"These mashed potatoes are so creamy!"

A while back we got a fifty pound bag of potatoes. That's a whole lot of potatoes. Today we finally got down to the last few potatoes. The freezer is full of mashed potatoes. On St. Patrick's day we celebrated the opposite of a potato famine. If you get the chance to buy fifty pounds of potatoes all at once and in one bag...don't.

Foreign Films

I just watched a French film and in thinking about that I remembered another movie that I saw one time at International Cinema. The movie I just watched is called Toi et Moi, or You & Me. Some foreign films are very similar to American movies and others are worlds away. Toi et Moi was different in it's little "dream sequences" for lack of a better term. I guess in France they have magazines where they include photo novelas (that might not be quite the right term) which are kind of like graphic novels and chick lit combined I think. Anyway one of the characters writes them and draws inspiration from her life and her family and so from time to time we would have sections that were photo novelas.
Anyway, in thinking about how the movie was so different feeling than American movies, I was reminded of Run, Lola, Run; a German movie that I saw at the IC. Run, Lola, Run is a very different movie, I personally thought it was on the strange side. Parts of the movie are live action and other parts are animated, the movie centers around Lola and something she's mixed up in (I don't recall exactly what.). Lola spends most of the movie running to various places trying to get the problem fixed. We come to the end of the plot and then rewind back to the beginning and it starts all over this time but with a slightly different twist, and this happens at least twice, possibly three times.
It's interesting how movies differ from country to country, and something that we take for granted in one country may not be there in another.

Buttercup

The buttercups/daffodils are out.

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell

I saw that this book was a mini sersie (not knowing it was a book) on someone's blog and decided to get it from the library. When I was searching the name I found there was also the book so I put them both on hold and the book came first. Cranford is by Elizabeth Gaskell who also wrote North and South, and Wives and Daughters. I've enjoyed the books and the mini serieses of both of these. It's nice to look back at another period in time by reading a book like this. I loved this book, tales of the old spinsters and widows of the town of Cranford. The stories are heart warming and made me want to be a better person. I can't wait to see the mini serise, especially because Judi Dench is in it and she's a fantastic actress. I whole heartedly reccomend this!

Concerning the Spiritual in Art by Wassily Kandinsky

First off, Happy St. Patrick's day, now back to the post.

Yesterday I finished reading Concerning the Spiritual in Art by Kandisnky. I think I'd need a few more times reading it to fully comprehend it, however it was very interesting. There were some points where I disagreed with him, other points where I had no idea what he was talking about, but there were a few points that really resonated with me.
I wouldn't recommend this book unless you're really into art, or Kandinsky.
Kandinsky talks about how if a work is really and truly art, that there is a spiritual quality about it, and though we see that in different ways I believe, I very much agree with that.

Patterns

I am a lover of patterns and intricate designs. I saw these on the table at chilli's and took pictures.

Spring? not quite yet

The little flowers are popping up, crocuses, daffodils, etc.
All the lovely spring flowers are coming up, it's warm and nice outside, and I hate to break it to those who are dying for spring and warm weather, but we've still got a few more snow storms ahead of us, crocuses quite often get snowed on, tulips almost always get snowed on. Enjoy the warm while it lasts, just remember and brace yourself when the snow comes.
Edit: it did indeed snow on Saturday.

knocking out another one

I am almost to the point where I can oil paint again! Today I gessoed my canvases (which are actually linen not canvas) and now they're drying. The projects still ahead for oil painting include putting the ground on my panels, cleaning my paint medium jar and making more paint medium.
I also just got the latest book I ordered from Amazon. I love Amazon for the very low prices that I can find books, especially books that are out of print, etc. but sometimes it might be better if I couldn't find such irresistible deals on Amazon.
I decided to make this post more exciting by taking pictures of the things I was talking about and I was on a roll so I figured I'd also take pictures of what I'm reading right now. I got the book from Amazon because the library didn't have it but they did have this one:.

Sometimes I like to see what other blogs are out there by hitting the next blog button at the top of the page. It's interesting to see where it takes me and to what type of blogs. I think it tries to take you to blogs that will be similar to your own, or at least ones that you might share a common interest with. Sometime I find a blog that interests me and other times I just hit the button again to see what the next blog will be. It's interesting to see the other blogers out there.

Another project down

ta-da!

One project down.

My own international cinema

I'm excited, I have two of my favorite foriegn films from the library: Life is Beautiful/Vita e Bella and Dear Frankie. Life is Beautiful is an Italian movie and Dear Frankie is from the United Kingdom. I love both these movies, however I wasn't introduced to either one by International Cinema. Besides my excitment over these two movies I'm excited because I realized that there's a section at the library where they have foriegn films set aside. This was sort of a 'duh' revelation because the movies are in the same spot they have been for at least a year and I have not discovered this until now, never the less I hope to start up my own version of International Cinema. I am a little daunted in the fact that a good deal of Italian movies are rated R, as well as movies from other contries. If you have any recomendations I'd love to hear them!

Mission: Finish those projcets

I've been working on several different projects lately and for various reasons, a lot of them have hit stagnation. This week the goal is to finish as many of them as I can. Today's goal is to finish the book I'm making for my friend's weding... which is rappidly aproaching. I can't watch one of my favorite TV shows online until this book is done. It must be shipped out by the end of the week! Next in the line up will be finishing the dress I'm working on. I bought the fabric for this dress last summer, I actually cut the pattern out and the fabric out in November, I thought I could get it finished by Valentimes but I'd misplaced the zipper and the buttons. I expect tomorrow's project to be hemming the skirt while watching a movie (for those of you who don't know, hemming is rather tedious) and possibly more if my enthusiasm lasts. After hemming the skirt there's attaching and hemming the sleves, sewing theh top to the skirt and then the zipper and the colar. After the skirt project is complete the next few projects are getting my panels and linen ready for oil painting. So that being said, I should probably suck it up and start on the book.