Lazy Sunday and Outdoor Movie

Even on Sunday, we get up pretty early for retired folks...7:30 a.m. today. I think I could have slept a little later, but when Hubbie got out of bed and tiptoed to the closet for his clothes, I woke up.



I headed for the treadmill right after breakfast. I needed a workout after missing two days of exercise.



The rest of the morning was spent in the usual Sunday routine...fixing a slow-cooker pork roast with potatoes, carrots, and onions for lunch, throwing a load of clothes in the washer, selecting the week's TV fare to record on the DVR (slim pickings, I have to say), and reading the Sunday newspaper. Since Sunday is our day to listen to music, I popped a couple of new CDs into the stereo...the Eagles' two-disk album, "Long Road to Eden."



This afternoon, I talked by cell phone to one of my kids and a daughter-in-law. Even though we try to stay updated by e-mail, I still need to hear their voices once in a while. A lot can happen in a week. These are some of the highlights:

*a granddaughter took the whole family by surprise a couple of months ago, when she enlisted in the Army...she headed for basic training last Monday;

*another granddaughter will begin college in a couple of weeks;

*a young grandson who is battling weight problems has lost 13 pounds recently, resulting in a significant improvement in his health;

*a grandson and his wife are expecting their third child in the spring, which will (counting five step-great-grandchildren) increase the number to 20 greats for us;

*a daughter-in-law's mother has been diagnosed with colon cancer, but the good news is that it has been caught in time.

*various family members have changed jobs, or have been temporarily laid off a current job.

*the two newest great-grandsons, born in June and hungry all the time, are now eating cereal, as prescribed by their pediatricians.

*a great-granddaughter, sister to one of the new great-grandsons, is having difficulty adjusting to another baby in the house, causing her to forget her potty training. She's back in "pull-ups" for now.


Late in the afternoon, after the heat abated somewhat, I went out to take pictures of sunflowers and surprise lilies (see previous blog). By then, it was time to think about supper. We had a hard time deciding what we wanted, but finally settled on peanut butter and orange marmalade sandwiches, with sliced bananas and fresh peaches on the side. A glass of milk completed the meal.

At 8:30 p.m., we all went over to the local college for an outdoor movie. We dreaded that it would be steamy hot, but a breeze came up that nicely cooled the garden where the movie was shown.

Tonight's show was "August Rush," rated PG. This film, starring Keri Russell and Jonathan Rys-Meyers, has garnered mixed reviews...some love it, others hate it. We enjoyed it.

The plot centers on a young boy (Freddie Highmore), who runs away from an orphanage and falls in with a group of other runaway boys who are under the wing of a man (Robin Williams) who exploits their musical talents for his own benefit (shades of "Oliver Twist").

The boy is the son of a rock musician and a classical musician, who 11 years ago fall in love and have a one-night affair. The boy is a musical genius who learns to play and write music in the course of six months. It's a fanciful movie, but if you like music, if you like love stories, and if you like kids with disarming dimpled smiles, then you'll like this movie.

This free-admission movie was one of several offered this summer by our local arts council. While they have not drawn huge crowds, the number of people attending is about the same as we see at the local multi-screen theater. The next film, "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure," is scheduled for August 31.