Restorative weekend

I decided to not spend the first weekend  of 2008 totally on the go. I gave myself a break wherever I could. That feels sort of odd. I'm not usually down with lounging so much. I think my battery was very low and it needed to be recharged.

I normally cook on Sundays for the week. This week I got a jump on the task on Saturday afternoon. Within an hour I had two meals ready to go. First up, a hearty nourishing lentil soup. Then a stir fry of sugar snap peas, mushrooms, broccoli, water chestnuts and shrimp served over rice. Sweets took charge of Sunday's breakfast with a delicious smoked gouda omelette. On the side, we had some Hoppin' John and greens left over from New Year's Day. Jet very generously brought us a portion so our year would be full of luck. (Thanks, Jet!) As a special treat on Sunday night, we skipped having a proper dinner and fired up the deep fryer for a batch of hand cut pomme frites with garlicy mayonnaise.  Is that sinful or what?

I spent some time reading up on Northern California and planning  a trip there soon. We are going at a time that is great for seeing wildlife. If we are lucky we may see mating elephant seals and migrating monach butterflies. And a whale? I would so love to see just one of those amazing creatures in the wild!

It's that time of year when we try to catch up on any Oscar worthy movies before the awards season rolls around. Although it looks like there may not be a party this year. SAG announced over the weekend that actors won't be showing at the Golden Globes to show solidarity for the striking WGA. All the politics of the biz doesn't dampen our appetite for films.

On Saturday night we took in Atonement.  I think it's getting over hyped, personally. I had high hopes going in. In The Last King of Scotland, James McAvoy wowed me  with his performance.  His faun was my favorite part of  Narnia.  Yet, in this film  he's more scrumptious  than substance and I know he has far more depth than was  seen here.   The love story left me cold. I found myself more fascinated with the depictions of the war scenes in France and the in the hospital than the rest.

Yesterday, we took a road trip to a six screen art theater in Montclair, NJ. We opted for a double feature of The Savages and The Diving Bell and The Butterfly. Both  were exceptional. The Diving Bell is one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen. I'm still having trouble putting words together about it. It makes you feel something in the way a painting will often just grab hold of you and touch you in some deeply sensitive place and invoke a flood of emotions that you bewilders you. I encourage you to see both of these films. They celebrate humanity with humor and depth.

Before the films, we took a stroll around town. The photo above is of a shop window we came across. The business was not open and I have no idea it was really a business at all. It just spoke to me.

Comments

[PixieDust]

We are having Hoppin' John tonight for dinner! My husband's family has traditionally made it for New Year's, but my daughter and I have traditionally had Arroz con Pollo (a chicken and rice Mexican dish), so we've switched around for the last few years. This year I cooked, but he felt the call of tradition, heehee

Your trip sounds wonderfully amazing, two years ago was my first chance to go on a whale tour - it was overwhelming to see those beautiful whales and a baby to boot!

I'm a movie fiend! Thanks for the recommendations -

Have a wonderful Monday,
(((HUGS))),
Me

:-)

[kristen]

hey, you were in my neck of the woods! i love montclair.

[jek]

ooh! when are you hitting Northern California? We're not anywhere close but we're always up for a road trip, perhaps we could meet up with ya...perhaps...

[caroline]

Sounds like you had a wonderful weekend :) Wishing you much joy with the holiday planning, sounds exciting! xoxo