Music, Movies, and Malt Shops

What a weekend!! The only excuse I have for my absence since last Thursday is that I have been constantly on the run.

Friday: Worked until 3:30pm. Picked up Tyler at home, and met Larry at Wendy's for a quick bite to eat. Off to the antique lady's house. Now, I am NOT fond of antiques unless they are in some one else's home. I have never had an eye for that stuff. To me, it is all just old, sometimes smelly, sometimes very interesting...junk. Nothing more. In other people's houses, it is usually very beautiful - even breathtaking depending on the piece. That is how this lady's house looks. For purposes of this blog, I will call her "Jenny Sanders." She lives in a refurbished farmhouse just a little southeast of Cedar Rapids. When I walked into her home, the first thing I noticed was the smell of it - old wood, and dried flowers. Nice actually. Very warm and inviting. Jenny led us back to her bedroom and there it was -- the piano. A Baldwin spinet not more than a few years old, and hardly played. Tyler and MacKenzie both had to try it out. They took turns sitting on the maple colored bench that was covered with a red courdoroy cushion not unlike that which you would find on a kitchen chair. Each of them spent a little time pressing the keys and the pedals, making the beautiful music they had both been learning over the past few years. For $300 I couldn't pass it up. In fact, I felt a little guilty - I'm sure that she paid more than that for it and it was in beautiful shape. Not a scratch on it. We loaded it up, and took it home, and now, it has taken up temporary residence in my living room. It sits beneath the front windows, and the cat has decided that it is his new perch so that he can look out upon his kingdom. He seemed content with it -- and so do I.
Later that day, Tyler got a call from a friend to go roller skating. We had intended on taking him to a movie (MacKenzie had headed to her dad's for the weekend -- another story entirely), but I conceded and let him spend the time with his friends. Besides, it was a good opportunity for Larry and I to have a date :-).

We went and saw the movie, "Music and Lyrics," with Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant. It is the second time we have seen it, but when you see it at the cheap theater, somehow you get more satisfaction out of it. If you haven't seen this movie, you MUST!! If you see no other movie all year, "Music and Lyrics" is the best one to go to. It is sweet, funny, sappy, and has the greatest 80s sounding soundtrack! Hugh Grant does all his own singing which really impressed me since I thought him to be kind of a dork. He was very good and very capable as a singer. The dancing though -- yikes! I think he WILL need a hip replacement at some point in his life, if not already. Drew Barrymore is equally wonderful, and I love how clumsy she is. This lends a realism to her character and really brings her to life. Go see it -- I don't want to give any of it away.

Saturday: This was a day of rest -- sort of. I worked for a few hours in the morning. Yes, I'm a workaholic. I can't believe how much I get done when no one is around, and it is refreshing for me. I will go in tomorrow knowing that I won't be completely drowning in work. After work, I met Larry for a quick lunch -- yes, another one. We do that a lot. Eat something quickly so that we can move on with our lives. We decided that another movie was in order. You would think we were paid movie critics by the number of films we see in a year. Anyway, we went and saw "Fracture." This one has Anthony Hopkins as a psychopathic killer, who kills his wife, then defends himself to get acquitted. But does he? Hmmmm...one will have to see the movie. He is wonderful as usual, and his character is laced with the creepiness of another Hannibal Lecter. Ryan Gosling plays the young county prosecutor that has to attempt to match wits to Hopkins' character. They both do very well, and it was worth our time.

Sunday: Church of course. We attend a local Lutheran church and we go every Sunday. I don't feel whole if I don't attend Sunday services. I have to have that day with God...it relaxes me. It reminds me to pray more often, even if by Tuesday I have forgotten to. Our pastor is very kind, very silly, and gives a good sermon. We have many friends there, and are blessed to call them our family in Christ.
After church -- Cedar Rapids Performance Company auditions. No, not for me or for Larry, but for the kids. Actually, the kids auditioned last weekend, but this weekend was my turn to work the registration table. It is always a good time. The director just had a new baby, so I got my "baby fix" and held her most of the time. Little Molly -- what a punkin! We were there most of the afternoon. Just as we were leaving, the sky turned dark, that smell was in the air, and the rain was starting -- yes a THUNDERSTORM was on the way! I knew that MacKenzie would be freaking out at her dad's, so a phone call was in order. She was actually doing pretty good and I was very proud of her. Perhaps she is getting over this fear of storms -- I don't want her being like me, dreaming about them for the rest of her life! We stopped at home, then headed up to my ex's place to get the kids.
Bob (my ex) lives in Vinton IA. It is one of those stereotypical small Iowa towns - courthouse in the middle, lots of little stores around that in the "square," a grain elevator and of course -- a Theisen's (its a farm supply store). I'm very surprised that Wal-Mart hasn't got its hooks into that town yet. I'm sure its only a matter of time. We pulled into Bob's driveway and there in the yard was Bob, Brittany (Mac's friend), MacKenzie and Tyler all playing baseball. We hit a couple balls around and then headed for home.
I imagine you are wondering by now how the Malt Shop plays into this by now? Well, in Vinton there is a REAL malt shop called "Leon's Malt Shop." MacKenzie begged and begged and begged to stop and get something. Root Beer floats for her and Brittany, chocolate malt for me, raspberry for Tyler and a hot fudge sundae for Larry. Yummmy! Twas gooooooooood stuff!
Once home, Tyler showered, and MacKenzie is sitting here at my side, reading every word of this entry (she's nosy like that. - OUCH! She just hit me....twice.) So, I suppose I'll call it a night myself. I'm sorry this isn't as witty as usual, but I'm really tired. After a good night's sleep and another day at work, I'll be back to my old obnoxious self.

Good night all and sweet dreams (not about tornadoes please.)