I watched a movie

 Last night - when else

I watched a movie that I had recorded.

DirecTV had boogered up my bill while back - and to make me happy (I didn't even notice their error - not even to this day have I figured out what they did wrong) to make me happy they gave me 2 free months of Showtime.

Years back, we gave up the premium channels because we didn't like the content.  Most of them are "R" rated or worse.  Even the PG13 have words and actions that bore us - we could care less if some guy knows the alphabetical order of all profanity words and is able to recite same - in order - while screaming at some other poor sap in fresh produce aisle of a corner grocery store.  Haven't seen that show?  Just you wait.  It's coming.

For 2 months I scoured Showtime for something to watch.  I picked up one or two.  If they were not "R," they were baby "G" movies that only a 5 year old would understand.   I recorded a movie called:

QUARTET

I picked it because it said something about opera singers.  Yes, it still had the obligatory 2 words in order to get a PG-13 rating.  The story was slow.  It took a long time to hit the climax.  The wait was worth it, because throughout the entire movie - there was music - good music - sung and performed by real musicians.  You didn't have the Hollywood actor pretending to play a clarinet.  The guy actually played the clarinet.  And, he knew what he was doing.  Excellent music.  Some fun scenes.  

There were a lot of scenes where someone stood and looked into the distance with the prevailing light beating down in a complimentary sort of way.  Pensive - that is a good word.  Thinking about the past or the future.

To reduce the plot to a simpleton movie - like in the old Andy Rooney movies, they were putting on a show to save their Musician Retirement Home.  Plus the story line revolved around a retired opera soprano who was reuniting with her ex-husband.  These were all retired, really old people with all the retired, really old people problems.  Some made me a bit uneasy.  But, what a GOLDEN cast.   I loved the players.  And what a show they produced at the end.

The ending was predictable and excellent - the music was great.  Since I have to wear earphones when I watch TV with my family (I am going deaf gradually ya know), I heard every note and nuance.   It was marvelous.

But, the part that got to me was at the very very very end.  Not the acting or the singing or the instrumental playing - no, it was the credits at the end.  

You remember the Band of Brothers series.  At the end of each episode, they showed the actor and, then, a photo of the warrior he was playing including a very short bio of the actual soldier.

This movie did similar.  The difference was that each actor was playing himself.  They showed the character and a photo of them when young and at least one of their accomplishments.   The clarinet player use to be the Principal clarinet with the London Symphony.  There was an accomplished symphonic conductor - and a lady who was the practice piano player for many productions - and the trumpet player use to play in Frank Sinatra's band - and the lady who played Yum-Yum in the London theater production.

The Credits were the quite emotional for me.   Old people, really old people, still creating music as if they loved it.  As they recited more than once:  getting old is not easy.

Luv ya,

Mtz3

Butter Me Palms

 Here it is Oct. 22nd.  Last post was in June?  Me thinks I am irregular.  But on with the show.

Today I made butter.  Real butter.

Background:  Last spring, we made a trip to Ruidoso.  That is such a nice place.  In one of the many tourist trap stores downtown, I saw these little butter churns  Cute.  I want one.  Ruidoso was selling them for near 3 million dollars.  I figured i could find them online cheaper.  And, I did.  Nut not yet.

A few months later, we move into this new house (new to us).  I still have the fever for a butter churn.  I looked on Amazon, selected the one that looked the best, put it in my cart, and did nothing.   One day I bit the bullet and placed the order.  One week passed and my butter churn arrived.  That is when I found out my daughter had gotten me one for my up-coming birthday.  Sigh.

Yesterday, same daughter bought a quart of whipping cream.  She had previously acquired some cheese cloth from Walmart.  We were ready.  I dug out the butter churn and reread the instructions.  Oops forgot.

They say to set the cream out for at least 2 hours in order to get to room temp.  I was ready to churcn - Couldn't.    Cream was poured into the churn to wait.   Meanwhile, Christine was here and leaving at         4 pm.  .I wanted her to share.  We waited.  She knitted.  I fretted about.

25 min before she was to leave, I started to churn.  The instructions say to turn for 10 to 15 minutes.  I had faith. It was blind faith.  Make that blind.   Instructions were called up on the phone.  

15 minutes of churning produced cream - the same cream I started with.   Perhaps the cream had not warmed up enough?   On the shelf. it went.   An hour passed - I did another 20 minutes   Churn Churn Churn Turn Turn Turn.  Nothing.   Had a thought.  Poured out half of the cream into a large bowl.  More Churn Churn Churn Turn Turn Turn.   Nothing.  I noticed the churn liquid was thicker than the bowl of liquid.  I must be making progress.

----

Paused.  Dug in the kitchen for a hand held mixer.   Dumped the churn into another bowl and started the mixer.  Less than 5 minutes and I was getting a thick substance.  It must be butter.

In one person's instructions, you put the butter into a piece of cheese cloth.   Extra liquid is poured off into a glass (this liquid is buttermilk - really) .leaving the butter behind.  Good theory.   They said to squeeze all liquid from the cheesecloth.  Really.  In the video, it worked.  In my practice, the butter squeezed right through the cheese cloth all over my hands.  I now have buttered palms, so to speak. 

Another video - put water in the butter bowl - mix the butter with your hands to get all of the buttermilk out of the butter.  Water in - squeeze butter - pour off water - repeat.   I must be doing something wrong. After much squeezing and butter up to my elbows - I gave up.  With much effort, all available extra liquid was poured off.   Remaining butter plopped into a container.  Extra butter between my fingers is scraped into the containers.

Anyone tells you this is a breeze to do - they lie.  Butter is in refrig waiting for tomorrow morning's toast.  We wait.

-----

and yes, I will try it again.  The hand held mixer worked the best.  But I will try the butter churn again.  The mixer will stay in reserve.  I think I will wait until my grandgirls come  to visit.  Watching them with butter up to their elbows - that could be fun.

We moved

 The story is involved - pardon me, the "Stone" is involved.  I plan to explain soon (not that many of you  are having 'Sleepless in Seattle' nights about this).  

I certainly have had a few.

Tomorrow the Directv guy comes.

Long stone short - we now live in Salado, TX.  Actually we live about 2 miles west of Salado.  Nice place.  There are new houses going up all over the place.  It is a bit scary.

The plan is to stay here forever, whenever that comes.  Our #1 daughter Christine may move in with us in the distant future.  Bless her heart.

Moving gets harder with every year.  Oh, to be a young whippersnapper again....

more in future.

m

notice

 Addition to last week's cryptic  note:

We are moving and are in the process.

I lack time to spend on blog.

more later.

m

I'll be back

 I have not forgotten my blog.

I have been busy.

I will explain in a week or so.

my blog says they will no longer send notices when I publish this blog.

they say I can fix this.

but, then, they may think they are talking to someone who understands instructions.

wrong.

i'll be back

mtz

TOMORROW IS THE DAY

 Just a bit of a summary.  Tomorrow at 9 a.m., movers will arrive, and we will be on our way south.  Moving has not been easy.  I'm too old for this.  Now, the search for a house and moving into the house...

Yep, it's a fine life.

m

It moves me

I realize nobody sits around waiting for my next blog entry.  Apparently, I don't either.  It has been over a month since my last confession - - wait - - since my last entry.  There is a good reason; not bad either.

About 2 maybe 3 weeks ago a gentleman called me.  I invited he and his wife over.  They walked around the house for a couple of hours and, then, made me an offer to buy/sell.   I hesitated a bit, but signed on the dotted line.

We have been talking about moving back to the Round Rock area where my #1 daughter works.  We're 80 now and need to be near some relative.  We could move back to the Lubbock area (our hometown is Levelland), but neither of us care for the sand storms and the winters.

So we are moving.  We don't know where; but we do know when.  The movers arrive on April 6th.  They will load up our stuff and deliver it to a storage shed in the Georgetown area on the 7th.  It will be costly, for sure.

For the past 3 weeks we have packed boxes.  My daughter Laura and her husband Tom live in Waxahachie.  They have been practically living here packing boxes for us.   Daughter Christine showed up last night for a final 4 day packing push.   Son Roger (Lubbock) arrived on Thursday.  I will be moving into a smaller lot.  Roger is buying 5 acres of land near Lubbock.   Se he came for my John Deere riding mower and attached trailer.  I gave him a good deal.

My kids have been great helping us.   Laura has sacrificed the most time and endured my surly temper.  I have not been the most pleasant person.

We will be moving into our motorhome and traveling south.  We will live in the motorhome for a while until we can find an appropriate house.

I will certainly miss this place.  I get a bit despondent at times.  I will miss playing ball with Oscar for one thing.  He has turned 12 and -logically - won't be around for many more years.  I hate that he will miss those years of ball playing.  He loves it so much.  Bruno, on the other hand, could care less about activity - "Give me food," is his battle cry.  Sadie just loves to love and bark.  I am sad but happy.

So moving is Tuesday.  Wish us luck.

====

totally unrelated, the daughter Laura teaches in Blooming Grove Elementary.  During the great ice/snow happening, her school became waterlogged.  The entire school is being gutted and repaired.  So what about classes?  Corsicana ISD has a building (Drane Learning Center) that is being rented to Blooming Grove for the rest of this school year.  Every morning, the students are bused the 20 miles over here for classes.  In the afternoon, they are bused back 20 miles.  Job security for bus drivers; but, it has to be terrible.  Corsicana needs a pat on the back for helping;  Blooming Grove needs a pat on the back for making it work.  They must have some excellent administrators and faculty.

that's it.  I paused my address changing efforts to write this epic.  So many addresses; so little time.

luv ya

mtz