Autumn is here!
Sep. 27th, 2010 11:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eee1313This weekend the weather turned all cold and gray, and I am loving it. No, seriously, I love it. I love the gray skies, I love the chill in the air, I love snuggling under blankets at night and having it feel like the greatest place on earth. Hooray for cool weather!
This weekend ended up being okay. On Saturday afternoon I met up with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
xica_s, who had taken the train out to the burbs from the city. Her coworker was having an Oktoberfest party at her house, and seeing as how she lives two towns over from me, xica asked if I'd go as her "date." The couple hosting were both really nice, with the wife making a metric ton of delicious food, and the husband brewing his own really good beer. I had a really nice time, and it was great to meet some other people in our area. xica's coworker invited me to a party in a few weeks, but it's the same weekend as a family wedding, so that's a no-go. Boooo. I was hoping to make some new local friends...
On Sunday we went over to the Scientist's parents' house for an early lunch, as we were celebrating his youngest brother's birthday. (We were told this was going to happen on Friday night, only to discover that it had been rescheduled without our knowledge.) So we had lunch with the family, and then he took off with his dad to an auction. I went out shopping with his sister J to get sewing and crafting supplies. I needed a new button for my leather jacket, which means all new buttons, stronger thread, and leatherworking needles. Then I decided "what the hell" and picked up a cross stitch learner's kit. I've never cross stitched or done needlepoint or anything, but lately I've been wanting to get into it. I don't know why. Winter's coming, I'm looking for hibernation activities, I don't know. And then I bought a foam wreath, to which I'm going to attach all of our wine corks. Except it didn't work the way I'd hoped, so I'm going to return it and get a different sized wreath (as well as one made from different material; all the DIY sites say to use a dried hay wreath instead of foam). We've been thinking about getting a cork wreath for our front door, and considering how much they cost we may as well make our own. I like the straight cork look better than the messy cork look due to the fact that a) it will require less corks, b) it will be flatter and therefore might fit between our front door and storm door, and c) it just looks different. So J is saving her corks and I'm saving ours (I'm up to 5—I wish I had thought of this earlier...) so maybe someday I'll have enough for a full wreath.
And then last night we went to see Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, which was actually pretty good. I mean, the plot is the typical epic quest fantasy story that you'd expect for any relatively competent kids' movie. However, this movie had two big things going for it that made me like it a lot. 1) The animation is phenomenal, espeically in 3D. Really, really beautiful. 2) This movie didn't pander by making all the "scary" stuff nice for the kiddies. I've read some critics' complaints that the movie is "too dark," but you know what? Kids need to be challenged in their books and movies. We can't just keep shoveling crap like Marmaduke at kids and expect them to walk away from the movie thinking about what they've seen and learning lessons from it. I don't expect all kids' movies to have a Moral Lesson, but I DO expect kids' movies not to treat children like complete and utter morons who can't think beyond sunshine and puppies and ice cream for everyone, you know? The movie made certain to say that war is hell, and sometimes doing what's right isn't doing what's easy. Honestly, more kids should hear that kind of thing instead of being treated like they live in a bubble. Phew, rant over! Anyway, I enjoyed the movie quite a bit.
Also, is this normal? I ordered something online a few weeks ago, and in order to get free shipping I had to do FedEx 8-10 day shipping. I never ship through FedEx, instead most of my stuff comes from UPS or just the regular post office. Anyway, it says my package was delivered to my town on Saturday. Instead of delivering it to my house, FedEx dropped it at the post office for THEM to deliver. Is that normal FedEx protocol, to just leave all their packages with the post office to make the last leg of the delivery? I had no idea this is how FedEx works, but it just smacks of laziness to me. Considering I just saw the FedEx truck drive by, I know they deliver to businesses. Do they just not make house calls? Weird.
This weekend ended up being okay. On Saturday afternoon I met up with
xica_s, who had taken the train out to the burbs from the city. Her coworker was having an Oktoberfest party at her house, and seeing as how she lives two towns over from me, xica asked if I'd go as her "date." The couple hosting were both really nice, with the wife making a metric ton of delicious food, and the husband brewing his own really good beer. I had a really nice time, and it was great to meet some other people in our area. xica's coworker invited me to a party in a few weeks, but it's the same weekend as a family wedding, so that's a no-go. Boooo. I was hoping to make some new local friends...On Sunday we went over to the Scientist's parents' house for an early lunch, as we were celebrating his youngest brother's birthday. (We were told this was going to happen on Friday night, only to discover that it had been rescheduled without our knowledge.) So we had lunch with the family, and then he took off with his dad to an auction. I went out shopping with his sister J to get sewing and crafting supplies. I needed a new button for my leather jacket, which means all new buttons, stronger thread, and leatherworking needles. Then I decided "what the hell" and picked up a cross stitch learner's kit. I've never cross stitched or done needlepoint or anything, but lately I've been wanting to get into it. I don't know why. Winter's coming, I'm looking for hibernation activities, I don't know. And then I bought a foam wreath, to which I'm going to attach all of our wine corks. Except it didn't work the way I'd hoped, so I'm going to return it and get a different sized wreath (as well as one made from different material; all the DIY sites say to use a dried hay wreath instead of foam). We've been thinking about getting a cork wreath for our front door, and considering how much they cost we may as well make our own. I like the straight cork look better than the messy cork look due to the fact that a) it will require less corks, b) it will be flatter and therefore might fit between our front door and storm door, and c) it just looks different. So J is saving her corks and I'm saving ours (I'm up to 5—I wish I had thought of this earlier...) so maybe someday I'll have enough for a full wreath.
And then last night we went to see Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, which was actually pretty good. I mean, the plot is the typical epic quest fantasy story that you'd expect for any relatively competent kids' movie. However, this movie had two big things going for it that made me like it a lot. 1) The animation is phenomenal, espeically in 3D. Really, really beautiful. 2) This movie didn't pander by making all the "scary" stuff nice for the kiddies. I've read some critics' complaints that the movie is "too dark," but you know what? Kids need to be challenged in their books and movies. We can't just keep shoveling crap like Marmaduke at kids and expect them to walk away from the movie thinking about what they've seen and learning lessons from it. I don't expect all kids' movies to have a Moral Lesson, but I DO expect kids' movies not to treat children like complete and utter morons who can't think beyond sunshine and puppies and ice cream for everyone, you know? The movie made certain to say that war is hell, and sometimes doing what's right isn't doing what's easy. Honestly, more kids should hear that kind of thing instead of being treated like they live in a bubble. Phew, rant over! Anyway, I enjoyed the movie quite a bit.
Also, is this normal? I ordered something online a few weeks ago, and in order to get free shipping I had to do FedEx 8-10 day shipping. I never ship through FedEx, instead most of my stuff comes from UPS or just the regular post office. Anyway, it says my package was delivered to my town on Saturday. Instead of delivering it to my house, FedEx dropped it at the post office for THEM to deliver. Is that normal FedEx protocol, to just leave all their packages with the post office to make the last leg of the delivery? I had no idea this is how FedEx works, but it just smacks of laziness to me. Considering I just saw the FedEx truck drive by, I know they deliver to businesses. Do they just not make house calls? Weird.
