Random Magnificent Lines from the series The Magnificent Seven

I've been sick this week, first with a day surgery on Tuesday and then with a wicked virus which did not allow me to draw one breath through my nose or swallow very often--for 5 days! Wow, it was a fun week! I'm fine now, so it could have been much worse. I've never used nasal spray before and let me tell you, it is a magnificent product.

Speaking of magnificent, I was puttering around the house this morning, half listening to the Western that Mike was watching. I don't know if it was my "weakened" condition or the fact that I felt so much better, or if it was just the show itself but it was funny. It wasn't supposed to be but some of the lines caught my attention and my amusement.

Presenting random lines from a Western series (The Magnificent Seven)
1. A young man vowing revenge: "God loves this gun".
2. His mother, upon viewing this young man's gunshot: "Son, be a man". Of course, he had just shouted "Ma, it hurts!".
3. Another son, reminiscing about his late wife: "She always said that Sunday was the day for dumplings".
4.This same young man, recalling how his father-in-law tried to keep him from marrying his late wife: "At least he used rocksalt instead of buckshot, it was his way of saying he liked you."
5. Another avenger: "I shot him before he could say howdy do, I shot him 3 times, bang, bang, bang! The green eyed monster.."
6. One of the sons, trying to get his mother out of harm's way: " Don't shoot my ma! Ma, get the hell inside!" Ma, of course, replies "Son, don't blaspheme".
7.The preacher tells the family: " A little sincerity is dangerous. A lot of it is absolutely fatal".
8. The preacher's parting words: "An eye for an eye leaves us blind".

Hey, I like that last one!

The Magic of Ordinary Days

I watched this movie last weekend and if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. It stars Keri Russell, who was the lead character in the last movie I recommended (Waitress). She is an unmarried, pregnant grad student who enters into an arranged marriage with a young farmer in a small town during WWII. The movie deals with her friendship with 2 Japanese Americans from a nearby internment camp, the rejection by the baby's father, and the patient love of her new husband.
It is a sweet special movie and I'd like for you to check it out.

A Movie to enjoy:Waitress

I've watched this movie twice since yesterday. "Waitress" is the story of a young, very unhappy, woman who is a master pie-baker. She is saving money in order to leave her abusive husband when she discovers that she is pregnant. She doesn't want the child at all, and she actually doesn't know how to make her life any better. She feels trapped and worthless. She doesn't discover that she is actually rich in life because of her 2 waitress friends, the pie diner's owner Joe, and her extreme baking talent. She doesn't even discover her own self worth until her baby girl is born.
Keri Russell plays Jenna, the unhappy waitress, and Andy Griffith plays Joe, the pie diner's owner. No one likes him except Jenna and they become friends. My favorite line from the movie comes from Joe. He tells Jenna "I'm dreaming for you, because my dreams is all gone".
Jenna lives to create pies. She makes up a new recipe each day and serves them at the diner. The end of the movie is wonderful because she finally realizes that she has control over her own life. When she finally gives birth, she calls the baby that she never wanted "the love of my life". Then Joe gives her a gift that enables her to own her own diner and she is able to live a full, contented life.


After watching the movie, my daughter told me that writer/director Adrienne Shelly ( who also plays one of waitresses, Dawn) was murdered in her office building by a construction worker before the film opened in theaters or appeared at the Sundance Film Festival. He tried to make it look like a suicide but investigators discovered the truth a few days later. I was looking up articles about her and found out that she also wrote the lullaby that Jenna sings to her baby at the end of the movie:

Baby don’t be blue
Gonna make for you
Gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle
Gonna be a pie
from heaven above
Gonna be filled
with strawberry love
Baby don’t you cry
Gonna make a pie
Hold you forever in the middle of my heart.


I am truly touched by this movie. I hope you will check it out sometime and enjoy it as much as me.

Monarch of the Glen

This is the cast of one of my favorite series ever. (Thanks James for reminding me about it-glad you like it too). I started watching it on BBC during the 2nd season. Last year, I bought the entire series on DVD and we have been watching them over again.


ION TV says:

Inspired by the highland novels of Compton Mackenzie, this show follows Archie MacDonald as he finds himself thrown into the role of the new Laird of Glenbogle, his family's financially failing Scottish estate. With the help, and sometimes hinderance, of his family and faithful retainers he works to get the noble estate back on its feet.

I will say that we like the originality of the story and the quirky characters. It is a heartwarming series with lots of humor. The only thing we had to adjust to was the Scottish accents. After a while, we could finally understand what the characters were saying.

I haven't seen the entire series yet and have about 3 seasons to go. I highly recommend Monarch of the Glen for those who want something a little bit different-with lots of substance.

More ideas for my Netflix addiction

It looks like there are even more ways to enjoy Netflix movies. I will be investigating (I have questions for you James) your suggestions and maybe I'll have even more praises for Netflix. Got some movies to watch....bye...

Let me tell you how much I love Netflix!

We have found a really good thing!...Netflix...

We can watch about 16 movies a month by subscribing to Netflix. All we have to do is walk to our mailbox to get the movies or return them. No late fees! I can mail movies on Monday and have the new movies on Wednesday. How can you beat that? I live 10 miles from town, so even a $1 Redbox movie requires me to drive to town to rent it, then again to return it. We have made a long list of movies to rent, mostly old black and white ones. These are so much fun! Oh, and you can watch movies on demand anytime-for no additional fee-on your computer.

This is a service I highly recommend. We have subscribed (we have the "2 movies at a time" plan for about $14 per month) for about 3 months and I am extremely pleased. You might want to try it. Most nights, there is nothing to watch on regular TV anyway, so why not try a great, classic movie.

My take on the movie "Julie and Julia"

(The real Julia Child and Julie Powell are on the right)


My daughter and I recently saw the movie "Julie and Julia". It is based on two real women, Julia Child, and Julie Powell. The premise is that Julie Powell wrote a very popular blog about the year in which she cooks her way through each recipe in Julia Child's famous cookbook. It is about her triumphs and her disasters-in cooking and in life itself. Intertwined in Julie's story, is Julia Child's account of her early life in Paris. The movie depicts Julia Child's beginnings as a chef, and it gives us an intimate look into her personal life. We really enjoyed the movie. We loved the humor and thought that Meryl Streep's portrayal of Julie Child was masterful. And by the way, it made us want to buy Julia Child's book and try some of her recipes ourselves.

I do need to say that I know nothing about the real Julie Powell or her blog. I have never read anything from her blog but I am now aware that there is some controversy about it. I am, however, a knowledgeable fan of Julia Child, having grown up watching her television show, and I think I love her even more now. I don't really care about the controversy. I did like the movie and hope that the real Julie Powell has as much respect for Julia Child as her movie counterpart.

The only thing that disappointed me was that there were several strong curse words (including the F-word) that will now keep me from taking some older church friends to see the movie. It is rated PG 13, and I had hoped that it would be a movie I could take my women's group to. I guess I could overlook those words and still enjoy the movie, but it certainly won't do as a church activity. Oh, well...


What we did watch as a church group was "Lilies of the Field". That was so appropriate and meaningful, not to mention enjoyable. But....that is another review.