blocks, binoculars, a car and a school bus while the adults talked and laughed and gave and received around them. Yes, Christmas is a time for craziness with shopping and baking and getting everything done, but it’s also a special occasion for remembering and reinforcing the importance of love in a family. We pulled that off in grand style last night. Many thoughtful and fun gifts were shared, and much fun was had.

The only thing missing this morning is our annual Christmas Day trip to Detroit, courtesy of the $700 we forked out for a car repair last week. Delightful. Oh well, no worries. Instead, I am going to play with the new toys the Thriller gave me:

~

Italian chicken tonight, with pasta and garlic bread.

What did St. Nick bring you? Anything fun? I hope so. Happy Christmas to all!