Chatbug Karen

I would rather pay a few dollars to rent a movie, especially one that didn’t get good reviews. It costs around $8 to go to a movie theater in our area. That means $16 if both my husband and I go and more if we buy popcorn and a coke. Once in a while, I enjoy spending the money to go out to a movie. Most generally, we rent DVD’s. I sure am glad we didn’t see The American at the theater. I am also glad I wasn’t watching this dvd with friends or my mother in-law. It was terrible.

George Clooney starred in this movie. I wonder if he is embarrassed by it.

The story could have been good. It begins with Jack, played by Clooney, ending his career as an assassin. He has to have one more assignment to enable him to leave the business. Here is what IMBD said about the story line:

Alone among assassins, Jack is a master craftsman. When a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, he vows to his contact Pavel that his next assignment will be his last. Jack reports to the Italian countryside, where he holes up in a small town and relishes being away from death for a spell. The assignment, as specified by a Belgian woman, Mathilde, is in the offing as a weapon is constructed. Surprising himself, Jack seeks out the friendship of local priest Father Benedetto and pursues romance with local woman Clara. But by stepping out of the shadows, Jack may be tempting fate.

I may be getting old enough to need acetyl l carnitine
and admit I have trouble hearing what the characters are saying. It seemed that the actors in this movie mumbled. When I finally caught on to the story line, I was exposed to nudity. I didn’t see the point of this. It added nothing to the story. The movie was slow and the ending was dumb. Anyway, in an effort to say something nice, the Italian scenery was beautiful.

This week’s questions are about common food thoughts or myths that I’ve heard from other people.

1. Bananas. Do you think the smaller ones are sweeter? (I don’t.)
I have never noticed the smaller ones to taste any different.

2. Watermelon. Do you think that if the outside is darker green that it means the watermelon is sweeter? (I never really thought about it but will have to check it out this summer.)
I thought that you had to thump them to see if they were ripe. Sweet watermelons, fat burners for men, I have no knowledge of either.

3. Grapes. Do you think the round globe shaped ones are sweeter than the more ovalish shaped ones? (Not sure, I’ll have to test this theory.)
I don’t know either but I do love grapes, unless they have seeds.

4. Pears. Do canned pears taste completely different than fresh pears? (I think so.)
Yes, I have trouble buying ripe pears.

My husband and I played hookey yesterday. At least, that is what it felt like. We had one of our employees work in our store and we headed towards Indianapolis.

I, recently, made a table runner that has become very popular with my readers over on my sewing blog, Kreated by Karen. I needed to buy more fabric and after checking fabric sites online and getting wrinkles on forehead, I decided I needed fabric therapy. I have not been fabric shopping, except to Joanne’s, for weeks! If you know me, you know that is a miracle.

One of my favorite fabric stores is Always in Stitches in Noblesville, Indiana. They have so many finished projects on display. I love their choices of colors and am always inspired after visiting their shop. I can’t wait to start sewing! I did get my fabric and have enough to make runners galore! LOL

My daughter, the culinary guru, sent me pictures she had taken last Tuesday. She attended a culinary show in Orlando. Yes, my lucky daughter, who loves snow, lives in sunny Florida. She does not deal in cctv cameras, she deals in food. All types of food. She loves to cook! Eeew!

I had to share her version of an interesting frog display:

and then I have my version:

A few weeks ago, I bought a new laptop. I am enjoying this laptop but have to admit to being frustrated while figuring out how to make things work. I was used to sizing photos in my PhotoShop program. iPhoto works great but I have to use my memory to remember how to use it. That takes time where on my old laptop, it seemed second nature.

I do enjoy the ability to open my laptop and have it come on immediately. My old laptop was so slow and would lock up frequently. Maybe I needed to buy memory to make it work better but I am not a computer guru. I know how to turn computers on. The rest is up to the computer.

I always seem to like a game when I find I can win while playing it. That makes sense doesn’t it? Gratification. I need it.

We visited with friends over the weekend and while we could have enjoyed home theater seating and a good movie, we opted to play Farkle. Have you heard of this game? It is easy to grasp the rules of this game and doesn’t take much concentration. Both are requirements for me to enjoy playing a game. I hate playing something that requires me to have a list sitting next to my cup of coffee. This list is referred to as a cheat sheet. I call this list my, I hate this too complicated game list.

Farkle is played with dice. The competition rolls their dice and tries to get a better score than the previous player. Easy peasy! I might like this game because the girls beat the guys, 4 out of 6 times!

My sister sent me an email that said, things we never think about and it included this picture

View from the Canadian side
I love that! and really needed a pick me up today.

My morning started off pretty good as my husband treated me by making coffee for us. That task usually falls to me while he is in the shower. So, I was drinking my coffee and happily reading an email from a dear friend and found myself laughing out loud. She was telling how her son is busting their school shoes budget because his feet are growing so fast. She was comparing his feet to suitcases and other inanimate objects. Anyway, she was cracking me up.

I pulled myself away from the computer in an effort to be on time for work this morning. I was doing my hair and touched the flat iron to my face, just above my eye. Ouch! Have you ever done that? It hurts like heck.

I have been sewing so much that I have not finished any of our end of the year book work for our business. So, guess what I am doing this afternoon. I don’t want the IRS coming after me. I do think that it might be nice to be in a cell and have all my meals served to me. Just kidding.

Have a great day everyone.

I saw, just before Christmas, a new way to compare prices on products. There are apps available for an iPhone that enable you to compare prices while you are in the store. What do you think about this idea? I am intrigued.

I hope that this technology encourages American companies to give us, the consumer, the best prices possible. These POS systems will save us fuel costs and save us time.

That said, I, as a retailer myself, understand that businesses have to make a profit in order to survive. Someone has to pay to keep a store heated, clean and able to pay employees. China already undercuts us on so many things that the products made in the USA are being pushed out of production. I don’t expect US companies to gouge people but I understand making a fair profit. The trickle down process effects us all. Want jobs? Buy American.

This week’s question. What product do you wish a brand would come out with based on something it already makes?

Marie Callendar ~ the chunks of chicken they have in their pot pies

This is a hard one! I am going to have to go to the pantry and think on this!

Every time I see the news article on television, I cry. Have you seen it? The woman was stolen from the hospital when she was a baby, just 16 days old. Her 16 year old mother had taken her to the hospital with a high fever. I don’t know who stole her, I have suspicions and hope to find out. I wonder if the father of the baby had something to do with the crime. It makes me want to have tracking devices of some sort to put on our children. It would have to be a very small GPS Tracker, which are available from reputable security device resellers.

Carlina White, center, and her birth parents.

The Today Show

Speaking of tracking devices, did you know that the police can use information, that is in a tracking system on your car, to use as evidence to determine how fast you were going when you have a wreck? They can use this information against you or hopefully, as a testament to your safe driving. I am not sure I want the government to have this capability.

I am watching the Nate Burkus show, which I truly enjoy. Today’s guest is a handyman. This guy stole my idea of putting vinegar in a ziplock bag and taping the bag, with the shower head inside, around the shower head to soak away all the lime. This really does work to get your shower head back to its original steady stream of spray. I would venture to guess that Nate could get this handyman to teach us how to install a nanny cam in our home. Sorry, I can not get this child stealing thing off my mind.