Lovely Films
Lovely Bones (Rated PG-13) 149 mins.
Gladiator (Rated R) 158 mins.
It only took three years and about a million setbacks, but this week Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones finally graced the big screen, and boy, is it nice to see the master director back in action.
Based upon the bestselling novel by Alice Sebold, The Lovely Bones is the story of Susie Salmon, a 12-year-old girl who is murdered and subsequently goes to the afterlife, where she experiences a visual whirlwind of images which are interpretations of many of her memories. Caught between Heaven and Hell, Susie attempts to send clues to her family about her murder and the man who killed her so that they may avenge her. Knowing Peter Jackson’s previous works (most notably King Kong and The Lord of the Rings) we can expect breathtaking cinematic moments, and The Lovely Bones does not disappoint. Susie’s trek through the afterlife is absolutely stunning, a place that could only be realized by the most vibrant of imaginations. But it is not the only aspect to catch our attention here.
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Chicken Cacciatore
Sometimes a favorite family recipe comes with a story. In 1966 my future sister-in-law and I found a recipe for Chicken Cacciatore in our local paper, the Redwood City Tribune. We decided to surprise our guys with a great meal on their return home from National Guard Summer Camp. The dinner was a definite success. My now husband, Ken, enjoyed it even more after his tongue was no longer scared since my idea of good food was a can of corn mixed in a can of Campbell’s Tomato Soup and topped with crumbled saltines. Obviously, they truly loved this Chicken since 45 years later it is still a family favorite. Note: I now make my own Tomato Soup. ENJOY!
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Gifting
We’ve just finished the biggest ‘gifting’ part of the year and I have to admit to loving it.
Shopping for just the right gift to give to just the right person is an art that I feel I’ve mastered over the years. I just always hope the recipients agree with me.
My Christmas shopping starts whenever I see just the perfect gift. It could be in January, July or on the 24th of December.
Sometimes I have something in mind and other times things just seem to ‘call out to me’. Sometimes I remember what some family member has said they need or want, and I file that thought away until the holidays.
I used to write lists, but now I just have a list of names. Not that I’m likely to forget anyone, but the way my mind works these day…you just never know.
There is however, one small problem I seem to have when it comes to gift buying too far in advance of the gifting day. I tend to lose things; yep, I sure do.
One year I bought one of my sons a special book for Christmas and didn’t find it until six months after the event.
This holiday season I tore apart my closet looking for a gift I bought for a girlfriend back in June. It was one of the ‘call out to me’ things that I saw in a small shop in Lake Tahoe. When I saw it, I knew it was perfect for her. When I got home, I put the gift in a safe place and then promptly forgot where I put it.
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-Thursday the 21st: Two fiery red giants are in great view tonight, Aldebaran, the angry “eye” of Taurus the bull is in the southeast at nightfall. Pollux, one of the twins of Gemini, is in the east above the planet Mars. Just like Mars they both emit an orange-red hue.
-Friday the 22nd: The moon is in its first quarter stage tonight as the Sun illuminates half of the lunar hemisphere facing Earth. The sunlit portion will grow larger each night until the moon is full on January 29th.
-Saturday the 23rd: Hydra, the water snake, creeps into the evening sky this month. Its brightest star, Alphard, wiggles into view in the east-southeast around 9 p.m. It’s not very bright, but it is in a desolate region of the sky, so it’s not hard to find.
-Sunday the 24th: The orange planet Mars is well up in the east a couple of hours after sunset. It outshines everything else in the sky at that hour, except the moon, so it’s not hard to miss.
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Peanut-butter Chews
(No parents allowed)
This is an energy and protein rich after school snack.
You will need:
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup nonfat dry milk or 2 cups instant nonfat dry milk
1 cup powdered sugar
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