Message 410

Yesterday was another quiet day at home. I got an interesting letter in the mail from Marrietta Matthews, who turns out to be a relative in South Carolina. She was interested in learning about our mutual genealogies, so I scanned the stuff Chris did years ago on the Anderson side of our family. If any of you are interested in this stuff I will send you copies of all of this.

Last night I watched a DVD of the movie Little Children. It turns out I had seen it before, but had forgotten about it. I have been watching a lot of Jennifer Connolly movies lately, which must be why I ordered it from Netflix. She plays a supporting role in this movie, and I was not familiar with her when I saw it before. Little Children is about people who are in various stages of arrested development, and thus are little children in adult bodies. It is not a pleasant movie to watch, but I give it four stars anyway. It is very well done, and Kate Windslet is especially good. I liked the movie better the second time I watched it, but I do not accept the thesis that everybody has a messed up life. It is made clear in the movie that Kate Windsletts character is like Madam Bovary, but it is not clear that she will ever manage to salvage much of anything from her life.

Message 409

I had a quiet day at home yesterday. In the evening Joshua came over and we went to El Cerrito for dinner. Later I watched a DVD of the movie Blood Diamond. It was an action adventure that was well done with a good cast. After I started watching it I had the feeling I had seen it before, but I was not sure. By the end I was sure I had seen it before, but I could not remember when or where or with whom. I checked on my blog and it was not listed, so it must have been at least a couple of years ago. Anyway I give it three stars.

Message 408

Yesterday we began our new routine of going to Heidi's Pies on Tuesday instead of Thursday at least for the summer. Instead of taking Annie to the library after breakfast, I took her to the park on El Camino in San Mateo. It worked out very well. There were lots of kids there and she played with them as well as swinging and sliding.

Last night I watched a DVD of the movie Les Miserables. I guess I am a sucker for classic material, but I give it five stars. I am a big fan of Liam Neeson, who plays Jean Valjean. I have seen other movies made from the same Victor Hugo story, but none as good as this one Even though the material is somewhat sappy by modern standards, it is still very moving. I can still remember reading the Classic Comic version of Les Miserables when I was a kid. I even read part of it when I took French courses in college.

Message 407

Yesterday I returned to the usual Monday routine of having lunch in Nealon Park with Vanessa and the kids. In the evening I picked up Maureen and her 18-year old visitor from England and went to San Mateo to have ribs with Vanessa and the kids. Julian is back from New York, but is still working long hours. Today is the day they have to turn in the proposal though, so he is almost finished with the panic mode.

Last night I watched a DVD of the movie He's Just Not That into You. It is supposed to be a comedy and has a good cast but it portrays both men and women in a very unsympathetic light. I give it 2.5 stars.

Message 406

Yesterday we were still in the heat wave, so I stayed in my condo and watched the commentary on The Sand Pebbles. In the evening I watched Poirot on Masterpiece Mystery on PBS.

Message 405

Yesterday I read all of this week's The Economist, which means that I pretty much stayed in my condo and tried to avoid the heat wave we are in now. My only outing was to go to Draggers to buy some coconut cake. I went to the couples club dinner at the Wilson's last night. It was an outside Luau and Ginny had requested that I bring something pineapple or coconut. I found Mango ice cream at Safeway, but I had to go to Draggers to find frozen coconut cake. There were only nine of us for the dinner, and I was not sure one small cake would be enough, so I bought two. It turned out that one was enough, so Ginny insisted that I take the second on home with me unopened. It has now joined the large selection of frozen deserts in my freezer. I have to rely on Joshua to help me eat them. He is the only one who seems to enjoy a little desert besides me.

I already have a load of wash started, so when it finishes washing I will get it out into the sun to dry.

Message 404

Yesterday was a quiet day at home. I finished reading last week's Economist and read this week's Science. In the evening after the Friday PBS shows, I watched a DVD of the movie The Sand Pebbles. It has been over forty years since I saw it in the theater and I had forgotten a lot of it. It is quite an epic picture. I give it four stars. I am waiting for a call from Helen and Jim to give me a call to join them at Starbucks.