Long Time No Post

I've thought of a number of things I'd like to "blog" about but of course when I sit down to do it I can't remember! So this may be a bit jumpy and scattered.

First, friends of mine were recently told they would be given a hot tub. They are the same age as me and I couldn't stop thinking about the SNL Eddie Murphy/James Brown hot tub sketch. My friend did NOT remember this bit. And I couldn't remember how it went. I was sure part of the song Murphy sang included the words he...' can't get in the hot tub 'cause my butt's too big.' Another friend suggested I Google Eddie Murphy/James Brown hot tub sketch. I found the video. Click on link listed here to reminisce. I was wrong about the lyrics, but I think I remember making those lyrics up with a friend. I don't think I could get in a hot tub with out that tune constantly floating on my brain waves.

Second, about a week ago it occurred to me I hadn't had a good belly laugh for a long time. Well, at a recent graduation party we were sitting at a long table under a canopy. There were about 4 tables with chairs on both sides. Now, we had had some good rain and I'm not sure how dry the ground was because the host had put some shims under the table legs. Fortunately the same could not be done for the chairs. The people sitting on my side of the table, the HIGH side seemed to be towering over the people across from us. But none so much as one man, sitting with his neck level with the tabletop, eating nonchalantly. I don't know if his chair legs had sunk into the wet ground or he had extra shims on his side of the table. Honestly, it was the funniest thing I'd witnessed in a long time. Then, watching old episodes of America's Funniest Videos (AFV), I saw the funniest video: a woman would lock a door when her boyfriend/husband would be entering and she would make him dance before she would unlock the door. She did it four times, twice in a car! That was hilarious but it was funny because the guy was sooooooo good-natured and he would do a little dance and laugh! It won the big money. I'm going to try the find the link to that video. (No luck with that.)

I had a successful Yard Sale last Saturday (June 21). Go to www.yegsyardsale.bravehost.com to view my sale items. The cost of a Classified Ad is ridiculous and the more words the more expensive the ad. We sold almost all the baby furniture in Jacob's room. Tim thought I should've asked for more, and he's probably right. BUT we had to get rid of it as quickly as possible. Jacob will get all of Sarah's furniture and Sarah is getting a new, white, girlie, set. And that is scheduled for delivery July 9. Currently he (and Sarah) are sleeping, quite happily, on an air mattress in Jacob's room. We hope to move the bed to his room tomorrow. We have to clear Sarah's room because we are also replacing her awful burnt-orange shag carpet and that will hopefully be done July 8!

I recently read The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I really enjoyed it until the end. I would LOVE to know if anyone else read this and felt the same way. Even though the narrator was telling the story from heaven it read like a realistic fiction book until near the end when it turned into fantasy!!!!! The books most disturbing action takes place in Chapter 1 and you know who the perp is. The story is more about how a family deals with the loss of a child. I appreciate books like this. It makes you more empathetic with people who experience unbelievable tragedy. I'm afraid if my daughter disappeared I would end up in an asylum. I don't know how I could possibly cope with the loss! I feel similarly about the deaths of soldiers. It just seems arbitrary: who could be next?!?!? Entertainment Weekly named The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold as a Modern Classic.

I'm also a bit excited because I read an article about Angelina Jolie and she is supposed to be starring in an upcoming adaptation of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. That book and The Fountainhead are two of my all-time favorite books. And Jolie would be perfect as the main female character in either book! I've never seen The Fountainhead movie with Patricia Neal. I should see if it's available on Netflix. (I've never used this but I might need to start.)

Please feel free to add suggestions to: You Know You're Getting Old... I think of more of them when I'm not trying to!

Sex and the City of Cranford

We saw the Sex and the City movie Saturday and I must say it was very enjoyable. I wasn't a huge fan of the series, but I did watch almost every episode on TBS or TNT (I can't remember which) when they first came out in syndication. I'm not sure I watched them in chronological order. I have a terrible time remembering to watch TV shows. The later they are on the better, i.e. after kids are asleep I'm more likely to watch a show. Especially if I can watch them while in bed. About the movie- it was laugh-out-loud funny and sniffle-inducing. It satisfyingly ended the lives of these four girls or at least Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte. No, they did not die. Honestly, I don't need to know anymore about what goes on in their lives. If another SATC movie comes out I don't think I would rush to see it. I could spend another hour writing my opinion of the lives/loves/inanity of these 4 females, but I will save it. BECAUSE I have to recommend a Masterpiece Theater offering called Cranford. I think it is Sex and the City in 1800s England. I was just watching/listening to it as I was taking pictures for my Yard Sale website. I watched Cranford on PBS about a month ago and immediately ordered the DVD from them. It just arrived this past Friday. It is laugh-out-loud funny and sniffle-inducing. The men in this show are purely secondary. And I just caught the part where a cat ate some one's lace they were soaking in some concoction. Lace must have been a luxury at this time. So they rushed the cat somewhere to get a laxative. Then held the puss in a big boot and waited for .... it to come out. As gross as this sounds, it's just hilarious. I had to pause the movie there to write this. A similar occurrence happened in the SATC movie. But not to a pet. In fact, they could've used the same sound effects!

If you like Pride and Prejudice and /or Sense and Sensibility and Sex and the City you would LOVE Cranford!!! It's a show you can watch over and over and never get bored.

I have to mention the new swimming pool in Oil City that opened this weekend amid 90 degree temps and high humidity. The kids and I made it there Saturday at 4:45 and it was still packed. We stayed until it closed at 6pm. It really is a wonderful recreation area/pool. Both Sarah and Jake had a great time and couldn't wait to go back today, Sunday. Tim went with us. It makes it much easier to have him stay with Jacob and me tail Sarah! Sarah's classmates are there and she disappears quite quickly. Fortunately she is tall enough for most parts of the pool and it has a 0-depth entry. There are fountains and an area like a water park. There are 2 slides: one short/low one and one long/tall one. Sarah went down the short one and didn't realize she wouldn't be able to touch the bottom once in the water. The lifeguard had to go in after her. I was about 2 seconds behind the guard. She had swim lessons in May and thinks she is a much better swimmer than she is. She did not go back to the slide. And I stayed very close to her from then on. She starts swimming lessons again in a week.