I made a coffee bar in my kitchen! When my mom started living with us part-time last fall, I bought a Keurig because that makes it really easy for her to get her first cup of coffee even if she wakes up long before me. But the Keurig and its coffee pod storage took up a lot of space on my counter -- space I couldn't use for anything else anymore. Not only that, but reaching coffee mugs in the cabinets was tricky for my mom, since she has Parkinson's and that affects her balance and movements.
So, I decided to make a coffee bar to make coffee and mugs more accessible for my mom, and also for any guests. Now that she lives here part of the time, we get a lot more guests because her friends from near and far like to come out and spend some time with her. I figure it's nice to not make guests wonder how your coffee maker works, where you keep your coffee grounds, if you have creamer, and so on. Everyone can figure out a Keurig pretty quickly, especially an ultra-simple one like mine.
Long, long ago, when our first baby was less than a year old, we bought a huge old dry sink at the Salvation Army. It was a perfect changing table for many years. Once my kids outgrew diapers, it became a combination extra kitchen storage space below, and a catch-all for my stuff above. In the past few years, it's transformed into a sort of strategic planning zone where I could keep my bullet journal, stickers, letters that need to be answered, and random things I needed to deal with in the immediate future.
In other words, it had become a giant mess:
I knew it could be ideal as a coffee bar. It's a little lower than my counters, so my mom can easily reach everything there. It's not huge, so she should be able to stand in one place and access everything. It was originally a dry sink, so it's easy to clean and not a stranger to moisture. All I had to do was clean it all off, rehome everything that I had been storing on top of it, and pick up a few small accessories!
Yeah, it took me about two weeks to do all that. But, it's finished at last!
I already had the cute sign that says "Coffee and friends make the perfect blend." I picked up a rubber mat to go under my Keurig and make cleaning up spills easier. I bought a mug tree online. I picked up a couple of new mugs at the thrift store so that Mom and guests could have some drinkware choices. And I used a gift card that I won in a giveaway to buy a cute little mug-shaped basket to hold flavored coffee creamers. So, now I have a coffee bar!
I also ordered a mini table-top trash can, but that has been delayed in shipping, so I'll have to change this up a bit once that arrives. Still, I'm really happy with how it turned out, and I hope it makes mornings easier for my mom when she's staying here and more fun for our future guests.
Here we are at the end of the AMA answer posts! This has been very fun, at least for me :-) One last vlog at the end.
Rose Have you ever read a book that changed your view on the world? Which one?
I've read quite a few books that changed my view of specific aspects of the world. Sixguns and Society: A Structural Study of the Western by Will Wright really illuminated for me why I like specific stories, what I dislike about others, and how to improve what I write.
What are some books everyone should read to call themselves cultivated human beings?
See vlog for answer :-) What is your dream travel destination?
Alaska! I've been wanting to go there since I was probably ten years old. Coffee or tea?
I drink both, but I drink coffee every day, and tea only now and then, so there's your answer :-)
Westerns! No question at all. My heart seems to live in their stylized, dreamy version of the Old West.
Cordy What are five things on your bucket list?
1. Go to Alaska
2. Go to New Zealand and see where they filmed the LOTR and Hobbit movies
3. Go to the Alamo
4. Go to Australia and see where they filmed The Man from Snowy River
5. Go to Germany and see all the cool Martin Luther sites
What are some of your favorite character names that you haven't used yet? (Unless they're too good to share and then choose secondary favorites. ;))
Hmm. I don't tend to come up with character names before I have characters. It's the other way around, really. I get a character in my head, and then I figure out what their name is. I don't keep lists of names like some writers do, waiting for a character to come use them. I don't even always name them, exactly -- some characters simply have names, and I have to wait for them to tell me what they are.
That being said, I've got this character named Cortland for a YA western that is NOT based on a fairy tale, and I absolutely love his name. I want to write him, I just don't have quite all the pieces of the story put together yet. If possible using your phone or iPod (or whatever you may have), put it on shuffle and tell us the first four songs that play. (I didn't come up with that question...I saw it somewhere and thought it sounded cool).
Answered in the vlog! What's your favorite music to listen to while you're writing...that is, if you listen to music while writing...
I listen to a lot of Bobby Darin and a lot of movie soundtracks. Every writing project demands its own music, and sometimes it takes me a while to figure out what music a story needs. Other times, I'm finding music for a book long before I start writing it. For instance, I've got this idea for a story set in post-Civil War North Carolina that has about five soundtracks that work for it already, and I've only kind of dabbled around with writing the opening scenes. But I know exactly what music goes with it.
A while back, I shared some of the music I listened to while writing Cloaked, if you want to read this post for a more complete answer.
What color do you use the most when you're enjoying your coloring books?
I'm very drawn to to blues and browns and greens. Also reds, but I often can't achieve exactly the shade of red I want, so I've been shying away from them of late.
THE VLOG
That's all, my friends! Thanks again for all the awesome questions -- I had so much fun answering them :-) I'll put links in a comment to the songs I mentioned in the vlog (if I can find them on YouTube) so you can hear them in their entirety.
Time for the third batch of AMA answers! Once again, there's a vlog at the end of this post in which I answer one question from each of these participants.
Also, again, if you want to ask me any questions, you have ONE MORE DAY to do so. Anything asked after tomorrow (11-4-17) won't get answered in a post and vlog, it'll just get answered in the comments. Ask your questions on the original post, please.
Jessica Prescott What's your favorite color to see in a movie? As in, what's one color or shade (of scenery, clothing, sets, whatever) that makes you REALLY happy when you see it on-screen?
This is not something I've ever thought about before! Hmm. I'm very attracted to deep blues, purples, and reds. Also deep browns. So my eye is drawn to any of those, but I can't say there's any one color or shade that makes me feel happy to have it in a movie, in and of itself. What is your favorite thing about fall?
How my creative energy surges! I get so tired and sort of worn-out during the heat of summer, but when cooler weather arrives and I can feel the world around me begin changing, that's when my creative juices flow faster and freer again, and I feel the urge to write and create much more strongly again.
Which character in The Chronicles of Narnia do you relate to most, and why?
I think probably Peter Pevensie, though it's been a really long time since I read the, so I can't say for sure. Edmund was always my favorite. Well, favorite human character, anyway. I think Bree is probably my fave character over all.
Meat for breakfast: yea or nay? (that'll be a 'nay' from me ;-) )
I wouldn't say yea, I'd say "yay!" if you offered me meat for breakfast! I adore bacon and sausage, and quite enjoy livermush too. What do you wear on your feet most often? Sneakers, or dress shoes, or just socks, or what?
Absolutely nothing! I am almost always barefoot. Cowboy always says that he knows it must be Very Cold Indeed if I'm wearing socks in the house. I also go barefoot outdoors whenever I can -- I really hate socks and shoes.
My feet
How do you name your fictional characters? Where do you tend to get the names from, in general, and how do you figure out which fits with which person?
I'll answer this in the vlog below :-)
Natalie Do you have a favorite fantasy animal? (Unicorns, dragons, etc.)
Probably a flying horse like Pegasus. I love horses, and then if you can add flying to them, how amazing! They don't get used a lot, though. I find centaurs pretty fascinating too.
If you could, would you rather meet a fictional character or a real-life historical person? Who would it be?
See vlog at the end of the post :-) Which author's books do you prefer: Charlotte Bronte or Jane Austen?
Oh, that's tough! Charlotte Bronte wrote my favorite book ever, Jane Eyre, but I've never read anything else by her. Whereas I've very much enjoyed all of Austen's works. Judging by who I read more about, I guess I'd have to say Austen. A little known book you love that you think deserves more popularity?
I don't know anyone else who has read House of Living Stones by Katie Schuermann, and that's just nonsense because it was such an enjoyable read.
Do you like musicals/Broadway shows?
I do! I love them, in fact. Old ones, new ones, stage-musicals-adapted-for-the-screen, musicals written specifically for the screen -- love 'em. Would you rather have a week-long, all-expenses-paid trip in the American West or in New Zealand?
I shall choose New Zealand because a week is far too short a time to spend in the American West, but I think if I had a week in NZ, I'd see pretty much everything I want to see. What would you rather be (hobbit, elf, dwarf, human...) if you were a character in Middle-earth? If human, would you rather be from Gondor or Rohan?
A human! I'd like to be one of the Rohirrim. Even if I wasn't a Shield Maiden of Rohan, I'd still get to be around a lot of horses and out in the wide-open spaces of Rohan.
Most days, I have a protein bar, half a cup of orange juice, and a cup of coffee. We live it up on Saturday mornings, though. Cowboy makes breakfast on Saturday, and all bets are off.
What is a memory that makes you laugh?
See vlog below :-)
Is there a characteristic about people that really attracts you (eg. witty humour, good with kids etc)?
Kindness. I very much appreciate and gravitate toward kind people. And, conversely, and repelled by unkindness and unkind people.
What 3 words would you use to describe yourself?
Helpful, happy, and busy.
How tall are you? I am 5'7" -- the same height as Alan Ladd, according to his Army enlistment record.
(Because I just had to stick a reference in here somewhere.)
What does being a Christian mean, for you, on a daily basis?
Making a conscious effort to see that everything I do, I do to the glory of God. Thanking him for blessings, asking him for help, and thanking him again throughout my day. Showing his love and forgiveness to everyone around me, especially my husband and children.
That's my goal, anyway! Do I succeed at living that out on a daily basis? Not even close. I'm a sinner in daily need of repentance and forgiveness.
What book changed your perspective on life (whether big or small)? (The Bible is a given. ;))
Jackie Robinson's autobiography, I Never Had it Made. It really opened my eyes to how little freedom some people still have here in what is supposed to be "the land of the free." And his insistence that "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives" really reminded me that I need to be mindful of my actions and how they affect those around me. As a Christian, I am charged with showing God's love to everyone around me, and my success or failure at doing that can really make a huge difference to others.
Do you remember when I said I was going to take part in the 11th tea cup and mug exchange hosted by The Enchanting Rose? Well, the exchange has taken place! Here is what I received:
That's a floral scarf that kind of matches the travel mug, plus some hot cocoa mix, plus a portrait of Arwen from LOTR, plus a cute hair clip from Lilla Rose! As you may know, I have LOTS of hair (about 4 feet right now), and it's hard to find clips and so on that are strong enough and big enough to hold it all up. I tried this one out right away, and here's an awkward-cuz-I-took-it-myself picture of the hair clip in action:
It's really springy and strong, which it would have to be to hold up my heavy hair. I'm not sure if it will work if my hair is loose and then coiled up, but when I have it braided and then coiled like I do right now, it does the trick!
Just for fun, here's a shot of what I sent off to the person whose name and address I received:
She said she likes to read and that she has country/western decor in her home, so I sent her an autographed copy of Cloaked and a mug from Tweetsie Railroad, one of my favorite places on earth. It's a little Wild West theme park in the North Carolina mountains with a real steam engine to ride and so on. The mug is actually enamel-covered metal, just so cute. I also sent her a cowboy boot Christmas ornament and a pack of Tim Tams. Tim Tams are Australian cookies that a Combat! friend of mine taught me to love years ago. Once in a while I can find them in stores here in the US, which always makes me so excited. So when I found them while getting coffee for this package, I was really happy because I could include them too. (Caffe Verona is my fave blend from Starbucks, just in case you were wondering.)
So, that was my adventure participating in the exchange! I will definitely be doing this again in the future -- maybe not every time, but once a year for sure.
Just popping up to notify you of two perfectly delightful events that you might not be aware of yet, but which I'm confident will be of interest to many of you!
First, I heard about the Tea Cup & Mug Exchange hosted by The Enchanting Rose blog this past spring, but too late to participate. Well, I am not too late this time around, and I don't want you to be, either! Details are here, if you're interested.
And second, Quiggy is hosting a wonderful blogathon in October at The Midnite Drive-In. A blogathon devoted to movies set in (or filmed in) the great state of Texas.
You may not know this, but until I was about ten years old, whenever an adult asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said I was going to be a cowboy on a ranch in Texas. I have this deep and abiding love for that state, more than for any other state I haven't lived in. Really, it's right up there with Iowa (my birthplace) and North Carolina (my adopted home state) in my heart. So yeah... I am loving the idea of this blogathon.
And you know, there are plenty of non-westerns set there. Check out this handy list on Wikipedia of all the movies set in Texas! Doesn't have to be about dusty cowboys, honest.
Okay, that's all for today. Go back to your lives, citizens.
I'm snurching this from Mary Horton at Sunshine and Scribblings. There's an old joke that writers would much rather write and talk about their writing than actually write. Sad, but sometimes true. I'm in the throes of rewrites for "Cloaked" and just... needing to blog a bit instead of fix and change and add and subtract stuff today. So let's have a bit of fun with this tag, shall we?
Write-fuel: What do you eat/drink while writing? Generally, a warm beverage of some sort. At home, I'll make a mug of tea or hot chocolate because I'm writing after my kids go to bed, and I can't have much caffeine after about 7pm or I won't sleep. If I'm writing at Starbucks on a Saturday morning, I'll have a hot mocha of some sort, usually. Though sometimes a cold something, if it's really hot out. Once in a while I munch something, but that's useless calories because once I'm writing, I'm not noticing what I'm putting in my mouth all that much, so I try not to nibble while I write.
Write-sounds: What do you listen to while writing? Bobby Darin and movie soundtracks, mostly. For "Cloaked," I've been listening to the scores for Shane and The Big Country a lot, but also a bunch of Aaron Copland's western compositions too.
Bobby Darin reading... not something I wrote, alas.
Write-vice: What’s your most debilitating distraction? My email. Also, Cowboy, if he's around, because he will pester me with affectionate nonsense.
Write-horror: What’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to you while writing? I have been suddenly and deliberately attacked by spiders on several occasions, and that is terrible because I have to stop writing to hunt them down and kill them or else I will not be able to concentrate for fear that they are going to renew their offensive.
Write-joy: What’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you while writing, or how do you celebrate small victories? As I don't know if I can choose a best thing, I will answer the second half. I celebrate small victories by rejoicing with my best friend over hitting a word count goal or figuring out a plot problem or whatever. Sometimes I also eat something chocolatey. When I finish a draft of a major project, I sometimes buy myself a little something, like a book or a DVD or a coffee drink of epic proportions.
Speaking of epic...
Write-crew: Who do you communicate with or not communicate with while writing? My best friend is also my writing mentor. We often write "together" via instant-messenger, by which I mean that we will chat for a few minutes while we each brew tea or hot chocolate and choose the music we're going to listen to, discuss story stuff a bit, and then drift off into our respective imaginary worlds. We'll pop back now and then to say something or other, and then at the end of our stints, discuss how things went, share what we wrote, etc. We freely share works-in-progress to encourage each other, help each other get through tough spots, brainstorm solutions to problems, etc.
Write-secret: What’s your writing secret to success or hidden flaw? My secret to success is probably my stubborn desire to finish things. I hate leaving a story unfinished. I've done it, and it bugs me. That's also my hidden flaw -- sometimes I'm too stubborn to give up on a story that isn't worth my time.
Write-spiration: What always makes you productive? Nothing. Nothing always makes me productive. There are times when I don't write for days. Or weeks. And there are times when I sit down to write and spend ninety minutes writing 600 words. Other times, I write 2,000 words in two hours. Both of those happened this week. However, the thing that generally helps me be productive is knowing what happens in the scene I'll be working on before I sit down to write. If I don't know where it's headed, I waste valuable writing time on thinking and imagining my way through the scene, and I can do that while I'm folding laundry or brushing my teeth, so I should not be leaving it until writing time.
Sometimes, of course, I think I know where a scene is going, and then it doesn't. Which is what happened the other evening, when my Bad Guy flat-out refused to talk about what I expected him to. In fact, he wouldn't say anything at all for about twenty minutes, just leaned tantalizingly on a fence and smirked at me. And then finally said all manner of things I wasn't expecting, didn't really like, and later realized perfectly set up two things later in the story. Heh.
No, Luke Evans isn't playing my Bad Guy. But he could.
Write-peeve: What’s one thing writers do (or you do) that’s annoying? Honestly, I basically never read those blog posts where people interview their characters or share scenes of their WIPs. They make me shake my head and say, "Why?" I don't mind chattering endlessly about the process of writing, sharing the giddy joy and the bitter pitfalls, but the things you're writing don't need to be shared with the world willy-nilly until you are finished with them. Share them with one or two close writing friends, yes, absolutely. I've already said that I share nearly every sliver of fiction I write with one particular person. I often also seek feedback from a few other trusted people. But I don't wave my half-crafted creative shreds around to attract attention, and I don't feel any need to watch others do so.
Write-words: Share one sentence paragraph from a project, past or present.
He was too late to save his men, but he could still take down the monster that had destroyed them. And if he died in the process, so be it. He had failed to do the one thing he was supposed to do: keep his men alive. That knowledge filled him with despair. Despair and rage.
I'll have lots more photos and info to share later this week, too, but for right now, time to tell you where I've been all weekend. Does this give you any ideas:
Yes, I've been in Las Vegas at the official 50th Anniversary Star Trek convention with my bestest of best friends and her sister. We had an amazing time hanging out with each other and thousands upon thousands of other Trekkies/Trekkers. We dressed in costume for two of the days, got to attend panels of various Trek stars and so on, had our pictures taken with William Shatner and Jonathan Frakes, and were generally as happy and relaxed and excited as it's probably possible to be all at the same time.
Now I'm sitting at the airport catching up on email and blog comments and waiting for my flight. As you can see, I've got some good company:
I promise to write up a loooooong post (or series of posts) about the convention, but right now I'm trying to sort of ease myself back into the idea of returning to real life. Cowboy and our three kittens will be waiting at the other side of a five-hour plane ride to claim me, and I'm very much looking forward to that, but probably not as much as the kids are. This is the first time I've been away from Sam and Sarah for more than a single over-night, and I've never been away from Tootie for more than six or eight hours. It was harder on me to leave than it was on them, but it was harder on them for me to be gone than it was on me. And probably hardest on Cowboy, who is usually the one going off for days on end on business trips.
Anyway, time to try to finish up one of my movie reviews for the blogathons this weekend, then go find my gate. Maybe grab some lunch or something. Beam me up, Scotty! Party's got to end sometime.
Kara at Flowers of Quiet Happiness has tagged me with this charming, seasonal tag :-) Thanks, Kara! Because this is linked directly to the season which we happen to be in right now, I'm going to do it before all the other tags that are patiently awaiting my attention.
Favorite candle scent?
I got this candle once called "Dragon's Blood" that was kind of a blend of citrus and musk and something spicy -- oh, I loved that candle.
Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate?
I like all three, actually. I drink coffee every morning, and sometimes in the afternoon too. I drink hot chocolate on snowy days or in the evening when I'm writing. And I drink tea when I'm writing or when I have a sore throat.
What's the best fall memory you have?
When I was ten or eleven, we went to visit some friends who lived on top of a hill, and we spent ages rolling down the hill. I got so many leaves stuck in my long, long hair that the matriarch of that family took a photo of it and then gave me a copy when she got them printed. I was convinced I still had that photo, but I looked all through my photo albums just now, and it's not there, so my parents must have it.
The countryside near where my parents live in North Carolina, as it looked last week.
Best fragrance for fall?
Burning leaves.
Favorite Thanksgiving food?
Pumpkin pie! Happens to be my favorite pie flavor.
Most-worn sweater?
I don't like sweaters. Blech, too hot. Also, often itchy. I can't stand to be hot, and I hate being itchy. However, I do have one loose, cool, non-itchy sweater that I bought for Christmas last year that is very comfy -- it's cream-colored and very simple, and I like to wear it in the winter to church now and then.
Football games or jumping in leaf piles?
I have zero interest in football. Leaf piles for the win!
The woods not far from here last autumn.
Skinny jeans or leggings?
I've never worn either, but my girls wear leggings a lot. Combat boots or Uggs?
Combat boots, though I still don't have a pair. What's wrong with me? Is pumpkin spice worth the hype?
Few things in this world are worth the hype. I do like pumpkin spice-flavored things now and then, though. Favorite fall TV show?
The Granada Television version of Sherlock Holmes, starring Jeremy Brett. There's something deliciously autumnal about it.
(Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes)
What do you want to be for Halloween?
I went as the Armie Hammer version of Illya Kuryakin from The Man from Uncle, complete with cute hat, black turtleneck, and a bright blue sport coat. I didn't get any good pictures, so here's one of me in the hat and my Illya t-shirt.
Me at my parents' house
Hats or scarves?
Hats! I am exceedingly fond of hats. I own lots of them. But I like scarves too. What's your #1 favorite thing about fall?
How creative I get as the weather cools off. I write much more in fall than in summer, and craft more as well.
I'm not going to tag anyone in particular, so if you feel like joining, go for it! If you don't, that's fine too :-)
Well, I've seen it. Prepare yourself for some wild and whirling words, my lovely blogging friends, because I am freshly home from seeing Benedict Cumberbatch play Hamlet, I am full of caffeine and chocolate, and I am bursting with things to say. This will likely not be the most coherent or well-organized review I've ever written, but by jingo, it will be an enthusiastic one!
By the way, don't eat a Snickers bar and drink a mocha Starbucks protein coffee drink thingie at the same time. It makes the mocha taste like cough syrup. Weirdest thing. I was positively forced to eat more Snickers to get the taste out of my mouth. You've been warned.
So, obviously, I didn't go to London to see this. Thanks to something called National Theatre Live, I got to see a live performance from the relative comfort of a relatively local movie theater. Here's their little trailer for it, so you can get the teensiest of tastes:
That at least gives you an idea of what the set is like, and you can see a few of the costumes. Not that you care about that very much, though. You mainly want to know... how was Cumberbatch? Was he Hamlet-y enough? Was he wonderful? Was he lovable? Was he wild and tame and sad and angry and determined and despairing in all the right places?
Yes, he was indeed. He was a very emotional Hamlet, but also energetic. He played most scenes on the verge of tears -- here is a prince who loved his dear father very much, who still loves his mother even though he's quite angry with her, and who may have even loved his uncle until Claudius started being so dreadful. He also loves Ophelia, and maybe even Horatio. This Hamlet is very loving, very lovable. He was also very energetic -- lots of leaping and whirling and activity. In a little interview before the play began, Benedict said he ends every performance quite hungry, and I can well believe it. He made me hungry just watching! Hence the Snickers bar on the way home.
Right, more cast notes, and then I'll get into overall production stuff like text and staging. While I was exceedingly excited to see Benedict Cumberbatch in the role, being a fan of his from Sherlock and so on, I was also really eager to see Ciaran Hinds as Claudius because I quite enjoy him in many things as well. Here, I was also not disappointed.
Hinds was a bombastic Claudius, fond of shouting (is this a Hinds thing? Think how shouty his Mr. Rochester is too), but also fiercely intelligent. A dangerous Claudius, which is how I like them. And he was bitter, especially toward the end, as Gertrude turned away from him more and more. I was very moved by his prayer scene, where he confesses his guilt and tries to find some sense of repentance within himself. Well done.
I can't find any pictures of Horatio (Leo Bill) online, and that's probably because he's kind of a nonentity. I was disappointed by this Horatio. He spends more time hanging out with the soldiers than with Hamlet, he popped on and off the stage at convenient moments to deliver messages, and that was about it. I want my Horatio and Hamlet to be very dear friends, you see, and while Hamlet often reached out to Horatio, literally and figuratively, Horatio seemed almost aloof, like a spectator and not a part of the proceedings.
Laertes (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith) was better, but not wonderful. I never got any sense that he had any real affection for Ophelia except in a couple really nice moments involving a piano -- at the beginning, when he leaves, the two of them sat together and played a little duet, which Polonius interrupted. Then during Ophelia's flower scene, she begged him to play that song for her, which was sweet and charming, and if they'd had that same level of connectedness in the rest of their time together, I would have been well pleased.
Now, Ophelia (Sian Brooke) was really good. At first I was a little indifferent toward her, because she seemed almost childlike and sort of random, but I think they were trying to show that not only was she naive, but she was also mentally fragile already at the beginning. Not mad yet, but certainly easy to push toward madness. And her mad scenes were wrenchingly good. Really, some of the best I've seen. I had tears in my eyes by the time she made her final exit. Oh, and they did a super cool thing there where she walked off into the misty distance, and Gertrude realized Ophelia was contemplating making an end of things and rushed off after her.
Gertrude (Anastasia Hille) was good, but I didn't love her. She was very sympathetic. Polonius (Jim Norton) was fine, and so was everyone else, really. Horatio was the only off-note for me. But this was such a strong Hamlet that the story didn't suffer too much from a mostly-absent and ineffectual Horatio -- it served to isolate Hamlet further in a way.
Okay, so the set you saw a bit in that trailer, and here's another photo of it:
They did some interesting things with it with lighting and so on, making it seem almost haunted a couple of times. And then when Hamlet left to go to England, in the scene this shot is taken from, they filled it full of... something. I suspect bits of ground up car tires -- something black and clumpy that blew in through the doors as the curtain went down for the intermission. When things began again, the whole set was filled with this stuff, great heaps of it like rubble, and all the chairs were turned over and everything was disordered like there had been an earthquake or a bombing. I'm kind of figuring this was to represent the corruption and moral decay going on within the characters, or the way that Hamlet's absence affected everything while he was gone, or... something. It was kind of odd, and I must admit I spent some time puzzling over it while waiting for Hamlet to return.
Return he did, that wonderfully determined and settled-down Hamlet who comes back from cheating death and getting kidnapped/rescued by pirates. The last act was riveting, as it ought to be.
Interesting thing about their use of the text: they mixed it all up. They grabbed lines from here and there and gave them to other characters, they changed the order of some scenes or bits of scenes... at first, I was annoyed. Yes, I was. I was all, "How can you mess around this much with this text? What do you think you're doing?" But I decided to just go with it and see how it worked, and for the most part, it worked fine. I think that audience members who didn't know the text well would not have been bugged at all, but I did spend a lot of time going, "Wait, no, you don't say that. And that's not from this scene at all." One reordering I liked really well, though, was that they had the "To be or not to be" soliloquy come right after Hamlet told Polonius, "You cannot, sir, take from me anything that I will more willingly part withal -- except my life. Except my life. Except my life." That worked super well.
Ahh, speaking of the soliloquies. For most of them, they did something nifty that I very much enjoyed. Rather than having everyone else leave the stage so Hamlet could unpack his heart with words to the audience, they would plunge everyone but Hamlet suddenly into a colored half-light, with him in a spotlight, and everyone else would do this slow-mo thing while he addressed the audience in real time, so it was like here are all the things he's thinking while things are still going on around him. And then when he was done, the lights would come up and he'd rejoin the action and everything would go on as normal. I totally dug it.
I have no idea what time period they were trying to go for with the costumes and sets. They had sort of this WWII-era thing going on with the sets and props, with phonographs and telephones and stuff like that. But then the costumes ranged all over the place, from '40s looking things to Hamlet wearing I think a David Bowie t-shirt for a while, and Horatio was totally modern with lots of tattoos and sort of a scrubby, grungy thing going on. Perhaps they wanted it to be like a dream, or like a production that's sort of thrown together by a local company with whatever props and costumes they already have on hand from other plays? I have no idea, to be honest.
Okay, I'm finally running out of words and caffeine, so here's how I rate this for my Hamlet Comparisons file:
Hamlet: A+
Horatio: D
Laertes: C
Ophelia: A
Claudius: B+
Gertrude: B-
Polonius: B
Overall Production: B+
If you're really wishing now that you had found a way to go see this -- check Fandango or a similar site, because there are encore showings scheduled! None right near me, but next week there's supposed to be one on Saturday in some places. I'm also really hoping and praying that they decide to release this to DVD, because I definitely would buy it.
I have a lot of Middle-Earth related mathoms, as they'd call them in the Shire. Shirts, bookmarks, jewelry, mugs, posters, maps, pens, journals, board games, vases, candle holders, and of course the books and movies themselves. Today, I'm just going to show you four things:
These are my favorite Middle-Earth-related items, and the ones I use the most often. Not coincidentally, they are all from the same Etsy shop, The Ring and the Lion, run by my crafting friend Sarah. She buys handmade pottery and then hand-paints phrases on them in Elvish with gold. The two on the left she made for me by request, with specific phrases on them that I like to be reminded of.
The big green mug on the left says "Go where you must go, and hope!" The brown mug says, "Forth now, and fear no darkness!" The pale green mug says "May the stars shine on your journey." And the blue vase says, "For all hobbits share a love for things that grow." I use the big green mug for flowers too, when I have great big bunches of them.
My most favorite is the pale green mug:
I didn't capture it very well in the photo, but the handle of that one has a little leaf at the top of it, which is so elegant and Elvish-looking.
I actually have a tea light holder from her too, that says, "A light in the darkness shall spring" around it. But it's really small and didn't look nifty with these pieces, so I didn't include it. I've bought several other pieces from her too, over the years, as gifts for one friend or another. Sarah makes other cool things too, and her whole shop is dedicated to Tolkien- and C.S. Lewis-inspired stuff, so definitely go check it out!
And look at that! I finished the whole meme! It only took me FOUR full months, but hey. I didn't quit! Yay! Thanks for exploring the Middle Earth movies with me :-) And as Gandalf says, "Go where you must go, and hope!"
Having been tagged by the effervescent Millie, I hereby present unto you a list of 10 things you probably don't know about me just from reading my blog. Some of them might surprise even those who know me well in real life, we'll see.
1. I have lived in seven different states so far. I was born in Iowa, moved to Michigan when I was 3, moved to North Carolina when I was 12, went to college in Minnesota and lived there for a year after I graduated at got married, moved to Wisconsin and lived there for four years, moved to Connecticut two and lived there for three years, and moved here to Virginia two years ago.
2. Thanks to all that moving, my three kids were all born in different states. My brother and I were born in different states too, so it's a proud tradition to carry on.
3. I have been to all 48 of the continental states in the USA. Granted, I was only in Washington state long enough for my family to all use the bathroom at a rest stop, but still. I was there.
4. My favorite flavor shots for coffee are amaretto and hazelnut.
5. In college, I participated in an all-girl version of the classic Monty Python skit "Buying a Bed." We performed it for a talent show. I played the husband. Instead of singing the "Hallelujah Chorus" at the end, we sang the school song. We did not win the talent show. (Note -- that link leads to the actual Monty Python skit. Watch at your own risk!)
6. I have never had a haircut. I just get the bottom 4 to 6 inches trimmed off a couple times a year. Once my hair gets down past my waist, I get annoyed and have it trimmed.
7. I had a poem published in Highlights magazine when I was 7.
8. I have never ridden a motorcycle. Sad but true.
9. I loathe flipflops. Cannot stand having things between my toes, you see. The sight of toe socks and toe rings makes me shudder.
10. My favorite kind of pie? Pumpkin! :-9
Okeydokey, that's all the fun and games I have time for! I hereby tag Kara, Gabrielle, Analiese, and Whimsey/Rebecca. Play if you want to, whether or not I've tagged you!
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Mmmmm, I'm enjoying the last few swigs of the first cup of coffee I've made with an early birthday present from my parents: a personal-sized French Press coffeemaker. This thing is ingenious! And it makes tasty coffee, too :-) I have an espresso machine and a traditional coffeemaker, but they both require being plugged in, and the Crow's Nest's kitchen has limited counter space as well as a limited number of outlets. And Cowboy doesn't like coffee, so both of my coffee-making apparatuses are in their boxes, sitting on top of the fridge. Because I can't see using precious counter space for something only I use. Especially since I don't drink coffee every day.
So Mom found this French Press thingie at a local coffee palace and got it for me as an early birthday gift. It's perfect! It makes one cup at a time, I can adjust how strong I want it by how much coffee I put in, and it's easy to use and clean. What you do is put in coffee grounds (coarse grounds so they don't sneak past the filter), pour in hot (not boiling) water, let it steep for 4 minutes, and then press down on the filter, which squishes all the grounds down to the bottom. Then you pour out the coffee and enjoy!
You do end up with a little sediment at the bottom of your cup, but that's really just a bonus caffeine jolt :-9 And it's less sediment than I usually get from instant coffee. If you think this is way nifty, the brand I got is called Bodum and here's the exact model I got. Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!
