April 30, 2007 - Posted by danielle- 6 Comments
I had a good weekend. Did you?
This weekend, I slept in – oh, glorious sleeping in! – and finished the Templar Legacy by Steve Berry. It was okay. I think that the whole time, a part of me was comparing it to the Da Vinci Code, and of course, it came up short. I was also kind of disappointed in their big treasured find in the end. So, all things combined makes it just an okay book for me.
Which reminds me, I am a big fan of National Treasure – the movie. If you haven’t seen it, it is a good one, I think.
Now, I’m reading a 30th anniversary coffee table book of The Making of Star Wars. I didn’t realize that for 2 years, George Lucas couldn’t get the studio to give him any money for production and he was paying the model makers and artists out of his own personal funds. Crazy. And the part in the contract where he kept the merchandising rights is just hilarious, because no one thought it was important enough to even pay attention too. Lucky break for Lucas, I’d say.
I am just now getting to the part where they are finalizing their casting decisions, which is pretty interesting. Jodie Foster was actually up for the role as Princess Leia for a while, but she was only 15 at the time and the limited hours she’d be able to work was a strike against her.
I’ve also read the draft synopses for the first, second, and third drafts. Wow are they different than the end product! Turns out that he mostly envisions different scenes and then worries about a plot that will let him string them together. It is quite different than how most traditional writers write their novels (from what I’ve gathered from Sara Donati’s blog). But obviously, got the job done in the end. I am at the part now where he is fleshing out the fourth (and I believe final) draft. Very interesting stuff.
HB also gave me a couple of surprise gifts this weekend – just out of the blue. He got me a Figment from Epcot (Disney world) (note, the link has sound) and the Planet Earth DVD series. This way, I can watch all of the Planet Earth series in HD – which is so much more impressive than TiVo’s quality of taping it. And the timing was such that I missed about half of the episodes. It is a perfect surprise gift and really cheered up my weekend.
Did anyone exercise this week?
I know Squirl, Texas Seestor, and Amber were going to try. Any luck, ladies?
April 27, 2007 - Posted by danielle- 9 Comments
This post is for Justin and Squirl who wanted to see more photos of Girlie-girl.
The other night, we went out to eat. When we came home, there was no sign of the Girlie-girl at the top of the steps, in the living rooms, or in the kitchen. I called and called and she never showed up. Finally I went upstairs to change clothes and lo’ and behold she was laying on the perfectly clean and, until now, cat hair free bed runner.
Pretty quickly, she got fed up with the flashing and the picture-taking.
Doesn’t she look grumpy as heck?
And then relatively quickly, she decided to show me who was boss.
Doesn’t she look like she is coming to kick my ass?
I also think of this photo as her sumo wrestler look. Edit that, maybe a sumo-wrestler who has just been told that the smorgasbord is now closed. See the tongue sticking out slightly? That is cause she is hungry. 
Oh, and after that incident, I’ve only found her sleeping on the bed runner one other time. So, it appears that the bed runner may stay relatively free of cat hair after all.
Happy Friday!
April 20, 2007 - Posted by danielle- 12 Comments
Like last week, I don’t know the name of these either. But I do like them. A few years ago, we saw them in purple and they are on a collage that I made of flowers that hangs on the fridge. Since then, whenever we have visited Wildseed Farms, I’ve seen them in yellow. This is the first that I’ve seen both yellow and red.
I like the chubby leaves of the plant. That is how I know it is a succulent of some type. I also like the pom-pom frillyness of the flowers.
I hope you have a good weekend. HB and I are slated to go out to the best fish and chips restaurant in the Twin Cities (at least we think it is the best). It is a British pub that has outdoor seating and lawn bowling on a rooftop, grassy deck. I’m not sure if the lawn bowling will be started at this time of year or if it will be warm enough to sit outside, but it is nice to know that the possibility exists.
April 18, 2007 - Posted by danielle- 6 Comments
Well, the weather has finally perked up and seems to be making a conscientious effort to feel like Spring. And you can’t imagine how much that has perked me up. Having it be sunny in the morning and warm when I walk from my parking garage to my building just really makes my day start out right. Of course, today I feel migrainey – which is the first in a while on a work day – but now that I’m up and about and have taken my drugs, I’m feeling better as I see the sun coming through the window and the Girlie lounging in a sunbeam. The sun makes her white parts look so Very White. Almost like they are glowing with light themselves.
One other note, remember how I noticed that with the snow the tulip leaves had all fallen over and looked broken and dead? Well, they have put out new leaves and some of them even have buds! It won’t be long until there are tulips on my walk to my building. And won’t that be another nice reminder of spring?
Another sure sign of spring is the number of students already wearing shorts. Also, the warm weather seems to bring everyone out in droves to jog and run around campus. It is quite spring-like.
April 13, 2007 - Posted by danielle- 9 Comments
I saw this at Wildseed Farms in TX. I don’t know what it is called, because it is not listed in the catalog of flowers that mom picked up for me while we were there. I just know them as that flower that they often put in flower bundles at the grocery store that are really hardy. I guess if they are a wildflower, that makes sense. It isn’t an azalea, is it?
Anyway, enjoy this brightener for the week. I know I had fun looking at my photos picking out a good one.
April 11, 2007 - Posted by danielle- 6 Comments
It is snowing again.
!?
What is it with all of this snow in April? ugh.
They had forecast 3-5 inches of snow, but last night, it was mostly rain. So, I don’t think it will be as much as they had predicted.
I’ll try to not blog about the weather anymore.
April 6, 2007 - Posted by danielle- 4 Comments
This photo feels like Spring and Easter to me for several reasons. One is that there are strips of fresh green amidst the dry brown dirt which is a sure sign of Spring. The other is the colors of the poppies look very spring-like to me. It reminds me of Easter for the same reason – new life amidst the three. Three being an element of the trinity/triune, of course. The stripes of green with the flowers also reminds me of the rays of sun coming down from above. It has that same shape of being wide in the foreground and skinnny in the background that you see for artistic representations of the light of Christ or the light of heaven shining down. That may be stretching the symbolism surrounding Easter a bit for some of you, but now that I see it, I can’t ignore it and thought someone else might find it interesting.
As today is Good Friday, it seems premature to wish everyone a Happy Easter. But know that I’ll be thinking those thoughts for you on Sunday.
April 3, 2007 - Posted by danielle- 6 Comments
Can you believe that it has been snowing here today?
ugh.
It is actually accumulating too.
double ugh.
On the positive side, I have noticed that there are the green leaves of daffodils coming up around campus. I just hope that they can bear the snow…
UPDATE:
Here is what it looks like Wednesday morning
