Rainy Deluge and Beauty's First Appearance

Kristin Kemper–illustration

This weekend day, the rain has been beating down my door in bucketfuls of its unwelcome self.
All day.
And very much unsolicited, if I might add.
April showers I can totally handle because they bring pretty May flowers.
But March showers make me feel grumpy and chilled and my limbs turn stiff and refuse to function normally.

Potentially catastrophic.
Make no bones about it––not that I understand this expression...
But it fits.

We've been having such warm weather here in PA, that I thought, "Huhhh, I have to go out today, I wont need my jacket though...
Nahh...What's a bit of rain??

Fateful blunder.

But golly gee, I couldn't have been colder in my sandals and thin sleeve shirt.
Alllll the day long.

Rain blowing sideways and spraying into my face despite cute black and white polka dot umbrella on my way to the grocery store.

Murky puddles stalking my poor, uncovered feet as I scurried across a parking lot to meet friends for lunch...and then proceeding to engulf them  despite my best efforts to skirt them.

Tragic.
I could go on.
But I wont, because I'm pretty sure you've gotten the point.

So, despite the frigid gloom of the day I made every effort to enjoy the company I was with once I was warmly back indoors.

Have you ever had Pad Thai?
The deliciousness of this fresh, flavorful dish made every last drop of rain worth it. Almost :)

I may dream of this loveliness tonight.

It was my twin friends' birthday today and we celebrated at Viet-Thai Cafe in town.
My mango drink was yum.
They also offered Sticky Rice with caramelized sugar and bananas which I wasn't able to sample but will use as an excuse to go back. Very soon.

My beautiful sis Jess on the left, and the lovely birthday girls, Veronica and Vanessa and me clenching my teeth in the background because I'm so cold. Holly is the beautiful blonde pictured above!

Love these ladies!
We then braved the elements to acquire some necessary sugar in the form of Ice Cream.
I know...
Yes, it did make me feel even colder but it was soooo good!
 ________________________________________________________________________________

Now it's time for a little Costume Drama-esque news for you:

Did you know that following the success of the fairy-tale based series, Once Upon A Time, we are about to be inundated with a little Beauty and the Beast action.
ABC is going to be airing a pilot TV series starring Irish actor Ruth Bradley as Belle and Scottish actor Darius Campbell as the Beast. From what I understand this version will be set in a mythical, dangerous world where Belle is a princess and the Beast is her bodyguard. Not too much more than that has been revealed, but I will keep you posted.

_________

The CW also plans to release their own version loosely based on the 1980's Beauty and the Beast series.
This one will center around Beauty, as a modern day NYPD homicide detective. She witnessed her mother's murder as a child and The Beast in turn killed her mother's killers. Beauty has been looking for him ever since. He is apparently the result of military experimentation gone wrong.

Both of these series should be airing this fall. I know the ABC one will be, not totally sure about the CW version...

I'll let you know more as I hear of anything...

Love me a good fairytale retelling.

And Beauty and the Beast was always my absolute favorite growing up.

Any thoughts on these new series?? Are there any other fairy tales you'd like to see retold?


The End.

Packing and New Horizons

Life continues to steamroll on.
One day here, another day gone.
Tick, tock, tick tock.
Not enough time!
And yet, too much time.
Too much time, when I know there is so much for me to do once I am where I am about to go.
And I'm not there yet...I'm still here.

I have four more weeks left of living in Pennsylvania.

And then...

It's moving time for this girl.

I have lived in the state of Pennsylvania for 4.5 interesting and monumental years of my life.

And very soon now, I will start a new chapter.

A new season in a place where there are no seasons.

Except sun. And more sun.

Gulf Coast of Florida, here I come...


I'm going back to a place I've been to and lived in, except not as the person that I have become now

I've changed in so many ways.

My view of life and my place in it. And my relationship with God. And well, everything.

I've changed. And grown. Regrettably not in stature.

Nahh...still short.

But in other ways. More productive and worthwhile ways.

And as I'm busy packing away the life I've had here in PA...

Do I look thrilled to be stuffing all my possessions in boxes for the bajillionth time? wellll...8th to be exact. Same difference.

((Which I think you should be proud of me for doing so, very early! I loathe packing.))

I'm taking stock of all my memories here. And the people who have left their mark on my life.

And I'm feeling really so very grateful for having the privilege to have landed here.

For as long as God has given me.

And I'm a better person for all of you who I have known here and along the way...

family that I have been able to reconnect with (love you Vernoia's :)))

friends I've laughed and cried with...

worked with...

and lived with...

I wish I could stuff you all in boxes along with my many books, and take you with me.

Don't worry, I'd poke holes in the top for you to breathe through.

Is that creepy?

But yeah...here's to new adventures waiting to be had.

And a new life.

I'm excited and equally sad to be saying goodbye (well, almost goodbye)

But most things are not meant to stay the same forever. Change is not bad.

If you care to follow along with me, I'll keep you posted of my journeys on here :)

And I hope to follow all of yours as well, through this lovely invention called the internet.

Thank you Al Gore.

:)

to be continued...

Little Dorrit is a keeper

For your viewing pleasure...

This week's Costume Drama Spotlight...

A Charles Dickens classic tale of love blossoming despite strict class divides and the

chaos that ultimately ensues.

Little Dorrit

2008 BBC adaptation featuring Claire Foy and Matthew Mcfadden

This story is Dickens at his epically finest.

Lots and lots of characters.

Many of them shady, indeed.

Some of them truly innocent and noble as is the title character.

Amy Dorrit is born into a debtor's prison.

Very degrading.

But she is the first person to have actually been born there.

This makes her famous.

At least in her own class of peoples.

She is not bitter either.

She is sweet and kind and always hopeful, despite her bumbling father.

Now enter handsome, rich guy with clouded past: Arthur Clennam

There is a mystery concerning his father and the pocket watch he left him,

inscribed with: Do Not Forget

When Arthur shows his crotchety old mother she freaks.

Royally.

He notices she employs a pretty young girl from the workhouse

every week to do her sewing. It seems suspect because he knows 

she probably does not really need this service.

Hero meet heroine.

They do and he is instantly intrigued by Amy and her outlook on life.

He also wonders if somehow her family's misfortune is somehow connected to his 

late father's message.

Something his tight-lipped mother wont deny or confirm.

This story has many other storylines running throughout the length of it.

I wont even begin to go into all of them but needless to say,

they kept me interested throughout the long haul.

Very colorful characters.

Amy has a very eccentric sister and brother-in-law who are fun to watch.

Andy Circus plays a serial murderer running around town.

Very creepy.

Mr Pancks the rent-collecting-investigator is in this!!!

Love him. So much that I named my cat after him.

 Yes, yes, I did.

So find out what the mystery is and why Amy and her poor family 

have been the family longest ever stuck

in the debtor's prison, 

or so this story goes... :))

You will need to cordon off 7.5 hours of your time.

I know you are busy, but this is a classic.

So you can justify it by saying it's educational.

Watch this movie!

and

Tell me what you think my lovely costume drama fans.

(can rent it on netflix, amazon, wherever else movies are rented from

or just give in and buy it.)

Happy Viewing.

Close of a Week

Paint and tightly stretched canvases.
Colorful brilliance splashed with purpose into compositions cascading with energy.
Images of faces and music and superheroes and just everyday life.
They all form before my eyes.

You know the only place better than a library, chock full of books?

An art gallery.

Yes, puh-lease.

Last night I went to see my good friend's gallery exhibition in downtown Lancaster
and it was amazing.
She is so talented. And I am so proud of her!
Her name is Vanessa.

Here is her beautiful face :) And a few images I captured of her lovely work...

 

It was quite lovely.

Bravo, my friend :)

My sister and I then meandered through the crowded streets of Lancaster's Gallery Row.

We dodged excited clusters of teens as they stuffed delicious looking ice cream creations into their mouths, outside a Creamery.

We resisted the urge to go join them. 

I had not eaten anything all day and my head was starting to throb at this point.  

Translation: eat something substantial!

I dutifully obeyed.

We spotted a lovely restaurant situated in a cute nook between a pub and some shops.

It was drizzling and damp outside, so we expedited it inside.

restaurant pics courtesy carrsrestaraunt.com

The menu was a bit pricey, but it's always fun to try something new, no?

I ordered the grilled salmon, which topped a chunky crab bisque. 

Finger lickin' good.––Although you would be proud of me for I resisted the urge to do that. 

I think we would have been tossed out on our bums if we had. Not quite the atmosphere for that enthusiastic kind of reaction.

So yeah, I don't usually order alcohol when I go out to eat, and after looking at the beverage list,  I though, hmm...what are my choices? What the heck, I'll just try something new...

I ordered a Virgin Mary, the non-alcoholic version of a Bloody Mary.

Yeahhh.

Don't. Ever. Order. This.

I should have been tipped off by the tomato juice part of it. No, it doesn't stop there.

There is also Worcestershire sauce in this beauty. And a slew of other random spice-like ingredients.

Who knew?? I took a nice hefty gulp, and then desperately tried not to spew it out all over the crisp white table cloth.

I think the waiter thought I was deranged for ordering it in the first place.

Fun-tabulous.

It was a great dinner anyway though, despite beverage disaster.

Afterwards, we clickety-clopped it back to my car. 

I say "clopped" because that is indeed what I sounded like in my four inch heels as I tried to stay upright. And you see, I didn't even have alcohol as an excuse for my wobbling.

Don't throw rocks at me, I am not condoning getting drunk!

What I am saying though, is a girl has to challenge her own vertically challenged limits, when she can. Yes indeed. It's worth the pain and twisted ankles. Um, most of the time. I think.

I drove home. It rained the entire way back. Yuck. We made it without running over or into anything.

It was a great night :))

I hope you too had a lovely end to your week my friends.

The End.