little white lies

Hhmmm. Must be that birthday I had last week, but lately I've really been seeking out comfort food so tonight's dinner will be Tuna Noodle Casserole. Where's the lie, you ask? My kids won't even walk in the kitchen if they detect fish has been there (I use that word 'fish' loosely for canned tuna, but you get the idea). They know it as Chicken Noodle Casserole *grin*. But I made the mistake of telling my Dad, and he's dieing to get one of them on the phone to spill the beans. In his mind,Tuna Noodle Casserole is cruel and unusual punishment, and he wants to 'protect' his grandchildren. When he tells them, I'm sunk. One less thing they'll look forward to for dinner, one less thing they'll eat without a hassle. Oh, and the day he does tell them is the day I'm FedEx'ing a dish of it to him, lol!

african violets

A warm memory of my Nana involves her african violets. Nan and Pop lived in a top floor apartment in the Bronx. Small, let me tell you, but she was the best in using every 1/2 inch of space to the fullest. Her front windows had glass shelves where her african violets flourished. Perfect sunlight and the radiant heat below. I would sit and study them while the grown-ups talked their grown-up talk and Nan prepared all the hors d'oeuvres in the teensie kitchen (us kids felt so fancy saying that, hehe!). I started collecting african violets because of her and had some lovely ones. Then I moved to CA. We drove across country, and I was so careful to take care of them (there are lots of bumps in 3,000 miles of road!). When we hit the CA/NV border, the 'dirt patrol' jammed his fingers in the potting soil of every one of my violets to be sure I wasn't transporting NY earth into CA. Violets have extremely sensitive roots and within days I only had one sickly plant left from the bunch I'd brought with me. Not the best of times, but I've rebounded slowly. For the longest time, I'd walk past them at nurseries. Now plenty of years later I'm up to 14 plants, I have a window that they enjoy, I tend to them most every day, and they're blooming like champions. And it's all for my Nana ;).

ps. My favorite place to find beautiful violets is http://https://www.bluebirdgreenhouse.com/ but I'd suggest getting the plants themselves as leaves can be very tricky to start. They package extremely well!

monday, monday

Mondays can get away from me so easily, what with everyone back at school and work. I did laundry yesterday so I'm protesting today and am not doing anything I should be, hehe! Oh, wait... I baked some goodies this morning. And I picked up the makings for dinner. And I prepared the meat for the dog's food (that's a whole other story). So I suppose I'm just not cleaning at all today. Oh, wait... I cleaned everything off of the dining table and gave it a warm sponge bath (where the kids sit, mainly!). Well, now it's time for a snack, and the snack of the day is popcorn. And what goes with popcorn? Movies, yes! Since my blog today is going nowhere, I'm going to list my favorite movies in no particular order because that could take some time.

1. The Wedding Singer. I don't know what it is about this movie but it always makes me laugh and it always makes DH leave the room, lol!

2. Under the Tuscan Sun. I could watch this over and over and never tire of it.

3. Baby Boom. Another faithful favorite.

4. Yours, Mine and Ours. I do love Lucy!

5. Mr. Blandings Builds his Dream House. I'll love this movie forever and always come back to it with a warm smile! Listening to the prices involved in building a new home back then - well, it's a time warp!

6. Charlotte Gray. Kate Blanchett was wonderful in this.

7. Ever After. Probably my favorite Cinderella with Drew Barrymore.

8. 50 First Dates. Another Drew Barrymore. She makes me laugh, and it's fun to watch her in a comedic scene (you just know she's cracking up on set!). And isn't Hawaii beautiful?

9. Something's Gotta Give. See, this one should be higher on the list for sure, because Diane Keaton is so great in this! It makes me yearn for LI again and again.

10. Cinderella (the one with Brandy in the lead role). This is with the original Broadway score, which is done so wonderfully. Such a happy musical!

11. 13 Going on 30. Just cute, that's all.

12. The Matchmaker. The Irish countryside is beautiful and it's always a welcome flick.

13. Bridget Jones's Diary. Hilarious! I need to see the second one.

14. Chicago. I used to dance, so that explains this one!

15. What Dreams May Come. A dark movie, but if you ignore the story line and literally watch it for the color, it's amazing.

16. Big Fish. An odd movie, but a great story.

Gotta run now!