Fete Day!
Watch It
The other day as I was waiting for something to heat in the microwave, I decided to see if I could put my make-up on in the 2 minutes and 36 seconds I had before the ding. Now, my beauty routine, such as it is, is pretty simple: I curl my eyelashes, draw a smudgy brown line under my eyes, apply mascara, blush (when the tan fades) and lipstick. I was done with time to spare. It makes me laugh when I remember walking the mile to high school with my hair in rollers so my hair wouldn’t “fall,” and slapping more make-up on once I got there. We’re talking foundation, under-eye concealer, blush, powder, two-toned eye shadow, liquid eye-liner, frosted lipstick, etc. Holy Hooker, Batman.
Now I wake up early every day and putter around on the computer, but when it’s time to get my derriere in gear, I shower/dress and am out the door in about half an hour. I need the “wake-up” time, though, the luxury of those hours before I have to actually speak coherent sentences and perform proficiently at work. Sometimes I get quite a lot of writing done, sometimes I’m just blog-hopping. Maybe I should be sleeping later, but I treasure the alone time I have between when my husband leaves for work (around 6:30 AM) and when I do (10:00 AM). As an only child, I don’t get lonely. After raising four kids and trying to tame a husband, the house is blessedly, blissfully quiet every morning. And I’m not going to break the spell by vacuuming.
When is “your” time? Do you fritter it away like I do, or fill each hour with purpose?
Day, n. A period of twenty-four hours, mostly misspent. ~Ambrose Bierce
Janga is the winner of October’s contest, and can misspend time reading her prize! E-mail your address to maggierobinson8@yahoo.com Thanks so much to all of you for your thoughtful comments on fairy tales and their appeal. I always learn something new!
Fractured Fairy Tales
People study fairy tales in college, write erudite books on their psychological implications, compare cultural similarities among fables and folktales, etc. I don’t know enough about any of that stuff, because I never gave the whole fairy tale situation much thought. I mean, as a kid I read them, saw the movies. But when Ely sent me the above cartoon a while back, I thought it might make for an interesting discussion and October’s contest!
Lots of fiction is based on classic fairy tale themes. I like the Cinderella idea so much I actually named one of my heroines Cynthia Elling, gave her two nasty stepsisters and a vile stepmother and hooked her up with Sir Harry Chalmers in the first book I ever finished, Bride by Midnight. Midnight, get it? Subtlety is apparently not my middle name. I guess the whole idea of rescue and transformation appeals to me, although Cynthia and Harry actually rescue and transform each other.
What’s your favorite fairy tale? Why do you think they’re so enduring? Do you approve of the Disneyfication of them? Which contemporary author writes the best new twist on an old tale? One commenter wins a happily-ever-after romance and other fun stuff! Winner picked and a new post on Thursday, October 11.
Fairy tales can come true,
it can happen to you
if you’re young at heart.
For its hard, you will find,
to be narrow of mind
if you’re young at heart
(in the words of Leigh/Richards…sung by Frank…almost believed by me)
Film Fun
This week’s US magazine caught my eye because of the shameless exploitation of poor Britney’s poor toddlers, but it was worth the purchase price. I read “US Picks the 20 Most Romantic DVDs.” I am such a sucker for lists, and I was curious to see if I had been swept away in a swoon by the magazine’s choices. I’ve seen most of the movies mentioned and bits of others channel-surfing; the ones I haven’t will probably remain unwatched. How about you? Any romantic movies to add to the list?
1. Four Weddings and a Funeral (Seen it a million times. Would watch it a million more.)
2. Pretty Woman (Yes. Love the Rodeo Drive comeuppance scene.)
3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Sorry, no and probably never.)
4. Casablanca (From the time I was at my mother’s knee. A guilty repeated pleasure.)
5. Dirty Dancing (My girls and I can recite whole chunks of dialog. Nobody puts Baby in a corner.)
6. Moonstruck (Yes, but wouldn’t really want to see it again. Not a fan of Nicolas Cage, although I liked Cher saying, “Get over it!”)
7. Jerry Maguire (Yes. And I don’t like Tom Cruise, but I’d probably watch it again if I had to.)
8. Annie Hall (Yes, but no interest in seeing it again.)
9. Sleepless in Seattle (Oh, yes. Love it every time. So sweet. Love Meg Ryan’s apartment.)
10. The Notebook (I confess I haven’t seen every minute, but I sure cried enough anyway. Even my manly husband was moved.)
11. Before Sunrise/Before Sunset (Snippets only. And the snack does not make me crave the full meal)
12. Out of Sight (Snippets. I’d watch it all if I came across it. Yum. George.)
13. Pride & Prejudice (The new one. Loved it.)
14. Ghost (Pass the Kleenex. A staple of my girls’ youth.)
15. A Room with a View (Strangely, I don’t believe I saw this. 1985 must have been a busy year.)
16. Notting Hill (Love it. One of my favorite movies ever. Horse and Hound. Snicker.)
17. The Way We Were (Yes. Why, why, why couldn’t they work it out?)
18. Finding Neverland (No. Don’t beat me, but Johnny Depp leaves me completely cold. Sorry, Hellion.)
19. Say Anything (Yes. I’d like to see it again, too.)
20. Knocked Up (No, not yet.)
True love stories never have endings. ~Richard Bach
Date Night
It’s official. It’s fall. The leaves are turning and falling here, and we’ve even had the heat on at night, despite the fact that it was it was an uncomfortable 91 degrees yesterday. The end of summer always makes me nostalgic for convertible nights. Not especially for my old college boyfriend, but for his sea-ish green Karmann Ghia. I remember lots of nights driving with the top down out to the beach or to an ice cream place. Our dates were very uncomplicated and pretty cheap. Maybe a movie—one with subtitles if we were feeling especially artsy—or just a drive to nowhere, listening to the radio and debating the meaning of life. Nowadays, gas costs too much, and the meaning of life is as elusive as ever.
My old beau is long-gone, and my husband and I have gone through a couple of convertibles ourselves. When we moved to our current town, we decided every Thursday night was going to be our date night. One of our sons-in-law owns a sports bar, and our daughter worked there one day a week, Thirsty Thursday, of course. How fun, we thought. Grab a burger, have a beer, see them both. I don’t even think we made it there half-a-dozen times all year. We’re just too comfy at home.
How do you like your heroes and heroines to mix and match up? Do you do a date night with your mate? What was your favorite date/hangout growing up? I used to love going to Vesuvio’s Pizza Parlor. If you sat in the booth long enough, just about everybody in town came in. There were some great diners around, too. I’m glad I grew up in a time where I could just hang out with a root beer instead of dancing the quadrille— kind of like Happy Days, but without the Fonz and the laugh track…and of course we were discussing existentialism.