Wonderful World of ... July

In my desperate need, well desire, to see Hamilton again, I subscribed to Disney+ streaming service. Since we already have Hulu and they'll be nothing new on ESPN+ for awhile, I just got the wonderful world of Disney. Maybe just for July. Maybe longer.

If you see the fine print there, it's only $6.99 a month. I'd have to watch Hamilton like 9 more times to equal the live performance ticket price alone. So I delved into Disney movies first this evening – it's what you do when it's 90 degrees out – and watched the new Lion King movie. Pretty well done. There's also a ton of retro Disney, too, like Herbie the Love Bug, Witch Mountain, Mary Poppins, Parent Trap and The Muppets, to name a few. (See complete list here.)

There are also Pixar movies so I can watch the ones I enjoyed when Carter was little – Toy Story, Incredibles, Monsters Inc, Cars – and now watch their sequels, too!

Then there's all the Marvel movies (also included) that I had once planned to watch in order before watching Avengers Endgame. I did not watch them all but I did watch Endgame on my long flight to Seattle. Pretty sure there aren't any spoiler alerts I can't handle.

And as one more bonus, I could watch all the Star Wars movies – in chronological order of the overall story, not the movie release dates. I think that would take me beyond July!

But still, one month is only the price of one matinee movie around here. And my popcorn at home is pretty cheap. I'm not getting paid to endorse this product. Just letting you know about this reasonably priced option – especially if your kids have been staring you in the face for 121 days and you (or they) need an escape from each other or this heat for a few hours!

It's a wonderful world!

To Infinity

There are so many things I love about this "retro" photo. Love that MY lighthouse (from when I lived and worked in Menominee, Mich.) is in the background. Love that little Carter is being safely escorted on the pier by his big brother. And love – well Carter especially loved – that Buzz Lightyear hoodie.

He lived in that thing. And it gives you a good visual of how long the Toy Story franchise has been around. That little boy can now catch a Buzz legally, and he doesn't need Star Command to do it.

So it only made sense that only people crying at the movie theater tonight were us "old" folks who've seen Toy Story 1, 2 and 3, and knew we couldn't live without seeing 4 – and hearing "To infinity and beyond" and "There's a snake in my boot" one more time.

I had a meeting at church and then met my friend Cindy at the theater. Cheap $5 movie night so she got there early and saved me a seat. It was a great movie. I won't give any spoilers but if you've seen them all, it is so worth seeing.

And bring Kleenex. Hey, I cried after #3 so that's not too much of a spoiler.

I just wish I could wrap my arms around that sweet little boy in the photo for comfort. But just like Andy in the movie, we all grow up sometime.

Squeaking By

Just call me Wheezy. Not to be confused with Louise "Weezie" Jefferson from The Jeffersons. I'm talking about Toy Story Wheezy. Remember him?

Wheezy, the squeaking penguin, had seen better days. Ever since his squeaker broke, he'd been marooned on top of a tall bookcase in Andy's room. But given another chance (and a new squeaker), the dapper penguin could still belt out a tune or two.

That's me.

Well, not the singing part. Though when I try to laugh with no voice, it does sound like a weird stereo effect.

So who knows if this week-long cold or allergy business is just that or something more fun like bronchitis. I always get burned on that. Go in to the clinic and I'm fine. Don't go in and I am scolded for not going in sooner. I don't feel sick. Just that as soon as we lay down, hubby and I are both coughing machines.

Last night I took Nyquil so I could sleep. It worked to suppress my cough, but by the time I got to work this morning, it was un-suppressing itself and I think I coughed for the whole first hour. Then I definitely had no voice. I put a sign up that said, "I am a squeaky toy. Please handle with care."

So I was Wheezy and trying to give everyone at work the same pleasure I give Jim at home – the sound of SILENCE.

No wonder everyone was smiling today.

Squeak, squeak.

Winter Wonder-What-The?

I know those of us in the Midwest are sick of seeing the snow, as lovely as it is, but I had to post some pictures for the benefit of my sister in Texas -- just in case she ever second guesses herself for moving there! I doubt she does!

Above, the snow looks so pretty as it falls Saturday afternoon. This was our view all Saturday and probably all during the night, too, though we couldn't hear it or see it...

...only saw what we woke up to! Needless to say, we did not make it to 8 a.m. church (or any later service). Carter's practice and Christmas program were called off, too. The plow finally came through mid-afternoon.

Our neighbor took care of our driveway, but Jim handled the "extra" areas -- with joy, of course, as you can see on his face.

Judging by the path (and unofficial measurements in the neighborhood), we estimate we got about 14-16 inches.

Carter was in charge of the decks so I just had the responsibility of taking scrapbook pictures. You can tell he was really happy about it!

I didn't feel guilty for a minute. The snow was much wetter and heavier today so this old lady did not need to strain my back. Plus I was busy doing something important I'm sure... but I just can't recall what it was...

Probably watching replays of the Dome roof collapsing. What a mess! I guess Brett Favre will do anything to delay a game a day so he can keep his streak alive!

The weather even messed up St. Lucia's schedule. Typically, our Scandinavian Goddess of Light arrives Dec. 13. But somehow sensing our incredibly busy schedule tomorrow with work, school and out-of-town basketball, she arrived this afternoon. Jim got the book Dreaming of a Black Christmas by comedian Lewis Black and Carter got Toy Story 3. Naturally, we had to watch that right away (and cry again)! Awesome movie!

What did I get? I guess I'll say I got a free pass from shoveling for the day (but in all likelihood it's something I've been typing on for the past 3 weeks)!

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

I Feel Good!

The antibiotics have apparently kicked in and kicked this bronchitis. Yay! I actually slept through the night without any major coughing fits. In fact, I slept so hard the first few hours, I missed a major light storm that briefly knocked out our electricity (and a tree down in our back yard!) and left 2 inches of rain.

Yup, definitely feeling better!

The rain clouds threatened to hang around today but didn't give us more than a few drops. Mostly, it was warm and sunny -- a perfect day to wrap up our Cranberry Blossom Fest in Wisconsin Rapids.

Since we had baseball, we didn't get to partake in any of the activities until today's parade. We all went to church and then headed over to a friend's house along the parade route. It's a yearly event to gather there and tip back a few cold beverages of one's choosing and catch lots of candy. The beauty of being at the beginning of the parade is that they are never out of candy (or any of the other goodies they toss out).

It's also great to see friends I don't see often enough. It was a nice time. (And Carter caught plenty of candy for my candy dish at work!)

When we left, we saw that Carter's babysitters (well, former sitters now) were at their son's house a block away so we crashed that party, too! Visited with them for a few minutes and, honestly, it seems like we haven't seen them in months! A busy month of June can do that.

Got home and baked a cake to take to work tomorrow for my birthday treat. Remembered I had 2 movie passes that have to get used by June 30 so Carter and I went to see Toy Story 3.

OK, I'm not going to spoil the story line. Just saying if you saw the first 2 especially, you must see this one. Kudos to Pixar for wrapping up the series with an awesome, awesome finish. Yes, I wept openly and I think Carter did a little, too. But he won't admit it!

Now it's off to bed early again. I just want to rest and get this bronchitis completely out of my system! Don't want to feel "old" tomorrow for any reason!