Sixty Six

friday flick:

A British comedy by Paul Weiland based on his own life story, Sixty Six is a solid movie. One of the best I've seen in a while.  12-year-old Bernie struggles with coming of age and feeling forgotten by his family in 1966 U.K. when the big event of his childhood is overshadowed by England's shot at the World Cup.  Helena Bonham Carter, and Eddie Marsan play the parents to newcomer Gregg Sulkin. Released in 2006.  

 

the big door sweep drag

Update from "the good bones project":

First, it's mostly been a demolition phase, going through one side of the duplex and systematically prepping for plaster patching, painting, electrical work and floor refinishing.

an exhaust fan will replace this fixture in the bathroom

All of the doors in the upstairs had weather strip tacked with nails and glue or a silicone caulk.  Argh to glue and caulk, especially when I found it in the keyholes.  Seriously?  Saving how many degrees do you think?  Any? I'm not sure how I'll dig that out yet.

Also every bedroom door has door sweeps on each side.  I've been sitting on the floor in front of each one, scooting along and removing them all.  It's one of the ways of becoming close to a space; getting down close to every surface and seeing it from every angle, including the lowest possible ones.  It's a closeness that comes slowly and without overtly trying or making it happen.  It just grows as you work, spending time and handling all the pieces.    

bathroom

Some good news is that this linoleum in the bathroom is in good shape, even along the edges, and gets to stay.

purple-trimmed bedroom outside of door

purple-trimmed bedroom inside

Too bad about the dog scratches that will need wood filler.  Notice the variety of door sweeps, though.  Who knew?

west bedroom outside

The drag of the door sweeps dig into the floors.

east bedroom outside

The tools for the job: a screwdriver with interchangeable bits (because every sweep has a different screw size, of course) and a little cat claw for prying and pulling tacks and nails also in the sweeps. 

door sweep drag disgust

Having a sweep on each side of the door makes a long tight sandwich to trap dust, lint and hair. And lots of it.

 

That just ain't right.

Stay tuned for more on "the good bones project" as I remodel a 100-year-old duplex in the University District of Missoula, Montana.

foxy shazam

My nephew, Nick, turned me onto some new noises.  I can't get enough of Foxy Shazam since he did.  It's like crossing Freddie Mercury with Jack White or something. 

So far I highly recommending listening to "Unstoppable" while scraping paint, sanding trim and patching plaster and occasionally pretend you are encased in white leotards.

good bones

Last fall I embraced a new project:  a 100 year old duplex in the University District.

 

In the process of buying it, we invited a small parade of building specialists and subcontractors to consult on its soundness and potential for improvements. 

Repeatedly, the verdict was that "It has good bones."  

I'll be posting more about the joys and perils of remodeling this stack of good bones with the same tag if you want to follow its development.

More on the subject:
Houzz article: 8 Signs Your House Has Good Bones 

Kwika article: Look for a Home With Good Bones

The Hot Rock

Friday Flick:

I'm busy doing some house remodeling so I won't elaborate much on this post.
A few quick reasons to watch The Hot Rock:

• First, Robert Redford is in it.  If that's not enough for you, the whole comedic cast is in top form including George Segal, Ron Leibman, Paul Sand, Moses Gunn, and Zero Mostel.
• Paul Sand perfectly delivers some great lines like "I'll skip over that part if you don't mind," and "I'm gonna tell Mom what you did."
• A young Christopher Guests plays a cop.  "Sire, bombs!  Outside, bombs!"
• Quincy Jones did the soundtrack. 
• It's a light, upbeat 70s heist movie with smarts that made me feel warm and fuzzy inside ... or something nostalgic like that.

Watch the trailer:

lick-lipping paintings in Hamilton

Paintings by Linda Stoudt are on view in Hamilton, Montana at The Frame Shop and Gallery until August 3rd.  

All of her paintings have a bold intimacy to them.  Many are deliciously rich with color, too.  "Yellow on Parma," especially, makes me lick my lips.  

Take the drive down the valley to see them.  You won't regret it. We took Dick and Mabel and they enjoyed it very much. The gallery is open from Tuesday through Friday 10 AM to 5 PM and Saturdays 10 AM to 2 PM. 

Epistrophy, ©Linda Stoudt

Hoo Doo, ©Linda Stoudt

Note: Images used with permission of the artist.

is midnight in paris a stanky perfume?

One of Tonette Time's friends emailed me about my post on the movie Midnight in Paris then postscripted that she remembered a perfume also called Midnight in Paris.  "It REALLY stank."  

Amused by her message and since we developed an iPhone and iPad app (Stinky Maps) for posting smells around the world, I went  off on some quick research and indeed there are not just one, but TWO Midnight in Paris perfumes.  Technically the first is "Evening" not "Midnight" but it's close enough for our amusement, eh?

Soir de Paris (Evening in Paris) Bourjois for women existed between 1928 and 1969 and was common on the shelves of Woolworth's, then in 1992 a variation of it was relaunched by different creators.  Apparently the reviewers at Fragrantica think "the top notes are fruity fresh."  Many people post on their website with memories of mothers who wore it as well as sweet little 90-somethings who still do.  One commenter claimed the scent is available and I found several online sources for it at about 35 dollars, so if you also have nostalgia for it, you can knock yourself out!  Hehe!

For the most recent Midnight in Paris by Van Cleef & Arpels released in 2010, you'll need to fork over 75 to 115 dollars. Perfume blog, now smell this, has some amusing things to say about what Paris really smells like at midnight, too.  

Watch this video about the more spendy Midnight in Paris perfume by fragrance reviewer Katie Puckrik Smells. 

I wonder if Woody Allen also knew about the perfume?

when the folks are in town

Dick and Mabel love going for a drive.  Which might help explain their spontaneous 2,000 mile road trips to visit me. 

The Bitterroot valley is a close beautiful drive we make every few years or so with them.  This time we stopped for a quick bite and gelato at Cafe Firenze in Stevensville.

They enjoy bird watching so we hoped to take a walk around the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge but the trail was flooded.

Flycatcher

We saw a couple of birds they don't see in the Midwest as we drove by, though.

Osprey

One night we had a fun dinner (and dessert) out at a newer restaurant, Sapore. 

Mom ordered the special dessert, a Root Beer Float, then tried pointing the finger at Dad.

 

She shared a couple of sips with us.

Dad stops at every historical marker if you give him a chance.  They were only here a few days, but we squeezed in a trip to Fort Missoula which they usually like, stopping into the Historical Museum just before it closed.  And then we wandered around the new Native Plant Garden.  

Marilyn Marler

We were greeted by Marilyn Marler, Vice President of the Montana Natural History Center's Board of Directors, who was trimming branches and prepping for upcoming events.    

Marilyn identified two shrubs for me that I didn't recognize.   The Blue Eldeberry, apparently a volunteer, was tall with fanning white flowers.  Dad is big lover of Eldeberries and has picked many in Indiana (Bloomington area) where they used to grow like weeds along fence lines. A native plant to the Rockies, now I want to plant one. The Twinberry had a good upright growth, with yellow trumpet flowers and drippy purple fruit.  

Strawberries

Mom saw this hollowed out log and said, "Doesn't that look fun?"  So Dad had her sit in it.

And I insisted on pictures of course.

Patience personified.

The center built a simple, stable and handsome arbor. I took photos to remember the design for future reference.

This water tank is a commanding part of the view from the Natural History Center.  Dad was admiring its pieced construction and speculating its age with me when Mom asked me what kind of flower is graffiti-painted on it.  "Oops, well, I think that would be a marijuana leaf, Mom."  Moving on...  

For more on the Natural History Center check out their website or  their blog.

*****

My parents are in great shape for being in their 80s, but they don't walk like they used to.  Still one night after dinner, we took a nice breezy sunset loop along the Clark-Fork River starting at Finn and Porter restaurant at the Hilton Doubletree Hotel.

Heading north to south, we crossed the Madison Street walk/bike bridge first to see how much the river has been rising. (It doesn't translate well in photos but trust me, it's been a lot.)

walked over this red skull-faced Panda on the bridge

reading about the Missoula valley along the river trail

Mom and Adam (nephew) behind Dad

Watching adventurers practicing on boards in Brennan's Wave from the Higgins Street bridge in the middle of downtown completed the sight-seeing. 

To finish the loop, we headed back to the hotel along the river trail on the north side of the river.  Mom was exhausted but appreciated the walk, especially after having had yet another dessert at dinner again.  (As usual when they visit or I visit them, we had dessert every single day and/or night.)

For a low-calorie visual dessert, here's a few inspiring minutes of women free-style kayaking on Brennan's Wave.  Video by competitive freestyle kayaker Polly Green at Flair Films.

Midnight in Paris

Friday Flick:

I wanted to see Midnight in Paris when I read the director's own bit about it in the New York Times (click to read it).  Titled, This Germ of an Idea Calls for an Antibiotic, Woody Allen tells a brief behind-the-scenes story about how he came up with the idea for his latest film. And it's a funny story. I avoided previews, so when the movie came to town, I wasn't sure what to expect except Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, and Carla Bruni somehow linked to each other by Woody Allen's pen.  Oh, and in Paris.  It was enough for me.  

The film is like a nostalgia-filled cocktail of Paris with an American kick of the Now.  A modest, uncomplicated douse of idealist dreaming served straight up  with a chaser of light believability.  I preferred the nostalgic parts over the others, but that probably reveals more about me than the film.  

Highlights: Kathy Bates as Gertrude Stein, Adrian Brody as Salvador Dali, Alison Pill as Zelda Fitzgerald and Corey Stoll  steals  scenes as Ernest Hemingway.  Listen to an interview with him on NPR's All Things Considered.  See it and let me know what you think.

For a compilation of reviews on Midnight in Paris,  see David Hudson's post on MUBI.