critical critic

Birgita suggested that we do movie reviews. And as I do not have anything else to say ...here goes. Sonrisa and I saw Smart People. It did sort of entertain us. However, Dennis Quaid played the most obnoxious person and it is hard to imagine Sarah Jessica Parker ever going out with him and certainly not more then once.Then there is the slightly disagreeable premise that Ellen Page playing a socially isolated teenager, goes out with her "adopted uncle" and he allows her to get very drunk at which time she makes a big pass at him and carries on her crush through out the movie. And of course the most unbelievable premise of all that he (Quaid) would "get it" and just change into a reasonable human being instead of a self-centered , self-pitying jerk.

PS I did spend about five minutes correcting the spelling of Rachel. I hate it when people spell my name Joe. Don't know what happened so sorry, Rachel


PPS Ray and I went with Birgita to see the mobile home she is thinking of buying. The location is really wonderful and the mobile home has been well cared for and Gita could do amazing things with it. Maybe it could be a flip. The beginning of a new career. Or maybe a always house at the beach.

And now Sonrisa and I are off to the Ventura Art Festival.

YEA!

Well you would think I got a job I am so happy that "they want me to work for free". I probably did talk too much but they said"they were very impressed with me". So that will round up my week just perfect. And the other good thing is that Ray took the money from the sale of his house and paid off our house.A really good thing for me.

I am so sorry that Lacey is having such a hard time. There is nothing fun about feeling sick all the time. However, I am glad that it is fixable. I love reading all the blogs, how else would any of us know what is going on in the family.And once again both Rachel and Susie have a real nack for writing funny.And I am sure that there is a market for them. Maybe "A day in the life of two sisters".

Creative Ladies

Clearly, both Susie and Rachel are missing an opportunity to become famous bloggers. Maybe for a magazine (parents for Rachel) and some Internet site for Susie. Both are very funny and it is not easy to write "funny". With a little enterprise both could be making $$$$$. Think about it then "just do it". Remember ladies when you are rich and famous, whose idea it was.

Today I interviewed for a volunteer job with the District Attorney's office, victims unit. It would be perfect for me and I really want to do it. But I may have talked and interrupted too much. They appeared to like me and they don't have to pay me but it is possible that they will turn me down. They might think I am too old.OH No!

Happy Birthday Beautiful KKKKatie/ Cat and Mouse

These are pictures from my friend Rinda (high school ).Also Happy Birthday Katie

A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD!

Rachel asks.... what is a grown -up?

From a twilighters perspective there is no such thing as a finished grown-up. Grown -up is supposed to denote a high level of maturity, but of course that is subjective.So let me share my feelings and experiences. As you live you begin to realize how complicated life really is. It is both very sad at times and very happy at times. Expectations to some degree can help you but they also get in the way of seeing things clearly. They also can set us up for big disappointments. It is hard not to compare others to ourselves. We don't understand why our family and friends don't do what we want them to do. After all we all know how to fix everyone else. One of the better things I have learned is that we need to accept people as they are.I am speaking of friends not children or spouses. ( they need direction and clear communication, especially spouses) Being a mature adult is a day by day occurrence. Sometimes you are successful and other times you fail miserably. I think growing up implies confidence and being happy with yourself without trying to please everyone else. I think it is very hard to not depend on others to make you happy and it takes work. When you define yourself instead of accepting other people's definition of you, maybe that is grown up. Sam defines being a grown up as learning and acquiring skills , a process not a end product.Being responsible for one's life, whatever happens is also connected to maturity and this is why some people never do completely grow up.

MOUNTAIN LIONS AND SALESMAN

Today I talked to Mary Ellen and heard her Mountain Lion story.They live in Bootjack, which is near Yosemite. Well Mary Ellen like cats ! She has many inside and also outside cats. Of course she takes very good care of them all. Anyway she was in the house and Tom said "go chase that squirrel away" She stepped outside and a mountain lion jumped out of the bushes. Naturally this was a little frightening. She was worried that he was after the cats. So for the last year they have built a fence to keep the cats safe. Of course cats go where they want and no fence can keep them in. But she is hoping that she can now sit outside and not worry about being attacked.I am afraid that all those well fed kitties look like a super market for ML.



Different story. Birgita and Dani and I looked at houses on Saturday. The ones she really liked were called The Cottages. However, they had a very high association fee. They told us of another development with a lower one so we went to see them. Now their salesmen were obviously trained by GW. After looking at them all and finding one that was really great we went back to the salesmen(only way out) and the big boss came out and said" you must have had a bad experience with real estate people?" Me!!! no and she...(Gita) is the one looking. How did we find their place, told them who sent us. So ( to me again) how did you like their houses? We loved them I said .He responded by saying well go buy one of them. Uh ! Then they asked what we liked about them. Gita said the pool and the fact that they were free standing. To me again...well then go buy one of them. Why they were so upset with me I have no idea. Even if they could hear what we were saying in the houses, I don't remember saying anything bad, except not liking some of them.Maybe it is a new style of salesmanship.