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Sunday, May 12, 2013

Happy Mother's Day!



(justjangablogspot.com)

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms!  As a mom, the picture above appealed to me because of the old fashioned mood, a mom with multiple kids ( I have four), the mom has a book ( another of my favorites)  and the pastoral park scene.  Story time and cuddling is one of our favorite times at home.  Although most of my kids are older than these pictured, to this day we all share a love of books and reading.  I hope years from now, my kids look back and remember the cozy times we spent reading books together,
















































Sunday, May 5, 2013

A Good "Bad" Movie...Giant

While channel surfing the other night, I ran across one of my favorite "good bad" movies on TCM. Giant, with Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson is a three hour epic that illustrates the changing culture in Texas as oil became "liquid gold" and people who were ranchers became oil tycoons.  It also demonstrates the culture clash between Mexican immigrant workers and the ranchers.  Although I suspect this film is filled with stereotypes of the immigrant workers as well as the "good ol' boy" ranchers, it does provide a good illustration of prejudice. When Jordan Benedict III marries a Hispanic lady and gives birth to Jordan Benedict IV, the patriarch, is forced to meet his own inherent attitudes and beliefs. Also, there is a lot of "ye haws!" going on throughout the movie, which I doubt is an expression Texans regularly use.
 http://thebertshow.com/live/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Giant1.jpeg
    (Leslie (Elizabeth Taylor) and Jett (James Dean) in "Giant", 1956)

The beautiful Elizabeth Taylor is Leslie Benedict, the strong willed  wife of Bick (Jordan II).  Her more liberated ideas and open mindedness sometimes clash with her husband's more traditional way of "how things have always been".  The clothing is very ranch stylish--Leslie wears suede skirts and button up blouses that look comfortable and realistic for working on the dusty ranch.While watching the movie on high definition television, the texture of the costumes as well as the colors created a mood for each scene.




https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisSmJMvvKM2k3jsFPIOeL3FKfx595o8dnoP3RcETbKAiIUsJj7sE72vOhhQmyPtAq7e3bCQxp9QDdVjHW6zs0n_OtjWq5657l1dCQ0eIppP6mARJ7tlgmihAEf6-jdgSnwLNidcYHTS32P/s1600/Giant.jpg
Jordan "Bick" Benedict (Rock Hudson) & Leslie (Elizabeth Taylor) in "Giant".

Still, for a fun retro movie night, Giant is a visually appealing, fun choice.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Snowstorm in May??!!

Like much of the rest of the Midwest, and Northern United States, this morning here in Iowa, we all woke up to a spring snowstorm.  Which is interesting since on Tuesday, it was sunny and 80 degrees here. My little man Reid and I spent a fun afternoon at the park.  Try to explain to a little guy why one day we were able to wear shorts and the next we need to get out heavy coats.  This morning Reid woke up, looked out the window and started to cry, "I don't like snow anymore!" Me either.
This is a lovely picture taken at the Iowa Arboretum during an Iowa spring.  In contrast, here is a photo of my own white Crabapple tree during the spring snowstorm. The flowers had just started to bud and bloom a day or two ago.  Oh well, by this weekend, the snow will be gone and it may be 80 degrees again!

Iowa must look like one of the grayest places on earth by these pictures, but believe it or not there is green grass under that snow! 
This weekend my husband and I will be attending a Kentucky Derby themed party so tomorrow's mission will be to find/create interesting hats.  I will be on a quest to find, create, or buy a hat in honor of the "Running for the Roses" with a vintage flair.  Wish me luck!