Weekend...

Hannah only made it to daycare one day out of five last week. On Monday, she was diagnosed with an eye infection and we were told that she would be contagious until Thursday. Thursday, she went back to daycare and was OK, but that evening, she started complaining that her ear hurt. So Friday, I took her to the doctor and she was diagnosed with an ear infection. After being on her medicine for a couple of days and taking a 4+ hour nap yesterday, she seemed well enough to go back to daycare today. Here's hoping that she does better this week than last. Also hoping that she'll stay well through the holidays.

Since Hannah wasn't quite herself, we stayed in all day Saturday. ALL DAY. Actually, none of us even changed out of our pajamas on Saturday! I love days like that! I know, I know it's pathetic, but every once in a while, I just need a lazy day. Don't you?

In spite of Hannah not being 100%, we made it to church on Sunday. Hannah did OK, but was a little fussy. I couldn't help laughing when Christy told me that she tried to take money out of the offering plate in her classroom! The choir was singing a song that I really liked (it had a great part for we Basses). Sunday evening we started straightening Hannah's room in preparation for family coming for Christmas.


Films Recently Watched:

Empire of Dreams (2004) dir. by Kevin Burns and Edith Becker
If you remember, I picked up the Star Wars Trilogy DVDs on the day they were released. I watched all three films one day and listened to the cast & crew commentary the next day. I dabbled into the bonus material on the 4th disc, but never found time to watch the crown jewel of the supplementaries, the 2 1/2 hour documentary, Empire of Dreams, until now. Christy and I both watched this and found it quite interesting. There were a few items on this that I'd seen before, but the lion's share was new to me. It really describes how these films (especially the first one) were a labor of love for the young filmmaker, George Lucas. Sometimes it's difficult to remember that Lucas wasn't always a multi-millionaire and a media mogul. Lucas' humble beginnings as a film student at USC and the construction of his facilities at Skywalker Ranch (including Lucasfilm, Ltd.; Industrial Light & Magic; Skywalker Sound; LucasArts; THX, Ltd.; and the computer graphics company that ultimately became the mighty Pixar) are touched on in Empire of Dreams, but most of it focuses on the creation of the films themselves. Story, casting, filming, post-production, release...every aspect is given at least some attention. Though many fanboys were begging for an exhaustive "Encyclopedia Starwarsica" to be included with this set, I think this doc. does an excellent job for the more casual fan/enthusiast. Another thing that this doc. shows is that there is definitely the potential for an exhaustive set of bonus features at some time in the future. Some of the footage in Empire of Dreams is obscure and shows that the long-believed rumor is true, "Lucas kept everything."

A Christmas Story (1983) dir. by Bob Clark
First time this year for this classic. Get out your tally sheets!

Mystic River (2003) dir. by Clint Eastwood
Three childhood friends grow up together and, as adults, still live in the same Boston neighborhood. Jimmy Markum (Sean Penn), an ex-con, has retired from his former, crooked life and now runs a legitimate business in his neighborhood. He's a family man, father of three daughters, one of whom ends up dead - murdered. Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon) is the homicide detective assigned to the case. Dave Boyle (Tim Robbins), a victim of sexual abuse as a child, is suspect in the murder. Will the police solve the case before Markum's gang takes matters into their own hands?
Wow, the performances in this film by Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon and Tim Robbins (and the rest of the cast) are terrific! It's no wonder that Penn won the Oscar for his leading role and that Robbins won for his supporting role. Eastwood's pacing on this is right on and helps to create the tension in this suspense/mystery.

Lady And The Tramp (1955) produced by Walt Disney; dir. by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske