my laptop’s video card fizzled out a few days ago, so i am beholden to my generous husband to share his computer with me so that i can post every once in awhile. but i still wanted to share a few tiny happy things from the past few days (christmas reverie will be continued as soon as my computer is restored to me–or at least my hard drive), so here they are:
#1–this weekend, a very dear and long lost friend found me on facebook. we haven’t spoken for about 16 years (which, coincidentally, was about as old as we were when we met) and each of us has, periodically, tried to find the other with little success, but this time she actually managed to find me! we first met on a summer missions trip to england when we were in high school. a large number of the rest of our team are also on facebook and our virtual reunion has been somewhat surreal and lots of fun. some of these people i thought i’d never hear from again. i was so thrilled when this friend found me. she called me on the phone a few days later and we picked up right where we’d left off so many years ago. hooray for the internet!
#2–did you know that lending at the library could go both ways? a few days before christmas, a woman came to the library and asked for some good audiobook recommendations. during our conversation, it became apparent that we liked a lot of the same types of books and she asked me if i’d ever heard the original radio recordings of the hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy and… i hadn’t. a few days after the new year, this same woman came in and found me again at the reference desk (a somewhat rare occurence, usually) and said she’d brought me her own personal copies of the cd recordings of the original radio show of the hitchhiker’s guide. she’d brought it so that i could have a chance to listen to it. how nice was that?! (and they are very funny recordings!)
#3–i have no photo for this, but it must be a good time in life for reunions with old friends, because it was less than a week ago that an old college roommate of mine that i’ve lost touch with called me and we talked for a few hours. we could have probably talked all day, but i had to go to work. it was wonderful to re-connect with her.
#4– about once a month, a group of friends here in town get together to watch very bizarre movies. some of them are so weird that i just don’t get them, some are just strange enough that they irritate me, some feature quirky characters that i adore by the movie’s end, but almost never have we watched a movie that i’m tempted to own. until this past weekend. the movie of the month was “the fall.” i’d watched a preview and then read a spoiler on imdb (on purpose) and so i was able to relax and just enjoy the visuals and not worry about what was going to happen at the end because i knew what was going to happen at the end. and this movie is all about the visuals. and the storytelling. the plot line is completely secondary to the visuals, but basically it involves a man telling fantastical stories to a little girl while they’re both in a very drab hospital and the little girl helping to direct the story. when the movie is in the storytelling part, the images that you’re watching are of the story–bright, vivid colors and crazy awesome costumes and the most amazing locations. and here’s the kicker–i learned after watching the movie that these scenes were all shot on location. no elaborate sets were built, no green screen or special effects–all of these amazing places actually exist somewhere in the world. you’ll have to watch the movie to understand why this is such an incredible accomplishment. they filmed in over 23 different countries. after the movie was over, i experienced this strange sensation of satiation. as though i’d just finished eating a rich piece of chocolate cake. with my eyes.
#5–i finished my last two common threads quilt blocks, but haven’t had a chance to photograph one of them yet. hopefully, i’ll get to that in the next day or two. but if it takes me longer, we’ll blame my computer-less situation.
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