Monday, March 2, 2009

Better late than never!


It took until winter is only three weeks from being officially behind us, but we got our snowstorm. What you see in the picture is just about what I'm still looking at through the window, except the sun's higher now, so we have a bright gray sky now instead of dark gray. The snow continues to fall, and the sounds of people digging out are all around. I guess I'll be doing that, too, at some point today, but I may as well let the snow end first. Anyway, I doubt if I'll be venturing out in the car.

We went to the "The Reader" yesterday. It had been sort of a sleeper on my radar, I guess because it didn't get as much media attention as the other important films of the season, "Milk" and "Doubt." I'd heard about Kate Winslet's performance, but didn't really know anything about the movie. It's about a teenage boy who finds himself in an affair with a woman 21 years his senior in 1960s Germany; the woman turns out to have worked for the SS during WW 2, and the story infolds from there. The entire cast is excellent, including (especially) the actor who plays the boy, Michael, and Ralph Fiennes, who plays Michael as an adult. It's psychologically compelling, uses silence eloquently--a mark of consummate acting and directing skills. Do yourself a favor and see it. It's already on my list of all-time favorites.

Today will be spent taking care of some business. The loan we're trying to finalize in order to move on with real estate plans is ready to go but for one thing: the bank can't get anybody in the HR office of Steve's company to return a call to confirm his employment. I've got an idea: can they use email as an initial contact to set up a call? If so, I want to get that set up.

Later, we will have a phone meeting with one of the builders in North Carolina who has submitted an estimate. The cost is still too high, (lower than the first) but this guy comes highly recommended by all the locals who know him, and he is very approachable. His will be a good brain to pick.

Aside from the movie, work finally got started on the kitchen this weekend, and Steve says the drywall is going faster than he thought it would. Once the kitchen is done, that'll be it for the inside. As soon as the weather clears and the temperature gets back into the consistent 40s, I'm going to start painting the front porch. This place may still be on the market by the end of this month!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think the last movie I saw in a theater was Chicago. And I love that picture of the snow up there. It brought back memories of VA in the winter. Bet the schools are closed and D.C. is in its' usual paralizing state. God I loved living there. Ralph, I thought all companies by law had to respond to a lenders request. Wuzz up with Steve's company?

Ralph said...

Yep, all the schools are closed and Feds were 2 hour delay.

Steve's company: head up ass. It's not that they're not responding. They're just never at their desks!

Mim said...

You got more snow than us, but still all schools are closed with the 3 inches we got.
You are certainly not sitting around having tea and scones... drywalling and carrying on for sure.
"The Reader" is on my list to see as I read the book. Thanks for the review.
And enjoy the snow it will soon melt.

Ralph said...

Snowmelt is fine with me, Mim--but I guess the temps are headed for the deep-freeze this week so not much will get done outdoors...including slip-slide walks...

Cuidado said...

We are having rain and freezing rain all day and the snow is disapperaring. Funny , eh? I really enjoyed reading The Reader, as a matter of fact, read it twice. Fabulous book and I heard other places that the movie is good too.

Shoveling advise: Warm up first.

Ralph said...

Cuidado, I think I'll have to read the book since books are always more deeply textured than their movie versions, and I've read a synopsis of the book that does show more detail. But believe me, the movie is extremely satisfying on that level.

Good advice about warming up, since of course I can't do my walks with the pavement like this. I got myself dug out and even drove the car!