Books made into Movies

Have you ever read a good book and then watched a movie that was based on that book and then been disappointed?  I sure have.  I recently read the book "The Help" and absolutely loved it!  It was such a rich book due to the details and I could literally picture the entire story, town, houses, people, etc. in my mind.  Now, to be fair, I knew when I requested the dvd through the library that my visualization of the people and places were not going to perfectly match what the movie contained.  I knew that they were going to have to cut some of the scenes out due to time constraints.  However, I was not prepared for them changing some of the richness of the story and the important details in the storyline to "Hollywoodize" it.  My husband and I were watching it and even he questioned why certain things were happening and I had to explain the back story because they did not include it in the movie.  My personal opinion is that if they had included more of those rich details and the back story, it would have been an even better movie.  I also wish they would not have changed the story line with the reason that Skeeter's family maid was fired.  I thought that was such an important part of the book and something that most of us had never even thought about before.  I really wish they had stayed true to the book on that.  And, yes, I realize that I am being vague with the details because I don't want to spoil the book or the movie for anyone who has not either read or watched it yet.  The whole point of this rambling post though is that this kind of thing seems to happen quite a bit when a beautiful story is made into a movie (Memoirs of a Geisha comes to mind also) and I'm starting to wonder if I should just skip the movies so that I will not be disappointed.

Handy Hubby

This man, this gentle, kind and loving man is also a very handy guy when it comes to building things and doing it on a shoestring budget.

Our dog Sasha was in need of a dog house in her kennel to keep her out of the weather when we were gone.  Hubby started with some cast off wood pallets, scrap lumber that he got for free and an old area rug and built this.

He then added a roof  built with more scrap wood and added a doorway for the dog to me able to get in and out of the weather.  He made sure to position the door to protect her from the wind, rain and snow.

Here is the grateful dog, Sasha, sitting with her Daddy waiting for the winter storms to hit and watching the squirrels in the yard make their last mad dash to get more food before the storm came and covered everything with a thick blanket of snow.

Antique Table Thrift Score

 I have been on the hunt for a side table to sit next to my antique Windsor rocking chair that has been passed down through my family.  While perusing my favorite thrift store I was surprised to find this beauty.  As soon as I saw the carved flower medallion on the leg from across the room I high tailed it over there to get a closer look.

 Just look at the dental detailing on this piece and the beautiful wood grain showing through.  Yes, she has has some flaws and shows some wear and tear, but don't we all? ;)

 I simply fell in love!  She is so pretty and needed a home where she would be cherished.  She is the perfect companion for my rocking chair. 

I tried to get a picture of her label but it came out blurry, sorry about that.  She was made by the Imperial Furniture Company of Grand Rapids Michigan.  The owner of that company claims to have come up with the idea for the coffee table. :)  The company was founded in the early 1900's.  My research shows that this piece is most likely from the 1920's or 30's.  Further research shows that similar pieces start their value at $100 and go up from there.  

So how much did I pay?  $14.98  Yes, you read that right!  Right after I put it aside and had them hold it for me at the store while I continued to shop another lady who runs a resale store wanted to buy it and kept trying to get the saleslady to sell it to her.  She was shameless and kept offering to double and even triple the price they were asking.  My wonderful friendly saleslady just kept saying no, it was already set aside for another customer.  I just love that store and the friendly staff there and I love my new treasure!

Sinus Infection and Injured Neck

I hate feeling light headed and I hate feeling pressure in my head and having a sore neck.  I'm fighting a sinus infection and a neck injury at the moment.  I am thankful that our wonderful clinic here in town was able to get me in on Friday so that I could start on antibiotics over the weekend.  Just praying I could be done with this already. 

Snow Day #2...the Tale of Snow, Ice, Snow and More to Come

I received the phone call last night, school was being cancelled for the second day in a row.  I am so thankful that the school district is so mindful of the safety of the students and staff.  In an unprecidented move, the two universities near us also cancelled classes for today and one of the county courthouses is also closed.  The roads are terrible!

 Earlier in that day we had received a call from Jeff's work, they were cancelling all their delivery runs due to the weather and bad roads.  This is the first time I can remember them doing this since Jeff went to work for them.  I was very thankful to get that call so that I would not be up all night worrying and praying.  They are planning on running tonight and I am praying that the roads are in better shape than they were last night.  I suspect I will spend tonight praying and not sleeping much.

 We had an icy mist last night that covered the previous snowfall with a hard crust and then more heavy wet snow fell on top of that.  Our poor tree is not looking so good.  Jeff dug the car out and moved it in case branches started coming down.

 The bush beside our neighbor's front door is almost completely covered in a thick blanket of snow.

Roof tops are covered on houses and garages.  I have been carefully watching one of the garages down the alley that seems to be straining under the weight of the heavy wet snow and ice.  It would not surprise me if it collapsed.

 The power lines are all above ground in our small town and branches of old and twisted trees are struggling.  Some of those branches are over the power lines and we have had some power surges but have not totally lost power yet.  I baked a pan of yeast rolls this morning and got the laundry done just in case we lose power later today.  I think it is just a matter of time before that happens and I wanted to be as prepared as possible.

My amazing husband was out shoveling the driveway this morning and you could hear the cracking of the ice layer in the snow and the thud of the heavy snow hitting the ground.  It was so heavy that it broke the snow shovel but Jeff was able to repair it.  Sasha needed to check out what daddy was doing and stood guard for about 2 minutes and decided that was enough...she wanted back in the house where it was warm.  She is getting old and like her mommy, is a creature of comfort. ;)   

It will be interesting to see when this storm is over just how much snow we will have gotten.  I am also praying it does not warm up quickly or we may have some major flooding to deal with in our little town and in the next town over.

Club Sandwich Generation?

I'm sure you have all heard of the sandwich generation where people are caring for their own children and for their aging parents as well.  That got me to wondering if there was an official name for the generation and position I find myself in at this time in my life.  My inlaws are getting on in age and are going to needing more help soon.  My wonderful sis-in-love, best brother-in-love in the world and my niece now live with them and that has been a wonderful blessing for all of them.  However, we are getting to a point where they are may need help with them also in the near future.  My husband and I will be doing what we can to help.  We also have our first grandchild on the way and will be helping out with his care.  So is there a name for us?  Are we the Club Sandwich generation since there is another layer of bread (our own adult children which we are also trying to help with any needs they may have) in the mix?  Please don't get me wrong, I have great grown children whom I love dearly and they are doing fine, but as a parent, we are still there for them and want to help them in any way we can.  My son has asked me if I will help with care for my grandson and I am thrilled to be able to help with him and have that special Grammie time.  I'm not complaining at all. :)  I'm just wondering about the official name (if there is one) for others like me who are also doing this.

Snowy Days and Soup

Last night we soaked away our aches and pains in here and this morning it was covered with about 2 1/2 inches of snow.

This is our back yard first thing this morning.

View out our front window.

A cold snowy day calls for soup!  I made a nice corn/potato/ham and veggie chowder.

It's the perfect thing to warm you from the inside out and I had 2 bowl fulls!

After all that soup we decided we needed to take the dog for a walk so Jeff and I dug out our snow bibs, got on the snow boots and took a walk down town and dropped off some things in the library drop box.  View up the hill past the Post Office towards the school.

The view down town towards the railroad and pea elevator.

One of the old churches in our town.

A closer view of the church.  If you have seen the movie "Talent for the Game" you have seen this church in it.

Town Hall and the grain elevator in the background.

Old Catholic Church that sat vacant for years.

It is now being renovated by some very talented young men, one of which I taught in Summer School years ago.  They are turning it into their home.

 

 On our way home we saw children out sledding and having a grand time! :)  Since we are expecting yet another storm to come in later tonight I'm sure that there will be kids watching their TV in the morning to see if school is delayed or cancelled so they can have another fun day of playing in the snow. :)