Fall is Coming!

Have you noticed a change in the light, especially in the morning and the late afternoon?  Does the sun seem a little more forgiving?  Here in Oregon, fall is most certainly on the way.  Some would say we haven't had much of a summer.  That may be true, I haven't seen one of those little pictures of the sun, looking angry and wearing sunglasses, in the newspaper once this year, and that's fine by me.
For me, as soon as the 4th of July is over, I am ready to move into fall.  Call me a wimp, but I am one for indoor pursuits, cool weather and sweaters.  I love gardening in the spring and early summer.  I enjoy reading in the park.  I like lemonade and watermelon and picnics.  But, I detest the heat.  It's easy to get warm, it's more difficult to cool off.

So, in celebration of autumn and all it's glories, we are going to stat turning to more cool weather topics on Dapper and Dreamy.  Who doesn't love the smells and sights of this time of year?  Spicily scented candles are about to burn, leaves are soon to provide a colorful show and we can contemplate the holidays with abandon.

As for now...  We are going to go and buy the biggest chrysanthemum we can find!  But, before we go...  Someone on YouTube has put together this lovely little film with the even lovelier Doris Day singing, "Autumn Leaves".  Enjoy!

Movie of the Week... Emma

Romola Garai, in the title role of Emma.

It's hard to beat the British when it comes to fabulous television, and even more fabulous adaptations of classic books.  Virtually every Jane Austen, The Forsyte Saga...  the list is endless.  In 2009, the BBC came out with yet another version of Austen's Emma.  Far superior to any other version I've seen so far, this Emma is a charming and riveting take on the 19th century classic.

Every actor in Emma seems to completely inhabit their respective part, playing their roles with wit and a convincing naturalness.  This miniseries is punctuated by lovely, and new, music that will stay with you long after the performance has concluded.  As ever with British productions, the settings will make you want to cover your walls and furniture in brightly colored silks and spend a fortune revamping your gardens.

Picnics, like obsequious vicars, always
seem to play a part in the Jane Austen books.

The story isn't overshadowed by all of these things, however.  The tale of a young, privileged woman who takes enormous pleasure in her (perceived) matchmaking abilities is a clever reminder of how interfering in the lives of others can have unintended consequences.  There are so many interesting stories at play that a lesser production could leave one confused.  Not so, here.  This version of Emma retains all of the period charm, but speaks to a modern audience.

As always, a happy Austen ending.

Return to Blogging and Concerts in the Park

I have missed blogging!  It's been a whole week and I think I am starting to suffer withdrawals... 

One of the things that I love most about writing here at Dapper and Dreamy is the chance to share the things we really love with new people.  Think of the many things you've learned or heard about from others.  If you hadn't been listening, you might have missed the best movie, music, restaurant...  you can fill in the blanks.  That's what I find most rewarding about reading and writing blogs.  Isn't it great that we have a whole new world of friends opened up to us?

Case in point, the Susan Branch blog.  I think I've mentioned it before, and I really should just devote a whole posting to it, but this is a great blog for people who like to create and collect, who love all the things related to making a warm and inviting home and who can see the brighter side of things.  It's also an excellent place to get ideas for things to eat!  Now, for many years I've used just one recipe for brownies.  With seven boys in the house, you can imagine that a lot of these are eaten (actually, even without them, I am sure that I could put away my share plus yours!) annually.  It's a great recipe, from a very old Duncan Hines cookbook, and it's been in the family for years.  But, Susan Branch recently posted about baking brownies and had a somewhat different recipe.  I just made them and, well, they are fabulous!  They may even beat my old standby.  I'll let you know once the verdict is in, and I'll provide a link to her site so you can get the recipe for yourself.

Finally, I want to put a little word in about concerts in the park.  Not just any concerts in the park, either.  I don't want to make this blog a place to brag too much about my children...  My daughter who takes the hardest classes she can and still gets straight A's, or my six year old son who's fluent in Mandarin Chinese (OK, I am making that one up).  But, I had a pretty remarkable experience tonight, and it gives me a lot of hope for the future.  My son and his friends have put together a band, which is not too unusual for kids their age (sixteen/seventeen), and tonight was their first real concert.  Jack put together much of the event, making the ad, securing the sight and getting other bands together.  In the end, it couldn't have been a better evening.  In a park by the river, on a knoll overlooking a vast lawn, four groups performed and, even more surprisingly, they were great!  There were over 150 people gathered -friends of the bands, some parents (even a grandparent or two) and several people who either heard about the evening on Facebook or who were just passing by on the bike trail.  How often can you say that the first rock concert you attended was the one your son put on?  And, what great kids.  Good natured, talented, friendly, funny and able to have a great time in a way that any parent would be happy about.

We hear a lot about the downside of the teen years, and there are moments...  But, tonight was a great example of what fabulous things our kids are up to.  Instead of looking at the worst examples out there, let's take a minute and look for all the young people who are doing fabulous things.  There are many of them, and it's amazing how creative and courageous they are.

A Little Time Off

Hello friends,

Just a quick note to let you know that I'm taking a short break...  Just a few days.  I didn't want you to think that Dapper and Dreamy was going away.  We'll be back with new and, hopefully, interesting and inspiring thoughts and ideas for you next week!

Enjoy the waning days of summer!

Jake and Melissa

Movie of the Week... Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing

"Love is a many-splendored thing,

It's the April rose that only grows in the early spring..."

I'll lay down a challenge for you...  If you're not at least almost in tears at the end of Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing, you may have no heart.  That goes for men and women alike.  While not a really a "tear-jerker", you certainly will have hoped for a happier ending.

Despite that, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing has a lot going for it.  First, there's the theme song.  It doesn't really matter who's singing it, although I really like the Frank Sinatra version myself, it's one of the loveliest songs written.  Repeated frequently throughout the film, you'll always think about lost love when you hear it from now on.  The setting is intriguing - post-World War II Hong King, and the story will sweep you up.

Han Suyin, played by Jennifer Jones, is the daughter of a Chinese father and a Flemish mother.  Widowed after the death of her first husband, a Chinese general, Suyin studies to become a doctor and eventually sets up in Hong Kong, working at the government operated hospital.  Attending a cocktail party at the British resident's home, Han Suyin meets Mark Elliott, portrayed by William Holden, a reporter who is instantly intrigued by the Eurasian doctor. 

Jennifer Jones as Han Suyin

Their romance develops throughout the movie, despite the barriers they face in a somewhat segregated society.  Suyin frequently states that she is "Eurasian", meaning in the context of the film that her identity is conflicted, not fully accepted by either the colonial English or the Chinese.  For his part, Mark Elliott is still married to a wife who will not give him a divorce, despite the fact that she lives in Singapore and has no interest in continuing her marriage.  Pressures against the relationship are brought to bear by the wife of the English resident, jeopardizing Suyin's position at the hospital, as well as the growing instability in China and Korea.  As a war correspondent, Mark is sure to be called away at any moment.

I won't give away the ending to the film, but let me say it's a sad one.  Although Jennifer Jones isn't best suited for her part, by the time you reach the climax of the film, you've entirely accepted her as the devoted Eurasian doctor changed by love.  And, as always, William Holden is completely believable in his role as a strong but genuinely loving partner in this romance.  Interestingly, it doesn't seem to matter who he's acting with, whether it's Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina and Paris When It Sizzles, Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard or Kim Novak in Picnic, Holden is able to pull off just about any roll credibly.

Despite their on-screen chemistry, Holden and Jones weren't particularly fond of each other off-screen.  Jones reportedly chewed garlic before her love scenes to put off Holden.  It's also notable that Jennifer Jones was married to David O. Selznick, one of Hollywood's preeminent producers (remember Gone With the Wind and just about every Hitchcock movie?).  She was not shy about calling on her husband when she wanted changes of any kind made and Selznick was happy to comply.

William Holden

Based on a true story, Han Suyin is still alive and lives in Switzerland and Hong Kong.  Ian Morrison, the British reporter who was portrayed as Mark Elliott, died in 1950.  Jennifer Jones passed away in 2010.

Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing works on just about every level and, to make matters even better, is filmed in that glorious Technicolor that gives the films of the fifties that incredible look of color and depth that can't be duplicated.  So, grab a box of tissue and enjoy this movie.  You'll probably want to watch it again and again.

Candies of the Week... C. Howard's Violet Mints and Mozartkugeln

I know you are used to in-depth and sometimes sentimental articles from me, but I thought it was time to go for short and sweet...  literally!

For some reason, not a lot of people know about C. Howard's (I originally thought it was "Choward's, but I I am sometimes known to be an idiot) mints.  In reality, they aren't minty at all, but who am I do judge?  These violet flavored candies are, in a word, delicious.  They also give you amazingly violet-scented breath.

C. Howard's makes other kinds of "mints" (peppermint, spearmint and...  guava?), our other favorite being lemon.  Not too sweet and not too tart, they are a yummy and portable candy.  You can find these candy's in the Dapper and Dreamy Book Shop.

My second candy of the week has nothing to do with taste at all.  You see, I've never eaten on.  In this case, it's all about looks.  Having said that, it's said to be made of pistachio marzipan, nougat and covered in chocolate, and that sounds pretty good to me.  Mozartkugeln or, in English, Mozart balls have made in Austria since 1890 and seem to make their appearance in the United States around Christmastime.  I buy them just to set around the house in little dishes because they are so lovely to look at, in their gold and red foil wrappers with a portrait of the great composer himself on top.  They also remind me to revisit some of Mozart's great music when I feel the need to shift from the previous two month's worth of Christmas tunes.  It's one of those little touches that make a home fun!  We'll be adding these to the "book" shop as well.

So, sweeten up your life a little and indulge in some candy treats this weekend!  And, in the interest of fairness, I almost always find these candies at the local Cost Plus World Market.

Going Home

The Benton County Courthouse, a
downtown landmark in Corvallis,
Oregon.

They say you can't go home again, and I suppose that's true, if home is an image of something from your past.  But, we can certainly return to some of our past "homes" to appreciate them again, and to remember what made those places special.

Although I've lived in Eugene for almost thirty years, I was born in the small town of Corvallis, Oregon.  In reality, I probably spent only seven or eight years of my life actually living there.  But, for many of the years I was away, I was longing to return.  Even now, I think of it as my real "hometown".

Corvallis is, as I said, small.  It's the home of Oregon State University and lies in the Willamette Valley.  Surrounded by farmland and not all that far from the coast, it's really an ideal place to be from.  There's thriving downtown, filled with interesting little shops and restaurants, and a riverfront that seems to be bustling most of the day.  There are galleries, an excellent public library and really lovely parks.  It's an old-fashioned town in its way.  People seem to genuinely care about their community, and have invested in making sure that it's a truly livable place.  I suspect that, like Eugene, it has a liberal bent, but at the same time it's a place where I wouldn't be surprised if the peace protesters who meet weekly outside the venerable county courthouse also said the Pledge of Allegiance.  It's a quintessentially American town.

An intriguing window near the park.

It's also a really beautiful town.  Especially downtown and around the university, streets are lined with tall, old, lush maples, their green canopy shading classic houses.  The houses may be surrounded by picket fences, or by perfectly trimmed hedges, or left open so that passers-by can admire the plantings and, on more than one lawn, sculpture.  Corvallis is an artist's town, where there is an annual "Clothesline Sale of Art" on the lawns before the towering, white courthouse.  It's also a town of festivals and celebrations - DaVinci Days, honoring inventiveness and creativity, Fall Festival, celebrating the coming of Autumn and, my own favorite, the Annual Christmas Parade and carol singalong on the Friday following Thanksgiving.  During the summer, you will find the Corvallis Community Band* playing on the bandstand in Central Park.  So large is that band that only a few of them can actually fit on the stand, many more musicians stretch out over the lawn.  Every Tuesday, hundreds gather on the large circle of grass surrounded by giant trees, blown by cool breezes.  Families, college students, what my children call "hobos" and elderly couples bring their lawn chairs, blankets and picnics out for the evening in a show of genuine community.

Central Park, looking toward the bandstand.

In fact, Central Park is almost always bustling.  Central Park is the equivalent of two or three city blocks in the center of downtown.  On one side it is bordered by an old church - now an arts center for all ages, a disused but well-preserved courthouse and another vintage house of worship painted in soft peach with details picked out in blue and gold.  There is also a huge Victorian house, long ago converted to serve as a home for Christian students.  On the opposite side, just across the street, lies the city's library.  Built of rosy bricks, the public library has preserved the charm if it's original 1931 building, which now houses a very cozy reading room, and has added a large, modern wing to accommodate considerable growth.  Another church takes up the west end of the park block, again, built of brick.  It has a rather unique, gracefully curving corner that holds several panels of beautiful stained glass.  And, finally, my favorite end of the park.  One the east side, just across one lane of pavement, you will find railroad tracks.  I will never forget the excitement of hearing the train coming through town when I was a little boy playing in Central Park.  All of the children would run through the roses that surrounded the other huge circle of grass, racing to catch a glimpse of the train.  The real treat came when the caboose went by.  The engineer always waved.  To this day, the smell of the tar on the railroad ties, heated by the sun, brings back a wave of happy thoughts.

The Corvallis Arts Center

A church overlooking Central Park.

Corvallis' public library.  The original 1931 building
is on the left.

Another lovely church on the edge of Central Park.

Just yesterday, my wife and I, along with our baby, decided to take a little day trip up the farm-lined highway, to Corvallis.  We ate at our favorite Olde World Deli - still in the same building in which my mom owned a bookstore many, many years ago.  We visited art galleries, window shopped at a great, and thriving, independent bookstore - The Book Bin, and spent a lot of time reading in Central Park.  We drove around the Country Club, hoping to spot Michelle Obama who was in town to visit her brother, the basketball coach at OSU (we did!  VERY briefly...).  And, finally, after eating at another favorite restaurant (Evergreen Indian), we took in the Community Band concert.

One of Corvallis' historic homes, just up the street
from the park.

Two more bungalows...  I think I could live in either one.
This street is lined with huge, shady trees.

Perhaps our favorite house in Corvallis.  Who
couldn't love a giant, pink Edwardian house?

The front of the pink house, with the early evening
sun setting just behind.

The pink house, surrounded by a lovely little garden.

Actually, that lovely little garden stretches the full width
of the block!  A marvelous house set in an enormous
oasis of flowers and trees.

It was a lovely day, and it was good to go back in time just a little bit.  Sometimes, things are as good as you remember them!

Roses around Central Park



* Side Story....  Many years ago, when we first discovered the Corvallis Community Band, we would arrive at the park around 6 or 6:30 in the evening, eat our picnic and listen to the band.  We had very small kids at the time, so we never planned on staying that late.  At 7:00, the band started playing...  or so we thought.  For the longest time, we wondered who would come to listen to this awful band?!  They would stop and start right in the middle of songs, they sounded of pitch...  truly terrible.  You see, for a few weeks we were under the impression that the concert started at 7:00 when, in reality, it started at 8.  We were listening to the rehearsal!  I understand that on some weeks, this pre-concert practice is the only time the whole orchestra can get together so, you can imagine, the first run throughs were pretty rough!  By the time they really start, they are very, very good.

Who wouldn't want to go to the park with this little guy?
Max and his mommy.

And...  Max and his daddy.  Ignore the date...  I still
haven't learned how to reprogram the camera.  Maybe
I should ask Max?

Movie of the Week... Summertime

If I could recommend just one movie, and one movie alone...  I couldn't do it.  But, Summertime would make the final cut on any list of wonderful movies that I'd say had to be seen.

When I think of Katharine Hepburn, I tend to think of her in the roles she played opposite Spencer Tracy.  There's nothing wrong with that, of course.  Adam's Rib, Desk Set, Woman of the Year - they are all gems.  But as the star of Summertime, Hepburn reaches new heights.  She's sympathetic, believable and, at times, a little frustrating, but all to the good.

Summertime tells the story of Jane Hudson, a very middle-aged American spinster visiting Venice.  She comes with a heart full of fantasy, but also a mind full of middle-American ideas about the proper course of romance.  In one scene, Jane Hudson sits in a cafe along the side of the Piazza San Marco.  Armed, as ever, with her camera (she always seems to be recording life, rather than living it), she spots two young women walking arm in arm, a very typical Italian scene.  Charmed, Hudson focuses her camera, only to see that, as they pass, two young Italian men notice their charms and decide to follow, their minds obviously on romance.  Hudson is shocked, and certainly disapproving, as she quickly puts her camera down.  What Hepburn's character doesn't yet know is that she's about to embark on a passionate affair that doesn't fit into her very conservative idea of the romance she hoped to find. 

Summertime is, simply, a fabulous movie.  It's hard to say whether the star is Katharine Hepburn or Venice itself.  Soaring music punctuates shots of the city on the canals, with the camera sweeping from grand palaces to flower-bedecked balconies to magnificent churches.  In classic David Lean style, there are scenes of such vast beauty that you are completely caught up in the locations.  But, also in Lean style, you are never allowed to become so enraptured that you resort to sentimentality.  Just as you are about to see the scenes of Venice as a sort of sweet valentine to the city, a slop bucket is emptied from a high window, into a canal, as a reminder that this is no set, it's the living and breathing home to very real people.  I am reminded of the scene in A Passage to India, another David Lean spectacle, when the lovely Mrs. Moore, played by Peggy Ashcroft, stares over the moonlit Ganges River, lost in reverie.  Moments after she looks away, a body floating down the river is snatched and pulled under by a crocodile...  A perfect juxtaposition of the beauty, and sometimes cruel reality, of life.

As the movie progresses, Jane Hudson's character transforms from a prim Mid-Western secretary into a woman who has finally experienced true love.  Even her appearance alters as her long-sleeved and high-necked clothes give way to almost girlish dresses and her prim white sandals replaced by daringly red suede shoes that look almost like Venetian masks.  She also learns that, unlike her long-held romantic notions of finding love, things are not always as neat and tidy as one would like.  The object of her affection, perfectly played by Rossano Brazzi, has a life that is a little more complicated than she imagined.

Summertime is a perfect movie to watch as we move into August.  You'll be transported to another place and time, and will almost be able to feel the sunshine on your face, just as if you were basking on one of Venice's flower-filled balconies.  It's also an ideal film to watch with the one you love, remembering the fun and excitement of those early days of a romance.  I can say this, especially tonight, as it's the nineteenth anniversary of the first date I had with my fabulous wife.  I couldn't have imagined then that, almost twenty years later, we'd still be madly in love and watching Summertime together.  And, for your information, I can tell you that love at first sight really does exist!

I Love Lucy!

Not just a title, but a statement.  Who couldn't love Lucy?  Whenever I hear the opening strains of that theme song, I get that certain feeling - sort of like everything is OK with the world.  Afterall, if I Love Lucy is still on, what could be so bad?

Lucy was on everywhere when I was a kid, and long before that as well.  There were the endless I Love Lucy reruns, followed by The Lucy Show and, for good measure, Here's Lucy.  Early in the morning, in the mid-afternoon and, thanks to Nick at Night, all through the night.  When my only daughter was very young she, too, fell in love with Lucy.  At one point, her bedroom was a tribute to her favorite actress!  She'd sing along with her favorite film, The Long, Long Trailer, and would watch I Love Lucy at every opportunity.  She wasn't alone, all of her brothers will still take time out to sit in front of the television, engrossed in the black and white world of the Ricardo's New York apartment.

I Love Lucy is certainly the favorite.  The team of Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel couldn't be beat.  Lucille Ball often said that in all of her shows she was really playing the same character, Lucy Ricardo, and it was when she stopped playing Lucy that her fans became concerned.  Funnily, in all those years of channeling the zany redhead, the real Lucy never tired of her.  She relished the opportunity to bring her alter ego to life.

Being Lucy was no easy feat.  Lucille Ball herself acknowledged that she wasn't terribly funny in real life.  She had a sense of humor, but was better at knowing what was funny rather than saying or doing amusing things.  She was no jokester.  To her, Lucy was serious business.  Her writers often said that she would do anything...  ANYTHING...  if it would get a laugh and as long as it truly meant something to the story.  Although once a Hollywood glamour girl, Lucille Ball wasn't afraid to look foolish.  If she were, could she have ever done many of her most famous scenes?  Few Hollywood actresses would allow their noses, fake or not, to be lit on fire for the sake of humor.  And, even if they had, who could have pulled off such amazing moments.  Lucille Ball would rehearse tirelessly to get the physical side of her humor just right.  In fact, so seriously did she take her quest for perfection that she sometimes reduced experienced troupers, like Joan Crawford and Tallulah Bankhead, to tears or mania.  It was not cruelty, it was just a strong belief that you gave 100% all the time.

Lucille Ball wasn't just a carricature.  In real life she was a skilled professional.  Not only able to act, sing (much better than Lucy Ricardo) and dance, but following her divorce from Desi Arnaz, she was the first woman to run a major production company - Desilu.  Not willing to be a figurehead, Lucille made tough decisions and took an interest in areas that she'd never even considered before.  Truth be told, Desi was still her chief sounding board when it came to major decisions about the studio.

Although her career clearly came first, Lucille Ball was a wife and mother, as well as a devoted daughter to her mother and a supportive friend to many.  She was also approachable to her fans.  If you were to visit her home in Beverly Hills today, you would find the house much altered.  But, you would also be surprised by the lack of gates and fences.  Not one to be afraid of her fans, had you the inclination during her lifetime, you could easily have gone trick-or-treating or caroling at the Ball/Arnaz home.  And who would have given you the candy?  Lucy herself.

This weekend, Jamestown, NY os celebrating Lucille Ball's 100th birthday.  To me, and millions of other, Lucy is ageless.  She'll never be less than that friend you'd welcome into your home each week (or now with DVD's anytime you want) for guaranteed laughter and entertainment.  Really, can you think of a more wonderful legacy than that?  Even over twenty years after her death, people all over the world still love Lucy.

A Day at the Farm

Oh, no!  We missed the Cherry Festival!  Maybe
next year...

I love farms.  In fact, I'd love to live on a farm - from time to time.  I should note, I have absolutely no interest in the business of farming...  I'd just like the cozy, old house with the delightful views of barns, crops and assorted animals.  Since this is obviously impossible, I am grateful for the many, charming agricultural establishments nearby.

We live just a few miles from several farms, farmstands, berry patches and orchards.  Within five minutes of the house, we can buy cherries, peaches, melons, tomatoes, apples, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and, in a few months from now, apples, pears and pumpkins.  In the fall we have hay rides, corn mazes and fresh apple cider (and, even better, apple cider doughnuts!) less than five miles up the road.  We are, I know, lucky, and we take full advantage of it.

Today, we drove to our favorite farmstand.  A little farther out than the other, Hentze's Farm is a real farm.  By that I mean that it is not too dressed up or commercialized, and they don't sell everyday things like milk and bread, or attempt to bring in off season produce from California and Washington in an effort to make you think you are buying local.  It's as if time stood still around 1950.  Hentze's is the real deal.

The Hentze Family Farm, Since 1902

One of the hardest things about a trip to farm, or the farmer's market, is making choices.  Faced with so many wonderful treats, it's difficult to decide what to buy!  Of course you want the melon, and the tomatoes, and the beans - you must get the garlic and dill to go with them...  And then there are the berries...  raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, marionberries, boysenberries and, as an afterthought, plump, dark, red cherries!  You see the problem.  You want to buy it all, but you know you couldn't possibly eat it before it spoils.  So, you make your selection (a half flat of mixed berries, some beans and potatoes) for the day, and promise to come back for more.

The whole farmstand looks like this...  And it's
air-conditioned!  If you are really lucky,
there are cans of  ice cold grape and
strawberry Crush in the cooler!

Would you buy raspberries for this little boy?  We did.
This is George...  He can get you to buy him just
about anything!

This farmstand is off the main road and is reached by a long, gravel approach lined with small plots of squash, peppers and tomato plants set before vast cherry orchards.  Along the small road are scattered old houses shaded by stately maples, their trunks fat and gnarled, and surrounded by bright blue hydrangeas.  Chickens skitter along, some in coops, most running free, and enormous sprinklers hiss in the distance.  On the other side you'll find acres and acres of mint, an Oregon specialty.  At this time of year, just before cutting, it's lost it's green lushness and looks a bit ragged, but the scent that wafts through your car window as you drive by is absolutely heavenly.  The sun seduces the oil from the leaves and, mixed with the smell of the lavender that grows nearby, you are instantly reminded of the hot summers of year's past, when you would drive through the country with the windows wide open and the deafening wind blowing through your hair.

My idea of the perfect farmhouse...  old, perfectly kept, tidy,
white, green-shuttered, well-shaded and surrounded by
bright blue hydrangeas - the flower that says "summer" to me.

This is exactly like a hollyhock should look,
and exactly where one should find it... 

On our visit today we had the smallest of groups along - just Georgie, six, and Max, eight months.  George fed blueberries to the chickens and turkeys and geese, and Max squinted into the sun and the wind.  It was a happy trip, and a wonderful little memory of the summer.

No wonder these hens are happy...  they have this
charming little caravan as a home, and George has
just given them a bag of blueberries to eat!

If you have a farm nearby or, like us, more than one, set aside some time to visit them.  You may be surprised at what you'll find, and the difference in quality is amazing.  Try comparing a tomato bought at your local supermarket with one from the farm...  in season.  Astonishing!

Wouldn't you like to ride this bike home from the farm?
I was tempted.

Less Tech - Real Conversations and Real Books - A Dreamy Idea

Real books!

I haven't fully embraced technology.  If I could, I would write this blog by hand and illustrate it for you.  By the same token, I haven't exactly turned my back on the benefits of living in the twenty-first century - I love to have movies and music available anytime and anywhere. 

Up until about three months ago, I worked in a job that provided me with a cell phone.  Not only was it a phone, but I could surf the web, send and receive emails, take pictures and videos, watch movies and listen to music.  All from one little palm-sized device.  What a miracle!  I no longer have the job, choosing a simpler and much lower paying alternative - freelancing - and don't have the phone either.  More on the impact of this loss in a moment...

Last year, we also moved forward in reading technology.  We bought a Nook (weeks later the Nook Color came out - we were instantly behind the times again).  What a great idea!  Less expensive, more portable books!  Imagine all the reading one could do!  Well, we downloaded just about every free sample known to man and actually bought, count them, two e-books.  In the flush of excitement about this new product, I forgot that I never buy books at full price anyway.  With Amazon.com and thrift stores, who does?  Also, let's be honest, just about every book that you'd actually want to take with you is pretty portable already.  I also won't be too upset if I lose my $2.99 second hand store find, but my $150 e-book reader?  That would be tragic!

Finally, let me paint a little picture of family togetherness that I recently witnessed...  A cloudless summer day in the park...  A family of four walking across the perfectly tended lawn...  A wonderful opportunity for conversation and fun!  Perhaps, if any of them would take a moment to put down their phones.  Each member of the family, in age order, plodded across the park, occasionally tripping on a gopher mound, heads down, fingers dancing on the diminutive keyboards of their phones.  Texting as if their lives depended on it.  What a wasted opportunity!

I truly don't mean to sound as if I feel that I am somehow superior in my cell phone-less state.  Far from it.  Just a few months ago, I would have been one of them.  There was nowhere that my phone didn't go, too.  I was always available.  Texting my kids, emailing my boss or colleagues, checking emails, looking up key information on the internet (it's hard not to have access to IMDB when watching movies...  it's so helpful to answer that neverending question, "What else is he/she from????"), getting directions and being able to call home to ask, "What was that ONE thing you absolutely needed from the store?"

Each night, my phone was set to charge right beside my bed.  If I woke at 3 am and that little red light was flashing, I knew I had an email or voice mail...  of course I would respond to it then and there.  As soon as I awoke each morning, I could instantly check CNN.com to see what events had happened in the world (more often than not, nothing had changed overnight, especially in the entertainment section which I am embarrassed to say I always looked at first).

As far as reading, for weeks I was able to look at between ten and sixty pages of previously unseen books on the Nook.  Free samples!  Of course, once the sample ended, always mid-sentence and at a critical point, I'd have to pay at least $9.99 to see what would happen.  What I usually ended up doing was going to St. Vincent de Paul to see if they had the book (they almost always did), for which I would pay, at most, $2.50.  And, I'd have a book to show for it!

Since I've had to give up the cell phone, I've noticed something.  I have time.  Time to rest.  Time to read.  I can be unavailable!  I don't feel that I have to answer every call, every email...  immediately.  So many things that seemed important are either ignored or forgotten.  I check my emails twice, maybe three times, a day.  There's nothing that can't wait.  When I am walking across a park lawn, I don't trip (as much), and I can talk to my wife or kids without interuption. 

I have also been reminded that I don't just love books for what is contained within the cover, but also for the feel of that cover, it's design, it's very real characteristics.  I love the way pages feel and, if it's an old book, the way they smell.  I love the illustrations, not in digital formats, but there - printed on the page.  Books are for reading, for collecting, for decorating with.  You could never get the same impact with a stack of Nooks or Kindles in a room as you can with lovely and varied books!

When I want to talk to my kids, I talk to them rather than texting.  We check in with each other, we plan ahead, we know what we are doing and where we are.  It's marvelous to be able to see faces and hear voices.

I know all of this must make me seem like a sort of Ludite - against technology - but I really am not.  I love all of these gadgets in their place.  But as soon as I see myself becoming a slave to the cellphone, Ipod or laptop, I know things have gone too far.  Making technology work for ourselves, not the reverse, is the key.  A wonderful symphony listened to on an Ipod is lovely, but it's no replacement for a live orchestra.  A text or email is often expedient, but it's nothing compared to a long, friendly chat or a handwritten letter on beautiful stationary.

Much more fun to write with...

So, if you are feeling overwhelmed by all the gadgets and gizmos in your life...  If you feel compelled to check your email, your Facebook page or your Linked In account every hour, and you don't really enjoy it...  Try taking a week off.  Really!  Take your vacation, and put your "essential" electronics away.  You might find yourself feeling incredibly stressed at first - I kept reaching for my Blackberry for weeks!  But, I can promise you that, in the long run, you will feel as if a huge weight has been lifted from your shoulders.

Movie of the Week... Midnight in Paris

Owen Wilson in Midnight in Paris
Image from Sony Classics

As you know, we like to tell you about movies, mostly old, that may have been forgotten or have flown under your cinematic radar.  However, we've just returned from seeing Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, and I wanted to let you know that for any Dapper and Dreamy ready, it's a must see.

I've never been a Woody Allen fan - perhaps because I don't think I've ever seen one of his movies - but this film could change my mind.  The photography is simply stunning.  If you've never particularly longed to visit the City of Lights, this picture will change your mind within the first five minutes.  The Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, just about every notable Paris landmark, is shown to the very best advantage, and in views that we might not have seen before.  This is clearly Paris in the springtime, with bushy pink horse chestnuts in full bloom, and rain showers that, like Gil, the film's central character, will make you want to wander through the storied streets.

Paris at Midnight is a rare movie.  There's nothing in it that will embarrass or offend, but there's no shortage of romance or humor.  One of the chief elements in the film - time travel - is presented so charmingly that you can't help but be seduced by the idea.  You'll also find yourself completely convinced that if you, too, find yourself at a certain point in Paris at midnight, you'll be able to join the party with the flappers and American expats of the 1920's.  If you are particularly literary, or just a fan of Ernest Hemingway, you will find Papa's perorations especially funny.  In fact, the film is populated by many of the early 20th century's leading artists and authors - in addition to Hemingway, we see Picasso, Gertrude Stein, F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald - just to name a few. 

The performances by each actor are excellent, with Adrian Brody's hilarious moment as Salvador Dali stealing the scene .  Owen Wilson stars in the movie and is both likable and believable as the Hollywood hack who wants to give it all up to move to Paris and write his great novel.  His voice and accent along communicate such innocent naivete that you are rooting for him and his dreams of the literary life from the very beginning.  Rachel McAdams is ideal as the materialistic and status-obsessed fiance, setting your teeth on edge each time she appears on screen.  And, finally, Carla Bruni Sarkozy, France's first lady, takes a turn in a cameo that sets the plot moving, showing that Hillary Clinton isn't the only presidential wife with career plans of her own...  Bruni clearly demonstrates that you can be the wife of a president, a guitar-strumming folk singer and an actress all at once.

Carla Bruni singing You Belong to Me

I can't recommend Midnight in Paris highly enough.  We left the theatre feeling happier for having seen the movie, and inspired to seek out the work of the artists and writers who filled the screen so delightfully.