Funny Friday - T-Rex Hates CPR

Upcoming Movies

I have been going to the movies quite a bit lately and therefore seeing a lot of previews.

So far, here are some upcoming movies that I would like to see

Veronica Mars - I LOVED that show - can not wait for the movie!!

Son of God - Looking so forward to seeing this. 
 
Three Days To Kill - new Kevin Costner movie...a thriller, looks good

Non-Stop - starring Liam Neeson - also a thriller, but on a plane

Winter's Tale - Colin Ferrell's latest - about reincarnation (I think)

Gloria - actually a 2013 movie that is just making it to the U.S. - foreign film (South America) about a woman re-inventing her mid-life self.

Here are movies I do NOT want to see:

22 Jump Street - was21 Jump Street's movie (with Jonah Hill and Tatum Channing) that much of a money maker to warrant a sequel?  I wish they would have made a real 21 Jump Street movie based on characters and concept of the TV Show.

About Last Night - I loved the original movie.  In fact, I just watched it a few nights ago and it is still good.  Why remake a movie like this.  The preview I saw had some of the EXACT dialogue but also had a lot of "updated" things - like "Debbie" and "Dan" becoming "friends" on facebook and "Dan" being teased about it.  It looks awful.

Endless Love - Seriously?  Another remake ?

Are there any movies you are looking (or not looking) forward to ?

February 20th - Today in History

Since Facebook as "Throwback Thursdays"

I thought I would do my own version today and share a bit of history....

Today is Thursday, Feb. 20, the 51st day of 2014. There are 314 days left in the year.

Here are some things that happened on February 20th.....

In 1792, President George Washington signed an act creating the U.S. Post Office.

In 1809, the Supreme Court ruled that no state legislature could annul the judgments or determine the jurisdictions of federal courts.

In 1862, William Wallace Lincoln, the 11-year-old son of President Abraham Lincoln and first lady Mary Todd Lincoln, died at the White House, apparently of typhoid fever.

In 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt signed an immigration act which excluded "idiots, imbeciles, feebleminded persons, epileptics, insane persons" from being admitted to the United States.

In 1933, Congress proposed the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to repeal Prohibition.

In 1950, the U.S. Supreme Court, in United States v. Rabinowitz, ruled 5-3 that authorities making a lawful arrest did not need a warrant to search and seize evidence in an area that was in the "immediate and complete control" of the suspect.

In 1962, astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth as he flew aboard Project Mercury's Friendship 7 spacecraft.

In 1987, a bomb left by Unabomber Ted Kaczynski exploded behind a computer store in Salt Lake City, seriously injuring store owner Gary Wright. Soviet authorities released Jewish activist Josef Begun.

In 1999, movie reviewer Gene Siskel died at a hospital from brain tumor surgical complications outside Chicago at age 53.

In 2003, a fire sparked by pyrotechnics broke out during a concert by the group Great White at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., killing 100 people and injuring about 200 others.

In 2004, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the state attorney general to take immediate legal steps to stop same-sex weddings in San Francisco. (The next month, the California Supreme Court ordered an immediate halt to same-sex weddings in San Francisco.)

Today's Birthdays:
Gloria Vanderbilt is 90.
Sidney Poitier is 87.
Marj Dusay is 78. (She played Alexandra Spaulding on Guilding Light) 
Sandy Duncan is 68.
J. Geils is 68. (I cannot believe he is 68!!)
Peter Strauss is 67.  (Peter Strauss is younger than J. Geils, who knew?)
Patricia Hearst is 60.
Charles Barkley is 51.
French Stewart is 50.
Cindy Crawford is 48.
Andrew Shue is 47.
Lili Taylor is 47.
Rihanna is 26.

WIP Wednesday - ATW Afghan - New Approach

I started back working on my Around the World Afghan.  I think I have been procrastinating on it a bit because it is a little overwelming when I think about it.

I mean it has 945 tiny granny squares - 1,072 if I decide to add the border (which I will probably do in black,  perhaps).

I was working from the center, but I have decided to take a different approach and work row - by - row from the bottom up.  Then I will join with the center part once I get there.

I'm not sure why I am changing this approach - maybe because when you crochet, you are kind of use to working in rows.  Anyway, that is my approach for now - I finished a whole row in just a few hours.

Unlike the pattern states, I am not crocheting each square and then joining at the end.  I am joining as I go along.  With that many squares, I think it best to do it that way.

Her is about half of a row - see where there is pink then black then pink again - the black in the middle is the center of those pinks is the center of the row - so I added greens then blues on the other side of the pink there (just haven't taken a photo yet)

Fun in the Snow

We had a bit of ice and snow this week.  I decided to have a bit of fun with these Big Bang Theory Mystery Minis - I think they are cute!

Funny Friday - Procraftinating

Knitting at the Olympics

How cool is this?  This is Antti Koskinen, who coaches the Finnish snowboarder Roope Tonteri.

It is hard to tell with all the warm layers of clothing but to make the situation even better, Antti is a man!

So it is nice to see a guy knitting an on the snow board slopes no less - AWESOME !

 

Unseen TV Characters

Yesterday, my friend Lynn told me that "Carlton" is the name of ..... and I interrupted her and said "your doorman?"  Luckily she knew what I was referring to and got the joke.  (Ok, I didn't say it was a GOOD joke).

Anyway, it got me to thinking about TV Characters, like Charlton, the door man (from the TV Show Rhoda) - that you heard (or heard about) but never saw.

I guess the first one I recall is Juanita Beasley from the Andy Griffith Show.  She was a waitress that worked at the Mayberry Diner and she and Barney Fife had a little thing going on.  Whenever Thelma Lou wasn't around, Barney would ring up Juanita and sometimes he would sing to her.  Remember the song that he would sing to her?  ♪ Nita...Juaaaa-neeta ♪

Speaking of The Andy Griffith show, they had another un-seen character, Sarah, who I don't think even had a last name.  We never heard her voice but we knew she was a busy-body who often got caught listening in on conversations or wanting to know why Barney or Andy needed to call a particular person.  I bet Sarah could have told us some good stories.

I recall a few other un-seen characters in the 1970s - in fact.  I think there were quite a few.  I already mentioned, Carlton the Doorman from the TV Show Rhoda.  Either Rhoda or her sister Brenda would call down to the lobby and say "Carlton" and every time he would respond as if it was the first time they ever contacted him by saying "Hi, this is Carlton, your doorman".  Later, the actor that voiced Carlton, also voice Garfield, the cat.  I imagined Carlton to be a short little guy whose uniform was always a little too tight.

Rhoda was actually a spin-off of the Mary Tyler Moore show, which also had an un-seen character, Dr. Lars Lindstrom, who was married to Phyllis, Mary and Rhoda's friend and landlord. I always imagined Lars as sort of a little heavy-set, kind of bald-ish and glasses wearing kind of looking guy.

Another show that featured a famous "un-seen" was Charlie's Angels, you saw plenty of angels but you only heard, but never saw...Charlie Townsend.

Still yet another 70s show with a character we heard a lot about, but never saw was "The Gooch" from Diff'rent Strokes.  I loved that show! Remember when Janet Jackson was on there - she was Willis' girlfriend!  Although you never saw The Gooch, they would never have a character like "The Gooch" on TV now, since he actually was a school bully.

Now this last one is a HALF un-seen character..Happy Days started airing in 1974 and the youngest character, Joanie, would often talk about her friend, Jenny Piccolo.  Mostly it was something that Jenny Piccolo told Joanie and the majority of the time, it lead us to believe that Jenny Piccolo was a bit on the mature side - same age as Joanie but perhaps more experienced, particularly when it came to boys.  I loved that Jenny was talked about but never seen - you could imagine this teeny bopper girl, with the poodle skirt and pony tail giving Joanie the lessons of life in the hallways at school.  But....6 years later in 1980, that all changed when Cathy Silvers (daughter of Phil Silvers) appeared as Jenny Piccolo herself.  No offense to Ms. Silvers, she played Jenny wonderfully, but I wished they would have left her a mystery.

Then came the 80s, which brought us more un-seen characters, but not many (that I can recall).

The first one I can think of is Vera Peterson from Cheers.  Vera was Norm's wife and he was constantly making remarks about her, which pretty much made us believe she was not such a joy to be around - kind of a battle-axe wife.  Once and a while we heard her voice (like when she called Cheers at 3 am and left a message on the machine) or we'd see her legs/feet but in one episode, we almost saw her.  It was a Thanksgiving episode and the whole Cheers gang was at Carla's - a food fight started and Vera was in another room - just as she was about to walk in the room, her face was hit with a pie so we didn't get to see her

These next two BARELY make into the 80s since both started in 1989.

First up...Family Matters, it started out about a police officer and his family but then they introduced the character of Steve Urkel, the nosy, geeky but well-meaning next door neighbor.  That character became hugely famous and the show pretty much centered on him and the police officer after that.  The family was still there but not the focus - anyway.  There were 2 un-seen characters - Steve Urkel's parents.  They lived right next door, Steve was a big part of this family's life, yet the parent never took the time to come over and have a cup of coffee (guess they were glad Steve was out of the house)

The other show, barely squeaking into the 80s is Seinfeld, one of the main characters, Kramer, had a friend who was always helping him come up with his cockamamie get-rich-quick schemes - you often heard Kramer mention, Bob Sacamano, but you never saw him.

Now onto the 90s.  The first and most famous one that comes to mind is Maris Crane, from Frasier. She was married to Frasier's brother, Niles for the majority of the series' run.  From the way they all talked about her, she was a very petite (perhaps anorexic/bulimic) woman, who dressed in designer clothing and jewelry.  She came from money and was quite fru-fru.  She was a bit of shrew and kept her husband, Niles, on a pretty tight leash.  If I recall, we never saw a glimpse of her or even heard her voice.  Maris is, perhaps, my very favorite un-seen character.

And...who can forget Will & Grace's Karen Walker's husband - Stan Walker ? Karen seemed to be with Stan because he had money - he didn't seem her type at all - he was describe to be a whale of a man - tall, very heavy.  Even though she made fun of him and fussed about him, deep down, she was crazy about the guy.

Now onto the 2000s - there is only one show I can think of that had (still has) a recurring un-seen character and that is Howard's Mom from The Big Bang Theory.  She is most often heard yelling at Howard while he is in his bedroom upstairs and she appears to be yelling from the downstairs living room.  I picture her as a heavy-set woman, with messy curly hair sitting on the couch, eating chips and wearing a mu-muu.

There are a few re-curring characters that are not really what I would call "un-seen" since we have seen them, just not their faces.  I guess Vera Peterson could fall into this category but I felt she deserved to be with the others.

Some characters we have seen but not seen are:

Wilson Wilson, Jr.- from Home Improvement

George Steinbrenner from Seinfeld

Ugly Naked Guy from Friends

Kenny from South Park

Speaking of Kenny from South Park - there are LOTS of Cartoons with Un-Seen (or only Partially Seen) Characters ... including

Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget

Ms. Sara Bellum from Power Puff Girls

Nanny from Muppet Babies

Darling and Jim Dear from Lady and The Tramp

The owner of Marc Anthony from Looney Tunes

Mrs. Othmar (Charlie Brown's teacher)

I am sure there are more that I didn't even know of (from shows I have never seen) or perhaps forgotten about.  Can you think of any others ?

Funny Friday - Cat in the Hat

This is more cute than funny but I did find it kind of funny.

It is a little hat made for a cat.  It looks like something a cat would wear if he was a super hero!

WIP Wednesday

Well...it isn't really a Work-in-Progress anymore - I completed the Rubix Cube Tissue Holder (inspired by the Big Bang Theory)

Last week, we had snow and our office was closed for 2 days, which meant, crafting time for me!  As mentioned before, I had started a Rubix Cube Tissue Box holder,  which I first saw on Polish The Stars.

Well... I messed up the first 2 sides and had to re-do them, setting me back a little bit, but I re-did them and assembled all together while I was home, looking at the pretty snow out my window and catching up on Sleepy Hollow and The Carrie Dairies (I had 3 weeks of each show to catch up on).

So... here are the completed sides (all made the correct size this time) - Fun colors, huh ?

And....here is the completed tissue box.

I can't wait to give it to my friend that I made it for - she will get good use out of it.  Another friend saw it and now she wants one.  But .... I think I am ready to get back to crocheting for a while.

If you want to make one too....head over to Polish The Stars for instructions. 

Family Ties - Mary Frances Davis & Clarke Frances Davis

My maternal great grandmother was Clementa Davis Odom (isn't that a pretty name?)

Clementa had a sister, Mary Frances Davis, who is my great grand aunt. She was born June 24, 1892, the first child of five children for George Washington Davis and Frances Truesdell Davis.  She was born in Geneva, Alabama.

At the age of 8, she was living in Marl, Alabama (which was basically unincorporated Geneva, AL).  By this time, she had a younger sister (my great grandmother) and a younger brother.

On New Year's Eve, December 31, 1905 as the tender age of 13, she married John Kelly, who was 22 at the time.  Can you image a 13 year old getting married today, let alone to a 22 year old?!?!

Here is the happy couple, although I do not know when this photo was taken or how old they were.  Look at those Victorian clothes!  Oh how I wish this picture was in color.

Three years later in on October 9th, 1908, at the age of 16, her first child, a girl, was born and they named her Clarke Frances Kelly (after Mary Frances' great grandmother, Clarkey Moore).  More on Clarke Frances a bit later.

Then about 3 1/2 years later, when she was about a month pregnant with her 2nd child, her husband John died, just shy of his 28th birthday.  I wonder what happened to him? How awful to be a pregnant widowed mom with a 3 1/2 year old at the age of 19, can you even imagine?

A few month's later in May of 1912, she had her 2nd daughter, Johnnie Ozzie Kelly.  I do not know for certain, but I can only assume that when her husband died, she moved back in with her parents because in 1920, the U.S. Census shows that the 27 year old and her two daughters, Clarkie and Johnnie, living with George and Frannie (her parents) along with her two younger sisters (Lizzie & Susie).

But as luck would have it, Mr. Arthur McDade came into her life shortly after 1920.  I don't know when exactly, but they married, I am guessing around the late 1920's or in 1921.

Then in 1922, Mary Frances and Arthur were bless with a girl/boy twins, Frances and Frankie (boy they liked the letter "F" for names).  Three years later, in 1925, their son Bruce was born.

In 1930, according to the U.S. Census, Mary Frances, Arthur, their 3 children and Johnnie Ozzie were living in Chipley, Florida. Her oldest daughter, Clarkie (who I am getting to) was married by then.

Then in at the age of 40, Mary Frances Davis Kelly McDade died.  I do not know why she died or how but she was a young woman.  I have seen suggestions that she may have had an infant son that was born and died in 1933 but I not found proof of this myself.  If it were to be true, perhaps they both died while she was giving birth. I'm still trying to find out this information.

NOW... Onto Mary Frances' oldest daughter, Clarke Frances (Clarkie) Kelley.  I am only including this to say that it may have been a good thing that Mary Frances died in 1933, so she didn't live to see the tragedy that bestowed her daughter and their family.

Clarkie Kelly married Daniel Boone Dykes on New Year's Day 1927, when she was 18 years old.  Nine months and 2 week later, their first son, Johnny B was born, then then had Evelyn (1929), William (1931) and Kelly (1934).

On January 18, 1936 a horrible storm hit Vernon, Florida in Washington County where Clarkie and her family lived.  A tornado ripped through their home and killed them all.  From the accounts of the newspaper articles in the Holmes County Advertiser and the Lampasas Leader, the scene was horrifying.  Here is an excerpt from the Holmes County Advertiser:

Isn't that awful ?  It broke my heart when I read it.  Can you imagine, poor Johnnie Ozzie?  At the age of 24, she had lost her father (before she was even born), her mother, her sister, brother-in-law and all her nieces and nephews.  It just made me so sad to see the same date on all 6 of these graves.

They were all buried close together of course in New Hope Cemetery, where several of my other ancestors are buried.

January 2014 Movies

Here are the movies (new to me) that I saw in January 2014

Frozen - Disney's latest.  I can't believe it took me so long to see this - it came out at Thanksgiving.  I loved this movie.  There was a bit of singing but loved it -the songs were great.  Just a fun, great movie, loosely based on The Snow Queen.  Very enjoyable movie - would love to see it again.

Dallas Buyer's Club - Great movie, great acting.  I plan on doing an "Oscar Movie Review" later so will save the review of this movie until later.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone - Awful movie.  I like Steve Carrell, Steve Buscemi, and Jim Carrey and at least the movie had a story line but it was just not a good movie.  I kept hoping it would get better, it never did.  Seriously, they must have thrown a lot of money at these guys to get them to make this movie.

The Wrong Woman - Okay, a little cheat on this one - it was a Lifetime movie, not a theatrical release but I decided to include it because I thought it was pretty good, it starred Danica McKeller (played Winnie on the Wonder Years) as a woman wrongly accused of a horrible crime and all the evidence is pointing to her and no one else.  She decides to take over and become her own attorney because her attorney is not all that great.  Jaleel White (remember Urkel from Family Matters) was a detective investigating the case.  It was great to see these two in mature roles (since they are grown adults after all).  They both did a great job.  The movie won't win awards or anything but at least it was better than The Incredible Burt Wonderstone !