Eating Healthy

There has just been another e-coli scare with the romaine lettuce being sold in North America.  And there is a Facebook posting of a frog that is perhaps Kermit collapsed on the ground lamenting the fact that just when he was going to diet there is now no lettuce.  Well, that was not a joke for me because I was just thinking that I had to put more ruffage into my diet, so salads every day was the new regime for me!  I knew Romaine lettuce was out but the grocery stores are filled with a variety of lettuces. So, on Thursday I went to  my local store to begin my healthier life and here is what I found.

I didn't expect to see Romaine lettuce on the shelves, but ...

... there were only a few bags of coleslaw type packages to purchase.  Nothing else.  

The Crimes of Grindelwald

This is movie #2 in the series.  Apparently there will be 5 movies as the prequel to the Harry Potter movies.  I loved the first one.  Of course Eddie Redmayne is a favourite actor of mine and I found the first instalment of this series to be fun and whimsical.  So, I was looking forward to the second movie just recently out.  I was looking forward to being entertained once again.  No so.  I found The Crimes of Grindelwald to be very dark and I don't just mean the story.  The actual film was mostly in shades of grey and so dark and misty it was sometimes difficult to tell which actor was speaking.  And actors there were.  Many many many which at times made it hard to tell who was who. And to top it off the movie was very long and the theatre, which if you follow my reviews and know I have a lot of grief about our two theatres, hit an all time low at this showing.  It was colder inside than it was outside and it even had a cold wind blowing at times.  We not only sat with out winter coats buttoned up to the neck but had to put our hands under out armpits to keep them warm.  And our feet were very cold despite the fact we were wearing our winter boots.  So all in all I had a miserable time and just keep hoping that it would end.  I was not impressed with this movie.  I give it One Star out of Five!

Busy Saturday Morning

Day started out waking up at Gramma's house.  We had a good breakfast (fruit smoothie and avocado toast), completed two puzzles and got ready for soccer.  Didn't know this was the last day for soccer.  At the end they were presented with a "gold" medal, their soccer photo (although Emerson wasn't in it as he was in Vancouver with his mother at that time) AND a soccer ball.  Wow!   All the kids were so excited.

Then it was off to Breakfast with Santa (although it was lunch with Santa for us).  At first I thought Alanna was going to refuse to sit with Santa as I saw him pat the seat of the chair many many times for her to sit down and she was still standing.  

She never did sit beside him, but did lean against his chair for the photo.  Emerson was certainly in the good books with Mrs. Claus.

And what would Breakfast with Santa be without Can-Can Dancers.  Emerson is mesmerized by them.

Bath Time

A full day for the wee ones... singing cowboy songs with Mom (if you watch Instagram), lunch and playing Veterinarians at Gramma's house in the afternoon along with a late movie ... The Grinch then back home for a delicious dinner.  It was Emerson who took off his clothes and requested a bath.

Not only a bath, but a Bubble Bath in his parents' tub.

They were both having a jolly good time when I departed their house.

Movies

Finally, the movies I do want to see are arriving in Whitehorse.  It took a while but A Star is Born arrived.  This is a remake of an old movie with current twists.  Bradley Cooper AND Lady Gaga both excel in their roles as musicians that fall in love, become (or are) famous, and bring their past lives into the present.  I, and all the people I went with, enjoyed it even though it was a very long movie - 2 hours 14 minutes - and I am watching it in the most uncomfortable seating possible, being one of our two movie theatres in Whitehorse, Landmark Cinemas. (And yes, I have written them complaining about this venue.)  I give it 4 out of 5 Stars.

A week later, Bohemian Rhapsody came to town.  If you are a Queen fan and if you are a Freddie Mercury fan, you will absolutely LOVE this movie.  The acting was superb and the music was superb.  The only thing that could have made it better for me would have been a better sound system in the theatre and NOT hearing the thunder roaring from the movie in the attached theatre (which may have been Overlord) overtaking the conversation in my theatre.  The recreation of Live Aid was superb.  I give this movie 5 out of 5 Stars.

And the most current viewing was yesterday with two 4 year olds ... Dr. Seuss' The GRINCH.  We watched the trailers for this movie at home, as, for some reason, the kids think "movies" are scary and do not want to see them.  On the way to the theatre Alanna said, "I don't want to go to the movie", then as we neared the theatre she said "I just want to watch a little bit".  Hmmmmmm, I thought, this will be fun.  As it was, she sat in her seat for the whole 80 minutes glued to the screen.  It ended up being Emerson, who sat on my lap for the whole of the movie.  

This animated movie  stars a grumpy Grinch with his adorable dog Max and a fat loveable reindeer named Fred and cute little Cindy-Lou who brings the child into the plot.  Benedict Cumberbatch is the voice of the Grinch and he does a wonderful job of it - not too gruff - not too scary - but very grumpy and sometimes very bad.  Pharrell Williams narrates the plot and Angela Lansbury is the voice of the Mayor.  I was glad it wasn't any longer than 80 minutes but have to say I enjoyed the animation and the story right up to the happy ending.  I give this movie 3.5 Stars out of 5.

For Girls Only

Emerson went to Vancouver with his Mom.  The first evening they were gone, Alanna and I spent the night together.  I gave her a choice of restaurants to dine at.  She chose Mickey D's.  And so it was.

I was photographing her just as she happened too get something in her eye.  But is went away quickly.

This day happened to be the day After Hallowe'en.  That morning I went to Wall-Mart and pick up some play clothes for them (at 75% off).  As soon as I showed her the clothes, she was ecstatic.  She donned the girliest fluffiest dress in her closes to wear this night.  Little did I know that all those sparkles do not stay on the netting, but ended up all over my house.  Five days later, I am still finding them all over.  If you know how to either get rid of sparkles on clothing or how to make them stay on clothing, please let me know.  She love the dress so much I may not be able to say no when she want to dress up!

Then Saturday, as it has been for the last two weeks, was Soccer Day.  It was also picture day which is kind of too bad as Emerson was in Vancouver.  Oh well, Alanna made it.  She is sitting in the first row on the right, second player sporting an orange shirt and holding a ball.

She seems to enjoy soccer.  I noticed a smile on her face most of the time.

Hallowe'en 2018

Getting the final adjustments on the bagpipes then Bagpipe Man is ready for Trick or Treating.

Wonder Woman is now ready to hit the houses.  (Don't know why she has only one leg though).

Again with one leg.  Perhaps she is ready to leap into action.  And Bagpipe Man, still in his silly stage, would not give a smile but was always doing something with his tongue.

All costumes sewn with love by their Mom.

Our first snowfall happened two days ago.  And it was cold tonight.  When they returned their noses and ears were ruby red.  Emerson's loot was displayed on the carpet.  They both received more candy than they needed.  

I bought too much candy for this year's event.  Last year we had The Haunted House on the street.  Consequently we had over 120 kids at the door.  This year, unbeknownst to me, the Haunted House people left the street.  We probably had maybe 60-70 kids at the most at the door. 

Happy 95th Birthday

Mom had her 95th Birthday in October.  Sister Teri went out of her way to decorate her dining room and serve a special meal for the occasion.  Above is Mom with Lisa, Debbie and Teri.

Looks like Kate was ready to help blow out the candles incase Gran didn't have enough breath to do it.  But apparently she did.  Now 95 and still living alone in her own apartment.  Doing pretty good for her age.

Happy Birthday Mom!!