All posts by verily sherrilee

Directionally challenged, crafty, reading mother of young adult
2025, Art, Media, Movies, Theatre, TV

Diane Ladd 1935-2025

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I saw the sad news that Diane Ladd passed away yesterday – she was 89.  

She began acting at the age of 18 and just retired 3 years ago; her last roles were in Gigi & Nate and Isle of Hope.  When she first came to my attention was the year I graduated high school, when she appeared in Chinatown and then Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.  Both great performances and she was nominated for a Golden Globe, Academy Award and a BAFTA – winning the BAFTA. 

One of my favorite of her performances was as Etta, the sister-in-law of Theresa Turner in Black Widow.  It wasn’t a huge part but she really made her cool but nasty character sizzle on the screen.  The header photo is the best one I can find of her in that role.

I also really liked Rambling Rose in which she plays a southern woman who battles to keep a younger teenager from going under the knife unnecessarily.  Here’s a good clip from that:

I also remember a really nice part she played in a Columbo episode.  She’s a wheelchair bound woman whose husband kills her mother.  She wears pretty, diaphanous dresses and appears fragile, but turns out to be a strong and kind woman.  It’s one of my favorite Columbo episodes. 

Her part in Alice didn’t do much for me.  Of course, the I didn’t care the the show BEFORE she stepped in, but trying to shoehorn her into the role that Flo had vacated didn’t seem to work all that well.  But she was popular and did win a Golden Globe for her work.

Most of the news stories today have “mother of Laura Dern” in their titles.  It’s a shame because I don’t think that’s her big claim to fame.  She had a long, diverse and entertaining career; that’s what the headlines should be!

Have you seen Diane Ladd in anything?  Do you have a favorite?

2025, Food, holidays, Kids

Well-Laid Plans

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This time of year I do actually work at not having too much leftover Halloween candy in the house.  Luckily the number of kids that stop at the house has been remarkably consistent the last few years — even during Covid when I packed candy into little bags three weeks before and wore a mask while welcoming kids.  This year, based on the number of pieces per bag, I figured I had enough to give each kid two pieces.

I always do relatively high-value candy – this year little Snickers and Reeses PB Cups.  I heard a few ads on the radio the week before talking about non-candy ideas that you could implement and I just laughed.  It might make adults feel virtuous but what kid ever wants some plastic bauble or deck of cards instead of candy.  And while Smartees and Jolly Ranchers are infinitely cheaper, they aren’t as valued when kids are sorting out their bags of goodies at the end of the night.

In past years, I have taken any excess candy to the office – it never lasted long.  The force was with me this year; I gave out the last four pieces of candy at 9 p.m. when I was getting ready to turn out the lights and bring in the luminaries.   I congratulated myself on giving out all the candies.

YA has foiled my plans.  She brought candy HOME – some she had found on sale and some that she picked up at the office.  It is good candy – Ghiradelli caramel pumkins and Halloween-colored M&Ms.  And she also bought Reeses pumpkins for herself awhile back.  Turns out she bought more than one bag, so that is sitting out as well.  I’m trying not to walk through the dining room too often.  Out of sight, somewhat out of mind.

Are there any candies you find hard to resist?

2025, Business, Family, Food, Gatherings

Super Mercado!

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I’m pretty sure that not too many people see grocery-shopping as an exciting activity.  Well, count YA and I as the outliers.  For some reason over the years, we have cultivated grocery-shopping as an activity we like to do together.

Our favorite is Trader Joes.  We especially like to go every couple of months when the new round of items hits the stores.  We go through the Fearless Flyer that TJs sends out and highlight stuff that looks good.  Sometimes, if I just want a couple of things, I don’t tell YA that I’m going to Trader Joes; if she comes along, it will triple the bill at the register.

The spot where Rainbow Foods used to be in the Hub Shopping Center near our house has been empty for seven years.  A couple of times there were signs for temporary spots, like a Halloween store, but they never materialized.  When construction started to happen almost a year ago, we were both excited to see what was happening there and then doubly excited when we found out it was going to be a Mexican market, bakery and taqueria.  Unfortunately, it took WAY too long to open, so I had put my excitement on the back burner.  Finally, about a month ago, it was clear from the trucks in the parking lot that progress was finally happening. 

The grand opening was this past Saturday.  Prizes, giveaway, samples, a bouncy house, mariachis and native dancers made it a big party.  And it was CROWDED.  The opening was at noon and we arrived at 1.  Thank goodness for my bad knees and temporary handicap parking placard; we would have had to have parked in Iowa otherwise.  And forget getting a shopping cart.  Luckily YA and I didn’t have any big shopping plans so we just used a big bag that we had in the car.

Lots of nice-looking produce, a massive dairy/cheese aisle and two bakery sections, one with cakes, pies and then the self-serve bakery aisle …. I don’t even have the words

There were plenty of mainstream items alongside the Latino foodstuffs you would expect to find.  A big endcap of Mary statuettes and a long row of Mary and other religious paintings above the front windows.  They even have a Currency Exchange office.  The taqueria was doing a bang-up business, as well as the deli.  The tortillaria, where they will make fresh corn and flour tortillas is still in the works and should be open in a couple of weeks.  You could see that area and the machines waiting to get set up.  Since I’ve quit making my own tortillas, I can’t wait.

Anyway, YA and I had a fun time.  We picked up a few items that I needed for a soup I wanted to make but didn’t partake of any on-site food – just too crowded, even for us.  But my guess is that in the next few weeks, as the hoopla dies down, this will be another grocery shopping venue that YA and I will add to our events catalog!

If a tomato is a fruit, does that make ketchup a smoothie?  Any good grocery shopping stories?

2025, books, gardening, Music, Nature, Poems

Autumn Musings

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My BFF suggested we go see Ann Reed last week; I haven’t seen Ann in a live performance for many years so I was excited to go.   She has such a huge repertoire, I hate to admit that this is still my favorite:

She (along with Joan Griffith) did a great set and in between many of the songs, she shared haiku with us, some of hers and some that she had found along the way.  When I went looking on the internet afterwards, I discovered she has a book entitled Our Daily Breath: Haiku & Photographs.

During my search I found a website, Haiku Universe, that will sent you a daily haiku or short poem.  You know me, I couldn’t resist.  It’s been fun the last week or so to get a little haiku every day.  Here’s one I particularly liked (by Tomas O’Leary):

then it came to me
like a bomb in my lunch bag –
it was my day off.

So I’ve had haiku on my mind.  Here are a couple of mine:

My orthopedists
Are both about twelve years old.
Having bad knees stinks.

It’s that time of year –
All of my hard work, yard wise
Fills up many bags.

Do you have any fall clean-up/organizing that needs doing?  Any haiku or poems speaking to you?

2025, home, Mysteries, Technology

Tech Levity

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First the technology, then the laughter.

Thanks to YA, we actually have three Echoes in the house.  I’ve never been quite sure why they are called Echo instead of just Alexa, since you have to say “Alexa” to wake them up.  But that’s a mystery for another day.  One of these devices is in my bedroom and her primary occupation is to tell me the current temperature.  Every now and then, when I am too lazy to grab my phone, she gets the occasional “what time is ***** open today?”  She does try to get me to up my game by asking me periodically if I want her to perform some other task, to which my answer is always “no thanks”.

Now to the laughter.

The last couple of days I’ve been watching My Life is Murder on DVDs that I got from the library.  It’s a murder mystery series starring Lucy Lawless of Xena Warrior Princess fame.  It’s filmed in Australia and New Zealand.  It’s not a cozy but it’s not as dark as a lot of the other mystery series out there.  I’m really enjoying it.

The main character’s name is Alexa Crowe, a retired police detective who consults on hard-to-solve cases.  At least once each episode (I’ve seen about 12 of them so far), someone will use this character’s name and my Echo/Alexa promptly responds “I’m sorry I don’t think I can help you with this”.  The first time it happened I wasn’t quite sure I had heard correctly so I backed up the DVD to hear it again.  Yep – my Alexa was answering the tv.

In the last episode of the second season, someone asked “Alexa, how are you doing?”.  My Alexa immediately responded “I’m doing OK today, thank you.”  I about fell off the bed, I laughed so hard.  It felt good to laugh that hard.  But then I realized that my tv and my Echo/Alexa may be in a relationship that I don’t know about!

Anything you can laugh at this week?

animals, Health, Medicine, Mysteries

Aspirational Dreams

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Last week I had an “aspiration” done; technically I should probably say “aspirations” since I had the procedure done on both my knees.  Since it creeped me out when it was described to me, I shan’t describe it here.

Since the description was creepy and I’ve been dealing with these knee issues since the beginning of August, I had more than my usual anxiety when I settled into bed the night before.  At about 3 a.m. I was dreaming about getting my teeth cleaned (note – I’m not crazy about this procedure either).  In the dream, after the hygienist has done the top teeth, she informed me that they would be anesthetizing me to do the bottom half.  When I expressed alarm, more dentists and technicians came in to hold me down.  I continued to struggle and they told me I was making my blood pressure too high which was why they had to put me under.  It was at this point that I woke up.

I don’t normally remember my dreams when I wake up, but this one wouldn’t leave me and every time I started to drift back to sleep, I’d be back in the dentist’s chair.  At 4:30, I just got up, turned on the lights and got started on my morning puzzles. 

Of course, the aspiration was nothing to be anxious about.  With the short exception of the cortisone shots at the end, it wasn’t painful and was interesting to watch on the screen while the doctor was working.  I was able to walk out and drive home.  So that scary dream was really unwarranted.  Wish I could have explained this to my subconscious at bedtime!

Are you aspiring to anything in particular this week?

2025, Art, books, Food

Sci Fi Pizza?

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At the library last week I happened upon a little hardcover book called Pizzapedia by Dan Bransfield.  It says on the inside flap that it’s a “biography of pizza”.  I wouldn’t go quite that far but it is a charming piece filled with marvelous illustrations.

And some humor.  I found this about ¾ of the way through, right after an illustration of a pizza-making robot and how it works:

Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Pizza Robotics

    • First Law. A pizza robot may not burn a pizza or, through inaction, allow a pizza to come to harm.
    • Second Law. A pizza robot must accept orders for pizzas except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
    • Third Law. A pizza robot must protect its own recipes as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

If you’re not a Sci/Fi fan, here is a copy of Issac Asimov’s original Law of Robotics.

    • A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
    • A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
    • A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

These laws were first introduced in Asimov’s 1942 short story “Runaround,” which is part of the collection I, Robot. They were designed to create a framework for ethical behavior in robots, ensuring that they prioritize human safety and obedience while also allowing for self-preservation.

I’m pretty sure that any pizza-making robots out in the world aren’t too worried about having to pledge allegiance to Issac Asimov, but the author made me laugh and that’s always helpful these days!

What is your favorite?  Thin crust, thick-crust, stuffed crust, deep-dish?  Square cut or triangles?

 

2025, books, Movies, Mysteries

The Warden Threw a Party

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After Robert Redford’s death last week, I re-visited my goal to see more of his films.  I was able to find The Last Castle for free through my cable so watched it a few nights ago.  As I was watching it, a couple of things occurred to me.  First… while Robert Redford made beautiful and thought-provoking films, a lot of them are dark and depressing.  Second… I really don’t care for jailhouse movies. 

Yes, The Last Castle is a jailhouse movie.  No serious spoiler alerts except to say that it is dark and depressing.  And you know it almost immediately when an inmate, who clearly hasn’t done anything and is panicking in the jail yard, is killed by the prison guards.   I did battle it out until the end, but it wasn’t a feel good scenario. 

The realization that I avoid jailhouse movies occurred to me fairly early into the movie.  I’ve never watched The Shawshank Redemption, despite MANY people telling me it’s the best.  No Green Mile, no O Brother Where Art Thou, no Papillon (although I did read the book).   I haven’t even seen Jailhouse Rock; my aversion to jail movies apparently goes back aways.

That isn’t to say that I’ve taken a pass on all of them.  I have seen Cool Hand Luke, The Great Escape, Escape from New York as well as two other jail movies with Robert Redford – Brubaker and The Chase.  Technically The Chase isn’t in jail but it’s the chase after a jailbreak, so I’m including it.

Not too sure why I don’t like jail movies although it might be tied to the fact that I don’t like a lot of movies in which the chips are obviously stacked against the protagonist.  I’ve shied away from The Hunger Games and the Maze Runner – those kinds of things – for that reason.  And no movies about gladiators at all.

Any jailhouse movies that you’ve liked?  Any types of movies you shy away from?

2025, Art, gardening, Mysteries, Uncategorized

Aromatherapy Times Two

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My current world is a battlefield of aromas.

My tomato and pepper plants are still putting out fruit, so I am out at the bales every day harvesting.  If you’ve ever grown tomatoes, you know that you can’t pick them without getting a very pungent smell all over your arms and hands. 

I’m also working with melting beeswax (Ukrainian eggs).  It gets on my fingers and under my fingernails.

The tomato plant smell is easily washed off (if I remember when I come in) but the beeswax smell lingers not just on my hands but on my clothing, in my hair, probably in the air.  Even after a shower, I can still occasionally recognize a whiff of it.  A couple of times the last few days I’ve noticed that the tomato smell and the beeswax smell are duking it out to be the top dog.  The beeswax always seems to win.

I don’t mind either of these aromas.  Not like patchouli.  This is an odor that I just can’t abide; in close quarters it actually makes me a little nauseous.  Since there are people who seem to like it, I’ve always assumed that it was some sort of biologic response, kind of like how Jacque can’t stand the taste of cilantro.  I haven’t found any science to back up my theory but I’m going to stick with it for now!

I’ll be done with the eggs in a couple of days and the tomatoes are slowing down, so assuming that the war of the smells will be over soon but it’s interesting while it’s going on!

Do you have a favorite aroma?  A least favorite?/

2025, Art, holidays, Seasons

Pysanky

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A couple of comments yesterday made me think that I have probably never explained the process of making a Ukrainian egg or “pysanky”.  I’ll try to keep it simple!

Larger eggs are easier, although I did a fun series of three teeny eggs a few years ago.  A rinse in white vinegar gets any residual grease off the egg.  You work with a whole egg, uncooked and not emptied.

Ukrainian egg dying is a little similar to batik.  You apply melted wax to the egg and then dip it in dye.  You repeat this, from your lightest color to you darkest until you’re done and then melt all the wax off.  A very traditional pysanky will be white, yellow, orange, green, red and black but there are plenty of other designs using other shades (blue, purple, pumpkin, brown, etc.)  After you are all done with waxing and dyeing, you melt all the wax off the egg (carefully) to reveal your design in all its glory.

There are a few tools for making pysanky.  The most critical is called a kistka and it is the tool that you use to melt the beeswax and to apply the wax to the egg.  I have two kinds of kistkas.  The traditional kistka which is held over a candle to melt the wax and an electric kistka, which keeps the wax cone hot without having to use a candle.  Both traditional and electric have a variety of widths, depending on how thick or fine you want your wax lines.  I tend to use both during a project.  The beeswax has a black additive these days; without it, the wax is hard to see on the egg if you’re using electric – no carbon from a candle flame!

After you’ve melted off the wax, that’s when you add the varnish.  This is an important step because it not only makes the egg shiny and pretty but it adds a bit of strength to the shell.  If you are making pysanky that are being displayed but are not ornaments, then you are done.  Eventually the insides of a Ukrainian egg will dry up and you can hear the dried yolk rattle if you shake them.  (If you break one before it’s all dried up – get a clothespin for you nose!)  If you are making ornaments, you’ll need to blow them out and add a finding to the top so you can thread it with twine, floss or some sort of string. 

The most frequent question I get is how long an egg takes and it depends entirely on the complexity of your design.  This year’s egg, if I did one at a time, from beginning to end would take about 75 minutes, but since I’m doing several at one time, that cuts down the time to about 55 minutes each. 

Of course, there is plenty more I could say, but I’ll save that for when you ask me!

Tell me about any tools you need for your hobby!