Zombies, Spiders, & Snakes (Oh My)

The news is depressing, lately.  ("But when is it not?" you ask.  So true.)

- - - - - - -

An odd jumble of things I was thinking about yesterday (the London riots, music from zombie movies, etc.) led to an exciting night of vivid dreaming about zombies.  (I am now about to relate that dream, in part.  Those who dislike reading about other people's dreams should consider themselves warned.)

We were living in a beautifully dreary (green-on-the-verge-of-autumnal, almost perpetually cloudy-skied) English neighborhood.  Zombies roamed the world-- had done so for long enough that people had moved past the freak-out stage of reaction and now just accepted them as a threat.  That threat kept people tethered to their own personal safe zones, but we were afforded some small comfort by the fact that the zombies were mostly only mobile after dark.  (Yeah, subconscious.  Way to mix zombies with vampires...)  For some reason, we ended up moving in with the family next door. (Consolidating resources? Safety in numbers?)

There was a fair bit of mundane interaction with this family-- conversation, routines, making do, repairing things.  One day, while we worked on something outdoors during the relative safety of daylight, the wife/mother spoke of how she came from New Zealand, originally, and wished she could go back home, though she was afraid of what she'd find.  I sympathized, of course, but commented wryly that at least the weather here suited me well.  She was tired of clouds, and on cue, we glimpsed a fleeting patch of blue sky.

We and the family had plenty of safety measures in place and were doing as well as could be expected.  We even discussed the possibility of putting up some sort of makeshift, protective passageway between our two homes, so that we could travel between them at night, in an emergency.  But despite our planning, I had a gloomy sense that these things-- zombie scenarios-- never end well.  Something always goes wrong, eventually, no matter how careful you are.  Someone always has a moment of thoughtlessness, of stupidity-- wanders off too far-- or for reasons beyond his control, comes face-to-face with the monster when least expected.  And, of course, since it was my dream, where I have the most amazing ability of prediction, that's exactly what happened.

I'll spare you the gory details.  ;o) 

- - - - - - -

I've seen a couple of large spiders on the outside of the house, lately-- not the exotic, alien-looking "banana spiders" that come later in the year and turn a woodland path into a creepy, crawly obstacle course of giant webs and palm-sized arachnids that seem to be invisible until they're dangling mere inches from your face.  These are probably somewhat smaller than banana spiders, but they're darker and fuzzier to make up for it.  There's something sinister about them--  but then, I don't like any spiders very much.  It's this type of thing that makes me so unique, which is why I bother mentioning it at all. 

- - - - - - -

This weekend, we found another skinny snake stuck in the silicone (?) caulking around the exterior of our kitchen window.  It's so bizarre, the way that keeps happening!  That's at least the second one we've found in that window, alone.  (There have been more in the bay window.)  We can't be the only ones having that particular problem-- but a quick Google search yields no relevant results, so I'm not sure what's going on, really. 

The ones that get caught on the kitchen window have a better chance of survival, since we're more likely to spot them and try to free them before it's too late.  Donald managed to get this one loose and drop it outside the fence.  It was another of those corn snakes, I think.  I'd much rather have them around than something worse, so live, little snake, and eat up all the food before your big, bad cousins decide this is an attractive location. 

Nightmarish Dreams

Note: This is nothing but rambling about dreams I've had in the past few nights. I won't be offended if you decide not to read it. ;o) In fact, I'll probably never even know one way or the other! (g)

I've heard varying opinions on the validity of this research, but ever since I heard it, I've definitely noticed an increase in my nightmarish (or at least nervous) dreams. So far, they haven't been my worst kind of nightmare-- losing a loved one-- or even my second-worst kind-- discovering that I've neglected (either very severely or to death) someone or something I was meant to care for (usually an infant).

Recent nightmarish and/or unsettled dreams:

• I'm having an uneventful TV-esque dream (one in which it's almost as though I'm watching a TV program, not actively participating in the story). Two women in old-fashioned dress are talking in front of a large, paned window, when suddenly a loud gunshot shatters the peaceful scene. One of the women has been shot! I'm completely shocked. "What? Where did that come from?! That's not supposed to happen!" Then there's another shot-- the second woman is killed-- and I'm moved on to the next dream. . .
  
• I'm standing in line with family at Firehouse Subs-- which is funny, because I've never set foot inside one. Suddenly a crazy-looking guy walks in and asks the manager if he's going to give him a free-refill (or was it an "eat free"?) pass, because he is, in fact, a firefighter. The manager says no-- the crazy guy is furious-- and he pulls a gun on the nearest customer, who happens to be my father, claiming him as a hostage. Dad says something about being able to tell the gun won't fire and proceeds to try to wrestle it from the crazy guy, but I'm afraid. How can he know? The dream fades away.
• I'm with a couple of old school friends, and we're hiding (on a roadtrip) from some unknown enemy. It's an odd mixture of joking around, buying food at a convenience store, and being afraid that something horrible is about to happen-- feeling that we're responsible for saving something more than just ourselves.
  
• I'm in a confusing dream about a woman who accidentally ordered two Christmas trees to be delivered to one location. The two "tree guys" get there at the same time and are very confrontational for a while, but it somehow works out. However, my family has to help one of the guys carry his tree back to his truck-- a longish walk that involves crossing a highway. I wonder how on earth the tree guy thought this enormous thing would fit in the building to begin with. (g)
  
• I'm hiking with family (including extended family). At first, it's easy enough that I can just enjoy the surroundings, but gradually, it becomes more challenging. We reach a long ledge so narrow that I have to stand with my back pressed against a stone wall and slide my feet sideways, instead of walking. Despite being nervous about my precarious situation, I want to take photos (g), but family members keep catching up with me and needing to (somehow) squeeze past me on the narrow ledge. . .
  
• I finally make it down to the bottom of the mountain-- and now I'm no longer with family, but on a huge high school trip (to Spain, I think). I notice how dark the sky is against the land and an earth-toned structure nearby, and I begin to photograph it. Suddenly, I see through the viewfinder of the camera that a tornado is forming right in front of us. As I run for cover and call for others to do the same, the structure disintegrates, and before my eyes, some unknown person is speared through the chest by a jagged peice of plywood. The rest of the dream is vaguely sad, fearful, and uncomfortable-- spent sheltering in a dilapidated medical facility that seems to be nothing but a labyrinth of crowded halls and too-narrow chambers.

Can't complain too much, I guess, since I've certainly had worse dreams. And after all, they are only dreams. (g) Maybe dreams of that sort make me a little more appreciative of prosaic reality.

Last Night's Dream, or Buy Your Own Food ;o)

(Yes, I am about to write about a dream I had last night. I know that you aren't supposed to pester people with your dreams, but seeing as this is my blog, I think it's allowed.)

I think the subject of my "angry entry" (from a couple of days ago) must still be on my mind. Here's the relevant part of last night's dream:

I come home one afternoon, and as I get out of the car, a truck stops by the driveway. The driver explains that his vehicle isn't working. Somehow or other, another truck is suddenly pulling up, too-- friends of the first guy. But now there's something wrong with their vehicle, too, so they (3 or 4 men in all) need to wait for another friend to come and help. Also, it's suddenly raining, and they have to come inside to wait. (Strange how the weirdest things make sense in dreams, huh? Why couldn't they just have waited in their trucks?)

Anyway, I let them inside, because for whatever reason, I know that (though they're a little rough-looking) they won't do anything to me. After going off on my own for a few minutes, though, it suddenly occurs to me that I probably shouldn't leave them alone in the house. (They won't hurt me, but I wouldn't put it past them to pilfer odds and ends from around the house.)

I find them in the kitchen. One of them is dumping a can of soup into a pot on the stove. Another is helping himself to leftovers from a casserole dish. A third is making a sandwich with ham "lunch meat". I'm outraged to find that these perfect strangers have just helped themselves to our food, and I tell them about it.

"If you'd just come and talked to me about it, first, that would've been different! You could've said, 'Wow, I'm suddenly really hungry! I haven't eaten anything since lunch. I've been working hard all day, and I usually have supper about now." You could've hinted that anything-- just a slice of bread-- would have been welcome, and maybe then I would've offered you something to eat. But no. Instead you go through my refrigerator and take food without even asking!"

I show the ham lunch meat guy that he's ruined a whole, brand new package by tearing it open with his teeth. (There are a couple of holes chewed through the plastic. Evidently Lunch Meat Guy doesn't know how to open things with his hands.) I tell them all that they'll have to pay me for the food. They can take whatever's left of what they've now bought, when they go, but they will pay. I'm requiring that much of them. They listen, not seeming to see what the big deal is. As I go about my business, I overhear one guy tell another that he doesn't have enough money to pay for the food; can he give him a loan?

Next, we're all sitting in the main room (not of this house-- just some random house that's ours in the dream), with the TV on. Again, I overhear one guy tell another to ask me to put some different channel on in the little "picture-in-picture" box.

(Incidentally, is it my imagination, or has that once-popular feature fallen completely by the wayside? Maybe it's still out there, but it seems like you hardly ever hear about it, these days. It was probably a fad. I never really saw how it would be of much use. If both shows are worth watching, you're going to be constantly missing things by trying to watch both of them at the same time-- and if one of them isn't that important to you to begin with, why bother? I enjoy television, but thank goodness I'm not that much of an addict. (g))

So, as I was saying-- I overheard his request. I turn to him and tell him that our TV doesn't have that feature. He seems truly shocked that anyone living in this day and age could not have a TV set with picture-in-picture-- especially someone with such a well-stocked fridge and pantry. This instantly sets my teeth on edge, and I irritatedly explain to him that the reason we have food, etc., is that we don't waste money on things like picture-in-picture televisions. (Apologies to owners of picture-in-picture TVs. ;o) Honestly, I bear you no ill will.) I can tell that he's still not "getting it", and the dream fades out. . .

So, anyway, that was the dream.

Just Stuff

Nothing big to write about-- just tidbits of "stuff". . .

== == == == ==

Late last night, when we let Molly back in from her last walk, she brought a very dead little bird with her. I didn't see it until this morning. (Yuck.) Thank goodness she's still a "kitchen dog". At least it's possible to give our kitchen floor a thorough cleaning. As unpleasant as it was to find that anywhere in our house, finding it on our carpet, couch, or bed would've been so much worse!

== == == == ==

Donald had today off (yes, lots of days off, lately), so we went over the information we'd accumulated about "lawn tractors" (or whatever they call riding mowers, these days) and various and sundry other things, made a final list, and went back to Daphne to place our order. We were prepared to have to wait a bit to have it delivered, but they told us they should have it to us sometime tomorrow. (Maybe not until evening, but that's still tomorrow. (g))

Meanwhile, much of the lawn is embarrassingly unkempt. It really needs mowing! (Oh yeah, I guess I never mentioned that Donald tinkered around with the walk-behind mower some more, and we gave it some more tries, but so far we haven't been able to get it started.)

== == == == ==

Yesterday, I got a bunch of photos that I ordered online for cheap with a coupon code. (Thanks for the info, Mom!) Now I need to clear off a table, sit down, and do some scrapbooking! I haven't done that in a long while, so that should be fun. :o)

== == == == ==

Donald and I stopped for a treat on our way home from shopping, today. I had a chocolate malted milk shake-- the first in years and years. Malted milkshakes sure are tasty!

Sadly, I ought to cut down on the treats. While getting ready to leave, I caught a displeasing angle of myself in the mirror. Not the first time that's happened (g), but still. . . Must find some form of exercise that I don't hate so much that I quit after a few days. . .

== == == == ==

One of my dreams last night involved a smell (an old powdery smell), which made me realize that I don't often dream of scents-- or at least I don't often remember scents from dreams.

I was curious about how common it is to "smell" things in dreams, so I looked around a little online. It's funny how people seem to take special pride in their ability to remember dreams and in the "quality" of their dreams.

"I always dream in very vivid color."
"Oh yeah? Well, when I dream, it's so real that I can't tell whether I'm dreaming or not."

"I smelled something in my dream last night."
"Yeah, I do that all the time. Actually, I have everything in my dreams-- smell, sound, touch, sight, taste. . . I read somewhere that the more senses you have in your dreams, the higher your level of intelligence. (You know, just fyi.)"

(Those aren't direct quotes, but they're close enough. (g))

In which I turn "fashionista". . . Not! ;o)

(Forgive me for the "not". I just had a flashback to the 90s. . .)

Last night's dreams involved a woman who decorated/painted her house so it coordinated well with her personal coloring-- specifically, with her flame-red hair.

I wonder if anyone actually does that? I suppose it makes sense, in a way, but it still seems odd to me-- not to mention vain. Besides, I'd rather have colors that I like to look at-- which aren't always the ones that are most flattering for me to wear.

I remember that in one of the Anne books (I think), a character makes sure that the bed linens complement each guest's hair color and complexion. . . And Anne herself laments that she won't ever be able to wear pink (because she's a redhead). And then there's Pat, who can't wear. . . green, was it? (Must be time for a re-read, because I can't remember, exactly. (g)) Then there's the Little House books, in which Ma chooses which ribbons Laura and Mary wear based on their hair color.

Fortunately, I don't worry much about those types of things. ;o) I just wear any color I feel like wearing, as I think most of us do, these days. Of course, we may put less thought into the colors of our clothes because they're often cheap and nearly disposable. When someone from Laura's or Anne's time bought a dress (or fabric to make a dress), she knew she'd have to make it last for years, so naturally she gave it more thought than I do when I choose what color tee-shirt I want.

Yes, this was particularly pointless. (g)

Bits & pieces. As per usual.

Last week, I uploaded a couple of photos of tracks to my Flickr photostream. They're some I see every so often, on the easement. They're little five-"fingered" paw prints, and that narrows things down quite a bit, but I've never been quite sure if they're from a raccoon or a possum. (I've since looked them up online, so now I know how to tell them apart, provided they're nice and clear.)

Rachel, you said they looked like raccoon tracks to you, and I think you were right. (No, they weren't leading to the garbage can. (g) Or at least I couldn't tell from the few I saw where it was headed.)

The very evening of the day I took the photos, we went on a walk down toward the pond. It was later than we usually walk, but still plenty light enough to see. (Otherwise, believe me, I wouldn't be walking out there. Way too snaky.)

We suddenly heard rustling in the low growth just off the trail-- and then there was a little masked raccoon face peeking at us around the trunk of a dead pine! He went up a way, then realized that the tree was broken off, turned around and headed back down, head first, peeking at us from time to time. (If Molly had been with us, she would have gone crazy!)

So, there's definitely a raccoon scampering around in the vicinity. Donald thinks this was his first time seeing a live raccoon in nature, and I haven't seen them that many times, myself. (The other time I remember most clearly was up in the mountains. That one was acting a little strangely, if I recall correctly, and we wondered if it might have been rabid.)

Of course, as luck would have it, we hadn't brought the camera along with us-- but it probably would've been hard to get a good photo, anyway. Besides, I guess everyone already knows what a raccoon looks like. Just picture one peeking around the trunk of a tree. ;o) (Kind of like this. Or this.)

I know they can cause a lot of trouble, but they sure are cute!

~~ * ~~ * ~~

Donald made some phone calls to Sweden over the weekend. (Their Mother's Day was Sunday.) Apparently they've been having weird weather over there. For a brief time, things warmed up so much that his mormor's parrot molted. Of course, life being what it is, the unseasonable warm spell ended abruptly and the poor bird was shivery. Warmer weather's back, now, I think, so he should be ok.

. . . I wish we could have the Swedish style of "warmer weather". (g) The summer hasn't even revved up to day after day of mid-to-high 90s yet, and I'm already tired of it. If it weren't for the necessity of growing food, I could do very well without summertime. Just stretch out spring and autumn for another couple of months each, please. ;o)

~~ * ~~ * ~~

After that one tomato plant was broken, we've had better luck. I think I mentioned that they were living, but not growing? Well, now they're finally growing-- visibly. Some have tiny "baby" tomatoes (one cherry tomato is even turning orange!) and more have flowers. Keeping fingers crossed that they continue to do well.

I need to research them a little. I'm pretty sure I've read that you should pinch off certain parts to keep the plant focused on producing tomatoes. . .

~~ * ~~ * ~~

I heard today that if you fall asleep within ten minutes of your head hitting the pillow, you are probably borderline narcoleptic and likely need more sleep-- or at least need to make sure you're getting enough sleep.

All my adult life, I've tended to fall asleep very quickly. Once, I would have thought that was just normal-- or maybe even something to be happy about. (Lying awake, unable to sleep, is so frustrating!) Now I'm not sure whether I should be glad about it or not.

This is why I avoid medical news. It's hardly ever good news. In fact, it seems specially designed to make you uneasy-- or at least dissatisfied.

Well, ok, I looked it up. I guess I misheard. What they're really saying is that people normally fall asleep within about ten minutes of lying down. If you're falling asleep in five minutes or less, that could be a sign that you're borderline narcoleptic, etc., etc.

Ok. . . But how are we supposed to know how fast we fall asleep? I mean, we're falling asleep. . . (g)

~~ * ~~ * ~~

Still on the subject of slumber, Donald says I've been talking in my sleep, lately, but by the next morning, he can't remember what I was saying. It must not have been anything too interesting, or surely he'd remember. (Then again, maybe not.)

~~ * ~~ * ~~

While going about my daily chores, I've amused myself by composing a list of the Sisyphean tasks in my life that keep - cropping - up:

• Mowing the lawn-- This time of year, there is always at least one portion of the lawn that needs mowing, because I never manage to do it all in one day.
  
• Weeding and mulching the flowerbeds-- Partly my own fault, but even if I were more vigilant, it's still a never-ending job.
  
• Cleaning the floors
  
• Keeping the kitchen counter top clear
• Cleaning the bathrooms
  
• Keeping the laundry in check

Well, let's be honest. Just about everything we do around the house or yard has to be re-done over and over and over again. That's why it's so nice to make something. At least with crafts and the like, there's a beginning, a middle, and an end-- a finished piece to admire. And you don't look at it the next day and realize that it's all come undone and has to be redone! (Not most of the time, at least!)

~~ * ~~ * ~~

Off to cook supper-- another of those never-ending chores. Fortunately there is such a thing as left-overs. Tonight, I cook (chicken spaghetti), but tomorrow night most of the work will be up to the good old microwave oven! ;o)

Spilt Milk and Other Matters

Yes, it's more tidbits. Don't tell me you expected a cohesive entry with real substance! ;o)

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

A few weeks ago, Donald and I found milk in a new type of package, at our local Sam's Club. It's cheaper, so we've been buying it, even though the jug looks a little odd:


I wouldn't hold its odd appearance against it if it weren't for the fact that it seems to be a very poor design for reasons other than aesthetics. You see, we find it difficult to pour from this jug without dripping a bit. (And no, it's not our faults. (g) We've both been pouring liquids without spilling for several years, now.) True, it's a very tiny bit-- but it's still annoying to have to wipe up every time you eat a bowl of cereal or have a glass to drink.

To add insult to injury, the last jug we bought had this label on one side:


"JUST TILT & POUR"!

Gee, thank you, Mr. Milk Jug! Thanks so much for the lesson in how to pour milk! I feel like such an idiot, now! I'd been trying to pour it by getting Donald to hold the cereal bowl a yard away and sloshing it at him. (Too much sarcasm? Sorry about that. In future, I'll try to hold back.)

Well, ok, I thought. I'm pretty sure I've tried that "just tilt and pour" method before, but I'll give it another go. . .

Nope. Still very nearly impossible to pour without a little dribble or drop of waste and annoying dairy mess! And the very fact that they have this informative little label suggests that it isn't just us-- that they may have actually been getting complaints about their defective design.

It's a little thing, but still I manage to make time to grumble about it. ;o)

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

We're still planning the patio. We've mapped it out-- sat on a "pretend patio" to get a feel for how much room it would actually give us-- Donald's made little cardboard models-- I've taken photos of things at different times of the day to calculate optimum shade potential-- etc.

Then, the last time we were discussing it, a totally new idea presented itself. Shade cloth. It's pretty fancy stuff. Depending on the type (and color), it can block as much as 90% of sunlight and harmful UV rays. It's supposed to be very durable. It's not cheap, but it could be cheaper than buying lots of wood to make a more traditional pergola roof. Plus we wouldn't have to paint (and repaint) so much wood. And it would provide more complete shade than the wood, most of the time. (Donald is fair-skinned; I don't want skin cancer, either = We luv shade. (g))

My main concern is how it would hold up against violent thunderstorms and, of course, hurricanes. I hope we won't have another major hurricane here for years to come, but you never know. . . Of course, even an all-wood structure could be completely destroyed, if we had bad luck.

As you can see, we still have some decisions to make. Unfortunately, I seem to be incapable of doing anything without considering all the possible resultant problems. ;o)

One thing has been absolutely decided-- When we buy supplies for the patio, we're also getting supplies to build for a pump house. (Still no concrete plans for how we'll build that, either. . . Maybe I'll ask for advice at the family get-together this Friday. Family, you have been warned. (g)) It has taken way, way too long for us to do that. Once it's done, there'll be one less reason for me to hang my head in shame (figuratively).

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

The house finch with a nest in our back porch is still in residence. No sound of baby birds, yet, but I don't imagine it'll be too much longer.

There's another bird nesting in the decorative birdhouse Grandpa W. gave us a few years ago. Seems like there's a bird in that house every year. This time, it's right outside a window! Of course, it's almost always covered by a closed mini-blind, so I guess they don't feel they're being scrutinized too closely. (g)

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

Donald has some vacation time stored up, and he has to use most of it by a particular date (in August, I think). We're still thinking about what we want to do. Maybe we can use a little of the time to work on the patio. That is, assuming that we've decided by then how we want to build it. . . ;o)

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

I had one of my "I'm walking around outside and there are snakes all over the place" dreams. They come up from time to time.

I was walking a dog/puppy, and was worried the snakes would bite it. One of the snakes was very exotic-looking-- purple and dragonish and sort of "hinged" (like those plastic toy snakes that kids have-- the ones that seem to move on their own). I went inside to look it up and blog about it (g)-- but on the way, I discovered weird burned/singed spots on the floor-- and in an "it made sense at the time" flash of brilliance, immediately deduced that there was some bizarre geothermic phenomenon at work and that was what brought the snakes out in hordes. (Apparently, in my dream-world, there are lots of snakes living in holes in the ground around our house.) At that point, I think I forgot the snakes and began worrying that the house was about to erupt. ;o)

And I just realized where the burned floor bit came from! Last week's episode of CSI. On the one hand, I'm mildly disappointed that it wasn't my own concoction but something I recycled from TV. On the other, at least I can be fairly sure that this wasn't a vision from God warning me to vacate the premises because of impending destruction of hearth and home. (g)

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

I have a feeling I'm forgetting something I wanted to mention. . . Oh well. It must not have been very important. Hope the week's off to a good start for you all!

Of spiders, dreams, and "sweded" movies

We may have found our first brown widow spider, last night. I spotted it building a web in the kitchen window over the sink, which I'd opened in the afternoon. (Another brief cool spell. It's so nice to have the windows open! Especially if there aren't spiders building webs in them.) We couldn't tell for sure whether or not it was a brown widow (it was hard to get a good look at it), but it definitely seemed a possibility, so Donald did away with it. (Thank you!) Great. Another venomous pest to keep an eye out for. . . !

Maybe it's time to get out the general purpose de-buggifying spray. It's been a while since the last treatment, anyway. I don't really enjoy spraying poison, but I guess I'd rather spray small amounts of poison from time to time than have lots of bugs and spiders in the house. (Maybe that makes me crazy.)

= = = = = = =

I've been clearing up some papers from this desk, and on one of them, I found notes about one of Donald's dreams. I meant to write about it back when it was "new", but I forgot. Why bother taking notes on someone else's dream? He doesn't often remember his dreams, and this one struck me as funny. So, the dream--

We had just gotten two new dogs, but each of them came with "issues". We discovered that the first had a warrant for its arrest, so we had to take it to the police station to sort it all out. (Can a dog have a warrant on it? I mean, I know that if a dog has been making attacks it can be confiscated by the law or even euthanized, but would there ever be an actual warrant?) The second dog turned out to be wearing two separate layers of furry "clothes" that made it appear to be different colors than it really was. Not sure why. . . Maybe it (or its owner) thought one color was more desirable than the other.

Well, I thought it was funny. (g)

= = = = = = =

I was recently introduced to the concept of the "sweded" movie. To "swede" a movie, you just refilm it yourself-- usually in an extremely shortened format, hitting on various high points of the story. You can enlist the help of friends or do all the roles yourself. If I understand correctly, the key to a good sweded film is a very limited budget, cheap "FX" and the use of common household items as props. The sillier the better!

If you're curious about the name-- which, I'll be honest, is what interested me to begin with-- it comes from Be Kind Rewind, a 2008 comedy. The premise of the film is that a guy working in a VHS rental store somehow manages to erase all the tapes. He and some friends embark on a mission to remake the ruined movies using an old camcorder and their own cheap versions of special effects. According to the wikipedia entry for the film (because I haven't actually seen it myself), they tell their customers that the movies are from Sweden to explain the higher prices of renting them and the delay between request and arrival of the "sweded" film.

I think this sounds like fun! Definitely an amusing way to spend a day or two with some friends-- especially for older kids and teens.

You can find a selection of sweded films by searching YouTube. Obviously they're only fun if you've seen the original movie. (If you've seen it multiple times, that's even better.)

Here's one for The Lord of the Rings:



I think the best part of that one is the bit that starts about six minutes in, but there are several other "LOL" moments (such as the "barking" at the "Council of Elrond"-- it does kind of sound like that in the real film!). Note that some people think this one shouldn't count as a sweded movie because the production values are too good. (g) Purists! They pop up everywhere! ;o)

(On a tangential note, LOTR fans, have you seen this? I had to laugh, because Donald and I have actually discussed this before. Wouldn't have been much of a saga, but it does make more sense! Evidently there's a whole series of these "how ____ should have ended" videos. They even have their own domain.)

The first sweded film I saw was this "no budget", 5-minute version of Princess Bride:



The fire marsh and the "rat"! (g)

Well, that's it for now! Hope the week's off to a good start for you all. :o)

Recent bits and pieces

The yearly tax stuff is over and done with, for the time being-- not counting one or two more things we have to do that are due today. I could go on about the frustration, annoyance, etc., but I guess that's all understood.

ETA: "one or two more things we have to do that aren't due today". Aren't! Aren't!! (Or "weren't", since it's now Wednesday. . .)

-- -- -- -- --

Our guest left early Sunday to start the leisurely drive back to southern Florida. He should be somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean right about now, I think. (Glad it isn't me! It's not a very pleasant thing, a long flight like that.) He wasn't looking forward to returning to the cold, snowy weather they're having in Sweden. Meanwhile, I'm not looking forward to a long, hot summer and all the lawn-mowing the season has in store for me. . .

-- -- -- -- --

Despite my moaning and groaning about hot weather and grass, we've actually just been having a short cold snap. Highs in the 60s (and only just, yesterday)-- ice on the roof this morning. Brr! Back into the 70s tomorrow, though, I think.

-- -- -- -- --

I noticed the cold water on the washing machine was just barely trickling out, last week. (The flow had probably been gradually decreasing for weeks-- if not months-- but I never really noticed it until then.) I did a little research online, then we located and cleaned a little thimble-shaped screen that filters the in-coming water. The difference after clearing that filter was amazing. No more pitiful trickling that takes forever to fill the machine. Thank goodness it was a problem that we could fix for free!

-- -- -- -- --

Last night, I dreamed that Bill and Hillary (you know the ones I mean) were visiting my extended family for some sort of dinner party. In my dream, one of my aunts owned a very marshy, alligator-infested property, and that's where the party was being held. (I suspect this dream was inspired by H's recent talk about how she learned to shoot in rural PA, when she was a girl. Not that there are gators in rural PA, but you know what I mean.)

The thought of the two of them at a family party amuses me. They wouldn't get a very warm reception! In fact, later on in my dream, someone had a plan to prank Bill. The prank makes no sense, now that I'm awake, but the idea was that we'd get him to look into a hole drilled through a melon (???). He'd know that he was "supposed" to see something in particular, but meanwhile, the rest of us knew that he couldn't see it (because of the way it was drilled, you see; it was a trick melon, obviously (g)). So when he went on and on about what he saw-- the thing we knew he couldn't actually see-- we'd share a snicker at his expense. (What? I told you it didn't make sense!)

Don't you wish I shared my great dreams with you more often? ;o)

Look! It's a non-memey post! ;o)

I figured it was about time for a break from the memes. (Now I just have to figure out what to write about. . .) I think this post is going to take the form of random snippets, so prepare for a modge-podge of topics with little or no transition between subjects. Or in other words, the usual.

---------------

Last night I dreamed-- what? You aren't all that interested in my dreams? Well, too bad! ;o) As I was saying, I dreamed that I had a dog that suddenly starting singing. In English. She only knew a line or two from each song, but I still considered this to be rather impressive. For a dog. ;o) She was even able to answer simple questions, so she understood English and wasn't just mimicking it. As I said, I was impressed by this hidden ability, but looking back, I wasn't quite as impressed as I ought to have been. (g) It's strange how we easily accept almost any bizarre thing in our dreams, isn't it?

---------------

Yesterday afternoon, I went for a walk (to soak up the drama of overcast skies and rising winds). I was preoccupied with taking photos and watching for snakes. (I'd seen one while driving, earlier in the day, so I figured the warmer weather might have them "on the move" again. The frogs were also singing beautifully-- more evidence that cold-blooded things were enjoying the warm snap.)

As I neared a turn in my path, there was a sudden hissing sound. I looked up, expecting to see a cat-- and a large one, by the sound of it-- but instead saw a deer bounding away. Another-- a buck-- broke out of the brush on one side of the clearing and went crashing into the tall grasses on the other side. There were several more crashes, each growing more and more distant, as they continued to flee. (I must look scarier than I thought.)

It's so startling when deer do that. (Deer, and also doves. They both make the most awful racket when you surprise them!) I just hope they always make the decision to run in the right direction-- away from me! I don't like to imagine how much it could hurt to have a deer run full speed into a person.

---------------

I was a little bit more cautious than usual on that walk, and not just because of snakes. This was the first solo walk I'd taken (not counting trips to the mailbox and back) since hearing about a vicious dog attack. Evidently a woman I met briefly on a polymer clay forum was killed by three or four bulldogs. The dogs attacked her while she was taking her daily walk. (Later that day, the same dogs also killed an elderly man.) This happened just a day after she responded to something I'd written on a forum thread. That certainly brings home the reality of animal attacks.

Obviously something like that makes you consider your own mortality. Remember those two large dogs that were running on our property not too long ago? The ones I thought I heard growling? What would have happened if I'd come across them while out walking? Probably nothing serious, but you never know.

I'd really like to have a can of pepper spray to take with me-- on walks, on hikes (when on vacation), in my purse for when I'm shopping alone. Where do they sell that these days? I used to see little cans for sale here and there (usually near the check-out, I think), but I haven't noticed any for years.

Be careful, everyone. There are too many people who don't understand the necessity of keeping their potentially lethal pets in an adequately fenced yard.

---------------