Yesterday I tried out the food processor my parents got me for Christmas. Oh, the power! I thought about asking for a Kitchen Aid mixer, but those are so expensive and I've had people (even frequent bakers) tell me they use their food processor more. It's fun to use, and I hope I use it often enough to justify its now permanent place on our counter! I made this
crunchy Asian salad, which was tangy, healthy, delicious, and sure to become a staple.
Working backwards, we had SIL Morgan over this weekend. Initially I was opposed to the idea because we had just spent almost a week with Daniel's family and I needed a break, but we did promise she could come sometime in December, and at least I had time to recharge from Thursday night-Friday evening. Unfortunately the weather was awful during both days of her visit, but I think it did her good to get out of her house even if we couldn't do very much. We saw the Rockefeller Christmas Tree (in the snow!), the Bryant Park Christmas shops & skating rink, the Highline (a raised railroad converted to walking path), and Chelsea Market.
With the weather the way it's been, we've watched quite a few movies this week, and by chance have chosen very well Les Miserables was the only one in theaters, and it met all of the expectations I've had for it since I was, oh, six or seven years old! I grew up on the soundtrack and dying or the 10th Anniversary Concert to air on PBS, begging my parents to pledge $100 to PBS so that we could get the VHS the two or three times it came around during my childhood. I was saying on
kellchecker's Facebook today how the story helped me form my understanding of the gospel because of how many discussions I had with my parents about Javert and Valjean while growing up.
It was great to see that the movie did true justice to the musical, and sometimes when it wasn't close to the musical it ended up being closer to the book! Gavroche's opening scene and Colm Wilkinson playing the Bishop were my two favorite surprises. The only disappointment was Javert, who is. As much as I love him as an actor, Russell Crowe's voice was rather weak and I just didn't feel the emotional impact of the Javerts on the concert editions.
The other movies we watched were on Netflix. I'm always looking for Netflix suggestions because one does not simply think of a movie they want to watch and find it there! If you're ever in that same boat, here are suggestions for you:
Decoy Bride: tars David Tennant. Need I say more? A sweet little chick-flick with small-town British humor (my favorite!).
Hugo: Visually stunning and aptly referred to as a love letter to movies. Excellent, family-friendly story.
Bernie: I didn't find out until the end of the movie that this is based on a true story. It is so ridiculous that it seems impossible. Think Best In Show meet Napoleon Dynamite. It's about a mortician in the small town of Carthage, Texas who befriends a wealthy widow and murders her. The town-folk love him so much that even after they decide to believe the story they still don't want him imprisoned! An article written by the widow's nephew for the New York Times reveals how very close to the truth this movie comes. Some of the actual townspeople even appear in the film, and you can't tell them apart from the actors.
Here's a better review of the movie.
Okay, enough about movies, now to find a book and perhaps bake some pumpkin bread!