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No longer on the river and, again, an empty nester. Back to living on Fleming Island and making some more friends!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

A little silence, please!

It was so worth the wait! Today I finally got to see "The Artist" with my friends from The Club. We are complete! After weeks of attempting, we managed to coordinate schedules to match that of the theater. 


This morning Justin and I went to Lowe's to get a replacement light bulb for my family room fixture. He had to remove the old one using pliers to unscrew the metal end of the bulb that remained in the fixture. The glass part came off separately from the base, strangely, and scarilily enough. 


We also needed some additional screws to secure the screen to the iron door to the kitchen. Justin caught his backpack on a corner of the screen, bending it out from the frame. He removed one to take along so we would get the right size. A nice man helped us find the bulbs and then took us to hardware to match up the screws. We took a dozen of the screws as some are missing from the other doors as well. 


Before we went to Lowe's, I cleaned off my bed and removed the sheets for laundering. When I started the washer and added the 'soap', I noticed it looked a bit creamy for laundry detergent. Upon closer look, the bottle I bought was actually fabric softener. Yikes! I did manage to get enough out of the other bottle for my load and made a note to get some at Lowe's, which I did. Gotta love a hardware store!


Justin was borrowing my car for the late morning/early afternoon so had already set the seat in the car for his driving needs. As we headed back toward home, my phone rang. It was Carol W., who reported standing with Mary, and was trying to make the arrangements for the movie. As we drove past Mary's, I had Justin pull in and I finished talking with Carol in person. Such fun that was! Mary would pick me up as Justin was using my car and we'd meet at the theater. 


Ordinarily, I do not go the Mall for movies on weekends but have done so more than once since the New Year, due to Judy C. having a gift card to use up. Today it was because of this being the only local theater showing "The Artist". As we left, Randy wondered why all the police cars were lined up in front of the theater, and I told him it was for security. Usually Carol and he attend in the light of day when the police presence is not as obvious. But the movie getting out at dusk put us in the 'danger zone' so to speak. There is even a police tower in the parking lot where they keep an eye on things. Nice, eh? Orange Park is hopping!
                                  
Mary gave me a plastic container of Publix rugelach that someone had brought to a church function. It was unopened, as was the cinnamon coffee cake she gave Carol. I got first choice on the treats and took the strawberry and cream cheese mini-pastries. My guess is they won't last very long on the counter in the kitchen. Lucy sent home the balance of a box of doughnuts with us on Thursday after Bible study, and they went fairly fast, with me secreting a jelly-filled one out for safe keeping. 
Besides the sweets treats, Mary treated me to the movie in thanks for catching her breakfast last week Friday when she had to dash off. Now, we're even! Plus she gave me a lift, living close enough to my house that I watched her get into her van to come get me! She is just across Astor in the apartments next to the tennis courts. So handy to her work, too, no longer a long commute by car as she had before. Very handy!


Now, the movie was fascinating! Truly a trip back through time to the days before the 'talkies' came out. The actors really had to be expressive to make up for no dialogue. The premise of the movie followed a silent picture star as he is falls from the tippy-top of popularity to the bottom by not wishing to roll with the tide of the talkies. It is sad, but not tear-jerker sad, and yes, the scenes are stolen by the dog! It was very good, nicely done, but boy, it was surely quiet in that theater. Glad that no one shushed me! (Seinfeld reference, there!)