My love affair with Oscar...

It was the 80th Academy Awards Sunday night. I have seen at least 60 of them. Well, that may be in my imagination, we didn't have a television till I was five, and probably they did not televise them till I was around eight, so that means I have only seen 55. And while I would like to say I have seen all the Best Pictures, I will admit that The Unforgiven remains to be viewed (I am westerned out from my youth, Wagontrain, Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, Maverick, etc. etc. etc.), and I skipped The Departed, which just seemed too sleazy. But I did see No Country for Old Men, and was delighted that it rose to the top, since the Coen brothers are idols of mine. Fargo and Raising Arizona and Oh, Brother Where Art Thou bristle with imagination, something that I find in short supply in this world that makes movies of old (and bad) TV sitcoms, video games and amusement park rides. And it is adult imagination, not easy to grasp even for college-educated ones, like my daughter and me. We looked at each other and wondered if the other knew what the ending of that film was all about. Luckily, we are adult enough to admit we don't understand something. And we left the theater feeling good that we had seen this film so we could tell people we had seen it. It just seemed like an adult way to while away a windy afternoon in the City.

PS I also saw Juno, and there is another film with dynamite dialogue, sweetness without the sap, a hopeful little movie about acceptance, surrender, letting go, and redemption. Mostly it was about being different, and how that can or cannot serve you. Diablo Cody certainly knows that, and wasn't she the epitome of daring, wearing a leopard-spotted gown among all the glitz? I liked it better than Tilda Swindon's pajamas, though.

Boo is home, and all is right with the world...

Mothers everywhere know the frustration of dealing with a sick baby, one that cannot say what is wrong, yet writhes in pain and discomfort. Then God gave us dogs, and we all get to know that awful feeling. Boo had been on the mend, then last night, he suddenly was in godawful pain, scrambling around the bed, howling and trying to get comfortable without much success. The first "emergency" vet I called could not see us for two hours. "But" I screamed, "this is an EMERGENCY!" So we went to another clinic. Of course, once he got there, he was no longer howling, and except for his usual vet demeanor, which consists of tucking his tail firmly between his back legs (you're gonna stick that thing where!) and trembling all over, he seemed almost normal. Which led this vet to begin to ring up test after test, xrays and such, till I said, no, I want to take him to his regular vet in the morning. So he got a shot of painkiller, and a prescription for pills, just in case, and home we went. And then it happened again this morning, when the shot wore off, howling and whimpering and scittering around. So off we went, again. Our vet ascertained that it was probably his ears, again, and proposed sedating him for a thorough exam and cleaning. That meant I went home without my Boo. From 9:30 till 3, I was dogless. It felt really weird, and every so often I would look up and wonder where he was. At one time, I had thrown a black sweater on the bed and I thought it was him, stretched out there looking out the window. Lord, I was soooooo happy to get him back. He is sore and kind of dopey still, and not without some pain, either, but on the mend. Not quite my Boo, but a most satisfactory reasonable facsimile. All for just under $500. It's a bargain.

What I did on my (five day) weekend...

My second ex-husband used to put movie reviews on his answering machine's outgoing message, giving plums or raisins, as the case may be. And while I always thought that was rather pompous, here are my reviews of the two movies I saw on this delightfully long, long weekend.
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Harry Potter fan that I am, how could I resist this movie? That young kid from Wonderland had a double role as twins, one meek and mild-mannered, the other a real shit-disturber. I found the interactions of the characters more engaging than most of the computer animation going on, and some of those animated characters were a little too precious for my taste. It was fun on a rather simple level.
Definitely, Maybe
Ah, this is everything I hoped 27 Dresses would be. Ryan Reynolds is sooooo cute (and tall, that's so refreshing in itself), Abigail Breslin is her sweet self, Rachel Weiz, well, they don't get any more sophisticated or disingenuous, do they. Mostly, the star of the show was the screenplay, which was smart and often really funny, a real plus in romantic comedies. I loved it.

In addition to going to the movies, on my weekend I knitted a red scarf, painted two still lifes and a color study of a pear, worked in my sketchbook, read a book and started another, rearranged lamps in the little yellow house, and slept late, every day except Friday, when Boo had to be into the vet early. Oh, yes, I gave Boo his five medications, twice a day. He is terrifically healthy at the moment. And me, I am well-rested and ready to schlep off to school tomorrow with my paintings and the 40 lb bookbag, for my two day schoolweek. It just keeps getting better.

I don't need no stinkin' Valentine...

Ah, another pseudo-Hallmark-holiday has come and gone. I am alone here in the little yellow house, have been for three years. And in the past, that was an occasion of much teary-eyed self-pity when the Hearts and Flowers (and chocolates) Day rolled around. However, here is what I have discovered - I have a built-in Valentine, one who knows exactly what I want and has the income and ability to give it freely. And that would be ME! My Valentine bought me pink tulips (which I immortalized in an alla prima painting yesterday), two DVD's, two books, and a comfort dinner of spaghetti with meat sauce and fresh asparagus. It was a warm and wonderful evening, under the quilts with my book and The Jane Austin Book Club on the tellie. And I spritzed myself with my Christmas parfum, and settled in for a night of self-care and gratitude. Boo curled up next to me in the circle of light from my little Tiffany flower lamp. We were the picture of contentment, an island of sweet serenity in a sea of relationships that, let's face it, are not always the happiest. So, God bless us, everyone. Or it that another Hallmark day?

Boo goes to the doctor...

Since we moved to town three years ago, austerity forced me to be circumspect about finances, so Boo got his innoculations at the local VIP clinic, where we got to stand in line with a lot of other frugal folks. Boo is a pretty healthy little guy, so eschewing annual $200 vet visits was not worrisome (I found they always found something to treat, like why waste a 25 mile round trip just for a pat on the head). But lately, his ear washings had not produced very good results, and I noticed little scabby sores at the corner of his lips, and then this big raw patch in the deep groove below one eye. Eeeeeyuuuu. I put some triple antibiotic cream on it, and it crusted over nicely, but still looked icky, so I bit the bullet and made an appointment for him with a new, in-town vet. Fortunately, I have a buddy who is a vet-tech and studying to become a vet himself, who could recommend his employer. My, they are really nice people. Boo got his ears all washed out, his butt trimmed (dingleberry city lately, yuck), and his eye examined. Damn thing is a hot-spot! We don't have fleas, but Boo has all these nifty folds and creases in his little worried-looking face that harbor bad microbes. I clean down in the deep fold above his nose, but generally don't mess with the area under his big brown eyes. We came away $143 lighter, with five different medications: Omega-3 capsule (poke hole in end and squirt into mouth once a day), eye ointment (smear under right eye twice a day), ear ointment (squirt several drops into each ear 2-3 times a day), antibiotic pills (one twice a day with food, so I wrap it in a little cheese and it goes right down), and ear cleaning fluid for his next deep cleansing. I had kids who never needed this much medicine! I am feeling, of course, like a bad dog mommy. But I suppose that noticing he needed help and getting him there counts to my favor. Meanwhile, he is happily ensconced on the bed, not a care in the world. Me, I am just stoked because I finally figured out how to get him to be still - I put a big fluffy towel on top of the dryer and go at him. Too high to jump off, high enough to be able to work with him, and comfy for his little poochy butt. He got weighed today, and is a little too fluffy at the moment. This means we will both be cutting down for a while. Can't hurt.

Winds of reason blowing here...

It is cold. Okay, I know we Californians are really just weinies when it comes to winter. People in Minnesota would call 50 degrees balmy. But for us sun-worshipers who are used to 70 degrees 90 percent of the time, this is an insult to our sensitive little systems. Everywhere I go, people are griping about how cold it is. And they don't even have the really big bubblewrap coats out yet. A nice fleecy sweatshirt hoodie is all I am wearing today, with my Ugg knockoffs, tights under my jeans, and two layers of cotton tees on top, with my little knitted scarf wrapped around my tender little neck. And I will be toasty as I hoof around campus with my gear. And just in case I feel like griping that my nose is getting all red, I saw that little old bag lady going through the recycling cans that line our street on Monday mornings. I had a moment, because mine is not full, and is still sitting by the side of the driveway, so she came into my yard. I wanted to yell at her "hey, that's my garbage". Then I realized she is looking for redeemable cans and bottle that the rest of us just toss. Perhaps I should leave her a special bag full of them next week, marked just for her, tiny little lady with the big shopping cart full of stuff. Sleeping outside in this weather must be awful. So, I am getting all grateful for the day. Sun is shining, birds are singing, and the heater works. How could it get any better?