Kim's Thoughts
Just a few thoughts I feel worthy of jotting down!
When it rains, it pours…
Other than annual visits and routine grooming / day care dates, the girls haven’t had to go to the vet in a long time!!! Then, over the past couple of weeks they made up for it – big time!!!
I used to spend a lot of time with Dr. Cindy – God Bless Her!!! Puddles had a lot of medical issues in the 5 or 6 years before she passed on and her early years were a struggle getting her on the right track, too — in between was fairly calm, but we had periodic episodes that required medical attention. Then, Katie came along and she was in really bad shape when I rescued her – it took us a long time to get her health straightened out! Megan and Amy were, surprisingly healthy – other than general health checks, getting on a vaccination schedule, a good dose of worms, and the having them spayed (all normal puppy stuff), they didn’t need much help!
So, once Katie was all healthy and on track, I had a nice long hiatus from vet visits and bills…..just routine stuff to keep them from developing any problems!
But – December changed all that — hopefully only temporarily!!!
First, for routine beauty maintenance: all three spent the day at Rae-Zor for baths, mani/pedi’s, and play time on the 18th.
Then, on the 21st, Katie hurt her right front leg. We’re not sure what happened – whether they were playing a little too rough or if she just got stuck by a stick or something in the yard – it doesn’t matter – the result was a small puncture wound in her leg that swelled all up and started to get an infection! I took her in to All Animals on the 22nd to get some antibiotics and pain medicine. After a day or so, she started walking normally and the swelling went down. The 10 days of antibiotics seemed to do the trick – no relapse or other problems! It healed nicely and all is fine, now!
On the 22nd, Megan and Amy had their routine annual visit — other than gaining a little more weight than they should have since their last visit, they were given a clean bill of health!
Then, on the 31st, all three were outside playing and they found a lizard or some other little critter — they were going nuts over it, so I got them inside to calm them down. Once inside, I noticed that Megan’s left front foot was bleeding – a lot! She was licking at it and I had a hard time getting her to let me see what was wrong. When I finally got a look at it, I could see that she must have caught her nail on something out there and it ripped out leaving nothing but the meaty quick! OUCH!!! I called All Animals and they were about to close, but told me to bring her right in! They cut back the quick and bandaged her up. They brought her in the exam room to wait with me while they put her meds together and she started bleeding through the bandages!! They had to take her back and remove the bandage and put on a fresh one and made it thicker!!! She was on pain meds and antibiotics. She didn’t feel well and had a hard time walking on the bandage (the pain probably contributed to that, as well), so she just laid around and slept a lot that night and the next day.
I was supposed to take the bandage off on the 1st, but she wouldn’t let me touch it — growled and bit at me! So, I called to see if they would take it off for me. I went in on the 2nd to have it removed, but we decided it was probably better to rebandage it and make it easier for me to take off after the weekend. She still wasn’t very interested in being active and just slept a lot, but it was a lot easier for her to walk on!!!
I took it off on Sunday evening – just clipped the top and pulled it off like a sock! ha-ha!! It is looking good and healing nicely!! She’s still on the antibiotics to be sure it doesn’t get infected, but seems fine and is acting like her old self now…..
So — between Dec 18th and Jan 2nd, I had FIVE visits to All Animals and Rae-Zor to care for the girls — routine and urgent needs!!! WHEW!!! Let’s hope that is the end of it for a while…..
Here are some photos of Megan in her bandages — the white bandage is the first heavy duty one and the blue one is the replacement – poor baby!!!
Here we go…
OK – so this is it – life gets back to normal…
Mom is back home and settled in – the house was pretty quiet yesterday! I took her to the airport early in the morning for her 10:15 flight and we said our good-byes! When I got home, Katie noticed that Mom didn’t come back with me and wanted to know where she was — she starred at the garage door for a little bit waiting for her to come through it, then she searched all over the house as if she thought maybe she got past her, then she sniffed and whined at the crack at the bottom of the door of the room she slept in while she was here – when I opened the door so she could see she wasn’t in there, she sniffed every inch of the room looking for her!!! Megan and Amy weren’t as obvious – if they noticed she left, but didn’t come back, they didn’t show it! But, Katie noticed — and so did I!!!
We really got “movie’d out” while she was here!!! We saw Cadillac Records, Marley and Me, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Seven Pounds, and Four Christmasesat the theater. We also watched several Netflix movies and some on cable!!!
So, today I head back to work after being off since noon on Dec 18th! WOW – I do believe that is the longest I’ve ever been off work! It was perfect cause Mom arrived on the 19th and went back yesterday – so I was able to be off the entire 2 week and 2 day trip! I usually don’t have that luxury, unless she’s here for a shorter time! BUT – if she wasn’t here, a vacation that long would have drove me NUTS — I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t work — go stir crazy, I guess!
Here I go — back to the old grind — getting full bore into a new and, hopefully, wonderful year! Catch ya on the flip side!
What a lousy day this is…
Today is one for the trash can!!! It is foggy, rainy, and yucky outside – I just took Mom to the airport, ending our great two week visit – and it is the last day of a very long holiday from work meaning that tomorrow is “back to the old grind day”! I think I’ll veg out and watch Life Time movies all day!!!
New Year
Well, another year is in the history books and a new one has begun…WOW – time just sails by in the blink of an eye! Here are my New Year’s Day reflections and a look forward…
2008 – Almost everyone I talk to mentions to some degree about how 2008 was a bad year for them. Even earlier in the year, before the economy and other issues started hitting everyone so hard, people were thinking it wasn’t one of their better years. For me personally, 2008 was a bland year — some good, some not so good, but I don’t have much that sticks out as being events that will make 2008 truly memorable in a good way!
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In general, we watched the economy spiral out of control and slide into a recession, impacting every aspect of our lives. We watched history in the making as the first black President was elected into office – something that has already impacted and inspired many, but it is too early to determine what direction his Presidency will take and what, if any, lasting impact he’ll have on the world.
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As for my personal reflections…it seems like just about everything in 2008 came with a double edged sword – good and bad all intertwined together resulting in mixed feelings and emotional conflict…
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My health was on a wild roller coaster throughout much of the year. I spent several months forcing myself to do routine tasks and passing up things I would have enjoyed doing, but knew I just didn’t have the energy and ability to do. I finally changed doctors (absolutely nothing against the previous doc – I adored him – but I just needed a different approach) and several tests and medicine changes later, I got my life back!!! But, I’m not so sure I ever really snapped out of it emotionally and got back into the full swing of activities that I have so enjoyed in years past.
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My career, as with everything, was full of mixed emotions. At the beginning of the year, I applied for a new position at work and got it! A major promotion for me and a whole new direction in what was a fairly steady career path. It was exciting, challenging and NEW – just what I needed!!! But, soon, the economy started taking its toll on all businesses and the impact and high stress level was intense and affected us all.
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Movies — if you’ve read this blog much, you know I LOVE movies and go to the theater a LOT!!! But, since I only started this blog in August of 2007, there is no comparison to previous years to show that I actually saw a lot fewer movies than usual. This is because there weren’t a lot of movies that sparked much interest for me. It was a really “blah” year for movies! There were large gaps where I didn’t go see any movies at all! And most of the ones I did see didn’t touch me the way most movies do. In looking back over listings of all the movies released in 2008, I actually saw a very small percentage of them AND there are only three that stand out as being truly memorable for me:
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Nights at Rodanthe
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The Secret Life of Bees
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
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Family —
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My Mom had a hip replaced early in the year – it was a long and horrible ordeal and recovery, but she’s doing well and was even able to make the trip down here for the holidays!
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In early December, my nephew and his wife announced they are having a baby – the baby will be the first to start a whole new generation in our family…what does that tell you about how spoiled this kid is going to be????
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On December 19th, I lost my favorite Great Aunt! Aunt Betty was my Grandmother’s sister – the youngest of five brothers and sisters and the last to leave us. We were very close and I loved her dearly!
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Facebook— I signed up for Facebook a few months ago just to have an account so I could be a fan of The Rant and didn’t think I would actually do anything with it…..well, it has turned out to be a lot of fun AND a way to connect to friends that I haven’t heard from in many years!!! I have connected to several friends I graduated from High School with, a couple other friends from school years, and even my first high school sweet heart!!! Some I have been in contact with through the years and this is just another way to stay in touch — some I haven’t heard from since we left high school and went our separate ways! It has been GREAT!!!
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Communities In Schools – We had another highly successful fundraiser – the 3rd Annual Benefit Gala for Children! It was a wonderful event! The economy hurt us and we didn’t raise as much as last year, but we raised more than I was expecting when we started seeing the economic impacts on the community!!! Our Executive Director left to take a job with Lee County Schools and our Program Coordinator left to attend Law School — all right at the height of Gala planning!!! But, we found replacements and the Gala and all the regular programs went on without a hitch!
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2009 – So, what do I think 2009 may have in store for me? I hope it will bring more positive excitement – be less bland – and give me a ton of things to write about in my annual Christmas letter to family and friends!!! Some of the things I hope to do to make 2009 a great year for me, personally, are:
- Get myself back on track – snap out of it and get back to a point where I am an active participant in my own personal life! I vow to take on a “take care of me first” attitude! Not that I plan to become selfish at the expense of all my other interests and obligations, but I really need to focus on my physical and personal well being this year — find a way to stop worrying so deeply about the things I have little or no control over and stop holding back on doing things for myself because it might mean I won’t have the time or money to do things that are more of a benefit to others (even though that also brings me a lot of personal joy – I just need to find a better balance of the two)! I’m good at telling others to do it, but really bad about doing it for myself! That has to change! I have already taken a few steps in that direction over the past couple of months or so:
- I purchased a membership at Natural Balance and I now have a routine monthly appointment rotating massages and facials to pamper myself and relieve stress.
- I booked a trip to Hawaii in the spring – 4 days and 3 nights on Oahu with two of my dearest friends! I don’t know why, but this took a lot of soul searching and personal justification before I finally just decided to do it — it wasn’t all that expensive and it isn’t like I’m gonna be gone for a long time — it should have been a no-brainer….
- I WILL PAINT THE INSIDE OF MY HOUSE!!!! This has been on my “to do” project list since I bought my house in December 2003. I have put it off and done other projects every year!! I am still looking at white walls in every room in the house — I am still avoiding putting too many pictures and other decorations on the walls because I plan to paint “soon” — I am sitting here five years later still putting it at the top of the “to do” list in the same priority position it has been knocked out of for the past five years!!! This is the year of painting!!!
- I will eat out less and cook more…I used to love to cook and was a good cook!! But, I do it so infrequently over the past couple of years that I find I’m losing my touch – things I have cooked from instinct and memory for years just don’t turn out the same anymore! I need to get back into the habit of cooking and get that skill back!
In general:
- I hope the New York Yankees have a banner year and they win the World Series!!!
- I hope that the economy turns around and gets strong again!
- I hope this time next year everyone is saying what a great year it was for them!
- I hope I have a long list of wonderful memories to account for in my New Year’s Day post on January 1, 2010!!!
I wish everyone a happy, healthy, prosperous new year!
Movie Review – Seven Pounds
The previews for this movie don’t give a lot of details to clue you in to what this movie is about. The write up on Yahoo Movies is just as vague: “Ben Thomas is an IRS agent with a fateful secret who embarks on an extraordinary journey of redemption by forever changing the lives of seven strangers.” So, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but the intrigue made this movie one that had to go on our “to do” list during Mom’s visit. Well, we went to see it today — here’s my review:
I won’t spoil the movie by giving too many details, but the basic premise is that Will Smith plays a man who feels he needs to redeem himself for a horrible accident that claimed the lives of seven people by significantly changing the lives of seven strangers. The movie starts with Will Smith’s voice stating that the world was created in 7 days and in 7 seconds he shattered his world! The opening scene is him calling 911 to report a suicide – his own! Then, it gets REALLY confusing — he bounces around between current events and flashbacks in random order and no real logic or way to tell what is now and what is then….the first 45 minutes or so (maybe as much as the first 1/2 of the 1 hr 58 min movie) is painful — confusing mix of dots that just don’t seem to be connecting and little hope that they will ever connect!!! In that time, it is slow, boring, and uninteresting.
With that said — the movie, like the character, does redeem itself!!! Once you start to connect the dots and understand what is happening, it starts to get good. Not great – but good! The story is a very strange concept – both disturbing and heart wrenching at the same time. On one hand you wonder what sick mind thinks up such a story and on the other hand you are touched at the idea of what the character is doing to make such a profound difference in the lives of seven strangers! The final scenes are intense and sad, but the movie ends on an up beat that does leave you feeling that the character did a wonderful thing…….but getting there is long and takes a lot of work! You really do have to work at putting it all together – they attempt to tie it up for you at the end, but they still leave the viewer to try to remember what happened earlier in the movie to fill in some of the gaps.
I rate this one a B Minus— if I break the movie down, I would give the first 1/2 a C or less and the second 1/2 a B+ or “maybe” an A-! The overall story was good (again, not great, but good), the acting was a little flat, and that whole first 1/2 was just plain painful……..I recommend waiting and seeing it on DVD or cable – you might be disappointed if you pay full price at the theater to see it (we’re glad we paid matinee prices, but would have been happier if I got it on Netflix) — regardless of the venue, if you do decide to see this movie, don’t get discouraged during the first half — stick with it and pay attention — it will all make sense by the end….
Toys – Thanks, Santa…
The girls have a toy box FULL of toys….but, Santa still brought them more!!! They all got new Kongs and Megan got a couple new balls – her favorite brand in a couple new colors. Then, “Daddy” (Ronald) and “Aunt” Lisa brought them each a stuffed animal toy! Of course, they also got some busy bones, too…
Stuffed animal toys don’t last long in our house — the ones that “Daddy” and “Aunt” Lisa brought were no exception! Ronald and Lisa came over the morning after Christmas and we exchanged gifts and had some bagels and coffee. They gave the girls their toys first and before we could finish our visit, the squeakers were out of two of the toys and stuffing all over the living room floor!!! I cleaned up the mess and pulled the rest of the stuffing out of the toys so that they were just limp rags that looked like stuffed toys – ha-ha! I put the third one up so that it will last a little longer….they still play with the limp rags – shaking and throwing them around the room!
The surprise over the past week has been Amy — Megan is the big toy player – she is constantly squawking on a ball and playing with her toys! Katie and Amy will act interested every once in a while – they did like the stuffed ones when they are new, but tear them up and lose interest and don’t show much interest at all in the less destructable kind. BUT — over the past week, Amy has gone nuts with toys!!! She takes her front paw and bops the toy to make it squeak and then leaps up about a foot or so in the air and spins around before landing (I still think there is a little Jack Russell in those two somewhere) – then she grabs it and shakes it all over and tosses it up in the air…she isn’t as relentless as Megan is, but she’s getting close!!! I don’t know if she’s showing off cause Mom’s here or if she’s suddenly gained an intersted in playing with toys — whatever is going on, it is sooooooooooo cute and funny to watch!!! ha-ha
Honeyed Pork – Crock Pot Version
A couple weeks or so ago, Lindsay posted a great sounding Honeyed Pork Chop recipe on her blog – Anyone Hungry?. In our comments to each other, we thought that the recipe might be really good done in a crock pot with a pork loin. Well, I fixed the crock pot version for dinner today and it was GREAT!!!
Here is how I used the recipe in the crock pot:
Click here for Lindsay’s Honeyed Pork Chop recipe
I bought a really nice pork loin and browned it in a skillet.
I cut the loin in 1/2 so that it would lay flat in the bottom of the crock pot and added the chopped onions on top and around the meat.
I made the sauce per Lindsay’s recipe and then made another 1/2 batch of the sauce. I poured the sauce over the meat and onions – it was just enough to just barely cover the meat. (my crock pot has a narrow round base, so it didn’t take a lot of sauce. if you have a bigger based crock pot – like the oval kind – you may want to make more sauce so that it nicely covers the meat)
I cooked it on low in the crock pot for about 8 1/2 hours.
I served it with peas, applesauce, and stuffing. The meat fell apart as I took it out of the crock pot and it turned into more of a pulled pork than a sliced roast. The meat was so tender and moist and had the most incredible flavor!!!
I’m sure the pork chop version is wonderful, too — but the crock pot version was amazing!!!
Try it — you won’t go wrong — it really makes a delicious (and very easy) dinner!
Movie Review – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button — the previews were intriguing — the story was thought provoking — the thought of spending almost three hours with Brad Pitt was irresistible!!! So, Mom and I went to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button today – here is my review!!!
Who hasn’t wondered what it would be like to be young and possess all the knowledge and wisdom gained from a life of experiences and relationships? But, would you want to be born old and grow physically younger as you grow older in years? That is the concept of the wonderful story of Benjamin Button – an intriguing concept, to say the least!
Brad Pitt stars as Benjamin Button. Benjamin is born on the day World War I ended in 1918. His mother dies in child birth and his father is so distraught over her death and in shock over what he sees when he first looks at his new son that he takes him wrapped in a blanket and leaves him on the steps of an old folks home in New Orleans. Taken in by a young, single black woman, he is soon discovered to be quite “different”. A doctor in the home determines the newborn has all the medical issues and characteristics of a man in his 80s and predicts he won’t live very long. But, Benjamin proves him wrong and lives a very long life — aging backwards!!!
Over the course of almost three hours, we follow Benjamin’s life via the reading of a diary that he wrote to document his incredible story. The diary is read by a young woman reading to her mother, Daisy (portrayed by Cate Blanchett), who is on her death bed. Daisy was a life long love of Benjamin’s and was intertwined throughout his life. As the diary is read, we see Benjamin go from a withered baby appearing to not be long for this world, to a feeble old man riddled with arthritis, to a middle aged man going through the experiences of a teenager, to a virile young man in his elder years, to a child with dementia, and finally to a baby.
Brad Pitt does an amazing job of portraying Benjamin and making him totally believable and interesting. The expressions and wonderment that came through on his face were perfect! Here you have a man who looks old and experienced in life, but he is listening to the stories being told to him with all the amazement and wonder that a child would have. People who knew him knew he was just a child, but those he meets along his journey think he’s an old man and are amazed that he doesn’t have the life knowledge and experiences expected of a man of the age he appears to be. It was absolutely fascinating to watch him go through life interacting with the world around him!
Mom and I went to Lil’ Dino’s for a sub after the movie and we talked and talked about what we thought of the story and whether or not we would want to age in reverse, like Benjamin did. Would it be better to go through the pains of old age before you are able to understand the limitations it causes and then get younger, stronger, and able to take on the world after you gain the knowledge and experiences that would benefit you in your older years? One strong argument against this option that really struck me was him watching all his close friends and family die around him, knowing that he would continue on getting younger without them and watching his loved ones age while he grows younger! That was so sad to watch. So — the movie raised more questions than answers for this concept!! I’m not sure I have a strong opinion either way…..
As for those who think that the movie had no “meaning” – I think quite the contrary! It definitely served its purpose – to provoke thoughts and wonderment – to show that everyone has an impact on those they come in contact with and you don’t have to do grand acts to be “special” or to touch others profoundly – to show that everyone is worthy and capable of love, regardless of how different they are – and that life and relationships are precious and should never be taken for granted. That’s what I got out of the movie — that and the warmth and awe that took over my heart as I watched the story unfold. It was a thoroughly enjoyable movie – one I will likely watch again and again and again!!!!
I rate this one an A+ and highly recommend it!
Movie Review – Marley and Me – and Christmas Day!
Christmas Day – 2008 – was very special at my house! Mom was here….we had a lovely meal….and did my favorite Christmas Day activity: we went to see a movie! Here is my accounting of the day and my review of “Marley and Me”…
We started the day with breakfast and, if I do say so myself, I fixed some perfectly cooked eggs!! It turned out to be a beautiful day – warm and sunny! Mom commented that it didn’t feel much like Christmas and if you were here visiting from Western NY (near Buffalo), you would probably say the same thing! But, it was a really beautiful day! After breakfast, we got ready and went to the movies!
Mom and I saw “Marley and Me” at the Christmas Day matinee! This is a dog lover’s movie that everyone will enjoy! BUT — and this is a huge “BUT” — it is VERY sad and heart tugging!!! Take a box of tissues with you – you’re gonna need them – I don’t care if you never cry at a movie – I will take bets that you’ll cry at this one!!!!
The movie stars Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson – both do an amazing job in their roles. The emotions and genuine joy in their relationship to “Marley” are portrayed beautifully and realistically. The story takes us from Aniston and Wilson’s characters getting married, moving to Miami, adopting a yellow lab puppy, and on through the growth of their family and life of Marley. Marley is all puppy! He is destructive beyond all imagination by eating and tearing into tiny pieces everything within sight (Megan has officially been demoted – she has lost the title of “World’s Biggest Monster Dog”) and totally unruly — and it is soooooooo funny!!! Probably because I could feel their pain……ha-ha-ha-ha!!! The beginning was adorable, hysterical, and loads of fun. Then, I thought they grew Marley up too fast – I wish they had focused more on him as a puppy – and the middle bordered on beginning to get boring when it started to pick up again. The ending is incredibly sad – very well done, but intense and sad, just the same! We both really enjoyed the movie – it was a lovely story, great characters, and perfectly cast – but we also both thought that it left us with the feeling that it put a damper on the day. I sobbed out loud and it broke my heart to watch the ending of this movie. It did not, however, take away from my enjoyment of the movie overall…I rate this one an A- only because of the slow part in the middle and because I wish they had ended it on a higher note – don’t get me wrong, the ending was appropriate and touching, but I just wish they had taken it just a little further so that I left feeling a little more upbeat.
Then, Mom and I spent the rest of the afternoon cooking our Christmas dinner together….it was such a joy to have her here and cook with her! We had all our favorites — ham, sweet potatoes, asparagus, parsnips, fruit salad, apple sauce, and yeast rolls. After we ate and cleaned up, we decided a nap was definitely in order — so we snoozed for a little while. We capped the evening off with french vanilla ice cream topped with fudge and caramel and spanish peanuts while watching TV. It was a great day!!!
Movies left on our “to do” list for the rest of Mom’s visit: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, “Seven Pounds”, and “Four Christmases”. We took “Australia” off the list because beginning today it is only showing at 9:35 at night and is an almost 3 hour movie — too late for us!! ha-ha We’d also really like to see “Doubt”, but it isn’t playing in Sanford – if that changes before Mom goes back, we just may have to put it on the list!!!!
Movie Review – Cadillac Records – and more…
Mom and I went to see Cadillac Records today. This movie is based on the true story of the rise and fall of Chess Records and the launch of the careers of great blues and rock ‘n roll legends Muddy Waters, Etta James, Chuck Barry, and Little Walter and writer Willie Dixon.
The cast is amazing – Adrien Brody as Leonard Chess, Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters, Beyonce Knowles as Etta James, Dante “Mos Def” Smith as Chuck Berry, Columbus Short as Little Walter, and Cedric The Entertainer as Willie Dixon. The music was incredible — great blues classics that brought out chills and tears as it reached down deep into my soul…. Beyonce excelled in the role of Etta James – she is beautiful, an exceptional singer, and an accomplished actress – she expressed every emotion with impeccable skill…I have enjoyed her in every film I’ve seen her in and this was, by far, her best job and most intense role.
The story took us through the efforts of Leonard Chess as he went from an immigrant’s son working as a junk dealer, to his dream of being a club owner, and finally to his start of Chess Records. Chess partnered with Muddy Waters to start up the recording company and launch the careers of Waters and others. The story also chronicles the lives and struggles of those that took their place in music history through their association with Chess Records – the successes, the failures, the addictions, the relationships, and…..the cadillacs!!!
Mom and I both thoroughly enjoyed this movie – the music, the story, the acting, everything – very well done and extremely entertaining! A definite “A” rating on this one — double thumbs up — if you like classic blues and early rock ‘n roll, you should see this film!
Before the movie, we went to Cafe 121 and had Classic Bacon sandwiches – bacon, lettuce, tomato, red onion, and cheese (on Mom’s, not mine) on wheatberry bread — YUM!!! Since we were going to the movies, I didn’t get my favorite caramel apple cider drink to take with us and didn’t have the chance to turn Mom onto it — but, I will get some before she leaves to go back home!!!
We came home after the movie, relaxed a while, had dinner, and opened our Christmas gifts! Tomorrow (Christmas), we plan to have a holiday breakfast, go see a movie (we are trying to decide between “Marley and Me” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”), and come home to make a lovely ham dinner together! What a great Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we are having…….
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