30 Day Film Challenge/Day 20

Today the challenge is a film that scared me.

I had to go way back on this one. Why, you ask? Well, I am not a big fan of horror, cut ’em up, frightening movies. I found most movies of that genre disturbing rather than frightening. Like, the Exorcist, for example. It was a horrible film to watch and I will never watch it again, but I am not sure I was scared by it. Or Night of the Living Dead. Or Blair Witch. I just do not find them terribly interesting and find they are often filled with senseless bloody scenes. Scare me with your words rather than with my eyes.

One movie I found terribly frightening back in the mid-late 70s I could no longer find any reference to, so I took that as a sign to just keep that one pushed deep into the recesses of my mind.

When we were kids, we watched a lot of horror films, though along with the Twilight Zone and Outer Limits. This was the era when all the horror films had the great horror actors. The movie I decided on was a 1953 film starring Vincent Price — “House of Wax”. This was a remake of the 1933 film “Mystery of the Wax Museum”. I thought the movie was in B&W until I started looking further. I guess everything seemed like it was filmed in B&W since we only had a black and white television.

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I decided to take on this challenge for July after reading about it from SandmanJazz. Check out his blog and his entry for the twentieth day of the challenge. Maybe even join in!

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Monday Missive – July 20, 2020

I almost decided to write this post about 3:00 am. It was one of those nights. I could not go to sleep. Everything ached. I could feel my arm under my pillow pushing against my face. The bed sheet was crinkled under my leg. The fan seemed loud. My brain would not shut off. I finally got up for a while, but luckily was able to go back to sleep. Maybe I still feel ‘Mondays’ even though I no longer work. Or maybe age is making itself known.

I am here to report that our refrigerator pickles were a success. It took 48 hours before they acquired a full pickle taste rather than a cucumber taste. They were nice and crisp, and the onions packed inside were delicious! For those that asked, here is the recipe I used:

The Snappy Gourmet

I took two additional steps. I chilled the cucumbers before slicing so they would be crisp and also let the vinegar solution cool before pouring over the cucumbers. Next attempt, Bread and Butter pickles.

I finished “Little Fires Everywhere”. I really enjoyed the book so I was curious to watch the Hulu show of the same name. I was sure not to read any reviews or summaries beforehand. The first episode in, I was surprised by changes or situations not in the book. There were a few troubling departures from the storyline in the show and the ending was changed radically. I really preferred the book. The storyline did follow the book through the conclusion so the entire story was told. There is talk about a season two, so if that happens, it will be delving into a storyline completely outside the book.

I am now reading “Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love” by New York Times best selling author Dani Shapiro. I enjoy her writing style and she grabbed my interest very early on.

The number of Covid-19 cases are still above 1,000 every day. We have moved no further in ‘opening’ the state which means our bars and gyms stay closed and other open businesses are required to limit the number of customers they may serve. Our mask rule is still in force for the entire state although not everyone complies.  Our governor has taking a lot of flak from the ‘no maskers’ but I am proud he is holding firm. I see more stories everyday about people who thought this was ‘the flu’ or ‘a hoax’ until they became infected. Our schools will be opening next month with what seems to be a lot of latitude for individual schools in concert with parents to make decisions that fit with their individual district, utilizing some combination of in-person and remote learning.

Friday we ran some errands and stopped by our open-air farmers’ market. We bought fresh South Carolina peaches and more Grainger County, TN tomatoes. We also picked up more cilantro and dill as the heat took a toll on our other plants. I noticed the garden store had seedlings for winter vegetables. We did not buy any because it is just so hot. Maybe I will try starting some from seed instead. I will consult my gardening guru and good friend Lisa, from Places of the Spirit, about how best to proceed.

I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you that follow and comment on my daughter’s blog. She finally found time to write about her success at finding a new job which has been such a relief for her family.

Today I send my iPad back to Apple for a replacement. I will be glad to have it back as it is a real convenience for me. Technology can be frustrating but it is such a wonderful tool.

I selected the stain for my work surface – slate. It will be a nice complement to the grey cabinets I think. Today we will be applying the stain to a test piece, then finish-sanding, conditioning, and staining the top. Almost there!

Now for some breakfast and a second cup of coffee. Have a great week and stay safe!