Wandering Along the Path: Right Speech

My husband and I watched "Isle of Dogs" by Wes Anderson last night. We'd only seen it once before, and, though I love Anderson, it's for his design and visuals, as there is not any real message in his films. They present a pseudo-adolescent point of view, and though joyous, do not exactly speak to me at my age. But this one isn't even joyous, and the dismal plot and inferences to the Holocaust are distasteful. Looking at the dogs is painful, and from my point of view the Japanese language, references and setting are racist. I won't watch it again, but then my taste for his movies has diminished over time. He's an artist, but I'm not the comic book affectionado it requires to sink into his stories. He's unique, and probably a lot less flawed than Terence Malick, but Malick has produced some absolute masterpieces among his experients, like "New World" and "Thin Red Line". I know what Malick is searching for: connection, but Anderson seems mostly out to amuse himself and his buddies. They are both geniuses, but I prefer the the one over the other. Just in case I sound high-fallutin', we watched an episode of Remington Steele beforehand. We own the first season and are rewatching it. Pure fluff, but delicious, like cotton candy!

Wandering Along the Path: Right Speech

There is wind again today, and so everyone is jumpy. My friend and I walked anyway, but I'm a bit frazzled by it. We stopped by See's Candies so we could get a treat for my two grandsons I'll see this weekend and her almost granddaughter who is a teen. I also bought peppermint candies for my sweet tooth husband and a few sugar free toffees. She picked up something for her partner. We do errands on our way on our walks, so she stopped in a fish market to buy salmon, and later she left me to get milk at the grocery seven houses from me. It's supposedd to be 72 degrees today, which is great except for the fire/drought component. My husband and I are searching for a place to stay for our anniversary, but it's pricey. We can't quite decide, as we've been to every reasonably distanced area to drive to in a couple of hours or less. That's what we get for being married 48 years. And I am going with my daughter, her husband and boys this weekend to the cabin, so my son-in-law can begin to teach the five year old how to ski. I'll help out with the boys and just have a get-away. I don't love the cold or winter anymore, but I've not really had time with the boys in a while. And my daughter has been so overwhelmed with teaching she hasn't had a minute to do anything, but this week she is off and yesterday we went out to lunch and shopped a bit, finding birthday gifts for the about-to-be two year old, a shirt for each of us and some Christmas sale goodies at Sur La Table. It was so nice to have time with her again.

Wandering Along the Path: Right Speech

Yesterday we drove up th see our older son,wife and grandson. We were celebrating our son's and his wife's birthdays this month. It was a warm, sunny day, and none of us had been exposed to covid all week, so we dared drive to a nearby town and eat outside for lunch. We had tapas and olives and cheese bread and scallops and all good things. We took our leisurely time, and shared chocolate mousse, except for the six year old who had soft serve with chocolate sauce which he almost finished. Then we drove back to their house and watched the grandson show off his robot, which he had programed, and we strolled along beside him while he rode his new bike around a cul de sac. We left at four, having had a semi normal day, and having eaten not inside, but outside a really good restaurant with great food. We've all missed birthday outings so much, and what we missed this time was our daughter and family. Before covid we had a crowd, but now our younger son, his wife and child have moved two states away, and the older is comtemplating a move a state away this coming summer. We will be perhaps just our daughter, her husband and two boys. This stage of our family is the getting on with their own lives and not needing us for babysitting phase. My parents did a terrific job of traveling, playing golf, eating out with friends and playing bridge. But covid makes all of those kind of activities tricky, so we do hiking, walking with friends or reading, doing puzzles and watching DVDs. Socializing is the big challenge. Even our women's group took a hiatus for six weeks because of omicron, and we are all super careful. It's that we all have grandchildren whom we must protect, and some of theirs and two of mine are too young to be vaccinated. Today my husband and I are trying to figure out where to go for a weekend for our 48th wedding anniversary. The first place we thought of has a huge hot springs mineral pool, but then we figured that's not safe, with a lot of people breathing in the steam. Another place has jacked up their prices way beyond the amenities. Now we're looking at other places that seem safe and only an hour or two away. And what I'd really like is friends to celebrate with, and just stay home. Ah, well.

Wandering Along the Path: Right Speech

Last night we were supposed to go to an outside restaurant for Mexican food with our son-in-law and two grandsons, but everything conspired against us. Firstly,our son-in-law was late and with an almost two year old and five year old, they are melting down by the minute. The five year old wanted his stuffed kitties from their house, but we were at ours, and he refused to walk to the car. In said car he kept up the wheedling, and when we reached the cafe, there was no parking in the lot or nearby, so when we finally found a spot it was a long walk, again with the five year old balking. It was dark, it was cold, and when we got there the line was long and there were no tables. We finally left, and as we got back in the car, I said to drop my husband and I off at home. Going to their house was going to mean waiting for a food delivery and watching a toddler show on TV and more meltdown. My husband and I had Progresso soup and grilled cheese at home, and were exhausted and a bit depressed. I told my daughter today in a text that we really never took our own kids out to dinner, because kids that age are overtired and irrational. But her generation somehow thinks with a magic formula they can take out young kids. At 5 pm, maybe, but not at 7. I felt guilty for not staying and helping, but it had not been my idea to begin with. She was meeting with teacher friends, and we were meant to help our son-in-law handle kids, and they only wanted daddy. Only the younger one would even hold our hand, but then he had to be carried most of the time. Ugh. We try to be respectful and go along with whatever the parents plan, but sometimes, I think I should just opt out. Especially when I know it's not going to end well.

Wandering Along the Path: Right Speech

I've just finished taking a walk with a friend. We talk a lot about grandchildrem as we are so ethusiastic. She has a six month old granddaughter who is sitting up now, and I've got a box of toys for her age, that are way too young for even my youngest grandson. Tonight our daughter, son-in-law and their two boys are picking us up for a zoo lights show at five pm. We tried to get tickets before, but the holidays were swamped and also it was raining a lot then. The delima is dinner. We're bringing snacks and will see how we feel about buying food there. It may be too cold to sit outside and eat. We might have to keep moving, but we will try to bundle up. I'm bringing a flashlight because tripping and falling is my fear. I love this zoo, as the spaces for the animals are so generous and well thought out, and the animals seem healthy. I love the warthogs the best, but the kids love the giraffees and meerkats. I'm not sure if we'll be seeing many animals, as a lot of them have acreage and pasture away from the daytime enclosures. It will be interesting to see. We used to love the tigers - four sisters rescued from a horrible captivity in Texas, but they are all gone now. Texas does some pretty horrible things regarding exotic animals. I remember my brother taking me years ago to a restaurant which had huge animals in glass cages that you could see while you ate. It appalled me. I'm grateful my immediate family were not hunters, though some of my mother's relatives are. My parents only fished, and by six or so I didn't want to participate. I've been fairly squeemish ever since, and only eat poultry, fish and seafood, and not even all of that. No duck or squid for me. I've been vegan, when my younger daughter was a teen, but my husband suffered so I cook some meats now. But no pork. I like pigs.. And I can still remember my mother's mother slaughtering a pig and the blood dripping, a way that causes immense suffering to the animal. Lesson learned.

Wandering Along the Path: Right Speech

This is the second day of wind, and I keep looking up at the cedar tree, hoping more limbs don't come crashing down. I just returned from a walk with a friend, and it was kind of unpleasant with the cold, the wind and our noses running nonstop. We managed to each find a book to read from the Little Library stations along our way. I'll have to battle the wind again when we pick up our two grandsons, or maybe we'll drive, as they are both recovering from colds. Today is our older son's birthday and we serannaded him over the phone. We're hoping to get together Saturday, if none of us has been exposed to covid. We used to celebrate his and his wife's birthdays separately, but covid has erased that tradition. I feel for the east coast and midwest over these snowstorms they are enduring. Our son and our younger son and sons-in-law are such terrific parents, and handle so much childcare and nurturing. It's good to have lived this long to witness it. Right now the men are the primaries in three of the four cases, and the fourth makes up for it nights and weekends. Covid has pushed men to adapt and share responsibility and though covid is a nightmare, it has shuffled work and home in some pretty interesting ways. I'm so proud of these guys, and happy for their spouses.

Wandering Along the Path: Right Speech

With our son-in-law's help, we took the memorial bench to a canning shop we've used before for our dining room chairs, and though it will take 5-6 weeks to be repaired, I felt relieved. All this damage is going to cost us a fortune, but we are well aware that structural damage to the studio or house wwould have been horrible, so we are calm and grateful. Our insurance inspector is not coming out until a week from tomorrow, but it is highly unlikely they will pay anything. We're just going ahead to replace what we've lost, but we are keeping the broken bridge, birdbath, hammock and pots here for him to look at. Today is another sunny day, and I hope to take a walk to purchase valentine cards and a tee shirt for my granddaughter. Also birthday cards, as this is a month of birthdays for our family. And I'm thinking shepherd's pie for dinner, so I'll stop at the store to get peas, an essential for the recipe. It is great to see the canning shop is still in business. There is an older couple and a couple of younger people as well, who I assume are learning the craft. Just seeing the wonderful old furniture, lovingly being repaired, is warming. I feel that way when I see a shoe repair shop or a clock repair place. I'm nostalgic. I used to always take my shoes to repaired, as well as handbags. Now I hope people recycle them to charity shops, but I'm afraid we are in an era of trashing. I still spray my shoes with weatherproofing and polish them when they need it, but my husband doesn't care for his shoes. Eventually he buys a new pair and treats them badly until they are embarassingly scuffed. I don't know if we were raised differently or he just can't be bothered. I love old things and have "vintage" clothes and shoes and bags. A boiled wool Mexican jacket I've owned for fifty years, and I have another wool coat I call my "Kim Novak" coat. I have no idea if my kids or grandkids will want them, but I hope someone does. It's history, and I believe there are still historians out there.