Gratuitous Winter Photo

Just because winter is still here and it has been long and I am trying to be positive about it! I think my husband took this one.

Eclecticism

Why do we all want to be thought of as having eclectic tastes? Especially in the area of music, people are proud when they have Led Zeppelin and Bing Crosby in their collection. When you ask anyone about their musical tastes, they will in all likelihood reply "Oh, I like all kinds of music".

Yesterday I left the library feeling so proud of myself for being eclectic. I had gotten out the following materials:

2 gardening books
Novel by A.S. Byatt
5 graphic novels
Warm fuzzies: 30 sweet felting projects
Martha Stewart Living
Wired
5 movies (sadly none of which star Cary Grant or Gregory Peck)

And I thought to myself "now who gets out Martha Stewart Living and Wired at the same time? Am I cool or what?" Of course, the feeling lasted only about 2 seconds, as I realized there were probably millions of people being equally eclectic right at that very moment.

But it got me thinking about why we value this trait. Are the days gone in which people can say "I only listen to jazz" or pride themselves on only reading nineteenth century fiction?

And why does eclecticism only apply to certain areas? I am not aware of many people whose wardrobes are particularly eclectic, for example. It is just something to ponder.

Distraction

Tonight I am trying desperately to forget what I discovered today..... that the scarf I am trying to finish has a mistake about six inches ago, and there is no way I can fix it. I had gotten to the point of not even liking the scarf anymore and was just trying to finish it so I could move onto better things, when I was looking at it today and realized I had switched the right side and wrong side of the lace pattern and now it just looks ridiculous. It took me SO long to make, since it is lace weight yarn and size two needles.

I am seriously thinking of ceremonially burning it.

So, instead, I am thinking of the movies I saw this week, Houseboat and Spellbound.

Houseboat, of course, is another entry in the Cary Grant canon. This time with Sophia Loren, with whom Grant was supposedly madly in love with at the time of filming. Alas, she had already met Carlo Ponti.....


The movie is great fluff, the best part is actually the acting and story line of the three children, very realistic and poignant, and not at all maudlin or played for comic relief. Sophia Loren looks fantastic! even though I feel sorry for her having to sing a few silly songs ("presto, presto, do your very best-o" and so on).

Although it is silly to imagine that a father of three children would hire a nanny on the spot, without even getting any information about her. Oh well, that's Hollywood. Whatever makes the plot run.


Spellbound is a Hitchcock film, and probably not one of his best. Ingrid Bergman is a little overly dramatic as a psychologist trying to help Gregory Peck uncover some dark secrets, and Peck is a little wooden. Still, some of the camera angles and shots are pretty inventive, and the Salvador Dali-designed dream sequence is fun. Did you know the score was played on a theremin? I didn't, until I checked out the DVD extras.

Again, silly plot devices, in which the two meet and are instantly struck by a coup de foudre, explaining why Bergman runs away with Peck, a suspected killer, less than 24 hours after meeting him... Then again, he is very pretty, I would be tempted to run away with him too.



There, I managed to forget about the scarf for fifteen minutes, and now it is almost time for Part 2 of Pride and Prejudice on PBS. Another 90 minutes of sweet scarf oblivion.

P.S. I watched The Devil Wears Prada last night, and was VERY disappointed in it. Meryl Streep was fabulous, but the rest of the movie was flat. the clothes weren't even that great.

Time flies...

...but work remains unfinished.

It seems like just a minute ago that I was gloating that The Cheaters lost the Super Bowl. Then I blinked and it was Wednesday and we got 13.3 inches of snow and I walked home amid waist high drifts. Then I blinked again and now it is Sunday and the temperature is -10 degrees below zero. Sigh.

And I have so many half finished projects. There is the stuffed toy that I am making to use up scraps of fabric....



the scarf that is 95% finished....


and the necklace I am making for my sister....


and they are all calling me to finish them. But I sit here, after lunch, thinking of watching a movie. Houseboat or Spellbound? Cary Grant or Gregory Peck? Sophia Loren or Ingrid Bergman? Or maybe a nap. Early February, sunny day, freezing cold, just right for a nap.

At least there is the return of Austenmania on PBS. Part one of three of Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth. Where will you be at 8:00 p.m. C.S.T tonight?

A Sunday well spent

Last night I watched the Super Bowl instead of anything Jane Austenish, and boy am I glad. Watching the Patriots lose was well worth it! It was actually an incredibly fun game to watch. I was disappointed in the Super Bowl commercials, then never seem to live up to the hype. And it is annoying because I can't knit or crochet during the commercials, 'cause I am watching the commercials!

And now football season is over (except for the Pro Bowl) so I will have to wait until next November to get excited about football. I don't get excited earlier in the year because like to be outside more and so as long as it is nice outside, I don't sit inside on weekends and watch TV. But when the cold weather comes, I watch.