Busy!

This has been a busy day! I'll go backwards . . . dinner with T and J at Otani's - love that sushi, and the company was delightful! This afternoon we went to an Eagle Court of Honor for one of the young men in Simon's troop. Very nice ceremony and reception.

This morning we went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt 1. Here are my first impressions (without giving any spoilers, I think):

• It's a very dark movie, but no darker than the book, for sure. I mean, when you're battling the ultimate evil, it's bound to get a little dark.
• I don't like the new actor playing Fenrir Greyback as much as the former actor. He wasn't menacing enough.
• I loved the animation in the middle - lovely stuff. It looked Tim Burton-esque.
• The time we were in the movie seemed to fly by.
  
• There were some plot alterations, which are understandable, I guess, but it still kind of bugs me a little here and there.
• Some of the scene cuts and editing seemed a little clunky and choppy. I'm curious to hear if people who aren't as familiar with the books have trouble following the story.
• Xeno Lovegood wasn't weird enough.
• I liked the Lovegood residence, but I am disappointed we didn't get to see Luna's bedroom.
  

I am, and always will be, a complete HP geek. I enjoy the movies a lot, but the books are still where it's at.

A few catch-up pics

A few weeks ago we visited my in-laws in Marietta, OH. It's a lovely little town on the Ohio and Muskingum rivers, and they're wonderful people so we enjoy visiting. Si and Mike also love to get a few bags of their favorite potato chips, Mister Bee's. They love them above all other chips, so when we saw a delivery truck parked a block away from Grandma's house, I just had to get Si to pose for pictures! There is a better pic of the truck, but as this one shows my teenager smiling it won out.

He was so happy to finally get some chips, he just stuck his head into the bag to breath in the goodness of Mister Bee's. LOL He is in heaven!










Mike and I have been trying to eat healthier, and for us that includes sushi. Thing is, sushi restaurants are EXPENSIVE! We've hit upon a compromise. We spend half the money or less and just buy the raw fish ourselves. Some cutting and arranging, and presto - our very own customized Sashimi platter!




More food than we'd get out, quality on par since we buy it from a Japanese grocer that supplies those restaurants, and as an added bonus we get to enjoy it in our own home and stuff! As you can see, I've been playing around with arranging.





Memorial Day brought us to Operation Flag. The Boy Scout troop goes to a local cemetary every year to replace flags at all the graves of veterans. It's a good thing they do. There's always some older veterans there to talk to, and the boys all get to be a part of honoring brave men and women who have fought to make our country what it is. Simon was even on the news! As the Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, he was the "ranking" scout for the event, and spoke for the troop. He did a great job! I was hoping it would be available online, but no dice. We caught it on DVR, though, and will be sharing DVDs with grandparents. :-) Maybe Si and I will upload it ourselves later today.

Today is our last day of work/school before THE EPIC ROAD TRIP! Our intent is to post daily updates from the road with video, so check back over the next couple of weeks and see if we managed to figure it out!