Sunday, Jan. 16

Up around 7:30, and did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Mother came over just before I got on the treadmill and started a pan of autumn stew cooking. The stew calls for cubed pork roast, prepared with carrots, celery, onions, apples, and diced canned tomatoes, along with a can of beer.

After I was ready for the day, we watched the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock four-star movie, "Vertigo," starring James Stewart and Kim Novak. I'd recorded the movie on DVR from a classic movie channel. We'd seen this movie before, of course, but many years ago, so we had forgotten the plot, especially the surprising ending.

The movie is over two hours long, so we stopped it at noon to have lunch, and then resumed afterward. When it was done, around 1:30, Mother went home, and Hubbie and I watched "True Grit," starring John Wayne. I'd recorded this 1969 movie from a classic movie channel, as well. Again, it had been years since we'd seen this beloved version of the movie. We were interested in comparing the recent remake with this one.

We think that both versions have merit, even though John Wayne and Jeff Bridges interpreted the role of Rooster Cogburn differently. Wayne was clean-shaven and sported clean clothes throughout the movie, and seemed lighthearted, while Bridges' was a decidedly scruffy, bewhiskered, mean drunk. And as for the LaBoeuf character, I definitely preferred Matt Damon over Glen Campbell.

The background scenery in the new version comes closer to looking like Arkansas than the snow-capped Colorado Rockies background scenery of the 1969 film.

Later in the evening, we continued our movie marathon with two PBS features, beginning with "Framed," a movie about the National Museum in London springing a leak, causing the curator to decide to move the whole art collection to a mine near a small village until repairs can be made. Humor and romance ensue.

Following that, we watched an episode of "Lark Rise to Candleford," also from the PBS channel.